Monster Company Tycoon - Chapter 45

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Monster Company Tycoon
Chapter 45
***
After the meeting concluded, I held separate private interviews with two of the monsters.
First, with Slime.
When I requested the interview, the nervous Slime shuffled slowly into my office, his entire body tense.
“H-hello… you called for me, yes?”
When a supervisor suddenly requests a private meeting, anyone tends to panic even if they’ve done nothing wrong.
He was so anxious I half expected him to shrivel up like a raisin.
“Don’t worry—I didn’t call you here for anything bad. Please, have a seat first.”
Even so, he didn’t seem reassured. Slime climbed onto the chair with visible effort, his form sagging.
“How are you finding your work in the Field Team lately?”
“I’m doing my best…”
There was a reason I’d called Slime in separately.
I’d been noticing he seemed increasingly out of place among the field staff.
Luadis’s training methods were designed around limbed creatures, so with a fundamentally different body structure, Slime simply couldn’t keep up properly.
And truthfully, in the strategy I’d devised, Slime wasn’t meant to be a frontline combatant.
His role was to move through secret passages and use his Digestive Acid Spray to harass enemies.
Yes—Slime was a monster far better suited to the Facilities Team than to combat work.
“Would you perhaps like to participate in direct combat like the other field staff members?”
Slime mulled it over, his body quivering as he remained silent for a long moment.
“I’m not sure… I don’t have confidence in myself…”
The lesser goblins and skeletons had trained under Luadis and pushed all their combat skills to D Grade.
Though they hadn’t seen real combat, so their levels remained unchanged, their fundamentals had grown solid.
Slime, by contrast, hadn’t managed the same. Watching his colleagues grow visibly stronger, he’d naturally become discouraged.
“That’s why I’d like to propose a job transfer for you, Slime. Moving you from the Field Team to the Facilities Team. What do you think?”
“Me, sir?”
“Yes. Specifically, I think you’d be a perfect fit for the Physical Trap Division. Your Digestive Acid Spray ability could synergize wonderfully with existing traps in many ways.”
For instance, by obstructing the movements of challengers caught in traps, or making certain terrain slippery to chain with other mechanisms.
The Facilities Team and I would need to discuss the specifics, but at least your abilities wouldn’t go to waste the way they do now.
There was one thing that concerned me, though.
What if Slime still harbored regrets about combat work, and my proposal felt like I was unilaterally reassigning him?
But Slime’s reaction to my words was peculiar.
Fluffy, like soap foam.
Completely different from his drooping demeanor moments before.
‘Is he… happy?’
“Even if not the Physical Trap Division, the Maintenance Division would be fine too. You’ve always handled the cleanup after combat, haven’t you?”
“You… you saw all of that?”
“Of course. Observing staff performance is part of a manager’s duty.”
Slime was remarkably skilled at cleaning and post-combat processing.
While other workers struggled to remove contamination with worn-out cleaning tools, Slime simply absorbed the debris into his body and expelled it outside, leaving the floor spotless.
Large waste he’d swallow entirely, breaking it down on his own.
“Actually, I’ve already mentioned your abilities to the Facilities Team. They seemed very interested in having you.”
“Do you think I could really do well transferring teams?”
“I believe you’d do more than well. Of course, what matters most is what you want. How do you feel? Do you need more time to think it over?”
Slime’s self-confidence had clearly suffered over time.
After just a few words of praise, his body firmed up like freshly made pudding.
“Could I possibly observe first? I’m still not sure if I’d be a good fit for the team.”
“Of course. In fact, the Physical Trap Division members are surveying the 1st Floor right now, assessing the site and calculating costs. How about you observe the work process from the side and help with simple tasks? You’ll also get to know your new colleagues beforehand.”
“Yes! I’ll do that!”
Slime bounced down from his chair.
With an entirely different energy than when he’d entered, he sprang out of the office, his body bouncing cheerfully.
“And next…”
I turned on the screen and called for Alraune.
“Alraune, if you’re not busy, would you come to my office for a moment?”
She was scheduled to oversee the corridor connecting the Third Combat Room to the Boss Room.
