The method in Youko’s proposal for reassuring the residents that golems would not take their jobs was simple.
Make people understand what golems are.
What golems can do, and what they cannot do.
As well as how difficult they are to manufacture and how expensive they are.
The idea was that people feared losing their jobs because they did not know these things. Once they understood them, they would not be so afraid.
-0-
One day, as preparations steadily progressed.
I found myself seated in the VIP section of the stadium at the foot of Village Five.
Apparently, I was serving as a judge.
On the stage stood five golems.
A box-shaped rust-removal golem that removes rust from swords and other blades.
An arm-shaped sifting golem that shakes a sieve to remove lumps from flour and similar ingredients.
An arm-shaped stirring golem that mixes anything with overwhelming power.
A box-shaped packing golem that places a specified number of items into a box.
An arm-shaped draining golem that shakes the noodle-draining basket known as a tebo.
Alongside these five golems were five mountain elves serving as their operators.
Facing them were five craftsmen.
Each held a sign reading Rust-Removal Craftsman, Sifting Craftsman, Stirring Craftsman, Packing Craftsman, and Draining Craftsman.
……
I am fairly sure the Draining Craftsman is actually a ramen chef.
No one could make a living just by draining noodles.
Thinking about it that way, the Rust-Removal Craftsman is probably a blacksmith.
And the Sifting, Stirring, and Packing Craftsmen likely have some other primary profession as well.
Youko’s secretaries must have worked hard to gather them.
「We will now begin five contests between the golems and the craftsmen!」
When the announcer beside me spoke through a magic device that amplified his voice, a huge cheer erupted from the audience.
……
There must be several thousand people here.
I cannot believe this many showed up.
I never expected the event to draw such a crowd.
Ah, I see. Five-kun, the mascot of Village Five, is giving a concert afterward.
……I understand now.
This event is actually the opening act for Five-kun’s concert.
Hmm?
Ah, sorry.
Announcer.
Do not worry about it.
I am not unhappy with the treatment.
It is just that these golems were hastily built specifically for this competition, and Loo, Tier, and the mountain elves went through a lot of trouble to make them, so I wanted them to receive a little more attention.
So please do not force the audience to applaud.
And we do not need a wave, either.
What?
They practiced it before I arrived and want me to see it at least once?
Tch, if you put it that way, I have no choice.
But only once.
-0-
I ended up watching the wave three times.
TN: The wave(ウェーブ) here should be “stadium wave” but I’m not sure. Who knows if there is another meaning.
As for the competitions… they concluded without incident.
Well, the original purpose was to help people understand golems.
At the same time, it was meant to demonstrate that golems would not take away jobs.
Because of that, the golems competed in areas that were somewhat outside their strengths, and they lost every match.
Exactly as expected.
The audience seemed to enjoy it well enough, though.
If we do this again, I would like to give the golems a slightly smaller handicap and make it a closer contest.
And on a somewhat smaller scale.
Maybe we should hold Golem vs. Craftsman matches on street corners instead.
In a stadium, people sitting far away probably could not tell what was happening very clearly.
In any case, after watching the event, I assumed my involvement with this matter was over.
The proposal Youko gave me had said that I would only participate in the opening portion.
But it did not end there.
-0-
A few days later, after dinner.
I was relaxing in my private room when several mountain elves came to visit.
However, it seemed they were not the ones who had business with me.
Apparently, the ones waiting in the workshop could not come directly to me.
Who could that be?
Well, I had nothing else to do, so I headed to the workshop.
Inside, the golems that had competed against the craftsmen were each performing their tasks with beautifully precise movements.
The rust-removal golem was removing rust.
The sifting golem was shaking a sieve, and the stirring golem was vigorously mixing something.
The packing golem was placing what looked like eggs into boxes.
And the draining golem was, naturally, draining noodles.
Yes, impressive work.
So, who was it that wanted to see me?
Other than the competing golems, only the mountain elves assisting with their operation were present in the workshop.
If it were the mountain elves, they could have come directly to me.
Which meant the ones who wanted something from me were…
「These golems」
One of the mountain elves answered apologetically.
I see.
Still, I did not think these golems had any ability to converse.
「They answer our questions by either moving or refusing to move. We discovered it while investigating why they had suddenly stopped ending their operating cycles」
Oh!
And that is how you realized they wanted to see me.
「We do not know the exact reason, but when we mentioned the Village Chief’s name, their reaction became much stronger. I am sorry for calling you here」
No, no, do not worry about it.
More importantly, these golems…
What business do they have with me?
No, that question itself is unnecessary.
I can understand it clearly enough.
