At the foot of Village Five stands the factory that produces the Tracking Cargo Carts.
For some time now, Loo, Tier, and the mountain elves have been working hard to introduce golems into its production process.
Yesterday, I received word that the golem integration had finally been completed, so I decided to go see it for myself.
-0-
A golem that produces parts.
A golem that transports the completed parts.
A golem that assembles those parts into predetermined subassemblies.
A golem that checks whether the assembled parts have been put together correctly.
A golem that neatly aligns the assembled parts.
A golem that installs the assembled parts.
A golem that neatly arranges the completed assemblies after the parts have been attached.
Golems of all kinds of shapes moved with perfect discipline.
Meanwhile, the Tracking Cargo Carts gradually took shape as they moved along the conveyor.
Amazing.
It was an automated factory.
「Our current production capacity is ten wagons per day」
The mountain elves told me proudly.
The equipment itself could produce even more, but they were concerned about securing enough materials.
「Every single component has to have its materials available」
That makes sense.
「What we especially wanted to show you are the golem that aligns the assembled parts and the golem that neatly arranges the completed assemblies after the parts have been installed. Until we came up with the idea of placing these golems here, misaligned parts kept causing problems throughout the entire production line. Their work may not look impressive, but they play an essential role」
I-I see.
「Also, while it is not directly related to producing the Tracking Cargo Carts, we have a golem that cleans up trash」
That would be the one that has been crawling across the floor this whole time, looking like a broom and dustpan combined into one.
「Teaching it the area it should clean was the difficult part. Who knows how many golems disappeared before we finally got it working properly」
They disappeared?
「They did. Three of them are still missing」
Could they have been stolen?
「I do not think so. If a golem moves too far away from the reference pillars installed throughout the factory, it automatically shuts down and triggers an alarm」
Then they must still be cleaning somewhere inside the factory.
「I hope we can find them soon」
Y-Yeah.
After that, while sharing stories about the difficulties they had faced, the mountain elves introduced me to all the different golems working throughout the factory.
「It really was a lot of hard work」
But you enjoyed it, didn’t you?
「Of course! Watching all the mechanisms work together in sequence is so much fun!」
That is good to hear.
-0-
By the way…
「What is it? Loo-san and Tier-san are sleeping like the dead, you know?」
I know that.
That is not what I meant. What is that small factory over there?
I had visited the Tracking Cargo Cart factory several times before the golems were introduced.
But I do not remember seeing that building.
「It is a factory we built to test the golem implementation」
So it is producing Tracking Cargo Carts too?
「No, bento desu」
……
「Bento desu」
No, I heard you.
Huh?
Bentos?
Why?
「This is Village Five, but we are out here at the edge of the foothills, quite a distance from the village center, aren’t we?」
That is true.
Considering the land needed for the factory and the storage space for completed Tracking Cargo Carts, this location made the most sense.
「There are not many places to eat around here」
That is true, but that led to bentos?
「Yes. The people working in the surrounding area requested them as well」
I-I see.
「The bentos we make look like this」
The mountain elves brought over a boxed lunch packed in a paper container.
A clear plastic lid would have been nice…
When I opened it, the inside was divided into sections containing bread, salad, meat, mashed potatoes, and a fork.
A Western-style boxed lunch.
It looks delicious.
「Yes. They have been very well received」
Does the menu change?
「The bread and salad stay the same, but the meat and mashed potatoes are changed every day」
Oh.
「Recently, adventurers who heard about them have started coming here to buy them」
Ah, anyone traveling south from Village Five would pass by here.
「We use all of the sales revenue to purchase ingredients for the next batch, so the contents of the lunches have been gradually becoming more luxurious」
Ah… we should discuss the finances later.
「Understood」
-0-
They showed me inside the bento factory, and it was packed with golems moving about just as densely as in the Tracking Cargo Cart factory.
In fact, aren’t the golems here performing even more complicated movements than the ones in the Tracking Cargo Cart factory?
「Since we prepare different dishes with different production processes every day, it cannot be helped」
So it is necessary.
「Yes. These golems recreate the precise movements insisted upon by the oni maids who helped develop the cooking process」
I see.
