Monster Company Tycoon Chapter 45

Chapter 45

 

After the meeting ended, I held separate one-on-one meetings with two of the monsters.

The first was Small Slime.

When I requested a meeting, the nervous-looking Slime slowly squelched its way into my office.

“H-hello… You called for meee?”

When your boss suddenly requests a private meeting, it’s only natural to get scared, even if you haven’t done anything wrong.

Slime was so terribly nervous that I felt like it might shrivel up like a raisin at any moment.

“I didn’t call you here because you’ve done anything wrong, so please relax. Go ahead and have a seat.”

Even after hearing that, Slime didn’t seem entirely convinced. It drooped dejectedly as it struggled to climb onto the chair.

“Mr. Slime, how have things been going for you as a field employee lately?”

“I’ve been doing my best…”

There was a reason I’d called Slime in separately.

Among all the current field employees, I had the impression that Slime was having the hardest time fitting in.

After all, Ruadis’s training methods were designed around creatures with arms and legs. Given that Slime’s body structure was completely different, it was only natural that it would have difficulty keeping up. Besides, even in the strategy I’d originally devised, Slime wasn’t meant to be a frontline combatant.

Its role was to move through secret passages and spray digestive fluid to hinder enemies.

That’s right. Slime was a monster far better suited to the Facilities Team than to a combat position.

“Would you perhaps like to participate directly in combat, like the other field employees?”

Slime squirmed as though deep in thought and remained silent for quite a while.

“I’m not sure… I don’t have much confidence in myself…”

The lesser goblins and skeletons had undergone training under Ruadis, raising all their existing combat skills to Grade D.

Their levels hadn’t changed, presumably because they hadn’t participated in any actual battles, but their fundamentals had certainly become much stronger.

Slime, on the other hand, hadn’t experienced the same growth. It was only natural that seeing its colleagues visibly improve while it remained behind would make it feel discouraged.

“That’s why I’d like to suggest a change of position. You’d be transferring from the Field Team to the Facilities Team. What do you think?”

“M-me?”

“Yes. I think you’d be particularly well suited to the Physical Trap division. Your digestive fluid spraying ability could be combined with existing traps in all sorts of ways.”

For example, it could interfere with the movements of challengers caught in traps or make certain areas slippery to create opportunities for other traps.

I’d have to discuss the specific applications with the Facilities Team, but at the very least, Slime’s abilities wouldn’t go to waste like they were now.

There was just one thing I was worried about.

What if Slime still had some lingering attachment to being a combat employee? Would it feel like I was unilaterally trying to change its position?

However, Slime’s reaction to my suggestion was rather peculiar.

Its body had become all bubbly and fluffy, like shower foam.

It looked completely different from how droopy it had been just moments ago.

‘Is it in a good mood?’

“Even if it’s not the Physical Trap division, the maintenance division would also be a good fit. You always took care of the cleaning after battles, didn’t you?”

“Y-you saw all of that?”

“Of course. It’s part of a manager’s job to keep an eye on how employees perform their duties.”

Slime was quite exceptionally good at cleaning and post-battle cleanup.

While the other employees struggled to remove dirt and grime with their worn-out cleaning tools, Slime could simply absorb all the contaminants into its body and spit them out elsewhere, leaving the floor spotless.

As for larger pieces of trash, it could simply swallow them whole and break them down inside its body.

“Actually, I’ve already told the Facilities Team about your work capabilities. They seemed very pleased with the idea.”

“Do you think I’ll be able to do well even after transferring teams?”

“I think you’ll do just fine. Of course, what’s most important is what you yourself want. What do you think? Would you like some more time to consider it?”

It seemed Slime’s self-esteem had really taken quite a hit lately.

Just a few words of praise were enough to make its body bounce and jiggle like freshly made pudding.

“Would it be possible to observe the team first? I’m still not sure whether I’d fit in with them…”

“Of course. As it happens, the Physical Trap Team members are currently inspecting the first floor and calculating the costs of the work. How about watching their work process from the side and helping them with a few simple tasks? You could also get to know the people you’ll be working with beforehand.”

“Yeees! I’ll do that!”

Slime hopped down from the chair. Then, in a completely different mood from when it had entered, it happily bounced its way out of the office.

“And next…”

I turned on the screen and called Alraune.

“Ms. Alraune, if you’re not too busy, could you come to my office for a moment?”

She was scheduled to take charge of the passageway connecting the third Combat Room to the boss room.

Alraune, who had been discussing soil preparation with Brownie, acknowledged my call, and shortly afterward, she entered the office.

