Chapter 39

The next day after mooring the ship at the guild's boat parking, I headed to "Animember" and "Seizaban" to dig for manga, light novels, and doujinshi.

Thanks to that,

I got my hands on the new light novel of "Somewhere Mystical Summoning Ring",

the new manga of "My Enemy is a Hero",

the comic adaptation of the social cultivation simulation game "SpeedQueen! The Planet Race",

and the doujinshi of the social strategy simulation game "Otome Senki".

And the day after that fruitful day,

Uncle Loanz finally came back.

Now we can finally take on requests calmly.

As expected, Mr. Zeistoll is also working as the receptionist.

"Ah, it was the best vacation!"

"Sure, that's great."

It seems he had a wonderful vacation, with a full smile and good complexion.

"I met my wife and daughter! My daughter is so cute! Ah, do you want to see the photos?"

"No, thank you."

Uncle Loanz, who is a typical daughter-lover, tried to take out an album, but I immediately declined and asked,

"By the way, what's up with Mr. Zeistoll? He looks completely like a girl!"

"No, no, he's a man and he's competent, right?"

Uncle Loanz made an awkward excuse.

"Indeed, he is a man and he seems very competent, but you didn't tell me he looks like a beautiful girl!"

"The photo on the documents I saw was a bit more manly. His hair was shorter too. Well, he did have a feminine face."

In other words, Uncle Loanz didn't know that Mr. Zeistoll had changed his appearance after the photo was taken.

Well, if you leave the choice of your substitute to the HR department, this is what happens.

"In the worst case, if you're not here and it gets serious, I'll ask Mr. Zeistoll to handle the reception... "

However, it's not good to only be able to take jobs from Uncle Loanz, so this incident gave me a chance to think about that.

"So, did you have any work?"

"Yeah, I'll take this one."

I showed him the information about the asteroid collection job that Arthur introduced me to.

"Is this it? Sounds good."

The details of the job are as follows:

Job Content: Collection of asteroids in the vicinity of Planet Kolcos and defense in emergencies.

Job Duration: Unclear. Until all asteroids are collected.

Estimated 480 hours (about 20 days) in Galactic Standard Time.

Minimum total work hours: 100 hours.

Breaks are optional.

Job Environment: Free use of accommodation facilities and free meals provided within the accompanying colony.

Fuel supply for the spacecraft.

Job Conditions: Must bring your own spacecraft.

If the brought-in spacecraft is damaged, repair costs are at your own expense.

Installation of management beacon and recording device.

In emergencies, you must respond and sortie even during breaks.

Leaving the area during the job period will result in punishment.

Reward: 2,000,000 credits (fixed).

If the minimum total work hours are not met, the reward will be reduced.

If the job is completed and all asteroids are collected within the minimum total work hours of 100 hours, the full reward will be given.

Note: Quick collection is desired. If it is found that you are intentionally extending the work hours, you will be punished.

"Actually, it's more of an assistant role. The debris collectors will be the main ones doing the collection. Of course, you can collect them yourself if you want."

Anyway, it seems they need more hands.

There are no bonus incentives, but there are no quotas other than the duration.

It doesn't seem to have any strange hidden agendas, so it's a relatively easy job.

However, there was something that had been bothering me since Arthur introduced me to it.

"Why is it written that if the job is completed within the minimum total work hours of 100 hours, it will be fully paid, even though it's estimated to take 480 hours?"

"There are some nitpicky people, so they had to write it. Plus, there's always a chance of something happening."

By the way, the minimum total work hours mean "you have to work at least this much time."

If you fall short by 30 minutes or an hour, you might get a reduced reward, but if your total work hours are only 30 minutes or an hour, you might not get paid at all.

"So, are you taking it?"

"Of course."

But at least it's a more relaxed job than a combat-focused one.

After accepting the job, I headed to the Kolcos area and arrived in the evening.

I was instructed to dock at the cylindrical colony that had been brought along for this project, which was more accurately dragged along.

I was told to rest since the work starts tomorrow.

By the way, this colony has two of its three living spaces as boat parking areas, and the remaining one is for headquarters, accommodation facilities, welfare facilities, repair docks, gas stations, and various warehouses.

I docked the ship and headed to the accommodation facility.

There, I met the old debris collector from before.

"Ah! Uncle!"

"Hey! It's you from back then!"

I had a feeling I might see him since I heard the debris collectors would be the main ones, but I'm really glad to see him.

"Sure enough, you're participating."

"It's a request from the Kolcos government. It's all about debris collection, and many other debris collectors are participating too."

"Is the process similar to before?"

"Yeah. The amount of debris collected matters, but this time, the focus is on secure collection. If you drag it out, you'll get in trouble."

The old man, Riggs Volbard, and I exchanged addresses and decided to work together again.

By the way, Arthur and Seira were also participating.

They weren't being overly affectionate, but they were definitely spreading a lovey-dovey atmosphere, causing many men to shed tears of blood.

The next morning,

a morning meeting was held over the all-facility open line during breakfast.

"Everyone, thank you for participating in this project.

The asteroid collection process itself is simple.

You will load asteroids and rocks into specialized containers and transport them to the designated super-large transport ship.

For objects larger than 50 meters in diameter, we will tow them to the vicinity of Guma, a moon of Planet Kolcos, and perform excavation there.

Therefore, what you will be collecting are asteroids and rocks smaller than 50 meters in diameter.

For objects close to 50 meters in diameter, we will use high-power lasers to cut them before collection.

You might think we should cut everything, but we have a limited number of high-power lasers, and one of the goals is to expand employment through excavation of asteroids larger than 50 meters.

The collection operation itself is aimed at expanding employment, so I hope you understand that.

Please refuel and take breaks at the accompanying colony.

Safety first. If you notice anything, report it immediately.

However, we also can't have the job drag on.

Please work quickly and safely, and avoid accidents.

Please start the work after breakfast!"

Photos and videos from overprotective parents can be enjoyable at first, but they become a pain if shown repeatedly.

Thank you for your comments, feedback, and any typo reports.