Otherworld Company Chapter 8.2: I Think it Takes at Least a Year to Learn a Job, Don’t You?

The next day,

I rolled up my sleeves to go out early in the morning, not wearing my gear or suit, but my casual clothes.

It had been hanging in my wardrobe for some time now, but I didn’t want to wear a suit to go out of the office, let alone one that would be seen as a costume, so I pulled it out.

As it was, I gave the dark elf dorm mother a notice to go out, left my room key with her, and went out for the first time in a while.

“I felt strangely lethargic.” (Jiro)

I immediately felt uncomfortable.

I didn’t feel uncomfortable or languid at all, but the sensation of movement felt dull.

I guess I’m still tired from diving in the dungeon yesterday.

“I was going to come back this afternoon and go into the dungeon, but maybe I should rest today?” (Jiro)

Maybe I’m more tired than I think I am.

I moved my body, which felt fine except for the dullness, got into my car, and quickly turned the key to get to my destination.

I was grateful that the engine started up even though I had left it unattended for a month, and I considered using it often from now on.

“Well, where should I go?” (Jiro)

I looked up my destination on my phone and put it into navigation mode.

As I drove out of the parking lot, I saw a group of high school students in school uniforms walking to school, probably because it was early in the day.

“I wonder if those guys will be summoned.” (Jiro)

Half a year ago, I would have laughed at the idea that such stories only existed in novels, and would have thought of ways to get the job done.

But then, through a series of twists and turns, I discovered the true nature of the mysterious instances of people being spirited away.

It was while I was waiting for a red light, but the sight of students making fools of themselves and then being suddenly spirited away to another world came to my mind.

While I was thinking that the world might be stranger than fiction, a horn was blaring from behind me.

“Oops, it’s green.” (Jiro)

I notice that the traffic light has changed and I start driving again.

After a while, I would reach my destination.

“Seriously?” (Jiro)

When I looked at the destination, there were already people lined up in front of the store.

This was the result of a search on recommended cake shops in Tokyo.

I parked in a nearby coin-operated parking lot and walked over, but it was before eight o’clock, and it was a weekday.

However, the fact that there were so many people lined up gave me an idea of how popular the place was.

“Was I naive?” (Jiro)

Only for cakes? I lamented my naivety as I thought of a pun that didn’t work. [T/N: He’s making a pun about being naïve/sweet “amai/umai” “甘い” since they are using the same characters. It doesn’t work in English though.]

I searched for a good place to eat something sweet, and since it was a popular place, I assumed that if I left early enough, it would be okay since it was a weekday.

“I can’t help it, I should probably line up.” (Jiro)

I rearranged my schedule in my mind and got in line, thinking that I might not be able to enter the dungeon today.

Conclusion.

I won’t be standing in line at a popular cake shop for some time.

“Is this normal, waiting for three hours?” (Jiro)

I don’t know about other stores, so I can’t say for sure, but I think the only place where you have to wait longer than this is the food booth at an amusement park or something.

It took an hour from the start of the line to the opening of the restaurant, and another two hours after that, no matter how much I had been working out lately, it would be hard on my body.

It was just before lunchtime when I returned to the office, feeling a different kind of fatigue from exercising, so I thought it would be a good time to give her the fruit-filled roll cake.

It felt strange to enter the office in plain clothes, but I had my employee ID card in my wallet, so there would be no problem.

I bought five boxes of cakes for the whole department, which was a lot for a cake shopping trip.

From the parking lot, I walked into the office and got on the elevator to press the switch for the level where my department was located.

When I got off the elevator, I found myself in a…

“…Battlefield?” (Jiro)

There were dark elves and ogres shouting in anger, goblins running left and right with bundles of documents, a vampire peering into a computer, and Supervisor Evia giving orders via telepathy and her voice in the middle of the room as if she were leading a battle.

A scene reminiscent of a crunch nearing the deadline was spread out before me.

Everyone was busy, and I felt very out of place in my plain clothes with cakes in my hand.

“Call the response team!” (Evia)

“They’re already on it! Do you have the projected route to the outskirts of the area?!” (Demon)

“Zo hungree Gobu.” (Goblin)

“Wat laz miil Gobu.” (Goblin)

“Give Team A 30 minutes rest, get Team B moving, and call in Ricci for remedial action. The location is the third treatment room. The dungeon is deserted right now anyway. Go drag out whoever’s wandering around the place!” (Evia)

“This document goes there, that document has to be prepared, and then you have to get a clearance stamp.” (Demon)

“One, two, three, four, five… one of them is missing?!” (Demon)

The goblin area looks the most peaceful, but him… her… I don’t know which one it is, but I’m not sure I want to call out to them when they’re running around.

