Otherworld Company Chapter 8.1: I Think it Takes at Least a Year to Learn a Job, Don’t You?

Jiro Tanaka: 28 years old – Single – No Girlfriend – Occupation: Dungeon Tester (Regular Employee)

Magical Aptitude: Eight (General Class)

It’s been a week since I first entered the dungeon, and I haven’t been near that area since then, trying to improve my status by steadily expanding my map.

I’ve improved my status many times since then, and it’s always nice to see the results of my efforts.

I don’t know if the amount of improvement is too much or too little, since I don’t have anyone to compare it with, but I’m satisfied with the current situation.

The results of my efforts over the past week have boosted my status, and I’m starting to feel comfortable with Wood Kids, Small Puppets, Wood Puppets, and Mannequins.

The more room I have, the less I have to spend, and the more efficient I become, the more profit I make.

I am happy, but not everything is going well.

I haven’t found any companions or party members, which is the key issue.

The problem I felt so acutely when I dealt with the Wood Golem and Wood Puppet Blood back then has not been solved at all.

It seemed that all the members had already decided on their fixed members, making it difficult for me to ask them to join my party.

The generation gap between us may have been more serious than I thought.

By the way, it was Monday, so I came to see Suela to submit my weekly report that I finished on the weekend, but I wonder if it is because it’s a Monday after the holidays or if there is another reason. I don’t know why, but it looks like she’s not feeling well.

“Huh.” (Suela)

However, I realize that a beautiful woman can also be beautiful when she sighs.

I approach the sorrowful Suela to greet her.

“Good morning Suela.” (Jiro)

“Good morning, Mr. Jiro.” (Suela)

As I have my report in one hand, my purpose is immediately conveyed to her and she accepts the document, which Suela quickly looks over on the spot.

“There are no problems, thank you for your hard work. Please keep up the good work.” (Suela)

Normally, I would have no problem walking away since the paperwork was done, but I was curious about what had just happened.

“Did you work yesterday?” (Jiro)

Maybe this is why I didn’t walk away, but instead stayed there and tried to chat with her.

“Yes, well, that’s right.” (Suela)

“It’s hard to go to work during holidays, right?” (Jiro)

What a crisp response.

I wondered if it was too difficult to say, or if the instructors had been reckless.

But I couldn’t feel the sense of urgency that I had felt at that time.

“As a rule of thumb, if you work too hard, you’ll only get trapped and depressed, so please don’t overdo it.” (Jiro)

“Thank you for your concern, I’ll be fine, I’ll be leaving early today.” (Suela)

She was smiling.

I don’t know what’s behind her smile, but as long as she’s smiling, she’s probably okay.

Humans can no longer laugh when driven to the corner.

There was a possibility that he might be faking it, so I decided to find out what was behind the smile.

“Well, I’ll help you if I can.” (Jiro)

“That would be great, then I’ll ask you to do something for me next time.” (Suela)

Those words were from the bottom of my heart. Still, I wanted to raise her approval of me using conversations. However, I was still a little worried that I was poking around in the bushes, but I said goodbye to Suela for now and left her office.

“So? Do you have any idea what’s going on?” (Jiro)

“Don’t you see that?” (Shopkeeper)

I went to the general store to sell the loot from last week and talk about Suela’s lack of energy after working on her day off.

I tried to bring it up to the vampire shopkeeper, Memoria, who had been chatting with me in the past week, but I didn’t get a direct answer.

I know this because I always come here to replenish my supplies before entering a dungeon, but the place is still deserted.

Memoria, who carefully identifies the marble-sized gems and magic stones at the counter inside the store, looks through the loupe and replies without looking at me, as usual. [T/N: A loupe is the eyepiece jeweler’s use when looking at precious jewels and such.]

“I don’t know, that’s why I’m asking.” (Jiro)

“Given the current state of this store, the answer should come out naturally.” (Shopkeeper => Memoria)

“What do you mean by “answer”? I’m the only customer here, and the place is deserted.” (Jiro)

“I’m just saying that’s the answer.” (Memoria)

Perhaps since the appraisal was over, Memoria approached me with a quote written using a fountain pen.

“Are you fine with the total of 5,040 yen?” (Memoria)

“It’s an amount that doesn’t even reach 900 yen per hour… So, the answer is about shops having no customers other than me and the almost deserted state of the area?” (Jiro)

It seems that people who earn this amount at the beginning are considered earning, but since 60% of this amount will disappear to buy consumables, I don’t feel like I was making money.

