I’m not getting enough.
Not enough of anything.
It’s good that Suella and the others healed me and boosted my mental state, allowing me to work at full capacity, but that doesn’t mean the work will be finished immediately.
“Jiro-, the next document is this one.”
“Son-in-law, please make a decision on this document next.”
Documents, documents, then meetings, and after that, more documents, documents, documents.
I can’t stop stamping my approval on everything I do at high speed.
I flip through documents at speeds far beyond any speed reading, scrutinizing their contents for a split second to decide whether to approve or reject them.
“Keiri-san, what are the details of the expenses for this document?”
“Attachment three.”
“Muil-san, the numbers in this document are off. Please have the person who reported it confirm the numbers and attach more detailed documentation.”
“Understood.”
Furthermore, while confirming, I etch all the data into my memory.
The potion business for dungeon operation.
It’s like starting a business from scratch. We need to secure personnel, secure materials, and coordinate construction schedules.
In addition, we have to prepare documents for the Japanese government and engage in presentations.
It’s a death march with no end in sight.
The arms of the three of us move at such high speed that they leave afterimages as we process documents. Around us, spirits summoned by Keiri-san carry documents and transport them to the assigned departments or bring them back.
“Nnck.”
“Me too.”
“Me too.”
How many bottles have I downed today?
As I gulp down a Magic Potion, two arms are extended toward me.
When I silently place Magic Potions in their hands, they both drink them without a word and return to work.
Potions have become a substitute for energy drinks.
By continuously using Body Reinforcement, we’ve managed to establish a foundation for the dungeon and secure personnel, but that’s all there is to it.
There are still far too many things lacking before we can move forward in earnest.
“…”
Since I said I would do it, I won’t give up until the end. I use not only my hands but also levitation magic to operate multiple PCs simultaneously, creating documents while stamping my approval on others.
If you remove the ‘k’ from ‘desk work,’ it becomes ‘death work’… I try to cheer myself up with a joke, but I realize it’s no laughing matter as I use my entire body to work. It’s an overload due to staff shortages.
I delegate tasks to the available talent, but perhaps it was too much.
Time passes minute by minute.
It’s already been two weeks since this busy period began.
However, I, who am doing the work, know very well that it’s not proceeding according to the schedule.
The delay is still minor, but it’s clear that we won’t be able to catch up at this pace.
In this uncontrolled overrun state, I can’t even afford to slack off.
…What should I do?
I won’t give up, but I definitely need to think of a solution.
I consider having personnel from the First Division transferred, picturing Kaido and the others, but they have their own work, so I can’t just shift their tasks to them.
We are already using Muil-san and Keiri-san’s connections to their fullest.
We’ve also utilized all of Memoria’s family’s trading company connections, Suella’s connections, and Evia’s connections.
Because we have the constraint of credit and trust, there are few people we can use.
If we remove that, we could certainly use more people, but for now, we can’t afford to exclude it, as we want to prioritize the foundation.
I try to find a solution, using any spare mental capacity I have.
I don’t have time for trivial thoughts, but considering a solution isn’t trivial, so I’m giving it my all.
My brain seems to be craving sugar, so I pop a pre-prepared chocolate into my mouth to replenish my energy.
Keiri-san’s spirit brings another document, and as I take it, I suddenly realize something.
“Keiri-san.”
“What?”
I don’t want to lose this realization, so I immediately call out to Keiri-san.
“What rank would that spirit be in terms of strength?”
“In terms of combat power, they aren’t that strong. They are originally messengers, and I have them help with document transport like this.”
What caught my eye were the various spirits who had been carrying documents for me. Spirits of all attributes, acting as Keiri-san’s proxies to transport documents.
Although it was a simple task, it’s a significant help to get even that much off my plate.
“…Let me ask another question. Can higher-ranking spirits do paperwork? Even those called High-ranking Spirits?”
“Haa? What are you saying at such a busy time… You’re not seriously…”
While I was getting desperate, thinking that perhaps the highest-ranking spirits could solve this situation if there were spirits helping with such tasks, I thought it was a brilliant idea.
“You can’t be serious, you. You intend to have High-ranking Spirits help with work!?”
My contracted spirit, Valse.
Her existence spans countless years, making her one of the strong ones in the Spirit World, living for eons beyond our imagination.
It’s hard to believe such a being hasn’t done paperwork.
“…Son-in-law, surely not…”
“No, I’m just asking. We’re desperate right now.”
Muil-san also conveyed through his gaze that it was impossible, but either way, if things continue like this, we’re heading for collapse.
Therefore, we must use any means available, even if it’s just a sliver of hope.
Ignoring their opposing gazes, I continue working and deploy a summoning circle next to me.
“Here I am, summoned, Contractor-san.”
And then, Valse, the Spirit of Time and Space, manifests, fueled by immense magic power.