“What can I do for you?”

I suppose this was the difference experience made.

Unlike Slime, who had practically been trembling with fear just because its boss had called it into the office, Alraune seemed completely at ease.

“Oh, I just wanted to thank you. I honestly didn’t expect you to accept my offer to become the Facilities Team leader so readily.”

“You thought highly enough of my abilities to offer me the position, so of course I was happy to accept. Besides, I’m getting paid more thanks to you, aren’t I?”

I’d raised Alraune’s weekly wages by another 500 eon compared to the other team members.

I couldn’t very well pay the team leader the same amount as the other employees. After all, the team leader had more responsibilities and duties to handle.

Of course, Sabira, the leader of Field Team 1, was an exception…

There was more to my decision to appoint Alraune as team leader than simply her years of experience.

In fact, she’d never even held a team leader-level position at her previous workplace, so it wasn’t as though I’d prioritized experience above everything else, either.

I’d certainly liked the calm and composed attitude she’d displayed during the interview, but there was something else on her resume that had caught my attention.

Alraune had been laid off from the Instance Dungeon where she’d previously worked.

Although she’d been a long-term employee, the dungeon’s financial situation had deteriorated, resulting in layoffs that affected most of the workforce except for combat personnel.

Like the Fairy, Alraune had attached an additional document to her resume.

It was a letter of recommendation written by a high-ranking monster from her previous workplace.

Every line seemed to carry the writer’s sincere hope that she would find a good workplace and settle in somewhere new. It mentioned how she had faithfully carried out her duties even when the dungeon’s financial difficulties had resulted in her wages going unpaid for an extended period. It also mentioned how, rather than being swept up in the increasingly hostile atmosphere, she had taken the initiative to comfort and encourage her colleagues.

There was no reason to turn down someone who was not only diligent but also highly capable.

‘She also has the kind of leadership and consideration needed to look after her team.’

What stood out in particular was the assessment of her safety management skills.

Alraune had carefully inspected the condition of the facilities and Plants, identifying potential hazards in advance. Thanks to her, she had prevented numerous accidents, both major and minor.

Given the nature of the Facilities Team’s work, the risk of workplace accidents was inevitably high. There couldn’t have been a better candidate than Alraune to take charge of such a department.

However, there was one thing I couldn’t quite understand.

With her experience and even a recommendation letter from her previous workplace, she should have been able to receive decent treatment at just about any dungeon.

‘So why had she submitted her resume to our newly established dungeon of all places?’

In the end, I finally brought up the question I’d been unable to ask during the interview.

“I’m curious why you chose our Hermit’s Dungeon, Ms. Alraune.”

She gave a gentle smile and answered immediately, as though it weren’t a particularly difficult question.

“Just as I raise my Plants myself, starting from sowing seeds all the way to crossbreeding them, I wanted to grow together with a newly opened dungeon from the very beginning. There’s something enjoyable about building something up, one step at a time, isn’t there?”

“Ah…?”

“Of course, I also liked the fact that this is a dungeon directly owned by the Demon King, rather than an Instance Dungeon that could disappear at any moment.”

“I feel a little awkward saying this as the Demon King’s representative, but there are also dungeons owned by Demon Kings of higher ranks than ours. I’m sure they would welcome you just as warmly.”

I deliberately lowered my voice as I asked, as though this conversation were supposed to remain a secret between the two of us.

“I’m grateful that you think so highly of me, Dungeon Keeper, but honestly, with my level of experience, it would be difficult for me to get accepted into the dungeons of other Demon Kings.”

‘So it was a practical reason after all.’

She was an ace-level experienced hire in our dungeon, but in other dungeons, there were probably plenty of monsters just as capable as her, right? That was a little enviable.

“And besides… I also liked you, Dungeon Keeper, so I have no regrets.”

“Me?”

“Yes. You have such a wonderful aura about you. Even if you aren’t a Demon Plant or a Plant, you seem to have the kind of aura that would make you exceptionally good at growing plants. Although we’re different species, I felt a strange sense of kinship with you. The moment I first met you during the interview, I knew I wanted to work here.”

“That’s an answer I really wasn’t expecting.”

“I’m sure we’ll get along wonderfully.”

‘An aura that made me seem good at growing plants.

I’d certainly been the one responsible for taking care of all the potted plants that had been given to my previous company as gifts, but I’d never particularly thought of myself as having any talent for it.

In any case, I was glad that Alraune seemed quite satisfied with her current workplace.

Maintaining good relationships with employees in team leader positions was really important, after all.