Rather Normal Problems

With the meeting two days away, Takamasa walked through the printing company's machinery. All of the machines were churning and chunking as they printed page after page. Takamasa had done well getting the members of the support group jobs when they wanted or couldn't anywhere else, but he was also beholden to the other seventeen employees of his company.

Takamasa scanned through his clipboard and approached a worker who was sat at a computer and questioned, "how are we progressing with that shipment of paper for the manga prints?"

The man continued to type and focus on his computer while responding, "Sir, I've reached out to the supplier several times in the past six days, but they continue to talk around the subject."

"Do we have any idea why our shipment is being delayed so thoroughly?" Takamasa continued, completely unfazed by the man not facing him nor looking away from his work.

"With all due respect sir," the man responded coldly. "I believe that the supplier found out about the color of your eyes and are purposefully delaying or preventing the shipment."

Another worker nearby was visibly shocked at the exchange the man was having with his boss. Takamasa let out a heavy sigh, pulled off his glasses, and placed his hand on his forehead.

After a few moments, Takamasa snapped back into the current situation and said, "Okay, do we have any other distributors in line? We need to start printing in two days."

"I've contacted six different distributors and, regardless, we're going to be paying more than the last distributor." The man said. "Worst case scenario is that we pay four yen more per page and we receive the paper today. Best case scenario is that we only pay one yen more per three pages and we get the paper the morning that we need to start printing."

"All of that is bad. If we get paper the day of and it doesn't work for our needs then we wasted a ton of money and time, and we default on the printing contract." Takamasa grieved.

"I think you should ask him." the man said as he pointed toward the other worker.

"Oh?" Takamasa uttered quizzically.

"That's the new guy that you hired for contract negotiation." The man said as he continued typing along.

"Is that so?" Takamasa puzzled before turning to the other man. "So, what do you think we should do?"

"Uh," the man half stuttered. "I...I think we..."

"Calm down, take a breath, and then just tell him." the first worker said. "He's your boss not a mythical creature or, what's much scarier for you, a woman!" The man wiggled his hands in the air.

Takamasa let out a chuckle as the other employee gasped, half offended at what he said.

"Also, you should acknowledge your boss while you talk to him." The second worker started before being cut off by Takamasa.

"Look." The middle aged isekai survivor started. "Don't worry about that. He knows I'd rather him work hard than placate me with formalities. I want to know your plan and ideas relating to this."

"Yes sir, of course sir." The second worker responded. "Going over the contract we signed with our current paper supplier brings about a breach of contract clause where they haven't delivered and that makes them liable for replacement or reimbursable costs. Ultimately, if we're at risk of losing another contract or if we do lose a contract because of their failure to deliver then they have to pay for it. Since they said they won't be able to deliver in the time we need then they'll have to pay for replacement and following that, we can nullify the contract and switch to a new distributor."

Takamasa looked at the first worker who turned to look back at his boss before he shrugged and said, "There's a reason we hired him."

"So then, who should our new distributor be, assuming we do nullify the contract after?" Takamasa asked with slightly more hope in his voice.

"Well sir," The contract specialist started. "I believe that if we negotiate with one of the other distributors to pay twice or three times their normal rate for this delivery, thus starting a better relationship with their business and working toward a cheaper cost in the long run."

"And we wouldn't actually have to pay the higher rate because of the breach of contract." Takamasa surmised, impressed at what his newer hire had come up with.

"Sound good boss?" The first worker said having turned back to his computer and returned to typing.

"Sounds good to me. I have complete faith in you two. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask." Takamasa was once again pleased by his employees. "I'm off to put out some other fires. Konomi has been on the phone for the last couple hours trying to secure another publishing house that will print through our service."

"Sure boss, let us know if you need us." The worker said. "You might need him for the contract with the new publishing house."

As Takamasa turned and began to leave the room, the contract negotiator asked the other worker, "So what are you in charge of?"

"Distribution and logistics." the man responded. "We print the books and I make sure they get shipped out to the right places in a timely manner and in the quantities they need. It all has to run smoothly."

"Oh, right." the contract negotiator said as he turned back toward his computer.

Takamasa was thrilled at the work his people were doing, and worried about what he had to deal with next. He marched through the building, toward the printing presses where one of the machines was having a problem. The churning and chunking sounds grew louder as he approached the room with the machinery. There, a man stood next to one of the company's twelve machines which was shut down at the time. He was obviously doing some sort of maintenance on it, but Takamasa was both unsure what he was working on and uneasy about it.

"What's the verdict?" Takamasa shouted to the man, barely audible over the sound.

"The rollers that apply the binding glue aren't rolling." The man also didn't look back at Takamasa but rather continued to work on the machine.

"Can you get it running for the big print in two days?" Takamasa questioned intently.

"I may need to get a couple parts." The man started. "The glue we used for the last print wasn't cleared off and it became too gummy so the teeth on the cog that spins the roller sheered off and then the glue hardened completely which locked the roller in place."

"Fuck!" Takamasa exclaimed. "How much is that going to cost?"

"I'm working on taking the rollers off right now." The man said. "Assuming I can dissolve the glue then we only need to replace the cogs which is the best option and I can have this running by the end of tomorrow. If I can't dissolve the glue then I need to buy new rollers and cogs and that'll get expensive."

Takamasa sighed and paced back and forth for a moment before responding, "I know you'll do your best so no matter how it turns out, just let Konomi know and she'll requisition whatever you need."

"Can do boss." The man said as he continued to work on the machine.

Takamasa turned and left to return to his office to let Konomi know the state of things. The building was large and it took him a few minutes of walking to get back into his office but as he progressed, he was pleased at how everyone continued to work diligently. The former chaos mage found solace in the order he'd been able to create in the world around him. Marching back into his office, Konomi stood and smiled a welcoming smile.

"Welcome back!" She started. "I got it!"

"You got it?" Takamasa said in excitement.

"All printing rights for the next year while they try our business out and they can renegotiate after that. " Konomi beamed at the excitement.

"That's amazing news!" Takamasa said with his excitement stifled by the problems he was just dealing with. "I'll call for our new contract manager to work out the specifics."

Konomi noticed the worry looming over Takamasa and felt the same worry wash over her, but for different reasons.

"Is it about what Shingo found out?" Konomi asked trying to understand.

"What?" Takamasa uttered before properly responding. "Oh. No, not that. There will always be problems related to what happened to us. We don't understand any of it so it'll always be getting worse. Things will always be changing so none of that bothers me. I have more pressing and immediate concerns, truthfully."

"Like what?" Konomi asked intently listening.

"Contracts, a broken printing press, money intake, operating costs and the like." Takamasa lamented. "Really, surprisingly normal stuff in comparison."

"Don't worry about that right now." Konomi consoled. "We will be able to sort all of that out."

"Yes," He responded. "I told the machine specialist to contact you with any requisitions he needs to fix the printing press and we'll need to work out the new contract."

"Let's not think about that right now." Konomi interrupted Takamasa as he rambled slightly. "Let's find a way to distract you for now and we'll deal with the other problems as they come."

"How can I be distracted from all of this?" His pessimism slowly poured out.

"We can talk go on a walk around the city or go to a zoo or aquarium or whatever!" Konomi cheerily said. "You know, Inori plans to tell her story at the next meeting! What do you think her world was like?"