ã€ŠThe Man Picked up by the Godsã€‹


 Volume 1 - Prologue 1

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Prologue 1

    A lone man was standing alone in an empty space.

    ¡°Hmm...? Where is this ce?¡± whispered the man.

    As he uttered those words, three beings suddenly appeared before him.

    ¡°You¡¯vee to?¡± ¨C young boy

    ¡°Are you fully awake now?¡± ¨C old man

    ¡°I would be grateful if you could respond¡± ¨C woman

    ¡°Ah... Yes I¡¯m alright. I was just startled for a bit by your sudden appearance... and wasn¡¯t able to respond. I am Takebayashi Ryouma. (Bamboo Forest Dragon Horse)¡±

    ¡°No need to be so stiff. Come let us drink tea while skipping the formalities.¡±

    Responded the old man with long hair after hearing Ryouma¡¯s response. The old man waved his hand and out came a tea table along with some tea.

    ¡°Thank you very much¡± said Ryouma.

    As Ryouma gave his thanks one of the three beings, a woman, faced him and as she cheerfullyughed said this.

    ¡°Come... seat, seat. Honestly though, you sure are pretty calm huh?¡±

    ¡°True, true. So far everyone that hase here was so shocked that they tried to run away from reality... For a guy toe here sopletely unfazed to the point of being able to calmly hold a conversation, this is without a doubt the first.¡± ¨C young boy

    ¡°What? Isn¡¯t being able to talk quickly a good thing? Though it¡¯s true even I didn¡¯t think it would be to this degree¡± ¨C old man

    Said the three beings as they drank tea. Ryouma took a sip of his tea and asked.

    ¡°If I may ask just one question, where is this ce?¡±

    ¡°We are, in thenguage of your world, gods. As for why you are here, well... unfortunatelyst night while you were sleeping you stopped breathing. When you died, we took your soul and brought you here. In other words, you are in heaven.¡±

    ¨C old man god

    ¡°Oh... I see. It was something like that.¡±

    Replied Ryouma as he nodded seemingly understanding, after which he took another sip of his tea. Hearing that response, the three main gods were bewildered. Especially the god that had the appearance of a young boy.

    ¡°¡±Eh, wai-, that¡¯s it!?¡± ¨C young boy god

    ¡°Couldn¡¯t you be more like, that¡¯s a lie! Or why did I die?! Or something?¡± ¨C female god

    ¡°Hmm... all the people that havee here so far where all a bit more shaken you know? And it doesn¡¯t seem like you think this is a dream, rather, you are taking this really calmly. This is cheating! (TL Note: Line originally says, ¡®Reincarnation cheat!¡¯¡±)

    Truly unusual...¡± ¨Cold man god

    ¡°Please don¡¯t be mistaken, as a matter of fact I am actually very much surprised. It¡¯s just that as far as I know a vast ce like this where everything is white and has no exit, does not exist in my world. That¡¯s why for the three people in front of me to all be gods and the fact that I have already died has be something that I can ept. But even if, perhaps, you were lying and this is in fact a dream, then when the timees I will simply wake up. As such, there isn¡¯t any reason for me to particrly make a fuss, right? In the case that I¡¯ve already truly died, even if I make a fuss now nothing will change. And besides it¡¯s not like I have any attachments to my previous life.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°Oh really? Humans could actually think like this? Did you undergo spiritual training somewhere? Have you actually reached enlightenment?¡± ¨C young boy god

    ¡°That¡¯s not possible... For one I am a worldly man. Almost 40 years old yet my hobbies still include anime, games, manga, and light novels. I¡¯ve never gone out with a girl, but I am definitely not the kind of person that could ever reach enlightenment. It¡¯s possible that I¡¯ve been influenced a tad too much by my hobbies. And for the record I am more or less surprised you know? ¡° - Ryouma

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe it has anything to do with your hobbies. There are many people that have the same hobbies as you that havee before, and rather than being calm they were especially agitated. It was quite a problem because they wouldn¡¯t even listen... it¡¯s not to the point where it was depressing but they were certainly affected far more than other people.¡± ¨C female god

    ¡°Your calm temperate is most likely something you¡¯ve had with you since birth. You, excluding special situations and your social disposition, are bad with sudden responses

    but basically you are always calm, right?¡± ¨C old man god

    ¡°Aah, now that you mention it, that¡¯s about right. I am horrible at dealing with people and am bad at quick lies. The only thing exceptional about me is my ability to always remain calm to understand whatever situation I¡¯m in. As expected of god.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°Actually I already took a look at your file before calling you here¡± ¨C old man god

    ¡°Is that so? I see, then, would it be ok for me to know the reason regarding why I was called here?¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°Of course, but I wonder if you will be able to understand it in one word? ¡¯Cliche¡¯ ¡± ¨C old man god

    ¡°I see, going into a different world, right? Will I simply be transferred? Or since I¡¯m already dead, reincarnated?¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°Looks like the exnation will really be quick, huh?¡± ¨C female god

    ¡°More or less it¡¯s transfer. You will be going into a different world and into a body we made so there won¡¯t be any need for parents or the like¡± ¨C old man god

    ¡°Well the body over there will be quite young so you might be able to call it reincarnation. Also if you have any requests for the appearance we have some luxury to modify it a bit¡± ¨C young boy god

    ¡°I see... May I know exactly how much?¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°In general before 10 years old, if it¡¯s like that then at least even if you get lost in ces like the forest, if your luck is good then there is a possibility of being saved. Also as a kid you¡¯ll be able to live without being suspected and will be able to go the city and start your life there. Of course, we¡¯ll protect you as much as possible.¡± ¨C old man god

    ¡°Thank you very much. Regarding my appearance in the other world, please make it normal. By the way, what should I do in the world I¡¯m about to go to. Is there a mission I have to fulfill or something?¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°It¡¯s not that there¡¯s none but... the act of you going into another world is already a form of mission... but the moment you are able to go there then that duty ends so at the same time it¡¯s like you don¡¯t really have any missions¡± ¨C female god

    ¡°Our objective is to send you to another world and at the same, start exhausting the mana of Earth and then send it to the other world¡± ¨C young boy god

    ¡°Is it only mana that can¡¯t be sent to other world?¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°Yep, because it¡¯s only mana which can¡¯t go over the walls of the world. With the power of a god a thin hole can be opened on the walls of the world. Your soul, protected by the power of god, will be pushed inside the wall. Like this your soul will be like a stuck stick. After transferring your soul to the other world, the hole will stay open for a moment, since the wall can¡¯t close up because of the power of god that is protecting the soul. And then from the hole that was made the mana of this world will flow to the other world.¡± ¨C young boy god

    ¡°The other¡¯s world mana is growing. If the mana dries up then the humans who have been living a lifestyle that relies on magic will of course, be troubled. The magical beasts that feed on mana will be annhiliated. The food chain that is bnced around the existence of the magical beasts will also be broken. The thing is although Earth has mana, the method of using it wasn¡¯t passed down and as a result it¡¯s not being used at all. There¡¯s also no magical beasts on earth, so since no one will be bothered it¡¯s better to send it to the other world¡± ¨C female god

    ¡°I understand... especially the fact that if the mana isn¡¯t purposely being exhausted by something then the other world¡¯s mana must be being used up faster than it can be produced, am I correct?¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°It is exactly as you have said. It¡¯s true that mana is convenient but the current human race relies on magic too much. Whenever they need something done they, without stopping to think, immediately use magic. And although various research has been done on the development... the number of people that use magic without trying to manage or economize have been increasing. As a result the amount consumed has increased... But, while that¡¯s true, the biggest reason behind the mana problem is still the old war which naturally ruined the amount of mana produced.¡± ¨C young boy god

    ¡°For it to go back to the way it was before will take time. But the way it was ruined was too severe and wasn¡¯t able to be restoredpletely. And then in order for humans to manage mana usage requires good training. Otherwise it won¡¯t be possible to easily use good magic. That¡¯s why there is generally no demand for people that are able to conserve mana. It¡¯s unfortunate but this is the current state of the world.¡± ¨C old man god

    ¡°That... um... magic, can I also use it?¡±

    ¡°Of course, you can¡± ¨C Old man god

    ¡°You can¡± ¨C Young boy god

    ¡°You can use it, you know¡± ¨C Female god

    ¡°Really?¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°Oh, finally a normal reaction¡± ¨C Young boy god

    ¡°Ahem, excuse me that was rude¡± ¨C young boy god

    ¡°Well then, in regards to magic. The body in the other world will also be human and whether or not you will be able to use magic will depend on your training¡± ¨C old man god

    ¡°That is reliant on your talent, but as an earthling, especially a Japanese the material should be pretty good as you have an advantage. When ites to magic, the most important thing is image. Even with only that you should be able to do quite a bit... that ability to easily handle magic¡¯s greatest cause is because of the influence of the magic exhaustion¡± ¨C female god

    ¡°And besides once you¡¯ve crossed over to the other world, you will be protected by the power of god so at that time we will give you some of ability. In other words, a cheat. So even if you have no talent we will raise up your level to some extent so as to allow you use to magic, and you will be able to use magic as you wish. But being the number one talent in magic in the world is a bit difficult though¡± ¨C female god

    ¡°Is that some sort of limit? At the start, where I am unable to do anything and then after piling up some training eventually I will be able to use magic. Is it that kind of pattern? But even then more than normal it will be possible to be number one in the world quickly, right?¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°You¡¯re really quick to pick up, huh? That¡¯s exactly correct. Japanese people are quite amazing. Although the number of people who think they are only in a work of fiction and seriously believe are few, to understand the work of god. Things like reading books for fun is as to us peeping at the world. Isn¡¯t us having fun by peeping at the world the same as you guys? Japanese, aren¡¯t we doing the same thing?¡± ¨C young boy god

    ¡°Being told that, certainly... though I have to ask, do you really peep?¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°Yeah, because since we¡¯re basically not able to involve ourselves with the world we¡¯re quite free¡± ¨C young boy god

    ¡°We only involve ourselves when a great cmity has descend and the world is about to be destroyed or at the moment when great harmes, or when someone tries to destroy the world and that person happened to have that kind of power. Well the things I¡¯ve told you are mostly unnecessary. Thest time we were involved was in the world¡¯s time period... about 300 years ago?¡± ¨C young boy god

    ¡°Yeah, I think that¡¯s about right. That time was also the same as this time. It was for the sake of supplement the exhausted mana. Thest time we were involved with anything other than that reason was 5000 years... or was 6000 years ago I wonder? Well in any case I think there should be at least one such case that we handled within these past 10000 years¡± ¨C female god

    ¡°...at the very least the possibility of something like that happening within my life is quite low, right?¡± ¨C Ryouma

    ¡°While I won¡¯t say anything in regards to that but, it¡¯s probably ok. Such a case is quite rare after all. A fake Maou iming to be one maye out but the suppression of the real maou won¡¯t be a big deal. Because in the instance that a real one were toe out we will end it quickly¡± ¨C female god

    ¡°So it¡¯s not like there isn¡¯t a real one... but in any case it¡¯ll be fine right?¡± ¨C Ryouma

    ¡°Exactly, that¡¯s why you can rx and just enjoy your second life. You fancy a world with swords and magic, right? Well it¡¯s that kind of story.¡± ¨C old man god

    ¡°To think that I really will be able to go... I¡¯ve never even thought about it. When I go into the other world I¡¯ll work hard at my magic¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°Well then, it¡¯s about time we began talking about that special favor. First off, let¡¯s take a look at the current state of your talent. Then let¡¯s discuss after seeing what¡¯scking¡± ¨C female god

    ¡°After seeing your status, we¡¯ll give you our advice, match it with what you want and then we¡¯ll decide on what to do¡± ¨C young boy god

    ¡°It¡¯s good if take our time ok!¡±

    ¡°Is that ok?¡± ¨C Ryouma

    ¡°Its fine, we¡¯re free anyway and it¡¯s because the world has some free mana that we came to take you away. Also because you were really calm we were able to talk quickly, giving us significantly more time than we expected.¡± ¨C female god

    ¡°This world¡¯s sense of time has be quite vague you know. Especially the souls of humans seem to be unused to this environment. For them the time used was greater than they thought. To begin with from the moment they woke up until the moment we finally began able to talk calmly took us 4 years.¡±

    ¡°4 Years!?¡± ¨C Ryouma

    ¡°Aah, but you¡¯re ok. We were able to talk fairly quick after all, normally including some idle chatter it would take no more than 10 minutes. But actually it will be better take up some more time otherwise it will be boring. So let¡¯s take our time and talk, ok?¡±

    ¡°Understood. However is it normal to keep being confused for 4 years¡±

    ¡°Well in here you can¡¯t get hungry or thirsty so... when you think about it you can worry all you want¡± ¨C old man god

    ¡°Will the person himself regain his sanity? The point in time at which we make the person calm down also depends on us. The man before you was actually quite arrogant. He wouldn¡¯t calm down for 20 years, somehow, one way or another we were able to make him calm down and after that he was like until I decide my ability shut up! Or you bastards it¡¯s enough as long as you give me the ability I want! After what he said without being able to give him advice he worried until the very end, and in the end he went with an ability that wasn¡¯t very useful, then up and decided to use the a dangerous appearance that will be like the object of persecution.¡± ¨C young boy god

    ¡°Although he reaped what he sowed, after that was really pitiful¡±

    ¡°He ran away from reality and wouldn¡¯t listen. To some extent we let him turn that way you know? Even if we tried to poorly calm him down, him being wary of us is a hassle. Doing that by that time we realized it 4 years had already passed. Not just his soul but even his emotions were running reckless.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡±

    ¡°Well originally the body and the soul is a set. Even if it is preserved by the power of god, in the first ce it¡¯s unstable. It¡¯s that influence. It¡¯s not something to be surprised about. For me you being so calm is a bigger to surprise, you know?¡± ¨C Female god

    ¡°I see...¡±

    ¡°That clear headedness of yours is really beneficial for a magician. If the spirit is unstable the magic will fail and even if it seeds the power will be weak. For a Japanese who likes games and anime to have that kind of tranquility... if on top of that you were to have talent in magic then you will have plenty of factors to help you seed as a magician.¡± ¨C young boy god

    ¡°Exactly, now let¡¯s hurry up and check your status. Otherwise we won¡¯t be able to begin¡± ¨C female god

    ¡°Right, without confirming that you do not have the talent to use magic, we won¡¯t be able to decide what ability to give you.¡± ¨C old man god

    ¡°Even though you have talent in magic, it can¡¯t be helped even if I were to give you talent for the same kind of magic. Well then, your status is!?¡± ¨C young boy god

    ¡°fufufu, from the contents of your documents that I¡¯ve read, you have the highest hidden potential you know?¡± ¨C old man god

    ¡°Ara ara, how exciting¡± ¨C female god

    ¡°Everyone¡¯s really having fun, huh?¡± ¨C Ryouma

    ¡°It¡¯s because this is one of our few pleasures. Well then let¡¯s go! Status!¡± ¨C old man god

    Name: Ryouma Takuma

    Gender: Male

    Age: 39

    Race: Human

    Physical Strength: 10486

    Magic Power: 172

    Power: B

    Speed: A

    Defense: B

    Spirit: SSS

    Endurance: A

    Handiness: SS

    Luck: G

    Living Skills

    Housework Lv10

    Etiquette Lv7

    Musical Instrument Lv3

    Singing Lv3

    Calction Lv5

    Battle Skills

    Taijutsu Lv7

    Kenjutsu Lv7

    Short Sword Arts Lv6

    Hidden Weapon Arts Lv7

    Spear Arts Lv4

    Bow Arts Lv4

    Staff Arts Lv6

    Counterweight arts Lv4

    Throwing Arts Lv7

    Covert Arts Lv6

    Trap Lv4

    Body Maniption Lv5

    Kikou Lv5

    Magic Skills

    Magic Perception Lv1

    Magic Maniption Lv 1

    Magic Recovery Rate Up Lv1

    Production Skills

    Pharmacy Lv6

    Smithing Lv1

    Architecture Lv2

    Woodworking Lv2

    Modeling Lv4

    Drawing Lv4

    Resistance Skills

    Physical Pain Resistance Lv8

    Mental ResistanceLv9

    Poison resist Lv7

    Disease resist Lv7

    Sleep resist Lv7

    Cold resist Lv7

    Heat resist Lv7

    Special Skills

    Vitality Strengthening Lv3

    Super Heal Power Lv3

    Endurance Lv6

    Mental concentration Lv5

    Survival Lv3

    Title

    Gekokujou (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gekokuj%C5%8D?oldid=459411366)

    The Man Who Lost His Life to Bad Luck

    Before the eyes of the four people appeared a board, on that board some characters appeared on the screen. Looking at that, it can be seen that Ryouma is very interesting, but the 3 main gods opened their eyes wide in shock.

    ¡°Wh¨C what is this!!¡± ¨C Old man god

    ¡°What¡¯s with this status!¡± ¨C young boy god

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, how did you live your life again!?¡± ¨C female god

    ¡°Eh, is there something weird?¡± ¨C Ryouma

    ¡°It¡¯s weird! Too weird!¡±

    ¡°Exactly where is it weird? I don¡¯t have anything to base it on so...¡± ¨C Ryouma

    ¡°Right, then let me give you a quick run down. First, this status, physical strength is generally for a normal person 1000 can be considered to be good, for an adventurer 2000, and beyond that 3000, yet yours is over 10000. As for magic, I¡¯ll exin thatter. It¡¯s also rted to your skill. Next is right below that which is your power, speed, defense, resistance, spirit, handiness, well the luck is... besides luck, in general when you reach B rank you can be a first ss adventurer. A status beyond the rank of A rank can be considered to be a super first ss. But as for your stats, besides luck everything is B rank up. Plus you have two stats that go beyond A rank, eve more your spirit and handiness which are SSS and SS respectively are already too abnormal! ¨C Old man god

    ¡°Regarding your luck, while it isn¡¯t something that has a criterion to ranked on, G is definitely way too low. In that sense this too is abnormal, or rather, you did well living up to 39 years old. That too is an unusual level, since with this level of luck it wouldn¡¯t be strange for you to die as a child in an ident. Even if you do be an adult you won¡¯t be able to make much of a living¡±

    ¡°And also, what¡¯s up with this number of skills? Under Martial Arts Skills you have 10, but actually this is still barely eptable but the problem is this, your resistant ss skills are 7, moreover all of it are at an absurd level. You see, resistant ss skills can¡¯t be trained except for consistently affecting your body with those. With pain resistance the requirement is to continuously expose your body to pain and endure. For mental resistance you need to continuously receive mental blows. If it was only level 1 it wouldn¡¯t be too strange but, but level 8 and 9 are too strange. Level 5 is already a level which regardless of how strong a person¡¯s heart maybe will surely cause mental illness. If it¡¯s 8 and 9 it¡¯s a level at the point of which one¡¯s heart breaking and the personmitting suicide is an obvious fact¡± ¨C Female god

    ¡°... For normal people there are a lot that have a skill level from 1 to 3. If it¡¯s level 1 then that¡¯s at the level where they have studied the foundations of a field. If 2 then they have passed the beginner stage and have reached the apprentice stage, at level 3 one can be considered to be fully capable, at 4 skilled, at level 5, a first ss, and at 6, a master. In the same way you train Resist ss Skills, the higher the level the greater the pain you have to endure for an extended period of time. That¡¯s why, you, who has reached abnormal levels like 7, 8 and 9 is weird. I wonder what kind of life you had to have been living in order to end up like this.¡± ¨C Old man god

    Hearing that, Ryouma began his story little by little.

    ¡°In regards to Resist ss Skills do you have any leads?¡±

    ¡°Can you try recollecting the events in your mind for a bit?¡±

    ¡°Recollecting in my mind? Ok, I understand.¡±

    Having said that the 3 gods closed their eyes for a while. During that period Ryouma recollected the events in his past life that may be the reason for his abnormal levels. After a while the three old gods lowered their heads and said one word.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, Sorry!¡±

    ¡°Eh!? Why all the sudden!?¡±

    ¡°We made you remember some painful memories¡± ¨C young boy god

    ¡°We had you read your memories for us because it¡¯s easier that way¡± ¨C female god

    ¡°My memories? You mean it¡¯s not just the same as thinking?¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°Well it¡¯s simr but... you watch videos right? Well, while it¡¯s a bit questionable in regards to privacy but I wanted to know the exact details¡± ¨C old man god

    ¡°I am also just your everyday god, and there were a bunch of things I wanted to see but, seeing your memories you actually made me pull back... to make a god pullback that¡¯s really amazing¡± ¨C young boy god

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, please live as you wish in the other world! The skills you possess are without a doubt a result of your guts and effort! So without holding back please make use of it!¡± ¨C female god

    ¡°Ah, ah...¡±

    ¡°Also don¡¯t forget our power. Because that too will help you out¡± ¨C old man god

 Volume 1 - Prologue 2

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Prologue 2

    ¡°Then, let¡¯s decide what power to give to Ryouma-kun!¡±

    ¡°Alright, well first of all I don¡¯t think Ryouma will need Martial ss rted abilities anymore, so as nned let¡¯s give him a Magic ss Ability... or so I would say but it seems Ryouma-kun also has quite some talent in magic¡±

    ¡°Is that true!?¡±

    ¡°Yep, it¡¯s true.¡±

    ¡°Um... the skills I have only include Magic Detection, Maniption and Magic Recovery Rate UP. And my Magical Strength is only 172. Even with only this, could I really have talent?¡±

    ¡°Well the other world aside, for an earthling those stats are abnormal. Actually I wasn¡¯t able to tell you but since magic has long been forgotten on Earth, the magical power being 0 is supposedly a given. Normally there shouldn¡¯t even be a single person on Earth that has Magic ss Skills.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± -

    ¡°It is. Although there are at least people that have a strong sixth sense and after continuously training, able to receive the Magic Detection ability. However, people that can manipte magic do not exist. And even in the other world, people who possess the skill, Magic Recovery Rate UP, are ridiculously rare, it¡¯s a rare skill you know? For an Earthling to possess such skills, that¡¯s just too amazing... Oh, I got it! Ryouma-kun! How about I give you the skill, All Attribute Aptitude?¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a good idea!¡±

    ¡°Right, that¡¯s probably for the best¡±

    ¡°Um... I¡®m not sure but I feel like this is some sort of super cheat skill, huh?¡±

    Hearing Ryouma¡¯s words, the three godsughed while broadly grinning.

    ¡°Everyone thates here says that¡±

    ¡°Indeed, All Ability Aptitude, it¡¯s definitely border line cheating¡±

    ¡°Right it¡¯s that kind of thinking that many people refused to choose this ability. But you know, the truth is in the other world All Attribute Aptitude isn¡¯t that rare. It isn¡¯t something to make such a big fuss out of¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Umu, there are people who were born with such abilities, and if you think about it as long as anyone trains, then anyone can gain All Attribute Aptitude. If you take a look at a country¡¯s battalion of knights, you will find that there are at least around 10 to 20 people born with the ability. Furthermore, even though the number of attributes that someone with All Attribute Aptitude can use is quite big... But because of that if you train those attributes equally then the development of attribute will be slow. Say there were two magicians, one has many different attribute magic but all of them are weak, but the other can only use one powerful magic. In this case the one who will be more highly valued is thetter.¡±

    ¡°In other words a jack of all trades but a master of none. ¡°

    ¡°Indeed¡±

    ¡°That being the case, it¡¯s not really that amazing... so how about it?¡±

    ¡°Right. Let¡¯s go with All Attribute Aptitude then¡±

    ¡°I understand, Ok. Then you¡¯ll able to use the lower attributes, fire, water, wind, earth and neutral. You will also be able to use the middle ss attributes, electricity, ice, poison, and wood. As well as the higher ss attributes, light, darkness, and space. Is there any other ability you want? We still have quite a bit of room.¡±

    ¡°Can you increase the foundations of my magic?¡±

    ¡°Well it¡¯s possible but, considering the fact that you are an Earthling who was supposed to have 0 Magical Strength, if we were to increase that even more you will most likely end up bing an existence that is no longer human. The norm in the other world is 100 Magical Strength for a normal person, a warrior that also uses magic is around 500 to 700, a normal magician ranges from 1000 to 5000, and a royal court magic practitioner ranges from 10000 to 50000. And then for the people that we have sent into the other world with the body we made, the lowest was 10000. But that still doesn¡¯t include the fact that, that number will still increase depending on the talent and training.¡±

    ¡°In your case, it will definitely increase, and not a meagre amount either¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I believes so. 0 is 0 right? No matter what you multiply it by, it should remain 0. This and that is the same thing. Earthlings are generally supposed to have 0 magical strength. While the possibility isn¡¯t 0, other than you we have only seen one other earthling that has gained magical strength. But even then, it was only 1 magical strength. ¡°

    ¡°There is a big wall that one needs to ovee in order to go from a 0 to a 1. But in your case not only have you surpassed that wall, but you have even increased your magical strength. ording to nature this should be impossible.¡±

    ¡°Well if it¡¯s not possible to increase my magic¡¯s foundation, then I want some magic that will help me not die once I get there. In particr I want, defensive and healing spells¡±

    ¡°Oh right, I forgot about healing spells! Good, good, let¡¯s go with this. In regards to defense all the attributes have various method of defending... it¡¯s a bit minor but how about, Barrier Magic?¡±

    ¡°Barrier! Of course!¡±

    ¡°Alright, good. But again we still have a lot of room left¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Umu, it¡¯s because your soul is really strong. Since the vessel that will ept our power is quite big, how about a special kind of magic?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean by special?¡±

    ¡°Boost Magic and Alchemy, Summoning Arts, and ve Magic¡±

    ¡°I can somehow imagine Boost Magic, Alchemy, and Summoning Arts, but what is ve Magic?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s an ability that allows you to make a contract with beasts that you¡¯ve caught. I guess you could also call it taming. While it can be strong depending on the beasts you¡¯ve caught, finding them a ce to live in may be a bit difficult. I would suggest going with summoning rather than this, since you can just summon them when needed and when not you can unsummon them.¡±

    ¡°Well that¡¯s also fine, but isn¡¯t it a bit half baked? Isn¡¯t there a different way to use ve Magic?¡±

    ¡°Hmm...¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it possible to use Space Magic in exchange for summoning for use with the ve Magic?¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    ¡°What I mean is using ve Magic to catch the beasts, then using space magic to summon or unsummon the beasts. Like this space magic can be used to create a ce that would act like a store house for the beasts, allowing me to summon and unsummon as if I was using Summoning Arts.¡±

    After Ryouma said this, the three gods huddled together and began talking amongst themselves. After a few minutes...

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, that proposal just now is possible but, there¡¯s a bit of a problem¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine for small magical beasts but with bigger magical beasts, the space you need to make will also be bigger. That kind of magic that can create such a huge space, Another World so to speak, is an advanced level magic.¡±

    ¡°So there¡¯s no problem with small or middle size beasts, then?¡±

    ¡°Yep, creating a middle ss Dimensional Home for the beasts can be done one way or another. Only thing though is that since Space Magic is a high level attribute, if a middle ss space magic were to be seen by someone, it will be stand out. But if it was only a low level space magic around the size of an item box, or short distance teleportation then there won¡¯t be much of a problem¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s that much then that¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯ll do things as stealthily as possible¡±

    ¡°Un, then, just one more thing left. What do you want? Should we strengthen your body further and go with different martial ss skills?¡±

    ¡°This body has already been forged by martial arts. Even if I go there, the martial arts that I¡¯ve learned in this world will still apply, right?¡¯

    ¡°Of course, or rather in regards to techniques isn¡¯t the one over yours more varied?¡± (take with grain of salt)

    ¡°Then in that case I won¡¯t learn new martial ss skills and go with what I¡¯ve trained with until now. Also, will my knowledge regarding medicine and medicinal nts still apply there?¡±

    ¡°It will, the basic knowledge of the other world and knowledge regarding the skills will respond to the level of skill you possess now. Once you get there you will understand. Of course, your level of knowledge and ability will remain the same.¡±

    ¡°Understood, well then in that case please grant me the ability of Alchemy¡±

    ¡°Is that ok? If it¡¯s magic, then it will require you to train you know? You won¡¯t be able to use it instantly.¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s alright. Since I already have a way to protect my body and I¡¯ve also already received healing spells. There¡¯s also no problem in regards to martial skills. That¡¯s why, little by little, I want to train my magic. Also alchemybined with pharmacy may turn out to be interesting. Lastly, by extracting the ingredients of medicinal nts it may be possible to create medicine simr to the ones we have in our world, so with that I don¡¯t have much to worry¡±

    ¡°Right... then that¡¯s good...well then, as expected we really have ended way earlier than we nned, huh. Even though I usually get forced to sit with people I don¡¯t like for a long time, why is it that when I find a guy I like the preparations end so fast?¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s good bye¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately, that seems to be the case, after deciding the power we will grant you, without waiting we have to send you to the other side¡±

    ¡°I see... I¡¯m reluctant to part but, this favor that you have given me. I won¡¯t forget it for the rest of my life.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind it. It¡¯s your life, live as you wish.¡±

    ¡°Because we¡¯ll always be watching over you¡±

    ¡°Show us something interesting, ok?¡±

    ¡°As much as possible, we¡¯ll first send you to a safe forest, so no worries¡±

    ¡°This is thest time, so it¡¯s fine to say something selfish you know?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine even if you talk without all the formalities¡±

    ¡°At the veryst won¡¯t you show us your real self?¡±

    ¡°um... yeah, that¡¯s right. Thanks. As expected, if it¡¯s only on the outside then the fact that I¡¯m just acting politely can be seen through, huh.¡± (He stops using formalnguage from here on)

    ¡°You¡¯re human, so don¡¯t think of absurd things. We are god. Noticing is a given¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re Etiquette Level is 7. That¡¯s really amazing. Even amongst the nobles and the royal family, there isn¡¯t someone with a Lv 7¡±

    ¡°Well, hearing that makes me feel somewhat better, since I¡¯m quite bad at dealing with people. Somehow I ended up being able to do things exactly in ordance to form. And because I can do something like this, I was able to barely pass as a working adult. That¡¯s why being found out is quite problematic¡±

    ¡°Even though, right from the start, anything would have been fine¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it also bad to just suddenly talk casually with a god?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s unpleasant if you go too far, but if it¡¯s you then its fine. Besides, my heart is big, I¡¯m a goddess after all¡±

    ¡°I see¡±

    ¡°Do you have any ns after going there?¡±

    ¡°If you have any worries, you should let it all out now¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re all ears here¡±

    ¡°Right... Well in regards to my inter-personal rtionships. 39 years, and I¡¯ve never been able to get along with people well. Even if I go to a different world, I am myself. Even if I go to a different world I don¡¯t think that will change. Honestly, I¡¯m tired of getting along with people. Just keeping up appearances to get along with other people, I¡¯ve actually thought retiring soon would be good¡±

    ¡°If you want to do that, then do it. That too is living¡±

    ¡°But at the same time, since I¡¯m going to a different world, I thought wouldn¡¯t it be a waste if I don¡¯t walk? Hmm... what should I do...?¡±

    ¡°Then, for a while, while you¡¯re thinking of retiring, when you feel like it, how about going on a trip?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°Well whichever way you decide to go, at the start when you enter the world you will be in the forest. If we were to teleport you right at the center of the town, it might end up being a huge mess. That¡¯s why for a while, go live in the forest, and then after that, won¡¯t you try going to the vige? Besides you want to practice your magic right?¡±

    ¡°Ah... well, yeah...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine to take your time. You¡¯re the serious type so when you think of something you end up wanting to do everything. Do it slowly, one at a time. It¡¯s fine to wait until when you feel like it. And even if at the very end you aren¡¯t able to, then that¡¯s also fine.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve already died once, you know? That¡¯s why you will be able to truly be reborn, your previous life is different. So, isn¡¯t it fine if you live as you wish? Especially since right after going there, you¡¯ll be only a kid. So I think it¡¯s fine if you go there and y as much as you want without thinking of anything else, other than protecting your life. Enjoy your practice in magic, Ah... but when you go there, you won¡¯t be able to use everything from the start. But, since, you have the knowledge you had with you on Earth, you should be able to understand very quickly, so don¡¯t be impatient, ok?¡± It will be good if you put emphasis on controlling.¡±

    ¡°Umu, that will be good. In the unlikely case, where a bandit may be there, if it¡¯s you then it¡¯s not like you¡¯ll fall behind.¡±

    ¡°Live at ease, as you wish... huh? If I can live in the forest, then I¡¯ll seclude myself there for a while. You made me a feel a little better just now. Thanks.¡±

    ¡°If you try going to the town, then, it will be good if you go to the church, frequently. Although we can¡¯t meet, if you can get a Skill of Trust, then for a short time, there¡¯s a possibility we may be able to talk. The higher the level, the longer and more frequent¡±

    ¡°Roger that, when I go to the city, I won¡¯t forget and we¡¯ll talk.¡±

    ¡°Un, I¡¯ll be waiting¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah, won¡¯t the three gods tell me their names?¡±

    ¡°Ah... now that you mention it, we haven¡¯t able to tell you, huh? Please, excuse my rudeness, I am in the other world ¡°Seiruforu¡± the Creation Deity, the greatest god, Gayn.¡±

    ¡°I am the god of life, Kufo¡±

    ¡°I am the god of love and healing, Rurutia¡±

    ¡°Gayn, Kufo, Rurutia. I¡¯ve memorized it. I don¡¯t know how long it will take, but I promise I will definitely go the temple.¡±

    ¡°At that time I¡¯ll have you talk to me¡±

    ¡°I am also free so... ho ho ho¡± -

    As Gaynughed, Ryouma¡¯s body began to be covered with light, the size of a grain.

    ¡°... Looks like it¡¯s time¡±

    ¡°Umu, Just like the light novel of your world, temte, all the sudden being calm... there¡¯s nothing to worry about¡± (didn¡¯t get thetter half of this line very well)

    ¡°Well then, there¡¯s nothing left to say... Until the next time we are able to talk again, based on the standards of man it will take quite a bit of time¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s about right... But whatever you say, I¡¯m grateful to the three gods. And then... oh right, why is it that I have magical strength and magic ss skills going into another world?¡±

    ¡°Ah... that¡¯s because...¡±

    ¡°You kept going over the routine your dad made you until the day before you died, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s cause it¡¯spletely be a routine, besides I had the time¡±

    ¡°In that routine you also meditated every day, without missing, right? That is the cause of your magical strength. That¡¯s why, without thinking about it you were able to detect magic, and have been able to continuously manipte magic. Because you earnestly continued to do that, without noticing it, you kept using up magic. As a result you ended up with the Magic Recovery Rate UP Skill. There are also other reasons, but us gods of a different world, do not know it either.¡±

    ¡°I see... thanks, just understanding that is enough. I will be born again, the things that happened in earth have nothing to do with me, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t think about it anymore¡±

    As Rurutia said that, the light became stronger.

    ¡°Ah, by the way, in the end... why did I die? I should have been sleeping as usual... was it a heart attack?¡±

    ¡°Nah, you hit your head while sleeping and ended up with brain hemorrhage¡±

    ¡°Eh!? I don¡¯t remember such a thing at all though!?¡±

    ¡°Un... well yeah, that¡¯s true¡±

    ¡°I also haven¡¯t seen anyone die in that way other than you¡±

    ¡°You know... although it¡¯s hard to say, the thing is you sneezed a lot, you know? Many times.¡±

    ¡°... huh?¡±

    ¡°4 times actually. While you were sneezing, the pillow slipped out, and at thest moment, you hit your head against the floor. It¡¯s because your futon was cheap, that¡¯s why there wasn¡¯t much cushion.¡±

    ¡°Although it wasn¡¯t to the extent were it woke you up, that served as an impetus to the cutting of several blood vessels in your brain. Then until morning came, your brain,pressed by the hemorrhage...brought you to your death bed....¡±

    ¡°Howe I died like that?! What is that! Hit the head and bleed, from what I know that normally happens in idents, no? But, a sneeze!? I died while sleeping because of a sneeze? I just can¡¯t ept it!!!¡±

    ¡°C-Calm down...¡±

    ¡°I... I don¡¯t know what I should say, but...¡±

    ¡°I understand that you can¡¯t ept it, but, it can¡¯t be helped anymore...¡±

    ¡°... right .. haa ... cause of death: Brain Hemmorage, cause: Sneeze. ... Today, this is definitely the most shocking thing.¡±

    While saying that, the light grew stronger again.

    ¡°Mu... looks like its ready¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s time, although I don¡¯t really want to end this with this kind of conversation¡±

    ¡°Stay well, and be happy, ok?¡±

    ¡°Ahh, got it... truly, truly from the bottom of my heart thank you very much!!¡±

    ¡°Umu! Go! Open the gates to a new world!¡±

    ¡°We grant you our blessings!¡±

    ¡°Let there be light on the road of your journey!¡±

    ¡°Enjoy your new life!!! ¡° (The three gods in conjunction)

    Right after that, Ryouma was swallowed up with a light brighter than any other. And when that light disappeared, Ryouma was no longer there.

    ¡°...Looks like he was able to leave safely¡±

    ¡°We were able to give him power without any problems... the resulting magical strength was tremendous... much more than expected¡±

    ¡°The other end of the transfer is a safe forest without any strong beasts or animals, its fine right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, I hope that kid finds happiness¡±

    ¡°I hope so too. The world is overflowing with unfortunate people but, in his case, the kind of misfortune he has is different...¡±

    ¡°Sigh... exactly what is the god of earth thinking!? To think that he would actually change a living being¡¯s destiny!¡±

    ¡°Most likely Ryouma Takuma was originally supposed to have be some sort of amazing person. Perhaps, as a martial artist. But with the sleight of hand that destiny was changed, the people he should have met was mostly filled and changed with malice, closing the road that should have been there.¡±

    ¡°And in the end, the happiness that he should have received was taken away... I don¡¯t know if the god received something from a believer or something, but this way of doing things is... rather than being a god isn¡¯t it more like a demon¡¯s?¡±

    ¡°I heard that faith on earth has been fading but, is it that bad? At any rate it¡¯s not an act that should have ever been done¡±

    ¡°His abnormal Resist ss Skill Level is a result of the god¡¯s curse which caused him to suffer. Because of that his level grew higher than normal¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t able to say it to Ryouma-kun but because he was influenced by the power of a god, that¡¯s why he ended up gaining Magic ss Skills.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s make him happy on the other side... I take it there¡¯s no objection?¡±

    ¡°Of course. As the god of life, He, who desperately lived through his past life, can receive Lv 5 survival skills¡±

    ¡°Is that ok? Can his vessel take it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine. I just added a bit of power to his originally Lv 3 survival skills to transform it. From the start he was someone who held a skill of the same kind, not only is it easy to add but also safe... but really, no matter how you look at it, it¡¯s an abnormal skill. To think that he was able to go this far with his survival skills in good ol¡¯ peaceful Japan. I do wonder though exactly what was he doing with his traps in that kind of environment¡±

    ¡°... It seems like in order to keep his living expenses in check, he was quietly using traps to catch pigeons in the park, bringing them home and eating them. And since he kept doing it secretly, in the end he also ended up increasing his covert skills¡±

    ¡°Thinking from the perspective of Japan¡¯smon sense, that¡¯spletely an out, isn¡¯t it? Well... it¡¯s because he was able to do something like that, that he was able to live until 39 years old.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it fine since he will be able to get along with Seiruforu quickly?¡±

    ¡°True, the world he is facing may be Seiruforu... or wait a moment, then in that case give him survival skills before he wakes up¡±

    ¡°I, too, as the goddess of love will grant him the blessed protection of human rtions¡±

    ¡°As for me I will change his luck a bit from being too low to one a bit better than average... and as for his face instead of an ikemen (good looking guy) I¡¯ll give him a face that gives off a gentle feeling since he isn¡¯t really used to women, so... being popr all of the sudden may just bring him trouble.¡±

    After that for a few minutes the gods closed their eys, stood up. And then after which, they opened their eyes and began talking.

    ¡°Well then, the next thing to do is waiting, huh? Well this is something basic, so I wonder if its fine?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s definitely ok, he has survival skills after all¡±

    ¡°Well then that¡¯s fine, so let¡¯s go fix his identity settings. There shouldn¡¯t be a problem if it¡¯s in Seiruforu, and that abnormal Skill Resist Level needs to be exined... or else¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s ok or not to say its happiness but... Pain Resist and Mental resist are Lv 8 and Lv 9. That musn¡¯t be found out with only a little prodding¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s at the level where if people see it, they¡¯ll sympathize¡±

    ¡°That the heart wasn¡¯t broken is really a miracle, you know? Well as long as the person hasmon sense, they won¡¯t go around trying to open old wounds¡±

    ¡°Then in that case how about this setting? A boy who was influenced for a long time by some cruel circumstances, bing distrustful of others and without going to the city lived in the forest. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°Needs a bit more details but for a summary that should be pretty good. And though it¡¯s a different world it¡¯s not really far off from what happened¡±

    ¡°And practically speaking, he does have a tendency to be distrusting of humans.¡±

    ¡°I think he actually did a good job to grow up without being too twisted, considering the environment¡±

    ¡°Umu, His personality was more or less twisted but... in Seiruforu that range of idiosyncrasy should pass. Besides he also possess Japans morals, so I don¡¯t think he will go off the right path. If it¡¯s only Seiruforu¡¯smon sense, but... ¡°

    ¡°That can¡¯t be helped. On the other side is a dangerous world, different from Earth, and has no hesitation in taking human life.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s right... Shall we put the details in?¡±

    After that the three gods begun discussing and then they too crossed worlds on their own and returned to the world they should be.

 Volume 1 - Prologue 3

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Prologue#3

    Edit: 2016/03/07 added names, edited a few lines, and fixed some wrong names. Particrly Martial God = Teagle; Melia = Sage.

    After the three main gods returned home, they called the souls of two elders.

    ¡°Oi!... what the?¡±[Man]

    ¡°Where is th¨C!! Teagle? Is it Teagle!?¡± [Woman]

    ¡°Melia!? How!?¡± [Teagle]

    ¡°Ah... looks like you¡¯vee to¡± [Gayn]

    At that voice the 2 elders came to notice the three gods and turned around.

    ¡°Wh-who the fuck are you?!¡± [Teagle]

    ¡°Wait Teagle! You people are, gods, right?¡± [Melia]

    ¡°Precisely, you did well figuring that out. It was us that brought the two of you here.¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°Because of my age, I was being nursed by my husband and should have already died. That I¡¯m here, then does that mean Teagle also?¡± [Melia]

    ¡°Yeah... Of all things thest thing I saw was that piece of shit vige chief... And? What did you bring us here for?¡± [Teagle]

    ¡°Well... you see, we want the two of you to lend us your names.¡± [Kufo]

    After that the three main gods exined to the two the exhaustion of mana and the supplementation of it by taking mana from a different world. During that, they also talked about the situation of Ryouma Takebayashi.

    ¡°I think, I got the gist of it... in other words this guy you brought from another world is packing quite a bit of heat, so in order not to arouse suspicion you want us to make it so that he is our disciple.¡± [Melia]

    ¡°Exactly, not only did hee from another world and is talented at martial arts, but he is also talented at magic.¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°If you include even the gifts you¡¯ve given him then, he¡¯ll end up going past the realm of geniuses.¡± [Melia]

    ¡°While I didn¡¯t add anything to his martial skills, I made it so he can use various magic. Depending on how he trains, he can grow really fast. Moreover, being able to use both martial and magic skills, he¡¯ll end up reaching an absurd level. So I want to make it so that he was picked up by you guys and was taught various techniques. And besides...¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°This is his status¡± [Gayn]

    When the two elders saw the status, their faces were filled with shock.

    ¡°Wh-what is this guy?¡± [Teagle]

    ¡°For Resist ss Skills to actually end up like this..." [Melia]

    ¡°Umu, the Resist ss Skills are especially abnormal." [Gayn]

    ¡°From the looks of things, the god of the other world intentionally gave him bad luck and stole the happiness that he should have had. Thanks to that he kept living his life in suffering. These various skills were not given by us so we can¡¯t exactly erase it. But the thing is, once he gets there he¡¯ll definitely get asked how his Resist ss Skills ended up like that.¡± [Rurutia]

    ¡°That¡¯s why you chose our vige.¡± [Melia]

    ¡°Well that does make sense, the people around the vige are quite problematic. Children and people who can¡¯t fight get bullied a lot as useless trash... but, won¡¯t they find out? All they need to do is ask where that kid¡¯s family is and they¡¯ll find out right there and then.¡± [Teagle]

    ¡°There¡¯s no such worries. Since, a few months after you guys died, the vige was destroyed. There¡¯s no one left in that vige anymore.¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°What!?¡± [Teagle]

    ¡°What happened?¡± [Melia]

    ¡°Well you see the people of that vige were making killing out of the weapon and medicines you guys made, but when you guys died all that went down the drain. In the end they weren¡¯t really able to find a way to make a living.¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°After you guys died, the vige head couldn¡¯t make as much money as you two and went mad. The useless people and the children who lost their rtives were then sold to ve traders. And eventually, even the vigers themselves started to get sold to the ve traders. When the vigers found out about that, it became a huge mess and the vigers killed the vige head. The vigers then took all the money the vige head saved and tried to run away to the vige. Along the way though, they ended up falling out and most of them died, the few survivors were then caught by ve traders and were sold.¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°Tch! How helpless can someone be!?¡± [Teagle]

    "They continued to abuse people with lower sses for over 150 years, you know? Considering that twisted tradition of theirs, it¡¯s already plentymendable that theysted that long." [Gayn]

    ¡°True... Then from the looks of it there¡¯s no problem. Go ahead.¡± [Melia]

    ¡°I¡¯m also ok with it. Besides we¡¯re already dead. So it doesn¡¯t matter anymore. I was called the Martial God (TL Note: Chufeng!) during my lifetime, but honestly it never really mattered.¡± [Teagle]

    ¡°Rather if possible I would like it if that kid could continue the research I couldn¡¯t finish...¡± [Melia]

    ¡°No problem I¡¯ll let him know. Although I don¡¯t what he will do... is that ok?¡± [Rurutia]

    ¡°Of course, whatever happens is the kid¡¯s choice. After all this is only my selfishness.¡± [Melia]

    ¡°Then in that case tell him where I hid Melia¡¯s book and my weapons. There were quite a bit of stuff I didn¡¯t want to give to the vigers so I hid them before I died. If it¡¯s you guys, then you understand, right? If the boy is going to inherit Melia¡¯s research, then those things will definitely be necessary. My weapons should prove to be helpful.¡± [Teagle]

    ¡°Consider it done. I thank the two of you for your cooperation.¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°As thanks I¡¯ll arrange it so that the two of you meet in your next life as well." [Rurutia]

    ¡°My... thank you.¡± [Melia]

    ¡°Why? Why would you do something like that just because we lent you our name after dying? Ah... whatever, I¡¯ll just gratefully take it. To the brat from the other world too! Thanks kid!¡± [Teagle]

    After that the three main gods saw the two elders off, and dealt with the preparations for the next life. And then after finishing the settings at thest moment, sent Ryouma a letter. The 3 gods ran some checks on the world that has been supplemented with mana, and then went back to their everyday lives.

