“Alright, everyone, let’s do our best today~”
“Yes!”
Magirema-san’s restaurant is running smoothly.
It seems that her cooking is not only wonderful for the demons but for various races as well.
Even that jerk Germi praised it! He’s a member of the royal family, arrogant, and the kind of guy who tried to destroy both Lady Fiona’s and my dungeon, yet even he praised Magirema-san’s cooking skills. That proves without a doubt that her culinary skills are top-notch.
“Yes, Kazama-kun.”
“Yes, Sera-chan.”
“Yes, Hara-chan.”
The dishes are prepared one after another and handed over to the former employees of the dwarf dungeon that Germi had destroyed.
It seems like Kazama and the others are suited for this kind of service work.
They handle everything without a hitch, and I can rely on them.
“Well then, I guess I shouldn’t interrupt and should head back.”
I came to check on the restaurant, but everything seems to be running just fine.
Magirema-san seems capable of cooking alone, and the reincarnated individuals, dwarves, and halflings are working hard, so it doesn’t seem like there’s a shortage of staff.
Apparently, one of the dwarves tried to drink alcohol and got scolded by Magirema-san, but there’s no sign of that happening now.
It’s probably the same dwarf, working nervously under Magirema-san’s watch—he must have been really scared.
“Oh, Rey-san! Sorry, could you come back later?”
“Ah, sure. I’ll come by when things settle down.”
As I turn to leave, Kazama calls out to me.
Since he looks busy, I just let him know I’ll return later, and he bows before heading back to his duties.
◇
“What’s going on? Was the sudden change in tasks a problem?”
“No, we’re perfectly fine.”
“Actually, our part-time job experience from our original world is being put to good use here…”
“I feel like this job suits me better, to be honest.”
Well, that’s good. I was worried that they might have some concerns since I had made them take on a lot, but it seems that’s not the case.
But now, I wonder if there’s something else—could this be about requesting time off?
“Actually… it’s about Karl-san.”
“Karl? That dwarf seems to handle his work quite well, despite not being great at customer service.”
He’s not very good at customer service, but he’s been doing his best, and to my surprise, he’s quite skilled.
Before Kazama and the others arrived, he even took care of the store alone.
“Yes. Karl-san can be gruff, but he’s actually good at customer service too.”
“So, is there another issue?”
“Yes! I think it’s a waste not to use Karl-san for stonework! He truly shines when it comes to stone processing!”
“Ah… I see what you mean.”
They passionately plead with me, but I had the same thought.
Karl is good at customer service, but his skill in stone processing is exceptional, and right now, he’s irreplaceable.
Though Kazama is his disciple, expecting him to perform as well as Karl right away would be unreasonable.
“Until now, we’ve been handling customer service, and Karl-san has been doing the stone processing. But now that the mining area is gone and there’s no influx of ores or magic stones, Karl-san is focusing on serving…”
It’s good that he’s not giving up and is working in the service role, but I do feel like we’re wasting his potential.
Right, I should probably think about reviving the mining operations to get the magic stones processed again, which would also help Lady Fiona with her magic supply.
“Could you tell Karl and the dwarves who used to be in charge of mining that we might be reopening the mines and getting them back to their original tasks?”
“Thank you!”
“Ah, but… if we reduce too many people, we might have a shortage of staff here.”
“We’ll do our best to make up for it!”
“Yeah, it’s for Takemi, after all!”
“Arata, and also Yuka…”
Ah, they’ve entered their own world now.
But before I let them continue, I have to say one more thing.
“Don’t push yourselves too hard. If the workload becomes too much, let me know right away.”
It seems they understood. Alright, I’ll leave them to it.
I’ll report to Lady Fiona first, then find a place to rebuild the mining area.
“Why is it that the Demon Lord’s army gets better treatment, I wonder?”
“They’re telling us not to work more, but not to overwork either.”
“I guess it’s a reminder not to judge by species alone. Not just Karl, but Halfling Lopez, Beastman Tokito, and Okui—they’re all good people.”
“Well, most of them were originally human…”
“…Karl-san is a good person, though.”
“He’s not human, he’s a dwarf.”
“…I guess the point is, we shouldn’t judge people just by their species.”
