落とし穴４９堀：しあわせ (Part1)
Pit 49: Happiness
Happiness
Side: Ratz
Today, as with every other day, the executives of Super Ratz are buried in desk work—creating plans, placing orders, handling complaints, and all the other exhausting tasks required to run our stores.
Super Ratz has grown beyond just Weed; it is now considered the premier merchant company on the entire continent.
Well, I’m only selling products from my brother’s homeland, so I can’t exactly claim it’s all due to my own talent. Still, thanks to Super Ratz, we’ve been able to create original products unique to Weed and have had a positive influence on the residents.
They aren't just receiving benefits; they’ve started to feel inspired by them and are beginning to create things of their own.
This is exactly what my brother hoped for.
Lately, things have been quite busy with the situation on the New Continent, but we cannot neglect our work here in Weed. It’s been two years since the founding of Weed, and it’s time for the representatives to rotate, so I’ve been putting a lot of effort into training my successors.
Thanks to that, I’ve been able to leave the company in their hands to accompany my brother to the New Continent or spend time looking after my daughter.
"Yes. You need to redo this."
"Ehh—"
While thinking about such things, I look over the documents submitted to me, only to find them lacking and send them back.
The one who raised her voice in protest is one of my subordinates at the Super Ratz office. She’s a Cat Beastman. She’s the same race as Riel, and she’s actually quite serious and better at calculations than I expected.
She was one of the slaves brought over from Roschur during the first wave, so she’s been in Weed for quite a while.
"I believe I’ve said this every time, but Super Ratz is a state-run store. That means the budget comes from the nation."
"I know that! But what’s wrong with it?"
"Having funds with 'unclear purposes' is unacceptable. Eris would never sign off on this."
"Which part is unclear?"
"Right here. This part."
I point to the budget for new product development. It accounts for 30% of the total.
"But it clearly says 'New Product Development Budget' right there."
"I’m telling you to write it in more detail. A breakdown of the budget. If you don't specify what is being used for what, we wouldn't even know if money was being siphoned off."
"I would never do something like that!"
"People can be tempted by the devil at any time. By keeping things like this strict, we prevent those little moments of weakness."
"Is that how it works?"
"That is how it works. When you become a representative, you’ll be clashing with the accounting department, so you need to be thorough about these things. You’re working hard to become a representative, aren't you?"
Yes, this girl is a candidate to be the next company representative. There are others, but personally, I hope she’s the one who makes it. I’ve seen flashes of brilliance in her management and ideas, and I’m curious to see what the company would look like under her leadership.
"Uuu... I have to clash with accounting? My motivation is suddenly..."
"Don't slack off, get back to work. Calculate the breakdown properly and write it out."
"...Yes."
She trudges back to her desk and starts working on the documents again.
Despite all that, she always gets it done, so there’s no real problem. It’s just that she’s become too accustomed to having me check everything first.
I won't be at the top forever. Eventually, she will be the one in the position of final approval. She’s probably relying on me subconsciously because we’ve worked together for so long.
While thinking about that, I go through the documents, stamping them, or calling over the person who made them if I find something strange. This cycle repeats over and over.
*Bong, bong, bong.*
Time flies; it’s time to end the workday.
"That’s it for the regular shift. Are the evening staff here?"
Super Ratz stays open late into the night, so a shift change happens in the evening. They are mainly there to handle in-store trouble. We make sure there are relief staff for the shop floor as well, so no one working from the morning has to pull a double shift until night. My brother gave strict orders about this, so we enforce it thoroughly.
He told me that in his homeland, overtime was the norm, and people lived lives where they only went home to sleep. I think that’s just wrong. After all, if you do that, when are you supposed to have time to be lovey-dovey?! A life buried in work is unthinkable.
"Representative, everyone is here."
"I see. Then I’ll leave the night shift to you. Please make sure you confirm that the revenue reports from the stores arrive."
"Yes!!"
"Good. Then get to work. Those of you from the morning shift need to clear out, or you’ll be in the way."
"Yes!"
That’s right—I intentionally keep the number of desks low so that the morning and evening members have to swap out properly. It’s a trick to prevent overtime.
Well, I suppose I should head home too.
"See you later."
"Yeah, see you tomorrow."
"What’s for dinner today?"
"Hmm, maybe Hamburg steak?"
"Hey, want to go grab a drink?"
"Oh, sounds good!"
Stepping outside, I hear voices like that coming from all around. I smile slightly at the sight.
"Honestly, my brother works too hard."
He would never admit it himself, but this is clearly an excessive amount of kindness. No, I’m not saying it’s bad. If anything, it just makes me fall for him all over again. But because of it, his burden only continues to grow.
He says that if there’s a problem in Weed, he’ll cut it off if he has to, but he would never actually do that. That’s just the kind of person he is. And that’s exactly why we’re all so head-over-heels for him.
The people in the town don't have faces worried about tomorrow. They just look like people who have finished their day and are thinking about what they’ll do tomorrow. You’d never guess they were once slaves or people scavenging for trash in the slums. Not only that, I don't think it’s an exaggeration to say they live the most affluent lives on this continent.
"It’s strange, though. At first, there was absolutely nothing."
My brother came, built a dungeon, we arrived, a town was formed, and then it became a nation. It’s been a whirlwind. A speed that is unheard of.
For some reason, I was reminded of the old days by how much things have changed. Walking home, I remembered how I argued with Eris and Milly over that building, or how that plaza was filled with the conflicting opinions of Aslin and Firia...
Lost in thought, I realized I was standing in front of the Super Ratz.
"Oh my, am I being sentimental?"
This is the first store. The place where I first had a shop and served as the manager myself. Though, everything was provided for me by my brother.
Now, I’m mostly in the office doing paperwork, only coming by occasionally to stock new products or conduct inspections. Since it’s evening, the store is bustling with people, and the clerks look busy.