 Volume 1 - Start â€“ Life in the Other World

    In the other world, Seirofuru, within one of the countries, was a man named Takebayashi Ryouma. He was sent to the Forest of Gana in the kingdom of Rifo-ru. As soon as he woke up he took advantage of theck of people and began his training in Martial Arts and Magic. Three years passed in the blink of an eye and not once has he thought of stepping out of the forest.

    ¡°Alright... I guess this is the day¡¯s meal¡±

    Ryouma spent his day to day life gathering fruits, hunting animals, and using magic he learned. It was afortable life full of freedom and free of chains.

    He made his house by digging a cave out of a cliff with the use of Earth Magic and put up a barrier for the entrance. The earth and sand he got from digging, with a flick of earth magic, were used to create the furniture.

    As for meals, there were plenty from the surrounding forest. And with the use of the Neutral Type Magic ¡°Appraisal¡±, Ryouma could know whatever information he needs. Can it be eaten, can it not be eaten? Without question, Ryouma can distinguish these things. Moreover in his previous world Ryouma couldn¡¯t use magic and because of this waspletely immersed in his new found hobby, magic.

    Especially the ve Magic.

    Actually, when Ryouma first used ve Magic, he had only wanted to try it out and caught the slime near him. But somehow one way or another he ended up raising it as a pet and after half a year, something changed. The slime evolved.

    When Ryouma woke up that day, he saw the slime and noticed that its color had changed. Somewhat startled, he quickly used his Beast Appraisal ability and found out that the slime had evolved from a slime to a sticky slime.

    Sticky Slime

    The sticky slime isposed of highly cohesive viscous liquid. It can spit out the viscous liquid, as well as use the viscous liquid hidden in its body to capture its prey and devour it.

    Skills:

    ? Strong Stricky Liquid Lv1

    ? Digestion Lv3

    ? Absorption Lv3

    ? Split Lv1

    Ryouma pondered on why the slime suddenly evolved and he figured that the culprit must be the Green Caterpir.

    For meals Ryouma generally fed the slime his leftovers and during hunting, he would continuously feed the slime the dead green caterpirs that kept appearing. He figured that was probably the reason. Wild slimes were at the bottom most of the ecosystem. Normally, without being able to catch their own preys to eat, they are only left with the choice of swarming over the corpses of the dead.

    With that in mind, Ryouma had his meals every day and the left overs of that meal were given to his slime to eat. In other words, Ryouma¡¯s slime is different from wild slimes and is able to eat every day. Moreover within the meal of the slime were some viscous body fluids. The green caterpirs that spit viscous threads were included in the day to day meal. Ryouma considered this to be a probable hypothesis for the evolution of the slime.

    After that day Ryouma caught three slimes and everyday he would continue to feed it green caterpir. And after two months the three slimes had all evolved into sticky slimes just as he suspected.

    Because of this Ryouma¡¯s interest in ve Magic increased and he caught arge number of slimes and made them eat various things. Speaking of which, because of these the food consumption shot off through the roof... until he thought of a n tobine his traps with the sticky slimes. Like this he was able to secure the feeds for his slimes.

    The end result? Ryouma¡¯s slimes¡¯ current status as of this time are as follows:

    Sticky Slime x 153

    What started out as 4 slimes, somehow ended up this many after splitting. Also the abilities at the start were only Strong Cohesive Liquid, Digestion, Absorption, and digestion but after a while the slimes also learned Cohesive Hardening Liquid, Cohesive String Shot, and Jump. From the looks of things it seems even magical beasts can learn skills by training. Also it seems it is also possible to learn new skills bybining already learned skills.

    After studying the properties of the cohesive ss skills, Ryouma was pondering on whether or not the 2 kinds of liquid, Strong Cohesive Liquid and Sticky Hardening Liquid, from the slime will be able to create something. Doing that he noticed that he was able to make something threadlike. Wanting to see whether the slimes will be able to create the same thing in their body, he made them do it. It took some practice but after a while the slimes learned the skill.

    Current Skills:

    ? Strong Cohesive Liquid Lv4

    ? Sticky Hardening Liquid Lv1

    ? Sticky String Shot Lv1

    ? Jump Lv1

    ? Digestion Lv3

    ? Absorption Lv3

    ? Split Lv3

    Poison Slime x 188

    This slime evolution is a result of continuously being fed poisonous nts and animal feed. But because of the method of ingesting poison, arge number of slimes died in the process, and only a handful of slimes managed to evolve. After that, due to splitting the slimes ended up with this number.

    Skills

    ? Generate Poisonous Liquid Lv3

    ? Poison Resistance Lv3

    ? Generate Paralyzing Poison Liquid Lv3

    ? Jump Lv1

    ? Digestion Lv3

    ? Absorption Lv3

    ? Split Lv3

    Acid Slime x 100

    A slime born out of sheer coincidence. Apparently in order for the slimes to consume the hard bones of beasts, the slimes body responded by increasing their digestion ability. After splitting the numbers ended up like this.

    Skills

    ? Generate Strong Acid Lv3

    ? Acid Resistance Lv3

    ? Jump Lv1

    ? Digestion Lv4

    ? Absorption Lv3

    ? Split Lv2

    Cleaner Slimes x 11

    Another slime born out of sheer luck. Slimes are omnivores, but they have a particr fondness for drinking water. When Ryouma washed his body, there were some among the slimes that wanted to drink the water Ryouma used. Well, it didn¡¯t seem like it really mattered so he left them alone, and then they ended up like this.

    Skills

    ? Cleaning Lv4

    ? Deodorization Lv6

    ? Deodorization Liquid Lv4

    ? Disease Resist Lv5

    ? Poison Resist Lv5

    ? Jump Lv1

    ? Digestion Lv3

    ? Absorption Lv3

    ? Split Lv1

    Scavenger Slim x 457

    Ryouma was unhappy with the fumesing from the toilet and the ce he designated for trash. Remembering how the slimes liked to gather around the foul stench of dead bodies and the case of the cleaner slimes. He decided to catch 20 new slimes and threw them all there. The result was the Scavenger Slime. This evolution is able to turn its digested nutrients into fertilizer and throw it up. It also splits far more frequentlypared to other slimes.

    Skills

    ? Disease Resist Lv5

    ? Poison Resist Lv5

    ? Eat Filth Lv5

    ? Cleaning Lv6

    ? Deodorization Lv6

    ? Deodorization Liquid Lv4

    ? Release Stench Lv4

    ? Return Nutrients Lv3

    ? Jump Lv1

    ? Digestion Lv6

    ? Absorption Lv3

    ? Split Lv6

    Like this, Ryouma¡¯s pets numbered over 900. From the start Ryouma had always enjoyed setting additional milestones for himself whenever he yed games, and never found any difficulties with doing mindless things repetitively like raising levels. Aftering here, with no one to stop him, he hadpletely lost even the tiniest tinge of self-control.

    Incidentally, because tamers normally ignored slimes, no one knew anything of the slime evolutions. And the cleaner slimes and scavenger slimes in particr are new species that have never existed before.

    Ryouma¡¯s days were spent like this, continuously indulged with the slimes and his magic. From time to time beasts and bandits woulde around but they were all crushed by the number of slimes and traps. And as for the ones who did manage to do something, they were killed effortlessly by Ryouma¡¯s own fighting strength.

 Volume 1 - 1

    The Man Picked up by the Gods Volume 1 Chapter 1

    ~Side Ryouma~

    Today was like any other day and I was out hunting to get some food for my slimes. Only, today, some visitors came. They didn¡¯t seem to be bandits, so they were normal people. Within the three years I¡¯ve been living isted here in the forest, I haven¡¯t met any other humans that weren¡¯t bandits. This was the first time in a long while.

    The number of people reflected in my eyes is 5. All of them except for one were wearing armor. That guy who wasn¡¯t wearing an armor was covered in blood and wrapped with bandages. Looks like he¡¯s hurt.

    ¡°Ugg... Uggh¡±

    ¡°Hyuzu! Pull yourself together!¡±

    ¡°Camil! Mana is!?¡±

    ¡°Sorry... It¡¯s not ready yet¡±

    ¡°Leav... Me...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t say stupid things!¡±

    From the looks of things, they seem to be in a really bad state. I think I should take them with me to my house to let them rest and I could also help tend to their wounds.

    In order to do that, I need to go to them and talk to them in a way without being threatening. Hmm... but then, what should I say? ¡°Good day?¡± Yeah right... the circumstances don¡¯t fit at all! How about, ¡°Hey! you guys! You guys are definitely suspicious, right!? .... Actually I haven¡¯t talked to anyone for the past 3 years so I havemunication disorder...¡± Something like that?

    While I was in the process of thinking up of a way to put down their guard, they spotted me.

    ¡°Tch! Who¡¯s there!?¡±

    ¡°Wait!¡±

    The man who walked in front pointed his sword immediately but the guy behind him made him stop.

    ¡°I apologize for that, just now. We were just being cautious. By the way, who are you? And why are you here? This is a bit too deep in the jungle for a kid so you must be lost, huh?¡±

    Asked the man, but somehow Ryouma¡¯s voice couldn¡¯te out.

    ¡°... Hunt¡±

    ¡°Hunt? Hunting? You?¡±

    ¡°Trap¡±

    ¡°Oh, you hunt by using traps?¡±

    Somehow someway the guy understood what I nodded vigorously to indicate that he got it right.

    ¡°But this ce is dangerous... ah, whatever. Rather than that, why are you blocking our way?¡±

    I pointed at the wounded man.

    ¡°Wounded...¡±

    ¡°Exactly, my subordinate is wounded, which is why we are in a hurry.¡±

    I hurriedly brought out the potion I made, but seeing that, the guy with a sword from a while ago went in front. I quickly jumped back and showed them the potion.

    ¡°Wait! ... Is that a potion?¡±

    I nod.

    ¡°Wound... dangerous... Medicine... Use¡±

    ¡°You would let us use that medicine¡±

    ¡°Hurry...¡±

    Hearing those words, the men nced at each other and carefully took the bottle.

    After they confirmed that the contents weren¡¯t poisonous they gave made the wounded man drink it. After a little while, the color of the man¡¯s face became slightly better and they lowered their guard a little.

    ¡°I give you my thanks for giving us this medicine. Like this, Hyuzu may be able hold on for a bit longer.¡±

    I wanted to tell the guy who was thanking me to go to my house to get some rest... but

    ¡°House... Rest...¡±

    This is pathetic, the words just won¡¯te out at all. It¡¯s not like he is a bear or something. I tried talking again and somehow someway I was able to get my thoughts across. Somehow...

    We came across a bit of a problem along the way, but somehow we managed to reach the cliff. Whenever I leave I would normally use Earth Magic to shut the entrance tight, so I used Earth Magic to open the entrance and invite them in.

    ¡°Inside, wee¡±

    ¡°Thank you¡±

    When everyone managed to get in, I put up the Barrier of Hiding. Seeing that, one of the armor wearing men spoke up.

    ¡°This is... Barrier Magic? That¡¯s a pretty unusual magic, huh? Is the barrier, hiding us?¡±

    I nodded my head once and then replied.

    ¡°Can run... You five... don¡¯t worry¡±

    ¡°R- Right. Thanks¡±

    Nodding once, we went deep into the cave. As expected, if someone were to suddenly bring you to their ce with nowhere to run, you¡¯d be anxious. But rather than that, I wonder what I should do... More or less it¡¯s gotten better but, I still can¡¯t seem to talk properly...

 Volume 1 - 2

    Volume 1 Chapter 2

    ~Side Rheinhart Jamil~

    That boy we met who gave us medicine for Hyuzu, brought us deep into the forest. I wondered to myself. Why is he in a ce like this? And looking at him, I can see that he¡¯s quite young.

    ¡°Is there really a ce we can rest at if we keep going this way?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. But the medicine he gave us didn¡¯t have any poison and I can¡¯t feel any hostility from the kid¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s probably because he uses traps to hunt... that kind of hunter would make a safe zone inside the forest so he can hide easily. So it¡¯s not too strange for there to be a camp deep here in the forest¡±

    The other three that was with them also had their suspicions. After all no matter how you put it, even if there¡¯s no hostilitying from the kid, a kid out here in the forest is definitely strange. Only, the clothes he¡¯s wearing are too clean. So regardless of how cheap those clothes are, he shouldn¡¯t be a bandit.

    While thinking about various things, the kid suddenly stopped.

    ¡°Is there a problem?¡±

    ¡°Trap... Prey, caught... Wille... now¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s good that you caught something but, what do you mean it wille¨C!¡±

    All of the sudden, near the boy, a slime came out of the thicket. Immediately, I took my sword out and shed at the slime.

    But the kid went and stood between me and the slime. What are¨C! ...Ku!?

    Like flowing water, he took out a dagger from his waist, pointed it diagonally downwards and parried my attack. And then he tried to hit my wrist with his dagger¡¯s pommel.

    Right after, the boy jumped back taking some distance, but at the same time he took with him the slime I tried to cut... The slime I tried to cut... then, perhaps?

    ¡°You bastard! What do you think you¡¯re doing!? Rheinhart-sama please step back!¡±

    ¡°Wait! Kid, is that slime your ve monster?¡±

    Hearing that, the kid nodded deeply many times.

    ¡°Sheathe your sword Jill¡±

    ¡°But!¡±

    ¡°Stand down! In this situation, the one at fault is me. This kid didn¡¯t do anything other than protecting his ve monster from my attack. Also he didn¡¯t try to attack me after protecting the slime. Above all, he never had any intentions to hurt me.¡±

    Otherwise that one attack wouldn¡¯t make sense. He didn¡¯t use the de but instead used the pommel. Clearly, he never had any intentions of actually fighting. But still... what the hell is this kid? Even though I¡¯m like this, I still have confidence in my sword, you know?

    ¡°My apologies, I didn¡¯t know it was your ve monster. But a slime, huh? That¡¯s really nostalgic, when I first started out I also started with a slime¡°

    ¡°...ve Magic... Practitioner?¡±

    ¡°Well, former ve Magic Practitioner. A few years ago when I got married, my ve monsters grew too old to fight. I¡¯ve never really tried to tame a new one ever since. Since I¡¯ve already settled down. But, let me tell you, in the past I took with me beasts like Red Horse and Blizzard Ape.¡±

    ¡°... Amazing person?¡±

    ¡°You see, my household have been ve Monster Arts Practitioners for generations. From the moment we were born, we are taught all sorts of things. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m particrly gifted at magic. Although when ites to my sword arm, I do have quite a bit of pride.¡±

    The kid took the rabbit the slime brought to him, put it in the pouch on his waist, and then we started walking again. From time to time we would stop, and slimes woulde to bring him small animals. After a while we were finally able to see a cliff.

    ¡°Wait¡±

    After saying that, the kid held his hand out towards the surface of the rock and used Earth Magic. A part of the rock broke down as if it were dissolving and an entrance appeared.

    ¡°Inside, wee...¡±

    ¡°Thank you¡±

    From the looks of things, this is his so called home. I see, using Earth Magic he created a cave inside the cave. Certainly, if it¡¯s like this, then it¡¯s probably safe. While thinking that, as we entered the cave, the boy used magic on the entrance. When Camil saw that, he couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    ¡°Is this Barrier Magic? That¡¯s some pretty unusual magic you¡¯re using there, huh? Is the effect concealment?¡±

    The kid nodded once and then answered.

    ¡°...Can run... You five... don¡¯t worry¡±

    ¡°R¨CRight. Thank you¡±

    I wonder if he noticed that we were still being cautious until now. After this, I definitely need to apologize. After walking deeper into the cave, we saw walls and surfaces smoothed out cleanly. Furniture made out of stone and wood decorated the room and the surrounding walls had glowing magic stones. Although we were inside a cave, the room had plenty of light.

    ¡°This is¡±

    ¡°What a surprise, it¡¯s actually more of a house than I had thought¡±

    ¡°Here... wounded, sleep¡±

    ¡°Sorry about this. Hyuzu, go lie down. Pull yourself together.¡±

    ¡°Y¨Cyeah¡±

    ¡°Potion... will,e¡±

    As the kid said that, he entered a hole in the opposite direction.

    ¡°Well... in any case, we made it in one piece¡±

    ¡°Yeah, our luck was good¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m grateful to him¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Something the matter, Zeff?¡±

    ¡°Don ¡®cha think this room is a bit weird? Look, there are few traps, signs of living for a long time, and the furniture are enough only for 1 person.¡±

    ¡°Now that you mention it... is that boy living here all by himself?

    ¡°Finding out he could use ve, Barrier, and Earth magic at that age had already shocked me. But living deep in the forest all by himself, he¡¯s not normal.¡±

    ¡°He may be older than he looks... Only, he¡¯s definitely not an elf.¡±

    While talking about such things, the kid came back with his poison slime carrying arge number of potions.

    ¡°Potion... Came¡±

    ¡°Thank you, I¡¯ll definitely repay you someday¡±

    ¡°.. Don¡¯t mind... can make, as much... as I want¡±

    At those words we couldn¡¯t help but stare alternately at the boy and at the bottle. Camil, unable to hold, eximed.

    ¡°You made this potion!?¡±

    Although at the strength of that voice he shook momentarily, but he quickly nodded his head. Now that he mentions it, the number of potions he has is definitely too many. Clearly not an amount he could afford.

    ¡°Water¡±

    Said the kid. The slime behind him filled a vessel made of rock with water and then offered it to us.

    ¡°Thanks¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m saved¡±

    "Thanks boy¡±

    ¡°Thank you¡±

    ¡°... Ah...¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Something the matter?¡±

    ¡°Name... Ryouma¡±

    And then, it hit. We got all the way here without giving our names.

    ¡°Ryouma? I suppose that should be your name, then. My apologies for thete introduction, I am Rheinhart Jamil, the feudal lord of the Jamil duchy. For lending me your hand to save my subordinate, I offer you my thanks.¡±

    ¡°!? Pardon... my behavior !¡±

    ¡°No no, please don¡¯t be apprehensive. You are my benefactor. Please continue to speak as you always have¡±

    ¡°... Thank you¡±

    ¡°Good. And this here from the right is my subordinate Jill, a swordsman. Zeff, the scout. The magician, Camil. And the sleeping one over there is the spear user, Hyuzu.

    ¡°Name¡¯s Jill. Because of you we were saved. Sorry about my behavior before¡±

    ¡°Vignce... obvious¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Zeff, nice to meet you¡±

    ¡°And I¡¯m Camil. A pleasure to meet you. But seriously... I ran out of mana and couldn¡¯t use any healing spells. If you hadn¡¯te, we¡¯d be knee deep into the trench by now. So thank you, really, thank you.¡±

    ¡°... It¡¯s, fine¡±

    ¡°We took a detour on the edge of the forest by horseback. Over there we were attacked by some bandits.¡±

    ¡°Bandits alone ain¡¯t a problem but... while we were going at it a ck bear came biting out of nowhere. Hyuzu got taken by surprise and was done in¡±

    ¡°We managed to defeat the bear but Hyuzu¡¯s wound was worse than we thought. Seeing how we probably wouldn¡¯t make it to the vige, we tried to go through the forest.¡±

    Hearing that, the kid started nodding showing he understood.

    ¡°That aside... kid what are you doing here? I heard that thing about you hunting but it seems like you¡¯ve been living here for quite some time. And hunting at your age and even using magic and making potions, I¡¯m really shocked.¡±

    ¡°Grandmother, Grandfather... learned... Former, adventurer¡±

    Oh, so you had former adventurers for your grandparents?

    ¡°And where are they? Did they go somewhere?¡±

    Hearing those words, the kid cast his eyes downward, and said.

    ¡°... They¡¯ve passed¡±

    ¡°I see, sorry.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine... 3 years, already¡±

    ¡°No¨C... 3years ago?¡±

    ¡°3 Years!?¡±

    Eximed the 4 men in unison.

    ¡°J¨CJust wait a second, you mean they didn¡¯t pass just a few days ago or something!?¡±

    ¡°You, since when did you start living here!?¡±

    ¡°3 years ago... vige, left ... 1 ... because... outsider¡±

    To think there was such an exclusive vige... More or less there should be something like that, but really... to think there¡¯s such a cruel ce.

    ¡°You weren¡¯t chased out on the vige and left on your own?¡±

    ¡°Vigers, Opression... 95%... took¡±

    ¡°95%!?¡±

    ¡°Oh boy, that¡¯s a helluva crazy vige you got there, huh? Even for a cold vige, that¡¯s just pushing it.¡±

    ¡°You did pretty good, living until now.¡±

    ¡°Grandparents... Medicine and, Weapons... Good stuff... High... Living, Was able... but, they already... not here... can¡¯t make... they, said.... Different vige... go, so, vige... left... here, live... because... can live¡±

    I see... so he stopped trusting humans after being oppressed by the vige.

    ¡°I understand your reasons but. I really can¡¯t rmend it. In the forest, there are many powerful beasts. To a kid your age, this ce is just too dangerous.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s ok... Lived... 3 years¡±

    ¡°But¡±

    ¡°Oh right! Wait a sec¡±

    All of th4e sudden Camil started searching his bag.

    ¡°Ah, found it, found it. It¡¯s this.¡±

    ¡°What this?¡±

    ¡°This is a Small Identifying Crystal! This is an easy to use item that can identify your status. It can show you your five highest skills. And if touched by a criminal the light will turn red, if the person is innocent then the light is blue. After that, your name, age, race, and 5 skills will also be shown. If with this, you have a high level fighting skill then I¡¯ll stop pestering you about leaving the forest.¡±

    ¡°Unders¨Ctood¡±

    As the kid said that, he was about to touch the crystal until he remembered something.

    ¡°Before, bandits... attacked. Killed... them, is... that, sin?¡±

    ¡°If they were really bandits then there won¡¯t be any problem¡±

    Hearing that, he touches the crystal. The light is blue, whether he actually killed bandits is still up in the air, but... he is definitely not a criminal. But Camil, who was staring at the crystal, turned pale.

    ¡°Wh, what is this?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s th¨C¡°

    Jill who took a peek at the crystal from behind, was suddenly breathless. Seeing that, I and Zeff also went to take a look. But after seeing the status, we were speechless.

    Status Shown

    Domestic Chores Lv10

    Mental Pain Resist Lv9

    Physical Pain Resist Lv8

    Disease Resist Lv7

    Cold Resist Lv7

    Impossible! What is with this level and skills!!? Domestic Chores Lv10... is whatever, but... Mental Pain Resist, Physical Pain Resist, and even Disease and Cold Resist! Moreover everything is over Lv7!? Exactly what kind of environment was he in for him to end up like this? Moreover he is 11 years old, then that means he was living here since he was 8.

    ¡°Something the, matter?¡±

    ¡°Um... mmm... Unfortunately, a fighting skill didn¡¯te out~¡±

    That¡¯s it!? Is that what you should be talking about right now!? I said to myself as I kept staring at Camil. The other two were the same. Camil scowled back at us with a, ¡°Then what SHOULD I talk about in this situation!?¡± expression.

    Sorry, I¡¯m so sorry Camil. This isn¡¯t really something you can talk about.

    ¡°Sorry but, do you mind letting me use your toilet?¡±

    While thinking of what to say, what came out of my mouth were those words. The other three red at me fiercely. I¡¯m sorry, but it can¡¯t be helped... because I really want to run from this ce as soon as possible.

    ¡°Inside, Will guide... Slime... Many... no worries¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t. I was a former ve Magic Practitioner, you know? So I won¡¯t do anything to your ve monsters¡±

    I followed him to the deeper room. When we got there, what greeted me was arge number of slimes.

    ¡°This is amazing. I¡¯ve never seen so many slimes before.¡±

    ¡°...For... Research...¡±

    ¡°Research?¡±

    ¡°Evolution, Slime¡¯s¡±

    Having been told, I noticed that when you look at the slimes, not all of them were just slimes. Sticky Slime, Poison Slime, and over there that¡¯s an Acid Slime! And then after that... what are those? Those two slimes... I¡¯ve never seen those types before. But that aside, these kind of high level variations should exist in this forest.

    ¡°You found the evolution conditions and made these evolve by yourself?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡±

    ¡°The research of magical beast evolution conditions is a very important thing to ve Magic Users and Conjurers. Understanding even a single one of these conditions takes a long time. The fact that you were able to understand so many is something worthy of praise. Unfortunately though... they¡¯re all just slimes...¡±

    ¡°Slime... Bad?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for saying this but slimes are weak magical beasts. Even if you make them evolve they¡¯re still weak. Although ve Magic Users and Conjurers often make use of them to study the basics, they don¡¯t have much value outside of that. In general practitioners of both arts would pick a slime for studying, then after a while get rid of them and then tame a Horn Rabbit for their next beast. Because you see, a horn rabbit is at the very least, as a pet, loveable.

    ¡°... Tough world¡±

    Tough world? Those are the thoughts of an 11 year old kid?

    ¡°Well that¡¯s only the opinion of the majority, it¡¯s not like all ve Magic Users think that way. At the very least, the Poison Slime¡¯s poison and the Acid Slime¡¯s acid isn¡¯t something that is made light of. After studying the basics, it¡¯s a valid way to make use of the slimes already tamed. Because if it¡¯s a poison slime or an acid slime then at the very least its power is greater than of a horn rabbit.¡±

    ¡°Slime... Convenient... Useful¡±

    ¡°Knowledge the magical beast, how to take advantage of its traits, and giving out orders to make decisions on the battlefield are the most important things to a ve Magic User. It seems you know this well.¡±

    ¡°Arrived, toilet, here¡±

    ¡°Right, thank you¡±

    Now that you mention it I did ask to borrow thevatory. Well it¡¯s not like I could tell him it was a lie after going all this way... so I just went ahead and took care of my business then went back to the room.

 Volume 1 - 3

    TL Note: In Japan when they check stuff, a ¡ð means a check. If they cross things out, it means it¡¯s wrong. So when the slime makes a circle, it means yes, or affirmative... kinda like a thumbs up sign.

    Volume 1 Chapter 3

    After guiding Rheinhart and going back to the room where the other four where, Jill asked Ryouma a question.

    ¡°Ryouma, how do you usually hunt?¡±

    ¡°Trap... Bow... Slime¡±

    ¡°The slime aside... you¡¯re basically a genuine hunter, huh?¡±

    Having seen Ryouma¡¯s skills, they did their best not to make a careless remark. So aside from the sleeping Hyuzu, the other four engaged in idle chatter.

    ¡°Uh...! Haa, Haa...¡±

    ¡°Hyuzu!¡±

    ¡°Get a hold of yourself!¡±

    ¡°We managed to stop the bleeding with the potion, but this time he¡¯s gone down with a fever¡±

    ¡°Antipyretic... have... Water... Come...¡±

    As Ryouma said that he ran into the deeper halls.

    ¡°Master, it seems meeting that boy was truly good luck.¡±

    ¡°Indeed, if we weren¡¯t able to meet him, we wouldn¡¯t be able to save Hyuzu¡±

    ¡°Although his condition is still unstable, even if we were able to use magic to stop the bleeding. The fever would still be able to im his life, since magic can¡¯t lower the fever.¡±

    ¡°Well, after losing all that blood, plus the fatigue. It¡¯s not so surprising. ¡°

    ¡°But that aside, what are you gonna do about the kid? It¡¯s too dangerous out here in the forest¡±

    ¡°I know that. But he¡¯s already lived here for 3 years, he should already be aware of the danger¡±

    ¡°Since he has actually survived...¡±

    ¡°Moreover that number of Resist Skills and level. The vige he lived in must have been really cruel. To tell him to go to the town... I don¡¯t even know if he understands that it¡¯s a safe ce. The only saving grace is that he¡¯s at least not in a state where he will juste and kill a person on sight.¡±

    ¡°Aah... Yeah, something like that did happen in the past, huh? That level of Resist Skill is at the point where it¡¯s not strange for someone¡¯s heart to break or for them to die¡±

    ¡°Rheinhart-sama, as the father of one child, isn¡¯t there something?¡±

    ¡°Ya know in this room outside of our boss here, there ain¡¯t a single person who has a kid. How are we supposed ta decide?¡±

    ¡°But I¡¯m also at a lost here. He¡¯s a special case and besides, as a father, I haven¡¯t done anything amazing!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t throw out your chest over something so sad!¡±

    ¡°Well, jokes aside... When we get home, I¡¯ll have to talk to father and Elize¡±

    After a while, some slimes entered carrying jars of water, an oddly shaped jar, and some kind of pelt.

    The slimes stretched their body and put the various jars and pelt in front of the 4 men. After which, the slimes went back, except for one.

    ¡°Umm... Thanks¡±

    At Camil¡¯s words the body of the slime shook. Was it trying to say, ¡°Don¡¯t Mind.¡±? As the four thought that, the slime stretched his body and alternately pointed between Hyuzu and the things that were brought.

    ¡°Ah... right. This stuff is for the fever, huh?¡±

    ¡°Right... Well, the water is obvious, but the pelt... I suppose that¡¯s to rece the sheets?¡±

    As Camil said that, the slime extended his body, creating two tentacle-like arms and made a huge a circle.

    ¡°Alright¨C! Wait, this! Isn¡¯t this ck Bear Pelt!?¡±

    ¡°Now that you mention it, certainly. This is without a doubt ck Bear Pelt.¡±

    ¡°That kid managed to hunt a ck bear?¡±

    ¡°Unbelievable, but right now Hyuzu¡¯s treatment needs to be prioritized¡±

    At Rheinhart¡¯s words, Zeff and Jill put the pelt over Hyuzu¡¯s body. After which, Camil tried to get water from the stone bowl but was stopped by the slime.

    ¡°Eh, what?¡±

    The slime stretched its body and pointed to the oddly shaped small jar.

    ¡°You want me to use this?¡±

    At Camil¡¯s questions, the slime responded by making another big circle. Camil followed the instruction and drew water from the jar.

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna draw the water now¡±

    Right after, the slime extended its tentacles, and inclined the jar Camil was holding. The inclined jar had a long and narrow protrusion, and inside ity an empty hole. From there the drawn water came out. Seeing that, the slime pointed at the hole, and then pointed at Hyuzu¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°You want me to incline this towards Hyuzu¡¯s mouth and make him drink it?¡±

    The slime answered again by making a big circle. Camil did as he was told and made Hyuzu drink the water.

    ¡°... Looks like he was able to drink properly¡±

    Hearing those words, the slime jumped and went to towards the direction the other slimes went back to and disappeared. Around the same time after the slime had left, Ryuuma came back.

    ¡°Antipyretic... make him drink¡±

    ¡°Thanks. You¡¯re a great help.¡±

    As Rheinhart said that, he made Hyuzu drink the medicine he got. As everyone heaved a sigh of relief, Camil asked about the jar.

    ¡°Hey, is this drinking jar specifically made for sick people?¡±

    Ryouma deeply nodded.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s really convenient¡±

    ¡°I have one more question, it¡¯s about the slime that was here a while ago. That slime was quite handy. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen a slime that can respond to questions¡±

    ¡°At some point... it learned... if tamed for long, can learn...¡±

    ¡°I see... A ve Magic User that has used a slime for a long time is really rare. And a slime like yours that has be able to understand is especially rare. So to say, there¡¯s probably none outside of yours, huh?¡±

    The 4 finally let their guard down as they came to understand that Ryouma truly wasn¡¯t an enemy. Seeing as how effective the medicine was, and Hyuzu¡¯s state stabilizing, the four breathed a sigh of relief. They passed the time by idly chatting about silly stories from outside the forest.

    That day¡¯s supper were the monsters caught by Ryouma and his slimes, plus the vegetables he personally cultivated inside the cave. The menu were Stir-fried Chicken and Vegetables (To make it smell good, fruits that resembled lemon and herb were added) and Rabbit Meat Soup. Ryouma chose these for supper because they were easy to make but the other four thanked him a great deal finding them to be veryplex dishes.

    That day the five men all slept at Ryouma¡¯s ce. They were nning to leave after the next day but Hyuzu¡¯s recovery was faster than expected. In order to make sure he was clear headed they decided to leave tomorrow morning before lunch.

    ¡°I really thought I was a goner this time! Thanks for saving my ass, sonny!¡±

    ¡°Is... it... really... fine?¡±

    ¡°What, you¡¯re worried about me? I thought you hated people because I heard you didn¡¯t want to go to viges or towns but unexpectedly...¡±

    ¡°Town, vige... hate. But... wounded... people... concerned¡±

    ¡°Gahaha! I See! I see! That guy was wrong! Ungh...¡±

    The Hyuzu who wasughing suddenly staggered.

    ¡°Hyuzu, you ok?¡±

    ¡°Ah, ahhh... No prob, just got a little dizzy¡±

    ¡°Hyuzu-san, it¡¯s cause you¡¯re still recovering.¡±

    ¡°Drink¡±

    ¡°Hn? What is this bottle? Medicine?¡±

    ¡°¡±Blood... forming... medicine¡±

    ¡°Blood-forming medicine, huh? Then I¡¯ll quickly¨C! Argh! It stinks of fish! What¡¯s up with this smell!?¡±

    ¡°... Effect... only, guarantee¡±

    ¡°You heard what he said. He gave it to you out of good will. Drink it.¡±

    ¡°Wai¨C, this is¡±

    ¡°Besides it would be a problem if you lost consciousness while we were on the road¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re also worried, you see¡±

    Saying that, Jill and Zeff held Hyuzu¡¯s arm and shoulder to keep him from running or resisting. And then...

    ¡°Umm... I¡¯m sorry!¡±

    Camil took the blood forming medicine and poured it in Hyuzu¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°%`#%$!!!!¡±

    Having swallowed the medicine, Hyuzu raised his voice spouting something that can¡¯t be put into words. After convulsing for a few times, he appeared to bepletely exhausted.

    ¡°Ahhh, you, guys¡±

    ¡°A good medicine is difficult to drink, Hyuzu¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this kid¡¯s medicine is the real thing¡±

    ¡°Since the potion that healed Hyuzu¡¯s wounds of good quality¡±

    ¡°Armor... need?¡±

    ¡°Ah? Aaah... Oh yeah, the armor done in by the bear can¡¯t be used anymore, the weapon too¡±

    ¡°...weapon...armor.. have... will bring, no.. problem¡±

    ¡°Is that ok?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s... fine¡±

    After having said that, Ryouma went inside. After a few minutes he came back with 10 slimes carrying five spears and 3 sets of armors.

    ¡°This... can be used¡±

    ¡°Equipment used by bandits, you gathered some pretty good some stuff¡±

    ¡°Everything is quite good. Is it really ok to give these to Hyuzu¡±

    ¡°Weapon... must use... I... have, more...¡±

    ¡°This kind of spear, would go for around 5 small gold coins, you know?¡±

    ¡°take it...¡±

    ¡°... Then, I¡¯ll gratefully ept it. But, I just can¡¯t agree with receiving something for free. Right now I can¡¯t give you anything in return but if anything ever happense to me, ok? I serve the household of the duke of Jamil after all. If anything happense to the town of Gaunago, one of the towns under the Duchy of Jamil. It¡¯s not that far from here and... if you ask around the guard¡¯s room and ask to allow to meet up with the duke¡¯s family¡¯s guard Hyuzu, they will immediatelye contact me. So don¡¯t hold back¡±

    Like this the five were able to put in order all of the preparations for their departure. They gave their thanks to Ryouma and then left. 3 years aftering to this world and living by himself, Ryouma was finally able to properly meet the people of this world.

 Volume 1 - 4

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Volume 1 Chapter 4

    3 days after departing from Ryouma¡¯s house, the Duke and his men were able to arrive safely on the vige of Gaunago.

    ¡°Father! Wee home!¡±

    ¡°Wee home, my dear¡±

    Arriving home, the duke was greeted by his wife and daughter, as well as his own father.

    ¡°Rheinhart, you¡¯re back. You shouldn¡¯t make your wife and daughter worry too much. Even though it was only 1 day, because you didn¡¯t arrive on time your daughter and wife weren¡¯t able to calm down.¡±

    ¡°I see, I¡¯m sorry you two¡±

    ¡°No it¡¯s ok, since you were able toe back after all. Really, Grandpa! Why did you have to go and tell father that!?¡±

    ¡°Ho ho ho¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to trick me byughing!¡±

    ¡°By the way, why were youte? And why is the horse you¡¯re using different from when you left?¡±

    ¡°Actually, we had to take a slight detour in the Forest of Gana and was attacked by bandits¡±

    ¡°Bandits!? Are you hurt!?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine Elia. We didn¡¯t lose to the bandits. But while we were fighting, a ck bear came out of nowhere... and although we managed to win, Hyuzu got severely injured and I don¡¯t know if the horse is still around but it ran away.¡±

    ¡°Is Hyuzu safe?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s fine. I thought if we kept going at our pace, we wouldn¡¯t be able to save him because of how badly he was bleeding. So I made a decision to go through the forest to reach the vige as soon as possible. Then along the way we ended up meeting a strange boy. He gave us medicines and potions and stuff, and even offered to provide us a ce to rest. Thanks to that we were able to walk, and even managed to recover to the point we could use horses.¡±

    Rheinhart proceeded to talk to the three about Ryoma.

    ¡°To think a child could stay deep in the forest and live by himself for 3 years¡±

    ¡°I was also surprised but it¡¯s the truth. It seems he was mistreated quite badly in the vige he lived in before. He grew to dislike towns and viges and secluded himself deep in the forest. And besides...¡±

    ¡°And besides?¡±

    ¡°We checked his skills through the Small Identifying Crystal Camil brought. Within the five projected skills, four of them were Resist Skills¡±

    ¡°4 Resist skills? I see...¡±

    ¡°Actually, he might have more than that, though I can¡¯t say for sure¡±

    ¡°4 Resist Skills are plenty, you know? Just with that, it¡¯s a given that he¡¯s been raised in a horrible environment... Why do you think so?¡±

    ¡°Because all the five skills projected were all greater than Lv 7¡±

    ¡° !!? ¡°

    The three were shocked..

    ¡°What did you say!?¡±

    ¡°Is that true!?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I also doubted my own eyes but it¡¯s unmistakable. Jill, Zeff and Camil also confirmed it¡±

    ¡±Father, from what I can remember, a person that possess a skill more than Lv5 is very rare. Just obtaining one level is a painful and bitter experience. Because of this there are many people who give up trying to gain skills, but to actually gain so many Resist Skills...¡±

    ¡°I agree. But no matter how many times I looked at it, it stayed the same. Disease Resist Lv7, Cold Resist Lv7. Even more, Physical Pain Resist and Mental Pain Resist were lv8 and Lv9 respectively¡±

    ¡°Eigh¨C, Nine!?¡±

    ¡°Impossible... What kind of life does one have to live to actually end up like that...¡±

    ¡°I was wondering the same thing, father. It¡¯s highly probable, that he has more Resist Skills at Lv7 and below that wasn¡¯t shown by the small identifying crystal. And he should also be in possession of bow and short sword skills. Honestly speaking, I left that ce at a lost on what to do. This time I gave meeting to show my gratitude as an excuse, but I really wanted to have a conversation on what should be done.¡±

    ¡°Can that kid fight properly?¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t able to ask how he did it but he had several ck Bear Pelts. That goes to show that he has some skill. Plus he was able to use ve Magic, Barrier Magic, and Earth Magic.¡±

    ¡°Is that kid also a ve Magic User?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it seems he learned from his deceased grandmother. It doesn¡¯t seem like he¡¯s registered with the church. But he is contracted with a number of slimes, and seems to have been researching the requirements for evolution. As can be seen from the number of higher ss slimes that shouldn¡¯t exist in the Forest of Gana. There wererge numbers of five different variations. I wasn¡¯t able to ask but two of the variants were sses I¡¯ve never seen before.¡±

    ¡°Slime, was it? Did he learn to use ve Magic by watching?¡±

    ¡°Who knows? There¡¯s a possibility he was only able to learn an iplete ve Magic, however, whether one can be an aplished ve Magic User or not is not something that can be decided by the strength of one¡¯s beast alone¡±

    ¡°Indeed, though it may be a slime, to be able to ascertain the conditions for evolution, he is exceptional. Especially slime rted research, save for a few, there shouldn¡¯t be anyone researching slimes. As for whether it will be valued by the church can¡¯t be said with certainty... but that boy can definitely be called a pioneer.¡±

    ¡°Pioneer...¡±

    ¡°Hmm... dear. That child, he doesn¡¯t seem like a dangerous child, huh?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, he only doesn¡¯t want to go to town. I think he¡¯s a pretty good kid.¡±

    ¡±Then in that case, let¡¯s all go together to give our thanks and meet him¡±

    ¡°Everyone?¡±

    ¡°Yup, besides there¡¯s a lot of things I don¡¯t understand. If we go on a trip alongside the next inspection of Gimuru we¡¯ll also be able to take Elia along. At that time, wouldn¡¯t be fine if we stopped by the Forest of Gana for a bit? And besides, it¡¯s bad for Elia to just study on her desk all the time. She should also practice outside, right, stepdad?¡±

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s correct... Elia is already 12, it should be fine if she goes out to tame her own beast soon.¡±

    ¡°Is that true grandfather?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Provided that you take the responsibility of caring for your magical beaset¡±

    ¡°Yes! I understand!¡±

    ¡°Good. Well, what do you think, Rheinhart?¡±

    ¡°No objections¡±

    Like this they ended up making a visit to Ryouma¡¯s house.

    In the two weeks that passed after the Duke¡¯s party returned home, Ryouma was extremely busy. Why? Because the slime splitting began. The result of those splits are the present numbers.

    Sticky Slime x364

    Skills

    ? Strong Cohesive Liquid Lv4

    ? Sticky Hardening Liquid Lv2

    ? Sticky String Shot Lv2

    ? Jump Lv2

    ? Digestion Lv3

    ? Absorption Lv3

    ? Split Lv3

    Poison Slime x323

    Skills

    ? Generate Poison Liquid Lv4

    ? Poison Resist Lv3

    ? Generate Paralyzing Poison Liquid Lv3

    ? Jump Lv2

    ? Digestion Lv3

    ? Absorption Lv3

    ? Split Lv3

    Acid Slime x211

    Skills

    ? Generate Strong Acid Lv4

    ? Acid Resist Lv4

    ? Jump Lv2

    ? Digestion Lv4

    ? Absorption Lv4

    ? Split Lv2

    Cleaner Slime x11

    Skills

    ? Cleaning Lv4

    ? Deodorization Lv6

    ? Deodorization Liquid Lv4

    ? Disease Resist Lv5

    ? Poison Resist Lv5

    ? Jump Lv2

    ? Digestion Lv3

    ? Absorption Lv3

    ? Split Lv1

    Scavenger Slime x730

    Skills

    ? Disease Resist Lv5

    ? Poison Resist lv5

    ? Eating Bad Food Skill Lv5

    ? Cleaning Lv6

    ? Deodorization Lv6

    ? Deodorization Liquid Lv4

    ? Release Stench Lv4

    ? Return Nutrients Lv3

    ? Jump Lv2

    ? Digestion Lv6

    ? Absorption Lv3

    ? Split Lv6

    Heal Slime x2

    Skills

    ? Heal Lv1

    ? Strengthen Vitality Lv1

    ? Photosynthesis Lv3

    ? Digestion Lv1

    ? Absorption Lv1

    ? Split Lv2

    To put it bluntly, they increased too much. Aftering here, Ryouma finally remembered that thing about restraining himself. If it continues on like this, an effect on the ecosystem will probably be seen. Ryouma worried about what to do regarding the overpopting slimes.

    Ryouma made the slimes stop splitting temporarily in order to keep the poption in check, since if it¡¯s just to keep living, the slimes wouldn¡¯t need so much food. But if that was no good, then Ryouma also thought of taking responsibility and thinning out the poption of slimes. Recently, though, there were some goblins that came from time to time to build a vige, so Ryouma instead sent the slimes to annihte those Goblins and have those serve as feeds.

    The extermination of the goblins didn¡¯t only bring food, but also brought unexpected fortune. When fighting the goblins, the ones that didn¡¯t die received grave injuries. Ryouma found those slimes and hurriedly gathered them and used healing magic on them. There were slimes that couldn¡¯t make it, but there were also those that did. Among those slimes that were healed, there were two that were only normal slimes. The next day, those slimes evolved to Heal Slimes and were able to use healing magic.

    Heal slime, a new slime was born. At the urrence of that new evolution, Ryouma¡¯s gamer obsession was once again lit. When he looked at the current situation, he was somehow able to endure. However, after those 3 days, Ryouma¡¯s gamer obsession was again relit.

    ¡°These slimes, I wonder if they could fuse? Like Do¡ðkue...¡±

    The instant when Ryouma, who was looking at the slimes that packed the house, muttered that. All of the slime¡¯s began to shiver, and all of the slimes that were of the same variant began to gather to one ce. And in the blink of an eye, slimes that were of the same variant fused and became one.

    Big Sticky Slime x1

    Skills

    ? Strong Cohesive Liquid Lv5

    ? Sticky Hardening Liquid Lv4

    ? Sticky String Shot Lv3

    ? Physical Attack Resist Lv1

    ? Erge Lv2

    ? Compress Lv4

    ? Jump Lv2

    ? Digest Lv3

    ? Absorb Lv3

    Big Poison Slime x1

    Skills

    ? Generate Poison Liquid Lv4

    ? Poison Resist Lv4

    ? Generate Paralyzing Poison Liquid Lv4

    ? Physical Attack Resist Lv1

    ? Erge Lv2

    ? Compress Lv4

    ? Jump Lv2

    ? Digest Lv3

    ? Absorb Lv3

    Big Acid Slime x1

    Skills

    ? Generate Strong Acid Lv5

    ? Acid Resist Lv4

    ? Physical Attack Resist Lv1

    ? Erge Lv2

    ? Compress Lv4

    ? Jump Lv2

    ? Digest lv4

    ? Absorb Lv3

    Huge Scavenger Slime x1

    Skills

    ? Disease Resist Lv5

    ? Poison Resist Lv5

    ? Eat Bad Food Skill Lv6

    ? Cleaning Lv6

    ? Deodorization Lv6

    ? Deodorization Liquid Lv4

    ? Release Stench Lv5

    ? Return Nutrients Lv4

    ? Physical Attack resist Lv2

    ? Erge Lv3

    ? Compress Lv5

    ? Jump Lv2

    ? Digestion Lv6

    ? Absorb Lv3

    A panicked Ryouma told them to return, and immediately the slimes split, returning to their original numbers. The relieved Ryouma was excited, and repeated the experiment.

