Named Mob Monster Summon Candidates (Other)

[Tier-Group 3, Conference Room]

"Outside the Faculty of Engineering, what ranks high in priority?"

"Director-dono, the fields where the technological gap between this world and the otherworld is large, and where books alone can't readily close that gap. That's the gist. In short, the fields that have seen striking progress in the roughly two hundred years since the Meiji Restoration. That's what it comes down to."

"Mint, that's far too abstract. In my view, taking the long view, philosophy, theology, and mathematics, as the foundational learning of a society, ought to be prioritized as summon targets. If all we're after is importing twenty-first-century technology, that's another matter, but if we mean to develop a civilization of our own down the line, these areas will be needed too."

"Rāja-san, but theology wasn't on the summon list, was it."

"If a Shiso (Asura) can't be summoned for it, then it would be well for the dungeon to support an academy of learning for high-ranking monks."

"If we could summon it, this world's religion is Buddhism, so henbit, the 'Buddha's seat,' would be the very thing. But like Japanese beautyberry and the dancing-girl plant, for the time being it's a reserve slot."

"Philosophy and mathematics, then. Marie-san, what sort of Shiso (Asura) would suit?"

"Philosophy first, is it… Something suitable… Oh, that's right, chorogi, Chinese artichoke, a plant whose tubers are eaten. You only ever see it in osechi New Year's dishes, though. Native to China, where it's called kanroshi; in Japan the spelling isn't fixed, but it's written as chōrōgi, 'elder tree,' or chiyorogi, 'thousand-generation tree,' and so on. Or neji-imo, the 'twist tuber.' It looks like a grub."

"A tuber, eh. I've never heard it as a surname. There was a place-name, Imokawa, 'tuber river.' Let's go with that."

"Next, mathematics. Cherry sage, which in America is called Graham sage, so Graham, perhaps. As for the information field that Mint mentioned earlier can't be summoned, well, information is a field close to mathematics, so this works out nicely. Philosophy will be a Doctor of Letters, mathematics a Doctor of Science."

"That makes ten all told. The slots are few, so what's most needed?"

"Within the summon list, for the sake of the residents' livelihoods, nursing, food science, and welfare all rank high in priority, but among them, for easing the burden on the doctor, Sapien-sensei, a nurse, and since there are quite a few beastfolk about, a veterinarian as well, I should think, are needed."

So said Rāja.

"Rāja-san, a nurse and a veterinarian, then. Mint, what shall we do for the summon candidates?"

"Oregano and marjoram are both Origanum herbs much used in Italy, and the former is a masculine noun, the latter, maggiorana, a feminine noun, so the common Italian names Leonardo and Aurora would be easy to grasp."

"Just because they're used in Italian cooking, we can hardly go calling them Pasta or Pizza, I suppose."

"For the dietitian, an edible one… chorogi is already taken… shall we make it chia?"

"Marie-san, what's chia? That thing where they put on a school uniform, wave flags around, and go 'Ossu'?"

"That's a cheering squad. The chia I mean here is the Mexican grain represented by Salvia hispanica. It's sometimes treated as a pseudocereal in a separate category along with buckwheat. Since it's Mexican, something safe like Maribel."

Maribel is short for María Isabel.

"And lastly, welfare…"

"Master, there's no need to force the summoning through in a hurry. Soldiers, police, and teachers are likewise essential to a society, but they're not on the Shiso (Asura) or kindred summon list, so we'll hold off on those too and, for the time being, manage by recruiting from the settlers. As for teachers, perhaps the cause is that the handling of normal schools differs so greatly from world to world."

"A country that can't pay these people a proper wage was a 'failed state,' wasn't it."

"We'll have to take care not to sink into being a 'failed dungeon.' Mind you, the vast majority of dungeons have no Master at all, and as a matter of course pay no one any wages."

"Can't we increase the sales staff? But then, there are merchants in this world too, so there's no need for them to be Shiso (Asura). So it's fine, I suppose."

"Shiso (Asura) won't do, but the kindred we could likely increase… the Master's kindred, doing sales…"

We can have it built within the year! they'd say, and the whole thing would turn into an unholy mess. Or perhaps they'd foist insurance no one needs onto people.