Chapter 4: Charles Babbage
After much consideration, he ultimately decided to take a part-time job.
So even after getting isekai'd, I still can't escape the fate of being a wage slave, huh...
He couldn't help but let out a sigh of resignation.
[In order to attend the social event, you decided to take a part-time job.]
[As long as it doesn't interfere with your studies, Chaldea Academy permits part-time work after school hours.]
[You explained your situation to your roommates and asked if they could recommend any jobs.]
[That's when you learned from Gawain that his friends, Lancelot and Bedivere, had worked at an electronics factory over summer break. Their welding skills were so impressive that they shocked the entire factory. Although the job was tough, the pay was fast—just a few days of work could easily earn you 3000 QP.]
[However, they absolutely did not recommend this job to you. That factory is a labor-exploiting sweatshop run by Edison, with terrible safety conditions and no proper safety training—only the most minimal protective measures.]
[But that's not a problem for you. With A-rank Luck, accidents are unlikely, and even if one does occur, you could just restart the deduce simulation run.]
[You passed the application process without a hitch, and after school, you headed straight to the factory to start working.]
As per the scenario's deduction, Eikou had arrived at Edison's black factory.
"Didn't expect to run into one of my students here."
The math teacher of the Britain class, a robot whose body was made entirely of steel—the Father of the Computer, King of Steam, Charles Babbage—spoke as he emitted a stream of scorching steam.
It's way too hot!
Feeling the constant burst of hot mist coming from the other party, Eikou was quickly drenched in sweat.
"Babbage-sensei, you came here too… don't tell me you work here as well?" he asked, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"No, this is my first time here." Babbage's voice crackled with static. "Edison's factory is extremely accident-prone, which severely disrupts the production process and lowers efficiency. So today, he specially invited me to serve as a safety consultant to check for any flaws in the factory's safety systems. Ssshhh..."
As he finished speaking, another sharp hiss of steam burst out.
"Mochizuki Eikou, I advise you to find a different job. This factory is riddled with danger. To be frank, you could die in here."
Babbage-sensei warned him with utter seriousness.
"It's fine," Eikou replied calmly.
"What drives you to take such a risk?"
"In short… money and women."
"I don't dislike that kind of straightforward reasoning. But I've given my warning. Even with my body of steel, this place frightens me. The power of these lathes is enough to crush me with ease, and they lack any automated safety programs—there's only a single emergency stop button."
Babbage turned his large, heavy steel body and began walking toward the lathe machines.
"Sit here for a bit and don't move around or randomly press any switches. I'm going to inspect the lathes now—if they suddenly activate, I could get caught in them."
"Can't you shut off the power first?"
"No. I need to test their operational performance."
[Babbage is now carefully inspecting the lathe machines. You stay in place, waiting. And at that moment, you spot two familiar figures approaching.]
[Long, fiery red hair, a constant melancholy between the brows — Tristan.]
[And a well-built blond young man, with a radiant smile — Gawain.]
[They're dressed in the factory's worker uniforms and head straight toward you.]
[After checking in, you learn that they were worried about your safety. As Knights of the Round Table, they can't allow a friend to venture into danger alone. If they couldn't stop you, then at the very least, they'll work alongside you — so you can all support each other.]
"Going alone is way too distant," Gawain said with a radiant smile. "Sir Eikou, the work in this factory is super exhausting, you know? For things like this, you should call me. I train physically every day—hard labor is nothing to me!"
"If either of you get injured, I can help with the healing," Tristan added. "I could even play a tune to cheer you up."
"Play a tune my ass, Sir Tristan. You're working in a factory now, and you're still thinking this job is a stage for your musical performance?" Eikou couldn't help but tease, then followed with a grin.
"But really, I appreciate you both coming with me. Two great friends—thank you so much."
"For a friend, this is barely worth mentioning," the warm-hearted Knights of the Round Table replied.
"Well then..."
Eikou rubbed his chin and asked, "What's your honest reason?"
"We want to make money to go to the social event too!!"
Both of them shouted in unison.
"Thought so."
Eikou chuckled. He figured, well, having two jokers like them around might actually make the boring factory work kind of fun.
At that moment, the story deduction system's prompt suddenly appeared.
[You and the two Knights of the Round Table have successfully been hired for a dangerous job at the factory, and now——]
[Initiating a Luck Check.]
A luck check?
Random chance has entered the scenario again. If it fails now, then what—some kind of safety accident?
Surely… surely it'll be fine.
"My Luck is A, you know? Honestly, it'd be harder to fail than succeed."
[No. The one who must undergo the Luck Check is the person standing next to you—Tristan.]
[His Luck stat is E.]
"WHAT?!"
Eikou's eyes flew wide open.
The dice rolled… and stopped.
[This roll resulted in EX Luck — Great Failure.]
Goddamn it, another great failure!
And in a dangerous factory like this, a great failure could literally be deadly!
"I'm not attending the party for frivolous reasons, but because I recently composed a refined and artistic piece of music and wish to take this rare opportunity to present it to any lady with fine taste in—oomph!"
Just as Tristan was explaining away his motive for going to the social event, he suddenly lost his balance and fell forward.
Thud!
"Are you okay, Tristan?!" Eikou's heart nearly stopped as he rushed forward.
Tristan, however, didn't seem too hurt. He had caught himself with his hands on the worktable, so he didn't completely hit the floor—only his knee slammed down.
"It's nothing. Injuries like this are trivial compared to Mordred's sword or Sir Bedivere's iron fists. Though, such a disgraceful fall… my pride is what's truly wounded."
Eikou let out a relieved breath. "Your pride doesn't matter, as long as your body's okay."
Logically speaking, a great failure should've resulted in serious injury in a place like this, but Tristan seemed to have narrowly escaped danger.
"Consider yourself lucky. You know, this place is——"
Before Eikou could even finish his sentence, a strange sound suddenly rang out from Babbage's direction.
Babbage-sensei hadn't noticed the situation behind him. He was still inspecting the lathe in front. But the lathe behind him suddenly activated—without warning.
Due to his large mechanical body, he couldn't avoid brushing against the machine behind him. And the next second, it pulled him in.
"Babbage-sensei!"
"He's getting dragged in! Damn it, how did this happen…?"
All three of them instantly thought of the same thing, and simultaneously turned their eyes toward Tristan's hand—resting on the worktable.
When he fell earlier, Tristan's hand had pressed down on the lathe's control switch!
They'd misjudged the protagonist of the misfortune!
"Babbage-sensei!!"