“Both.” (Memoria)

“Both… no, I don’t understand anything at all.” (Jiro)

When I received the money, I went shopping for items in the store’s basket in hand. Memoria came along behind me as she organized the shelves.

After all this time, isn’t it unusual to see an ordinary glasses-wearing vampire clerk in a black work apron, white shirt, and slacks?

It doesn’t matter now.

“It’s simple enough to figure out. It’s quiet, there are no customers. In other words, there are fewer testers.” (Memoria)

“… Is the number of testers decreasing?” (Jiro)

“You got it.” (Memoria)

The only people who use this store are the regular testers.

And I’m the only customer. Maybe it’s the time of day, but I’ve only run into a few other testers in this store.

I don’t think I’ve seen any other testers on the weekends, either.

“It seems that the job is harder than I thought, or maybe in this case than anticipated, and a lot of people can’t continue and leave. I’ve heard that there are a lot of people like that.” (Jiro)

Finally, the conversation reached a conclusion.

They say that bad premonitions often come true.

As if to confirm my prediction, Memoria replied in affirmation.

The point is that a lot of testers quit because the work was too hard and it wasn’t as interesting as they thought.

This company is special.

Perhaps it is because they run their business in such a way that it cannot be disclosed to the public, but they manage their information very carefully.

In other words, even when they leave the company, they are not allowed to leak even the most general information to the outside world.

Suela’s department must have been working on holidays to deal with this.

“I guess the same thing happens when you live in a fantasy world.” (Jiro)

“It would be like throwing your life away, which is unthinkable here.” (Memoria)

Most of the time, it’s the people left behind who are inconvenienced by quitting their jobs for selfish reasons.

Even if it’s for personal reasons, the difference between acceptable and unacceptable reasons has a great deal to do with the mental exhaustion of the person who is handling the situation.

Therefore, the trouble and the overflow of cussing came out.

“If you cuss, it’s better to say it more clearly.” (Memoria)

“There will be no cussing, or at least it will be in a private place.” (Jiro)

“Because I’m a vampire.” (Memoria)

“It has nothing to do with you being a vampire.” (Jiro)

She told me to cuss to instigate rather than reprove me. Probably the reason was that the excuse used was unique to her race. She burst into a peal of angry laughter and her rage like a boiled pot that became lukewarm.

Her anger itself remained, but she is no longer furious.

“It seems that one of the testers who quit went AWOL and was never heard from again. Thanks to this, the emergency response team has been dispatched and the HR department has been up all night.” (Memoria)

The vampire clerk next to me, however, threw a new hot stone into the pot.

“In addition, it seems that they are planning to increase the number of employees due to the decrease in staff, so the HR department will be working overtime for a while.” (Memoria)

“Wait.” (Jiro)

“Yes?” (Memoria)

“How does a store clerk know so much about what goes on behind the scenes?” (Jiro)

“A drunken dark elf from the HR department mistook our place for a tavern and started complaining about it?” (Memoria)

“Fantasyyyyy!” (Jiro)

I’m going to say it one more time because it’s important.

“Fantasy, do your job!” (Jiro)

The anger I had felt earlier was nowhere to be seen, and instead, I could imagine Suela at the counter of a pub, complaining about her boss and her job.

A company employee, completely drunk and crushed on the counter with a mid-sized mug in her hand.

I don’t know how you feel, but don’t go to the wrong place.

With a shopping cart in one hand and a headache in the other, I confirmed my concerns with Memoria, who was suddenly questioning me for saying something so strange.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, it’s just that my reality is a little shattered. So, this dark elf…” (Jiro)

“Huh, that’s a big deal. The dark elf, you ask? It was a man, so I don’t think he’s who you think he is.” (Memoria)

Apparently, I wasn’t as worried as I thought I was.

As expected, I would like to avoid that kind of image-shattering situation.

“Well, that’s good, then.” (Jiro)

But the fact remains that she has a lot of work to do.

“Shall I bring her some refreshments?” (Jiro)

“Please pay the items before that.” (Memoria)

I know, okay.

So don’t look at me and don’t hold out your hand.

I know how much it costs, so I’ll just give the four thousand yen!