“I’m so bored.”
“If you’re bored, then finish this paperwork instead, Section Chief.”
“Ughh, this is nothing like I imagined. Was leader doing this every single day? More importantly, this isn’t something a popular college girl should be doing.”
This was the scene in the Dungeon Tester’s First Division. A woman, the Section Chief, was groaning with her face buried in the table.
Minami, who was now de facto head of this department, though no official order had been issued, was realizing that imagination and reality were always different.
“If you’re going to say that, then this isn’t the kind of work a high schooler should be doing either.”
Seated in the chair next to her, which belonged to Keiri, a Dark Elf, was a small boy who had developed quite the habit of scowling.
Minami and Katsu. The two, who were openly a couple and had reached their happy ending with the close distance of childhood friends, were currently experiencing what it meant to be a corporate slave earlier than anyone their age.
“Kaido-senpai has also gone to the front lines, so we’re simply short-handed. Our party’s combat strength has been drastically reduced too, and we’re practically closed for business.”
“The dungeon itself has started full-scale operation and has been mobilized for war, so our work has become impossible.”
“It hasn’t completely stopped. There are still a few dungeons that haven’t been deployed.”
“Those dungeons are also on the verge of being deployed.”
Their job, inherited from Jiro, was to test dungeons, a phrase that sounded like something from a game company to the outside world.
However, it had changed from its former self, where they actively worked, to a passive role of referring to past data and submitting improvement proposals.
For Minami, who had entered dungeons, felt the raw atmosphere, and experienced it firsthand, these were incredibly boring days.
“We can’t help it. They need every bit of combat strength they can get.”
She hadn’t actually taken Jiro’s place to do work like this. In fact, after agreeing to the handover, she had been full of motivation to work hard.
The same Minami who had proclaimed, “Working is losing.” Katsu, who knew her past, had even suspected she was feeling unwell due to her overwhelming drive.
“Boo hoo, Kaido-senpai has also gone to the battlefield, and even the testers have no spirit.”
“Well, it’s a war, after all.”
Even if she wanted to channel her motivation, there was almost no work she could do properly right now. The reality that testers couldn’t be invited into the dungeons at the stage of practical implementation was causing Minami stress.
“…Why are they doing something so troublesome?”
“How would I know? I just heard it’s an old grudge.”
“I know that too.”
Those days were fun. There was Jiro, Kaido, Minami, Katsu, Kitamiya, and Amelia.
Time was cruel. Change occurred because it kept flowing. Entangled in that change, things settled into an undesirable form. Minami thought she couldn’t accept it.
“Ugaaaaaaaah!! Ah, I quit! I don’t want these gloomy thoughts anymore…!”
“That sounds like you, Minami.”
“It does! But even as I say it, I feel like getting this worked up isn’t like me at all!”
She wanted to change something, but she didn’t know what to do. Minami stood up abruptly from her seat and started walking.
“Hey, where are you going?”
“On a walk!!”
She just wanted to take out this irritation somewhere. Thinking this, Minami started walking. Katsu watched her.
“Shall I take care of the paperwork?”
Thinking of her who would struggle later, he sat down and diligently got to work. Minami, sighing at the boy’s actions who wouldn’t follow her, turned forward and left the department.
The company building felt quieter than usual. The people weren’t sparse, but there were fewer familiar faces than usual.
“Oh, isn’t that Fuji-ranger? It’s rare to see you all gathered on a weekday.”
As the Section Chief of the First Division, her face was recognized, and as she responded to greetings from various people, Minami walked along, doubting her own identity, wondering if she was really this communicative. Then she spotted a group loitering in front of a vending machine.
The Fuji-ranger, who passionately loved sentai shows, meaning members with the surname Fuji, were all gathered there.
“Oh! Section Chief Shako! Good morning!”
“Good morning. You’re as passionate as ever.”
Noticing them, Minami decided to stop and say hello out of the blue. Kato Enshi, the leader of Fuji-ranger, who was the first to greet Minami, was a former member of the Self-Defense Force, and he displayed a hot-bloodedness that could be described as more than just energetic, but almost stiflingly so.
Minami, feeling slightly overwhelmed, described his personality.
“That’s me!!”
To him, who had a certain level of self-acceptance, it was a compliment. He seemed to have become even more passionately “hot-blooded” since joining this company. Beginning to slightly regret stopping, Minami responded with a superficial “Is that so?”
“By the way, how are those suits you’re using? I’ve been receiving data and reports periodically, but…”
Just to pick up some feedback from the field, she showed a rare burst of enthusiasm.
“I’d love to say they’re perfect! But why can’t we summon combined robots?”
