I received a letter of petition.
Several, in fact.
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The first one.
It was from Rorone, the beastgirl serving as the acting manager of Patisserie Fairy Fairy in Village Five.
「I visited the tracking cargo cart production factory.
Those golems are incredible.
The way they can repeat the same task over and over without stopping is amazing.
That brings me to my request. When making cakes, there are jobs like sifting flour and kneading dough, and they are so demanding that some pastry chefs end up injuring their arms and shoulders.
Please, I would like Fairy Fairy to have golems that can handle those kinds of tasks as well」
The letter arrived together with a new fruit cake.
While I was reading the letter, the Fairy Queen carried the cake away.
Later, I was told that it had been delicious and was a big hit with the children.
I had planned for everyone to share it, so it was fine…
But I wanted a piece too.
Hmm?
The children set aside a portion for me?
Thank you.
They really are such good kids.
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The second letter.
It came from Eliza, one of the civil servant girls serving as the acting head of Delzen Paper and Delzen Printing in Village Five.
「I visited the tracking cargo cart production factory.
Shouldn’t facilities like that be introduced into the paper mill and printing factory as well?
No, they absolutely should.
I have enclosed a proposal for the installation plan, so I look forward to your approval」
The words 「I look forward to your approval」 were written in extremely bold lettering.
And the bold text was shimmering.
I wonder if it was printed with a new type of ink they developed.
The enclosed proposal itself was printed on the same durable, water-resistant paper used for the paper boxes.
Ah…
So they want to use golems to increase production of those paper boxes.
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The third letter.
It was from Miyo, who is involved in all sorts of businesses in Shashaato City.
「The people from the Ifrus School who toured the tracking cargo cart production factory are extremely excited.
They would very much like to see how the golems are made」
The Ifrus School is an educational institution in Shashaato City.
It teaches and researches subjects beyond the level of an ordinary academy. If a regular academy is like a high school, then this one is more like a university or graduate school.
Loo was involved in founding the academy and serves as its honorary headmaster, so the village sends them materials from time to time.
One example is powdered dragon scales.
Apparently, processing the scales in their original form is quite difficult.
Of course, those are not the only materials we provide.
We also send materials obtained from demon beasts and monsters, along with magic stones.
And food produced in the village.
As for medicinal herbs, I leave everything to Loo, so I do not know exactly what she sends them, but they seem to appreciate it greatly.
Every so often, new medicines or improved versions of existing ones are delivered to Loo.
So the Ifrus School has become interested in the production factory… no, in the golems.
I think it would be quicker for them to ask Loo directly instead of going through Miyo or me.
Still, since they sent me a letter, I should let Loo know.
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The fourth letter.
It was from Celes, the acting manager of Korin’s Sweet Hall in Village Five.
Ah, this is not a petition.
It is a thank-you letter.
It thanked us for installing the golem that stirs bean paste and the golem that handles cleaning.
I was not aware of it, but had they already been installed?
I had a suspicion, so I asked Loo and Tier. They apologized, saying they had agreed to it too readily.
Apparently, the installation has not happened yet.
In other words, this letter is really saying, “Please make sure you install them.”
Well, since Loo and the others accepted the request and will be the ones doing the work, I have no complaints.
If possible, though, I would like them to consult me beforehand next time.
No, no, I am not angry.
It is just that they might already have accepted another project, and we could end up running short of the magic iron alloy used to make the golems, or something like that.
This time, Domaim brought us a large supply, and we already have a way to procure more, so I am not worried about it.
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The fifth letter.
This one is from the three angels I appointed to manage the tracking cargo cart production factory.
Let’s see…
「We do not have enough workers.
Please grant us permission and a budget to hire people locally」
…I will approve the hiring, but I would like you to consult Youko when selecting employees.
I will provide the budget.
「We do not have enough workers.
More specifically, we need golems to manage the golems」
That is something we should discuss with Loo, Tier, and the mountain elves.
I would rather not offer uninformed opinions on the matter.
「We have found one of the missing trash-cleaning golems」
Oh, that is great news.
I see. It had fallen into a depression behind the warehouse and was unable to move.
I hope they can find the remaining two as well.
…You were so touched that it kept trying to clean even after falling into the hole that you gave it a name?
W-Well, as long as you take good care of it, I do not mind, but do not treat it as your personal property.
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The sixth letter.
Youko handed it to me during dinner.
