“Huh? A video site?”
“Yeah, look at this!”
In the modest 1LDK apartment we returned to after the fun outing, Princess, still wearing a mouse-ear headband, pointed at the TV showing the top article on an ultra-famous news site. The headline read: [An Intercontinental Ballistic Missile? Suspicions of Kawashima General Trading and the Defense Ministry Manufacturing Weapons].
“This isn’t from a reporter’s investigation or anything, it’s information originating from a video site.”
“Eh…for such a major news site to blindly swallow and publish an article based on some internet video…”
Following Princess’s actions, the TV screen split, with one corner opening the mega-popular video site Tube Streamer – and right at the top was the recommended video in question. The thumbnail, placed next to an image of our signature product furikake, featured a missile image and was captioned with wording that seemed designed to pique viewers’ interest.
“It’s structured based only on publicly available information and speculation, but it does hit some sore spots. Ah, I see, they built it up from the trail of the Kawashima Point app…”
Watching the video that began playing, the presenter indeed seemed to connect the dots in a way that could convince those unfamiliar with the matter. Kawashima hiring former Self-Defense Force personnel, forming sudden partnerships with other companies it had never worked with before, the hurried launch of the monster material buyback program (which had actually been going on earlier), and the disappearance of magical steel materials from the market. All these points were woven together into a conspiratorial mass of speculation, of sorts.
Princess watched it with an uncharacteristic frown, hand on her forehead.
“The problem here is that the uploader of this video doesn’t seem to have any backing…which means we have no one to threaten. If we try to forcibly silence an individual who has become this controversial at this timing, it will only make people more suspicious and cement the memory of this incident…”
“But we’re not actually doing anything wrong, so can’t we just ignore it?”
Mars said between bites of the souvenirs we had just opened, but Princess’s expression remained grim.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT gadgetizedpanda.net
“There are times when that works to let it die down, but there are also times when it doesn’t. The real problem is the government and Self-Defense Force people. They’re all saving face…so if that’s threatened, Princess might have to ruthlessly throw some of the individuals she has leverage over under the bus to distance Kawashima.”
She muttered about how it was already a hassle to leave the country again, before plucking a cookie that Mars and Sierra were close to devouring from the souvenirs.
“For now, I can take down the article in a few days and tweak the algorithms to make the video less visible…but dealing with this will involve a bit of luck, I think.”
“Well, if even you can’t do anything about it, I don’t think anyone else could. Thank you.”
As I said that, Princess gave me a slightly annoyed look while squinting one eye, before flicking a cookie in my direction.
The “situation involving luck” that Princess had mentioned ended up unfolding far quicker than expected.
[Kawashima, stop making rockets to kill people!!]
[No to Military Expansion! No to Tax Increases!]
Can you believe it, some group actually took that video and article seriously, and included our company’s name in their protest slogans during their year-end demonstration.
While demonstrations are quite common in the peaceful metropolitan area on holidays, and not something most people would normally pay attention to…this time was different. We started getting an overwhelming number of inquiries, very different from before. The negative atmosphere at the company may have contributed, but two of Kawashima General Trading’s part-timers ended up quitting.
“There…there are actual damages…”
When Iida informed me of this during our regular year-end meeting, I couldn’t help but hold my head in my hands as soon as I got home, face down under the kotatsu table.
“But didn’t those two say their reasons for quitting had nothing to do with the news?”
“Well, yeah, but still…”
Even Mars the cat responds coolly, but I think there’s no denying the negative impact. If we were a public company, our stock prices would have undoubtedly plummeted. The atmosphere at the office today also felt unusually heavy.
I realized that a company’s reputation affects its employees more than I had imagined. The two part-timers who quit were the ones I struggled so hard to hire. If they left because the demonstration tarnished the company atmosphere, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for them.
“Cheer up, Tonbo.”
Sierra pokes my side, but my sunken spirits refuse to lift. I never imagined Kawashima General Trading would become a company I no longer felt proud of creating.
Only now, after being attacked from the outside, do I realize…I love that company, and the people working there.
But I don’t know how to protect them. As I wallowed in my own helplessness, Princess’s voice, silent until then, rang out.
“I’ve got a plan. We’re going on the offensive.”
“Huh? On the offensive?”
As I looked up, Princess sat defiantly across the kotatsu, smirking.
“A counter-protest against the demonstration?”
