Otherworld Company Chapter 17.4: Unexpected Is Something That Is Not Expected and Is Not Something That Is Expected, Right?

“I’m sorry to ask for an explanation, that I do.” (Minami)

　And the time has come.

“Why me too?” (Kaido)

“A picture is worth a thousand words, but it doesn’t mean you can’t take on a challenge while ignorant. It’s not a bad idea to gain knowledge. And Kaido, you don’t remember any of the data here. At this point, it doesn’t matter if there are two or three of you. You should learn it together.” (Jiro)

　It was the weekend, and on the first day of his part-time job, Minami, who had come to work in high spirits at the prospect of being exposed to magical fantasy, was complaining about the sudden classroom lesson.

　It would be a problem if they couldn’t concentrate at this moment.

“A scam!?” (Minami)

“I’m sorry, please continue.” (Masaru)

　Well, I don’t have to worry about her because here is her stopper.

“Well, we’ll do the practical part later, so don’t worry.” (Jiro)

“I don’t feel comfortable with that either.” (Kaido)

　I was on the verge of agreeing with Kaido, but I knew I shouldn’t say that, so I held my tongue.

“You can get paid just for listening to them. You should think of it as a stroke of luck.” (Jiro)

“It’s also true, that you can get paid just for reading the strategy book. Huh?　That’s a great thing, that it is.” (Minami)

　That’s a very good point although it’s a little too naive.

　A strategy book is a very good thing, but if you look at the materials I made, you’ll see that this is not a bad move.

　It contains information on the characteristics of the monsters, the facilities, and the features of the dungeon, and while it’s not a complete guide, it’s an overview of what you could expect.

“I think you’ve been convinced, so I’ll start explaining. I’m going to give you that document so you can take down any notes you want.” (Jiro)

　As I explained the material, I wrote down the main points on the whiteboard I borrowed from the company.

　The most efficient way to work in a group is to divide up the work and have each person specialize in their own department.

　It is more effective for people to keep doing one thing at a time, and more importantly, they get used to it and become proficient at it.

　However, on the other hand, if one part of the work is missing, the efficiency of this method will drop drastically.

　This is because you are so specialized that you don’t have a grasp of the other information.

　And what I’m trying to do is to distribute the risk.

　I explain that being specialized is bad, but specializing in something itself is not bad.

　The point is to maintain the advantages of proficiency and efficiency, and avoid the disadvantages of stagnation that occurs because of the lack of mastery.

　When organizing a party, the roles of each person are determined by their position.

　If you’re in the vanguard, you have the vanguard’s job, if you’re in the rearguard, you have the rearguard’s job, and so on, but you need to know that information about each other.

　Of course, there is also other information that must be shared.

“So, this is an escape device. It’s something that can’t be used when there are monsters around, so be careful, because if you run away with all your might and escape and there are monsters behind you, you would reach a dead end.” (Jiro)

“That’s awful, that it is. If this dungeon is made into a game, it will definitely be recognized as a shitty game, that it is.” (Minami)

　An example of this is the escape device.

　If I’m the only one who knows how to activate it, and I challenge the dungeon, and I’m injured and have to retreat, I’ll have to go back to the first portal.

　In the meantime, I would have the disadvantage of carrying the wounded and the disadvantage of losing my strength, and the danger level would go up steadily.

　I think it’s unusual for a work environment to have so many disadvantages just by not sharing one piece of information, but I’m convinced that this is the kind of work environment we work in and I’ll continue my explanation.

“Is there anything you don’t understand in the explanation so far?” (Jiro)

“How do you use magical power?” (Masaru)

“Oh, exactly what Masaru is asking. I’ll explain it to you later because it’s faster to actually do it than to explain it to you.” (Jiro)

“Well, I want to use magic quickly.” (Minami)

“Why are you a Grand Enchanter? Should you not be a magician? To be clear, it does not seem to be a great position.” (Masaru)

　It’s a good idea to take a break and get rid of any doubts you may have.

“Fufufufu, naive. Leader!” (Minami)

“Leader?” (Jiro)

　I feel like the name for me has been decided on its own, but it’s not a strange name, so let’s not worry about it.

“These seemingly humble and unfavorable professions are actually a shortcut to the strongest, that they are!” (Minami)

“You’re common sense of fantasy at every turn would be destroyed by this company.” (Kaido)

　Kaido calmly gives a retort to Minami, where he breaks her tirade and bursts her bubble so hard you can hear a pop.

“…you don’t have a job title yet, it’s okay for now. However, if you want to change it, do it before you equip one. Our team isn’t wealthy enough to spend extra money to change willy-nilly.” (Jiro)

　I gave a nudge to Minami, who was making the typical choice of failing to see the reality and using vague information.

　As a matter of fact, with Kaido as a magic swordsman, I needed more support and assistant magicians than attack magicians.

　So, I’m grateful for Minami’s choice.

“Understood! That I do!” (Minami)

　The energetic reply seemed to be motivated, which made me smile, but when I saw that Masaru next to me was holding his head in his hands, I could see that it was an individual action.

　I can see that he is having a hard time, but I don’t want to pry into his personal life.

“ Well, it’s a good time to break the ice, and as they say, better to get used to something than to just studying about it.” (Jiro)

　My concentration had just about run out and I had just finished the outline, so I decided to finish the classroom lecture.

　Cleaning up the materials I used while changing the atmosphere, I do it while loosening the stiffness of my shoulders.

“Ah, Senior, there’s something I don’t understand…” (Masaru)

“!” (Kaido & Minami)

　The two sensitive people reacted in opposite ways.

　Masaru is in despair, and Minami is looking hopeful.

　And there’s me.

