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HELHEIM SCANS
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Chapter 73: Delivery Department (3)
“‘Wind Tribe,’ huh… Is there a particular reason you chose that name?”
At Hagor’s question, Oscar smiled faintly.
There was indeed a reason for deliberately naming the new business "Wind Tribe."
“Yes, there is. It’s a kind of advertising technique. Every time people use the service, the word ‘wind’ will subconsciously remind them that the business is operated by White Tower.”
“Hm. A branding effect, you mean? If the service is satisfactory, it’ll definitely make White Tower’s image more familiar and approachable.”
The Deputy Tower Master, who was listening to the conversation, nodded in agreement.
“This is a strategy that Yellow Tower uses quite well.”
“Indeed. Say what you want about them, but they excel in things like this.”
Modern life is filled with items derived from magical engineering: refrigerators that keep drinks cool, heaters to warm cold weather, cars for long-distance travel, and even light bulbs and streetlights to brighten dark nights—all products of magical engineering.
“They always highlight the name ‘Yellow Tower’ whenever they release a new magical engineering product.”
However, while this approach is undeniably effective, it can also polarize opinions.
The blatant attempt to imprint the name Yellow Tower on people's minds is too obvious.
"That’s why we’ll infiltrate their daily lives and thoughts gradually, naturally."
Wind Tribe.
Oscar liked how the name rolled off the tongue.
“Two months, you said. That’s tighter than I expected. I assume the first task will be producing vehicles?”
“That’s correct.”
Without vehicles, they couldn’t even start hiring and training new employees.
“Hm. Oscar, in your opinion, how many units will we need to begin?”
“Since we’re starting small, servicing only Sirin and a few nearby territories...”
Oscar held up five fingers.
Hagor nodded, understanding.
“Fifty units? That should take about three days.”
“No, I meant 5,000 units.”
“…What!?”
Hagor let out a long sigh at the absurd number.
“Haah. Look here. No matter how skilled we are, our craftsmanship prioritizes quality, which makes production slower. In other words, producing 5,000 units in two months is absolutely impossible. Don’t forget, we also need time to hire and train civilians.”
There wasn’t a single flaw in Hagor’s reasoning.
However, there was one thing he had overlooked.
‘I know better.’
Oscar knew exactly how fast the White Anvil Tribe could work and how much efficiency they could achieve when pushed to their limits.
Perhaps no one on the continent understood this better than he did.
“If we were building from scratch, you’d be right. But didn’t I mention earlier? Modification.”
“Wait, are you saying…?”
“Yes. We’ll buy second-hand bikes already available in the market and modify them. That will significantly reduce production time.”
After running the calculations in his head, Oscar concluded that a single dwarf could modify about ten bikes a day.
With 37 dwarves working tirelessly, they could finish in 14 days.
Hagor, seemingly doing the same mental math, coughed and spoke up.
“Ahem. If we use that method… give me a month. I’ll ensure 5,000 units are ready.”
“A month? Really?”
Oscar wasn’t going to let them slack off from the start.
He immediately shortened the timeline.
“I’ll give you ten days. If each of you modifies just 14 units a day, that should be enough.”
“Fourteen a day?! That’s insane!”
Hagor shrieked.
Modifying 14 units a day would mean eating, sleeping, and everything else in just three hours, then modifying one bike every 90 minutes.
“That level of work isn’t labor—it’s torture! Torture! If we continue such grueling efforts for ten days straight, people are bound to get injured!”
“Hmm, is that so?”
Feigning ignorance, Oscar replied with an innocent expression.
“Then let’s extend it to 14 days—two weeks. At a rate of 10 units a day, surely that’s manageable?”
“Ten a day…”
That would leave seven hours of rest per day, requiring a modification every 100 minutes.
Still a heavy workload, but much more feasible compared to the earlier proposal.
‘Plus, it’s something we dwarves can handle.’
Realizing this, Hagor narrowed his eyes at Oscar.
Was this man aware of their capabilities and setting these conditions accordingly?
“Have you ever watched dwarves work before?”
“Of course not. This is actually my first time meeting dwarves. I’ve only read about them in documents.”
“Documents, huh…”
Given Oscar’s intelligence, perhaps he estimated their productivity through paperwork.
‘But is that even possible?’
As Hagor struggled to make sense of it, Oscar spoke in a soft, reassuring tone.
“Consider this a preliminary exercise for building airships. Surely, the process will yield valuable data.”
“Well, that’s true…”
“We’ll allocate six days for setting up the workshop and two weeks for modifying the bikes. That makes a total of 20 days.”
“Hmm.”
In reality, setting up the workshop wouldn’t take six days.
Four to five would suffice.
Hagor, choosing not to mention this, slowly nodded.
“That seems reasonable... very well.”