    The results, one can fuse and split freely provided that the slimes numbers reach 100 for Big Slime, and 500 and up for huge slimes. Fusing below 100 slimes is not possible. When a hundred scavenger slimes fused its name became Big Slime, and at 500, Huge Slime.

    As such by some stroke of luck, because of this fusion, it became possible to save on food and space.

    It seems it¡¯s possible to make as many big slime as one wants, as long as one is able to reach the 100 same variant slime condition. But one also needs to consider that the split ability disappears when they fuse. For slimes bigger than big slimes, each variety has their own respective assemblies.

    Moreover, when needed the new skill,press, allows the Slimes to shrink to a size just a little bit bigger than the size of the normal slimes. Although it¡¯s a mystery where all that volume goes into, Ryouma didn¡¯t mind.

    In regards to food, if you think of it as one slime then the consumption increases several times. But when you consider that it is a lump of 100 slimes, then the fact that the consumption is able to be held down from 1/20 until 1/50 can be understood.

    After having spent the days like that, all of the sudden 20 people from the nearby group of people came to visit Ryouma¡¯s house.

    ¡°Hey~ Ryouma! Open up! It¡¯s me! Hyuzu! I¡¯m not an enemy!¡±

    The one screaming in front of Ryouma¡¯s house was the injured person from two weeks ago, Hyuzu. The entrance of the house was being blocked by a boulder, so in order to be heard he has been shouting in a loud voice, only, Ryouma was actually in the thicket behind him.

    ¡°Now, I will open!¡±

    ¡°Ah! Oh, you were outside¡±

    ¡°Hunt... went....¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s why. Then, today we came to give our thanks for before. Since we had ns to go around this area anyway. Rx, we won¡¯t bring you harm.

    ¡°..Understood¡±

    Ryouma and Rheinhart stepped up.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, it¡¯s been 2 weeks. Today, I once again give my gratitude. I brought with me some present.¡±

    ¡°Thank you very much¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just something to show my gratitude¡±

    ¡°Dear, won¡¯t you also introduce us?¡±

    Behind Rheinhart stood a beautiful woman and a beautiful girl. There was also a man, who despite putting on years, as he stood straight gave off a majestic aura.

    ¡°Of course, let me introduce, my wife, my father, and my daughter¡±

    ¡°I am Rheinbach Jamil, the previous head of the Ducal Family of Jamil. Sorry to suddenly intrude on you. Let¡¯s get along.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Elize Jamil, thank you for saving my husband and my subordinate¡±

    ¡°Elialia Jamil. Nice to meet you.¡±

    ¡°... A pleasure to make your acquaintance... I am... Ryouma Takebayashi... You have gone on a long journey... please make yourselves...fortable... This is but my humble abode... but I will do my best to wee you...¡±

    Although the sentences were disconnected, hearing such formal speech, the 4 members of the Ducal Family, the guards, and the maids were all shocked. But Rheinbach quickly replied.

    ¡°That kind of formality is unnecessary, talk to us just as you did a while ago. Hospitality is also unnecessary, since the one who suddenly came were us¡±

    ¡°Thank you very much. Saying that is... a great help to me¡±

    Having said that, Ryouma immediately used Earth Magic and opened the entrance to his house. At that moment he suddenly remembered.

    ¡°Now...ve monster... Slimes will gather... injury... won¡¯t cause, so...¡±

    ¡°Were you hunting?¡±

    ¡°Yes... just came back... lots of people... so made to hide...¡±

    ¡°Sorry for unnecessarily scaring you¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s ok...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve also informed the guards so it¡¯s ok now.¡±

    ¡°Thank you very much... Then...¡±

    Giving his thanks, Ryouma gave the order to return through his mind. Immediately innumerable slimes came from the surrounding thickets and gathered.

    The number was greater than 1000. As expected, I don¡¯t think they expected these many. Although these slimes weren¡¯t enemies, the maids¡¯ and guards¡¯ faces still stiffened. In contrast to that, the 4 people of the ducal family, looked at the gathering slimes, deeply interested.

    ¡°Hou! I heard you tamed a lot of slimes, but I didn¡¯t think it was to this extent!¡±

    ¡°Even though they¡¯re slimes, it¡¯s amazing you¡¯re able to control this much.¡±

    ¡°This number... making just one listen should have been difficult, but...¡±

    ¡°What an amazing number... haven¡¯t they increased a bit?¡±

    ¡°... After everyone went back home... they split...¡±

    ¡°Will they fit in the room?¡±

    ¡°After... It will be, alright...¡±

    ¡°It will be alright? What do you mean?¡±

    As Rheinhart asked that, Ryouma ordered his slimes and made the slimes fuse right in front of their eyes. As he did that, aside from Elialia the three people opened their eyes wide and shrieked.

    ¡°Big Slime!?¡±

    ¡°It couldn¡¯t possibly!?¡±

    ¡°No, this is definitely... you!? You were able to tame a Big Slime?¡±

    ¡°... is it weird?¡±

    ¡°Big slime, you see... It¡¯s a magical beast that no one has ever been able to tame, you know?¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    ¡°The ve Monster Contract that ve Magic Users use to tame high level variation races on and above the level of the Big Slime doesn¡¯t work. Although there were people that attempted to, not even one has seeded.¡±

    ¡°...ve contract... meaningless... obviously...¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°...Big slimes and up... is the gathering of many slimes... the ve Monster contract¡¯s condition... can¡¯t be... fulfilled... ve Monster Contract... can only be used... on 1 monster... at a time... many at the same time... impossible... when making the contract... urately catching... 1 inside a 100... is impossible. Because you can¡¯t see more than one... so... ve Monster Contract... has no effect... I made a contract with many slimes... after gathering... was able to tame...¡±

 Volume 1 - 5

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Volume 1 Chapter 5

    ~Side Ryouma~

    After answering their questions, the eyes of the four people in front of me have be frightening. I wonder if I did something bad.

    ¡°Wonderful¡±

    Ha? Something wrong? What does she mean by wonderful?

    ¡°Ryouma, that¡¯s amazing! You¡¯ve just uncovered one of ve magic¡¯s greatest mystery!¡±

    ¡°!?¡±

    What¡¯s wrong with these people!? Their stare contains too much power! And they¡¯re too overbearing! Scary!

    ¡°Madam, Rheinbach-sama, please calm down. You are scaring Ryouma-sama.¡±

    ¡°Aaaa! I must have scared you, I¡¯m sorry¡±

    ¡°My bad, I just got a bit too excited...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s... alright...¡±

    ¡°Let me exin the reason why these two are like this. The reason you gave about why a big slime can¡¯t be tamed is a mystery that many ve Magic Users have been trying to figure out for a long time. While it¡¯s true that a big slime isn¡¯t very strong, it¡¯s, however, difficult to fight. So there were many people who tried to tame it in order to use it to detain people. Even until now there are those who try. But...¡±

    ¡°There hasn¡¯t been a single case where a big slime was sessfully tamed. The foundation of ve Magic, the ve Monster Contract, having no effect was viewed as a problem by all the ve Magic Users who failed. And because of the high pride of the ve Magic Users, the reason behind the contract¡¯s impotence was researched for a long time. However, without being able to bring any results, the scale of the research has beenrgely shrunk. Until this very day, there haven¡¯t been any results. But that reason that no one else could figure out in this world, was pinned down alone by one person, you.¡±

    Uwa... somehow this turned into something really amzing.

    ¡°Mu~ what a weak reaction. If I say this, I wonder if you¡¯ll understand. The research, The Reason Why Big Slimes Can¡¯t be Tamed, started around the time ve Magic Users began propagating, which was around 300 years ago. There hasn¡¯t been much results so regarding this case, the research institution has been, to put it nicely, leisurely. And this research that began 300 years ago without being uncovered by anyone, was uncovered by you! Do you think I can possibly stay calm!?¡±

    What should I do...?

    ¡°What should we do?¡±

    ¡°Register! You should register it at the Tamer Guild and publicize it!¡±

    Aaaa~ so it was something like that... but, seeing these people¡¯s reactions if I publicize it¡¯ll be an uproar, seems troublesome... Oh, but I wonder if this is a good opportunity to leave the forest?

    ¡°The city, huh...?¡±

    When those words unintentionally left his mouth, the four people and the servants waiting behind them, all reacted.

    ¡°Ah... I¡¯m sorry. You didn¡¯t like towns, right?¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t force you to register and publish it but this really is a big discovery. I hope you understand that.¡±

    ¡°Under, stood... ah... we¡¯ve been talking, while standing... please enter, inside...¡±

    ¡°Now that you mention it, please excuse us for intruding¡±

    Since there are also things like beasts outside, it¡¯s dangerous to talk while standing out for too long. While I invited everyone to go in, in order to keep watch and look after the horses, most of the guards seemed to have stayed outside. The ones that went inside were the 4 members of the Household of Jamil, the ones that came before, Jill-san, Zeff-san, Camil-san, Hyuzu-san, and the old butler along with the two maids. In order not to be impolite to the members of the Household of Jamil I brought out some ck tea.

    The truth is this ck tea belonged to one of the bandits that attacked before. There were several of the same thing, so it¡¯s probably stolen goods. I found this by coincidence when I looked for a spear for Hyuzu-san. Since I don¡¯t need money, and putting my hands on the belongings of the person I killed is kind of dicey, I guess I¡¯d have just left it alone. And then I would evenutally end up forgetting about it. So it¡¯s good that I was able to quickly find out that there was tea.

    First of all, some quality tea leaves, it doesn¡¯t seem like there¡¯s any problem with its expiry date so it should be fine.

    Then the only problem left are the cups. I don¡¯t have cups for 11 people so I¡¯ll quickly make them with Earth Magic and then make the tea. The day before yesterday I found a beehive and found some honey. I also happened to find some stuff simr to lemon and ginger. Using those I made some sports club lemon style syrup and brought it back with me.

    There¡¯s nothing else to substitute for sugar except for this, I wonder if it¡¯ll be ok...

    ¡°Sorry for making you... wait, this is, ck tea¡±

    ¡°Ara, thank you very much¡±

    ¡°What a nice fragrance. Thank you I¡¯ll help myself¡±

    ¡°Fumu, I see you¡¯ve used some good leaves¡±

    ¡°The bandits that came to attack... had a lot of things with them¡±

    ¡°I see... Hou, it¡¯s delicious¡±

    ¡°Indeed¡±

    ¡°The scent of the tea leaves areing out quite well. If I may know, where did Ryouma-sama learn how to make tea?¡±

    My previous life. Is not something I can actually say...

    ¡°Grandma liked tea very much¡±

    Reason: Grandparents = All Purpose. The three gods thought up a really good excuse. If I made a lie by myself, I wonder if it would have been found out immediately. In my previous life I was often told that I was stupidly honest... although I don¡¯t think so. I don¡¯t know why but if it¡¯s just saying something that was decided ahead of time, then even if it¡¯s a lie I could say it smoothly. Moreover, ording to the letter of the gods, the grandparents¡¯ souls were called and have already given their permission. I¡¯m really indebted to them.

    ¡°If you would like some, please... have some honey... as well.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, I¡¯ll help myself then¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll have some too, honey is quite luxurious and are hard for me toe by after all¡±

    ¡°Wait, Hyuzu-san!¡±

    ¡°The day before yesterday... I only... took from the beehive... so Camil-san as well... please have some...¡±

    ¡°Eh, really? Then, just a little.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not different from me either.¡±

    At that, Elialia, was it? When the youngdy drank tea, she noticed something.

    ¡°Ara? This honey, it¡¯s not just honey, right? Did you put something in?¡±

    Geh!? Were Jija (Ginger) and Ramon (Lemon-like) bad?

    The butler immediately went to check. Am I in danger?

    ¡°The juice of Ramon seems to be mixed, it¡¯s refreshing and gives a delicious taste. However, it doesn¡¯t seem to be only that.¡±

    Whew! They didn¡¯t think it was poison! I should answer honestly here, besides it¡¯s not like I actually put poison.

    ¡°I added... the root of jija(ginger)¡±

    ¡°So this vor was jija? I thought it was only a salty medicinal nt, but to think it could actually make such a taste.¡±

    ¡°...jija...can be used in cooking...meat, fish... can deal with the stench...¡±

    ¡°What a wonderful thing to learn. The next time I return to the residence I will try to let the chef know. My thanks, Ryouma-sama.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee¡±

    ¡°So Ryouma-san is not only an expert at Slime Research but also at cooking?¡±

    ¡°... It¡¯s because I¡¯ve been making it for a long time... in line with that... when I have interest... I end up focusing... and researching... Right now I¡¯m studying slimes... a lot... by the time I noticed it... slimes were already numbered over 1000¡±

    ¡°Ara ara, what an interesting person. If it¡¯s fine with Ryouma-san won¡¯t you lend me your strength?¡±

    This Ojousama. What is she saying all the sudden.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Actually, just a few days ago I received permission from my elders to perform the ve Monster Contract. So I¡¯m going to tame a slime from this forest. As such, I want to borrow the power of the slime expert, Ryouma-san.¡±

    ¡°... Unnecessary, you know? ... to need help... to tame a slime...¡±

    ¡°No, while it may embarrassing. What slime is good or what is bad, I am unable to decide¡±

    There¡¯s no good or bad slime though...

    ¡°...no difference... with normal slimes... if you must choose... choose what evolution you want... should choose appropriate slime... if you want power... should choose different magical beast... not interested in raising for a long time... then there¡¯s no need.. to take to time to choose... even then, are you still going to choose the slime?¡±

    ¡°Yes, since it¡¯s my first ve monster I¡¯ll treasure it forever.¡±

    Uwaa... I¡¯m being attacked by a pure smile... well, it looks like she¡¯s going to treasure it, so why don¡¯t I help her a bit...

    Mn? Why did I think, ¡°This kid will treasure it¡±? Even though I¡¯ve never understood something like that... Am I, being tricked? Seduction? A mentally over 40 years old uncle like me is being... by this kid? I should stop thinking about this.

    ¡°Is it no good?¡±

    It¡¯s the request of a young woman of a Household of Jamil... refusing would be unsavory, right? Since I¡¯d be uneasy if it were only lip service then, at the very least I should say it in a smooth way.

    ¡°... If you¡¯re ok with me... please let me help you... only, right now only 3 types... can be chosen¡±

    ¡°Why are the other types no good?¡±

    ¡°One... evolution conditions are unsettled... one... doesn¡¯t have feeds... the other one... requires a method that¡¯s difficult for a woman... although... ability wise... it is most rmended¡±

    ¡°That slime¡¯s evolution conditions, I wonder what kind of selection method it is¡±

    ¡°Mother... I am talking right now. It¡¯s preparation for my first contract so please don¡¯t disturb me¡±

    ¡°Ohe one, isn¡¯t it fine? Slime conditions are something I haven¡¯t heard about!¡±

    ¡°Sorry, mother is a first ss ve Magic User but, when the conversation turns to magical beasts, she bes indiscriminate.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s ok... the conditions for slime evolution, is its meal. Depending on eating habits... the slime will evolve differently... if Sticky Slime, then green caterpir... Poison Slime, poisonous nts... slimes have preferences... that is the evolutionary path the slime is heading towards... if made to eat... something against preference... evolution will be slow... difference in ability will alsoe...¡±

    ¡°I understand, so that is the slime¡¯s evolutionary condition.¡±

    ¡°If there is nutrition... evolution is easy. Give it meal... and the evolution will be fast. The selections are, poisonous nts, green caterpir... washed bones of beasts... Respectively... Poison Slime, Sticky Slime, and Acid Slime¡±

    ¡°The 3 variants Ryouma-san was rmending were which variations?¡±

    ¡°Cleaner Slime, Scavenger Slime, and Heal Slime...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of those variations... Does mother know?¡±

    ¡°Well aside from the heal slimes, I haven¡¯t heard of those at all¡± ¨C Rheinbach-sama

    ¡°Me too¡± - Rheinhart-sama

    ¡°I¡¯m unaware, what kind of abilities do cleaner slimes and scavenger slimes possess? And what skills?¡± ¨C Elize

    ¡°The reason... I am rmending... is because those slimes possess... the skills... Cleaning and Deodorization¡±

    ¡°Cleaning and Deodorization? I¡¯ve never heard of those skills¡±

    ¡°Deodorization, I can still somewhat understand but, Cleaning is?¡±

    ¡°...Seeing for yourself... is faster... please wait...¡±

    I went inside, took a handy cloth and coated it in the rabbit blood I¡¯ve let, then took a cleaner slime with me back.

    ¡°Thank you for waiting... this is a Cleaner Slime. Please look over here...¡±

    ¡°A bloodstained cloth? What are you going to do with that?¡±

    ¡°This¡±

    I gave an order to the nearby slime with my mind. The slime took the cloth I was holding, took it inside its body, and spun it around its nucleus. No matter how many times I see it, it¡¯s exactly like a washing machine.

    And then after 10 seconds, the slime threw up the cloth, and then with its body stretched like tentacles took the cloth and passed it to me. I spread the cloth wide and showed it to them. When the four members of the Household of Jamil saw that, they gave off a reaction as if they saw something strange. The maids and the butler¡¯s eyes, however, were sparkling.

    ¡°The blood disappeared, huh? And the color has also somewhat changed, did it dissolve?¡±

    ¡°Seems like it was sucked by the slime. Is this all?¡±

    ¡°No madam, it¡¯s not just that¡±

    ¡°Aro-ne?¡±

    At the wife of the duke¡¯s words, the maid interjected. From the looks of things she seems to have the know what Aro-ne is thinking.

    ¡°Ryouma-sama, does that slime eat dirt?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly it¡±

    ¡°What do you mean¡±

    ¡°From that cloth¡¯s raw material, I can see that it was not only blood but also abination of many things that stained it. The current color the cloth is its original color. Talking about dirt, if one leaves it alone it will be difficult to remove. And the previous situation was a case where it was left alone. If one were to hand wash it, no matter how many hours you take, it won¡¯t end return to its original color just like what happened now. Because the dirt will already be stuck. In other words, the Cleaning skill so to speak, is able to remove the irremovable dirt. Right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s also true... but more specifically... it is a skill that removes only the dirt¡±

    I made the slime put my hand inside it.

    ¡°Wh¨C!?¡±

    ¡°This is nothing...¡±

    A normal slime will try to digest everything it takes into its body. Which is why everyone freaked out because they thought my hand would dissolve. Everyone¡¯s face stiffened. However, my hand didn¡¯t dissolve and after five seconds I separated from the slime.¡±

    ¡°Is there nothing wrong?¡±

    ¡°Nothing but the dirt was dissolved... It¡¯s a slime that won¡¯t eat... humans and even the meat of monsters naturally... unless you tell them to¡±

    ¡°There was such a slime?¡±

    ¡°That was bad for the heart, please don¡¯t scare us¡±

    Am I in trouble?

    ¡°My sincerest apologies... it a normal thing to me... and I really didn¡¯t want to touch... it, this cloth.¡±

    ¡°True, it¡¯s definitely hard to say it¡¯s a clean cloth¡±

    ¡°It used to be a goblin¡¯s loin cloth¡±

    As I said that, the guards¡¯ faces immediately became ugly, and the maids¡¯ interest became stronger.

    It seems in this world ¡°The hardest thing to clean in the whole world is a goblin¡¯sundry¡± is a popr saying.

    ¡°If this slime is around... then it can clean no matter what the condition is... while traveling, you can¡¯t wash with water, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, aside from wiping the body it isn¡¯t possible... Even though this is my first time going on a long trip, just not being able to enter the bath for a day has already made me feel unpleasant.¡±

    ¡°If you were to have this slime... then... the problem can be solved¡±

    At those words the ojousama looked at my face with amazing vigor. Scary! Her eyes! And some other things too! The madam along with two maids also seems to be staring.

    ¡°...clothes and body... dirt and stench... everything can be eaten... so¡±

    ¡°That! That slime! I want a Cleaner Slime!¡±

    ... This is bad! Why did I just throw her a sales pitch like a bad guy!? Moreover the hardest person to talk to! At the very least I should have pushed the Scavenger Slime!

    ¡°The selection method for this... is kind of...¡±

    ¡°No way! After being shown such an amazing slime, that¡¯s just too cruel!¡±

    ¡°Ryouma-sama, I, as a maid of a family that has been serving the Household of Jamil for generations, have also studied the basics of ve Magic. If you may find it in your heart, please instruct me as well to the selection method of the Cleaner Slime.¡±

    ¡°I also want to know~¡± ¨CElize

    As they said this, they made a face that said they absolutely want to know...

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, it¡¯s better if you talk honestly, so as not to provoke this female battalion¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s... hard to say... to women...¡±

    ¡°Women can¡¯t be taught?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s discrimination you know... I am sad...¡± - Elize

    ¡°Ojou-sama and the others wants to know, so isn¡¯t it fine?¡±

    Somehow in order to mediate the situation, Camil-san suggested something irresponsible. Taking that opportunity I stealthily took Camil-san, Jill-san, Zeff-san, and Hyuzu-san to a corner of the room and tried talking to them about the details of the selection method.

    ¡°...It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t understand why you don¡¯t want to say it¡±

    ¡°To think it was that kind of method...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s definitely quite hard for a guy to say to a woman...¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯d also be hard for another girl to say this kind of stuff¡±

    ¡°Well... just let nature take its course¡±

    The one who nonchntly asserted that was Hyuzu-san. As he said that he turned around.

    ¡°Milday! Madam! I know the method! Incidentally, Aro-ne as well!¡±

    Dered Hyuzu-san to the female battalion.

    What is he saying!? That guy, can he say it properly?

    ¡°Is that true!?¡±

    ¡°Yes, mdy! The method is to wash your body! And then lure the slime by feeding it with the sweat of your body and the dirty water you used!¡±

    He said¨C¨C¨C¨C!! That guy said it super straight!! Ah... He... He¡¯s going to get endlessly beat up by that female battalion...

    After that, when the female battalion calmed down Hyuzu-san talked to Rheinhart about the details of the conclusion they arrived to.

    If you prepare and set up using just normal water and the water used to wash the body, a normal slime wille. But for some reason slimes that can be Cleaner Slimes gather around sweat and dirty water. In order to safely be a Cleaner Slime, the slime will need to change its life of eating normal food to, without holding back, eat nothing but sweat, dirt, and water.

    ¡°To think that there were slimes that had such dispositions...¡±

    ¡°Sorry...¡±

    ¡°Um, Ryouma-san isn¡¯t a fault, you know?¡±

    ¡°For women... to catch Cleaner Slimes... is difficult, I think¡±

    ¡°Ryouma-san¡±

    ¡°?¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t give up... Cleaner Slime is fine¡±

    ¡°Well then, we should ask some guards to...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s no good. Even if it¡¯s just following another¡¯s example, I will be a ve Magic User from now on. I mustn¡¯t rely on other people¡±

    ¡°...for everything... to be done... by one person... isn¡¯t necessarily a good thing... you know?¡±

    ¡°Even so, I want to take my first step by myself¡±

    ¡°... the one who will decide... is ojousama¡±

    ¡°I will... I...~ I will do it! May I have some water?¡±

    At those words everyone around us shed a tear. The ojousama put up with her face beingpletely red. Even though it¡¯s fine even if she doesn¡¯t work that hard... or rather what¡¯s up with this atmosphere, it¡¯s as if she just made some amazing decision... the thing one has to do... it¡¯s that, right?

    In any case, I¡¯d feel guilty if I just brought out some water, might as well try rmending the bath.

    Although I normally use the Cleaner Slime, as a former Japanese there are times I want to submerge myself so I made a bathtub. I didn¡¯t think it would end up being used for something like this, though.

    ¡°I have, bathtub... please use¡±

    ¡°You have a bathtub? Thank you very much!¡±

    Using water magic I filled the bathtub with water, and with fire magic I heated it up. After the temperature was at a good level I informed the ojousama that the bath was ready.

    The ojousama gleefully went to the bath, while the two maids went to act as look outs and attendants for the bath. I went and met up with the others.

    ¡°Ouch... those painful stares¡±

    ¡°you reap what you sow¡±

    ¡°As one would expect, there¡¯s no such thing¡±

    Certainly that wascking delicacy. Even I who was often called to becking delicacy in previous life, wasn¡¯t that bad. Shouldn¡¯t be, anyway.

    ¡°Ah, Ryouma-kun, wee back¡±

    ¡°Madam... what should I...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, since the person herself has decided. And besides it¡¯s not like you said a lie, right?¡±

    ¡°Of course¡±

    ¡°Then it¡¯s fine. And besides I¡¯m happy to see that child show such an earnest attitude as a ve Magic User. If she just wanted to get a Cleaner Slime then it would have been enough for Ryouma-kun to cancel a contract and give her one.¡±

    ... What did she just say?

    ¡°What did you¨C¡°

    ¡°I said it would have been fine if she just received one from Ryouma-kun. Did you perhaps not think of that?¡±

    Ha, hahaha... Why wasn¡¯t I able to think of something so obvious!

    ¡°Seriously...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind, I thought it was adolescence. It was quite interesting. But I was really happy at my daughters resolve.¡±

    ¡°Is that so...¡±

    Somehow, I¡¯m tried...

    After the ojousama got out of the bath, I drew the water. With me leading we got to a ce that had rtively many slimes appearing. By some really good luck, a slime that chose the bath water immediately came out, we caught that one and went back home. And then in front of her parents¡¯ eyes, she enacted her first contract.

    Since it was alreadyte, they ended up staying at my house. I prepared the supper with the maids, during that the guards shifted with a person from the Household of Jamil and everyone was able to enter the bath.

    We grilled the meat the slimes were able to gather while the ojousama was fighting to catch her slime, along with the jija (ginger) I scraped off.

    After that, the Household of Jamil was in a great mood and ask for seconds many times. The other people also generally enjoyed it. However, as a former Japanese it was kind of strange for me. Although I¡¯ve gotten used to it, whether it¡¯s salt or the rock salts from a cliff, you can¡¯t have much of either. Moreover, minerals end up being mixed with it so unless you use alchemy and split and purify it, it¡¯ll be bad for the body. If I didn¡¯t have alchemy I probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to seclude myself in the forest for 3 years. In the mean time I have enough to guarantee my daily life, but it¡¯s not enough that I¡¯m satisfied.

    After supper we drank tea while talking, then all the sudden the duke¡¯s wife said this.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, have you decided what you will do from now on?¡±

    ¡°... Honestly, I¡¯m at a lost... Should I migrate somewhere...?¡±

    For starters, I¡¯ve already finished the first stage of my research. And then, seeing my rooms filled up with my ve monsters, makes my head wince. I¡¯m also unsatisfied with the food here, and have started to crave for some more seasonings.

    ... I guess should probably start going around the world now... but what should I say?

    "...Hey! You know this kid that has been isted in the forest for a long time and doesn¡¯t trust other people? Well he just decided that he wants to go out and see the world!"

    That just seems too unnatural... Oh, I know! let¡¯s go with the all purpose excuse and use my grandparents!

    ¡°... I was told by my grandparents... to live in town and be happy... but... I lived here instead... right now I have noint with my... life. But I¡¯ve started to thinktely... that my grandparents probably don¡¯t want... me to live... my life like this...¡±

    ¡°Ryouma-kun...¡±

    The atmosphere of the room became serious. Rheinbach closed his eyes, and he looked like he was mulling over something. After a while, he said this.

    ¡°Then in that case... how about going outside the forest with us?¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    Eh, what did this person say? Today should be our first meeting, right?

    ¡°Even if we¡¯re like this, we¡®re still a duke¡¯s household, to provide for one person¡¯s necessities is a simple matter to us. And also I think leaving an excellent ve Magic User secluded deep in the forest is a waste. Although you hate the towns, won¡¯t you try going out of the forest?

    ...Who would have thought that he would actually invite me? The people around me also doesn¡¯t seem to have anyints, giving off a look that says, ¡°Go ahead¡±. Everyone being such a good person is making my heart ache, even though I only told a lie.

    ¡°Tomorrow, we are going to the town, Gimuru, and then go back home. Since you could alsoe back here, won¡¯t youe with us on this trip?¡±

    ¡°Trip...¡±

    I am a person ignorant of society... although I¡¯ve received the basic knowledge from the gods, I¡¯ve never actually seen it with my own eyes... I also havemunication disorder.. and this people seem like good guys, it should be safe than going by myself, right? If I don¡¯t go now, I¡¯ll probably just drag it out and continue to be secluded for a few more months... so...

    ¡°Right... I think I¡¯ll end up causing you trouble but... may Ie travel... together with you guys?¡±

    ¡°I see! So you¡¯reing!¡±

    ¡°I myself... have begun thinking... of going out of the forest, so...¡±

    ¡°I see, I see. Then, you should prepare for the trip. We¡¯ll extend our tomorrow till afternoon tomorrow. Sorry for being in a hurry, but try to be ready until that time.¡±

    ¡°Even until morning, is fine... I never had much things from the start. If I use my item box... I can take everything with me¡±

    ¡°Ara, you can use item box at that age? That¡¯s amazing¡±

    ¡°I remembered grandma telling me... that it¡¯s convenient. I heard there were... a lot of people, that can use it...¡±

    ¡°No, no, even if it¡¯s a low level magic, it¡¯s a high level attribute you know? While, it¡¯s true that the number of people that can use item box, is high. But a person your age using it, is plenty amazing.¡±

    Really!? ... they left out that kind of sensitive information? Or perhaps the information didn¡¯t take into consideration the age? If I keep doing careless things it will end up being bad... My luck might actually be good, to have someone supplement mymon sense, is really fortunate...

    ¡°Ryouma-sama also seems to have talent for skills other than magic. I¡¯ll be looking forward to your future¡±

    ¡°True, even things aside from ve Magic, if you want to study just say it, ok? I¡¯ll teach you¡±

    ¡°I look forward to studying with Ryouma-san¡±

    ¡°Thank you very much¡±

    I gave my thanks and then begun tidying up. Since the ojousama, the maids, and the others were going to help me, I decided to go ahead and tidy up the most annoying room.

    ¡°Uwaa, what is this room¡±

    ¡°There are so many weapons and armor¡±

    ¡°Are those pelts deep inside?¡±

    ¡°Storage room... weapon and armor of bandits... pelt of animals, nails, fangs... various things. Town... money needed... if I search there should be some money here... as for the pelts they¡¯ll be useful during the cold... as for what I can sell I don¡¯t know... so please teach me¡±

    ¡°The pelts are basically the easiest to sell, and the price will change depending on the material. The price is standard and will be decided by the variation of the monster, the size of the hide, and the quality. For example the ck bear pelt Hyuzu used before to change his futon, if its quality was good then one sheet of it will go for around 1 small gold coin, because that¡¯s a high ss pelt, you see. Even if it¡¯s quality was bad if sold, will allowmoners to livefortably for 1 to 2 months.¡±

    ¡°Do you understand how money works? There are copper coins, silver coins, gold coins, and white gold coins. Respectively, they each have their big, medium and small versions amounting to a total of 12 coins.¡±

    ¡°The value of one copper coin is one piece for one suit. 10 pieces of those makes up a medium copper coin for 10 suits. And a big copper coin makes up ten of those pieces for 100 coins. Generally, normal people use around 80 to 100 suits in a day.

    Silver coins are a bit different, five big copper coins make a small silver coin for 500 suits, and 2 small silver coins make up a medium silver coin for 1000 suits. And then after that until the big gold coin, is 5 pieces, 2 pieces, 5 pieces, and 2 pieces, and so on.¡±

    ¡°Silver coins are generally used bymoners who have savings and merchants that have a small shop. For gold coins, it¡¯s generally the people with big shops and nobles, and as for white gold coins they¡¯re using by exceptional nobles and exchanges between country rted matters. Like this the value bes easy to use knowing the different social rankings. Commoners generally don¡¯t have any gold coins and even if they do, it¡¯s hard for them to use it.¡±

    ck Bear Pelt is unexpectedly expensive, I wonder how many sheets I have...

    ¡°In other words... If the ck Bear Pelt I had... totaled to 8 sheets and their quality was bad, I could sell 1 for 1 big silver coin for 5000 suits and 8 of them for 40000 suits... and would be 4 small gold coins, right?¡±

    As I said that, Camil and the others looked at me speechless.

    Eh, did I do something? Or did I make a mistake? Are they amazed over calctions this simple?

    ¡°Did I make a mistake? ... Amoner would spend around 100 suits a day, so 30 days for a month would make that 3000 suits, in 2 months, 6000 suits. Even if it¡¯s cheap, if it¡¯s around that, then since one big silver coin is 5000 suits, then 8 pieces would go for 40000 suits... it matches, right?¡±

    ¡°Y¨CYeah. It matches with the daily expenditures of amoner of 100 suits a day for 30 days in a month¡±

    ¡°Wa¨Cwait just a moment. You just calcted, right now, right? Ah... sorry, I don¡¯t know anymore¡±

    ¡°Are you an idiot!?¡±

    ¡°Is it bad to be stupid!? This asshole! Even if my head is bad I can at least write a letter!¡±

    ¡°Bouchan (little boy), to be able to calcte at that age, and even mentally, I have underestimated you¡±

    Eh!? That¡¯s what you¡¯re concerned about?

    ¡°Eh!¡±

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, to be able to calcte at that age is amazing, you know? If you can calcte at that age, then you can be a merchant. The calction you did a while ago also seemed to be correct¡±

    ¡°If you are able to calcte mentally that fast, then if you do jobs like being a merchant or working at the government, your ability will be essential.¡±

    ¡°Only learned from, my grandma... is it amazing?¡±

    ¡°A kid the age of bouchan that can mentallypute, rarely seen¡±

    ¡°Even amongst adults there are many that can¡¯t. The Hyuzu here can¡¯t and I also can¡¯t match Ryouma¡¯s speed.¡±

    Ehh... and so they were surprised?

    ¡°And also, you did pretty well to acquire so many ck bear pelts all by yourself. It¡¯s quite dangerous you know? It¡¯s more or less at the top of this forest¡¯s food chain¡±

    ¡°Trap and poison arrow... if I don¡¯t get close... it¡¯s safe¡±

    ¡°If you can do that much, then as a hunter you¡¯re first ss¡±

    Like this, while hearing the market price of the pelts, the weapons and other things, I activated the item box and from the ck hole that came out I kept tossing into it. While some of the weapons and armor couldn¡¯t be sold, the pelts unexpectedly had high value.

    Also unexpectedly it seems that there was quite a bit of money hidden inside the belongings of the bandits. I found a sack containing roughly 40 pieces of medium silver coins and was shocked. The people around me that have also been examining the bandit¡¯s belongings were shocked.

    They asked me why I didn¡¯t check the belongings, but it¡¯s because I never really needed money, and food that had gone bad were mixed in there and after having the slimes clean it, without checking I threw it into the storage room. After I honestly answered, they were astounded. Not checking the belongings of the bandit after bringing them down was like working for free, or so they said.

    From the looks of things, aside from bandits on the wanted list, even if you subjugate the bandits you won¡¯t get muchpensation. The gains don¡¯t match with the risk thates with killing bandits. Incidentally, a lot of bandits won¡¯t get onepensation, but all of their belonging will at least belong to the one that subjugated them. Otherwise no one will want to subjugate the bandits

    Like this we finished with the preparations in the storage room and then I went by myself, to the kitchen, the medicine room, and took the things I need into my item box.

    ... Or rather, it¡¯s mostly food and medicine ingredients. After that, it¡¯s mostly the things I got from the gods aftering to this world.

    After this... hmm... Right, I should take the slimes, huh? I can¡¯t just leave them alone, as I thought that I went to talk to Rheinbach.

    ¡°Rheinbach-sama¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Ryouma-kun?¡±

    ¡°Can I bring my slimes... with me on the trip? Altogether there are 17 slimes¡±

    ¡°Yes, there¡¯s no problem. For a ve Magic User to bring his own ve Monster, there¡¯s no problem with that at all¡±

    ¡°Besides the carriage has some allowance, so we can take some space¡±

    I see, that¡¯s good.

    ¡°Thank you very much¡±

    As I said that, a smile met me and said ¡°It¡¯s fine¡±. Really, they¡¯re such good people.

    If think of a simr situation in Japan... if someone who was hitchhiking suddenly told you that they¡¯re bringing with them 17 pets... yeah, at the very least I definitely wouldn¡¯t let them ride. One or two maybe, but 17 is just too much. In the first ce, I don¡¯t have a license.

    My gratitude to the duke¡¯s family just keeps on going... oh yeah, speaking of gratitude, there¡¯s still the matter with the gods. Since I¡¯m going to be out for a while, I might as well pay them a visit.

    As I thought that, I went to the deepest part of the house, a room I made for the purpose of ascetic practices. Over there is only a room as wide as a square but from the entrance, you can see that the front wall is being constricted, over therey the statue of the three gods who sent me to this world, that I made using earth magic.

    Since the religion of this world doesn¡¯t seem to prohibit idtry, creating a god¡¯s statue by yourself isn¡¯t a sin. There are also seems to be devout believers that pray at the statue of the church and at a small statue they bought from the church like role models and little by little sculpt every day. There also seems to be an area in the region that rmends that.

    Knowing that, while practicing earth magic, I made a statue of the gods, as a sign of gratitude, and I put it in my training area. It feels like the home shrine of the dojo in my past life.

    I would train in front of the gods, and pray to them. Though I say I prayed, I was really just talking to them normally. Since I met them once already. Today, I also thought of going to talk to them normally but in the case someone were toe it might be bad so I blocked the entrance with earth magic.

    If a deeply religious person were to see me casually talking to the gods they probably wouldn¡¯t forgive me. If not, then they might think I¡¯m a dangerous kid that talks to stone statues. I sat cross legged in front of the stone statue, after meditating for a while, I opened my eyes and I spoke.

    ¡°Today also seems to have ended peacefully. But since you¡¯re god, I¡¯m sure you know, I¡¯m going away for a while with the people who visited today. It seems we are going to the town of Gimuru. It¡¯s the long awaited first journey since I¡¯ve gone to this world. Like this I¡¯ll finally be able to keep the promise of going to the church that I made. Only, I don¡¯t know when I¡¯ll be able toe back so I¡¯m taking everything with me... in the case that I can¡¯te back I¡¯ll make a new statue at a different ce. Well then, I¡¯ll see you guyster¡±

    As I finished saying that, I stood up, opened the entrance and left the training ce.

    After that, I gave an order to the cleaner and scavenger slimes, and made them clean the storage room and the empty rooms.

    After that since I was asked by the butler if the guards could have a ce to rest, I lent them afortable empty room. As expected since it had a proper wall and was like a safe nest, they were grateful and gave me their thanks.

    After all the preparations were done, I also went to my room, and retired for the day.

 Volume 1 - 6

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Volume 1 Chapter 6

    The next day...

    ~ Side Ryouma ~

    Just as scheduled I left the forest around two hours ago with the duke¡¯s family. I heard there was a carriage and was wondering where it was, but as it turns out it was inside the butler¡¯s, Sebasu-san, space magic, Dimension Home.

    Apparently Sebasu-san uses space magic. Moreover, since I can¡¯t use Dimension Home yet I didn¡¯t know, but apparently you can even put a carriage inside.

    As I was thinking these things, Sebasu-san brought out 4 carriages. What a ridiculous amount of space this magic has.

    As I was surprised, the ojousama, feeling a sense of sess, smiled mischievously.

    ¡°That is only the carriage that we are going to ride on, you know? The ones for our belongings are still different. There¡¯s way more inside Sebasu¡¯s Dimension Home, you know?¡±

    There¡¯s still more!?

    While doing a tsukkomi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manzai#Boke_and_tsukkomi) inside his head, his hand was pulled by the madam and made to ride the same carriage as the four people of the Household of Jamil.

    The number of people riding the carriage was 6. The duke¡¯s family + me = 5 people, the other person riding with us was Sebasu-san.

    Speaking of which, the slimes were made to ride on the quasi-roof rack attached at the roof of the carriage. From what I¡¯ve heard it was originally a ce to put food and drinks like wine and snacks.

    We went through all that trouble to ride at the same carriage so I figured I might as well try asking Sebasu-san. But other than space magic it seems Sebasu-san can¡¯t use any except for water magic. From what I¡¯ve heard though, if one is able to use either attribute up to high level magic, then even in the country that person can be considered to be a distinguished magician.

    By some possibility, I thought that he might be able to use high level space magic. Thinking that, I tried asking him.

    ¡°Can you use the high level magic, Another World?¡±

    When I asked that, Sebasu-san looked at me with an expression of admiration.

    ¡°It¡¯s amazing that you¡¯re in the knowledge of such magic¡±

    ¡°The ve monster£ó... get scared by the people of the vige easily... so I asked grandma... if I could substitute conjuration techniques for space magic... but she said forrge scale... monsters, it won¡¯t work unless... I used Another World¡±

    ¡°Substituting conjure and recall with space magic? Is that possible, Sebasu?¡±

    ¡°Theoretically, yes. Dimension Home is a magic that bends space and creates a safe room where one can rest, so it¡¯s possible for magical beasts to survive inside. Another World is the same. However, I have never thought of actually using it to substitute for conjuring and recalling. While it¡¯s a method that¡¯s impossible for ve magic users that can¡¯t use space on and above the middle level, but this method can give a sense of security regarding one¡¯s surrounding on the same level as conjuration.¡±

    ¡°Hou, that is amazing. The interactions may change depending on the ce but it¡¯s a great idea since there are many that look down on ve magic users. If it can reduce thatmon knowledge even a little, then it¡¯s a proposal worthy of being investigated.¡±

    Eh, no one actually thought of this? Oh yeah, now that I think about it the gods also discussed it together at first, so this is probably something no one has ever thought of before.

    ¡°Regarding Ryouma-sama¡¯s question, I am unable to use the magic, Another World. Personally though, it¡¯s not a magic I would choose. Another World is space magic¡¯s most difficult magic. It is the goal of every space magician because as the highest peak, it will garner one much respect... however, that¡¯s all there is to it¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Actually, Another World is a magic that¡¯s very hard to use freely. Before one can use Another World, the three stages of the process are essential. The first stage involves the creation of a vast space by means of space magic. The size of Another World will be dictated by this stage. . And that stage is dependent on the volume of magic power that the user has.¡±

    ¡°... If the magic power is plenty, it will be wide... if little, narrow... right?¡±

    ¡°Precisely. To add to that, the practitioner that attempts the first stage, as a result of using his magic power with the sole intent to bring it out, ends up totally exhausted. In the worst case, that person may even faint and stay asleep for a few days. Moreover, if one fails the first stage, one will have to start all over again from the start¡±

    All for nothing, huh?

    ¡°After one seeds with the first stage, it is time to move to the second stage. The second stage is the creation of a gate to connect the ce you are in with the space you created sessfully. This will also consume a huge amount of magic power, if one fails, then one will need to start all over again.

    The stages until the second are all preparations. With the third stage, the gate will open and it will be possible to use it to freely go in and out. However, opening or closing the gate just once will consume anything from 5000 to 10000 magic power. This 10000, is a quantification of the value of magic power.

    Generally, in order to be a royal court magician that will serve the royal pce, at the very minimum one needs to have a magic power of 10000. But even amongst those that possess amazing amounts of magic power, if they use the magic just once, they will lose magic power to the point where they copse. It¡¯s definitely not something that can be abused.

    To make matters worse, after going through all that pain to prepare so much space, there is still the question of what will you put inside that, that made you do something that¡¯s so inconvenient¡±

    ¡°What do you mean? If it¡¯s wide, then it¡¯s possible to put more stuff in, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, of course. However, if it¡¯s just to keep things, such as your usual traveling goods and furniture, then the mid-level, Dimension Home, should be enough. If it can¡¯t be anything but Another World, then it has to be around the size of a royal pce or a fortress. In that case, the question turns to, how are you going to put that thing in there? In the end, it just ends up being a waste of magic without being able to serve any practical purpose¡±

    ¡°Oh, is that so...¡±

    That¡¯s quite a demerit there... Well, the quality can be taken into ount, but for the meantime, the mid-level, Dimension Home, should be fine. My ve monster is only a slime too, so...

    While thinking of those things, Sebasu-san began to follow up.

    ¡°Although using the magic may be difficult, there are times when it can be used. The likes of the Dragon and otherrge scale beasts have variations of which, whose sizes reach around those of the size of castles. If you are able to tame those kind of monsters, then it may be a valid suggestion to use that magic as a waiting room.¡±

    ¡°I see... thank you very much¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t mind. If it¡¯s something like this, please ask me whenever you like¡±

    At that, Elize inquired Ryouma.

    ¡°Now that you mention it, what magic attributes can Ryouma-kun use? I¡¯ve heard of earth and space magic but it looks like you heated the bath with magic, so you can also use fire and water, right?¡±

    ¡°Grandma said... that it¡¯s all attribute¡±

    ¡°All attribute, huh? That¡¯s pretty rare. Is there some specific attribute you¡¯re leaning towards to?¡±

    ¡°Mainly, earth and space... others include stuff like fire and water... mainly centered around things I use in day to day life... kind of all around¡±

    ¡°Fumu... to add to that, you also use ve magic and barrier magic, right? People who have all attributes have a tendency to be jacks of all trade and masters of none, so be careful, okay?¡±

    ¡°I understand¡±

    Come to think of it, the gods said the same thing in the letter, that warning.

    ¡°...Did I say something strange?¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, just now you smiled a little bit, you know?¡±

    Ah, it showed on my face...

    ¡°In the past, grandma said the same thing... since I also tried my hand at... alchemy and healing magic¡±

    ¡°I see, I thought I said something strange¡±

    ¡°But still, alchemy, huh? You seem to have an interest for strange things...¡± Commented, Rheinbach-sama.

    Which reminds me, there doesn¡¯t seem to be much information regarding alchemy. I should try asking her about that.

