This company’s industry is quite unique compared to others.
In modern society, an industry aimed at clearing dungeons is virtually unheard of, except perhaps in virtual electronic worlds, like games, where advertising revenue is earned through debugging or “completion” videos.
Furthermore, this line of work is an unprecedented attempt even within the Demon Lord’s Army of another world. Having no precedent, there are bound to be many difficulties.
Perhaps pioneers are praised because they alleviate those hardships.
“A Super Sentai hero, huh.”
“Yes!”
The probability of a Super Sentai hero appearing in such a specialized field is even lower, isn’t it?
I thought this while watching him stand at attention before me.
His well-trained physique was evident even through his clothes.
His core was trained, and his posture was so perfectly straight that I wondered if perhaps he…
“Could it be that you’re from the Self-Defense Force?”
“How did you know!?”
“No, I just thought that an ordinary person wouldn’t be able to stand up so straight. It’s nothing special.”
Judging by his age, he’s in his early twenties.
He had an aura that suggested he’d trained in sports or martial arts, but there was a certain incongruity to it.
“This guy, even though he graduated from the National Defense Academy, saw this company’s flyer and just quit! They said he was a potential executive, and his future was secure. What a waste.”
I made a guess based half on intuition, and it turned out to be accurate. Kato blushed and scratched his head, surprised and perhaps flattered by my compliment. Goto, slinging his left arm around Kato’s shoulders and pointing at his face with his right hand, recounted how Kato joined the company.
“I see, and you’re also from the Self-Defense Force? You seem to be quite well-trained.”
“No, I’m not. I was a heavyweight boxer, you know. I had some pretty good results? I was close to becoming the Japan champion, but I felt like it wasn’t for me, so I was invited to join En-shi and ended up here.”
When I asked Goto if he was also a colleague, another person with a unique background emerged.
“Shigeo is amazing, isn’t he? I heard a famous trainer from America even invited him.”
“Hmph, I just felt like I shouldn’t be using both my fists here. If I say that, then you too, Rie, right?”
We listened to their stories with a bit of excitement, wondering what kind of background would follow the Self-Defense Force and boxing.
“I’m just ordinary. A fortune teller, like any other.”
“Um, Rie-chan, wasn’t that you in a magazine? And didn’t you have an offer to become a private fortune teller for some wealthy individual? So, I don’t think calling yourself ordinary is appropriate.”
“It’s fine! Ordinary means ordinary! If I say I’m ordinary, then I’m ordinary! I’m tired of listening to people’s complaints or sugarcoating things because I can’t see their ideal future! From now on, fortune-telling is just a hobby! That’s fine!”
And so, another転職 from a unique profession. A fortune teller, possibly renowned enough to be featured in magazines, had surprisingly switched to a combat role. As a former corporate slave, I could deeply relate to the feeling of disliking one’s previous job. However, I was curious as to why she joined our physically-oriented company. I could understand it for Kato and Goto, given their careers. But she was different.
“I wonder why a fortune teller joined this company? Normally, there would be other professions, wouldn’t there? Minami, do you know?”
“How would I know?”
Someone else, besides me, had the same question. Minami and Kitamiya voiced their doubts.
“Oh, there’s no special reason, is there? It was just because these two were joining, so I thought I would too.”
“Your reason is so trivial!”
“If you just keep looking at the future, you’ll somehow manage, right?”
It seemed Ito heard this and gave a lighthearted, unconcerned answer. Our company doesn’t pay much attention to the reason for employment if you have talent. Well, we’ve had a string of unusual professions, but I thought we might be running out of them.
“F-f-f, Mr. Tanaka, do you think we’re running out of interesting professions?”
“Can fortune tellers read people’s thoughts?”
“Who knows? I don’t know about other fortune tellers, but I can vaguely tell. But that’s not the point, it’s not just us with unusual career histories. Come on, Kanae, you tell them about your previous job too.”
“It’s fine, really, my previous job…”
But Ito insisted we weren’t out of interesting people yet. With a hidden mischievous grin, Ito leaned on Sato’s right shoulder and urged her to reveal her previous profession. Was it a profession she was so confident about that it would impress us? Was it that impressive? The same question arose in all our minds.
“Nothing to hide, Kanae was a detective!!”