I can feel what they are trying to say.
So that is it. You are frustrated.
Frustrated that you lost to the craftsmen.
And frustrated that the craftsmen and the audience might think, 「Is that all you can do?」
So you want to be upgraded.
…Hm?
Ah, I see. You all agree that you are frustrated, but you disagree on how to deal with it.
Let me see…
The rust-removal, stirring, and packing golems want performance upgrades.
The sifting and draining golems want a place where they can train themselves.
Hmm.
I understand your opinions, but I cannot do anything about performance upgrades myself.
You will need to discuss that with Loo, Tier, and the mountain elves.
The mountain elves all have expressions that say, 「Leave it to us」, so that leaves only Loo and Tier.
I will speak to them personally.
As for a place to train yourselves…
You want to be assigned to actual workplaces and used there.
Understood.
For now, in Big Tree Village… the sifting golem will have plenty of work, but the draining golem will not.
After all, the draining golem is only needed when making ramen.
I will talk to some of the ramen shops in Village Five.
The golems responded to my decision with their movements.
Do your best.
-0-
「What is the point of upgrading the golems? Wasn’t the competition part of a plan to reassure the residents who feared that golems would take their jobs?」
That was what Youko said to me.
She was right.
No, sorry.
I think I got carried away by the golems’ enthusiasm.
「Enthusiasm, huh. The fact that you can sense that from work golems is one of your better qualities, Village Chief, but…」
About that, those golems seem to be a little special.
「?」
To put it simply, Loo and Tier made a small mistake.
The main material for the golems was magic iron alloy, but dragon scale powder got mixed into it.
Apparently, they accidentally used some that Loo had prepared to send to the Ifrus School.
On top of that, while the main power magic stone was unchanged, the auxiliary magic stones used throughout the golems were one size larger than planned.
And it seems they also used more of them than intended…
「So the golems developed emotions」
That appears to be the case.
Loo and Tier apologized, but the cause of the mistake was their exhaustion.
And since I was the one who had pushed them to manufacture the golems despite that exhaustion, I could not bring myself to blame them harshly.
For the time being, I forced Loo, Tier, and the mountain elves to take about ten days off.
It is not good for them to be so exhausted that mistakes keep happening.
No, it is not good for them to become exhausted enough to make mistakes in the first place.
The performance upgrades for the rust-removal, stirring, and packing golems were carried out only after they had properly rested.
And once upgraded, those golems defeated the craftsmen in a rematch.
The residents began saying, 「Golems are amazing」 and 「Won’t golems end up taking our jobs?」 more loudly than before.
That was the reason for Youko’s complaint.
I had forgotten the original purpose of the plan.
Sorry.
「No, I am not asking for an apology. The situation has changed, so now we must deal with it accordingly」
Youko handed me yet another proposal.
This one was about… mass-producing magic tools?
Using golems to manufacture magical tools, much like the tracking cargo cart production factory.
「Indeed. In particular, there has long been demand for a magic box that can keep things cold. If food can be kept cold, it will spoil more slowly」
In other words, food will last longer and people’s lives will become more comfortable.
「We cannot do it all at once, but we could start with shops that handle food. Eventually, I would like every household in Village Five to have one」
I see.
So by providing useful magical tools that improve people’s daily lives, and making it clear that golems are what make those tools possible, people will become more comfortable with golems working.
That is the idea.
「That is the concept behind this plan」
Understood.
However, I cannot allow Loo, Tier, or the mountain elves to become so exhausted that they start making mistakes again.
「I know. There is no need to rush. That said, there is another proposal waiting as well」
Another one besides the cooling box?
「Yes. This one is not about magic tools, but medicine. The idea is to use golems in the production of medicine」
The next proposal described using the sifting, stirring, and packing golems to assist in making medicine.
「The people from the medicinal herb institute, along with others knowledgeable about pharmaceuticals, said that those golems could greatly increase the amount of medicine that can be produced」
Producing more medicine would create storage problems, but if we have magical cooling boxes, most of those problems would be solved.
This would also help improve people’s lives.
「Exactly」
I see.
That makes it difficult to oppose.
「My apologies」
You are not the one who should apologize.
I am the one who caused people to become anxious about golems.
「That is true, but it is difficult for me to answer simply by saying that」
Hahaha.
Still, with golems being requested this much, it sounds like we may eventually ask Loo and Tier to create a golem that can make other golems.
「People capable of making golems are extremely valuable, after all」
So it seems.
In reality, though, a golem that can make golems would probably be very difficult.
Let us proceed steadily, without rushing.
「Indeed」
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