    ¡°Is it rare?¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t find many alchemists nowadays. In the past there were many who tried to swindle others by saying they could create things like gold. But because of those kinds of people, the numbers of alchemists werergely reduced. Though they say that some hundred years ago there was a man who was called the Alchemy King and made arge amount of profit. After that, however, like poof, with no inventions or discoveries it just disappeared¡±,

    At Rheinbach-sama¡¯s response, Sebasu-san continued.

    ¡°One theory says that what the Alchemy King created was the model of Alchemy. After that, there were people that tried to follow in the footsteps of the Alchemy King seeking profit, and what came out of that is the Alchemy that has been passed down today. It appears, however, that, those techniques were inferior to the Alchemy King¡¯s. Today, it has fallen to simply being used as an excuse for fraud. With no one left to study Alchemy, right now, it¡¯s no different from a candle before the winds.¡±

    ¡°Alchemists have a secretive and ominous image. Other magic guilds also have some parts they are secretive about, but the alchemists are too secretive¡± or so, Elize-san warned.

    Doesn¡¯t seem like it has a good image, huh? Well... it seems like the story is quite simr to the alchemists that used to live back in Earth.

    ¡°Would it be better... if I don¡¯t say I... study Alchemy?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, it would be better that way¡± confirmed, Rheinbach-sama.

    ¡°Understood¡±

    As I replied, the ojousama came over to ask me something.

    ¡°Ryouma-san, what do alchemists actually do?¡±

    What should I say...

    ¡°I don¡¯t know any other Alchemists... so I don¡¯t know... but what I¡¯ve been able to do so far... is to refine rock salt¡±

    At that, Rheinbach-sama curiously asked,

    ¡°Rock salt? That rock salt which can be collected nearby, but contains poison and can¡¯t be eaten and as such has no value? Is there something you can do with that?¡±

    ¡°That rock salt... inside the earth, is mixed with a lot of minerals... that ends up bing poison to a human¡¯s body... but if one were to remove those minerals, the salt can be eaten... what I did was... separating the minerals from the rock salt and removing the poison... like this it can be made consumable¡±

    Rheinbach-sama was astounded.

    ¡°You can do something like that!?¡±

    ¡°I can. The food we had back in my house... the salt I used there all... came from the cliff where rock salt can be collected from...¡±

    ¡°Amazing! If that¡¯s possible then if one were to sell it as goods... ah, no. No good. The fact that the nearby rock salt can¡¯t be eaten is something that has been well-known for some years now. Even if one sells it, no one will buy.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, in the past, there were some adventurers that went deep into the forest and found that cliff of rock salt. Without reporting it to anyone, gathered it, lied about where it came from, and sold it inrge scales.

    Hunting and collecting is freely allowed except for some selected areas. However, there are some greedy nobles who would keep it all for themselves if it is known that there is a source of rock salt in their region. They didn¡¯t want that so they kept quiet and tried to make a profit out of it and lied about where it came from. From the rock salts that were sold, a lot of people became sick, and in the end the adventurers were caught and executed.¡±

    I guess even in this world there¡¯sbeling fraud.

    ¡°From that cliff... it¡¯s not possible to take rock salts more than a meagre amount... can¡¯t respond to high demand... if distributed to the market... would probably lose out inpetition... against salt that can be taken safely in vast amounts.. If it¡¯s just for the Household of Jamil and the nearby vige then... I think it could hold...¡±

    ¡°I see... that¡¯s unfortunate¡±

    While we talked, the carriage stopped from time to time to rest, and continued onwards. And when dusk came, a voice came from the coachman.

    ¡°We can now see the town of Kereban, we will be arriving in a short while.¡±

    Looks like we¡¯ve arrived at the first stopover. I thought I would surely have to sleep outside tonight but... Mn? Wait a moment? I, don¡¯t have any identification...

    ¡°Um...¡±

    ¡°Is there something the matter?¡±

    Inquired the butler, quickly.

    ¡°I... identification... I don¡¯t have... is that ok....?¡±

    Calm down! It¡¯s gotten better already since two weeks ago, and yet! Just being a little unsettled, I¡¯m back to this broken speech...

    ¡°Please rest assured, a person without identification will be given a temporary ID.

    Oh, well that¡¯s a relief... I still want to do something about it soon... this...

    As I was thinking that I let out a sigh, making the madam worry for me.

    ¡°Are you alright? There¡¯s no need for worry, you know? Because we¡¯ll protect you no matter whates. The town isn¡¯t a scary ce.¡±

    ¡°Ah...¡±

    She seems to have misunderstood. I should make it clear.

    ¡°Right now, is different. Not about, the town.¡±

    ¡°Really? Then, what¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°The truth is...nguage. Weird, right? The way... I talk... now¡±

    ¡°... Well, certainly...¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t talked to anyone... in 3 years... 2 weeks ago... when Rheinhart-san came... I was surprised when the words wouldn¡¯te out properly... two weeks... since then... having talked with the slime a bit it came back a little... but... still.. No good... it¡¯s weird... so I need to¨C¡°

    What!? Madam!? Why am I being hugged!?

    ¡°It¡¯s alright! Ryouma-kun! We¡¯ll fix it, slowly. *sniff... you¡¯re not alone anymore¡±

    Crying!? ...wait, it¡¯s not just the madam but even the ojousama¡¯s and the guy¡¯s eyes seem to be watered... why... ah, I see... though this is a fact, when looked at from the perspective of an onlooker, I must look like a really lonely person. Not having been able to talk with a person face to face for 3 years, I lost my ability to talk, and even doing something like talking with slimes to practice talking...

    ¡°I¡¯m really ok! Because the one who... decided to live in the forest... was myself¡±

    After that for a while, I kept telling them that I was alright and was just feeling a little down, to no effect. Until we reached the gate, I was being hugged by the madam.

    After that, Sebasu-san and Rheinhart-san went outside and talked with the gate keeper for a bit. It seems they were talking about my temporary identification.

    I was brought to the station along with the madam. Although, actually, the only one who was called was me, but the madam said she was worried... and was quite pushy... The guide and the person in front of me are also shaking palely. I¡¯m sorry, people I don¡¯t know, for getting you mixed up with this.

    ¡°Th-th-th-th-then, p-p-please t-t-touch th-this cry-crystal¡±

    This person is stuttering too much. Although I also talk strangely when ites to people, but...

    ¡°Yes¡±

    I obediently touched the crystal. As I did that a blue light illuminated, the face of the people in front of me was stricken shocked, and they kept looking back at forth between me and the crystal.

    ¡°Y, you,e with me inside for a little¡±

    Did something happen? From what I know, a blue light should mean innocence... Sebasu-san and the madam that was with me interrupted.

    ¡°Is there something amiss?¡±

    Inquired the butler, as the madam followed up.

    ¡°The light was blue, right? There shouldn¡¯t be any problem but...¡±

    ¡°Ce-ce-certainly, the light was blue! However, rewards and punishments! The reward money fo-fo-for the recorded subjugation of a bandit. W-w-want to confirm and must give the reward!¡±

    Hearing that, the madam calmed down, and Sebasu-san understood. However, the confirmation and the reward money needs to be done before the two¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Th-then, I need to know. Boy, at that age you have felled a bandit, yes?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡±

    ¡°ording to the information projected by the crystal, you have subjugated The Red Spear, Melzen. Is this true?¡±

    Nope, I don¡¯t know. Who is that guy?

    ¡°Who is that? I don¡¯t know... such a person.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a man that wields apletely red spear and armor, can you remember?¡±

    Hearing that, certainly, there was a guy like that. If I remember correctly, his spear was pretty good, so I put it in my item box immediately.

    ¡°Yes. I have the spear in my item box... can that serve as proof?¡±

    ¡°If you have, then please show me¡±

    Having been told that, I took the spear from my item box and passed it to the guy in front of me. The man examined the spear and wielded it. The instant I felt magic power flow into the spear, the spearhead began to burst into mes.

    What the heck!? That spear had that kind of ability... can I do that too? Right, I¡¯ll have to try that out next time.

    ¡°It¡¯s indisputable. This is definitely the Red Spear, which is a magic weapon that can produce mes. It¡¯s the spear of The Red Spear, Melzen. I¡¯ll prepare the reward now.¡±

    The man gave an order to the knights that brought us here and the knights hurriedly galloped. Having sent them, the man spoke to me.

    ¡°However... you did pretty well to actually subjugate Melzen. That man has managed to flee from knights and adventurers, time and time again. If you didn¡¯t confront him directly, do you mind telling me how you managed to subdue him?¡±

    Even if you tell me that... I didn¡¯t do anything amazing...

    ¡°Was attacked by bandits... after they were defeated, before they died... said they were betrayed by theirrade, so I looked around... and saw them merry making by the cave¡±

    ¡°So you attacked them there¡±

    ¡°No. I am a ve Magic User... I sent a poison slime... to go inside a wine barrel.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I think I understand. I give you my thanks¡±

    Around that time, the soldiers arrived, bringing with them the reward money. I received the temporary ID and the reward money and put it in my item box, and then we left the station. It seems the guards of the Household of Jamil were ordered to go ahead to the lodging, and wasn¡¯t there when we got outside. From here on we have to go by foot until our lodging. It seems, it¡¯s to show the ojousama around the town.

    Incidentally, the reward for Merzan and his group was 700 small gold coins. 700 coins... I suddenly ended up being rich. Hmm, what should I do... Because of how I lived the past 3 years, I have no idea how to use this money. Well for the meantime, I should give my thanks to the people that took me with them.

    ¡°Everyone, thank you very much¡±

    ¡°Its fine~ you don¡¯t have to hold back¡±

    ¡°But still, to think you were actually able to bring down that Melzen¡±

    ¡°Rather than that, let¡¯s hurry and get to town!¡±

    ¡°Hey! Elialia, calm down!¡±

    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped since this is my first time in a big town¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Yep, I should have also said it yesterday. This is my first time going away from home. And this is Jamil Region¡¯s biggestmercial town. There are barely any ces that have more people than here!¡±

    ¡°I see¡±

    While it¡¯s true that there are a lot of people, as someone who knows Japan, in my opinion the people are rather few. Compared to the station and the crowded trains, there¡¯s just far too few. Speaking of which this is the first time I¡¯ve gone to town in this world, but it seems this world¡¯s town hasn¡¯t really touched me much. The old fashioned buildings are a bit unusual, but it¡¯s not something to make a fuss of. Rather, this ojousama is just too hyped.

    Now, while it¡¯s not to the extent of people going back and forth like water, even then in its own way, the ojousama can be swept away by the crowd. I understand everything about walking around in a town you don¡¯t understand and I know if this keeps on, it¡¯ll be dangerous, so I hurriedly went after the ojousama.

    ¡°Ojousama, over here¡±

    ¡°Th¨Cthank you very much. There¡¯s a lot of people, it seems like someone just might bump me¡±

    It seems something caught this ojosama¡¯s eyes and ended up stopping in this weird ce... even in the middle of the road without a hint of concern for others.

    It¡¯s precisely because of that obviousck of knowledge about the real world that a bunch of annoying people came.

    From the back, a girl walked in a trajectory that was obviously in line with the intention of bumping against the ojousama, in order not to allow her to get bumped in to, I pulled her shoulder.

    ¡°It¡¯s dangerous¡±

    ¡°... che..¡±

    The girl, having failed to bump into the ojousama, nced at me, who pulled the shoulder of the ojousama, and clicked her tongue before leaving. So, I guess she really was nning to pick pocket.

    ¡°Ara, thank you very much? Ara? What is that?¡±

    Again... there¡¯s another person walking towards here from the direction of the alley. Before allowing the ojousama to reach the alley, I caught her and pulled her aside like I was hugging her.

    ¡°It¡¯s dangerous to rush out¡±

    ¡°Eh!?¡±

    ¡°Uwah!?¡±

    Because I pulled the ojousama aside, the man that missed his timing fell out from the alley.

    ¡°There are peopleing out... of the alley. Please be careful¡±

    ¡°Th¨Cthank you very much...¡±

    After speaking to the ojousama, I spoke to the man.

    ¡°Are you alright...? You¡¯re not hurt, are you?¡±

    ¡°Th¡¯ heck is this bra¨C!?¡°

    As I spoke to the man, he tried to grab the nape of my neck. But I sprung that hand up with my left hand and grabbed it at the same time, I held the left arm behind his elbow, and in a way that won¡¯t be seen by the ojousama, I twisted his arm and his posture broke. The man was shaking as he was about to fall, he stopped talking and beforepletely falling I supported him, as our gazes met once again, I spoke again.

    ¡°There are no injuries, right?¡±

    ¡°Of¨Cof course, sorry kid. Thanks for lending me a hand¡±

    ¡°Please be careful¡±

    Seriously, don¡¯t suddenly pick a fight with a kid just because you failed... although I¡¯m actually an uncle deep inside. Recently I¡¯ve started to be confused regarding whether I should consider myself a kid or an uncle.

    ¡°Ryouma-san! Let¡¯s try going over there!¡±

    You still want to go! Or rather, how long are the criminals gonna keep oning!!

    After that, for a while, I had to go through pains protecting the ojousama from hoodlums who attempted to either pickpocket, extort, or kidnap. For some reason even though the Household of Jamil could, at any time, prepare a way to deal with this, it seems they¡¯ve left it to me... or rather, this town¡¯s public order is too horrible ...

 Volume 1 - 7

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Volume 1 Chapter 7

    TL Note: As per others¡¯ suggestions, I¡¯ve changed the names of Lineheart --> Rheinhart; and Linebach --> Rheinbach.

    Volume 1 Chapter 7

    Ryouma went with the flow and acted as the ojousama¡¯s escort. They kept on like this, on their way to the lodging until Sebasu came to call the ojousama. Right now they were in the lobby confirming their reservation.

    ¡°O¡±

    ¡°Are you alright, Ojousama?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m ok. It¡¯s just that I¡¯ve been running all over, so now my feet hurt. Plus, my butt hurts because of the carriage. How about you? Is Ryouma-san ok?¡±

    ¡°No problem.¡±

    There¡¯s an effect of reduction to the pain experienced by those who possess the Pain Resistance Skill. If it¡¯s only pain at the level of a shaking carriage, then nothing would change for Ryouma who possesses Lv8 Pain Resistance.

    ¡°It¡¯s like that at the start, Ojousama.¡±

    ¡°Aro-ne¡±

    ¡°Once you¡¯ve ridden several times you¡¯ll eventually get used to it. By the way, it would seem Ryouma-sama seems to be fine, does Ryouma-sama have experience riding carriages?¡±

    ¡°This is... the first.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Ryouma-sama seems fine, so I thought Ryouma-sama would certainly have experience riding carriages.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never ridden... although I do have experience running side by side... while pulling¡±

    Actually during Ryouma¡¯s time as a student, he would sometimes pull rickshaws and run side by side with a horse as a part of his running routine. He would also take part time jobs pulling rickshaws. As he reminisced those days, the words came out of his mouth, but Elialia and Aro-ne who didn¡¯t know those things, misunderstood and thought Ryouma was abused and used as a substitute for a horse.

    Because of that the conversation stopped and the atmosphere somehow became gloomy. Ryouma, however, was unaware that his thoughtless remark was the cause, so he couldn¡¯t help but be baffled, when Aro-ne¡¯s and Elialia¡¯s expressions suddenly showed grief. Unfortunately though, the Ryouma who has been stricken with stranger anxiety for over 40 years, could not possibly have been in possession of the conversation skills to break this deadlock. In the end, they passed the time without talking.

    The one who broke that dead lock was the guard and the Rheinhart who came back to talk about the ns for tomorrow.

    ¡°Thanks for you effort for today. Elialia, we¡¯re not sleeping outside today so go get some good rest.¡±

    ¡°Yes, father¡±

    ¡°And... Ryouma. Unfortuantely, we weren¡¯t able to get you the same room as us, my apologies. There¡¯s a room for the servants of the guests, and so I was hoping you could stay there.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s enough.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a big room, but the one handling the procedures is Sebasu so you should be able to get the same room as Zeff and the boys. Even if it¡¯s just a little, knowing the people you¡¯re with, is better, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, thank you.¡±

    After giving his thanks, they all went to their respective rooms. Ryouma with Sebasu, who had just finished the procedures, and the ojousama with her two parents.

    ~Room of the Household of Jamil~

    The four members of the Household of Jamil were making themselvesfortable, when Rheinhart asked Elialia a question.

    ¡°Elia, what were you talking with Ryouma about? The atmosphere was a little weird...¡±

    Hearing those words, Elialia¡¯s body shook, startled.

    ¡°A¨Cactually, I touched on Ryouma-san¡¯s past a little...¡±

    ¡°Oh really?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Since my butt was hurting and Ryouma seemed to be fine so, I thought he was used to riding horses but... umm... apparently today was his first time riding horses. He said, he¡¯s never ridden horses before but he has pulled carriages while running lined up with a horse.¡±

    ¡°I get it, but he didn¡¯t seem to mind when I saw him. After that he was also normal. So I think it would be best if Elia also doesn¡¯t mind it too much¡±

    Having said that, the madam followed up.

    ¡°Rx, just rx. Don¡¯t just pull Ryouma all over the ce until you reach the lodging, but also try to connect with him with that level of cheerfulness.¡±

    ¡°Y¨CYes, Now that I think about it... I was really too excited.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, although just a little bit, it was improper¡±

    ¡°*sniff¡±

    ¡°¡±Ho, ho. being lively is a good thing. Elia is still a kid, so if it¡¯s something like that, you can still call it, charming. But, you can¡¯t be careless. That kind of behavior is like asking hoodlums toe attack you, you know? You need to take care of yourself, ok?¡±

    ¡°Yes...¡±

    ¡°Then, after taking a bath go to sleep, since we¡¯re leaving tomorrow. And we¡¯ll also be camping, ok?¡±

    ¡°I got it, good night, mother, father, grandfather.¡±

    As Elialia said that, she left the room to take a bath. When the three confirmed they were the only ones there, they changed the conversation.

    ¡°So... regarding Ryouma-kun, what do you think?¡±

    Asked, the madam.

    ¡°Although I told Elia not to mind, but the truth is I, myself, have a lot of things I¡¯m bothered about.¡±

    ¡°Well... he¡¯s not a bad kid¡±

    ¡°I also have don¡¯t have any objections in regards to that. But, exactly what kind of life did he live to turn out that way? Although he said he killed the bandits by sending a Poison Slime, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s just that. I think, he himself is just as strong. While he was being dragged around by Elia, he nonchntly protected her, you know?¡±

    Said Rheinbach, quite enthusiastically.

    ¡°But, the reaction he had when we came to this town was, as expected, really unfavorable¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. While I won¡¯t ask him to be on Elia¡¯s level, but, I think it¡¯s better for kids to be a little more excited¡± Agreed the madam.

    ¡°Without being surprised at the number of people and the size of the town, he looked as if he was looking at a stone on the side of the road.¡±

    Rheinbach¡¯s opinions weren¡¯t wrong but, his idea of big variedrgely as opposed to Ryouma¡¯s.

    It¡¯s true that Ryouma looked at the crowd of people like he was looking at a stone by the road, but that is simply the fault of being someone who lived in Tokyo, Japan, a high popted area, which allowed him to see countless people every day. Having already seen a higher poption than the one is this town, and seeing such crowds on a day-to-day basis, seeing something on this level just isn¡¯t worth the merit, so, of course, he wouldn¡¯t be surprised. Therefore, he looked on with eyes that looked like he was looking at a piece of stone by the road. But, to the three people who did not know that, his eyes just looked dead to them.

    ¡°To see a prospective young person to have those kind of eyes, what a tragedy.¡± Muttered Rheinbach.

    ~Servant Room~

    Having been brought by Sebasu, they arrived at the room they will be staying in for the day.

    ¡°Excuse me¡±

    ¡°Sorry for intruding¡±

    As they entered while giving their greetings, the ones in there were Jill, Zeff, Camil, and Hyuzu.

    ¡°Hey, you¡¯vee!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve finallye¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s only one night, but let¡¯s get along¡±

    ¡°The bed at the end over there is empty¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s get along¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah, by the way, what do you normally do?¡±

    ¡°?¡±

    ¡°For us who live in the town, we eat dinner and then go out to drink, but you live in the forest, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah... basically I research slimes... and practice magic. After that, I train my body.¡±

    ¡°... only that?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it boring/¡±

    ¡°Magic and slime research... is fun¡±

    ¡°For research to be fun, looks like Ryouma has the disposition for a schr.¡±

    ¡°For me, that¡¯s just impossible¡±

    ¡°By the way, Ryouma-sama, from time to time Ryouma-sama seems to be knowledgeable and use courteous words, did Ryouma-sama study somewhere?¡±

    ¡°I learned them from my grandmother. Studying and etiquette... otherwise will be problematic¡±

    ¡°Ryouma-sama¡¯s grandmother must have been an amazing person¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s a person who can do anything except for matters rted to fighting with weapons¡±

    ¡°Ho¨C, then what kind of person was your grandpa?¡±

    ¡°The opposite of my grandma... a person who can¡¯t do anything except fight with weapons. But, he was exceptionally skilled at handling weapons. The weapons he made... were first ss. I can¡¯t win... not in battle, or in smithing¡±

    ¡°Eh, you can smith?¡±

    ¡°Since I helped out... the foundations are ok. But since I didn¡¯t learn properly... and I haven¡¯t been able to, for the past 3 years. Even if I do it now, I can¡¯t make anything except for something dull¡±

    ¡°True, if it¡¯s in the forest, you probably won¡¯t be able to get either ingredients or tools¡±

    ¡°Well you¡¯ve gone through all that trouble to get out of the forest so you should buy what you need. But more than that, isn¡¯t there something you want to do? You can take a stroll outside until supper, you know?¡±

    At that, Ryouma said this.

    ¡°Then in that case, where is the church?¡±

    ¡°Church? Unfortunately, the church is closed at this time.¡±

    ¡°Although this town is prosperous, but because of the bad public order, the gates are closed early. In this town, there are two churches, the Church of Genesis, and the Church of the God of Light. Which one do you follow?¡±

    ¡°The Church of Genesis¡±

    ¡°Then in that case, it¡¯s too bad but, you can¡¯t enter the church today. If it¡¯s the Church of the God of Light then if you bring out a big donation then they¡¯ll let you in but...¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡±

    ¡°Although the scale of the Church of the God of Light is big, in proportion to that, the inside is just as rotten. There¡¯s plenty of degenerate priests there that would do anything depending on your donation.¡±

    ¡°There are people inside that believe in god, but priests and deacons that don¡¯t believe make up a big part of the congregation. It¡¯s because the ones that eye the donation ie, all end up there. Contrary to that, the Church of Genesis has plenty of pious priests.¡±

    ¡°Because there isn¡¯t a huge difference in the dogma even if you worship a different god. There¡¯s a lot of people who enter the faith based on the personality of the believers, or the scale of the church.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know... thank you very much¡±

    ¡°Something like this, I don¡¯t mind. But being asked where you want to go, to immediately want to go to church, you¡¯re quite a pious believer, huh?¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°For most people going to the church once a week is good. There are also people who will only go once a month. In this way, I am also a follower of the Church of Genesis but, I don¡¯t think I go even once a month. I¡¯m fairly close to being irreligion since I can¡¯t go to the church until reach the destination of a trip or a town somewhere.¡±

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, did you go to the church frequently before you went to the forest?¡±

    ¡°Ever since I was born I haven¡¯t even been able to go once.... But... I pray at the stone statue in my house. ... And I also made a stone statue inside the house using Earth Magic and prayed there.¡±

    ¡°Then in that case how about buying some building stones and making a statue? This lodging is also high ss, and people who sometimes carve statues every night are also weed, so they should have stones for the sake of making those kinds of statues.¡±

    Being told by Sebasu that, Ryouma bought 3rge bricks of stones. However, the stones Ryouma bought were sold by a high ss lodging, so the stones he got were also high ss, 3 pieces went for 1 small gold coin and were quite expensive.

    After that the stone was whittled off with Earth Magic and right after, the exquisiteness of the created image caused Camil to make a fuss, and Sebasu gave me a seal of approval, saying I could make a living from making statutes.

    By the way, the reason behind the exquisiteness of the sculpture was because Ryouma had already once met the gods, so the image was built properly. Ryouma also possessed the Magic Maniption Skill which allowed him to precisely manage his Earth Magic. And also in his past life, Ryouma made figures both as a hobby and for profits, so he was quite used with modelling things like this.

    While various things happened, the 3 stone statues were made, and by the time Ryouma prayed it was already time for supper. They finished their meal, and right after they quickly retired to bed to prepare for tomorrow.

 Volume 1 - 8

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Volume 1 Chapter 8

    The Next Day

    ~Side Ryouma~

    Although in the end I wasn¡¯t able to go to the church in the town of Kereban, since there also seemed to be a church in our destination, Gimuru, I figured it would be fine to go to the church there, instead. Besides I also have that stone statue with me.

    Like this, we nned to go there on our carriage leisurely, but...

    ¡°It¡¯s a little cold...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because of the rain.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s rare to have this kind of downpour at a season like this though.¡±

    ¡°Guess our luck was bad, Elialia.¡±

    Looks like we met with an unexpected downpour. It¡¯s been quite some time since I¡¯ve met with this kind of bad luck. Ever since I came to this world,pared to my time on Earth, nothing has caused me to think I have bad luck. Well, since I¡¯m inside the carriage, if it¡¯s only on the level of heavy rain, then maybe my luck here is still better.

    Ah, the Ojousama is shaking. If I¡¯m correct I should have that with me...

    I brought out one coat made out of pelt from my item box. There¡¯s fur within the inner part of the coat, and a cloth affixed on the outer part. ncing at it, it may seem like a coat, but, the cloth outside has the Sticky Slime¡¯s sticky liquid varnished dry on it.

    With this treatment, the sticky liquid will repel the water, turning it into something like a raincoat. Once, by chance, I identally touched the dried sticky liquid and noticed that it was quite sleek. So I tried it out, and it was a great sess. Thanks to this, hunting under the rain became quite easy~

    ¡°Ojousama, please use, this. It may not look good... but it¡¯s very warm¡±

    ¡°Thank you very much, Ryouma-san. I¡¯ll borrow it, then.¡±

    It¡¯s good that the Ojousama took it, but, it seems she thought she needs to turn it inside out.

    ¡°Don¡¯t turn it inside out. I treated the outside a little bit so unless you wear it like that, there¡¯s no meaning... although there might be not much meaning, since we¡¯re inside the carriage.¡±

    ¡°Ara, is that how it is?

    Curious, Sebasu-san touched the coat, and asked.¡±

    ¡°Exactly what kind of treatment was applied? This is the first time I¡¯ve been able to touch something so smooth.¡±

    ¡°I spread Sticky Slime¡¯s sticky liquid on it... and then dried it. Water can¡¯t prate it... will repel the rain¡±

    ¡°Sticky Slime¡¯s sticky liquid had that kind of effect?¡±

    Eh? He didn¡¯t know?

    ¡°Were you unaware?¡±

    ¡°In regards to the applications of the Sticky Slime¡¯s sticky liquid, I am unaware of any other uses other than as glue. And speaking of rain gears, there¡¯s nothing outside of simply piling up several cloths and pelts and creating something like a robe. This is my first time seeing such a thin rain gear¡±

    Really? For some reason, Rheinbach-sama¡¯s and the madam¡¯s eyes sparkled. This is also a new discovery!? The slimes were seriously left unresearched. At that, the Madam spoke to me.

    ¡°That rain gear, is it ok if I test it out?¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s testing, then...¡±

    I invocated the item box again and I brought several cloths out.

    ¡°Treated cloths. Although it¡¯s thin, water won¡¯t be able to go through... and although it¡¯s worn-out, after being cleaned by the Cleaner Slime, and applying the treatment, it¡¯s not dirty.¡±

    These were originally the scraps of the clothes of the bandits and the loin cloths of the goblins, so please just let the fact that it¡¯s all worn down go.

    While thinking those things I presented the cloth, not just to Rheinbach-sama and the Madam but also to Rheinhart-sama and Sebasu-san. They took the cloths and wrapped it on their on their own hands. Then they took their hands and began putting it outside the small window of the carriage.

    ¡°Ho! It¡¯s really repelling the water!¡±

    ¡°Amazing, the water isn¡¯t soaking it up at all.¡±

    Eximed the Madam and Rheinbach-sama as they showed their admiration.

    ¡°The rain drops are a little cold but, if one were to affix fur within the inner part, it should be possible to make itfortable¡±

    Analyzed, Sebasu-san.

    ¡°This can sell! Ryouma-kun, if you work with us and begin...¡±

    ¡°Please excuse me. Is something the matter?¡±

    As the four were testing out the water-repent cloth, Arone-san opened the door of the carriage. It looks like she was sitting outside the carriage at the back. And when something needed to be done, it appears she would be called by putting out one¡¯s hand out of the carriage and signaling.

    ¡°Ah, no, there¡¯s nothing. We were just checking out the effectivity of the rain gear Ryouma-kun had developed.¡±

    ¡°I see, please excuse my behavior.¡±

    As she said that and tried to close the door of the carriage, I noticed that her feet were wet. Apparently the roof at the rear seat isn¡¯t able to cover the feet from the rain.

    While hurriedly calling Aro-ne-san¡¯s attention, I took out from the item box the seemingly stolen curtain of the bandits that has been waterproofed.

    ¡°Please wait... Aro-ne-san¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°This, feet... rain, won¡¯t go through¡±

    ¡°Would it be fine if I borrowed this?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s cold when wet ... and like this I can also prove, that water won¡¯t go through even after long exposure, so...¡±

    ¡°Thank you very much. I¡¯ll borrow this then.¡±

    Aro-ne-san smiled at me, gave her thanks, and then left.

    After that, a few hours passed with nothing happening. Rheinhart-sama decided to sell the water proof cloth as a new kind of rain gear. The people inside the carriage all put their head together toe with different proposals for the development of this new technology.

    Making the best out of my current knowledge, I proposed for things like raincoats and umbres. Incidentally, other than me, what the other five wanted to make the most was a waterproof tent. This world also has tents but since they¡¯re not waterproof, when raines there is a chance for leaking. And if the downpour is heavy, the chance for leaking is quite high.

    Other suggestions also included, using a waterproofed cloth as a substitute for the leather pouch that¡¯s used to store water. And something like being able to fold it when water hasn¡¯t been put inside, making it somewhatpact. And a bunch of other things the others thought of as they yed with the experimental cloth I had passed to them.

    Finally there¡¯s that feel of being in the different world, Temte! Or rather, now that I notice it, it seems that before I knew it I¡¯ve somehow ended up heading on the direction of domestic affair cheat. Wasn¡¯t I supposed to be a magic and martial arts cheat? Current knowledge plus goods = a cheat in this world?

    As I thought of how taxing it was to think up new products, the carriage stopped, and a messenger from our guards came.

    ¡°Milord, it seems that there has been andslide because of the rain. We have been able to confirm from afar that the road ahead has been blocked.¡±

    ¡°What? Is that true?¡±

    ¡°Yes, the road has beenpletely blocked. Some considerably big rocks and trees have also fallen. Like this we won¡¯t be able to cross.¡±

    ¡°The alternative route?¡±

    ¡°From here it will be quite a long detour, and while it¡¯s still unconfirmed, ording to our sources there¡¯s a reasonable chance that there¡¯s no other road except for one where a big group of bandits may appear. A person who has the skill, Weather Prediction, mentioned that the rain will likely stop in a few hours. The fastest way to reach the Town of Gimuru would probably be to prepare camp somewhere away from thendslide, wait for the rain to stop, and remove the sand and stones with Earth Magic. Milord, please give me your...¡±

    ¡°Right... it¡¯s bad for Elialia to go through a long journey since she¡¯s not used to it, and I want to avoid a dangerous road. Let¡¯s go with your decision.¡±

    ¡°Thank you very much. We will immediately begin the operation.¡±

    After that, the carriage began moving again. Just a little bit ahead, it seems that there¡¯s a tree there that we might be able to use to take shelter from the rain. Although, I think it¡¯s dangerous to be beside a tree when it¡¯s pouring so heavily... well, there¡¯re no thunders so it¡¯s probably ok. For the meantime, let¡¯s at least keep a minimum distance of 2m from the tree. That way I could feel a bit safer against that lightning.

    After around five minutes the carriage stopped again. The surrounding became busy, and around the same time, Aro-ne-san entered.

    ¡°We are currently quickly preparing the camp. Please wait just a little more. And also, Ryouma-sama, thank you very much for this cloth. Another maid, Lilian, is also very grateful.

    ¡°You¡¯re wee... did the water get through?¡±

    ¡°No, from what I¡¯ve seen, not even a drop.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s amazing, this cloth can even stand extend periods of usage! That¡¯s right, Aro-ne and Ryouma-kun, I¡¯ve decided to develop and manufacture rain gears using this cloth. Once the trial products arepleted, I want to hear your opinions¡±

    Hearing that, Sebasu-san said this.

    ¡°That is certainly a good idea. If a rain gear made from this cloth were toe out, it would undoubtedly be very popr.¡±

    As they said that, Aro-ne smiled. But what caught my eyes and made me concerned were the guards who were working while looking like drowned rats.

    I understand that¡¯s their work and I also understand that if an unskilled person were to lend his hand he¡¯ll just get in the way. But as someone who was once in a sweat shop in Earth, when people be dull in their work... I can¡¯t help but be sorry for them and want to help... Oh yeah, in Barrier Magic, there¡¯s a barrier that can avoid rain, I forgot about it since I haven¡¯t used it in a long time. If it¡¯s something like that then it won¡¯t get in their way!

    ¡°Is it ok if I use, barrier magic?¡±

    ¡°Of course, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    No good, it was too sudden. Without exining anything I just went and said that, of course he wouldn¡¯t understand.

    ¡°Outside, there are, people drenched... using Barrier of Rain Shelter... can protect them from the rain. Work will befortable.¡±

    ¡°I see, thank you. If you do that, it¡¯ll help them out too.¡±

    Having gotten permission, I quickly invocated the barrier Magic on the ce where the people were.

    ¡°Surround them, protect them from the rain and be their shield ¡®Rain Shelter¡¯ ¡°

    After I chanted the magic words, as if wrapping itself around them, a dome shaped barrier appeared and affixed itself blocking off the rain.

    With the rain suddenly stopping, the people inside were shocked. Camil-san noticed the barrier magic, waved his hands and gave his thanks. There were also other people that came to give their thanks but, I just ended it by waving my hands, and ascertained my next target.

    I wasn¡¯t able to wrap everyone with a barrier with one shot, there are still 4 ces where people are gathered that haven¡¯t been affixed with a barrier. So just like before I changed the magic words and affixed a barrier in those four ces, and just now, I also put up a barrier around the carriage.

    After a while, the preparations for the tent were finished and Zeff-san came over to call us.

    ¡°Sorry for making you wait, the preparations for the tent have finished. And, kid, the other guys says thanks.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee¡±

    ¡°How long until the rain stops?¡±

    ¡°Around 2 more hours ording to the guy that has the skill, as soon as it stops we¡¯ll begin to remove the earth and sand.¡±

    ¡°Got it, then, until then, go get some rest, it will be a big job for an Earth Magician so rest well.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    Having said that and given the orders we sent off Zeff-san and went back into our tents. The tent was quite the luxurious tent and inside, it had 4 sections.

    ¡°Fu... ah, ouch, ouch...¡±

    The madam gave her a concerned look, and asked.

    ¡°Elia, you¡¯re still not used to carriages?¡±

    ¡°Sorry...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind it, it¡¯s only been recent so it can¡¯t be helped¡±

    ¡°Also, today, because of the rain, the soil was loose and it shook a lot more than normal. It can¡¯t be helped, it¡¯ll be good if you could properly get some rest. Ryouma, too.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll get plenty of rest, and afterwards I¡¯ll do my best.¡±

    I can¡¯t just leave things at it is, I got to ride the carriage for free and even had the costs of the hotel taken care of. Besides, it¡¯ll also be good training.

    Rheinbach-sama looked at me with a curious look and asked.

    ¡°Do your best? With what?¡±

    ¡°Getting rid, of the fallen sand and earth... with Earth magic.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll let the guards do it, so it¡¯s fine if you just rest, you know?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been indebted to you, very much. It will also be for my sake. Please let me do it.¡±

    ¡°Fumu... If you say it like that, then I guess I¡¯ll get your help. However, if you get tired you have to rest, ok? You¡¯ve already used your Barrier Magic several times, if your magic power gets cut off, it¡¯ll painful¡±

    Ah, so he was worried about that... really what a good person, I¡¯m grateful.

    ¡°Thank you very much, I¡¯ll be careful.

 Volume 1 - 9

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Volume 1 Chapter 9

    The rain had stopped, and the operation to remove the rock and sand has begun. In the surrounding area, guards who can use Earth Magic are destroying the rocks by using the magic, Break Rock. And carrying the soil away after hardening it with the magic, Rock.

    While, Break Rock, uses the image of a rock being shaved, Rock, is about the image of a soil gathering and hardening in order to invocate.

    About that, during the time in the forest when I excavated that cave, I somehow managed to create abination of the two magic, Break Rock and Rock, called Create Block. Using this magic I tookrge quantities of rock and soil, turning them intorge bricks of stones, and had the slimes carry them away.

    While other people had to deal with rock and soil separately, I was able to deal with both at the same time, allowing me to remove rock and soil at a speed that¡¯s at apletely different level. Moreover, because the created bricks were being carried by slimes that worked while lined up to each other like a bucket brigade, the operation was like an assembly-line system with me rapidly using magic. Like this the operation was able to proceed at an absurd pace. When one of the other guards saw this, he called my attention.

    ¡°Can you give me a sec?¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, right? That magic, exactly how are you doing that? I may be an Earth Magician, but my main upation is still that of a swordsman and so I may not know all the details about Earth Magic but... I¡¯ve definitely never seen a magic that can dispose of soil and rock at the same time. Can you teach me that?¡±

    ¡°This is, Create Block... A person who can use Break Rock and Rock could probably use this as well... Break Rock changes rock to soil and for Rock, from soil to rock, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°So, from rock to soil, and from soil to rock, take those two processes and turn it into one, and with that image please use your magic... if you do this, the rocks in the area affected by your magic will turn to soil... and the soil, remaining as a soil, will along with everything else be a rock... It should be decided before hand how big the rock that will be formed will be... In my case I have my slimes carry it away, so I chose this size.¡±

    The man gave a nod to show he understood. Then, he went to a nearby rock and tried it out, after which, while the sizes were a bit off, he was able to splendidly turn the soil and rock into a size that could be moved.

    ¡°Ha! It really works! Although I need to get used to it before I can manage the size of the rock and the amount made properly, the magic consumption seems to be lower than doing things separately. Thanks, Ryouma-kun.¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m happy... I could be of help.¡±

    Since, I was asked whether it would be ok if Create Block was taught to the others as well and responded with a yes, the man rushed up to the other guys working and taught them the magic as well.

    The results of that... today, the number of people who can use the magic perfectly is one, and the people who can use it to some extent are 3. Overall, the speed of the entire operation had gone up. Incidentally, the one man who could use the magic perfectly was the man who came to talk with me, Gaultier-san.

    When the operation ended for the day, I went back to the tent and was hugged by the Madam.

    ¡°Fuga!¡±

    ¡°Wee home! You did a good job! Ryouma-kun!¡±

    ¡°P¨Cplease let... me go...¡±

    Tight! It¡¯s tight! So please...

    ¡°Madam! A rather dangerous part is being strangled! Please let go!¡±

    ¡°Eh! Ah!¡±

    ¡°Geho! Ha...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry! Are you ok!?¡±

    ¡°Ye¨Cyes, I¡¯m alright... ah, umm...¡±

    What was it again? The name of this maid that stopped madam. If I¡¯m correct...

    ¡°Lilian...san?¡±

    ¡°Ye, yes!¡±

    ¡°Thank you very much. You saved me...¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s important is your safe. By the way, the meal has already been prepared, will you being having your meal, now?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll have it now¡±

    When I said that. She replied, ¡°Then pleasee over here¡± and brought us over to the table in the room inside.

    ¡°Ryoma-kun, looks like you worked hard today, huh? Thanks for your hard work.¡±

    ¡°Can you eat? It¡¯s not good to push yourself, you know?¡±

    ¡°My body is fine.¡±

    ¡°Ho... it seems you¡¯ve used quite a bit of magic, though.¡±

    ¡°It was amazing, you know? That magic, Create Block, was it?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡±

    ¡°Because of that magic of Ryouma¡¯s and his slimes, the efficiency rose up. And even more, he taught the same magic to the guards that use Earth Magic and now it looks like the operation to remove the rocks and sands will finish much earlier than expected.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great¡±

    Around that time, the food was brought over and we all began to eat. Then, Elialia said this,

    ¡°Ryouma-san, how much magic power does Ryouma-san have?¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    Oh yeah, now that you mention it... How much magic do I have again? Since I came to this world, I haven¡¯t been able to see my own status... until now I didn¡¯t mind but... when I first came to this world, I became too excited and used magic too much, and ran out of magic power, so it¡¯s not like its infinite but...

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know...¡±

    ¡°Eh!? But, normally you have to go the church when you reach 10 years... I see, Ryouma-san, you¡¯ve been living in the forest, right? Then in that case how are you able to tell your limit?¡±

    ¡°Based on my body¡¯s state and my intuition¡±

    ¡°Is that, ok?¡±

    ¡°If one gets used to it, then there¡¯s no problem.¡±

    Rheinbach-sama began to exin.

    ¡°In a normal family, one would go to the church on their 10th birthday and receive a measurement of their status. At that moment, based on the magic power of a person it will be decided whether that person can be a magician in the future or not. For us, nobles, we do it on the fifth birthday so we can start with training early. However, Ryouma-kun, your magic is probably not low. Since you were able to use magic consecutively, like that, without cutting off your magic power, you should be in possession of a significant amount of magic power.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s possible you might have around the same magic power as Elialia.¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s like that, then I¡¯ll be very happy¡±

    ¡°?¡±

    Why would Ojousama be happy? While I was thinking that, Sebasu-san noticed and exined to me.

    ¡°Ojousama possesses an enormous amount of magic power. Given her position, from a very young age, she has received special treatment. Because of that it became difficult to create friends that would be able to talk to her easily.¡±

    The ojousama looked, at me, and then exined herself.

    ¡°... Even though for this country¡¯s royal court magic practitioners, at most, a magic power of a little over 60,000 can be considered to be strong. But, my magic power is 200,000.¡±

    200000, huh? This ojousama, she wouldn¡¯t have happened to have been reincarnated from Earth, would she? The gods did mention that there are people who received cheats and were sent here before.

    ¡°I see.¡±

    ¡°I see? Aren¡¯t you shocked!? It¡¯s four times that that of a royal court magic practitioner, you know!?¡±

    Even if you tell me that, I¡¯m also a cheating bastard... so...

    ¡°Not really.¡±

    ¡°Not really, you say?¡±

    Whether the magic power is 60,000 or 200,000, nothing really changes. As I was thinking that, the Ojousama¡¯s expression became uneasy, and she asked me this.

    ¡°... Am I, not scary?¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m... carrying an unbelievable amount of magic power¡±

    Right, so?

    ¡°Ojousama, are you going to do bad things with that magic power?¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t!¡±

    ¡°Do you want to hurt people?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no such thing! I¡¯m...¡±

    ¡°Then, what¡¯s there to be afraid of?¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t n to do bad things... there¡¯s no intention to hurt others... that kind of person... what¡¯s there to be afraid of?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s... but...¡±

    I wonder if something happened in the past.

    ¡°Then... Ojousama, am I scary?¡±

    ¡°Eh?!?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve... killed many people, you know? In total, I¡¯ve killed 30 people... I¡¯ve also killed animals... also killed magical beasts... on top of all that... I killed someone worth 700 small gold coins... even if it was all for the sake of living, the fact that I¡¯ve killed is true¡±

    Ah... right, I¡¯ve killed... If it was Japan I¡¯d be a murdering demon. I don¡¯t think what I did was wrong though, if I hesitated I would have died. But still, the fact that I¡¯ve killed is the truth. In other words...

    ¡°The person called Ryouma-kun in front of Ojousama... is a person who possesses the power to kill that many people... is Ojousama scared of that kind of me?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no such thing! Because Ryouma-san...! Ah...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the same... I too, don¡¯t think of Ojousama as scary... whether the magic power is 60,000 or 200,000... that won¡¯t change... in the first ce, humans can die easily... Let alone 200,000 not even 60,000 magic power is needed... humans can be killed even with a low level magic, Fire Ball, and if one is clumsy, they can fall, hit their head, and die, right?¡±

    There are also people that¡¯ve died by sneezing. (Me)...

    ¡°That¡¯s why I... don¡¯t think the Ojousama is scary¡±

    ¡°Is that true...?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡±

    ¡°Really? Is that really true?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t know what kind of life you¡¯ll live in the future but... at the very least... I won¡¯t run from Ojousama because of her magic power.¡±

    ¡°Uu, uuu.... gusu¡±

    Right after I said that, Ojousama cried.

    Eh!? Wa¨Cwait a moment, calm down... my voice isn¡¯ting out! I¡¯m not even stuttering, or smattering... Not a single word ising out! Wait, this isn¡¯t the time to be thinking something like that! While I¡¯m thinking these things, won¡¯t Ojousama cry for real!? I made a 12 year old cry... me who is actually a 42 year old uncle... what should I do.

    After that, until the Ojousama stopped crying I wasn¡¯t able to do anything. Right now, her eyes are still red but, Ojousama had already stopped crying.

    ¡°Ryouma-san¡±

    My head¡¯s still a little confused but, I responded to Ojousama. I still wasn¡¯t able to say anything yet, but I looked at Ojousama¡¯s direction.

    At that, she lowered her head deeply and, giving her thanks to me, she said this.

    ¡°Thank you very much. Because of Ryouma-san¡¯s words, my heart has been put at ease. And...¡±

    Ojousama took a huge breath.

    ¡°Wont¡¯ you be friends with me?¡±

    After saying that. I barely managed to muster a reply to that.

    ¡°If Ojousama, is fine with it... then I¡¯d be d¡±

    ¡°From now on it¡¯s not Ojousama... call me Elia. We¡¯re friends, right?¡±

    ¡°El, ia¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    As she said that, the former Ojousama, Elia, gave me a smile that was like a flower... Well in the meantime it¡¯s been settled peacefully but, saying what she wanted to be said, in the end didn¡¯t I just let the situation take its course?

