That said, we weren’t just focused on the hair tonic business alone. In parallel with establishing the ritual service, we were also preparing to start handling space technology products.
There was preparatory construction to build a space production facility in the company’s basement, security updates to protect confidential information, and most importantly, selection of the actual space products we would manufacture and release.
Of course, we delegated work that regular employees could handle, but the plan involved creating restricted areas off-limits to non-executive staff. As the executive with by far the most free time, I ended up handling everything…there were so many daily tasks that I couldn’t even go home some days and had to stay over at the company.
Not only was this mere decoration of a president working at full capacity, but I even had to get help from Princess for simple labor, running errands, and testing, since I was on spring break from university. If not for that, I probably would have failed some classes for sure.
It took about a month after starting the hair growth wish service before we could finally set up the complete production facility in the room after going through such a difficult ordeal.
“Phew, that was tough…”
I muttered those words with a sigh of emotion as I stroked the surface of the fully automated manufacturing machine from space that I had become quite familiar with for making thirdEye devices using magic stones and materials.
However, Mars, who was stuffing petit choux creams into his mouth next to me, looked at me with an indescribably disgruntled expression.
“You know…I was seriously feeling down towards the end.”
“Eh?”
“Wouldn’t it have been better if we just went all-in on the hair growth wish strategy from the start instead of making this room?”
“Mars…that’s hindsight talking.”
Yes, the hair growth wish. The reputation of that service has become absolutely ridiculous now.
Apparently, the trigger was not the usual video site…but rather, an internet bulletin board.
A thread titled [An old adventurer I met recently had become fuzzy-haired…] was started,
and the second reply was apparently [Kawashima, isn’t it?].
Well, no matter how much we bound the person whose hair grew through a contract, it was obviously going to be figured out by those who could tell. Especially since our company had unfortunately become quite infamous, the thread supposedly drew a decent amount of attention.
[A wish?]
[What do you mean by a wish?]
The thread filled with replies like those was summarized on an article site, and because of the exposure it got there…the number of people applying for that wish skyrocketed.
“It’s totally welcome for the company and it aligned with our goals, but…the sudden influx of reservations was just too much, you know?”
“No doubt the reason I’ve been so busy lately is because of having to apply that medicine…”
And as the number of people who received it increased, the rumors would spread even further. Until Iida could adjust and have people dedicated to the ritual, I ended up having to continue applying the medicine to people’s heads every single day, morning and afternoon, just like a salon employee.
Now I can finally relax thanks to the increase in staff, but I’m still in a position where I get called in if employees take sick leave or are absent.
“I thought I had set the point cost at quite a courageous level.”
“Yeah, I really regret that too. It was definitely too cheap – we’re already booked solid for three months out.”
“The public isn’t even calling Kawashima a military company anymore, we’re completely treated as a hair regrowth technology company now…”
“Yeah, really…even Princess was surprised.”
“She did say there might be point trading happening, but I never thought Kawashima point scalpers would appear.”
“That really made my blood run cold. Princess immediately changed the rules to prohibit it.”
“The idea of taking regular civilians on tours into dungeons…not just the ones taking them, but the ones going too. Don’t they care about their lives at all?”
“Well, everyone has their circumstances, I suppose…”
Basically, we misjudged the demand.
For aliens like Princess and Mars, hair is something that can be freely changed like clothing. And for me, still a young man albeit an Earthling, hair growing was just a given. In fact, I had casually thought that if I went bald in the future, I might just go for a skinhead look.
But as an old adventurer grandpa lectured me during a wish session, those are just the ramblings of someone who has never lost something…
For the person who can’t freely change their appearance, it’s a matter they would spare no expense or effort for, no matter how trivial it may seem from the outside.
“Well, since we were originally talking about selling different things and changing our image, maybe this is fine. But I still feel unsettled since that hair growth medicine didn’t even originate from our hometown.”
“Do they have anything like that hair growth medicine in Mars hometowns?”