“Let’s move on to the long-awaited practical training.” (Jiro)

　For now, let’s show them the reality of society.

　Well, it’s not that difficult to confront the reality of society.

　Since it is a lesson on practical skills, we change into jerseys prepared here and move the room so that we can get dressed in something more suitable for exercising.

　There was a training room filled with only magical power that could be manipulated for hours and no monsters appeared, so the two newbies had their first practical training.

　It’s not much more than a game compared to the first practical training I did.

　It’s not a big deal, but it should be,

“*wheeze*” (Minami)

“…You’ve only run three kilometers.” (Jiro)

　If someone is strengthened by a Magic Crest, they should only be sweaty at most and have even breathing, but in looking at reality, Minami has already collapsed.

　For the time being, I looked at Masaru.

“With this, I can evenly compete with the housewives at the supermarket.” (Masaru)

“What kind of supermarket housewives are they?” (Kaido)

　Masaru is having a conversation with Kaido about something hard to ignore, but for the time being, I had a look for a way.

　For the time being, it turns out that the problem is Minami.

　I thought it would be a bad idea for her to go into battle right away, so I had her practice improving her physical abilities with magic power, and it seems to have been the right decision.

　It seemed to be the right thing to do. As they were students who were studying as their main occupation, they were able to use their magic immediately, even though I was teaching them how to use their senses.

　And then came the physical ability test

　They were surprised to see the results change even though there was no change in their bodies, such as running and jumping. Especially Minami,

“Yahooooo!” (Minami)

　She was so happy that her speaking pattern changed.

“I’m now the wind!!!” (Minami)

　She ran around and said that, so I asked her to try running, but Masaru was satisfied with the result without even sweating, checking his hand as he opens and closes it into a fist.

　As for Minami, she followed Masaru at first, but after one kilometer, she was already lagging behind. After two kilometers, she was no longer as fast as she had been at first, and after three kilometers, she was in the shape of a man [大], breathing like she was hyperventilating.

　I wondered if I should be happy with my decision not to start out with combat training, or if I should lament the fact that I had been infected by this company into thinking for a moment that combat training should be included immediately.

　I had asked Minami to change into a jersey that could be used for exercise, but I wondered how long she would be active once she was equipped with her gear.

“Well, this is the reality.” (Jiro)

　As I exhaled the smoke from my cigarette, I tell Minami that fantasy is also reality, thinking in the corner of my mind about what to do if I have the same activity limit as Ancient Giants of Light that came from some galaxy. [T/N: He’s talking about Ultraman Tiga “Trigger”. Ask Google-sensei if you don’t get the reference. Basically, they are giants that fight monsters but they time out like Ben 10.]

“Well, there might be some harmful effects at the initial level.” (Minami)

“In your case, you’re just lazy. This is why I told you to exercise more often. You’re not going to get fat, you’re going to get what you deserve.” (Masaru)

　Masaru then passed by Minami who was breathing hard and couldn’t adjust.

　If I can show her such a reality, if I couldn’t find advice to give, I’ll piggyback on Masaru’s comment.

“Magic power may be all-purpose, but if you don’t have the basics, you can’t do anything at all. Because our main job is to do combat, we’ll have to build up your base physical abilities for a while. Well, Masaru will go along with their magic training.” (Jiro)

“This is discrimination! That it is!” (Minami)

“I’m sorry, but there has to be a standard.” (Jiro)

　You can’t do what you can’t do and go to the next level without being able to do it.

　The basics are important in everything.

　It is a common practice to divide the work between those who can and those who can’t.

“No magic practice until you can run at least 5 kilometers.” (Jiro)

“Reality is merciless, that it is.” (Minami)

“What do you mean? This is not as bad as my training.” (Jiro)

　Yeah, I’m confident that if I was asked to do “that” training and run five kilometers at full speed, I would definitely choose full speed.

“What kind of training did you do?” (Minami)

“…I just repeated the real-world training so much that I could see the Sanzu River several times.” (Jiro)

　My expression is probably of someone who died right now.

　While exhaling cigarette smoke, I would say the content of my training in one word.

“That’s what his training is like now, right?” (Jiro)

　And Kaido’s expression died.

“I’m glad I am not a regular employee, that I am.” (Minami)

“Are you okay? Even with this company?” (Masaru)

“Well, don’t worry, I won’t make you do it right away.” (Jiro)

“Are you going to do it eventually, would you!?” (Minami)

　I can only give a bitter smile to Minami’s cries.

　Even if this is the path they take, I have to get her to let go of reality.

　However, my reaction seems to have made them realize something, and their faces turn pale.

“In order for this person to return to society… sacrifices must be made… We will do it! Minami, I’ve made up my mind!” (Masaru)

“Masa-!?” (Minami)

　Looking at Minami, who was shocked by the unusual act of Masaru, her childhood friend, who decided something on his own. The day when two part-time workers were included passed by.

　And I couldn’t decide whether or not to tell these two that I had already decided that the magic hunting ‘stick’ would appear.

Jiro Tanaka: 28 years old – Single – No Girlfriend –

Occupation: Dungeon Tester (Regular Employee) + Recruitment (Scout)

Magical Aptitude: Eight (General Class)

Job Title: Warrior

Status

　Strength 355 → Strength 371

　Durability 396 → Durability 398

　Agility 187 → Agility 202

　Endurance 238 (-5) → Endurance 250 (-5)

　Dexterity 222 → Dexterity 229

　Knowledge 50 → Knowledge 50

　Intuition 51 → Intuition 56

　Luck 5 → Luck 5

　Magic 207 → Magic 231

Condition

　Nicotine Addiction

　Lung contamination

Note for the Day

　The more you learn about society, the more common sense falls apart.

　Well, this company is knee-deep in insanity.