    ... Ah, whatever. Elia¡¯s happy and there¡¯s nothing wrong. In this case, trying to change the situation rather than letting it take its course would be uncouth.

 Volume 1 - 10

    ~Side Ryouma~

    It¡¯s been 3 days since the day I¡¯ve made Elia cry. After thendslide our trip had proceeded without a hitch. And today, we have finally reached our destination, Gimuru.

    ¡°We¡¯ve arrived, this is the town of Gimuru¡±

    The Town of Gimuru is tranquil despite being a big town because of the greens surrounding it. Near this town appears to be a mine. It seems, however, that the iron that this mine should be producing has been decreasing. Especially this time¡¯s observation. Three years ago the production has be mostly 0, and as such, today¡¯s visit was for the purpose of affirming whether the mine should be abandoned or not.

    It would appear, though, that the fact that it will be abandoned has mostly been decided. Rheinhart reasoned that since there isn¡¯t one mine, there won¡¯t be a problem even after 10 years. So I guess it has already been assumed that it will be abandoned.

    Considering, that the mining rate has been nearly 0, unless they find a new vein, they will immediately abandon the mine. Also, it seems the miners from the vige haven¡¯t really been working on this mine sincest year. But that¡¯s something to be expected, after all anyone would prefer to work at a ce that could bring out results.

    ¡°Then, let¡¯s go to the lodging, leave our belongings there, and then go to the Tamer Guild to register!¡±

    The Tamer Guild is the guild to which the two sses of practitioners that control magical beasts, the ve Magic Users and the Conjurers, belong too. Their job is to provide information and certain services to the members.

    In the same way, there are also other guilds, such as the Adventurer Guild or the Magic Guild, and there¡¯s also the Merchant Guild. Butpared to the other three, the members of the Tamer Guild are fewer because the beasts get scared of people easily, so it¡¯s not as popr.

    As a result, the scale of the guild bes smaller, and the ces where the guild is can be found has also bes fewer. That kind of rare guild is here in this town. As for why, it seems it¡¯s because they use the beasts to carry things from the mine.

    Today, the Madam is in high spirits and is pulling me and Elia while humming. When we reached the lodging, there was something bothering me, so before going to the guild, I brought up my concern to the Madam and the others.

    ¡°I... how much of my information... should I give to the guild?¡±

    ¡°Well... the information offered is entirely up to the discoverer... so up to how much Ryouma-kun thinks is good will be fine¡± Replied the madam.

    I see, then in that case...

    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll register the evolution conditions for the Slime and the Big Slime, and the 2 new variations as well¡±

    ¡°Are you going to keep the methods of using a Sticky Slime a secret?¡±

    ¡°Yes, since we¡¯re going to be selling waterproof cloths... if we teach it to them, simr goods... might appear on the market¡±

    ¡°Ah, there¡¯s also that. Right, then let¡¯s keep that a secret¡±

    After talking, we were nning to go straight to the Tamer Guild, but before that Rheinbach-sama said this.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun hasn¡¯t been able to go to church yet, right? Then, in that case, how about we go to the church first and see your status?¡±

    At those words, Rheinhart-san and the madam made a face that said, ¡°Right, there was still that!¡±

    It seems that the status board that the church can bring out doesn¡¯t just show the status and the likes but can also make the process for the guild registration to go smoother.

    There is a condition before joining the Tamer Guild that one needs to be able to use ve Magic or otherwise Conjuration. If one hands over one¡¯s status board and there is ve Magic written in the field for the skills shown, then the answer will immediately be ok.

    In the case that one isn¡¯t able to show his status board then, you will be made to wait for a while and will have to perform the ve Contract with the prepared slime in front of the clerk in charge. If one is unable to perform the instruction, then one cannot register.

    In other words we changed our ns and went to the Church of Genesis of the Town of Gimuru. By the way, since we ended up going to the church, we made the slimes wait at our lodging. Although if we were only going to the Tamer Guild it would have been fine.

    When we got to the church, what greeted us was the warm smile of an elderly woman wearing the kind of clothes a nun would wear.

    "Wee, esteemed guests. Is there chapel today?"

    "We would like for this child to receive his status board. Because of some circumstance, until now he was unable to receive his status board."

    "Please take care of me"

    "Is that so? Then, pleasee this way. I will lead you to the Room of Baptism"

    I went with the woman who was dressed in the clothes of a nun and walked inside the church. It seems, aside from the people who will receive the baptism, entering the Room of Baptism is prohibited. So, as soon as we reached the room, the others had to go to a different room and waited there.

    "This way please"

    "Excuse me"

    In the room I was brought to, a crystal ball like the one I saw at the guard¡¯s room in the Town of Kereban was there on top of the pedestal. That pedestal had a depressed area that was around the size of palm, rectangr in shape and positioned in the portrait orientation. The girl brought a transparent board that looked like it would fit just right into that.

    "This will be your status board. I will insert this board into the pedestal and once you touch the crystal, the baptism will beplete. Once you touch this crystal, the crystal will emit a strong light, however, it won¡¯t hurt you, so please don¡¯t worry."

    As the girl said that, she inserted the status board into the pedestal, and walked away from the pedestal.

    "Please, go ahead and touch the crystal."

    "Yes"

    While being a little excited, I began to slowly touch the crystal. As I did that, in an instant, a strong light like the one when I came to this world, shone from the crystal and filled the room with light. When that light stopped, what was in front of my eyes wasn¡¯t the Room of Baptism anymore, it was the same pure-white room as when I met the gods for the first time.

    "This is...!"

    "Hey! Ryouma-kun!"

    "Over here!"

    "Behind you!"

    As I turned to face that voice, the three gods that sent me to Seiruforu was standing there.

    "Gayn, Kufo, Rurutia... Did I die again?"

    ¡°No, no, you¡¯re alright. We just made the time in that world stop for a bit and we pulled only your consciousness¡± ¨C Gayn

    ¡°I also didn¡¯t think that we¡¯d be able to meet again but because you prayed to our stone statue which you made in the forest everyday...¡± ¨CKufo

    ¡°You isted yourself in the forest, trained, researched, and practiced over and over again, right? You were also able to provide for your own food, in a sense it was also just the bare necessities, making your daily life pretty much the same as the discipline of a believer.¡± ¨C Rurutia

    ¡°Umu, I thought you wouldn¡¯t be able to meet us no matter how many times you go to church, but since you¡¯ve actually met us for real, you believed in our existence from the bottom of your heart, and for 3 years you prayed every day to us. Because of that you satisfied the requirements for the skill, Oracle. Being in the Room of Baptism served as an impetus for that. Once you wake up, you should have received a new skill, Oracle, which will be around Lv2 or Lv3.¡± ¨C Gayn

    ¡°I see... well regardless, I¡¯m happy that we were able to meet again.¡± ¨C Ryouma

    ¡°We are, too. Thank you foring to the church just as you¡¯ve promised.¡± ¨C Rurutia

    ¡°It looks like you¡¯re having fun in the new world. I¡¯ve always being watching and it seems you¡¯ve been doing interesting things one after another.¡± ¨C Kufo

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think that you would actually iste yourself in the forest for 3 years. Though for us that was a short time, but for a human that¡¯s not the case. First of all, although rtively it may be a safe forest, it¡¯s not without danger. We thought at most it¡¯d only be 1 year, but...¡± ¨C Gayn

    ¡°You used the skills you had freely, you researched magic and used it in your day-to-day life, and in not even 3 years, although you can¡¯t say it¡¯s luxurious, you¡¯ve managed to create an environment you can live in.¡± ¨C Rurutia

    ¡°When you look at that by its appearance it may seem frugal, but when you take into consideration the environment it¡¯s a really great house. It¡¯s very safe, wide, and clean. The facilities are alsoplete. Especially the fact that it has a bath, in this world, only the houses of the wealthy have baths in them. And also, the fact that you have a toilet, and yet it¡¯s so clean it doesn¡¯t stink. Even if you look all over the world, such a thing could only be found in your house.¡± ¨C Kufo

    ¡°To think that you were able to produce that much result from your slime research. I also didn¡¯t think of that. In the first ce there aren¡¯t any people that researches Slimes. I was especially surprised by those two variations, the Cleaner Slimes and the Scavenger Slimes. That¡¯s a new variant, right?¡± ¨C Gayn

    ¡°So, it¡¯s like that after all. I also asked the members of the family of ve Magic Users and they said they didn¡¯t know, so I thought that might be the case.¡± ¨C Ryouma

    ¡°Umu. I made the slimes but I only gave it the ability to adapt easily to the environment and the power to reproduce so it ended up having infinite possibilities for evolution. But because it was too weak and was exterminated by other animals to some extent right after a seed was born it didn¡¯t increase in number at all

    In the end it ended up such that the slimes that would be born would be decided based on the environment of the area. That¡¯s why even Ipletely forgot about the possibility of a new kind of slime being born! You¡¯ve done a wonderful job!¡± ¨C Gayn

    ¡°For a person to have researched slimes to that extent, I think you¡¯re the first one¡± ¨C Rurutia

    ¡°Even more you¡¯ve managed to produce results even beyond what we gods imagined¡± ¨C Kufo

    ¡°Hey, hey, was slime really not researched to that extent¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t!¡± ¨C Kufo, Gayn, Rurutia

    ¡°Even I, who made it, actually managed to forget about it. When ites to slimes I have a feeling you already know more than me¡± ¨C Gayn

    ¡°Even if it¡¯s limited to slimes, to have knowledge greater than god. What¡¯s up with that?¡± ¨C Kufo

    ¡°However... when ites to slimes, there¡¯s still a lot of things you¡¯re thinking about, right? I took a peek at your research and you¡¯ve been thinking of things I haven thought of. In the first ce, even if I¡¯m a god, it doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m omnipotent. The gods have their respective specialties and ces where they¡¯re bad at. There are also times when someone is born in the world I¡¯m protecting that manages to discover something and leaves me wide-eyed¡± - Gayn

    ¡°Is that so?¡± ¨C Ryouma

    ¡°Un. For example we are gods and you are humans so we can¡¯t be hurt by you guys, but if you were to, right now,e try to beat us up, you can easily do it. Because we don¡¯t have any fighting abilities. Using the power of god we can protect ourselves and make ourselves untouchable or make the pain go away but using techniques to win against you is impossible. The only one who can fight is the God of War, who specializes at fighting.¡± ¨C Kufo

    ¡°Is that so? I didn¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Well, when you say god, humans normally imagine someone that can do anything. But more than anything it¡¯s fun. And also to think that you¡¯d end up rted to that family~¡± ¨C Rurutia

    ¡°Mn? Do you know the people of the Jamil Famil?¡±

    ¡°Well yeah, since the ancestor of those people is a person we sent from Earth¡± ¨C Rurutia

    ¡°Really!?¡± ¨C Ryouma

    ¡°Mn. She was a good child~. It seemed he was aiming to be a trainer of animals. She didn¡¯t seem to understand the situation very well but she asked for an ability that allowed her to subdue animals, then went over to that world.¡± ¨C Kufo

    ¡°Was that perhaps ve Magic?¡± ¨C Ryouma

    ¡°Bingo! Well, at that time there was a simr ability but she studied that ability, and mixed it with the power we gave her, and what came about was ve Magic.

    She received merit forpleting ve Magic and at the same time receive a Court Rank from the king. Her face was good so she was quite popr, and eventually fell in love with a noble and got married. Ever since then, her linage continued and while having an ancient and honorable origin, her descendants practiced ve Magic.¡± ¨C

    Rurutia

    ¡°Moreover, amongst the 3 currently existing members of the Jamil Household, Rheinbach has received my divine protection, while Rheinhart from Kufo, and Elize from Rurutia. And that daughter, Elialia, the blood of the person we sent over runs deep in her veins and has inherited her ancestor¡¯s traits. It¡¯s not like you shouldn¡¯t already be aware.¡± ¨C Gayn

    ¡°You should at least properly look at what¡¯s right below you¡± ¨C Kufo

    ¡°Seriously!? Oh, wait. If she takes after her ancestor then that¡¯s why her magic power is over 200,000¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly correct but, it¡¯s not because of the reincarnated person we just mentioned. Of course, she has extraordinary talent in ve Magic but that talentes from her dad¡¯s lineage.

    As for her magic it¡¯s because of a different person who was reincarnated, whose blood flows in the veins of her mother. This one is a typical representation of an Otaku who was reincarnated. It seemed he hated exercising, so he gave uppletely on martial arts and became peerless in magic. Because he put everything into his talent for magic and magic power, he possessed a frightening amount of magic power... Elialia inherited that part from him. He was quite the entric, though.¡± ¨C Gayn

    ¡°That kid, at first, didn¡¯t know how to take care of himself~¡± Kufo

    ¡°Because he was weak and was a coward, until the day he died he didn¡¯t do any evil and was happy. During those days until he died he was always scared.¡± ¨C Rurutia

    ¡°From the little I¡¯ve heard it seems there¡¯s quite a bit of people that have been reincarnated¡± ¨C Ryouma

    ¡°The ones I¡¯m pleased with, and the ones I¡¯m not, there are quite a lot. A person from Earth will definitely bring magic power with them, so we will definitely take one person. Even an interval of 200 years is short for a reincarnated person to get here so it is unlikely for there to be multiple people who have been reincarnated at the same era.¡± ¨C Rurutia

    ¡°But there were times when the situation was aggravated because of the use of magic during war, at which point we would hurriedly bring someone from Earth. Well, it doesn¡¯t happen all the time. Especially nowadays where there¡¯s no war, so there probably won¡¯t be one in your lifetime¡± ¨C Kufo

    ¡°Since people who have been reincarnated receive high level skills and special skills from the gods, there¡¯s a lot that end up in fairytales and legends and stories of heroes and the like

    For example. There was that story I talked to you about Elilia-chan and her mother¡¯s side of her family. In that family there was a guy that was peerless at magic that would be quickly called out during times of war and at the same time, they would go on a rampage and be called heroes or brave warriors.

    And then I don¡¯t know if you can remember, but there was this story you talked about before about a figure that used a power that mostly couldn¡¯t be used and was persecuted. And that arrogant man received treatment like he was a demon king or something and was subjugated and ended up bing a fairytale. You¡¯ve heard of the story of the Alchemist King right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah I¡¯ve heard of the story of how Alchemy came to be. Was the Alchemy King someone who was transferred?¡± ¨C Ryouma

    ¡°That¡¯s right. But it¡¯s a person that was reallyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy annoying!¡± ¨C Rurutia

    ¡°When we were giving him a gift he said he wanted to use alchemy. When we told him it didn¡¯t exist in the other world, he ordered us to go make it¡± ¨C Kufo

    ¡°It couldn¡¯t be helped so I listened and created it irresponsibly¡± ¨C Gayn

    ¡°Hey, it couldn¡¯t be that the method of using Alchemy was strangely easy because...¡±

    ¡°Umu. I made it irresponsibly after all¡± ¨C Gayn

    ¡°I knew it! Write a simple magic formation, on top of that, just put your material there and imagine the thing it¡¯s going to separate into, put some magic, and boom! Sess! I thought it was too easy, so that¡¯s why! I thought it was strange that other thingsmon in other magic like controlling the amount of magic power or regting it wasn¡¯t needed.¡± ¨C Ryouma

    ¡°That¡¯s right, because of his selfishness I didn¡¯t want to take the time. No matter how free I am, rather than doing something I¡¯m unhappy about it¡¯s better to be leisurely¡± ¨C Gayn

    ¡°I agree with you on that point but...¡± ¨C Ryouma

    ¡°Well it is difficult for the humans of this world, you know? Because the people of this world don¡¯t have the knowledge of the people from Earth. The Alchemist King was a student from Earth so there wasn¡¯t any problem and he was able to use it to amass a fortune. But after the golden age of alchemy, there were plenty of people who couldn¡¯t even use separation once.

    The Alchemist King was a money monger, and he didn¡¯t want his profits to be taken away from him so he died without teaching his techniques and knowledge to anyone.¡± ¨C Gayn

    ¡°And so... he did as he pleased... and even other people who were transported here...¡± ¨C

    Ryouma

    ¡°That¡¯s right. In that case you¡¯re simr in that you do whatever you want but at least you¡¯re more docile. Although you may feel like you¡¯re just going with the flow, it¡¯s not like that. You at least make your decisions yourself, you obey the rules you should obey, and within that in its own way you do what you want. Right now, you are the most desirable person to have been pulled in this world, Seiruforu, you know?¡± ¨C Kufo

    ¡°What¡¯s up, all of the sudden?¡± ¨C Ryouma

    ¡°Fu~Fu~n, even if I¡¯m like this I am still pretty much a god, so I thought I¡¯d say something fitting for a god. It seems you¡¯re worrying about when Elia asked you to be her friend, and you just went with the flow and agreed.¡±

    ¡°Aah, I see...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine not to think too much about it. Since in your previous world you lived your life by going along with your surroundings, isn¡¯t right now the same? And besides it¡¯s not like going along with your surroundings is apletely bad thing.¡± ¨C Rurutia

    ¡°Elia-chan was happy, right? Then isn¡¯t that just fine?¡± ¨C Gayn

    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. Thank you, you three¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind it, we¡¯re gods after all. An advice of this level is just like taking a walk for us¡± ¨C Gayn

    ¡°We¡¯re having fun because of you, so consider this our thanks.¡± ¨C Kufo

    ¡°Your time here is about to run out, so we just gave you a little advice before that.¡± ¨C Rurutia

    ¡°Thank you. And also I¡¯m sorry, but, it seems I lost much of my vocabry since I came into this world so I can¡¯t say it very well, but, thank you.¡± ¨C Ryouma

    ¡°You¡¯re feelings have reached us¡± ¨C Rurutia

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s because we¡¯re watching over everyone¡± ¨C Kufo

    ¡°Recently other gods have also been watching you, you know?¡± ¨C Gayn

    ¡°Eh, other?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve caught the interest of the God of War and the God of Magic. It¡¯s actually quite strange since they actually hate people that have been transported here.¡± ¨C Gayn

    ¡°The God of War is interested in your martial arts. It¡¯s not a cheat we gave you so it¡¯s different from this world and also because it¡¯s something you¡¯ve mastered with your own effort.

    The God of Magic doesn¡¯t hate cheat abilities as much as the God of War does, but he hates the people that have been transported here who goes on a rampage with their power, or goes around making lots of money. You see, that guy likes people that practice prudency. With that in mind, since you¡¯ve been researching magic and slimes a lot, and you haven¡¯t really been hasty in your matters, you¡¯ve manage to pull his interest.¡± ¨C Kufo

    ¡°The ones who are always watching are only us, but, whenever they¡¯re in the mood, those other two gods also watch¡± ¨C Rurutia

    ¡°What¡¯s up with that?¡± ¨C Ryouma

    ¡°It¡¯s not like they¡¯ll actually do something so isn¡¯t it fine? Ah, but the God of Art and Craft actually gave you his protection. For the meantime it¡¯s not a bad thing so don¡¯t mind it.¡± ¨C Rurutia

    ¡°He said he came to like you because he liked how you drink the sake from your previous world. It¡¯s because that guy is also the God of Wine. In your previous life it seems you didn¡¯t drink sake enjoyably, but he seems to value the fact that¡¯ve drunk so much. Also he said your Drunken Fist which you practiced was quite interesting.¡± ¨C Gayn

    ¡°Drunken Fist? Oh right, I did practice it from to time in the forest... so that was seen. In my previous life, I didn¡¯t have any money to y with, and since my dad died, I just studied several martial arts to kill time. To think someone would actually find that interesting...¡± ¨C Ryouma

    ¡°Well, no one knows what will happen in life, right? The settings of your lineage includes having the grandpa who raised you up be a dwarf. So, Tekun, may be the God of Wine, but he is mainly worshipped by the dwarves, so it¡¯s just perfect for you.¡± ¨C Gayn

    ¡°Oh, right, now that you mention there was something like that. Is that ok? Isn¡¯t it weird?¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Well then, it looks like we¡¯ve run out of time.¡± ¨C Gayn

    ¡°I see... then, see you.¡± ¨C Ryouma

    ¡°Un,e again¡± ¨C Kufo

    ¡°When youe to the church again we¡¯ll be able to talk again for a short while. Though, it¡¯s impossible immediately, but one day I think we¡¯ll definitely be able to talk again. Actually, this is fact is also something unexpected.¡± ¨C Rurutia

    ¡°You are really an interesting person. I will be eagerly waiting for the day we meet again, and until then, I¡¯ll be watching over you¡± ¨C Gayn

    As Gayn said that, a warm light began to overflow in front of my eyes, as soon as the light calmed down, I saw the woman in nun clothes again.

    ¡°What an amazing light. The stronger the light the stronger the love god has for you. At this rate, sooner orter, you might be able to receive the divine protection of god. Afterwards please look at your card, ok?¡±

    Looks like just as Gayn mentioned, the time over here stopped. Nevertheless, should I ask her about the divine protection?¡±

    ¡°Thank you very much. Is there anything I need to know regarding the divine protection?¡±

    ¡°The divine protection is something granted to you by god so no one has the right to say anything except for you and the god that has given you the divine protection.

    If you want to ask about the protection you have, I can teach you as much as I know, but I won¡¯t try to ask anything from you. And also your status card will basically only show the name, age, race, and everything else aside from this will be hidden, because it¡¯s private information. If you wish for an information on your card to be hidden, you only need to pray silently and it will be hidden. Please try it out.¡±

    Being told that, I looked at the information shown in the status board.

 Volume 1 - 11

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Volume 1 Chapter 11

    TL Notes:

    Here¡¯s your crack boys. Remember to say grace.

    I added the changes from the status in the prologue here. It wasn¡¯t there in the raws so I just added it myself.

    Regarding Temte:

    I don¡¯t really get it so take it with a grain of salt until someone can confirm but maybe the world he is in is just simr to this light novel in his world which happens to be called Temte and he isparing his experiences or grabbing exnations from that book or something...

    Changes to some terms:

    Mental Resistance -> Emotional Resistance

    Vitality Strengthening -> Stronger Vitality

    Super Heal Power -> Super Healing

    Mental Concentration -> Focus Spirit

    Endurance -> Stronger Endurance

    **** Resist -> **** Resistance

    Magic Restore Speed Up -> Magic Recovery Rate UP

    Trantion stuff:

    Ê¯°æ is apparently a lithograph but that didn¡¯t really make sense in context, so I read it as a stone block instead.

    Éä¼¼°Ë¹ Eight Stances of Shooting (Heavens I know nothing about this stuff, so I guessed)

    ¹­µÀ ¹­Ðg

    I know nothing about archery but I¡¯m guessing kyuudou¡¯s rtionship to kyuujutsu is as kendou to kenjutsu, the former has been changed to a sport friendly version while thetter is about killing. I don¡¯t know someone who knows their stuff please exin.

    Volume 1 Chapter 11

    ~ Side Ryouma ~

    Name: Ryouma Takebayashi

    Gender; male

    Age: 11

    Race: Human

    Physical Strength: 11,052

    Magic Power: 198,000

    Strength: B

    Speed: A

    Defense: B

    Spirit: SSS

    Endurance: A

    Handiness: SS

    Luck: B

    Everyday Life Skill

    Domestic Chores Lv10

    Etiquette Lv7

    Musical Instrument Lv3

    Singing Lv3

    Calction Lv5

    Battle Skills

    Taijutsu Lv7

    Kenjutsu Lv7

    Short Sword Arts Lv6

    Hidden Weapon Arts Lv7

    Spear Arts Lv4

    Bow Arts Lv6 (From 4 -> 6)

    Staff Arts Lv6

    Fundoujutsu (Art of Weight/Counterweight) Lv4

    Throwing Arts Lv7

    Covert Arts Lv7 (From 6 -> 7)

    Trap Lv6 (From 4 -> 6)

    Body Maniption Lv6 (From 5 -> 6)

    Kikou (or Qigong) Lv5

    Magic Skills

    ve Magic Lv2

    Barrier Magic Lv2

    Healing Magic Lv1

    Alchemy Lv2

    Fire Magic Lv3

    Water Magic Lv3

    Wind Magic Lv2

    Earth Magic Lv4

    Neutral Magic Lv3

    Electric Magic Lv1

    Ice Magic Lv2

    Poison Magic Lv2

    Wood Magic Lv3

    Light Magic Lv2

    Dark Magic Lv1

    Space Magic Lv3

    Magic Perception Lv3 (From 1 -> 3)

    Magic Maniption Lv4 (From 1 -> 4)

    Magic Recovery Rate UP Lv2 (From 1 -> 2)

    Production Skills

    Pharmacy Lv6

    Smithing Lv1

    Architecture Lv3 (From 2 -> 3)

    Woodworking Lv3 (From 2 -> 3)

    Modeling Lv4

    Drawing Lv4

    Resistance Skills

    Physical Pain Resistance Lv8

    Emotional ResistanceLv9

    Poison Resistance Lv7

    Disease Resistance Lv7

    Sleep Resistance Lv7 c

    Cold Resistance Lv7

    Heat Resistance Lv7

    Resistance to Foul Odor Lv3 (New)

    Special Skill

    Oracle Lv3

    Survival Skills Lv5 (From 3 -> 5 Note: was buffed by Kufo in the prologue)

    Stronger Vitality Lv3

    Super Healing Lv3

    Stronger Endurance Lv6

    Focus Spirit Lv5

    Title

    Gekokujou (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gekokuj%C5%8D?oldid=459411366)

    The Man Who Overcame a Life of Misfortune

    [Alternatively: The Man Who Overcame a Life of Unhappiness]

    (During the prologue this was originally: The Man Who Lost His Life to Bad Luck)

    Favorite Child of the Gods

    Disciple of the Sage

    Disciple of the Martial God

    Divine Protections

    Divine Protection of Gayn the God of Creation

    Divine Protection of Kufo the God of Life

    Divine Protection of Rurutia the God of Love

    Divine Protection of Tekun the God of Wine

    I was told beforehand that my Magic Power will increase once I get here so that¡¯s fine.

    There¡¯s quite a bit of skills that had levelled up. Looking at this, the Magic Skills are quite numerous... hmm? Survival Skills... what is this? Now that I think about it, I should have had some Survival Skills but disappeared for some reason, is this it? It also looks like the titles have changed for the better, and this disciple thing, it¡¯s that, right? That thing that was written on the letter the gods sent to me when I got here, to make it so that my skill level won¡¯t seem suspicious.

    (TL Note: His Survival Skills used to be written in katakana and now it¡¯s written asÉú´æÐg, seizonjutsu, as for the signifance of that I don¡¯t know. Also I¡¯m keeping it as Survival Skills for now)

    And as for the divine protections, I have the divine protections of the three gods and the God of Wine.

    Well in any case, let¡¯s do as she said and hide everything else aside from the name, age, and race... Done.

    ¡°I¡¯m done¡±

    ¡°Then let us go to the room were yourpanions are waiting. If you want anything please ask them.¡±

    At the woman¡¯s suggestion, we left the room. When we got outside we heard the voices of some children.

    ¡°Wait! Wait!¡±

    ¡°Ahahaha! I¡¯m over here!¡±

    Looking at the direction of the voice, through the window, I saw some children wearing worn-out clothes, ying. When I saw them, the woman exined to me.

    ¡°They are the children that this church is looking after. They are always cheerful and when they¡¯re done with their chores, they go outside and y like that.¡±

    An orphanage, huh? Well I don¡¯t know what circumstances their family has, but I understand.

    Having finished her exnation the woman suggested for us to go.

    ¡°Well then, let us be on our way¡±

    Following the woman, we eventually reached a room inside the church. In there were mypanions, Rheinhart-san, Madam, Rheinbach-sama, Elia, and Sebasu-san.

    ¡°Sorry for making you wait, the baptism has finished with no problems¡±

    ¡°Sorry for making you wait guys¡±

    ¡°No problem¡±

    Right after Rheinhart-san said that, the woman took her leave.

    ¡°Well then, I will be taking my leave. Please feel free to use this room until you wish to leave.¡±

    ¡°Thank you very much¡±

    Immediately, I also gave my thanks.

    ¡°Thank you very much¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee. Well then.¡±

    After Rheinhart-san saw her out the room, I asked Rheinhart-san.

    ¡°Hmm... She left rather hurriedly... is there something wrong?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because the information in the status board is one¡¯s personal information and is a secret from everyone. That¡¯s her showing her consideration.¡±

    Said Rheinhart-san as the Madam followed.

    ¡°This room was also prepared with the intention of allowing the people that have been baptized and their family to be able to talk about the status here without being bothered¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is¡±

    ¡°Umu, it¡¯ll be bad if one talks about the information in the status bord indiscreetly. Although in the past it was actually illegal to hide one¡¯s status, but because there were many who tried to abuse that information, it has be customary to hide that information.¡± ¨C Rheinbach

    ¡°The skills that a person possesses can show how one fights, and how much power one has, having this information out in the open is inconvenient. Physical Strength and Magic Power was said to be peerless in the battlefield and the best warriors and magicians of the country¡¯s limits was exposed and received the attack of the enemy and was killed. Such things happened many times. Nowadays no one really shows the contents of their status outside of the people they permit. And also, for the same reason, people also don¡¯t show their divine protection. The only thing people show is their name, race, and age, and also depending on the person, their title.¡± ¨C Sebasu

    ¡°I see¡± -Ryouma

    ¡°That¡¯s why you should keep your information a secret. And if there¡¯s something you don¡¯t know, I can give you advice, but if there¡¯s something you don¡¯t want to talk about then you don¡¯t have to talk about it, ok?¡± ¨C Madam

    These people are so gentle.... Well then regarding which to tell them about... well there¡¯s something I need to show them first.

    ¡°Got it... but... there¡¯s something I need to show you first¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    I unhide the information field for the Magic Power and show it to Elia.

    ¡°Elia¡±

    ¡°Yes? ... !? Ryouma-san, this!¡±

    My magic power isn¡¯t as high as Elia¡¯s but it¡¯s close. After that I showed the other four the information field for my magic power as well. When I did, their eyes opened wide.

    ¡°I lost to Elia... but... it shouldn¡¯t be that different¡±

    ¡°This is amazing, while it won¡¯t surpass Elia¡¯s, it¡¯s close¡±

    ¡°I only meant it as a joke that time but to think that you would actually be on the same level as Elia in terms of magic power¡±

    ¡°Ara ara, you really are an amazing child Ryouma-kun¡±

    When Elia saw the information field for my magic power, she shook a bit, then took my hands. She seems happy.

    ¡°That¡¯s amazing Ryouma-san! For there to be someone who possesses magic power on the same level as me, I¡¯m so happy!¡±

    Elia took my hands and jumped up and down for a minute until she ran out of breath because of how happy she was.

    ¡°Haa, haa.... I¡¯m sorry, I got a bit too excited...¡±

    I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s out of embarrassment or because she¡¯s out of breath but her face was flushed red. Either way, madam spoke to me.

    ¡°Hmmm.... Ryouma-kun, if you have this much magic power then... what about your magic techniques¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll show... my magic skills... if it¡¯s you guys... it¡¯s fine¡±

    As I said that I showed my different magic skills.

    ve Magic Lv2

    Barrier Magic Lv2

    Healing Magic Lv1

    Alchemy Lv2

    Fire Magic Lv3

    Water Magic Lv3

    Wind Magic Lv2

    Earth Magic Lv4

    Neutral Magic Lv3

    Electric Magic Lv1

    Ice Magic Lv2

    Poison Magic Lv2

    Wood Magic Lv3

    Light Magic Lv2

    Dark Magic Lv1

    Space Magic Lv3

    Magic Perception Lv3

    Magic Maniption Lv4

    Magic Recovery Rate UP Lv2

    ¡°What amazing variety. And also the skills are quite high considering your age. I remember hearing that you possessed All Attribute Aptitude but to think that you would actually use all attributes¡± ¨C Sebasu

    ¡°All the low level attributes are over lv 2, and considering that your mid-level attributes also have level 2 or 3... it¡¯s more than enough¡± ¨C Rheinhart

    ¡°As expected your Earth Magic and Space Magic level is quite high. Even though it¡¯s so difficult to raise the level of Space Magic... you¡¯ve done a spectacr job going this far¡± ¨C Madam

    ¡°In regards to one¡¯s prospects, you¡¯ll probably surpass me. And you actually also possess, Magic Detection, Maniption, and Recovery Rate UP.¡± ¨C Sebasu

    ¡°Because I was living in the forest, I had to use magic, and so it somehow ended up like this... Most likely, fire and water leveled up during cooking and when I had to take baths. And... as for Earth and Space Magic, I used them for hunting... so, they were mostly used everyday¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°Fumu... did you use things like attack magic?¡± - Sebasu

    ¡°No... during hunting... it was mostly traps and bow. I could use fire ball but the meat would get burned and the parts I can eat... will be few. And then there¡¯s Earth Needle, which I would use to substitute for a stake, which I would usually put inside my trap holes. ¡° - Ryouma

    ¡°I see, so because you¡¯ve been using magic a lot in your daily life, you ended up levelling up. Then in the case, I suggest you practice attack magic since, there¡¯s no disadvantage if you can use it... and also so that you¡¯ll be able to deal with a monster that can¡¯t be killed with anything except for magic¡± ¨C Sebasu

    ... I forgot. Right, there was that kind of monster. Just like the monster of the light novel in the other world, Temte, that kind of monster. It¡¯s because I¡®ve isted myself in the forest for too long that Ipletely forgot. Anyhow, I¡¯ll train in offensive magic from now on.

    ¡°Now that you mention it, I think I¡¯d like to try that out¡±

    ¡°Low level attribute magic is rtively easy, so even at your current level if you practice it for a bit you¡¯ll be able to use. Since, you were able to attain Earth Magic, I think you¡¯ll also be able to use the higher levels. I don¡¯t really think it should be that difficult.¡± - Sebasu

    ¡°Ryouma-kun has a lot of magic power, and you even have the Magic Maniption Skill which reduces the amount of Magic Power consumed, and even Recovery Rate Up which increases the recovery rate, so with that in mind you could definitely do a lot even in only a single day of practice.¡± ¨C Rheinhart

    ¡°You have a lot of advantage in regards to magic so don¡¯t waste it, ok?¡± ¨C Rheinbach

    ¡°¡±Yes, I¡¯ll do my best.¡± ¨C Ryouma

    As I said that, Rheinbach-sama nodded at me with a satisfied face. However, after that he made a serious face and said this.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun there¡¯s something I need to tell you beforehand¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Your abilitiespared to kids your age, are ridiculously high. Because of that there will be many people who wille at you with bad intentions. If you don¡¯t want that to happen then hide your abilities and quickly gain a social status so that you may be able to protect yourself. Only, in your case, your abilities are too high, so hiding it will definitely be difficult. So you should register at the guild quickly, and get a high rank. Regardless of what happens, we will also lend you our strength but it¡¯s important that you, yourself, takes care.¡± ¨C

    Said Rheinbach-sama as the madam followed up.

    ¡°In your case since your abilities are too high, it bes obvious that you have divine protection. We only had a vague feeling, but after seeing your skills it bes clear that you have divine protection. You need to be careful, someone who possess divine protection will definitely be targeted.¡±

    Seriously?... It¡¯s true I¡¯m not really restraining myself but was it that weird? I better be careful.

    ¡°I understand, I¡¯ll be careful.¡±

    So we did the baptism in the church and then after that I was warned and now we are about to go to the Tamer Guild.

    Going to the Tamer Guild, in its surrounding there¡¯s a ce where many magical beasts are connected, and there many ces for carriages to stop at. Just as what you¡¯d expect from a mining town, magical beasts that work for transportation are numerous. Also, it seems that it¡¯s ok to bring small magical beasts inside the guild, so if I were to make the slimes use thepress skill, I¡¯d be able to bring them in.

    Inside the guild there were only mostly humans, but from time to time I would see some Goblins and Kobolds who were made to carry things. In there, with Rhenhart-san leading us, we went to the counter where the staff member was at.

    ¡°Wee to the Tamer Guild Branch of the Town of Gimuru. May I know what the purpose of your visit may be?¡±

    ¡°I want to register my daughter and this child, and also we have new information¡±

    ¡°Understood. Please go inside.¡±

    Under the guidance of the staff member we were led inside, and were served tea. And after a few minutes, another staff member, a male, who wore pompous clothes came in. At that time, even without him saying, I had a bad feeling from him. ... What is this? This bad feeling...

    ¡°Wee. I am, the Branch Manager, Matthew Ganteyn. My greetings to the famous Household of Jamil. Everyone it is my pleasure to be meeting you all today. Your errand for today is the registration of the Ojousama, yes?¡±

    ¡°I want to register my daughter and this kid.¡±

    ¡°This kid?¡±

    The man who named himself Matthew saw me. At that moment I noticed it, this kind of guy is exactly like the higher ups in my previous life. They tter those above them but fail to remember even the names of those below them. They¡¯re horrible people who refuse to look at those below them as humans and treat them like tools. This guy is that type. From the looks of things, it seems that my existence hasn¡¯t even entered his sight until now.

    He probably decided it based on the clothes. Those toady eyes he had before when talking to Rheinhart-san, without changing his expression, changed the moment he saw me. In his eyesight were abination of contempt and jealousy. Even now you could see his eyes asking, ¡°Why is someone like you with the members of the Household of the Duke?¡±

    ¡°This person too?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°Understood... Hey¡± (TL Note: I can¡¯t show it in English but he basically goes from heaven to hell in terms of politeness here)

    Matthew took 2 sheets of paper from the staff member behind him and gave it to me and Elia.

    ¡°Please fill out this form. Do you need someone to write for you?¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your concern. But, I can write just fine.¡±

    ¡°Right¡±

    I quickly filled out the form with the necessary information, which includes, the name, the age, race, and the length of time I¡¯ve known ve Magic or Conjuration.

    ¡°Well then please allow me to confirm. Ojousama, you tamed your first slime a few days ago, much congrattions. From now on I¡¯ll be expecting great progress from Ojousama. And you as for you... 3 years ago? What ve monster did you bring with you?¡±

    ¡°Slime¡±

    ¡°Heh, Slime, huh? Even though you¡¯ve already known ve Magic for 3 years...¡±

    As Matthew said that, Elia unhappily asked him a question. Because of this Matthew was a bit panicked. I guess he remembered that for Elia¡¯s first ve Monster, she also started off with a slime.

    ¡°Is there something wrong with a Slime?¡±

    ¡°No, I won¡¯t say it¡¯s bad but Slimes are weak monsters. So, unfortunately, there are only few missions that Slimes can ept in this town. The jobs of ve Magic Users in this town is mainly the transport of things from the mines, so at the very least you¡¯d need a Goblin or a Kobold. Otherwise, you¡¯d only be able to take the introductory missions. ¡°

    Matthew gave that excuse but it didn¡¯t work and the Madam came with the covering fire.

    ¡°Certainly, the work may be a bit few. However, because his master died while he was learning he was not able to learnpletely. So, couldn¡¯t you be a bit more understanding?¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s the case, please pardon my rude behavior.¡±

    As he said that he lowered his head. Not to me, though, but to the Madam. I didn¡¯t even enter his line of sight.

    ¡°Well then let us please continue with the registration. There doesn¡¯t seem to be any defects in the documents, so please bring out the proofs that you can use ve Magic. You can show me your status board that proves you have the ve Magic Skill or you can you can show me the enactment of the ve Magic contract. Which will it be?¡±

    At those words we, Elia and I, showed our status boards and the field that shows the ve Magic Skill.

    ¡°Yes, this is sufficient. Well then, please put your status boards on top of the stone block over here.¡±

    The stone block that was brought out seemed to be quite simr to the one in the Room of Baptism in the church, also having a four sided depression. Except this time there is a metal te iyed into the depression. Looks like you¡¯re supposed to put the status board on top of the part of the nk that doesn¡¯t have anything on it.

    The first one was Elia, and after her I put my board on top of that stone block, and then a character showed on the metal te.

    ¡°With this, the two of you have been registered. We wee the two new members of our Tamer Guild.¡±

    After Matthew said that we moved into our next topic.

    ¡°Well then, I heard that today, you have information to give me.¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s this child¡¯s discovery.¡±

    Saying that, the madam looked at me, and Matthew also looked at me.

    ¡°This child, was it?¡±

    ¡°Yes, this child was able to tame a slime that we four believe to have never been tamed before. If you investigate it, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find there to be no information of it all. We believe it to be a new type¡±

    ¡°Oh... is that so...¡±

    At Madam¡¯s words, it¡¯s obvious that Matthew had lost all interest. With the smile he smoothened out, he looked at me with eyes that looked like he was looking at trash.

    ... I changed my mind. I¡¯ll just report the information about the new slimes.

    ¡°Would it be ok if I report?¡±

    ¡°Ahh, yeah...¡±

    ¡°Then... What I had discovered, which we believe to be a new kind of slime, is the Cleaner Slime and the Scavenger Slime. This was confirmed with the Magical Beast Appraisal so there¡¯s no mistake. Their characteristics include having a particr fondness for eating dirt but Cleaner Slimes don¡¯t eat anything aside from dirt, and won¡¯t attack or eat people or animals.

    Scavenger Slimes are simr to Cleaner Slimes in that they won¡¯t attack humans or animals. However, they can eat anything. Especially rotten meat, which they seem to love.¡±

    ¡°I see... that¡¯s certainly a slime I¡¯ve never heard of before. That disposition is strange, it¡¯s probably a new kind. Then I¡¯ll register the information of the magical beast here. Thanks for the new information.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind, I just came across it by coincidence¡±

    ¡°Right... Well then, members of the Household of Jamil, I still have things I must attend to and I apologize as I am unable to see you out, please excuse me and I¡¯ll take my leave here.¡±

    ¡°Thank you very much¡±

    ¡°Thank you very much¡±

    I and Elia gave our thanks, and after that we left the guild.

    ¡°Well then, what should we do now?¡±

    ¡°Special Training! Ryouma-san!¡±

    Why all of the sudden?

    ¡°Why do you want a special training all of the sudden?¡±

    ¡°... Because it¡¯s mortifying... Ryouma-san has always been researching and yet, Ryouma-san aren¡¯t you mortified?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right... but it¡¯s not like I¡¯ve been researching to be praised, and I¡¯ve also gotten used to that kind of interaction, especially that kind...¡±

    Because the workce in the otherworld was full of people like that... and even if you get angry at those kind of words, there¡¯s nothing you can do.

    ¡°And also I don¡¯t want to teach that person so I only gave him the minimum information so... something like this, it¡¯s nothing at all.¡±

    ¡°Ryoma-san...¡±

    ¡°Thank you for worrying for me and getting mad on my behalf¡±

    And then it suddenly hit me. I, can talk normally. This past few days I¡¯ve been staying with Elia and the rest, it¡¯s mostly been ok but, do you remember how I talked to that guy a while ago? That time for some strange reason the words came out smoothly. It was as if I was back in thepany in my previous life... I wonder if it¡¯s because of the will power of the corporate ve identity that has already been deeply ingrained into me...

    ¡°Ryouma-kun¡±

    ¡°Ah, yes, what is it?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°Nothing... it just seems that my speech hase backpletely. In the past I was surround a lot by those kind of people so it looks my speech which was deeply ingrained by guys like those came back.¡±

    ¡°... Please talk just as you¡¯ve talked until now. There¡¯s no need to humble yourself to us¡± (TL Note: By humble, he¡¯s referring to the use of politenguage)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Ryouma-kun, I don¡¯t like the way you talk now, it¡¯s too cold¡±

    ¡°Kid¡¯s shouldn¡¯t be reserved¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s simr to how nobles talk, it¡¯s pressuring and make me feel ufortable. Ryoma-san, please talk just as you had before¡± or so...ined the Madam.

    Being told that... well, whatever, let¡¯s go with the more casual one then.

    ¡°Got it. Then I¡¯ll do my best to talk just as usual.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s ok even if you call me your mother, you know?¡±

    ¡°Well it will be good if you take it slowly, well then what will you do now? Are you going back to the lodging?¡±

    ¡°I think it will be good if Ryouma-sama also registers at the adventurer guild¡±

    Said Sebasu-san at which everyone seemed to approve except for me and Elia.

    From the looks of things, what that guy said was true. There are a lot of transport jobs here in the Tamer Guild. But those kind of jobs can¡¯t be taken by someone with only slimes. To begin with, Conjurers and ve Magic Users have less jobspared to others. So most of the members of the Tamer Guild also register at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and get jobs from there.

    And so we went to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and just like the Adventurer¡¯s Guild in Temte we did not have any troubles with the hoodlums.

    The guild rank goes from G to S, so there are 8 ranks. In general you can¡¯t take jobs except for jobs on your level. But if you were make a party and if several parties were to gather in the guild and take part in arge scale mission with many people the difficulty will go down, and you can take missions one to two ranks up your rank.

    The registration requires one to at least be 10 years old, so I have that cleared. However, until the age of 13, the guild will need to check the individual fighting abilities and will only be able to ept jobs that look like they will be able to bring out the results. Even if your rank were to be the same that is.

    This is a safety measure to prevent kids whock self-control from doing something reckless. Consequently, from 14 years old onwards that limitation and warning is removed, but of course if one were to fail the contract, one still has to take responsibility, pay the money for the breach of contract, loss of payment and of course the danger to one¡¯s own life.

    Also when the town is exposed to danger, if one were to be in the town during that time the guild will hold a meeting and will have to attend. While it¡¯s possible to reject this, one would need a justifiable reason and arge amount of money to be excused.

    Right now I am being made to wait at the back of the examination area after again receiving the exnation of Temte. Because I¡¯m under 13 years old they need to check my fighting abilities. However there is a problem here.

    ¡°Everyone, should I go at full strength?¡±

    ¡°Right... I¡¯m uncertain whether or not you can receive a justifiable appraisal from the person at the Tamer¡¯s Guild. So you should go at all out here, you should show what you¡¯re capable of.¡±

    ¡°Umu. That will be good. ¡±

    ¡°If there¡¯s something make sure you report¡±

    ¡°Please do your best¡±

    ¡°Go at while being rxed¡±

    As I was receiving various encouragements from everyone, the receptionist along with a man with a good body build, entered the practice area.

    ¡°You are the examiner for today?¡±

    ¡°Yes, my name is Ryouma Takebayashi. Please take care of me¡±

    ¡°And you guys would be hispanions?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, nice to meet you.¡±

    ¡°Do feel free to watch, however, please don¡¯t try to meddle with the examination¡±

    ¡®Of course¡±

    After saying that the man faced me.

