Volume 3 Chapter 6 I'm Here to Improve the Operations at the Logging Site
"I see... My apologies, it seems I have a rather hot-blooded crew."
When I explained to Mr. Heim, the site supervisor, why I had extended the work contracts for all the laborers, he hung his head and sighed.
He seemed to understand the difficulties.
By the way, I had Lene's medicine on hand, so I gave it to the laborers as a sample.
I also made sure to properly advertise its benefits as part of their aftercare.
"What is this medicine!? The pain vanished like a lie!?"
"I thought elf medicine was fishy, but...I have to admit it's effective."
It seems Lene's medicine is popular not only with human workers but also with grumpy dwarves who aren't fond of elves.
My wife, who doesn't care about the feuds between races, continues to shower affection on everyone, even dwarves.
How adorable.
"Well then, may I proceed to the main topic?"
"Ah, yes, the field reports. We have several issues." Please take a look at this.
Oh, the worker's voices have been compiled neatly.
Mr. Heim handed me a stack of papers.
It seems this man is logical, unlike those roughnecks.
"'The work progress is slow compared to the workload', 'We're short-staffed', 'The lumbering tools break down quickly'...Well, these are common problems in a busy workplace."
Our job is to show them how to solve these problems first.
Then, we need to consider the costs and choose a realistic solution.
Afterward, I diligently apologized to the workers for having lost my temper, and I decided to go around and listen in detail to these issues.
"Sure, it's good that the big orders are rolling in and our pay has gone up, but it's just too busy. I head back to my place in town every few days, but I'm worried my cute daughter might end up forgetting me."
The one grumbling is the roughneck who initially picked a fight with me.
He was a bit timid around me since I'd knocked him out cold, but once I sincerely engaged with him, he turned out not to be such a bad guy.
Communication is key, huh.
Yeah.
Still, I would've thought he was older than me, and here he is, married with a daughter.
Only being able to go back to his daughter every few days is pretty sad.
"If we had more people, we could rotate... um... then each person's workload would decrease, right? We're not getting any new hires?"
"Well, it's tough, and a lot of them end up quitting. Even so, we have more workers than before."
I see, there are too many jobs available, but the sheer amount of work causes many people to quit. It's not an easy thing to do.
"In that case, if we could somehow reduce the workload... um... the likelihood of people quitting might decrease as well."
I decided to propose a solution starting with the most immediate measures at hand.
Incidentally, I've been carefully choosing my words since I learned that not conveying my thoughts properly could lead to unfortunate events.
Lene had scolded me about it too.
"Reduce the fatigue? Is that even possible?"
"Altena could make it possible. For example, with fatigue recovery potions, or maybe getting a magic stone that boosts your strength, she comes up with all sorts of ideas."
The ruffian glared at me with suspicion, but I met his gaze with a confident chest and answered boldly.
Lene's Fatigue Healing Potion should work perfectly, and I could suggest various things like the Magic Stone of Sublimation to increase stamina and the Magic Stone of Powerful Arms to boost strength.
However, even if I offer all sorts of suggestions, whether this logging site can afford the payment is a separate issue altogether.
I suppose only the site supervisor, Mr. Heim, who manages expenses, would know.
Let's start by proposing to him first.
* * *
After asking around with other people, I reunited with Lene, who, like me, had been focused on human perspectives, and we returned to Mr. Heim.
He seemed to be intently examining the state of the lumber, but as we approached, he stopped his work and noticed us.
"Oh, how are you doing? Have you found any solutions to the problem?"
"Yes, I have several ideas. But I thought it would be best to propose a method that is cost-effective, so I wanted to start with Mr. Heim──"
At that moment, I noticed something in my field of vision and stopped speaking, turning my attention to it.
At the edge of my sight, Lene and Mr. Heim seemed to be staring at me with curiosity, but my gaze was fixed on that object.
"...What are you doing, hey?"
"Eh?..Ah,that, is it?"
Mr. Heim, turning to me with a slightly exasperated expression, also looked at the cliff face I was staring at, his face contorting with displeasure.
It seems he knows what's there.
"...What's that, what is he doing?"
Lene seemed curious too, tilting her head.
After all, a woman was carrying out mining operations on the side of that steep cliff.
Mining in a place like that... I wonder if the minerals there are really that valuable.
It doesn't look like it...
"Hey, watch out!"
I shouted and rushed towards her in a hurry.
The woman had slipped and started to roll down the cliff.
The woman continued to fall, bumping into trees growing along the way, but thanks to that, I managed to catch her just before she crashed into the ground.
"Oh, that was close... What in the world...?"
I muttered, staring at the face of the petite woman who was unconscious.
She seemed to be about the same age as me.
There was red stuff, probably from the head wound, stuck to her bright, water-blue short hair.
"...Lene, let's treat her here for now. Mr. Heim, can we borrow the management hut?"
Without knowing what was going on, I called out to the two of them.
Even though we came here for the logging site request, I have a feeling something troublesome is about to come our way.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)