“Body modification was researched ages ago, so there’s all sorts of stuff. If it was something that changed the natural monkey-like appearance of the unmodified Wedoson race, you’d have everything from hair growth to slimming medicines, tooth growers, even bone reshaping solutions.”
“Ah, a tooth grower sounds nice. Though going overboard with it would probably get you targeted, which could be dangerous.”
“Conversely, from my perspective, the idea that people can actually get cavities is really strange.”
Then, the very next day after that conversation,
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT gadgetizedpanda.net
Sawara from the Defense Equipment Agency, who we hadn’t seen in a while, informed us that we had long been on the government’s radar.
“This is troubling, Mr. Kawashima. If you had something like that, you should have let us know sooner.”
In the president’s room, which had basically become a guest reception area and employee lounge since I rarely used it, Sawara said that as he scratched around his now fuzzy-looking crown while sitting on the unnecessarily luxurious rental sofa.
“But what ‘something like that’ are you referring to?”
“The thing that’s been causing a stir, of course. We’re even getting grilled by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare about not being informed.”
“If you’re talking about the non-commercial topical medicine, it’s exempt from the Otherworld Special Laws.”
The Otherworld Special Laws were emergency measures put in place when dungeons first appeared and people and monsters from other worlds started pouring in, creating chaos.
Essentially, it was a rather lax law that aimed to have the government register unknown flora, fauna, and pharmaceuticals brought in from places they couldn’t monitor, and then make them illegal if any issues arose.
“Not exempt, but voluntarily included. Well, don’t give me that look, it’s not a bad thing.”
“If not bad, then it’s a hassle, right?”
“Not at all, it’s to avoid hassles. Don’t think of it as us trying to make trouble, think of it as a love call from our nation to you, Mr. Kawashima…though I can’t say it too loudly, there are quite a few people in Nagatacho who are interested.”
Sawara said that as he brought his hands together in front of his face.
“What do you say? Can’t we meet halfway, so to speak? I won’t ask for full technical disclosure…but would it be possible to create an avenue for us? Not everyone can become an adventurer just because they’re losing their hair, right?”
“So what’s your end of this ‘meeting halfway’?”
“For starters, how about putting in a good word with the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare? Of course, this medicine will have no issues getting approved…but I’m sure there will be more opportunities for cooperation going forward.”
Well, I do think there actually will be. Mars rubbed his cheek with his paw looking a bit perplexed, but gave a small nod.
“Alright. But hey, is this really that important? I think it’s fine even if your hair doesn’t grow back…”
Sawara dramatically waved his hand in front of Mars and let out an exaggerated sigh before stating definitively:
“In our nation, if not elsewhere…hair is weightier than the cosmos itself.”
“That much?”
When Mars asked, Sawara nodded slightly with a pained expression.
“Venturing into space would certainly bring great benefits. Of course, not just monetary gain, but academic value as well, and there are those who seek romance…But such things are nothing but pie in the sky. Compared to the tangible, worldly benefit of having hair grow, they simply cannot compete.”
“Well, I get that your side values our technology highly. But from our perspective, that’s not our main purpose.”
“Of course, of course. We have no intention of interrupting your space endeavors. But how about this? If we can treat this as a by-product of space development, perhaps the recent headwinds you’ve faced may subside a bit…?”
“So you’re saying if we do that, you’ll take care of clearing the various hurdles for us?”
“Well, public opinion is hardly simple, so I can’t make any promises there. However, the simple fact of your company’s increased social importance should cause some obstacles to naturally disappear…there are surprisingly many in positions that demand a constant appearance of youthfulness and cleanliness.”
After saying all that in his usual roundabout and confusing way, Sawara left.
Even so, having an official connection is something we want too. Princess, essentially our brain, was quite pleased, saying it was a pretty good deal.
So through the connection Sawara provided us at the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, we promptly filed for Otherworld Special Law approval for the hair growth medicine. Of course, we didn’t apply for the one from another world that’s hard to obtain, but rather a medicine that just looks space tech-derived.
While we were at it, we also inquired about getting approval for a tooth grower medicine…which ended up causing Sawara to return to our company again within just one week to ask questions specifically about the tooth grower.
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