Day 541-550/Day 542

Day 542 / 72nd day
After completing my daily morning training, I went about my paperwork.
As I process the various documents, I see many things.
Our business performance is on the rise, and the volume of appointments is increasing.
I've been able to keep up with it, but it looks like there are going to be some jobs that I won't be able to handle due to the number of people I have, so I wanted to take measures as soon as possible so that I can deal with them in my absence.
It's easy to mass produce the golem trucks used for transportation.
All you have to do is prepare the materials and throw them into the equipment, and the system is ready to be assembled automatically.
　But right now, we lack the manpower to operate it. The operation is so simple that anyone can do it if taught, but it is obvious that bringing in unreliable people will cause unnecessary trouble.
　The reason we are all together is because I was the benefactor who saved the anthill boy and the meat bag boy, and we share the same situation, which is the basis of our sympathy and bond. It wouldn't work if an unfamiliar presence was mixed in there.
　There are many employees who have not yet healed from their psychological wounds. There are many employees who have not yet healed from their wounds, and since they are distracted by their work, they should avoid new problems before they have healed. If you are dealing with them as a business partner, but not as a family member, the hurdle is high.
　However, business expansion requires human resources. Since the transportation of golem trucks was an important element of the road improvement plan, we couldn't cut corners here.
　There is a way to let them act autonomously, but there is still the uncertainty of what might happen if an unexpected situation arises. It might be a good idea to try to create a golem with an ego that can think of its own way out of trouble and complete its orders. I'll continue to develop one, but that's a bit of a tough solution to the current situation since I don't know if I'll succeed and even if I do, I don't know how much time I'll need.
　So, would it be better to have people who are bound by contract like slaves? Even though they are slaves, they can be freed if they earn enough to buy themselves back, so they will work diligently as long as they are not treated unfairly. There are also skilled slaves who used to work as merchants, but went bankrupt because of business failures. In a place like ours where there are many amateurs, having someone with that kind of experience in terms of paperwork and the like is a plus. Well, I'm not sure how useful a businessman who went bankrupt and became a slave would be.　
As I was thinking about what to do, time passed and as the sun was setting in the evening, I saw a large golem truck coming back to the base from the window.
From the license plate on the vehicle, I could tell that it was the large Golem truck belonging to the male employee I had sent off this morning.
The job was simple: pick up a large amount of produce from a farming village at the foot of a mountain a short distance away and bring it back.
There are a lot of similar jobs, and this one was supposed to be risk-free, but the golem truck that came back was a mess.
The body of the truck was covered with countless scratches of all sizes, the roof of the cargo bed was destroyed as if it had been forcibly ripped off by nails or something, and some parts of the sides were melted as if they had been burned at extremely high temperatures.
The roof had been ripped off by a claw or something. It was an attack by someone strong enough to break through the Golem truck's self-preservation function and drive it into a state of total destruction.
Leaving aside for the moment what had happened to the produce that might have been loaded on the back of the truck, I opened the window of my room and headed for it at the shortest possible distance.
As I drove up, I saw a male employee in the driver's seat with his head resting on the steering wheel, slumped over.
Fortunately, there was no smell of blood. It seems that the damage did not extend to the male employee, but only to the golem truck.
It was a blessing in disguise that the damage to the golem truck was light.
For the time being, I took the male employee out of the driver's seat to take care of him, and carried him inside.
I had to get him back on his feet quickly and find out what happened to him.
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PLACE TRANSLATIONS ABOVE THE BAR. THESE ARE THE RAWS, LEAVE THEM HERE. CLICK EXPAND TO VIEW THEM.
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“七十二日目　／　五■四■二■目”
日課である朝の訓練を終えた後は、事務仕事をこなしていく。
様々な書類を処理していると、色々と見えてくるものがある。
業績は右肩上がりである現在、予約の量がかなり増えている。
今は何とか回せているが、そろそろ人数的な問題で回せない仕事も出てきそうなので、今後俺が不在の時にも対処できるように早めに対策しておきたかった。
運搬に使うゴーレムトラックの量産は簡単だ。
素材を用意して設備に放り込んでおけば、後は自動的に組み立てられる体制は完成している。
　だが、今はそれを操る人材が足りない。
　操作は簡単なので教えれば誰でも出来るが、信頼できない人材を取り込むと余計なトラブルの種になるのは明白だ。
　俺達が上手く纏まっているのは、俺が蟻人少年や肉袋青年を助けた恩人であり、同じ境遇だったという共感と絆が根底にある。
　そこによく分からない存在が紛れても上手くはいかないだろう。
　まだ心の傷が癒えていない従業員は多い。
　仕事に打ち込む事で気を紛らわせている部分もあるので、その辺りが治る前に新しいトラブルは避けるべきだ。仕事相手として接するならともかく、身内となるとハードルが高い。
　しかし事業拡大には人材がいる。
　街道整備計画ではゴーレムトラックによる運搬などが重要な要素でもあるので、ここを手抜きには出来なかった。
　一応、自律行動させるという手段もあるが、想定していない状況になった場合は何が起こるか分からないという不安が残る。
　トラブルがあっても自分で対処法を考え、命令を完遂できるような自我を持つゴーレムの製造に挑戦してもいいかもしれない。
　一応開発は進めていくが、それは成功するかも分からないし、成功したとしてもどれだけ時間が必要になるのか分からないので、現状を打開する解決策としてはちょっと厳しい。
　となると、奴隷のように契約で縛られた人材がいいだろうか。
　奴隷といってもここでは自身で働いた稼ぎが自分を買い戻せる額に達すれば自由になれるので、不当に扱わなければ真面目に働いてくれる。
　それに商人として働いていたが、事業失敗からの破産というパターンで奴隷になっている技能保有者もいる。素人が多いウチでは、事務仕事などの面でそういう経験を持つ者がいるのはプラスの面もあるのではないだろうか。
　まあ、破産して奴隷になった商売人がどれほど役に立つのか不安な面もあるのだが。　
さてどうするか悩みつつ色々考えていると時間は過ぎ、太陽が沈む夕方頃、拠点に一台の大型ゴーレムトラックが戻ってくるのが窓から見えた。
車体のナンバープレートから、今朝送り出した男性従業員の大型ゴーレムトラックである事は分かる。
仕事は少し離れた山の麓にある農村で採れた大量の農産物を受け取って戻って来るという、簡単なものだ。
似たような仕事は多く、今回も特に危険は無い筈の仕事だったのだが、しかし帰ってきたゴーレムトラックの姿は無残なモノだった。
車体には大小無数の傷があり、荷台の屋根は爪か何かで強引にもぎ取られたように破壊され、側面には超高温で焼かれたように溶解している部分もある。
明らかに何かに襲撃された痕だった。それもゴーレムトラックの自衛機能を突破し、大破状態にまで追い込む程の強者による襲撃だ。
荷台に積載されていたかもしれない農産物がどうなったかは一先ず置いといて、俺は部屋の窓を開けて最短距離で向かった。
走り寄ると、運転席には頭をハンドルに預け、グッタリと項垂れている男性従業員の姿があった。
幸い、血の匂いは感じられない。被害は男性従業員までは及ばず、ゴーレムトラックだけに留まったようだ。
襲撃されて被害を受けたが、人的被害は軽く済んだのは不幸中の幸いだった。
とりあえず男性従業員を介抱する為に運転席から出して担ぎ、中に運ぶ。
さっさと回復させて、男性従業員から事情を聞かねば。
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Category:Novel
Category:Re:Monster ~ The Dark Continent ~ Vol. 3