Once, I looked at Suela, she was also answering the phone and contacting someone.

“Yes, please do, then.” (Suela)

But the call ended at the right time.

“That seems tough.” (Jiro)

“What happened Mr. Jiro? There is no problem with the report, but what is—!?” (Suela)

If I had to use sound effects, she’d sound, “*shock*!” I guess.

The expression on her face, which had been calm and collected, changed drastically, and she grabbed me by the arms, and I felt a strong will to not to let me go.

“M-Mr. Ji-Jiro, maybe you want to quit!?” (Suela)

Suela’s voice made the crunch quiet for some reason.

“What? No–” (Jiro)

“Where was the problem? Was it the benefits? Was it the salary? Was it the work environment? Huh! Is it the human relations?” (Suela)

This is what it means to have a piercing gaze, and it looks like Suela is trying to persuade me from the sidelines, rather than the diverse fantasy races around us.

“Oh, no, I only came here to…” (Jiro)

To be a needle in a haystack of stares, in short, I feel uncomfortable.

Therefore, I didn’t know what to say and kept silent, but on the contrary, I wondered if that attitude was bad, and it collapsed like a slide.

I wondered if my plain clothes made people think I was going to quit, and in addition, the number of retirees had been on the rise lately, giving rise to a misunderstanding.

If so, it must have been bad timing.

Feeling a little guilty, I quickly handed it over as I had originally planned in order to clear up the misunderstanding.

“Well, you looked like you were in a lot of trouble, so I brought you something.” (Jiro)

I wonder if I’m the first person to offer a roll cake to a dark elf while being pressured by the air around me.

“Brought me?” (Suela)

“Yes, I thought it would be nice to have something sweet when I’m tired, so I bought some cakes for you all to eat… Is this not enough?” (Jiro)

When I first saw it, there were no goblins at least, so I bought enough for about 20 people to eat, but looking at the current situation, I’m not sure if there’s enough.

In the meantime, I put the box of cake on top of her hand as she held it out to me.

“… Maybe you don’t like sweets?” (Jiro)

She was so silent that I wondered if she hated sweets.

“Hmm, Jewel Cake Rolls, you have surprisingly good taste.” (Evia)

“Supervisor.” (Jiro)

Looking and lifting the box from the side, Supervisor Evia nodded impressed by the logo on the container box that I had with the cake rolls.

“Aside from the Suela that you handed over directly, this amount is not enough… Okay, the ones that have settled down their own work can have some!” (Evia)

The office became noisy again as the clock that had stopped started ticking.

Ignoring the ruckus, Supervisor Evia wiped her hands with a sterile tissue, made a magic blade with her fingertips, secured a slice, and ate it.

The way she eats looks like a college student on a food tour, but her gestures are elegant.

“The next time you bring something, bring it a little more quietly.” (Evia)

“Yes ma’am.” (Jiro)

The way she tactfully changed the atmosphere of the place and walked away was that of a boss who could do anything right.

“Ah, you weren’t going to quit?” (Suela)

“I have no reason to quit.” (Jiro)

“Huuuuuhh…” (Suela)

Suela let out a sigh of relief and finally got up.

“My life span has been shortened by about three years.” (Suela)

I wondered if that was a joke told by Dark Elves. I’ve heard that the Elven race has a long life span, and some say they don’t have a life span at all.

“I’m sorry for making a ruckus.” (Jiro)

“No, I’m sorry for the misunderstanding.” (Suela)

“Is that sweet thing okay?” (Jiro)

“Yes, I love it, I don’t hate it, and we don’t get many opportunities to eat sweet things here, so this is a very welcome gift.” (Suela)

Like the Supervisor, she created a magic blade at her fingertips and cut the roll cake.

“Ooh!! Suela how sly!!” (Dark Elf)

“Then get your work done quickly.” (Suela)

Seeing that, a dark elf woman in the opposite seat shouts and complained, but Suela side steps it casually and magically moves a plate and cup of coffee.

“If it’s not much trouble, how are you?” (Jiro)

“Thank you for your concern.” (Suela)

I pulled over a nearby empty chair and accepted the coffee.

I’ll just ignore the occasional resentful glances.