    ¡°The weapons you specialize in is a bow, huh? Alright, let¡¯s begin right away. First off, hit those five targets from that line. The number is five. Hit the targets with one shot one at a time.¡±

    I stood at the line exactly as I was ordered and aimed at the target I was ordered to aim at.

    I opened my legs wide shoulder-length, I nocked my arrow, pulled my bow, and urately fired at my target. This entire movement was done without hesitation, smoothly quickly changing targets as I fired at my targets.

    Without panicking, without making a fuss, just calmly shooting the five targets and after I¡¯ve finished shooting. The five arrows all pierced the center of their respective targets.

    My ability to handle the bow has significantly increased since I came to this world. I also did archery in the past but I couldn¡¯t shoot this fast in my past life.

    Incidentally, the school Ie from is not the modern time Kyuudou but Kyuujutsu, because of this I didn¡¯t stop my movements like Kyuudou would in their Eight Stances of Shooting. I could stop midway if I wanted to, but the essence of the Kyuujutsu that has been passed on in my family, goes like this. However faster you can shoot, and how urately you can shoot your enemy lies in following through with your bow. In the past if I were to stop even once for a moment, in the next instance, my dad¡¯s fist and his abusive voice wille flying at me.

    As soon as I finished shooting, I remembered such things. Recollecting something during the exam, I immediately looked at the man who was observing. He was already walking towards the target. And after confirming everything separately, he went back.

    ¡°Everything was dead center. Even if you say that the targets weren¡¯t moving, that was pretty good. The next one involves moving targets, look at the wall across.¡±

    The wall he pointed at had pirs at either ends. And beside the pirs was a hole.

    ¡°That was something proposed 300 years ago by an adventurer called Kengo who used a magic weapon called a shotgun. It¡¯s a magic tool that fires off projectiles for the sake of training.¡±

    That¡¯s definitely a guy who was transported. Hey, this is a world of sword and magic, and you brought a shotgun?

    ¡°He stopped being able to use the Magic Weapon and ended up at Rank C but he kept proposing the use of this equipment until he died, somehow in its own way it became a good story. To that extent this equipment has that kind of value for the sake of training.¡±

    Stopped being able to use? Is it because of poor maintenance? No ammo?... That guy definitely pissed off the three gods! Otherwise he would have at least received a way to make ammo or maintain it... Unless you¡¯re upfront with those three gods they won¡¯t give you appropriate support you know? As I was thinking that the exnation continued.

    ¡°Understood¡±

    ¡°Then, the whistle will be the signal. Do your best¡±

    As he said that the guy handed me the quiver and he backed down. I held the bow in my hands and waited for the signal.

 Volume 1 - 12

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Volume 1 Chapter 12

    TL Note:

    Kata (ÐÍ) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kata)

    Also there was a mistrantion in the previous chapter, I updated it already but I¡¯m putting it here so you guys can read it without going back, please take the name part with a huge grain of salt I don¡¯ know either... it¡¯s written in katakana and not hiragana or kanji so I¡¯m just assuming that maybe it¡¯s a name... so... bah, here¡¯s the line:

    That was something proposed 300 years ago by the adventurer called Kengo who used a magic weapon called a shotgun. It¡¯s a magic tool that fires off projectiles for the sake of training.

    Better ideas for this name?

    Wogan (¥¦¥©©`¥¬¥ó)

    Volume 1 Chapter 12

    Right after Ryouma finished shooting the five targets, Elia made a fuss and was very excited. However, the other four, after seeing Ryouma¡¯s abilities, were speechless.

    ¡°Amazing, Ryouma-san! Right!? Father!¡± ¨C Elia

    ¡°Ah, ah...¡± ¨C Rheinhart-san

    ¡°When using a bow I thought you had to be more careful aiming but it can actually be shot so fast, huh?¡± ¨C Elia

    At Elialia¡¯s words, Sebasu and Rheinbach were a little panicked and corrected her misunderstanding.

    ¡°Ojousama that¡¯s actually incorrect. What you¡¯ve seen just now was a disy of Ryouma-sama¡¯s ability, a normal archer wouldn¡¯t be able to disy that kind of speed. Ryouma-sama¡¯s ability with the bow can¡¯t bepared to your run of the mill archer.¡± ¨C Sebasu-san

    ¡°Elia, you can¡¯t use Ryouma as a standard. Because letting the arrows off at that speed, and hitting all the targets dead center is impossible for a normal person. It¡¯s highly probable that even amongst the soldiers of the country, the number of people that can do that are few.¡± ¨C Rheinbach-sama

    ¡°Really? As expected, Ryouma-san is really amazing!¡± ¨C Elia

    ¡°Certainly, he¡¯s amazing, but...¡± ¨C Rheinbach-san

    ¡°We may have been underestimating Ryouma-sama¡¯s true strength¡± ¨C Sebasu-san

    Ryouma doesn¡¯t have any self-awareness but with the practice he has had in his previous world coupled with the time he had spent hunting ever since he came to this world. The strength of his bow hand had actually already reached a distinguished level even amongst the soldiers of this country. But even though things may appear this way, he hasn¡¯t actually received any cheat from the gods outside of his magic abilities. Therefore, this is purely Ryouma¡¯s true strength.

    Finishing the examination that involved still targets, the next examination was a pseudo y pigeon shooting. Ryouma stood at the ce he was ordered to stand, and gripped his bow. But since the wall the targets are going toe out of is opposite the location where Elia and the rest are, Elia and the rest, five people in all, stood behind Ryouma and they, along with the examiner could not see the face of Ryouma.

    If for example someone were to see Ryouma¡¯s face right now, how would they feel? At this moment, Ryouma has increased his concentration to the limit, being without a hint of impatience or tension, yet also without a hint of excitement or enthusiasm. There is tranquility but all the traces of any emotions havepletely disappeared from Ryouma. That was not an expression that an 11 year old boy could possibly make.

    Looking at Ryouma right now he may appear to be young, but he is in fact a man who has been training ever since his childhood in his previous life, bringing the time he has trained for to be nearly 40 years. Because of that he had acquired the power to concentrate and to stay calm. There were also plenty of times where he wasted time in his day to day life but he valued doing nothing except repetitively doing simple things.

    On that point alone did even his colleagues and bosses who scorned him every day acknowledge him. And that¡¯s precisely why they used Ryouma like a convenient machine to do their work. But even then, Ryouma wasn¡¯t able to fully utilize the strength of his concentration.

    The ce where Ryouma was able to show his power the most was the martial arts he had gotten familiar with ever since his childhood. Ryoma traced the same kata every day, allowing the technique to permeate his body, and then, he moved his body naturally as if he was breathing. With the body already able to move at will, and having no obstructions in his heart to bind him, he bes able to bring out his techniquepletely, to the limits. That is the true power of Ryouma, the talent of Ryouma.

    In the past he matched his surrounding and controlled himself. Releasing the technique he had trained in the past wouldn¡¯t be forgiven. if he did that those around him would be frightened or would have been frightened. Thew of Earth,mon sense, that kind of thing which has been passed to the other world, right now... That kind of thing has nothing to do with Ryouma. Having escaped from the walls of the previous world, right here in this world, Ryouma released the true form of his full strength.

    The examiner blew his whistle, and a target flew from the right pir. Ryouma let loose an arrow at where the target was going. The target was pierced and it fell to the ground. The next target came out of the left pir and again, Ryouma let loose an arrow at the direction the target was going, and it fell to the ground.

    There is the question whether the target is going toe out from the right or the left, but what Ryouma has to do won¡¯t change. Using the techniques he had trained for a long time,pletely seeing through the trajectory of the flying targets, and only earnestly driving the arrows through, repetitively.

    Gradually the speed and the interval, at which the targets were being fired at changed, but Ryouma dealt with it. When several targets came out at the same time, he shot through one first, and then quickly took the next arrow from his quiver and before disappearing into the hole on the opposite side, shot through it.

    At thest moment, 4 targets came out at the same time but, Ryouma put the arrows in between all his fingers, immediately taking out 4 arrows from his quiver and in the blink of an eye he let loose four arrows and shot through all the targets. At that, he had used up all the arrows in his quiver and the whistle signifying the end of the examination was blown.

    ~Side Ryouma~

    Fuu... Looks like I can finally rest...!!

    ¡°Wh¨C! Earth Needle!¡±

    As I bring down my bow, a knife was thrown at me from behind. In response to that I caught the knife in between my fingers and then threw it back against the examiner.

    That man unsheathed his sword and knocked the knife I threw at him down. At that opening I throw away the bow I have in my hand and at the same time use the Earth Magic, Earth Needle. From in front of my eyes, just above, a sharpened rod of stone began to grow. I kicked its roots, breaking it, and the instant it separated I wielded it as a spear.

    ¡°Stop! My bad, my bad, with this the exam is over. You¡¯ve passed so please stop that dangerous thing.¡±

    Looks like the knife that was thrown at me was also a part of the exam. While keeping my guard up, I break the spear using Break Rock.

    ¡°Sorry about that, the knife I threw is something I generally do when holding these bow exams. A lot of people focus too much on the target and fail to keep their guard around them so it¡¯s my way of warning them about that.

    And I¡¯d tell them, if this was a forest and my knife was the attack of a magical beast then you¡¯d be dead. Most of the guys would reply that this is an examination area and make an unhappy face. Then, there¡¯re also the guys who would be understanding, or grateful, and even some who¡¯d manage to barely dodge but you¡¯re the first one who actually fought back. And since I also don¡¯t have any problem with your bow, I won¡¯t put a limit on you, feel free to take missions ording to your rank.¡±

    Looks like it really is a part of the examination... or rather it seems like it¡¯s because this guy is nosy. I let my guard down and then give my thanks.

    ¡°I understand. Thank you very much¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll be expecting lots from you, so do your best and don¡¯t push yourself too hard. Also, I¡¯m the guild master of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild Branch of the Town of Gimuru, Wogan, nice to meet you.¡±

    This guy was a guild master!?

    ¡°Please take care of me. You were actually a guild master, huh?¡±

    ¡°Aah? Well that¡¯s... you guys...¡±

    The Guild Master gave a fleeting side nce to my fivepanions and then said this.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know why but there¡¯s no way I could leave someone who was apanied by several members of a Duke Household to some poor guy.¡±

    Well that¡¯s true...

    ¡°You¡¯re right...¡±

    ¡°Really, why did the members of the Duke Household alle together to go with you?¡±

    ¡°I met the head, Rheinhart-sama by coincidence while I was hunting in the forest, after two weeks they invited me to go travel with them¡±

    ¡°What kind of setting is that...¡±

    ¡°Please pardon me for interrupting but it seems that the exam has concluded. May I have the pleasure of knowing the results?¡±

    The one who intruded in our conversation was Sebasu-san. If one were to take a good look, it could be seen that Elialia has been itchingly waiting for the results.

    ¡°Oh, excuse me. He has passed with no problems, and I¡¯ve decided not to limit his ability to ept missions since there seems to be no problem with his practical ability.¡±

    ¡°I see. Congrattions, Ryouma-sama¡±

    Elialia ran up to me and grabbed my hand, and went around in circles like she was dancing. Elia was really ted and it showed through her entire body... however, being this happy, I can¡¯t help but be happy as well.

    ¡°Elia-sama, please let go of Ryouma-sama. Ryouma-sama still has some legal procedures toplete¡±

    ¡°Oh! Right...¡±

    ¡°Thank you very much, Sebasu-san¡±

    After that I went to a different room... or rather I went to the office of the Guild Master and registered for the Adventurer¡¯s Guild

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯ve said it before Ryouma. I will not be putting a limit on you and so I¡¯ll record that in your Guild Card. Like this you¡¯ll be able to take missions of the same rank as you, as you wish. But do be careful.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll do my best¡±

    ¡°Actually, just based on your abilities I can have you start from Rank E but because of your age, if you were to ept a Rank E mission you¡¯ll stand out. If you do that all of the sudden, you might end up receiving the ill will of the people around you. So go start off from Rank G and steadily show your ability.¡±

    ¡°Thank you very much for your concern¡±

    ¡°Ah¨C stop, stop. You don¡¯t have to use polite speech with me. It¡¯s bothersome. That aside... who taught you how to use a bow? An Elf?¡±

    ¡°My grandpa did, but he¡¯s not an elf, he¡¯s a dwarf¡±

    ¡°A dwarf, huh? A dwarf that uses a bow is pretty rare but, it¡¯s not like they don¡¯t exist at all. They¡¯re a race that¡¯s particrly handy with their hands, so I guess there was such an expert with the bow who wasn¡¯t an elf, huh? Well whatever... With this we¡®ve finished your registration, after that... you should take this with you. ¡°

    The Guild Master gave to me one envelope.

    ¡°What is this?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s an introduction to a cksmith I know. In this town you¡¯re probably strong enough to handle one or two guys but they¡¯re a bunch of stubborn workers so with you being too young there¡¯s a possibility they might just turn you away at the gate. You flicked off my knife and from your movements after that, you can also use a spear, yeah? Over there, there¡¯s a bunch so go find a suitable weapon over there. As for armor it¡¯s not their specialty but they also have quite a bit there. It¡¯s better than buying from a bad store.¡±

    I¡¯m honestly grateful for this.

    ¡°Thank you very much. When I need a new weapon I¡¯ll definitely go.¡±

    I give my thanks and leave the room of the Guild Master.

    And now that the day has gotten dark, I went back to our lodging with the other five who were waiting for me in a different room.

    At that I remembered something.

    ¡°Sebasu-san, is it possible to receive stones for the purpose of making a stone statue of a god in this lodging as well?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s possible. Are you going to make another one?¡±

    ¡°Actually, in my baptism today I received the divine protection of a god I¡¯ve never prayed to before... so I thought I¡¯d make that person¡¯s statue¡± (TL Note: he uses the polite version when saying that person)

    ¡°I see... then, if Ryouma-sama does not mind me asking, may I know whose divine protection it is that you have received?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the divine protection of the God of Wine, Tekun. Or so it shows in my status board¡±

    ¡°The God of Wine, Tekun, was it? It¡¯s rare for a human to receive his divine protection, Tekun-sama is a god of wine and at the same time the god of arts and craft. And is fundamentally worshipped by the dwarves. Would you happen to know why he would give you his protection?¡±

    ¡°My grandpa who picked me up, happens to be a dwarf. And I also helped out a little in my grandpa¡¯s smithy¡±

    I see, so that¡¯s the reason. It¡¯s highly probable that during that period something happened and Ryouma-sama gained Tekun-sama¡¯s favor. However, I¡¯m quite concerned why Ryouma-sama did not receive the Divine Protection of the God of Craftsmanship instead.¡±

    ¡°Divine Protection of the God of Craftsmanship?¡±

    ¡°The divine protection that Tekun-sama gives has two kinds. One is the Divine Protection of the God of Craftsmanship, and the other is the Divine Protection of the God of Wine. The effects are, of course, different. I¡¯ve heard that the former divine protection allows the blessed one¡¯s skill in smithing and the likes to increase faster, and will be able to produce good products. As for thetter, the effect goes that no matter how much one drinks wine, one won¡¯t end up dead drunk and won¡¯t get a hangover. And also, the opportunities to find good wine will increase. This is quite envious but even if its found out, it¡¯s not something that would cause problems¡±

    ¡°Is that so...¡±

    ¡°Well let¡¯s put that aside. If Ryouma-sama is going to make a statue for Tekun-sama, then I believe this stone should be able to serve that purpose well.¡±

    As Sebasu-san said that he took something out of his item box. It¡¯s one of the stones I made out of the earth and sand of thendslide.

    ¡°This...¡±

    ¡°This is the stone that Ryouma-sama had made. We brought these here since the size is fixed and there¡¯re plenty of these, so we thought it could be sold in the town and help with Ryouma-sama¡¯s daily expenses. I did this because I believe Ryouma-sama would probably refuse mine, as well the Madam¡¯s and the rest¡¯s support.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for going out of your way to do this for me¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t mind it. Also in regards to the stone statue, I¡¯ve heard that Tekun-sama dislikes unnecessarily extravagant things. So it would be best to use cheaper materials when creating Tekun-sama¡¯s statue, and then creating the statue borately with all of one¡¯s own heart. And also offering a wine in front of the statue is best. The picture of Tekun-sama can also be bought just like the stones, and since it¡¯s the lodging we can buy wine as well¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go buy¡±

    I went with Sebasu-san to the employee¡¯s area, talked about my situation, and was told that a high ss alcohol that was very hard to get had just arrived.

    I was nning to just buy 3 bottles of that wine for the purpose of giving it as an offering, but Sebasu-san¡¯s eyes¡¯ color suddenly changed and bought two barrels. Apparently it¡¯s Rheinbach-sama¡¯s favorite brand of alcohol, but because it isn¡¯t produced outside of a certain limit for the year, it¡¯s extremely difficulty to acquire.

    Thanks to Ryouma-sama¡¯s protection, or so Sebasu-san said as he gave his thanks with an amazing smile. From the looks of it, it¡¯s not just Rheinbach-sama but also Sebasu-san who likes this wine.

    After that I went back to my room, made the statue, offered the wine, took a bath with the Cleaner Slime and then retired for the day.

 Volume 1 - 13

    Volume 1 chapter 13

    The Next Day

    ~ Side Ryouma ~

    This morning Sebasu-san informed me that the members of the Duke¡¯s Family will be going to the office of the prefectural governor to meet him today. So like that I ended up by myself. The madam told me that it¡¯s not good to walk around the town by myself and to stay in the lodging instead, but I can¡¯t do that.

    Since I¡¯ve finally been registered to the guild, I figured I¡¯d try to get a request. First off how about a generic herb collection quest?

    I drag out of my item box, a basket attached to a wooden rack with shoulder straps that can be worn on my back, specifically made for the purpose of collecting things in the forest. I then put my slime inside that and go to the guild. As I look for the requests avable for a G Rank, I find that there are requests to help out with Herb Collection, Sweeping, Moving Houses... etc.

    At first I thought of epting the request to help for collecting herbs but, it seems even if I don¡¯t take it now and just take it once I get the herbs would also be fine. So I can just get a different mission and then get the herbs as Ie back.

    As I thought that I looked for missions other than herb collecting, and then by chance I found two sheets of written requests that stood out.

    The contents were sweeping the house and cleaning the shared toilet.

    The house aside, the shared toilet can be dealt with by the Scavenger Slime and the magic I came up with. Thinking that, I went to the reception and asked about these two requests.

    ¡°Excuse me, I have something I want to ask¡±

    ¡°Wee, what would you like to know?¡±

    ¡°Yes, may I know the specifics of these two requests?¡±

    ¡°Let me see... this request, huh? Hmm... quite a bit of time has passed since these requests has been put up. Basing on the contents alone it may seem like a normal cleaning job but it stinks and it¡¯s dirty so no one wants to do it. And also the size...¡±

    ¡°Is it big?¡±

    ¡°Very much, actually. First off this thing about sweeping the house, well the thing is this person¡¯s house is right next to a dump site. The client¡¯s also unhappy about it but she got it cheap so she just endured it.¡±

    But in these past few months, the wall of the basement separating the house from the dump site copsed, and so the trash of the dump site ended up falling into the basement. And then because of the smell the family was troubled so they wanted someone to deal with it. But unless the wall is fixed the trash will just keep going in, but then in order to fix the wall, somehow someway you need to do something about the trash so it¡¯s really just walking in circles.

    And then there¡¯s this shared toilet... originally the public office should have employed people with slimes but it seems no matter how much the public office tried to pay they got refused. So with no one to pump out the toilet, this request has been left here for 5 months already. There have also beenints about the smelling so... they probably won¡¯t be able to keep it under the rug soon...¡±

    ¡°So there were concerns about catching diseases... because of the two cases...¡±

    ¡°Ara, that¡¯s pretty smart of you. Amazing. That¡¯s exactly right, it¡¯s easy to catch diseases in a dirty ce. That¡¯s why they want something to be done about it but no one wants to take the request. In the first ce, if the office were to pay properly then there¡¯s no way the people with slimes would refuse. Because the ces where they can work are few, so it¡¯s hard to imagine them picking their jobs since they¡¯re desperate in trying to make a living.¡±

    ¡°Specifically, how big are these two cases?¡±

    "The house has a 200 sqm basement, and as for themon toilets, there are 30 7m-wide, 2km-deep,trine pits. It¡¯s one pit per job for themon toilet."

    ¡°And the contents of the trash? As for the toilet I think I can figure it out by myself... ¡±

    ¡°Mainly food scraps for the garbage. And aside from that just the wastes from working with wood¡±

    If it¡¯s like that then I guess I can make the Scavenger Slime eat it...

    ¡°I see... then can I ept the request of the case regarding the house¡±

    ¡°Eh!? You¡¯re epting it!?¡±

    ¡°Yes, since I have a magic for cleaning that¡¯s convenient to use. Although because it takes up a lot of magic, there¡¯s not lot of people that use it.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is~ then please bring out your guild card. There¡¯s no time limit but if you try to pull out midway you¡¯ll have to pay a fine¡±

    ¡°I understand¡±

    As I said that I left the guild, and went to the house of the client. The house of the client was in the eastern part of the Town of Gimuru. Even inside the residential district there was an area where cheap house were lined up.

    I knock on the door of the house... let¡¯s knock one more time... no one¡¯s stilling out... are they out? ... I knock one more time but this time I call out as well.

    ¡°Hello anyone there! I¡¯m someone from the Adventurer¡¯s Guild who epted your request to clean up!¡±

    The moment I said that, I heard a sound that said dodododo! And the door was opened forcefully.

    ¡°Is it true you came here to clean nya!?¡±

    The one who came out had cat ears on her head and a tail attached to her waist, a woman of the cat man tribe. I knew about them but this is my first time seeing one in the flesh. It¡¯s unfortunate though that my first time meeting with a beast man had to be apanied by the horrifying stench of food scraps. However as a former Japanese that had worked on the service industry, my smile won¡¯t break!

    ¡°Yes, my name is Ryouma Takebayashi and I¡¯ve been dispatched by the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. Is it fine with the client?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right nya!? You really came to clean nya! I already gave up nya~!¡±

    ¡°Well then please confirm the request¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes! There¡¯s no mistake nya! I am the client Miya nya! I¡¯m really thankful you came nya!¡±

    ¡°Please do give me your thanks after the request has been fulfilled.¡±

    ¡°Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!¡±

    What¡¯s up with this guy!? She suddenly cried... wait, what should I do in this situation?

    ¡°W¨Cwait! Please calm down, ok?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry nya... I¡¯m happy... because all the adventurers that hade here seemed really reluctant and keptining... and everyone stopped and went home midway nya... there were also people who couldn¡¯t bear the smell as soon as they got to the front door and went home... even the people who said they¡¯d do it until the end like you also left...¡±

    All the adventurers until now, do try to endure it... there may be diseases, but it won¡¯t be at the entrance, right?

    ¡°Then, I want to start as soon as possible, the ce I¡¯m to work at is the basement, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right nya. But, what do you n to do nya?¡±

    ¡°I heard that the trash is made up food scraps and remnants of wood. In that case I have a convenient magic I can use.¡±

    ¡°Eh, really nya?¡±

    ¡°Yes, the consumption of magic power is high so not a lot of people use it. And besides I also have my ve monster.¡±

    ¡°You were a ve Magic User nya? Well to be honest as long as it ends up being clean, anything is fine nya. Then please take care of it quickly nya¡±

    ¡°Understood. Just to be sure, Miya-san doesn¡¯t having anything important in the basement right?¡±

    ¡°None nya, to begin with the basement wasn¡¯t even used as a storage room nya. And even if there was, considering it¡¯s buried inside that trash, might as well throw it away nya.¡±

    ¡°Then in that case I¡¯ll finish this quickly, andpletely dispose of everything in the basement. This will be fine, yes?¡±

    ¡°Yes nya. Please take care of it nya¡±

    ¡°Then please allow me to enter. Where¡¯s the entrance to the basement?¡±

    ¡°Over here nya¡±

    Miya-san brought me to a staircase that continued down to the basement. When I went down that staircase, there was a door there which I opened, and what throught that door whaty before me was arge amount of trash and swarms of flies.

    I close the door once, and take the Huge Scavenger Slime from that basket rack I equipped a while ago. And then I open the door for a second time, allowing the Huge Scavenger Slime to enter, and then I tell it to separate in my mind.

    Immediately the slime began to split and filled the room to the ceiling. At that moment I made the slimes release foul odor. Immediately the flies started gathering to the slimes and were eaten.

    From then on I just made the Scavenger Slime do nothing else but eat the food scraps. If one were to see me right now it¡¯d look like I¡¯m just ying hooky, but I put up a barrier magic and have hidden myself.

    I¡¯ve mostly made the Scavenger Slimes eat trash for the past 20 minutes or so, but just as the guild had mentioned, the trash just keeps going in through the hole.

    From the looks of things this house was built underneath a hill, to add to that there¡¯s a dump site over there, so what happens is the garbage smoothly falls down the hill and ends inside this basement. Who made a house in this kind of ce?

    Settling this problem is pretty simple, the answer... make the Scavengers eat until it stops! That¡¯s it, only, it might be problematic if the slimes end up going outside so I put up a Barrier of Concealment over at the dumpsite. That way we can¡¯t be seen from the outside and won¡¯t end up causing amotion. Even if I¡¯m found out, I¡¯m with the ve Magic Users, so it¡¯ll be fine, but just in case.

    In the end it¡¯s been 1 hours since I¡¯ve put the barrier until the trash waspletely eaten.

    But what¡¯s up with the body of these guys? It¡¯s not like they¡¯re a bunch of gluttons as they¡¯re mileage is pretty good, but, it looks like they can eat whatever¡¯s been given to them.

    Well in any case the trash has been rid of but the walls are still dirty. This is where Ie in. I make the Scavenger Slimes and Cleaner Slimes shoot out deodorization liquid against the inner wall and the outer wall of the room, and once the smell¡¯s been dealt with I wash it with water.

    ¡°Mist Wash¡±

    The water magic, Mist Wash, sprays outpressed water and gets rid of dirt. When I was researching magic in the forest, I tried to reproduce the high pressure water cutting magic, Water Cut, but failed. I noticed that the rock I hit with it was cleaner than before, and remembered there was something like this in my previous world, and so like this I considered it to be useful as a cleaning magic.

    This magic can get rid of stubborn dirt. But while this magic is being used, it uses up magic power, so cleaning one room with it would take up quite a bit of magic power. It has the advantage of being able to be used as long as one keeps pouring magic into it, but the consumption is like an incontinent person that keeps pissing magic away. So I think unless one has a lot of magic power, this magic is quite difficult to use.

    After washing it I had the Scavenger Slime drink the dirty water.

    After washing the wall it became clean. But I¡¯m still concerned about the hole in the wall. It¡¯d be careless to leave it like this, so I might as well somehow close it up.

    I make a brick from the earth outside using Create Block, and in the same way using Create Block I trim the hole into a square. And then using the Sticky Hardening Liquid of the Sticky Slime as a substitute for cement I filled in the hole with the brick. Adding in the help of the Slimes, it took us around 20 minutes to finish.

    I¡¯ve finished everything I can do so I have the Cleaner Slime clean me up and put the Slimes back into my wooden rack with shoulder straps and then go over to where Miya-san is.

    ¡°Miya-san¡±

    ¡°Nya!? Wh¨Cwhat¡¯s wrong nya? Are you leaving...?¡±

    ¡°Certainly, I¡¯m about to leave. Since everything is already finished.¡±

    ¡°...nya? Eh, what do you mean?¡±

    I brought Miya-san with a question mark floating over her head to the basement. When Miya-san saw the clean basement her mouth opened wide to the point it looked like her jaw was about to fall off.

    ¡°Nya... what did you do nya!?¡±

    ¡°Cleaning¡±

    ¡°Amazing nya! It really became clean nya! The trash kept going in so until now no one has managed to clean it nya! Come to think of it the hole¡¯s being filled up too!?¡±

    ¡°Well since trash would go back in, I used Earth Magic and filled it up with the stone I made. There¡¯s some different stones around that might be conspicuous, if it¡¯s ugly I can remove it.¡±

    ¡°No need nya! I don¡¯t mind and, once it¡¯s been cleaned it up I¡¯d been intending to block it. So, rather than saying it¡¯s ugly I¡¯m grateful nya.¡±

    ¡°Is that so, then if that¡¯s the case... can we consider the request to have beenpleted?¡±

    ¡°Of course nya. Since you¡¯ve managed to clean it up this fast, and even fixed the wall I¡¯ll increase the payment nya!¡±

    ¡°Thank you very much¡±

    I received Miya-san¡¯s sign on the document for the request, and went back to the guild to go report to the receptionist that exined to me the details of the request.

    ¡°Excuse me¡±

    ¡°Ara, it¡¯s this morning¡¯s¡±

    ¡°I came to report about thepletion of the request¡±

    ¡°Eh? Completion? You didn¡¯t abandon?¡±

    ¡°It waspleted¡±

    As I said that I brought out the document for the request.

    ¡°You¡¯re right... it waspleted, and also the pay was even increased... you¡¯re amazing. No one couldplete this request for a long time, you know? Since the smell is thick and no matter how much you clean it up, trash just keeps going through the hole, so people who became downhearted just kepting one after another, you know? To think that you were able to finish this request without even taking 2 hours...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because I had a really convenient magic¡±

    ¡°Oh that¡¯s right, well good job. With this the report for thepletion of the request has beenpleted, thepensation inside is 30 pieces of silver¡±

    ¡°Eh? Isn¡¯t quite a bit much?¡±

    ¡°Well the client, Miya-san, was quite troubled since people kept refusing this request, so she kept increasing the price. Plus she also instructed to increase your remuneration¡±

    ¡°I see, I understand¡±

    ¡°Also, the Guild Master said to call you when you came back¡±

    ¡°The Guild Master?¡±

    When I asked that, the one who answered me wasn¡¯t the woman in front of me but the guy who was doing some legal work on the nearby counter.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s nothing big. It¡¯s just the usual.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean? Ah... I am Ryouma Takebayashi by the way.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Jeff Granger. That old man... the guild master, is a nosy guy so, adventurers, especially newbies like you that¡¯s under 13 years old, he usually calls out to try and help. He also helped me out when I was a newer. He may seem like your run of the mill bandit, but there¡¯s no need to be scared.¡±

    ¡°Is that how it is, thank you very much?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind it¡±

    Right after that a voice from inside the counter called us. The one who called us was the Guild Master.

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly right, so you don¡¯t need to give thanks to that guy¡±

    ¡°Ah, Guild Master¡±

    ¡°Ge! Old man¡±

    ¡°And who looks like a bandit you bastard!¡±

    ¡°Old man anyone who looks at you would say you look like a bandit!¡±

    ¡°Shaddap! I can¡¯t help my face! But I¡¯m not making a crooked face like a bandit!¡±

    ¡°Women and children run while screaming when they meet you in the dead of night, right?¡±

    ¡°Gu... if it¡¯s the people of this town then there¡¯s no problem...¡±

    ¡°Well that¡¯s because everyone has already gotten used to it!¡±

    ¡°Gufuu! ... Enough... Ryouma,e¡±

    The Guild Master who was hurt by Jeff¡¯s words put his heart under control, and went back inside while calling me. I gave my greetings to the receptionistdy and Jeff-san and go after the Guild Master.

    And then I got to the ce where I went to yesterday, the room of the Guild Master.

    ¡°Sit somewhere appropriate... or wait, that thing you¡¯re carrying on your back is that a basket? It stands out a lot¡±

    ¡°Please excuse me. Inside this basket is my ve Monster¡±

    ¡°You were a ve Magic User? I thought you were surely a hunter¡±

    ¡°Well my ve Monster is only a Slime and I learned ve Magic just by observing. I¡¯m a hunter that can use ve Magic. I have my Sticky Slimes work with my traps and have my Poison Slimes poison my arrows¡±

    Hearing that the Guild Master grinnedughing, and said this.

    ¡°You have a pretty dirtybination, huh?¡±

    ¡°You think? It¡¯s a Slime after all.¡±

    ¡°I do it myself so I understand but if it was just a slime then it¡¯d be fine but, a high ss race isn¡¯t something to be made light of.

    There¡¯s a lot of adventurers who would group slimes and high ss slimes together and think they¡¯re weak, but a high ss slime with an adventurer that can fight isn¡¯t thought to be weak.

    If one gets hit by the acid of a slime, their equipment will go bad. If it ends up as long fight, then when one goes home the new tools will be crumbling. If it¡¯s poison then one¡¯s life will be put in danger, and Sticky Slimes are a pain the ass. If a different magical beastes while you can¡¯t move, then you¡¯re life¡¯s over.¡±

    ¡°I see... then if that¡¯s the case, work at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild bes easier, huh? Actually when I registered that I use Slimes at the Tamer Guild, the Branch Manager clearly showed that he wasn¡¯t pleased with me and seemed to have decided that I¡¯d be ipetent¡±

    ¡°From the times I¡¯ve met that guy, I¡¯d say it¡¯s just because that bastard¡¯s pride is too big¡±

    ¡°Yes, since the slime can¡¯t do jobs that require strength, and besides I also went to look for jobs that don¡¯t require strength, today.¡±

    ¡°I see... Right, that talk about work. I heard that you already took a job today, it looks like it went well?¡±

    ¡°Yes, the client was quite pleased and even gave me a bonus.¡±

    ¡°Ho¨C, that¡¯s pretty good for a first job. I didn¡¯t hear anything except for cleaning, but what kind of job did you take?¡±

    ¡°I cleaned the house of the client called Miya-san¡±

    When the Guild Master heard that he stared at me in wonder.

    ¡°You cleaned that girl¡¯s house?¡±

    ¡°Did you know about it?¡±

    ¡°Well yeah... I mean Miya is also an adventurer that lives in this town. Shees quite frequently to the guild so I hear quite a bit.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡±

    ¡°But... to actually fulfill that request, you were able to clean up, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think that there would actually be a person that could clean that girl¡¯s house... and, how did you do it?¡±

    ¡°I had a magic that was good for the situation. It¡¯s something that can be used when one has a lot of magic so it¡¯s a rather hard to use magic, and so not a lot of people know about it. ¡°

    ¡°Ho¨C? Then in that case I have another request I¡¯d like you to take...¡±

    Perhaps...

    ¡°Is it the request to clean the Town¡¯s shared toilet?¡±

    ¡°Oh so you knew about it?¡±

    ¡°Yes, today, before taking a request, I was wondering which one I should take.¡±

    ¡°Then in that case the talk will be quick. The public office has brought out a cleaning request, and I don¡¯t want the townsmen to say that the reason it wasn¡¯t cleaned was because of the guild. Theints have beening in. Speaking of which, originally the cause was because the public office was stingy with bringing out money for the sake of the slum.¡±

    ¡°The receptionistdy also mentioned that, is that true?¡±

    ¡°Aah, it¡¯s true. Did you know that in these past few years, this town¡¯s ie has been decreasing?¡±

    ¡°If I¡¯m correct it¡¯s because of the decreasing production rate of the mine, right?¡±

    ¡°Right, there¡¯s also the condition of the mine sincest year. And also this year, the abandonment of the mine will be decided. So because of that the ie of the town has been quite bad. So the public office has been trying to cut costs but... they¡¯ve been mainly cutting down on the town¡¯s administrative expenses so, the me¡¯s been shifted on to the people of the town.

    The ones that have really been put into a disadvantage is the slum. Until now the public office has been cutting down on the number of employees to managebor cost but as a result the number of people helping out became insufficient. The work won¡¯t end so they started saying that the people aren¡¯t working properly and won¡¯t pay them properly. There¡¯s been a lot ofints from the townsmen, so although they want to try hiring the people of the slum¡¯s and add to that, that they gave the reason that the people of the slums won¡¯t work properly and tried hiring them with a sry of next to nothing, in the end even the guys from the slum didn¡¯t want to take it up.

    No matter how troubled someone is over money, if the price doesn¡¯t match with the work the people of the slum won¡¯t work. And it¡¯s not like they¡¯re asking for much. It¡¯s just that they can¡¯t have a decent lifestyle so it¡¯s easy for them to get sick. And if they work for almost for free then the risk of getting sick will just get higher.¡±

    I see...

    ¡°I understand, I¡¯ll prepare and ept it quickly. If it¡¯s fast then I can take it by tomorrow¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a big help, thanks. The rewards will be plentiful.¡±

    ¡°Please take care of me¡±

    Incidentally, I should also try talking to Rheinhart-san and the rest, since the one that holds the most influence is them. And besides they¡¯ll also want to know what I did today, so I figured if they knew about this then they¡¯ll know how to respond.

    ¡°...what are you thinking?¡±

    Did it show on my face?

    ¡°No, today I¡¯m acting by myself so I thought I¡¯d ask a couple of things from the people who apanied me to register yesterday¡±

    Hearing that, Guild Master grinnedughingly.

    As he made that face, I thought about what Jeff-san said, and certainly, it was really like the face a bandit would make...

    ¡°You have a pretty good personality, huh? And, do you think you they¡¯ll help?¡±

    ¡°Of course, even just knowing them, I think they¡¯ll help¡±

    ¡°Your basis?¡±

    ¡°Well I don¡¯t really have much to base it on but... I¡¯m an orphan without anywhere to go and lived in the forest. There, I recently met everyone by chance. After that I¡¯ve bothered them quite a bit here and there. They did that much for someone like me whom they barely knew.

    Just me aside though, there¡¯s no way they¡¯ll be able to treat everyone in the slums just as they¡¯ve treated me, right? But, I don¡¯t think they¡¯re the kind of people who wouldn¡¯t feel anything knowing the current situation.¡±

    ¡°I see¡±

    ¡°Yes. Well then, I should be going soon, since I want to finish my preparations for tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll leave it to you. When you get here I¡¯ll immediately tell them to prioritize that request. Well it¡¯s nothing even if it¡¯s prioritized since no one wants to take it.¡±

    ¡°You said it.¡±

    Saying that, I left the room of the Guild Master as Iughed and then went back home. On the way I went to look for some cloths for western clothes and sewing tools. I found some cheap ones and bought a set, then I also bought an empty spool of thread.

 Volume 1 - 14

    TL Note:

    Changed Appraisal -> Identify

    Changed Ability to eat bad food -> Eat Filth

    Volume 1 Chapter 14

    ~Side Ryouma~

    I put the things I bought into my item box, went back to our lodging and started working.

    First off, I rubbed the Sticky Liquid of the Sticky Slime on the surface of the cloth, and then through abination of the basic Wind Magic, Breeze, and the basic fire magic, Fire, used the magic, Dryer, to dry arge number of waterproof cloths.

    Like this the afternoon passed. When ites to managing the magic power, it¡¯s easy if it¡¯s just the same attribute, but it bes difficult when different magic attributes are beingbined.

    In the past when I made a mistake controlling Dryer, the wind of Breeze mixed with Fire and created an amazing ze. In that way I was somehow able to fire off an attack magic, me Thrower but, if I do something like that here, it won¡¯t be funny.

    Next, I had the Sticky Slime spit me some threads, and then wound it on that unwound spool of thread I bought. The strength of the Sticky Slime¡¯s thread depends on the ratio of the Sticky Liquid to the Hardening Liquid. So it¡¯s quite easy to change the strength of the thread to match one¡¯s goal.

    If one sets the ratio of Sticky Liquid to Hardening Liquid as 7:3, then the thread will be a pretty and soft sewing thread. At 6:4 it bes a robust thread. At 5:5 it bes a kind of thread that can be used in traps because of its sticity, and possesses strength that will break when animals and people were to pull on it. At 4:6 it bes a lethal string that can be used to strangle animals and people.

    In this past when I went to check the strength of the 4:6 thread. I set up several strands of it between two trees and lured the ck Bear there. The ck Bear was only able to endure once and small incisions could be seen on the ck Bear¡¯s body.

    At that time I thought that depending on the usage, this thread could be a horrifying trap, so I agitatedly put it in the back of my head. I mostly haven¡¯t used it since encountering the goblins.

    An exception to this is that I tried to create a guitar from my previous world using a tree and a trimmed down version of this string as guitar string. There¡¯s strength but as long as you only touch it, it won¡¯t cut you. From here on out if I look for it, there should be ways where it can be safely used.

    Going back to the topic

    Afterpletely spooling the 6:4 robust thread, what¡¯s next is cutting the waterproof cloth. So I cut and divided the waterproof cloth into several parts.

    What I want to make¡¢ is the jumpsuit and the waders (waterproof pants) from my previous world. Starting tomorrow I¡¯m going to be cleaning thetrine pits, and even if I left it to the Scavenger Slimes, and even if the Cleaner Slimes could clean me, I still don¡¯t want to go there in my normal clothes. So I figured I should prepare beforehand.

    After finishing the pseudo-waders, I heard someone knocking on my door.

    ¡°Ryouma-sama, I have heard that you have returned but how are you doing?¡±

    It was Sebasu-san so I hurriedly opened the door.

    ¡°I¡¯m here¡±

    ¡°Is everything ok?¡±

    ¡°Yes, there¡¯s nothing wrong in particr¡±

    ¡°ording to the servants, Ryouma-sama went out in the morning, came back in the afternoon, and without having lunch, have isted himself here all this time¡±

    Ah... now that I think about it, I didn¡¯t have lunch, huh?

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I was a bit overzealous with my work and forgot about lunch... did I make you guys worry?¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s alright please show your face to everyone. Especially to the madam and the Ojousama. And also, if it¡¯s something like sewing then Ryouma-sama could do that in the Madam¡¯s room and the 2 maids could even help out¡±

    Perfect. I was just wondering how I could try to move the conversation to that direction. I toss the tools and the cloths into my item box, and go to the room of the Duke¡¯s Family along with my Slimes.

    As soon as I got to the room, Elia and the Madam jumped at me.

    ¡°Are you alright!? Nothing happened!?¡±

    ¡°Ryouma-kun! Are you alright? You¡¯re not hurt?¡±

    ¡°Now, now, you two, please calm down.¡±

    ¡°Ryouma-kun won¡¯t be able to talk if you press him like that you know?¡±

    Interjected Rheinbach-sama and Rheinhart-san as they stopped and separated the two.

    ¡°My apologies for making you worry. There are no problems in particr, I just became caught up with my work and forgot to have my meal¡±

    The madam heaved a sigh of relief,

    ¡°I see, that¡¯s good¡±

    ¡°And I thought something had happened¡±, pouted the Ojousama.

    ¡°Ho, ho, ho, isn¡¯t it good that nothing had happened?¡± chuckled, Rheinbach-sama.

    ¡°What work are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s sewing. I made some clothes for doing some janitorial work.¡±

    As I said that, I took out the tools from my item box and showed it to them.

    Rheinbach-sama looked at it scrutinizingly and said.

    ¡°Fumu... by the looks of things you also applied the waterproofing treatment on these, huh?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I started working on these, as soon I got back and ended up spending the rest of the afternoon. After that are these things which I¡¯m still making.¡±

    ¡°Why did you suddenly start making those things?¡± inquired Rheinbach-sama.

    Hearing that, I exined what happened today while sewing.

    ¡°... and so I ended up epting that janitorial request. Since It¡¯d also be troublesome if diseases were to start spreading around, so I want to get started as soon as possible¡±

    ¡°Mu...¡±

    ¡°I understand your reason, and I¡¯m also grateful to know this. The public office of this town didn¡¯t mention anything like this... we may have almost been tricked. Sebasu¡± said Rheinhart-san as he called Sebasu-sean.

    ¡°Yes¡±

    ¡°Go out into the town and gather some information on whether the public office really did what was mentioned just now. If it¡¯s true then the administrative expenses should have gone down this year. However, ording to the report today, it hasn¡¯t been changed. So there¡¯s a possibility that someone¡¯s taking advantage of the decrease in the mining rate of the mine and is embezzling funds¡±

    ¡°Understood¡±

    As Sebasu-san said that, he left the room.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, thank you. Because of you we may actually end up uncovering a conspiracy.¡±

    ¡°Umu. I could forgive simply embezzling, but embezzling the money that should be used for the townspeople and harming them is not something I can forgive. In the first ce we have already decided on how much to pay the people living in the slums decades ago. That they would actually try to bargain it down, unforgivable! Wasting my efforts...¡±

    ¡°Rheinbach-sama¡¯s efforts?¡±

    The one who responded was the madam,

    ¡°In order to help out the people living in the slums, in the past my father-inw went through great pains to establish those people living in the slums as the ones in charge of cleaning themunity toilet¡±

    Hearing the madam¡¯s words, Rheinbach-sama continued,

    ¡°In the past I notified the prefectural governors of all the towns and made them construct facilities. And being unable to believe the words that the people of the slum would be employed, I had to go several times all the way to the management of the slum and negotiate. In the end it took 30 years to give all the jobs rting to construction to them. That¡¯s why, when I think that all that effort is being put to waste, I can¡¯t help but find it mortifying¡±

    Rheinhart-san hearing his father¡¯s frustration spoke

    ¡°Dad was once famous for being a good feudal lord. There were many nobles who came to study the management of territory. That¡¯s why, if this really is true, then it won¡¯t be forgiven. Even if other¡¯s forgive it, the Jamil Household will not forgive it¡±

    Rheinbart-sama looked at me and spoke again with a hint of gratefulness on his face.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, truly, thank you. I¡¯m d we were able to get wind of this information while we were here. At the very least we were able to confirm that something is amiss. Besides if everything went exactly as we had nned for it to go, this kind of request shouldn¡¯t havee out.

    ¡°You¡¯re wee¡±

    ¡°Umu, let¡¯s have the maids help you out with making those clothes. Aro-ne, Lilian, please help him out.¡±

    The two maids replied synchronously

    ¡°Understood¡±

    With the maids about to help me out, I exined to them what we will be doing. The gloves were assigned to Lilian-san, and the jumpsuit, to Aro-ne-san. I started to knit the cord that will be used for a variety of things but as soon as Aro-ne-san and Lilian-san saw the threads they asked me.

    ¡°Ryouma-sama, what kind of thread is this? I¡¯ve never seen such a thin, robust, smoth, and pretty thread¡±

    ¡°Ahh... This is a Sticky Slime¡¯s thread?¡±

    ¡°Do Slimes spit out threads!?¡±

    ¡°Just Sticky Slimes, and also, it¡¯s probably only my Sticky Slime. I wonder if I could create something out of the Sticky Liquid and the Hardening Liquid, so I tried mixing them up and ended up with that thread, and then I wondered whether the Slime will also be able to do the same thing, so I had the Slimes try it out and it seems they were able to. It was especially convenient when making clothes in the forest.¡±

    After I said that, I called the Big Slime over and had spit some thread.