◇
A few days later, I captured some suitable employees from other dungeons and increased the staff at Magirema’s restaurant.
The mining site was completed, and several dwarves were already working there.
Finally, I was able to deliver ores and gems to Karl.
“Sorry… for all of this.”
“Karl’s skills are excellent. It’s a waste to leave them unused. Kazama said that, and I agree.”
“Takemi, you…”
“Master is an excellent stone craftsman!”
It feels like a bond is starting to form between master and disciple.
“Seriously, my disciple is this motivated, but I gave up too soon… I’m getting old.”
“For now, we’ll prioritize processing magic stones. I’ll also pass along gems and ores. By the way, I brought back the stones you said were unlikely to be used. You can have them for Kazama’s practice.”
“Rey-san…”
If Kazama becomes an excellent disciple, it’ll help us out as well. If we can use them instead of throwing them away, it’s all the better.
“By the way, Karl, you also worked with ores, right?”
“Y-yes. Since we never had access to magic stones or gems before, working with ores was the main job.”
“Did you use them to craft or enhance equipment?”
“That’s right. Those of us with skills had people come by often, so I would forge the equipment they liked.”
So, he only enhanced the equipment of those he recognized. Sounds like an NPC character who might have a connection to the protagonist.
In that case, maybe I could do something with the Demon Lord Army’s equipment.
“Can you strengthen Lipianem’s equipment?”
“Yes, of course. I’ll make sure to improve its sharpness.”
“I see, that’s what I thought.”
“U-uh, were you dissatisfied?”
“No, it’s just that… is there any way to reduce the destructive power overall?”
“Ah… so that’s what you meant.”
It seems Karl understood what I was trying to say. He’s witnessed the destructive traces of Lipianem’s storm-like power firsthand.
“I’m sorry, but… I can’t control that power with just the sword’s processing…”
“Yeah, I figured.”
“How about making it sturdier and heavier? It might slow down the movement.”
“Can you try that?”
It’s worth a shot. If it doesn’t work, no harm done. Karl gave a slight smile, enough to break his usual stern face. That means it was a request that made no sense.
I feel bad about using Karl’s skill for this, though.
◇
“Rey-dono! The weight has increased, but thanks to that, the destructive power has risen!”
“I see, that’s good…”
Ah, I’m an idiot. Karl’s an idiot.
If I increase the weight, the destructive power will increase just from the added weight…
Later, after realizing this, Karl proposed that Lipianem’s weapon should be returned to its original state.
◆
‘………’
‘………’
‘………Sigh, how long are you planning to stay there?’
“Seriously!? I had to wait this long!? How stubborn is this dwarf!”
It took 20 minutes in real time for the protagonists to get to talk to Karl.
‘Just so you know, I’m not going to lend my equipment to just anyone, and I won’t recognize young punks like you so easily.’
“Must be nice! Acting like a lord and running your shop like that!”
“If you’re that good, then I guess you really are useful for equipment enhancement!”
‘Go home. I’m not going to strengthen your equipment.’
“Stubborn old man!”
“Is this a flag… or is it just about level?”
“Could be about the progress of the story.”
They couldn’t do anything more and reluctantly moved on.
After purchasing weapons at a different place, leveling them up, and continuing to battle the Demon Lord Army, the time finally came.
‘You again? You’re really into this, huh? Fine, I’ll take a look at your equipment if you want.’
“He’s softening up!!”
“In the end, I still don’t know which part was the flag.”
“This is how strategy guides end up full of unreliable information…”
They’re not even sure if they can replicate it themselves.
But at last, the dwarf recognized their efforts, and his skills were genuine.
When they tried strengthening their current weapons, they were amazed by the increase in stats.
“What’s this!? Karl-san must be a cheat!”
“With this, the Four Heavenly Kings’ defeat is in sight…”
“If Karl-san weren’t here, we would have had to level up so much.”
“But is this okay? We’re enhancing our weapons as much as we want, even though we’re trying not to level up too much.”
“Idiot! Karl-san acknowledged us!”
“Well, if you’re okay with it, then fine…”
With their drastically improved stats, they swept through the Demon Lord Army.
Their victorious rampage continued until they were crushed by Primilla , one of the Four Heavenly Kings.