“Oh?”
“A detective, huh.”
“That’s right, the one they call the Grim Reaper.”
“No, Minami, I don’t think that’s it.”
“Huh? Isn’t it?”
“It’s not, Amī.”
And as expected, the hurdle raised was not cleared. Our reactions were lukewarm, contrary to Ito’s confident introduction. A detective – it might sound impressive if you heard it in isolation, but with such a collection of oddballs, it lessened the impact.
“Wow~ I flopped, Kanae. What should I do?”
“Don’t say I flopped, Rie-chan. This is why I didn’t want to say it.”
“Sorry, sorry. If you think about it normally, becoming a detective is a great thing, right?”
Then, I apologized to Sato, who was slightly embarrassed by our ordinary reaction. I don’t know the specifics of how one becomes a detective, but I’ve heard they get involved in all sorts of trouble due to the nature of their work. Considering the experiences she must have had, it seemed quite impressive.
“No, I just liked mystery novels and that’s why I went into that field, so it’s nothing special.”
“Judo 3rd dan.”
“Karate 4th dan.”
“Aikido 2nd dan.”
“Kendo 3rd dan.”
“Naginatajutsu.”
“Kyudo.”
“What else did I do?”
“You did Taekwondo too, right?”
“Um, and Muay Thai and knife fighting.”
“I taught you the Self-Defense Force’s martial arts too.”
“I also taught you boxing.”
“And to strengthen my body, I also did yoga. After learning all this, you say it’s not impressive, Kanae, are you serious?”
“I run a half-marathon every morning, you know.”
“Um…”
Yes, a person with quite an impressive background has appeared. The one who seemed the most gentle and sensible turned out to have the most unexpected background. Kato, Goto, Ito, and then Endo revealed Kanae’s learned martial arts and combat techniques one by one. It’s hard to imagine how many skills she has acquired by the age of around twenty. After a few seconds of thought, she seemed a bit embarrassed by her friends’ revelations.
“It’s nothing special?”
“LIES!!”
She tried to dismiss it with modesty, but Kaido, Minami, and Amelia refuted her. It’s true that excessive humility sounds sarcastic, but conversely, when you’re this impressive, it’s hard to know what to say. It’s likely she acquired these skills to survive in the kind of situations depicted in mystery novels and manga. It feels like something that would be perfectly applicable in this company, reaching such a stage in mystery novels.
“She’s promising.”
“Indeed.”
As evidence of this, Kitamiya and Katsu genuinely praised her efforts. I, too, inwardly wondered if she wasn’t more promising than Ishan, who is known for his high Magic Aptitude. And finally, it was Endo’s turn. The bar was being raised progressively. Sato had cleared it admirably. Naturally, the expectation would fall on Endo.
“No, it’s not that impressive of a job I had.”
Blushing under our gazes, Endo’s cheeks reddened.
“No, no, you don’t have to be modest again!”
“That’s right! With the way things have gone, that line is practically a setup.”
Kaido and Minami jumped on his attitude, raising the bar further.
“Hep!?”
“Stop it, you two.”
“That’s right.”
And so, Kitamiya and Katsu delivered a Chop to their heads, apologizing to Endo afterward.
“I’m sorry about those two.”
“My apologies.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay!! Truly, compared to the other four, I haven’t done anything special.”
“No, in a way, Ken might be the most amazing among us.”
“That’s right. After all, he’s the world’s number one.”
“Well, I’m just a fortune teller who was featured in a weekly magazine.”
“If you’re going to say that, then I was just a detective who never made a name for herself.”
It seemed like the conversation was heading in a direction where it wouldn’t be necessary to say anything, but I never expected my friends Kato and the others to try to steer it towards me. All eyes turned to Endo again. Self-Defense Force, boxer, fortune teller, detective. What profession would he, among such colorful individuals, have?
“Um, I was a professional gamer. I won the world championship several times.”
“Thirteen times, right?”
“Fighting games, FPS, puzzle games – he conquered them all.”
“Isn’t he stronger than you, Minami?”
“Oh? You wanna go? If it’s my domain, I have no intention of losing? …Can I use enhancement magic?”
“You’re planning to use doping from the start?”