    ¡°See, it can spit out thread in this way. Moreover you can modify how strong the thread is by changing the ratio of the two kinds of liquid.¡±

    After showing the two maids, several sizes of threads, the two maids ended up wanting to buy some of the threads.

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t possibly do that. I¡¯m already imposing on you like this, so if you want some threads, I¡¯ll make as much as you want.¡±

    When they heard that, the two were greatly overjoyed. Apparently, despite having served the Household of the Duke for a long time and making countless clothes, Aro-ne-san has never seen a thread this good. Well since I¡¯ve always seen synthetic fibers back in Earth, I never really noticed.

    Afterwards, Rheinhart-san decided with me, to start selling the rain gears along with this thread. As we continued to converse, I found out that the previous feudal lord, Rheinbach-sama, conductedrge scale maintenances on the viges and owns and because of that, the towns of the Jamil Duchy were famous for being number one in terms of cleanliness, and were even famous amongst the neighboring countries.

    And in order to further prosper the towns that Rheinhart-san¡¯s father maintained, he thought of spurring the businesses in the region.

    It seems that the Slime products that I unintentionally developed were very attractive to him. He bowed his head down, and said let¡¯s work together for a long time, and then I nodded as well and said please take care of me.

    Since the people of the Jamil Household are really nice, I also wanted to work with them.

    As we continued to talk like that, I finished making my clothes. And there didn¡¯t seem to be any problems on the size when I tried wearing it but...

    Putting on the gloves, I put my hands through the sleeves, and wrapped the cord I made around the only open space on the jumpsuit I¡¯m wearing, which would be my wrist, thereby blocking anything dirty from going in. With this I ampletely waterproofed, up and down all over, and I even secured the shoes I¡¯m wearing with the cord I made. Seeing me, everyone mentioned that I looked strange.

    However, from the perspective of using them as work clothes, the value is certainly high. And although it¡¯s still not decided, Rheinhart-san mentioned that we might also sell this.

    The Next Day

    Having with me the set of worker clothes I made yesterday and with the Slimes with me, I let everyone know that I¡¯ll be going out.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be going¡±

    ¡°Good luck¡±

    ¡°Please take care, Ryouma-san¡±

    ¡°Do you best, ok?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll also do our part here and there¡±

    Having been sent off by everyone, I went to the guild.

    ¡°Good morning¡±

    ¡°Ara, it¡¯s the kid from yesterday. It was Ryouma-kun, right? You came¡±

    ¡°Yes, I want to ept a request...¡±

    ¡°Un, I heard about it. By the way thanks, ok? For taking this request. We were really troubled about it¡±

    ¡°Well then, pleaseplete the legalities¡±

    ¡°Yes, ye~s... alright this is ok. Take this request document, and go to the people from the West District, ok? And also, this is the key for the Latrine pits, don¡¯t lose it alright?¡±

    ¡°Understood. Well then, please excuse me¡±

    ¡°Take care¡±

    I left the guild and arrived at the western most part of the town where the entrance to thetrine pit is. I wear the jumpsuit and the pseudo-waders, and try to go through the entrance but instead I immediately close the door without entering. You understand the reason, right? A Latrine pit that has been left for 5 months, it¡¯s bound to have a horrifying smell.

    The moment that smell wafted to my nose, I cried a bit. But, the Scavengers looked ok, so I had them go in first, had them split, and ordered them to deal with it.

    I also asked for help from the Cleaner Slimes and had them soak a hand towel I had with me with deodorization liquid, which I put on my mouth, to deal with the smell.

    It also gets to my eyes so I had the Cleaner Slime go on top of my head, and have him cover my eyes like a goggle. The Cleaner Slimes¡¯ body has high transparency so I was able to go forward without any problems. Cleaner Slime¡¯s are quite useful.

    Having gone insidepletely, there were some stairs inside. Going down that was a huge subterranean tunnel. In the center of that tunnel were a huge amount of filth umting on both sides. The Scavenger Slimes crowded together and did their best to deal with it. As for me I washed off the filth sticking to the roof and the walls with the magic, Mist Wash, and then heated the sticking water to disinfect it with my original Electric Magic, Range.

    It was a bit too dirty so I wanted to make it cleaner somehow, but from the looks of things I seeded. I check it out with the skill, ¡°Identify¡± and,

    From

    Unclean Ceiling

    A Ceiling Stuck With Filth Here and There

    To

    Stone Ceiling

    Looks I was able to sessfully clean the roof of themunity toilet¡¯strine pit after disinfecting it through cleaning and heating.

    The information I got changed from an unclean ceiling to a stone ceiling. After that, I took a look at the detailed information and it looks like the disinfection was a sess. ... But, I have always wondered, where is this informationing from? Well, since no incorrect information hase out yet, I guess its fine, it is quite convenient at times like this.

    In the end I was able to clean one pit and it took me around 5 hours, but, I took another 3 hours after that.

    Because of today and yesterday, the Scavenger Slimes have eaten a lot and have gotten a lot of nourishments, so I had already nned to have them split since I knew about that as an effect of the ve Monster Contract. Hence, in order to keep them from the eyes of other people, I had the Slimes spilt here. Anyhow there¡¯s another 29 pits like this one.

    The end result of the splitting was 1464. Before splitting it was at 730 so one of them split twice and ended up as 4 bodies.

    After that I took a look at the skills of the Slime, at which I broke out into a cold sweat.

    Old Skills:

    Disease Resist Lv5

    Poison Resist Lv5

    Eating Filth Lv5

    Cleaning Lv6

    Deodorization Lv6

    Deodorization Liquid Lv4

    Release Foul Odor Lv4

    Return Nutrients Lv3

    Jump Lv2

    Digestion Lv6

    Absorption Lv3

    Split Lv6

    Current Skills

    Disease Resist Lv7

    Poison Resist Lv6

    Eating Filth Lv6

    Cleaning Lv7

    Deodorization Lv7

    Deodorization Liquid Lv5

    Release Foul Odor Lv6

    Return Nutrients Lv5

    Jump Lv3

    Digestion Lv7

    Absorption Lv3

    Split Lv6

    The skill levels went up all across the board. Moreover, the Disease Resist actually increased two levels. That¡¯s very concerning.

    The others are fine, there¡¯s no problem with them. But you know... for Disease Resist to increase, it¡¯s necessary for there to be a factor that will cause a disease, you know? In other words... this is a breeding ce of diseases!!!

    No, do you actually understand? This is hard to say because a ce where filth is collected is bound to be a breeding ground for diseases. But you know... the Madam had previously mentioned that the Disease Resist of level 5 is at a level that can¡¯t be reached unless one goes through a life threatening disease.

    And it¡¯s from that level that it suddenly went up twice, that¡¯spletely at the level of an epidemic virus!

    Was it that bad here... or how about the others!? Bad, bad bad bad... If I don¡¯t immediately let them know of this... or wait, before that we need to disinfect ourselves ASAP! It won¡¯t be funny I went out carelessly and the virus spread!

    As I thought that, I went in front of the entrance and check the status of me and the Slimes with Identify... OK, looks like there¡¯s no diseases.

    I went out, then had the Cleaner Slimes clean everything, the box, the Slimes, my entire body, and the box the Slimes are going to enter. After that I had the Cleaner and Scavenger Slimespletely clean the area around the ce I walked. I checked everything with the neutral magic, Identify, including my belongings, myself, and the Slimes. I confirmed that I didn¡¯t get information like ¡°Dirty¡± or ¡°Virus¡±. Fortunately, everything was ¡°Clean¡±, looks like the Cleaner Slimes¡¯ and the Scavenger Slimes¡¯ Cleaning was effective. I lock the entrance, and just in case I blocked it with barrier magic and then hurried to the guild.

    I caught quite a lot of attention until I got to the guild because I wasn¡¯t able to change my outfit. But, that¡¯s really not the time to be talking about things like that. I just want to inform the Guild Master and the Duke¡¯s Family about the situation at hand as soon as possible.

    I thought that as I ran, and when I got near the guild, I noticed. At this rate a bad rumor of an epidemic might spread inside the guild, if it¡¯s poorly handled it might be a huge problem. So I guess I should just go in calmly like a young adventurer who had just finished his job...

    As I thought that, I started walking instead, calmed myself down and went into the guild.

    Going inside the guild in a strange outfit, I caught a lot of attention. There were plenty of guys point their fingers at me andughing. However, I ignored those things and went to the counter of the receptions. I don¡¯t have the luxury to mind, I¡¯m already at my limit just not showing my impatience.

    ¡°Excuse me¡±

    ¡°Ara, Ryouma-kun... wh-what¡¯s up with that? That strange outfit¡±

    ¡°Clothes for cleaning! How is it? It¡¯s not cool but it¡¯s easy to move around in and there¡¯s no need to worry about the dirt, since even inside mud or the middle of a swamp, its hard to be dirtied while wearing this you know?¡±

    ¡°Certainly, that¡¯s true...¡±

    The people around me nodded as they thought ¡°certainly¡±, looks like there were also people that were quite interested.

    ¡°By the way, afterpleting the job today, I want to report to the Guild Master but, is that ok?¡±

    ¡°Eh? To the Guild Master?¡±

    ¡°Could you please ask the Guild Master? I have something I want to talk to him about.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Well ok... I¡¯ll try asking but he¡¯s with a guest right now so you might have to wait¡±

    ¡°I understand, thank you¡±

    As the receptionistdy said that, she went inside. After a while the receptionistdy came back and said this,

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, he said it¡¯s OK. Go in.¡±

    Looks like I¡¯ll be able to meet him immediately, I have good luck. However there¡¯s a warning from the receptionistdy before I went in.

    ¡°Right now, there¡¯s some really amazing people inside the Guild Master¡¯s room so don¡¯t be rude, ok? There probably won¡¯t be a problem with the way Ryouma-kun talks, but just in case.¡±

    ¡°Thank you very much, I¡¯ll be careful¡±

    Reaching the room of the Guild Master, the receptionistdy knocked and called out.

    ¡°Pardon my intrusion, I¡¯ ve brought Ryouma-kun¡±

    ¡°Enter¡±

    Following the instruction of the Guild Master¡¯s voice, I entered the room. When I entered the people in there were the Guild Master, the 4 members of the Household of Jamil, the 2 maids and Sebasu-san.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, thank you for your hard work today¡±

    ¡°Why is... everyone here?¡±

    ¡°Well we wanted to hear what we heard from Ryouma yesterday from the Gulid Master¡±

    ¡°I see...¡±

    It¡¯s unexpected but this is good.

    ¡°Well? What¡¯s up?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s something I want to talk about that needs to be kept secret¡±

    ¡°Did something happen? And also what¡¯s up with that outfit. Your basket, yesterday, aside, since I met you three days ago, hasn¡¯t your outfit been getting weirder and weirder?¡±

    ¡°This are clothes made specifically for cleaning. Since it¡¯s specifically made for its purpose, please don¡¯t mind its¡¯ appearance much... Today, I cleaned thetrine pits of themunity toilet.¡±

    ¡°Ah, I talked about that with you yesterday, so I know. And what¡¯s up?¡±

    ¡°The method I use to clean is through Water Magic and my ve Monster, the Scavenger Slime. The Scavenger Slime is a slime that likes to eat the dung and rotten flesh of animals and possesses the Cleaning Skill. Because of this I am able to get rid of the filth.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the first I¡¯ve heard of that kind of slime... well, in any case, I understand that you were able to clean it with that method¡±

    ¡°The main topic is from here. Filth is obviously dirty, and so it¡¯s expected to be a breeding ground for diseases. And so in order to eat that, the Scavenger Slime possesses Disease Resist Skill. And also, since yesterday my Scavenger Slilme had possessed a Resist Skill level of 5.. but when I finished the mission today, after confirming it, the skill level had risen to 7¡±

    ¡°What!?¡±

    ¡°Is that true!?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true. It can be assumed that inside thattrine pit is an infectious disease that can raise the Disease Resist Skill level from 5 to 7. Fortunately, because I was able to notice that, I had the Cleaner Slime, another slime simr to the Scavenger Slime that possesses the Cleaning Skill, eat all the dirt, and confirmed that we were all clean with the Identify Skill, and then went here.

    In the same way I also had the area surrounding the entrance be cleaned by the slimes and then confirmed it with Identify. After cleaning up, I locked the door and just to be safe I put up a barrier with barrier magic, sealing it¡±

    ¡°I see, good job. But for a gue to spread out from inside that...¡±

    ¡°Guild Master. Fortunately, my Slimes can deal with the infectious disease with its Cleaning Skill. And so, I will continue this job, but I want no one else to enter the pits until I finish cleaning. And just to be safe, could I ask for someone to keep watch to make sure that no one will go in?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a given. But you, you know that there¡¯s an infectious disease, and you still feel like cleaning?¡±

    Hearing that, even the Madam added on.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it enough if only the Slimes were the ones to clean? Ryouma-kun can give orders to the Slimes even from a distance, right?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s dangerous to deal with infectious diseases!¡±

    ¡°The public office will provide people who will take responsibility so...¡±

    Everyone tried to stop me but I can¡¯t have that, because there is something I can do. Knowing something and yet leaving it to others is painful for my heart.

    ¡°Unfortunately, it¡¯s not possible topletely clean it with just slimes. The filths clump up, and stick themselves to the walls and to the ceiling. Unless I wash them off with Water Magic, the slimes won¡¯t be able to eat them. It¡¯s not properly dealt with, it will spread again.

    Thank you for worrying about me but please let me do it. If arge number of people were to recklessly go inside, the possibility that an infected person will go out goes higher, and it will be easier for the disease to spread outside.

    With that point in mind, with me, alone, and the slimes we are able to deal with it. And also, if it¡¯s me it will be fine... Of course, it¡¯s fine to let anyone else do it, but, I am most probably the safest and fastest choice¡±

    As I said that, I bring out my status board and allow five of my skills to be seen.

    Disease Resist Lv7

    Sleep Resist Lv7

    Stronger Vitality Lv3

    Super Healing Lv3

    Stronger Endurance Lv6

    When everyone saw that, they were shocked. Especially, the Guild Master.

    ¡°Wha¨C!?¡±

    ¡°Disease Resist Level 7, with this it should be confirmed that the chance of me being in danger is far lower than anyone else

    Furthermore, even if I were to fall to the virus, with the Stronger Vitality Lv3, and the Super Healing Lv3, it will be harder for me to diepared to the normal person and will be able to recover easily. The Stronger Endurance will also help me out. And with the Sleep Resist Lv7 I will be able to stay awake for a few days.

    Because of that I will be able to work quite fast. I believe there is no one else who has a Disease Resist Level higher than me, and at the same time someone who, even if he or she gets sick, will be able to recover. So, what do you think?¡±

    It¡¯s because I¡¯m a cheat, if I don¡¯t use my cheat here, then when will I use my cheat?

    At my words, everyone in the room was silent. Looks like they can¡¯t object. But it looks they want to reject it not because of reason but because of their feelings, everyone¡¯s making a face that looks like they swallowed a bug.

    The silence continued for a while until Rheinbach-sama spoke up.

    ¡°True... there¡¯s no else aside from you that¡¯s more appropriate. We¡¯ll have to you push you into danger but, best regards¡±

    Rheinbach-sama stood up from his chair, and bowed deeply to me.

    ¡°Of course¡±

    ¡°Ryouma, leave the selection of the look out to me. I¡¯ll call out people whose mouths are tight and who possess Disease Resist. Let¡¯s do this in a way that won¡¯t cause a huge panic¡±

    ¡°Yes. Fortunately, because themunity toilets have been well built, the townspeople haven¡¯t been infected yet. It¡¯s good that we were able to notice it ahead of time¡±

    ¡°If the disease were to spread, it wouldn¡¯t be funny¡±

    ¡°Yes. I thought about it since the Cleaner Slimes who were there the entire time along with the Scavenger Slimes, did not increase their Disease Resist Skill level. And so, I believe it should not be an airborne infection. Once the filth has been dealt with, I believe it will be safe.¡±

    ¡°What is that airborne thing?¡±

    Oh, they don¡¯t have that word? Is it possible their knowledge regarding infectious diseases is lesser than the one on Earth?

    ¡°Infectious diseases spread to arge number of people, right? That spread is what you call contagious. And within that contagiousness, there are several ways to which it transports itself from one person to another. One way is through water and food, acting simr to a poison, and spreading this way. Another way is through the air, where upon a person sniffing that air will be infected, that¡¯s what you call air-born infection. In this case, the spread of virus because extremely dangerous as it spreads easily, and eliminating it bes very difficult.

    However in this case, a huge number of Cleaner Slimes that weren¡¯t tasked with removing the filth, did not increase the level of their Resist Disease skill. And as such, it is not an air-born infection and can only spread to a person on direct contact. In this case if someone were to touch the source of infection, and then eat with that hand, then and only then, will the disease spread. With this in mind, as long as the filth is dealt with, then for the meantime there will be no problem.

    Thanks to themunity toilet, the filth immediately fell into thetrine pits, and so no was able to touch it. After that as long as I take care when going out, it will be possible to deal with it. As I am not a specialist in this matter, the knowledge is half-baked but...¡±

    Well that¡¯s really the case... I¡¯m not a doctor you know? It¡¯s the basic knowledge of someone from Earth...

    Still, I¡¯m d that it¡¯s not air-borne! Even if it¡¯s only my conjecture! I¡¯m really d that the Scavenger Slimes are here! If the Slimes weren¡¯t here I wouldn¡¯t know how to deal with this, since even if you set it on fire, the smoke might spread the virus, and one needs to prepare a huge amount of disinfectants. To begin with, I haven¡¯t even seen a ce that sells disinfectants.

    ¡°What do you mean half-baked, after saying that much? I¡¯ve never heard of something like that¡±

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, I also... or rather I believe no one here has ever heard of that. Where did you gain that kind ofmon sense?¡±

    As expected this world didn¡¯t have this kind of knowledge!

    ¡°I studied under my grandma. Grandma researched medicine and was quite familiar with diseases. Although rather than to say I actually studied, it was more like I just listened to her chatter while I was mixing chemicals¡±

    At those words, at least for the meantime, everyone understood.

    After that, since the operation will start tomorrow, I went back to our lodging along with the other 4 members of the Jamil Household. As for Sebasu-san and Aro-ne-san they went to gather information. And from what I¡¯ve heard, it would appear that they¡¯ve also moved the guards.

    In addition, it can¡¯t be said that there¡¯s no chance of me getting the disease. So I suggested to change lodging to the others but without even taking time to think of it, they firmly rejected my proposal, until the Madam and Elia got mad at me while crying.

    They¡¯re really good people. I¡¯m grateful. I¡¯ll also do my best tomorrow.

 Volume 1 - 15

    The Man Picked Up by the Gods - Volume 1 Chapter 15

    The Next Day

    Since morning today, there are 8 people, men and women, gathered in the meeting room of the Adventurer¡¯s guild.

    ¡°Hey, Wereanna, so your party also came¡±

    ¡°Jeff, looks like you too... Why do you think we were called today¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t know. The others don¡¯t know either. It doesn¡¯t seem like we have anymon denominators, not in our tribe, age, or even in our ranks. Don¡¯t have any clue on what basis we¡¯ve been chosen so we¡¯ve been talking about it. How about you, do you have any ideas? It¡¯s only you guys who were called as a party, you know?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know either. The only thingmon in my party is that we¡¯re all female members of the beastman tribe. But I don¡¯t think that¡¯s got anything do with it, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Since I¡¯m a guy, and I¡¯m also a human. We also have two other humans here, a dwarf, and even a dragonewt. So tribe and gender shouldn¡¯t have been a part of their criterion.¡±

    As they were discussing, another female beastman entered the room.

    ¡°Good morning~. Nya? Wereanna, Mizeria, and also Syria, nya? You guys were also called?¡±

    ¡°Miya, you were also called?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right nya. After I came back from my mission yesterday, the receptionist told me toe here today nya. To think that you guys would also actuallye, who knew? Nya.¡±

    ¡°Me? Oh hey, hasn¡¯t your smell gotten better? Did you finally move out of that trashy house?¡±

    ¡°Even though, you wouldn¡¯t listen to me no matter how many times I told you to move out of that house.¡±

    ¡°Did you finally reach your limit?¡±

    ¡°Wrong, nya. I¡¯m still living in that house, even until today nya. Even if it¡¯s like that I still bought it nya. If I don¡¯t live in it, it will be a waste nya.¡±

    ¡°Then, howe your smell¡¯s gotten better?¡±

    ¡°Actually, yesterday, someone finally took the request to clean my house again. It was a kid, nya. And that kid managed to clean up my house, nya.¡±

    ¡°That stinky hell hole? He cleaned it up?¡±

    ¡°I was also surprised nya. He actually cleaned that basement without even taking 2 hours, and even blocked the hole in the wall, nya. He cleaned it up with magic, and even made the room sparkling clean, nya¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s amazing, what kind of guy was it?¡±

    ¡°Looked like a rookie kid, nya. Was probably under thirteen years old, and was carrying a big basket made out of wood and vines on his back, nya.¡±

    ¡°Ha? Under 13 years old with a big basket? Isn¡¯t that the guy called Ryouma?¡±

    ¡°Right, nya! He certainly called himself that, nya¡±

    ¡°You knew that guy?¡±

    ¡°The day before yesterday, when he came back from his work, the old man called him. He made a face that looked like he had no idea why he was being called, so I told him it¡¯s just the old man being nosy. That kid¡¯s really polite.¡±

    ¡°True, he¡¯s certainly a polite kid, nya¡±

    While they were talking another person entered the room. It was Ryouma. When Miya saw that, she eximed.

    ¡°Excuse me. Is¨C¡°

    ¡°Ah! The kid nya!¡±

    ¡°Miya-san? Miya-san and Jeff-san was also here, huh?¡±

    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s me from the other day. So you were also called huh? Good timing, we were just talking about you¡±

    ¡°About me?¡±

    ¡°Nice to meet you, you¡¯re Ryouma, right? I am Wereanna of the Dog Man Tribe. I¡¯ve been a longtime acquaintance, and was also a former party member. I was really shocked when I heard you were able to clean Miya¡¯s house, you know? It¡¯s amazing you were able to clean that house.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine that she bought the house but with the walls crumbling and being in that state... you saw it right? For a member of the beastman tribe that possesses good nose something like that was painful, and so we tried rmending her several times to move out but she wouldn¡¯t listen... ah, by the way I¡¯m Mizeria. Best regards.¡±

    ¡°And I¡¯m Syria of the Rabbit Beastman Tribe. I look forward to working with you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Ryouma Takebayashi. I also look forward to working you all.¡±

    ¡°These three are members of the former party I was in, nya. Because the smell of that house permeated my body, it was quite difficult for the members of the party especially for Wereanna, who was a member of the Dog Beastman Tribe, and since I didn¡¯t want to give up the house I had to leave. And then some, nya¡±

    ¡°Well Miya is sometimes stubborn...¡±

    ¡°She wouldn¡¯t listen no matter what anyone said¡±

    ¡°You really did well to live there for 5 years¡±

    ¡°To live there for 5 years, that¡¯s quite something, huh?¡±

    Ryouma made a speechless face. And then at that Jeff asked Ryouma.

    ¡°By the way, the basket you had with you the other day, you also brought it with you today, right? What¡¯s in it?¡±

    ¡°Inside this is my ve Monster. I am a ve Magic User after all¡±

    ¡°Oh? So you were a ve Magic User. What are you raising?¡±

    ¡°Several types of slimes. I¡¯m still an apprentice. Slimes are quite slow so it¡¯s faster to carry them on my back through my basket and run during times when we need to hurry. And it¡¯s also not good to scare people so...¡±

    ¡°I see~¡±

    As we were talking, the Guild Master entered the room.

    ¡°Good, looks like everyone has gathered. Take your seats¡±

    At those words everyone sat.

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll start exining the reason why I called you all out here today. But before that I need you all to make an oath that not a word of what we will be talking about here will leak outside. If there¡¯s someone who can¡¯t do that, then please leave the meeting room. I should also inform you now that you don¡¯t have to take the mission after hearing my exnation. Just don¡¯t leak the details of the conversation outside, aside from that even if you refuse the mission, I won¡¯t mind. There won¡¯t be any fine.¡±

    Hearing those words, everyone nodded without hesistation.

    ¡°Good. Well then to start off with, let¡¯s talk about what criterion I called you guys here. The first is that I can trust you guys to some degree, second, a tight mouth, andst, that you all possess the Disease Resist Skill. You guys have it, right?¡±

    ¡°Disease Resist Skill? Well, yeah I have it. Old man, you should know about it that I¡¯m a former resident of the slums. As long as one lives there, getting anyone could get a skill level of 1 or 2. Well mine¡¯s at 5, though.¡±

    The next to respond was Wereanna

    ¡°We also have it since we once caught an infectious disease from one of the towns we were working in¡±

    ¡°Fortunately, we were able to survive ande back. As a result we managed to gain the skill¡±

    ¡°If I¡¯m correct, everyone¡¯s level 3, right?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m level 4 now, nya. I don¡¯t really like saying it myself but, it¡¯s because I live at that trashy house, nya¡±

    After that a veteran looking Dwarf guessed the contents of the topic for the meeting today. When a young adventurer heard what he said, he panickedly eximed.

    ¡°If you¡¯re talking about Disease Resistance then, is it an epidemic?¡±

    ¡°An outbreak!?¡±

    ¡°Calm down Shale. Just as Gordon had assumed, it is certainly about that. Only, it hasn¡¯t spread yet.¡±

    ¡°Yet, meaning, one or two sick people had caught it?¡±

    ¡°No, we just confirmed that there¡¯s a breeding ground for it. It doesn¡¯t mean someone¡¯s already been infected. The one who found the breeding ground is that Ryouma over there.¡±

    At those words everyone looked at Ryouma simultaneously. And then the Guild Master, Wogan, exined about the Scavenger Slime, the information, and basis on why we know there to be an infectious disease.

    ¡°... So because the Scavenger Slime¡¯s Disease Resist Skill level increased from 5 to 7, although really even at only level 6 it is already not possible to actuallypletely resist it.

    The request this time is to stop this epidemic before it starts to spread. Moreover, if news of this were to leak out to the townspeople, it will cause great panic to the people, so please keep this a secret.¡±

    ¡°Our job is to deal with the epidemic, so in other words cleaning thetrine pits right?¡±

    ¡°No, you nine won¡¯t be doing that. The only one who will go to clean thetrine pits is just Ryouma¡±

    ¡°Wait a minute! You n to make the kid deal with that alone? Isn¡¯t that absurd? Kids also catch diseases more easily than adults. It¡¯s too dangerous.¡±

    ¡°To begin with, isn¡¯t it impossible to clean thetrine pits of the town with only one person?¡±

    ¡°I also that but this is for the best. Besides Ryouma had already managed to clean one of thetrine pits yesterday with his slimes, so it is possible.

    And also the highest level of Disease Resist skill you guys possess is 5, which is Jeff¡¯s. Even at level 6 of Disease Resistance, the risk of getting the disease is still high.

    With that in mind Ryouma who has a Disease Resistance of level 7, is the one at least risk of catching the disease. Moreover, he also has Stronger Vitality Lv3, Super Healing Lv3, and Stronger Endurance Lv6. Even if he were to catch the disease, his prospects for surviving is far higher than anyone else in this room.¡±

    At those words the nine people were shocked and looked at Ryouma. And then Syria asked Wogan a question.

    ¡°I understand that he¡¯s the most suitable person. But then if you were to leave everything to him, then what will we have left to do?¡±

    ¡°Although Ryouma will be taking care of the process of sanitization, It is vital that we work in shifts to ensure that nobodyes near the area as he works.

    To be absolutely sure, I called you guys who possessed Disease Resistance. And after that for those who can use the neutral magic, Identify, please confirm that Ryouma won¡¯t bring the virus with him when he goes out after finishing the job.¡±

    ¡°Is there any need to have 9 look outs?¡±

    ¡°Well ording to Ryouma it will take a few days of working continuously day and night. Ryouma also has Sleep Resistance level 7 so it won¡¯t be a problem for him, and naturally, I¡¯ve confirmed this in his status board¡±

    ¡°I understand, that¡¯s why we have to look out alternatively. Ryouma, is it really ok for you to do this?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no problem since its normal for me to work continuously for a few days. Rather I think it¡¯s a rather easy role¡±

    ¡°I see¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you guys 10 minutes. This mission is in a sense more dangerous than subjugating monsters. There¡¯s no obligation and there¡¯s also no penalty for not epting, so think well on whether to ept this mission or not¡±

    As Wogan said that, he left the room along with Ryouma, whose participation was already decided.

    ¡°Haa... what to do?¡±

    At those words, the dwarf adventurer called Gordon replied.

    ¡°I¡¯m joining them. After all, this is the town I was born and raised in and I also have a lot of people I know here, so I can¡¯t run away.¡±

    After him, the next to dere his participation was the dragonewt adventurer.

    ¡°This one will also ept. A gue is a threat, and this one has yet to stop one¡±

    Afterwards the ones dering their participation came one after another.

    ¡°While its true epidemics are bad but even so, it¡¯s not like we can just push it on that kid, right?¡±

    ¡°Exactly, and first of all, our job is only to be a lookout. The one doing the most difficult job is that guy. So there¡¯s no way I could run here¡±

    Or so, Wereanna and Jeff dered. After which, the conversation continued until Ryouma and Wogan finally returned. From the members present in the meeting room, the number of people participating is 9, all of them dered their participation.

    After that Wogan also taught to them the knowledge Ryouma shared to him regarding diseases, a knowledge that originally came from Earth but is currently believed to be from Ryouma¡¯s grandmother, and then distributed their share of work.

    During that time, Ryouma changed to his worker clothes and then went ahead to thetrine pits, since he really stood out in those clothes.

    Moreover with several adventurers following behind him, being suspicious can¡¯t be helped.

    Ryouma met up with the first look outs in front of thetrine pits, and then went inside to start the operation.

 Volume 1 - 16

    The Man Picked Up by the Gods - Volume 1 Chapter 16

    ~Side Ryouma~

    Today, we will be beginning the operation to clean thetrine pits. The lookouts for today are Miya-san, Jeff-san and the dragonewt, Asagi-san.

    Asagi-san talks like someone you¡¯d find in a samurai y. I asked him about it and it seems that his ancestor is the disciple of an other-worlder. Story says, that despite being human he possessed a body that wouldn¡¯t lose even to a dragonewt and was an aplished swordsman. That other-worlder¡¯s manner of speaking and name was inherited by the dragonewt who became his disciple and was passed on for generations toe.

    ¡°Before I open the door, please dip the hand towel into this before covering your face with it.¡±

    As I said that I gave the order to the Cleaner Slimes to spit out some deodorization liquid into the container I prepared.

    ¡°What is that?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the Cleaner Slime¡¯s deodorization liquid. It¡¯s not harmful to your body and will thin out the bad smell.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡±

    The other three, understanding, dipped the hand towel into the deodorization liquid and covered their nose and mouth with it.

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll be opening it.¡±

    And then, I opened the door...

    ¡°I¡¯m off¨C...¡±

    ¡°Ugu! ...... bleeeeargh ...¡±

    As I tried to say goodbye, Asagi-san suddenly threw up.

    ¡°Are you ok?¡±

    ¡°Sorry... when you opened the door I prepared myself for the stench, but nothing came. So I thought it wasn¡¯t anything special and slid the towel a bit... my bad. The Dragonewt¡¯s nose is on the same level as the Beastmen¡¯s, you see.¡±

    Ah, so it was something like that, yesterday I was also like that at first.

    ¡°Well it can¡¯t be helped. Even I, who is a human, found it so unbearable that it even went to my eyes. If I didn¡¯t have my slimes I wouldn¡¯t have been able to endure it either. I¡¯ll leave the deodorization liquid here so please use it freely. Well then, I¡¯ll be off now.¡±

    As I said that I went inside. Just like thetrine pit yesterday, the situation here is also pretty bad.

    Before I started cleaning I thought to use Identify first on the virus. At that, this came out:

    Idake Virus (Alt. Hugging Virus): Reproduces on excrement and is the virus responsible for the Idake disease. Once infected, the Idake disease will break out within 10 hours.

    Symptoms: Fever, cold, vertigo, numbness of limbs, paralysis of the entire body, confusion, and cardiac arrest.

    Prognostic symptoms: either the limbs or the whole body will remain paralyzed.

    Source of infection: Oral

    Weakness: Heat and dryness

    So there really was a dangerous virus!

    I ended up getting rid of it immediately yesterday so I didn¡¯t get to use Identify on it. Good thing though, that I did use Identify within yesterday. Like that I was able to provide useful information to the guild about this.

    Since I¡¯ve already identified it, I have no use for the filth anymore. Just like yesterday, I¡¯ll have the Scavenger Slimes take care of it.

    Speaking of which, because of the Scavenge Slimes¡¯ splitting yesterday, they ended up numbering over 1000. When I had them fuse into one, it became a King Scavenger Slime.

    Finally a King Slime hase out. If I increase the numbers of the slimes again there may still be another transformation but right now the number is still too few.

    King Scavenger Slime x1

    Skills

    Disease Resist Lv7

    Poison Resist Lv7

    Eat Filth Lv8

    Cleaning Lv8

    Deodorization Lv8

    Deodorization Liquid Lv5

    Release Stench Lv7

    Return Nutrients lv6

    Physical Attack Resistance Lv3

    Erge Lv4

    Compress Lv6

    Jump Lv3

    Overeating Lv1

    Looks like Digestion and Absorption disappeared and was reced with a new skill called Overeating. As I try to test it, I have the King Scavenger Slime activate the Erge skill, bing big enough to reach even until the roof of thetrine pit, and then it begins to munch at the excrements at a speed several times faster than normal.

    I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because it¡¯s still only at lv 1 but the speed is still slowerpared to yesterday¡¯s Scavenger Slime¡¯s eating speed at 730 individual slimes. Although if you look at it from the perspective that there¡¯s only one slime eating, it is quite fast.

    If I can make the Scavenger Slimes split again and have 2 King Slimes, then I could leave the two sides to the King and leave the center to the normal Scavenger Slimes. Since their bodies are so big that they can reach the ceiling, if I do that I won¡¯t even need to use magic and my life will be really easy.

    Well, going back to the topic.

    The work today finished 2 hours earlierpared to yesterday because the slimes¡¯ number doubled. All in all I finished the work here in 3 hours, and then just like yesterday I used Cleaning, and then went back outside.

    ¡°Something the matter?¡±

    ¡°The job here is already over so please confirm that I¡¯m clean and then we¡¯ll go straight to the next one.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s already over, nya?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you need to take a whole day for a pit?¡±

    Eh? Ah! Oh yeah, I remember they got the info about me needing one day to clean one pit. So I guess they thought I would take the whole day for one just like yesterday.

    ¡°Actually after I finished the job yesterday the Scavenger Slimes began to show signs of splitting, so I had them split and contracted them while inside thetrine pits. Because of that I took more time than I should have. In actuality I only really need 5 hours to clean one pit, but since the number of the slimes had already doubled, that time¡¯s be even shorter.¡±

    ¡°The number doubled? But even then it wouldn¡¯t be that many right? Does it eat that fast?¡±

    Now that I think about it, these guys don¡¯t know about theposition of the slimes, huh?

    ¡°Now that I think about it I haven¡¯t mentioned anything about the slimes, huh? This slime is normally this small because of thepression skill, but in actuality it¡¯s actually a high ss scavenger slime called the King Scavenger Slime. Do you know about the Big Slime?¡±

    ¡°Ahh, I know. It¡¯s a big slime, right?¡±

    ¡°A Big Slime is thebination of many slimes of the same kind. So when you see one of those, what you are actually seeing is a lump of many slimes.¡±

    As I said that I had the Scavenger Slime split into 20 parts.

    ¡°Nya!?¡±

    ¡°Wow, seriously?¡±

    ¡°This is...¡±

    ¡°Since the slimes didn¡¯t seem to have been researched all that much, the number of people who know about this include only me and those that I have taught. Since I¡¯ve always researched slimes I talked like something like this wasmon sense, my apologies.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine as long as you¡¯re able to do your work. However, how many Scavenger Slimes do you have gathered here?¡±

    ¡°1464¡±

    ¡°One thousand?¡±

    ¡°You have that many?¡±

    ¡°Yes, in order to be a King Scavenger Slime, the minimum number required is 1000 Scavenger Slimes. Incidentally, anything from 100 to 500 slimes will end up as a Big Slime, and between 500 and 1000 will end up as a Huge Slime.¡±

    ¡°I see... if that¡¯s the case then I can understand how you¡¯re able to do it so fast¡±

    After my exnation we went to the nexttrine pit, cleaned up, and then repeated the same for the rest of the pits.

    3 Days Later

    ~Side Ryouma~

    This one¡¯s thest. I haven¡¯t slept a wink in these three days.

    Right after I finish one pit, I would go out and find that the lookout¡¯s been changed. Seeing them, we¡¯d chat for a bit and then I¡¯d immediately start to work on the next one without getting any rest.

    There was one time that I was surprised though. After finishing my work, when I came out I saw Sebasu-san waiting for me. Since he knew that I had a tendency to forget to eat when I¡¯m focused on something, he brought a light meal for me to eat. I actually did forget about it, so I was really grateful.

    Of course the other 9 lookouts also supported me.

    The schedule went like this, from afternoon to evening, Jeff-san, Miya-san, and Asagi-san. Then from evening to morning, Wereanna-san, Mizeria-san, Syria-san. And then from morning to afternoon the ones in charge are, Gordon-san, Jell-kun, and Raypin-san. They were all good people.

    The Scavenger Slimes split again and its numbers ended up at 3033. I had them fuse at 1011 each, and with 3 King Scavenger Slimes side by sides, with thebination of Erge and Overeating, they were able to easily clean the walls and the ceiling. Their skill levels also increased. Their current status are:

    King Scavenger Slime x3

    Skills

    Disease Resist Lv7

    Poison Resist Lv7

    Eat Filth Lv8

    Cleaning Lv8

    Deodorization Lv8

    Deodorization Liquid Lv6

    Release Stench Lv8

    Return Nutrient Lv7

    Physical Attack Resistance Lv4

    Erge Lv5

    Compress Lv6

    Jump Lv3

    Overeating Lv4

    The Disease Resist didn¡¯t level up again so I guess that means lv. 7 is enough for the Idake virus here.

    Cleaning, Deodorization, Eat Filth¡¯s levels all increased because of the operation here. And then for some reason the Physical Attack Resistance also levelled up. Were the slimes rubbing their bodies against the walls the entire time? Or maybe they were bumping against other slimes? I don¡¯t know, but in any case the higher the level the better.

    Well it took some time but now the job is done, so I guess I¡¯ll head out.

    ¡°Is it over?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s done.¡±

    ¡°Good job! With this everything¡¯s done.¡±

    ¡°I thought you¡¯d end up taking a rest half way through but you actually really did do it in one go.¡±

    ¡°Well I did rest during mealtime.¡±

    ¡°Well that¡¯s true. Oh yeah, Raypin-san please check that Ryouma is clean.¡±

    ¡°Umu, leave it to this great one............... There doesn¡¯t seem to be any problems. Clothes, belongings, surroundings, everything is clean. All that¡¯s left is to report to the guild.¡±

    ¡°Thank you very much. Then, shall we go?¡±

    ¡°Wait a moment, this great one shall take you there. ¡®Warp¡¯.¡±

    Raypin-san used the mid-distance movement magic, Warp, and sent me to the entrance of the guild. Raypin-san is a schr magician and became an adventurer for the sake of researching and observing magical beasts. He showed great interest to my Cleaner Slime and Scavenger Slime, and valued the results of my slime research highly. Although he may use words that seem arrogant, he is a really caring person.

    When we entered the guild, the receptionistdy immediately went to the Guild Master¡¯s room.

    ¡°Is it done, Ryouma?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve cleaned all the 30trine pits of themunity toilet. It¡¯s safe now.¡±

    ¡°I see! That¡¯s good... great! Today, everyone should go home and rest! I¡¯ll go inform the others that the job is done. And thene here to the guild tomorrow, I¡¯ll hand out your payments.¡±

    ¡°Understood, please excuse... oh right, Guild Master?¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Do you know the Idake Disease?¡±

    ¡°Idake Disease? ........... no. Well, I was never really that informed about things like that. In any case, what about it?¡±

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing, it¡¯s just that when I used Identify on the filth in thetrine pit, that¡¯s the name of the disease that came out. I know its danger and symptoms, but I don¡¯t know exactly how dangerous it is.¡±

    ¡°I see... well in the meantime, it¡¯s safe right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, we have already sessfully dealt with it.¡±

    ¡°Then it¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll go check about that disease called Idake too but, regardless, you should hurry up and go home, you haven¡¯t slept a wink right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true. In that case, please excuse me¡±

    As I said that, I went back to the lodging. As for the other three, it seems they did their own things to pass the time.

    ¡°Wee home! Ryouma-san!¡± - Elia

    ¡°Wee home, Ryouma-kun.¡± - Madam

    ¡°Wee home¡± ¨C Rheinhart

    ¡°Looks like you came back safe. That¡¯s good.¡± ¨CRheinbach

    ¡°Wee home, Ryouma-sama¡± ¨C Sebasu-san

    ¡°Please allow me to carry your things?¡± ¨C maid

    ¡°Have you had your meal?¡± ¨C maid

    (either Aro-ne or Lilian)

    I was weed by Elia and the rest. ......ah...... since when was it that I was greeted............was it when my mother died? No, I was greeted by Elia so many times, yet why is it that this feeling is............

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, what¡¯s wrong? Are you hurt somewhere?¡±

    ¡°No......my body is fine, I just remembered something from the past......!¡±

    Family......that¡¯s right...... it¡¯s simr, the feelings this people give.....................back then, without being able to do well in my work, day after day I would be exhausted, I would look for work, and without finding, I¡¯d be depressed............during times like that, there was always one person that would wee me home......it was my mother......

    ¡°Ryouma-san!? What¡¯s wrong!?¡±

    When Elia said that, I noticed something. I¡¯m crying. Without knowing it, tears have already started toe out from my eyes.

    ¡°Ahh......sorry, I¡¯m alright. I just remembered my family for a bit. Being surrounded by everyone like this......even though you don¡¯t resemble each other at all......¡±

    My mother is half Chinese and Japanese. Although she wasn¡¯t bad looking, there were times when she didn¡¯t really look all that great. She was ok. But, to actually be reminded of her by these beautiful people, their faces are so different, and yet...

    As I was thinking of stupid things like that, all of the sudden the Madam hugged me. Elia embraced my arms, and Rheinhart-san put his hand on my shoulder. I felt Rheinbach-sama pat me on the head, and I noticed Sebasu-san and the two maids were looking at me warmly.

    After that they took care of me, fed me, prepared the bath for me, and afterwards tuck me to sleep. Yes, just like this, I fell sound asleep and retired for the day.

 Volume 1 - 17

    The Man Picked Up by the Gods - Volume 1 Chapter 17

    ~Side Ryouma~

    When I opened my eyes the sun was already high.

    Ah~...... I slept well. It¡¯s been a while since Ist worked that hard..... Hmm... the sun¡¯s already high......

    .....................The sun is high? ............ Not good!

    ¡°Good morning, Ryouma-sama.¡±

    ¡°Sebasu-san, what¡¯s the time right now?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s already almost lunch. As expected Ryouma-sama must have been really tired. It¡¯s good that Ryouma-sama seemed to have had a good night¡¯s rest, will you be having your meal now?¡±

    ¡°Thank you but I have to go to the guild now so I¡¯ll have it when Ie back.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    I quickly get myself readied and head towards the guild. This is bad, there¡¯s no more time. I guess I¡¯ll have to do it.

    I put up a Barrier of Concealment around me and, wrapping my magic around me to strengthen my body, I activate the neutral magic, Body Strengthening.

    Using my strengthened body, I run up to the roof of the nearest building, and ran on top of the roof. I then activate the short distance movement space magic, teleport, and then run straight for the guild. Like this, I somehow managed to make it by noon.

    ¡°Excuse me¡±

    Everyone was already gathered when I got to the room.

    ¡°You came, Ryouma. With this, everyone¡¯s gathered.¡±

    ¡°Sorry for making you wait¡±

    ¡°You managed to make it just in time, so don¡¯t mind it. Then, let¡¯s get started. Your payment for this job!

    I got 3 medium silver coins from the previoustrine pit job I took. The one I got today was 30 small gold coins. As for the others, they all got 10 small gold coins each.

    ¡°Hey, hey, old man, aren¡¯t you being unusually generous?¡±

    ¡°Seriously. You gave it, so we¡¯ll ept it but you do know that all we did was look out, right?¡±Asked Jeff-san and Wereanna-san because of the unusually high amount. Even the veteran dwarf adventurer, Gordon, asked

    ¡°Isn¡¯t the pay too high? Even if you say that we were near a ce from where an infectious disease might spread, it¡¯s not like we actually did anything directly. Just half of this would be fine, no?¡¯

    The guild master just shook his head though, and said

    ¡°Nah, that amount is undoubtedly correct. The reason for that is...... Ryouma¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°You said it, right? That the name of the infectious disease in thetrine pit was the Idake Disease, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I had confirmed it with, Identify, therefore it is definitely correct.

    ¡°Apparently that disease is quite problematic. You see, I asked some trashy old hag I know about the details regarding that, and as it turns out it has a pretty low death rate. Only, it spreads fast, and it leaves its survivors unable to move their limbs. But since, being unable to move also means being unable to work, in the end it¡¯s pretty much the same as dying.

    And so, the reward for this time¡¯s job is because of that. Although it doesn¡¯t have a high death rate, the old ones and kids have a high chance of dying and as for those that do survive, including adults, they¡¯ll all end up unable to work. So I¡¯m paying you that much after taking that into consideration.¡±

    When the guild master finished exining, everyone broke out into a cold sweat.

    Looks like it was really dangerous...... Although it¡¯s also because of the after effects, but not being able to work is just too much of a hit since you won¡¯t be able to make a living. In a world without insurance or a country that will offer relief for its citizens, it¡¯s a lethal strike. In the end, if one were to catch that disease, it could lead to only one conclusion, starvation.