This is not a petition.
It is a proposal that has already been approved for implementation.
「…The village council has been flooded with petitions from the residents. Every single one of them is related to the golems in that production factory. My secretaries are overwhelmed」
What are they about?
「Broadly speaking, they fall into two categories. Hopes and concerns」
The hopes are things like wanting golems or wanting to use them in other places, right?
What are the concerns?
「That the golems will take their jobs」
Ah, I see.
「Considering the cost of producing golems, one would think they would realize that is unlikely…But I suppose it is not a matter of logic」
That is true.
Golems are certainly useful, but they are far from inexpensive.
To begin with, people capable of creating golems are extremely rare.
Big Tree Village has Tier, but even if you searched throughout Village Five and Shashaato City, you would be lucky to find ten people capable of making even a palm-sized golem.
Someone capable of creating a full-sized working golem is even rarer.
As a result, hiring someone with that ability is expensive.
Very expensive.
Not only expensive, but they are also incredibly difficult to find.
Then there are the magic stones that power the golems.
These are harvested from demon beasts and monsters. Even fairly dangerous ones usually yield only a magic stone about the size of a fingernail.
The large magic stones needed for working golems can only be obtained from extremely dangerous demon beasts and monsters, making them exceptionally valuable and, naturally, very expensive.
They are piled up in Big Tree Village, though.
While golem material costs can be reduced, using ordinary soil as the base material creates durability issues.
If they are expected to work for long periods, considerable ingenuity is required, and that ingenuity costs money.
The golems used in the tracking cargo cart production factory are built with generous amounts of the precious material known as magic iron alloy, so considering their cost…
The total would be staggering.
Under normal circumstances, a proposal to introduce golems would be rejected during the planning stage.
This time, however, the golems were introduced to the tracking cargo cart production factory without regard for the budget, simply to make things easier for Loo, Tier, and the mountain elves.
That is probably why Miyo has never suggested introducing golems to Shashaato City, and why Michael-san has never proposed using them in his own production facilities.
「It is not as though there have never been businesses that used golems. But they were the expensive hobbies of nobles and collectors」
So that is why no one made a fuss about them?
「Indeed」
But this time they are.
「One could say the golems in the production factory are also Village Chief’s hobby…But because it is you, people think you will eventually spread them throughout the entire village」
I have absolutely no intention of doing that.
「That is simply the impression people have formed from your past actions. In fact, most of my secretaries assumed you would」
That is rather unfair.
「Even if you say that, you have already introduced vending machine golems, shaved ice-making golems, golem carriages, golems hidden inside game machines, and even golems that fought in the Village Five stadium」
Ugh…
「After seeing you use golems on such a large scale in a factory, it is only natural for people to worry that you will start using them everywhere else as well」
Urgh.
「If you truly have no intention of spreading them, then you need to do something to reassure everyone」
So that is what this proposal is for.
「Exactly. People need to be reassured that golems are not going to take away their jobs」
…Understood.
I will read it.
「I appreciate it」
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It seems the golems in the production factory had a much greater impact than I had expected.
For the time being, the introduction of golems will be limited to places directly connected to me.
Still, the inside of the tracking cargo cart production factory was supposed to be closed to the public.
Even if people connected to the village were allowed to see it, wasn’t news spreading to the general public a little too quickly?
I can understand the people from the Ifrus School, since Miyo escorted them…
Was it simply because a production factory using golems was such a rarity?
I was wondering about that, but I found the answer soon enough.
The three angels in charge of managing the factory had created a tour route and opened it to the public.
「Huh? It was supposed to be closed to the public?」
「W-We are very sorry. There were simply too many people asking to tour it」
「Also, we thought it would increase sales at the bento factory」
Well, I had not made it absolutely clear that it was meant to be closed to the public.
This time, a strict warning will be enough.
Ah… you can keep the tour route.
It seems you have not been allowing visitors into the bento factory.
Considering how many people have already toured the place, it is probably too late to make the factory private now.
Just make sure to tighten security around the magic stones and strengthen measures to prevent the theft of both the golems and the tracking cargo carts.
I want those areas handled properly.
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AN: The trash-cleaning golem is named Vpadina (Russian for “depression”).
The second one, which is still missing, is planned to be named Koldobina (Russian for “pit”), and the third, Propazha (Russian for “missing”), though whether they will ever appear is another matter.
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