Chapter 63

"There aren't enough people."

Plat said this to me a while after we started the construction of the waterway with the Ogres.

"The work is becoming sloppy because there aren't enough people to cover everything."

Currently, the personnel in our settlement consists of me, the founder, with Plat, my wife, supporting me and handling fermentation and medicine. Five Ogres, led by Oakbo, are in charge of construction and civil engineering. Five Goblins, led by Gob-kichi, are responsible for farming. Among the two new additions from the demon incident, Bati is in charge of clothing, and Berena manages the transfer points and assists in various sections when needed, acting as a sort of guerrilla support.

Viel the Dragon is in charge of eating and sleeping.

Sorry, that's a joke.

Right now, Viel is contributing significantly to the waterway construction with his massive body, but when he has nothing to do, he really does nothing.

Each member is doing their best in their respective roles, but the hands are definitely falling short.

Plat, who manages communication among the different roles in my place, came to inform me.

"The fields are expanding rapidly, and it's becoming impossible for Gob-kichi and the others to cover everything. It's only barely manageable with Berena's help."

"Really...!?"

I try to help with the fields when I can, in between working on the waterway...

"We've also started producing the share requested by my stupid brother and the Demon King. I'm having a hard time too, with the surge in orders for soy sauce, miso, and other items!"

"Okay."

"Yet, you keep starting new projects. Like building a large kiln for making those dishes, and the bath hasn't even been completed yet. And now you're starting a new project with the waterway. It's a bit too much, don't you think?"

"Right...!"

Her words hit home, and I had no comeback.

I might have started too many projects without proper planning, overwhelmed by the many things I wanted to do.

As Plat said, we are definitely short-handed.

Even for the fields, Gob-kichi and the others are barely managing at this point. If the waterway is completed and we start making rice paddies, it will be impossible to manage everything.

The simplest solution to this problem is...

"Increase the workforce?"

Plat placed a bucket containing starfish in front of me.

Despite bringing up the issue herself, she still pushes this nonsense.

I silently push the bucket full of starfish aside.

"We should go back to the teacher's dungeon and recruit more Ogres and Goblins. We can entrust direct command to Oakbo and the others... It's about time they had their own subordinates."

They have absorbed my teachings and can now manage the fields and produce what is needed without constant instructions.

It would be cool to form a large monster agricultural team, with the initial monster leaders like Oakbo as captains and additional troops under them.

"To do that, we need to get the teacher's permission."

The dungeon where Ogres and Goblins spawn is under the teacher's control.

"Plat, can you prepare some pickled radish as a gift for the teacher? About five or six, a bit more."

"The fields might be fine, but there's still a problem."

Plat pressed her temples as she spoke.

"The hardest part is my section."

"Yours?"

"The fermentation food production department! The production volume is increasing with more people and new delivery points, but the person in charge is still just me! What's going on? What's happening here!?"

"Right! I'm sorry!!"

I found myself apologizing with all my might.

The fermentation food business started with Plat's use of alchemy magic.

A magic unique to the mermaid race, which combines magic and herbs to create magical potions. This magic can also be used to produce pickles, miso, soy sauce, and other fermented foods.

As a result, all the fermentation food production has been left to Plat. The brewery where soy sauce and other items are made has become her stronghold.

"The fields are expanding, so the consumption of Hyper Fish Fertilizer is increasing. To make Hyper Fish Fertilizer, we need to catch B-Nishin G, which requires diving into the sea."

This means we need more mermaids.

"Please, sir. Five... no, three mermaids would be enough. Can you hire them as my assistants?"

It's not impossible.

Arowana Prince, Plat's brother, often visits us.

With his power as the next mermaid king, he can easily send over a few mermaids, especially for his cute sister's request.

"I'll ask him when he visits next. Plat, prepare some pickled radish for his visit. Of course, two... no, three for the gift!"

"AAAAAAAAAA!? Why do they all like pickled radish so much!? It's delicious, but the consumption is too fast, and I don't have enough hands!!"

Plat went into a frenzy.

I'm sorry.

The shortage of personnel in the fermentation food department is indeed serious. I'll do my best to help you as much as possible until we can recruit more people...

...and I thought to myself while munching on the pickled radish I had taken for a snack.

"You shouldn't be consuming it first when it's needed as a gift!!"

Yes, you're right.

I'm truly sorry.

* * *

For now, we decided to temporarily halt all construction and have the free Ogres assist in various departments.

This should help with the fields.

Just as we were making these adjustments, Arowana Prince came to visit.

He visits so frequently that I start to worry, "Is everything okay with your job? Is the mermaid prince that idle!?"

"Sumo is fun!"

As soon as he arrived, Arowana Prince said this.

Since winning the sumo tournament we held in our settlement, he has become deeply interested in sumo. Recently, he has been inviting humans he finds on other coastlines to sumo matches.

The moment I heard this, I blurted out, "Are you a kappa!?"

"Are you a kappa!?" I corrected myself.