Unlike us who are busy, she appears with a leisurely atmosphere.
I haven’t summoned my partner snake this time, so it doesn’t consume as much magic power, but even so, I can feel a significant drain on my magic.
But I steel myself, thinking this much is manageable.
“You seem very busy.”
“Literally, I’m on the verge of being worked to death.”
“It’s impressive that you don’t stop working even when you summon me, and you’re even facing me properly, but are you alright? You look pale.”
“It’s nothing. I’ve only slept about three hours this week, so it’s fine.”
“That’s a big problem! You need to rest properly.”
I didn’t summon her just to chat, but we don’t have a relationship where I can just order her to work immediately.
She floats around, nodding as she understands our situation.
“So, I was summoned to help with this work, wasn’t I?”
“Can you?”
Valse-san, having understood the situation, looks at the mountain of documents.
“It’s fine, you know? Actually, this kind of request sounds more interesting than fighting.”
“Eh?”
“What?”
She agrees so readily that Keiri-san and Muil-san’s eyes widen in disbelief, and they stop working.
“This is nostalgic. I used to build dungeons myself a long time ago. The gods threw everything at me, calling it troublesome, and I desperately thought about what to do at that time, facing the other spirits.”
I wonder how many thousands of years ago that was.
Dungeons were supposedly created by the battle between the sun and moon gods… but perhaps spirits were also involved in their construction?
“Oh, you’re doing things in such a roundabout way. If you have the Earth Spirit help with this, it will be done in an instant. And this one, a mid-ranking Water Spirit should be able to handle it easily, so why are you spending so much? And for this, you only need two or three Wind Spirits.”
Then, Valse-san begins to criticize the dungeon we were trying to build. The High-ranking Spirit makes corrections on the official documents with a red pen.
At any other time, I should be angry and ask what she’s doing, but…
“What, such a method exists?”
“No way, it’s true that this way is cheaper and faster.”
“Seriously, if it’s like this…”
The three of us are stunned by the corrections Valse-san made.
Our dungeon construction plan was based on the know-how of past generals.
It was an optimized answer refined through history.
No one doubted it as reference data, and even current generals used it.
Of course, we needed to incorporate our own ideas, but it was still a very important foundation.
And that…
“Ah, this is nostalgic. I worked with the Great Earth Spirit to create the foundation. But why such an inefficient method? While it’s not wrong as a method to secure the dungeon’s size, there’s no need to make it this inefficient. You could just adjust this spell formation like this. It’s evolving in a strange direction, though.”
Valse-san makes corrections with one hand while drinking tea.
Does she realize that her corrections are significantly reducing our workload?
“Hahahaha, our efforts…”
“Please don’t worry. It wasn’t in vain. What we did was not in vain.”
I pretend not to notice the tears welling up in Keiri-san’s eyes as she trembles while looking at the corrections.
I gently offer her a handkerchief and prompt her to wipe her tears, which she quietly accepts.
However, it’s also difficult for me to see my own work being so easily revised.
A windfall.
A silver lining.
There are many ways to put it, but it’s certain that my rash decision to ask Valse-san for help became a turning point.
“Ah! This, this! This spell formation was added because it was interesting with the Water Spirit! It’s nostalgic! But this is actually not very meaningful. The spell formation put in for appearances to annoy the gods has persisted this long.”
To Valse-san, it appears as if she’s checking how her past creations have evolved, but…
“Muil-san.”
“Yes, son-in-law.”
“If researchers in this world heard about this, how would they react?”
I feel like we are witnessing a monumental discovery.
“At best, they’d faint; at worst, many would resign.”
We can only offer a wry smile at the utterly cruel scene.
Stopping work completely, we decide that it would be more efficient to revise the schedule according to Valse-san’s enthusiastic document revisions. We try to forget the efforts of the past two weeks and begin organizing the documents Valse-san has prepared.
“Ah! Did you lose this here?! Why?! It’s an important spell formation! And this too, honestly! What are you doing!”
To an outsider, it might look like Valse-san is designing the dungeon at high speed.
But in reality, no one would imagine that she is making such a significant revision to the history of dungeon construction cultivated by the Demon Lord’s Army.
“Ah, but this spell formation is good. It’s neatly organized. The quality varies by era.”
She points out what’s bad and praises what’s good. Valse-san, who seems to be enjoying tinkering with the dungeon structure, easily surpasses the combined work speed of the three of us, doubling it.
The sight of her correcting the complex and intricate dungeon structural spell formations and creating construction diagrams that meet our demands is…
“Muil-san, thank you. For introducing Valse-san.”
“I never imagined it would turn out like this.”
It’s like a bolt from the blue. I never imagined she could handle administrative work so well.
Today’s Word of Wisdom:
Believing you can only do certain things narrows your perspective.
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