These were enhanced suits supervised by Amili Mazacraft, also known as Kiō. They were colloquially called hero suits. Initially developed as a one-off for Kaido’s personal hobby, it was unexpectedly found to be adaptable, and the budget was approved. Now, the plan had evolved to a point where they were considering dramatic enhancements by having various humanoid species, such as Goblins, Ogres, Demons, and Dark Elves, wear them. This plan, which had repeatedly faltered due to various incidents, had Minami involved from the experimental prototype stage, which was excellent for mass production. Naturally, her connection to Fuji-ranger also stemmed from this.
This connection, fragile yet somehow inseparable, had started as a mere persuasion relationship but had gradually evolved into a long-standing one. Initially, they couldn’t afford the suits to make them, but Amili-san made them the suits under certain conditions. The plan was to collect data and eventually deploy them in dungeons to increase their military strength. They happily participated as test subjects for this purpose. Today, unlike Kaido, they were piloting the latest hero suits, albeit mass-produced versions, and diligently conquering dungeons.
“You can each make them however you like. If you need a hangar, you can apply for one, and we’ll build it properly. You could develop transfer magic circles to the dungeons, for example. I think summoning magic might work.”
Now, they even submitted petitions requesting a “mad scientist” character, enjoying their work to such an extent. Minami had turned down one person from the company’s development department who tried to volunteer, citing their overly mad personality.
“The budget…”
Knowing this background, Minami responded with her usual calm demeanor. Although their eyes sparkled behind her, envisioning the combined robot of their sentai dreams, even she couldn’t justify spending funds on such a romantic notion. Recreating a giant robot capable of challenging dungeons with a Golem and handling boss battles would require considerable materials and budget. Add to that hangar maintenance costs, personnel costs for servicing and repairs, and future updates, and even for them, who earned more than five times the average salary of a typical salaryman, it was an astronomical sum that couldn’t be easily afforded.
“Well, let’s just keep working hard at our pace.”
Anticipating what would surely turn into another passionate presentation, Minami realized this would devolve into a sentai presentation session and patted Kato’s dejected shoulder before leaving. She heard their laments about the budget, but Minami, clarifying her position, continued her aimless walk.
Along the way, she encountered other Dungeon Testers besides Kato’s group. However, since they were from different departments and not particularly close, she didn’t engage in much conversation, often receiving looks of jealousy from testers she didn’t know well. Were fewer testers working today, or were they inside dungeons that weren’t in operation?
“It seems I didn’t have much luck today.”
“What are you doing moping around? Slacking Section Chief.”
“Ah, Karen. Good work at university.”
“You have work too, don’t you?”
“I’ve almost finished all my credits.”
Wondering what to do next, Minami leaned on the handrail overlooking the entrance and gazed into space when a voice called out from below. Looking down, she saw Kitamiya in casual clothes. Kitamiya, with practiced movements, unfolded a magic circle and floated up, landing beside her with Flying Magic.
“So, what about your work? You must have had a lot after taking over from Jiro-san.”
“Taking a break can sometimes improve work efficiency.”
“In other words, you’re slacking off. If you keep doing that, Katsu-kun will get fed up with you.”
“Unfortunately, Katsu and I are very much a couple.”
If it were their past selves, they might have clashed here. But after a certain event turned them into a couple who shared one man, their distance surprisingly closed as if their gears had finally meshed.
“In that case, I’ll go help him where he’s struggling, and you’ll see.”
“Tonight is Karen’s turn, so I’ll be sadly working overtime.”
“Yes, yes, don’t pout, don’t pout.”
Minami found herself comfortable with these kinds of jokes.
“I’m not pouting! I’m just bored. It’s nice to be thought of as important, but sometimes it makes me lonely.”
That’s why she could reveal her true feelings to him, feelings she couldn’t express in front of the man she liked.
“Are you talking about Kaido-senpai?”
“And the leader.”
She was entrusted with this important task, but Minami felt they could have at least asked her to come along as a comrade. She didn’t doubt that they were comrades, but she couldn’t entirely agree with Jiro’s actions.
“You can’t accept it?”
“I understand it too well, which makes me question it. Considering the risks, stress, and other various disadvantages, the only reason we’re going to war is for the satisfaction of a false sense of righteousness.”
However, even so, she couldn’t just throw a tantrum and act on her emotions. Minami, who could separate her thoughts, didn’t approve of that.
“You’re quite blunt.”
“Being blunt is my role. It allows the leaders to fight without worrying about what’s behind them. That’s also a magnificent job.”
She was aware that she was fighting a unique battle here.
Another Side
Today’s Quote: Even when separated, we can fight together.
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Currently, I am serializing another work: Pandora Pandemic Panic. The Pandora’s Box has been opened again, but we are fighting back with various activities at our secret base!! Please check that out as well!!