「Tier-san said that the golems used here were much more difficult to design than the ones used in the Tracking Cargo Cart factory」
Ah, I should compliment her later.
「Also, to maintain the high standards of hygiene that you emphasize, Village Chief, we needed many additional golems. Besides the golems that clean the floors, we have golems that drive away insects, golems that prevent insects from entering, golems that catch any insects that still manage to get inside, golems that monitor the room temperature, and golems that collect dust from the air」
T-That sounds like a lot of work.
「It was」
Still, food poisoning would be a serious problem.
「Yes. By the way, Holy Maiden Celes was very interested in touring this bento factory」
Holy Maiden Celes, huh.
I wonder if she is thinking about whether something similar could be used to produce the products sold at Korin Sweet Hall.
「I do not know what they discussed, but she spoke with Loo-san and Tier-san for quite a while. Perhaps because they were so tired, Loo-san and Tier-san kept readily agreeing to everything she said」
……
We might be seeing another factory built before long.
「I think so too. I am looking forward to it.」
-0-
Now then, setting the bento factory aside for the moment.
With this, production of the Tracking Cargo Carts can be left entirely to the factory.
The only remaining issue is finding a factory manager…
「We have volunteers from the angels for that」
Really?
「Yes. Right this way」
The three angels introduced to me stepped forward.
「Watching golems work is such an easy job… excuse me. Managing the production of Tracking Cargo Carts is a position of great responsibility. We would be honored if you would entrust it to us」
Let’s see…
These are the angels who were put through Suarurou and Raz Maria’s training not long ago.
I recognize their faces.
Still, are you sure about this?
「What do you mean by that?」
「A house has already been prepared for the manager, and our meals will be covered」
「The three of us can rotate shifts, so there should not be any problems」
…That is true.
A new house has already been built for the factory manager.
As for meals, there are no restaurants nearby, but as angels they can simply fly to the center of Village Five without any trouble.
The issue of angels being disliked… no, viewed with suspicion in the Demon King’s Kingdom has also been improving in Village Five.
On top of that, this place is at the edge of the foothills outside Village Five.
It does not seem like there will be any problems.
Ah, did you get permission from Malbit, the angel chief?
「We did!」
「When we told her we wanted to take on jobs outside the village, she gave us her approval!」
「Malbit-sama even cried」
I-I see.
In that case, I have no objections.
You are all serious about this, right?
「Yes!」
「Absolutely!」
「Leave it to us!」
Good. Then I hereby appoint the three of you as the factory managers!
I am counting on you!
-0-
A few days later.
Suarurou and Raz Maria came to speak with me.
They told me not to spoil those three.
I see. They had obtained Malbit’s permission, but they had not informed Suarurou or Raz Maria.
I have no intention of interfering with the angel’s internal factions or chain of command, but I will be more careful about that in the future.
Still, I never intended to spoil them.
Being the factory manager.
It may sound like an easy job, but I expect it to be a demanding one.
Just watching the golems work?
There is no way that is all it involves.
It only takes a little thought to come up with all sorts of responsibilities.
For example…
The magic stones installed in the golems are consumable items.
They are essentially batteries.
Once the magic in a stone is depleted, it has to be replaced.
And if trouble occurs, the order to stop the production line has to be given immediately, or the damage could become significant.
There is no room for carelessness.
Besides, unexpected problems are bound to happen.
Absolutely.
This is also a brand-new production factory.
There is no accumulated experience in dealing with its problems.
They are bound to have a difficult time.
Well, the angels have lived far longer than I have.
I assumed they understood all of that without needing to be told…
But judging from Suarurou and Raz Maria’s reaction, perhaps they did not.
……
No, no, no.
Setting those three angels aside, Suarurou and Raz Maria certainly understand.
So why did they say that?
Ah, I get it.
When they told me not to spoil those three, they were not complaining about my appointing them as factory managers. They were warning me in advance that when those three inevitably struggled with the troubles ahead, I should not coddle them.
I see. I see.
The angels are truly formidable.
And as for those three angels… do your best.
I quietly cheered them on in my heart.
TN: Even in isekai, AI is taking our jobs.
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