“Nope. Since we haven’t actually done anything wrong, we’ll just disclose everything publicly. That we’re not making ICBMs, but spaceships.”
“You mean the Kawashima Asteroid plan details too?”
“Yep.”
Unfolding her arms, Princess pointed at the TV, which now displayed an impressive introduction page for the Kawashima Asteroid plan.
“Kawashima will openly announce to the world our serious intent for space exploration. Baseless rumors can be dispelled by presenting the facts.”
“Sure, but won’t that just flood us with inquiries again, overloading our call center like with the robot incident…”
“For that, we’ll simply close the phone line. We’ll make email the primary contact method and filter out irrelevant inquiries.”
“That would be an immense help…”
Frankly, I was seriously worried about more people quitting, so this truly relieved me…but then Princess dropped another bombshell with a smile.
“Oh, and about the Self-Defense Force drone issue, we’ve settled on saying it was part of a trial partnership for small package deliveries.”
“Small package delivery…? Different from the Point Service delivery option?”
Up until now, drone delivery was positioned as an optional delivery service when purchasing items with Kawashima Points.
“Totally separate. This is a real B2B small package delivery service – an actual drone courier.”
“Can we really handle something like that?”
“No problem, it’ll just be a service to pick up and transport pre-packaged items, so all we need are drone stations. We won’t do last-mile delivery into dungeons since that won’t earn Points – the Point system stays as is.”
I’m not totally clear on the details, but it sounds like it will be separate from the existing service?
“These drone stations?”
“Basically just parking spots for the drones. I’ll send you the plans, but Tonbo, convey this to Iida. It’ll be almost entirely drone-operated, but we’ll need some staff reassigned.”
“Got it.”
Well, if it’s Princess’s plan, I’m sure there won’t be any issues. All I can do is sincerely bow my head to Manager Iida.
“Sorry for the sudden flurry of decisions, but this is a critical juncture for the company. Times like these call for bold, decisive moves to grow quickly.”
“I suppose so.”
While Mars seems to understand Princess’s intent, I’m still not fully grasping her true motives…but Princess stares me down, poking my nose with her finger as she elaborates.
“Listen Tonbo, a rolling stone can’t be stopped. Even if the government or Self-Defense Forces get spooked and try to sideline us, they can’t escape the rolling stone. If they try, they’ll just get crushed by the ones behind.”
“Yeah…”
“Organizations grow powerful by continually engulfing their surroundings as they roll – to the point where they can’t be stopped until they grind to a halt on their own. Then Kawashima General Trading won’t be some flimsy outfit shaken by a single video.”
She gently takes my hand in her cold one.
“You love that company, don’t you Tonbo? Not just the company, but the people working there too.”
“Yeah…”
“I’ve been there, so I understand. You may want to do something to protect a company like that…”
“Y-Yeah…”
“But for now, just leave it to Princess!”
Saying so, Princess lightly taps her collarbone with her fist.
“You see, you’re our ultimate weapon Tonbo, but also our biggest vulnerability. So you shouldn’t be out in the open just yet.”
Vulnerability…I suppose she’s right.
As I slump my shoulders, Mars’ tiny legs kick at my feet under the kotatsu.
“She’s serious, you know. If we lost you, none of us could leave this planet. So as far as the outside world is concerned, just play-act as the decorative president for now, okay?”
“Yeah…”
Well, I can’t really argue with that. The company folks probably think the vice president is the one actually in charge anyway, which is true.
“You, a decoration, Tonbo?”
As even Sierra pokes me teasingly, I can only throw up my hands and flop backwards.
Well, even if I’m just going through the motions for now…I should study up a bit, for the day when I finally take center stage and showcase my abilities.
Grabbing a bookkeeping textbook I had neglected recently, I started reading it while lying there.
Also check out my friend Localizermeerkat for more LN translations!
BUY THE SOURCE MATERIAL TO SUPPORT THE AUTHOR !!!
Kindly click on the green button above and contribute to filling the green bar if you’re interested in having another LN from the request page translated. Also, every donation is being used to purchase the source material and to fund more English translations.
Please consider joining my Ko-Fi membership. By becoming a member, you’ll also gain access to 2-10 additional chapters of all of the novels from this site translated into English. Last but not least your support will also assist me in upholding the translation quality and speed. For more information, please follow the link.
Donation for faster release is always welcome
Additionally, I am now accepting translation requests.