And so, a professional gamer emerged. Hearing this, I thought, “Seriously?” Kitamiya teased Minami, and Minami, taking the bait, challenged Endo, but it dawned on him that he was up against the world’s best. Realizing the odds were against him, he considered using physical enhancements. The surrounding people laughed at his sudden change of heart, but I was beyond that. What kind of fate brought us together? I couldn’t hide my inner surprise. It’s common for people in similar professions to gather, but is this an ideal composition?
For example, baseball is a good analogy. Nine baseball fans gather to play baseball. But will all of them be perfectly suited for different positions? The possibility is extremely low. The pitcher position might overlap, or the third baseman. Some compromise would be inevitable. However, what about the party before me? Kato, a combat veteran, potential Self-Defense Force executive, and commander-type. Goto, a combat veteran and former boxer, suited for the front lines. Ito, a fortune teller with keen observation skills and foresight, suited for a mage role. Sato, an all-rounder, with the observational skills of a detective and the meticulousness of a mystery novel enthusiast. And Endo, who can adapt to the unusual environment of this otherworld, which the previous four lack. It’s a remarkably well-balanced combination. The outcome will greatly depend on what roles each person takes, but there are no apparent weaknesses at the moment.
“Haha, we can’t afford to be complacent either.”
“Hm? Did Jiro-san say something?”
“No, just talking to myself.”
Kato and the others, who had come to scold us for our earlier behavior, were soon caught up in the lively atmosphere. I was reminded that Ishan, Benny, and our junior, Katagiri, had also gathered such people.
“Ah, by the way, Mr. Tanaka, you came here with some purpose, right? I thought you seemed to be looking for us.”
Kato, as if to bring back the flowing mood, noticed this and addressed me.
“Yes, it’s about the conference room. There might be a reason why Kaido was so keen on that suit, but you should be mindful of TPO. I came to tell you that. You’d understand if you were in the Self-Defense Force, right? This company also has discipline.”
“Yes, I’m sorry about that time. I got overly enthusiastic seeing Kaido’s equipment. I’m truly sorry.”
When I conveyed the original purpose, Kato, perhaps knowing what I meant, seemed to be reflecting and bowed his head to us. Goto and the others followed suit.
“No, it’s fine as long as you learn your lesson. If you use it next time, I have nothing more to say.”
I had worried they might get carried away after being marked with a Magic Crest, but it turned out to be a needless concern. Whether it’s their original personality or due to their Self-Defense Force training, they are straightforward and serious individuals. However, being too straightforward might be their only flaw. Accepting Kato’s final apology, I changed the subject.
“By the way, Kato, can I ask you something?”
“Yes, what is it?”
“No, I was just curious, and I think the others are too.”
“Yes.”
“How did you guys meet? You didn’t meet at the company, did you?”
Indeed, I couldn’t imagine such a group of unique individuals happening to meet so perfectly within the company.
“We’ve known each other for about two years. We met through an SNS related to Super Sentai, since we all like it.”
I assumed there was some connection.
“I found this company’s flyer and thought it would be interesting, so I showed it to everyone. They could all see it and became enthusiastic about this opportunity.”
“Drunk at the time, too.”
“But it didn’t feel bad. It was a chance to truly change myself.”
“Yes, I was also wondering if this job was the right fit for me.”
“My mother was always scolding me, asking how long I would just play games.”
It’s funny how such coincidences happen. Everyone has their own reason, but these coincidences brought them together to appear here.
“Even so, was there a reason to give up your path as a potential executive and join us?”
“What are you saying, Mr. Tanaka?”
“?”
The man who brought this group together…
“Isn’t it standard for magic to involve transformation? If you like heroes, you should use that to realize your dreams!!”
He was just a tokusatsu fan. And like attracts like. Seeing the other members nod in agreement, I couldn’t help but find it amusing.
Today’s Word: SNS is amazing
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*The first volume of the novel has been published by Hayakawa Bunko JA. It was released on October 18, 2018. The ebook version was released on October 31st of the same year. The second volume was released on December 19th. The third volume was released on February 20, 2019. The content has been revised and expanded from the version posted on Shousetsuka ni Narou, with additional unpublished interlude chapters included. Please check out the new releases!*
*A comic adaptation is being serialized in Kodansha’s “Young Magazine The Third.” We hope you enjoy that as well.*
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