Alraune, who’d been discussing soil composition with Brownie, signaled her confirmation and entered my office shortly after.
“What can I do for you?”
This was the difference experience made.
Unlike Slime, who’d nervously rushed in just because the boss had called, Alraune carried an air of calm confidence.
“Ah, I wanted to express my gratitude. I never expected you’d accept my proposal to head the Facilities Team so readily.”
“Since you’ve given my abilities such high regard, I’m honored to accept. And I’ve gotten a salary increase because of it, haven’t I?”
I raised Alraune’s weekly pay by five hundred won more than the other team members.
I couldn’t set the salaries of rank-and-file members and their team leader identically. A team leader simply had to shoulder greater responsibilities and workload.
Of course, Sabira, the Field Team’s captain, was an exception to that principle….
Naming Alraune as team leader wasn’t purely a matter of seniority.
She’d never even held a managerial position at her previous workplace, so I wasn’t prioritizing experience alone.
Her composed and unhurried demeanor during the interview had impressed me, certainly, but there was another detail on her résumé that caught my attention.
Alraune had been laid off from an Instant Dungeon where she’d worked before.
Despite her long tenure, the dungeon’s finances had deteriorated, and most of the non-combat staff were cut.
In her résumé—much like the paperwork Brownie had submitted—there was an additional letter: a reference written by a superior-ranked monster from her previous workplace.
Every line carried the earnest hope that she’d find solid footing in a better position.
She’d discharged her duties faithfully even when the dungeon’s troubles meant months of unpaid wages.
She hadn’t succumbed to the gloomy atmosphere but had taken the initiative to comfort her colleagues.
With such integrity and genuine competence, there was no reason to refuse her.
‘She’s got the kind of generosity a team leader needs, too.’
But what stood out most was the reference’s assessment of safety management.
Alraune had inspected facilities and plants meticulously, catching hazards before they became problems, and had prevented several accidents—large and small—as a result.
The Facilities Team faced inherent high risk of workplace accidents. For a department like that, Alraune was the ideal candidate.
Yet one question lingered.
A monster with sufficient experience and a reference from her previous workplace should have been welcomed at any dungeon.
So why had she submitted her résumé to our barely-launched Hermit’s Dungeon?
The question I’d been too hesitant to ask during the interview finally emerged now.
“I’m curious why you chose to join the Hermit’s Dungeon specifically.”
She answered readily, a faint smile crossing her face as if the question posed no difficulty.
“Just as I nurture plants from seed to cross-pollination with my own hands, I wanted to grow alongside a freshly opened dungeon from the beginning. There’s a certain joy in building something from scratch, isn’t there?”
“I see…?”
“Of course, it also appealed to me that this is a dungeon directly owned by the Demon King, rather than an Instant Dungeon that could vanish at any moment.”
“As the Demon King’s Proxy, it feels odd to say this, but there are dungeons under higher-ranking Demon Kings. I’d think they’d welcome someone with my background too.”
I lowered my voice deliberately, as if to signal that this conversation was between us alone.
“Though I appreciate you seeing something special in me, honestly, with my experience level, it’d be difficult to qualify at another Demon King’s dungeon.”
A practical reason, then.
At our dungeon, she’s top-tier talent. Elsewhere, the competition’s apparently fiercer. That’s a bit enviable, actually.
“And… I haven’t regretted this choice because you appeal to me as well.”
“Me?”
“Yes. You carry a very good energy about you. Even if you’re not a Demon Plant Seedling or a plant itself, you give off the impression of someone who tends growing things exceptionally well. Though we’re different species, I felt an odd kinship from the start—which is why, the moment I met you at the interview, I knew I wanted to work here.”
“That’s certainly not an answer I anticipated.”
“We’ll get along well, I’m sure.”
An aura suggesting aptitude for growing plants, she’d said.
I did manage all the potted plants that came as gifts at my previous company, true enough, but I’d never considered myself particularly talented at it.
In any case, it was reassuring to see that Alraune seemed quite satisfied with her current position.
Maintaining good relations with senior staff was genuinely important.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————