“But, Oscar, acquiring second-hand bikes will take quite some time, won’t it?”
At the Deputy Tower Master’s concern, Oscar shared his well-prepared plan.
“As I understand it, most bike rental businesses in the western and northern regions have gone bankrupt.”
In hindsight, this was inevitable.
Bikes only ran for two to three hours and required good roads.
This made them unsuitable for the deserts in the west and the mountainous terrain in the north.
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“Exactly. In the east, where roads are well-maintained, or in the south, where people can enjoy coastal drives, short travel times make bikes popular for sightseeing. But in the west and north, they were completely shunned.”
“All we need to do is buy the leftover inventory they’ve been stuck with.”
In fact, if they offered to purchase the entire stock, the sellers would likely express gratitude.
After all, bankrupt businesses would want to recover as much as possible.
“The prices won’t be high either. The southern and eastern markets are already saturated, so there’s no need to flood them with more inventory.”
“Impressive. You’ve done your homework.”
“Well, I just read the newspaper a lot.”
After all, skipping sleep leaves plenty of time for research.
Those bankrupt businesses wouldn’t be able to sell more than a few bikes at a time through individual buyers.
If someone offered to take everything at once, the price could be negotiated even lower.
"That's brilliant!"
The Deputy Tower Master clapped his hands in admiration.
"Then I shall handle the purchase of used bikes together with Elder Fidelina."
"Understood. In that case, I’ll prepare a public notice to post on the bulletin board."
A magical notice that would melt the hearts of the mages in the delivery department.
* * *
Thud, thud.
As Uber Leiden, a Wind Rider, stepped into the lobby of the White Tower, he let out a long sigh.
It was because the customer he’d encountered just before clocking out turned out to be a proper troublemaker.
‘Seriously, why is this my problem when they’re the one who bought the wrong product in the first place?’
No matter how many times he told them that they’d have to discuss returns and refunds of magical engineering items with the Yellow Tower, they wouldn’t listen.
Talking to them was like talking to a wall, leaving him frustrated and boiling with anger.
‘…At this rate, I might actually die young from stress. Maybe I should seriously consider transferring.’
Working in the delivery department did have its rewards, sure.
But this wasn’t what he became a mage for.
Before he grew any older, perhaps transferring to another tower and pursuing the research he truly wanted to do was the right choice.
Just as Uber was seriously pondering this, a commotion broke out near the bulletin board.
"What is this? Is it real?"
"It's a notice on the bulletin board. It can’t possibly be fake."
"So that means… they’ve finally decided to shut down the delivery service?"
"Looking at the recent performance of the potion business, it wouldn’t be impossible."
The murmurs and bustle drew Uber’s attention, and he cautiously approached the board.
A new notice had been posted there.
[Notice of Delivery Service Suspension.]
"Huh?"
Uber’s eyes widened as he quickly read the notice.
[Effective two months from now, on February 15, the majority of the delivery department’s operations will be temporarily suspended. Until that date, all Wind Riders are to focus solely on delivering subscription-based nutritional supplements. Afterward, you may choose your desired task or department for transfer. Additionally, bonuses befitting your hard work will be provided. We sincerely thank all the mages in the delivery department for their efforts thus far.]
The message was brief but incredibly bold.
"Suspending delivery services and offering transfers…"
In essence, they were saying that after being freed from delivery duties, riders could pursue whatever they wanted—whether it was magical research, taking on commissions, or personal training.
And this was exactly what every rider in the department had longed to hear.
‘Well, it’s good news for me since it’s what I’ve been hoping for, but…’
Still, as a mage of the White Tower, Uber couldn’t help but feel worried.
The wording of the notice seemed to imply a complete withdrawal from the delivery business.
‘If they entirely pull out of delivery services, wouldn’t that also impact the nutritional supplement business? That business is unique because of its door-to-door sales model…’
Frowning deeply in thought, he was interrupted.
"Excuse me, please move aside! A new notice has just arrived!"
Another mage approached and pinned a fresh notice onto the board.
One of the delivery staff watching muttered nervously.
"Don’t tell me the previous notice was a mistake or something like that…"
"Come on, it’s not like today’s April Fool’s Day…"
Even as they dismissed the idea, uneasy glances darted toward the new notice.
[Job Recruitment Notice]
Employment Type: Full-time
Job Description: Delivery and order fulfillment
Applicant Requirements: Physically agile, with good balance, upright character, and a strong sense of responsibility
Preferred Qualifications: Magic users
Special Notes: Non-mages may also apply
"?!"
"Weren’t they planning to completely withdraw from delivery services? Wait, more importantly…"
Non-mages could apply?
How were ordinary people supposed to fly through the skies?
After reading the notice, everyone’s heads were filled with question marks, floating thick and fast.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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