Fantasy Short Story: The Crybaby Ogre

No matter how many job advertisements I post, there are no applicants.
Students, foreigners, seniors—nobody comes at all.

I was troubled when an internal call came from the HR department.
“Someone has dropped by asking for an interview; what should we do?” There was no reason to refuse. “I’ll see them,” I answered immediately.

When I opened the door to the interview room,
—an ogre was sitting there. Ash-blue skin with a single horn. Half-naked.
When I asked, “...Are you a blue ogre?” he smiled and said, “It’s Earth Blue.”

I heard his story; apparently, he hasn't had any work since the Setsubun event. I see, that’s tough. There aren't many events that require an ogre.
He used to do subcontracting work for the Thunder God, but he couldn't keep it up because he was afraid of heights.

When I asked what else he could do, he explained that due to compliance issues, the number of jobs he can perform has decreased. The ogre apologetically handed me a report summarizing his achievements from long ago.

・Raiding villages.
・Destroying houses.
・Intimidating the elderly.

It was summarized in bullet points and easy to read.
Easy to read, but useless.

…What about computers? I asked, and he replied, “I can handle basic Excel and Word.” When I told him the name of our internal system to see if he could use it, he hung his head and said, “I’ve never heard of it.” He was honest. When I said, “You’re honest,” he hung his head again and said, “I can also tell lies.”
When I asked if he would be okay with miscellaneous chores, he answered immediately, “I am.”

I decided to hire him. I asked him to at least wear a shirt, even though it’s Cool Biz, and he replied politely, “Understood.”

As he was leaving, the blue ogre had tears welling up in his eyes from relief.
I remembered a picture book I read when I was little. I thought, the blue ogre really is a good guy, and for the first time in a while, my heart felt warm.

(End)

※I participated in the project by Mikan Katagiri below. This is the work for Theme 3.

#SparkOfImaginationFor3Themes

🍊51st 3 Themes (Japanese Folktales)
🎈Theme 1: “The Cat That Makes Cherry Blossoms Bloom”
🐾Theme 2: “Mochi Pounding on a Moonlit Night”
⏳Theme 3: “The Crybaby Ogre”