    ¡°It¡¯s good that we were able to stop it ahead of time, nya......¡±

    ¡°In a sense you could say that it¡¯s scarier than a disease with a high death rate¡±

    ¡°If you catch it and die, you pass on. But if you manage to survive, then in its own way, you get to enter hell.¡±

    As the direction of the conversation moved, the Guild Master mentioned this

    ¡°This time the public office seemed to have taken quite a scolding. As for what¡¯s going to happen to the janitorial position of thetrine pits... right now, it¡¯s quite a mess¡±

    Wereanna-san gave him a questioning look and asked

    ¡°You mean, they¡¯re not giving it back to the people of the slum?¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately, that¡¯s impossible. Even if you tell them that the top executive responsible for giving out low wages has been fired and that you¡¯ll be paying the former amount, it doesn¡¯t really seem like they¡¯re willing to believe it. And also, apparently, they were given a new job, and also from their point of view...

    Other towns aside, since this town here is near a mine. There are a lot of jobs here that people don¡¯t like to do, physicalbor, dirtybor... those kinds of stuff. But because there those kind of jobs are numerous, the people of the slum are able to find new work. So it¡¯s not like there¡¯s any particr reason to make a fuss over the job of cleaning thetrine pits...

    And first of all, the one at fault was the public office. They also can¡¯t tell them to stop their job ande work for them again so from the looks of things they just gave up on trying to employ the slum¡±

    ¡°Then, what¡¯s going to happen? This time we got lucky that Ryouma noticed it but it will be bad if this happens again.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, putting it bluntly, it¡¯s because we¡¯d be paid that the guild was able to push it on to us. But from now here on out, the guild we¡¯ll probably have to force the people that have a lot of failed missions or those that broken the rules to take on the job.¡±

    ¡°That kind of thing, just leave it to them, they¡¯ll figure something out.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t say it so casually...¡±

    ¡°Please do calm down, I¡¯ll also take requests while I¡¯m in the town, so please think of something during that time.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    ¡°Nya? Does Ryouma live in a different town somewhere?¡±

    ¡°Acutally, I don¡¯t live in a town but in a forest.¡±

    ¡°Forest?¡±

    ¡°Do you know the forest of Gana? From here it will take around 1 week to get there...¡±

    ¡°If I¡¯m correct it¡¯s the one close to the town of Gaunago, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I live deep inside that forest.¡±

    ¡°In the forest? Why in a ce like that?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯m an orphan. Unfortunately, though, my grandparents that picked me up passed away, and the vige we lived in was particrly cruel to outsiders, so in the end I had no choice but to leave the vige. Fortunately, my grandparents were adventurers and had given me the knowledge and skill I would need to survive. Thanks to that, I was able to live by myself in the forest. I did live in the forest for 3 years, so I wonder if it¡¯s because of that, that I¡¯m starting to find it morefortable to live in the forest rather than in a ce with people.¡±

    ¡°3 years!?¡¯

    ¡°Wait a moment. Ryouma-kun, how old are you?¡±

    ¡°11 years old.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯ve been living by yourself in the forest since you were 8 years old?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re crazy...¡±

    ¡°Then, howe you¡¯re in a vige like this?¡±

    ¡°Well I had been wondering if it was really ok to continue that lifestyle since my grandparents did tell me to go to a different vige. At some point though, I ended up meeting some people who were going here, and so I decided to go with them to see what a town inhabited by people is like¡±

    ¡°Are you going back?¡±

    ¡°Well, I am worried and I also have some attachment to that house I made that I lived in for 3 years. Alternatively, I might also be able to find a ce to live in deep in the forest around here.¡±

    ¡°Um, how about no? Go live in the town. Why do you have to go all the way to the forest to live?¡±

    ¡°Well the house is made by magic, and food is dealt with, by simply hunting, like this it¡¯s quite the carefree lifestyle, you know? Oh, money also isn¡¯t needed.¡±

    ¡°Ryouma, this one thinks that you being a hermit at that age is too early.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true...... I can vaguely feel it.¡±

    ¡°Well just think hard enough about it to have no regrets. I¡¯d be grateful if you stayed here, but it¡¯s better if you choose to live here without being burdened. Just go live the way you want.

    For the mean time the properties of the people who were embezzling money were confiscated, and the people who worked with them had their sries cut. All those funds retrieved will be used as finances for the town so for the mean time there will be money. So at the very least the town will have money to hire people to handle things.

    ......Anyway with this I¡¯ve given you guys what I needed to give you. And also, there¡¯s onest thing I need to let you guys know. A few days from now, a request will be posted regarding the subjugation of the monsters taking nest inside the mine. Practically speaking, that mine has been abandoned years ago but it¡¯s only this year that it will be officially dered as abandoned. There are several kinds of magical beasts taking nest inside that mine. Their mostly just a bunch of small beasts but the scope is wide so they want to hire adventurers for the job. Take those jobs and kick their asses. Dismissed!¡±

    Like that we were dismissed and we each went our own ways. I went back to the lodging where Elia and the rest were waiting for me. From the looks of things, they wanted us to eat lunch together and so they had waited for me. I give my thanks, take my seat, and have lunch with them. At which point Elia said this

    ¡°Ryouma-san, let¡¯s have special training!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter all of the sudden?¡±

    ... I feel like we¡¯d also had a simr conversation in the past...

    ¡°I¡¯ll be having special training from today onwards so I wanted to know if Ryouma-san might want to join too.¡±

    ¡°The truth is, this trip is not only just a trip, but also for the sake of serving as Elia¡¯s battle practice.¡±

    ¡°My household does not discriminate between men and women and makes its members go on a journey for the sake of practicing magic and ve magic. Depending on how good one is, they can also be an adventurer.¡±

    ¡°Going on a trip, widening one¡¯s knowledge and getting a better outlook on life is good for the family. But in order to do something like that, it¡¯s necessary to have the strength to do so. We could just assign some escorts for our heirs as well, but then it will be ufortable for them, and also since they won¡¯t be putting any effort, the results will be half-baked. So with that in mind, Elia will be fighting personally in order to gain the power to protect herself in the future.¡±

    ¡°From this year on, I will be going to school to learn magic and academics. So before that, I wanted to gather some experience.¡±

    ¡°I see, so that¡¯s why you came here.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Since this morning until just a while ago I¡¯ve been practicing and this afternoon as well I¡¯ll be practicing again. So how about it? Won¡¯t Ryouma-san join the training as well?¡±

    This is a good opportunity

    ¡°If I won¡¯t be in the way, then please allow me to participate.¡±

    Like that I ended up joining the afternoon training.

    We went out the city on carriage and after 20 minutes arrived to a rocky ce, where Jill-san and the rest were waiting for us. It seems that our training for today is about magic.

    ¡°Ryouma, so you came too. The three days must have been tough, huh?¡±

    ¡°Jill-san as well, I heard you¡¯ve been busy too.¡±

    ¡°Well in its own way.¡±

    ¡°Come on, no more talking, and let¡¯s go practice!¡±

    Said, the excited Ojousama.

    ¡°By the way, which attribute will we be training today?¡±

    ¡°Fire and ice is my specialty. Since I have plenty of magic power, if I practice a lot, I¡¯ll able to use a lot of powerful magic¡±

    Lots of powerful magic, huh? Just what you¡¯d expect from someone that specializes in fire.

    ¡°Ryouma-sama, just as I¡¯ve mentioned before, it would be good for Ryouma-sama to learn several attack magic of differing attributes. The Ojousama has been training controlling her magic power since this morning.¡±

    After that, our teachers became Sebasu-san for Elia, and Camil-san for me.

    ¡°Well then, shall we start?¡±

    ¡°Yes, please take care of me.¡±

    ¡°Here too. It¡¯s just something I heard but, Ryouma has all attribute aptitude, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s correct. However, I¡¯ve only trained the basic attack magic and the magic I can use in my day-to-day life.¡±

    ¡°Ok. Then can you show me the attack magic that you can use?¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Saying that, I used the basic magic of fire, water, wind, earth, electricity, ice, and poison on the nearby rock. Specifically, the name of the magic are, Fire Ball, Water Ball, Wind Cutter, Earth Needle, Stun, Ice Shot, and Poison.

    ¡°Nice, even if it¡¯s just basic magic, that was still pretty good. If you can do this much then you can probably easily learn the next magic. First off, I¡¯ll show you the new magic one by one. After seeing it, I want you to try it yourself.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do my best.¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go. First off, is the fire magic, ¡®Fire Arrow¡¯ ¡°

    The moment Camil-san chanted the magic, fire lit up from his hand, quickly forming into an arrow and flying straight into the rock.

    ¡°This is the lesser offensive fire magic, Fire Arrow. It¡¯s faster than Fire Ball and has the power to prate through its target. This is the mostmon, and easiest to use fire magic. Try it yourself.¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡±

    Remembering Camil-san¡¯s fire arrow, I try to recreate it. Just like Fire Ball, I create a ball of fire in my hands, but this time, Ipress it and gather it together, and in my mind I imagine an arrow being shot. Then I chant it.

    ¡°Fire Arrow¡±

    As I said those words, a Fire Arrow just like Camil-san¡¯s appears, and flies straight into the rock.

    ¡°Good, you seeded. To get it on the first try, yourprehension is good.¡±

    Oh? Will I be suspected at a time like this, like they would in a generic light novel? Should I try to trick him a bit?

    ¡°It¡¯s because I use the bow. So it was quite easy to create the image.¡±

    ¡°I see. Right, there was also that.¡±

    ¡°Also?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, from time to time there are people who aren¡¯t magicians but use magic in their day to day lives. And even, without learning offensive magic, they manage to raise the level of their magic.

    That kind of person, is the type that can quickly learn the magic as long as he creates the image. Depending on the person he or she will usually be able to get it at the second or third try¡±

    Oh, it doesn¡¯t look like the learning speed is that different from the ones in the light novels... that¡¯s good.

    After that I also learned the offensive magic, Water Shot, Wind Hammer, Rock bullet, Stun Arrow, and Ice Arrow.

    As well as the defensive magic, Fire Wall, Water Wall, Wind Shield, and Ice Shield.

    Also it would seem that Camil-san can only use all the low ss attributes plus the electric and ice attribute. Because of that he wasn¡¯t able to teach me poison, tree and the high ss attribute skills.

    ¡°Well I¡¯ve taught you everything so...... shall we go to the middle ss and increase the training speed...... yeah............¡±

    Looks like my learning speed is fast but not abnormal, because of that though, it would appear he¡¯s run out of teaching material. Seeing Camil-san troubled, Sebasu-san came.

    ¡°Is there a problem?¡±

    ¡°Sebasu-san.¡±

    ¡°Ryouma-kun¡¯sprehension is really good. I ended up already teaching him everything I can teach.¡±

    ¡°I see, it was something like that. Then, in that case, I will teach him space magic from here on.¡±

    Brilliant! A space magician who is distinguished even in the country is going to teach me! Lucky!

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll be going. Do your best, Ryouma-kun.¡±

    ¡°Thank you very much, Camil-san. Please take care of me, Sebasu-san.¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s start. First off, does Ryouma-sama have any other space magic other than Item Box?¡±

    ¡°I can use Teleport¡±

    ¡°If it would be fine with Ryouma-sama, could Ryouma-sama please show me?¡±

    ¡°Yes, of course. Then, ¡®Teleport¡¯! ¡°

    ~ Side Sebasu~

    Ryouma-sama invocated teleport and appeared beside the nearby rock. From there, he used Teleport 4 more times consecutively, and then came back right in front of me. Excellent. It looks like he understands the magic well.

    ¡°That was excellently done, Ryouma-sama. Not only is the speed of invocation fast, but Ryouma-sama was even able to use it consecutively. With this, there should be no problem to use even the middle ss magic, Dimension Home, as well as the mid-distance movement magic, Warp.¡±

    ¡°Really!?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s true. Is Ryouma-sama aware of the reason as to why the high ss attribute, space magic, is hard to use?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡±

    ¡°Then in that case, how does space magic work?¡±

    ¡°Well first, one interferes with the dimension using magic power and then distorts it. I believe this to be the basic of the magic.¡±

    ¡°Precisely. However, it is that basic, the foundation, which is the act of interfering with the dimension using magic power that many people find themselves stumbling. The thing called dimension or space is always there. However, the number of people that can truly be aware of it is rare.

    Amongst the books that talk about space magic there are many that exaggerate and say things like, ¡°space magic epasses everything in the world¡± leading to many people failing to grasp a strong image of it. Because of this, the interference ends up as iplete.

    The truly important part regarding space magic is how one would be able to grasp the space that one is in right now. However, this is not something that you can exin in words. An understanding thates from words, will only be iplete. The only way for one to grasp this understanding, is to practice, and understand the feeling. And unless one is able to properly do that, one will not be able to use mid-level space magic up.

    Ryouma-sama might find himself quite shocked if I were to say this, but, in truth, low level space magic is the same as mid-level magic.¡±

    ¡°!?¡±

    Fufu... as expected he¡¯s quite shocked.

    ¡°In the past space magic didn¡¯t have the low level magic that we have today. One theory says that there used to be no distinction between low level and mid-level. The reason for that is that whether one is able to properly grasp space magic or not, is the only time one can be considered to have taken their first step in space magic. If one is unable to properly grasp that, then the space will only either end in failure or be iplete. But as time went the number of people that could use space magic decreased and the quality of the space magicians as a whole fell. Because of this, what was once considered to be low level magic has be the mid-level magic, today, and what was considered as a failure is now a low level magic.¡±

    ¡°So I can use the same image I use for Item Box and Teleport for Dimension Home and Warp?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s correct, however in the case of Dimension Home there are still things that need to be supplemented but in the case of Warp, that¡¯s exactly correct. Just one thing though, since the distance Warp can travel is far greater than Teleport, as long as one is able to properly grasp the destination, then one will be able to go no matter how far. For starters, how about that rock¡¯s summit?¡±

    I point my finger at the farthest rock that I can see. The rock is quite big as well but more than that, it¡¯s perfect because its summit is t, so it can serve as a foothold.

    ¡°I understand, please let me try it¡±

    Ryouma-sama looks like he¡¯s up to challenge. This kind of attitude is the kind that¡¯s worth teaching.

    I wonder how many people have I taught magic like this?............Having been born in the Household of Jamil as someone who possessed talent for Space Magic. While serving the household I did nothing but study and train both as a butler and as a magician.

    My magic was quite useful during the days I travelled with the previous head. And when our journey ended, I supported the previous head every day...... I think it was around this time when people started calling me a distinguished space magician within the country.

    Before I knew it, the magic that I had been studying, training, and using since I was a child, had be a topic all over the country. The cause was apparently when I used Dimension Home to store a great number of things in order to help the previous head.

    After that, a lot of people came asking to be my disciple. They would bring letters with them petition for them to be taken as my disciple, but I rejected all of them. Unfortunately, amongst them, were those that would directly go to the previous head and use their connection as a shield and ask for the vassal or children to be taught.

    Of course, ignoring those kind of people would be problematic so I taught them... however, there were truly far too many of them. When the number of people I taught numbered over 100, I had stopped counting, but even then, the number of people that could use mid-level magic above, could not reach even 10. The many sons of the different noble households in particr, would not listen to me when I told them that Space Magic is not something that can be taught through words, showed their displeasure and was not able to properly train.

    A person like Ryouma-sama who meekly follows instructions, and earnestly pursues magic training is the kind of person that is most enjoyable to teach. If he has talent, then it¡¯ll be even more interesting. Until now, I wonder if there has ever been a single person that I wanted to teach magic to, by my own decision. There may have been, I don¡¯t know, at the very least I don¡¯t remember.

    While I was thinking these things, Ryouma-sama closed his eyes, and focused solely on concentrating his spirit. What a brilliant child, to actually be able to concentrate to this extent... however, it does beg the question, what kind of training did he undergo to be like this?

    Now that I think about it, when I met Ryouma-sama for the first time, he was quite the twisted boy. When I first heard about him, I found out that he was a strange boy who was living in the forest without his parents. When I had finally met him in person, I noticed his appearance to be quite neat, considering the time he had spent isted in the forest. When he first spoke, it was a manner of speech so polite that he would pass even as a noble. And when he had invited us inside, what he brought out for us was the highest ss of ck tea coupled with the luxurious honey.

    His house was like that of a noble¡¯s. It was sturdy,fortable, and even had its own bath. Appearance aside, if onlyfort were to be taken into consideration, then it could definitely be lined up alongside the houses of those nobles.

    But more than anything, what was unusual was the knowledge and techniques he possessed. He researched slimes, which no one had been researching, and with the Cleaner Slime and the Scavenger Slime he was able to make his life morefortable. He even managed to create water proof cloths and thread of a quality that was never before seen.

    On the way to Gimuru, he mentioned that he was able to extract the poison from the rock salt that could be taken from the mountain. When Rheinhart-sama showed his interest in it as a product, he said, ¡°The amount is insufficient, if we were to bring that into the market, we¡¯d lose out to the others that can produce more.¡± That moment, he showed a knowledge that only someone who was raised as a noble or as the son of merchant would have.

    And even now, I can still see it, the empty eyes he showed when we got to the town, and the ability he showed when he protected the Ojousama from the ruffians. And when we got to this town, he was able to put a stop to an epidemic that no one knew of, a young boy like that managed to achieve such a splendid achievement.

    What is normally impossible for other children, this child does. This child normally shows an adult-like exterior but, recently he seemed to have started to open up his heart to us a bit, and from time to time will shows us an expression befitting his age. Ryouma-sama is....

    ¡°Sebasu-san¡±

    Oh, I forgot myself there for a moment.

    ¡°Yes, what is it?¡±

    ¡°I think I can do it, let me show you.¡±

    ¡°Please, go ahead.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m going. ¡®Warp¡¯ ¡°

    In the next moment, Ryouma-sama disappeared and then reappeared at the top of the rock I pointed at, a while ago. Seeing that, I too warped to the rock.

    ¡°Congrattions. Ryouma-sama has sessfully learned the mid-level space magic, Warp¡±

    ¡°Yey! Thank you! Sebasu-san!¡±

    Fufu... at times like this, he acts like his age, huh?

    ¡°Well then, next, I¡¯ll begin the exnations for Dimension Home. At its core, it is generally the same. Ryouma-sama is to open a hole, and inside that hole spread it wide, and with Ryouma-sama¡¯s image create a big room inside.

    It¡¯s the same up this part as with the Item Box. But, leaving the long exnation aside, in this instance, please create a scenery inside the space that is simr to the one here. The Dimension Home is different from the Item Box in that it has its own atmosphere.

    And it¡¯s because of that, that living inside or keeping animals inside is possible. If the magic fails to replicate this, then it is the low level magic, Item Box¡±

    ¡°Alright, I got it¡±

    As Ryouma-sama said that, he started concentrating again. Because it¡¯s a difficult magic, far moreplex than Warp, Ryouma-sama is desperately trying to grasp the feeling of the magic.

    Ryouma-sama tried to use Dimension Home but, even after several tries, all that came out was an empty hole. During that time I would let Ryouma-sama know that it¡¯s a failure and once again, Ryouma-sam will concentrate, try again, and fail.

    Repeating that, Ryouma-sama began to soak in sweat, but despite this, Ryouma-sama¡¯s concentration wasn¡¯t broken. And then, from time to time, while taking a break, Ryouma-sama would practice. Like this, we passed an hour, a second, a third, and finally a fourth. When the fourth hour struck, Ryouma-sama chanted as if he was whispering

    ¡°... ¡®Dimension Home¡¯ ...¡±

    At that moment, Ryouma-sama managed to create a white hole that is connected to an empty space with Dimension Home.

    ¡°Congrattions. Ryouma-sama has also seeded with Dimension Home¡±

    ¡°Yes! Thank you so much! Like this I¡¯ll be able to put the slimes inside and carry them with me!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m happy to have been of help to Ryouma-sama. Also, if the space of this space that Ryouma-sama had created just now were to be too narrow, it is possible to increase the size of a new space at the cost of a significant amount of magic power. In such a case, please remember, that a ck empty hole means a failure, and a white hole means sess.¡±

    ¡°Understood¡±

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s return to where the Ojousama and the others are, since it¡¯s already gotten quite dark¡±

    ¡°Eh......? Ah!? Time flew by quite fast, huh?¡±

    Looks like he didn¡¯t notice it.

    ¡°It¡¯s because Ryouma-sama was focused. Well then, let¡¯s go. ¡®Warp¡¯ ¡°

 Volume 1 - 18

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Volume 1 Chapter 18

    TL Note: The guy was awkward in the raws and so I tried to make the guy awkward in English... I tried... and the result was... well, a little... fabulous... so to speak.

    I¡¯ve also added a donation thingy on the side bar to the right. I can¡¯t promise extra chapters, so just donate if you feel like it. The trantion speed will follow the schedule that I set and if there are any changes to that schedule, I¡¯ll mention it.

    Volume 1 Chapter 18

    ~Side Ryouma~

    Because I focused too much, I lost track of the time. Sebasu-san was the one who told me that it was gettingte, right after he said that, he brought me to where Elia and the others were with Warp.

    ¡°Wee back, Ryouma-san.¡±

    ¡°Wee home. It¡¯s quitete already, how far did you guys go?¡±

    ¡°Did you manage to learn a new magic?¡±

    As soon as they noticed us they came up to us. The first to greet, was Elia, followed by the madam and Rheinbach-sama.

    ¡°Yes I somehow managed to, thanks to Sebasu-san and Camil-san.¡±

    ¡°Good to hear, can you show us?¡±

    At Rheinbach-sama¡¯s request I fired off the magic I learned from Camil-san from start to finish. Although normally in order to open the entrance, 10 seconds would be needed... but this is an important training.

    ¡° ¡®Dimension Home¡¯ ¡°

    Looks like it worked. When I tried to open it, aside from Sebasu-san, everyone was frozen. .............. Oh yeah, for kids my age, just opening the Item Box is considered good. I forgot about that when I had learned the Dimension Home...

    The four members of the household immediately crowded Sebasu-san, but almost right after they came over to me and praised me. After that we were going to go home already, but since it was a nice opportunity I figured I¡¯d practice my Warp too since it seems to be that the best way to practice Space Magic is by doing it over and over. But just in case, I asked Sebasu-san toe with me.

    On the way, Sebasu-san suddenly came to talk to me as if he had just remembered something.

    ¡°Ryouma-sama, we n to go to the abandoned mine tomorrow in order to give the Ojousama some battle experience. If it¡¯s alright, won¡¯t Ryouma-sama alsoe with us?¡±

    ¡°Ok, will it be ok for me toe?¡±

    ¡°Of course, the Ojousama will also be happy. Does Ryouma-sama have any other weapon aside from the bow? The interior of the abandoned mine is quite narrow so I can¡¯t rmend using the bow. And also, wearing an armor will be necessary. ¡°

    ¡°Will a short sword do? And also, I can fight hand-to-hand but I don¡¯t have any armor.¡±

    ¡°Yes, a short sword will do just fine. Even if I say we¡¯re going to go there to fight monsters, they are actually quite weak and also we will have some guards with us. After all, we¡¯re going there to umte experience for the Ojousama so it¡¯s just as important to make sure the goal is achievable.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll go with the short sword. And as for the armor...¡±

    If I remember correctly, I got a letter of introduction from the Guild Master.

    ¡°I think I¡¯ll try to go buy some when we get back to the town. I did get a letter of introduction from the Guild Master to a good shop, so this is a good opportunity.¡±

    ¡°I see, that¡¯s good to hear.¡±

    After that we separated when we got to the gate of the town. Sebasu-san went back to the lodging, and as for me I went straight to the weapon shop. When I found the weapon shop, I immediately entered and what greeted me inside was the weird smile of a rought-looking man.

    ¡°Wee to my beautiful shop, is there anything that the esteemed customer may require?¡±

    ¡°Y¨Cyes... I¡¯m looking for a weapon I can use inside a narrow area, specifically for the abandoned mine. And also some armor, please.¡±

    ¡°Then if that¡¯s the case may the esteemed customer, please take a look at the short swords on this beautiful shelf over here.¡±

    ¡°... um, please don¡¯t take offense to this, but isn¡¯t it rather... forced.¡±

    ¡°.............You noticed?¡±

    ¡°......Yes it¡¯s quite... easy to notice¡±

    How can it be not easy to notice when your smile would break after a few seconds and would make a funny face.

    When I let him know that it wasn¡¯t working, the man¡¯s face changed almost immediately to an unsociable one.

    ¡°Ah... I give up, I give up! Sorry ¡®bout that, but I was told by someone I knew that I¡¯m too unsociable so I tried being a bit more sociable but, it really doesn¡¯t suit me at all.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Ah, this is the Digger Arms Shop, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. And what of it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve received a letter of introduction from the Guild Master of the adventurer guild. I was told to go here and show this.¡±

    As I said that, I gave the letter of introduction.

    ¡°Wogan, huh? That¡¯s unusual. You¡¯re a newbie, right? Do you have money?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m unaware of the market price for weapons but I can pay up to 30 small gold coins.¡±

    ¡°If you can pay that much, then it¡¯s enough. What have you been using up till now?¡±

    ¡°I normally use a bow but inside the abandoned mine it¡¯s a bit...¡±

    ¡°I see... then in that case, just as you¡¯ve said before a short sword and you want something that¡¯s one handed, right?¡±

    ¡°Then in that case.... 2 short swords, and aside from that, do you have some throwing knives?¡±

    I do have the Throwing Skill, it¡¯d be a waste if all I used it for is to throw rocks so I might as well buy some now.

    ¡°1 small gold coin per 10 knives. It¡¯s a bit expensive but they¡¯re well-made and you can use them again for quite a long time as long as you retrieve them after throwing.¡±

    ¡°Then in that case please give me 10 throwing knives and 2 short swords.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s 2 small gold coins for one short sword, so along with the 10 throwing knives, it totals to 5 small gold coins. Aside from that, you also need an armor, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, as much as possible I¡¯d like something easy to move in... what kind do you have for sale?¡±

    ¡°If you want something easy to move in, then you want hide armor. If it¡¯s something made from the skin of magical beasts, then it can even be tougher than an armor made of metal that¡¯s poorly made. There are also magic enchanted full armors that can provide the same level of movement as hide armors, but those aren¡¯t avable in the market, and if they are, they¡¯re ludicrously expensive such that the price would start with at least a white gold coin¡±

    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll purchase one set of hide armor made from magical beasts.¡±

    ¡°Got it. But the thing is I only have two kinds that can fit your size right now. Other than that I¡¯d have to adjust it, and it¡¯ll take a day. So what will with it be? You want to see everything?¡±

    I¡¯m going to use it tomorrow so let¡¯s choose something we can buy now.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to the mine tomorrow, so please give me something I can purchase today.¡±

    ¡°Got it.¡±

    The man went inside and then came back with two kinds of armor.

    ¡°Both of these are hide armors made from the skin of magical beasts. One is made out of the skin of Grell Frog. It¡¯s flexible, easy to move in, and in its own way it¡¯s quite strong. It goes for 4 medium silver coins.¡±

    Frog skin, huh? ....... It¡¯s like rubber.

    ¡°The other one is made out of the skin of a Hard Lizard. This one¡¯s a bit expensive and costs 5 small gold coins.¡±

    The price is on a different levelpared to the one called Grell Frog, huh?

    ¡°The price difference is quite big.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a question of raw materials. The Hard Lizard lives in the wild but it¡¯s very hard to find. Also it¡¯s hard to hunt because it uses magic power and has an ability simr to the neutral magic Harden. Unless you have a good sword arm you won¡¯t be able to cut the skin, and if you use magic, you might end up damaging the goods.¡±

    Harden covers the body with magic and makes it difficult for the body to be cut. A magical beast that can use that will definitely be hard to hunt...

    ¡°In order to defeat one, one needs both luck and skill but if you put in a little bit of magic power in it, it will harden. It may be the ability of the beast, but the skin also possesses that nature. And also, even if it hardens, it¡¯s not like it turns fully rigid. Instead it will keep its flexibility while increasing its toughness.

    It¡¯s light, easy to move in, and is normally robust, but if you put a bit of magic power into it, it will be even more robust. And because of that, people that don¡¯t have a lot of physical strength, like magicians, tend to buy this kind of armor.

    I actually got the skin for this quite a fair bit back, and there weren¡¯t a lot of it so I was only able to make an armor that would fit the size of a kid like you.

    Because of that, it wouldn¡¯t fit most of the adventurers, and adventurers that are around your age don¡¯t have money. And because there are no materials I couldn¡¯t make it bigger either. And so, in the end, I wasn¡¯t able to sell it for the past 2 years. So, if you have the money I¡¯d be really grateful if you could take this off me. If it¡¯s just quality, then this one is way better.¡±

    True, from what I¡¯ve heard, this one is definitely better. And besides it¡¯s a shop that was rmended by the Guild Master and it also doesn¡¯t look like the type that overcharges...

    ¡°Then in that case I¡¯ll have the Hard Lizard Hide Armor.¡±

    ¡°I see, thanks. The armor plus the weapons, altogether costs a total of 10 small gold coins.¡±

    I take the money from the Item Box, and pay him with it.

    ¡°Here you go.¡±

    I put the armor, the short sword, and the throwing knives into my Item Box.

    ¡°Thank you very much. When I need something I¡¯lle here again. My name is Ryouma Takebayashi, it was a pleasure to meet you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m the shop keeper, Dalton Digger. Don¡¯t do anything reckless, and if you take care of your things, they¡¯llst you a long time. Use those armors until you grow out of them, then at that time,e over and buy a new one, I¡¯ll give you some service.¡±

    At those words, I give him my thanks and then go back to the lodging.

 Volume 1 - 19

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Volume 1 Chapter 19

    TL Note: Special Thanks to Anonymous for donating!

    First off, I fixed theyout a bit. I hope you guys like the pink ;) the menu buttons, and the chat. haha. Also added previous and next chapter links on each chapter if you¡¯ve noticed.

    And now a bit of exnation on how the author actually names the critters in this story. Not all of them but some, ok? The author pretty much just names the critter with their English version instead of the Japanese names and so there¡¯s one line in this chapter which I changed up. Original version just pretty much says oh it¡¯s a rat (English) from the word rat (Japanese). That. Yeah...

    If anyone can help me with a direct trantion of this line... I¡¯m not really good with that form:

    ¥é¥¤¥ó¥Ï¥ë¥È¤µ¤ó¤È°Â˜”¤Ï2ÈË¤Ç¡¢¥é¥¤¥ó¥Ð¥Ã¥Ï˜”¤ËÖÁ¤Ã¤Æ¤Ï1ÈË¤Ç„e¤Î¿ÓµÀ¤ËÈë¤ë¤È¤¤¤¦

    Volume 1 Chapter 19

    Today we went to the mine three hours away on carriage. Right now we¡¯re standing in front of the entrance to a tunnel. We had guardse with us but aside from Jamil and the rest, everyone else went to a different tunnel to hunt magical beasts.

    "Let¡¯s do our best! Ryouma-san!"

    Elia is really fired up today. Normally she wears a simple but high ssdylike dress, but today she¡¯s wearing an easy to move in shirt and a pair of pants. And on top of that she¡¯s wearing an armor made out of the hide of a magical beast.

    The ones who entered the tunnel in front of me were Elia, Jill-san, Camil-san, Zeff-san, Hyuzu-san, and myself.

    Rheinhart-san, the Madam, and Rheinbach-sama also came to the mine but Rheinhart-san and madam were apparently going together, and Rheinbach-sama was apparently somehow going to a different tunnel by himself.

    When I asked Jill-san and the others if it¡¯s ok, they said this

    "Don¡¯t worry, in the past they travelled together as adventurers. And what¡¯s more is that Rheinbach-sama even managed to get an achievement in a skirmish with a neighboring country in the past. So you don¡¯t have to worry as they won¡¯t even get so much as a scratch from something like the likes of magical beasts that just live in a nearby mine."

    Rheinhart-sanughed and said

    "The truth is we don¡¯t really need guards. We, three, like to go as we please, and if we go out with guards we¡¯ll just get attention, so just having Sebasu-san go with us is more than enough. Haven¡¯t you noticed we really didn¡¯t have guards follow us in the town?¡±

    ¡°The Jamil Household is different from the other nobles and dislikes pompous things. They¡¯ll even hire people like me who isn¡¯t well mannered as long as they have the skill. And they¡¯ll even talk to people like me normally as long as it isn¡¯t in public or in front of the other nobles.¡±

    Well that¡¯s true. These three do look like skilled experts at sword and magic.

    As I listened to that story I suddenly noticed that the Madam was waving at me and Elia from the entrance of a separated nearby tunnel. Elia and I waved back, at which the madam waved an even bigger one, one more time, and then she entered the tunnel with Rheinhart-san.

    After sending the two off to a different tunnel, we also entered a tunnel. The one leading us is Zeff-san, followed by Jill-san and Hyuzu-san. Who are then followed by me and Elia, and then at the rear most part was Camil-san.

    Before going, Zeff-san looked at us and warned us

    ¡°Ojousama, and you little boy, ¡®tis a lil¡¯ dark here so please watch your steps. People used ¡®ta work in this tunnel so there ain¡¯t any here, but there may be some traps in ¡®tha dungeon. Finding those little buggers is the job of a scout like me. We may be here for lil¡¯ bit of trainin¡¯ but I¡¯d like ¡®ta remind ya not ¡®ta go out ahead of us.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    After walking for a while we saw something ahead of us and Zeff-san stopped. He also made us stop, and after taking a good look at it...

    ¡°Bug?¡±

    For some reason there was a lone bug there that looked like a praying mantis, only, it was around my size.

    ¡°You see ¡®tha bugger over there little boy? Hehe, just as I¡¯d expect from you, that thing¡¯ over there is a Cave Mantis. ¡®Tis a bug ss magical beast, it uses its scythe-like hands ¡®ta dig holes and lives at ¡®ta caves and tunnels it finds.¡±

    ¡°Che! This is gonna be a bit troublesome...¡±

    Hearing that, I couldn¡¯t help but ask

    ¡°Is it strong?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not strong. The scythes aren¡¯t sharp and its carapace is soft, so when miners find these little critters they usually get subjugated easily.

    The problem is that these things reproduce fast, and from time to time a higher ss race, de Mantis, wille. What makes them doubly annoying is that those guys look like the Cave Mantis, so it¡¯s hard to distinguish between the two.¡±

    ¡°Because the scythe of the de Mantis is sharper than the Cave Mantis¡¯ you can¡¯t be careless when dealing with a Cave Mantis. If it turns out to actually be a de Mantis, you¡¯ll get hurt. Be careful.¡±

    Elia nodded at those words and said

    ¡°Ok.¡±

    ¡°How do we distinguish them?¡±

    ¡°You see... ¡®tha de mantis is just a tiny weeny little ¡®bit bigger. But ¡®tha thing is that it¡¯s really not that big of a difference so you need that ¡®lil somethin we call experience to distinguish them buggers. That thing over there is a Cave Mantis. I¡¯ll lure the bugger, and help you ¡®lil ones get a closer look, ok?¡±

    After Zeff-san said that, he went near the Cave Mantis by himself until he got its attention, and then he came back. After he reached a ce where Elia and I could see clearly, he received the attack of the Cave Mantis with a shield.

    ¡°That is a Cave Mantis. Its scythe is a little fast, so please be careful when dealing with it.¡±

    ¡°Ojou, take it down with your magic while Zeff is receiving its blows. And do take care not to hit Zeff.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t use Fire Magic, ok? Since here in the cave there¡¯s no ce for the smoke to go.¡±

    ¡°I understand.¡±

    ¡°Anytime is fine, Ojousama!¡±

    ¡°Then... ¡®Ice Arrow¡¯! tch! ¡®Ice Arrow¡¯!¡±

    The cave mantis dodged the first shot, but Elia fired a second shot almost immediately, and was able to take it down.

    ¡°The speed of invocation is a pass but please try to aim better.¡±

    ¡°I understand.¡±

    After that we walked for around 2 minutes until we found another Cave Mantis again. This time, there were 4.

    ¡°What will we do? A while ago Ojou did one, so I thought Ryouma would do this one but... 4 all of the sudden may be a bit too much?¡±

    When I heard that I replied to him that I¡¯ll try.

    ¡°Be careful.¡±

    I nodded at those words, took out two of my short swords, and invocated the neutral magic, ¡®Harden¡¯.

    I then ran up to the cave mantis. Noticing, me it turned towards me and then raised its scythe. Before the cave mantis brought its scythe down I took down the right foreleg supporting its body with a kick from my left leg and broke it. The cave mantis lost its bnce and fell. I bring my right leg up and put my strength into it as I stomp against the head of the cave mantis, crushing it, then almost immediately turning to face the other two mantis that have already started rushing towards me.

    Focusing on the timing of the second bugs¡¯ scythes, raising up and striking down. I rotate my body 80 degrees counterclockwise at the perfect timing, just barely dodging the scythe. Continuing the movement of that rotation, I swing the short sword in my right hand, cutting its joint as the short sword in my left hand shes by, decapitating the bug.

    At that moment, the third cave mantis came at me from behind. I quickly change my backhand grip to a forehand grip as I rotate my body counterclockwise. I receive its blow with my right sword and parry it, as I do so the sword in my left hand mercilessly shes by as it severs its head from its body.

    Immediately right after, the fourth cave mantis came sweeping with its left scythe. As I dodge the approaching scythe, I receive it with my right sword and then I cut off its joint with my left. The cave mantis didn¡¯t back off and came sweeping with its right scythe, this time, I block it with my left and then sever its joint with my right sword. Having lost both its scythes, the mantis was left with no weapons to fight with and had its head lopped off by me.

    Having ended the battle, I headed back to where Elia and the rest were.

    ¡°Good job, looks like you don¡¯t have any problems even with closebat. Ojou, bug type magical beasts are tough so please don¡¯t be careless until you¡¯re able to separate its head or crush it like Ryouma did, ok?¡±

    ¡°I understand.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s good that you took extra measures and even used the hardening magic. With that, even if you were hit there would¡¯ve been no problems.¡±

    Elia gave me a nce of admiration and said

    ¡°As expected of Ryouma-san.¡±

    Really, it¡¯s because I¡¯ve already gotten used to the green caterpirs back in the Forest of Gauna. Those things were weak, but they were a kind of magical beast that had high vitality.

    We started walking again and after 30 minutes of walking, the only monsters toe out were the cave mantises. So, rather than training, it turned out to be a dull extermination job. As we kept doing that, we eventually reached the deepest part of the tunnel.

    ¡°Looks like this is the end.¡±

    ¡°It was quite long but it was a straight road, so I guess this is the end?¡±

    ¡°There are no more roads left so there should be no more monsters.¡±

    ¡°So are we ending here?¡±

    ¡°This ce is basically a trench so although it¡¯s long there aren¡¯t anyplicated roads. Doesn¡¯t seem like we have any other choice other than to go back.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s unfortunate though, that only one kind of monster came out. I thought a bit more of a variety woulde out but...¡±

    ¡°The cave bats and the small mice were most likely eaten by the cave mantises.¡±

    So basically a bunch of mice and bats, huh?

    (TL Note: this is the line I was talking about)

    ¡°There¡¯s no point in talking about something like that here. Let¡¯s go back.¡±

    With everyone agreeing with Hyuzu-san, we went out the tunnel. While we went out the tunnel, I took my slimes out of the Dimension Home and had them eat the cave mantises on the ground. When we got out, Rheinhart-san and the Madam were waiting for us.

    The madam was the first to greet us.

    ¡°Wee home~¡±

    ¡°How was it?¡±

    Elia, brimming with pride, puffed out her chest and said

    ¡°Mother, father, I managed, to take down over 10 cave mantises!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s pretty good for a first battle.¡±

    ¡°But from midway onwards, Ryouma took the lead and took down over 20!¡±

    Said Elia, looking like she was brimming with even more pride now.

    ¡°Did you get protected by Ryouma-kun?¡±

    ¡°Were there that many cave mantises there?¡±

    Asked the Madam and Rheinhart-san respectively.

    ¡°Well from the looks of things, it would seem that the cave we entered was a nest of cave mantises. There wasn¡¯t a single magical beast aside from the cave mantises.¡±

    ¡°Then in that case let¡¯s try entering a different tunnel this afternoon.¡±

    ¡°Before that, though, let¡¯s have some meal since it¡¯s about time the others came back too.¡±

    Being told that, I put my slimes back into the Dimension Home, and was led to an open ce where everyone gathered and was having their meal.

    That ce was the surface of the mine from where the surrounding area could be seen well. The surface of the mine had an unusual pattern of ck and reddish brown but there were some areas where heaps of reddish y could be seen piled up. When I tried asking about it, it turned out to be the assigned area where they would throw away all the dirt they¡¯ve excavated.

    ¡°What a waste...¡±

    Although this mine has had a mining rate of mostly zero. That only means that there are no ores right? But it doesn¡¯t mean that the soil doesn¡¯t have iron content. Red soil, that¡¯s the color of rust, right? Since it¡¯s like that, if I were to use Alchemy I would probably be able to create some iron but... since this is already an abandoned mine even if it were to produce a lot of iron it would still be of low quality... and also it seems that Alchemy has a bad reputation so...

    As I was thinking something like that, the preparation for our meal waspleted and Elia called me over to eat.

 Volume 1 - 20

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Volume 1 Chapter 20

    TL Note:

    Schedule Changes:

    Alright guys, so I¡¯m taking summer ss for extra credits and it¡¯s starting this week. So with that, a change in schedule. No chapters on T, W, and TH. Don¡¯t get your hopes up but I¡¯ll at least try to get a chapter out on Saturdays. With this we¡¯re down to 4 chapters a week from 5.

    Help with these ones please:

    ¤Þ¤Ã¤¿¤¯¤¢¤ä¤Ä¤Ï......ƒz¤Î×÷¤Ã¤¿½Ö¤ò¤è¤êÁ¼¤¯¤·¤è¤¦¤È¤·¤Æ¤¯¤ì¤ë¤Î¤ÏæÒ¤·¤¤¤¬¡¢¤¢¤¢¤Ê¤ë¤È•º¤¯Ê¹¤¤Îï¤Ë¤Ê¤é¤ó¤ï¤£

    Volume 1 Chapter 20

    Ryouma had lunch with the four members of the Duke¡¯s household.

    At the start they were talking about how Elia fought, but midway through Elia suddenly said this.

    ¡°By the way Ryouma-san, what were you thinking about a while ago?¡¯

    ¡°A while ago? What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°A while ago you were looking around and saying ¡®what a waste¡¯, right?¡±

    When Ryouma heard those words, he stiffened.

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s no¨Cnothing special...¡±

    The words that came out were obviously a lie. Since Ryouma wasn¡¯t using his grandparents as an excuse this time, his excuse was very poor, and everyone was able to figure it out.

    Elia was the first to point it out.

    ¡°How very suspicious, Ryouma-san.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not really good at lying.¡±

    Mentioned Rheinbach-sama at the obvious lie.

    ¡°Is it something hard to mention?¡±

    ¡°If you have something to say, it¡¯s ok to say it, you know?¡±

    Inquired Rheinhart-san as the madam tried to support Ryouma.

    Realizing that his attempt to fool them had failed, he gave up.

    ¡°Do you remember the conversation we had before arriving at the Town of Gimuru? That story about the salt mountain.¡±

    Rheinhart-san, suddenly understanding, said.

    ¡°Ah... I see. It¡¯s fine, the ones here are just us, Sebasu, Aro-ne, and Lilian. Aro-ne and Lilian won¡¯t spread rumors, and the other men are eating at a different ce.¡±

    ¡°I see. Then you know I can use Alchemy, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve heard of it.¡±

    Answered Rheinhart-san as he told Aro-ne and Lilian about Ryouma.

    When they heard the word ¡®Alchemy¡¯ they were shocked, but did not give any sign of contempt. Ryouma gave a sigh of relief and then began talking.

    ¡°This mine will be an abandoned mine, right?" Rheinbach-sama nodded

    ¡°That¡¯s right. The papers have already been processed.¡±

    ¡°So what about it?¡±

    ¡°I think I can still produce some iron from this mine if I use Alchemy.¡±

    At those words, this time everyone else aside from Ryouma stiffened.

    Rheinbach-sama couldn¡¯t help but ask

    ¡°Is that really true?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I once talked about how I managed to remove the poison from the salt in the salt mountain in the Forest of Gana, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve heard of it.¡±

    ¡°In the same way I removed the poison from the salt, this time I can gather the soil and produce iron. That red soil is the color of rust. Say, if one were to leave his sword wet, over time it would get rusty, right?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    ¡°In the same way the soil that has iron content in it will have the same color. That¡¯s why there is definitely iron in that soil. I believe if I use Alchemy¡¯s Separation on that soil once or twice, then I¡¯ll be able to extract a lump of iron. Only thing is, if an abandoned mine were to suddenly start producing iron again, it would cause a fuss, right? So since it¡¯s not possible to get it by digging as you would normally, and since there¡¯s a problem with using Alchemy, I thought, ¡®What a waste...¡¯.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true but... Ryouma-kun, if you think you can do it, why don¡¯t you try doing it? I actually have a way to sell something like that legally without catching attention.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Replied Ryouma cheerfully. After having their meal, the other guards went on their own ways to dispatch the monsters. With them gone, Ryouma and the rest began their operation. Ryouma prepared the magic formation that is essential to Alchemy by drawing a square inside a circle. He then put the reddish soil into a stone container he made using Earth Magic and then ced it on top of the magic formation.

    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll start. It¡¯s dangerous, so please do not go inside the magic formation.¡±

    As Ryouma said that he allowed his magic power to flow into the magic formation causing it to illuminate. From inside the shining magic formation, the soil and the stone vessel was being pushed out. When the light had disappeared, all that was left inside the formation was the silver colored sand of iron.

    After Ryouma had confirmed that, he quickly drew a pentagram within a circle. He ced the silver colored sand of iron on that and allowed magic to flow into the magic formation.

    This is the magic formation when using Alchemy¡¯s ¡®Synthesis¡¯. The practitioner needs to know the original material and the material it will synthesize into. From this, the practitioner will be able to make the material on the magic formation synthesize turning it into one lump, making it possible to create an alloy from several metals.

    With this, Ryouma turned the iron content he brought out into an iron ingot. Confirming that, he used ¡®Identify¡¯. And then this came out:

    Iron Ingot

    It is an iron ingot with 100% purity.

    Having understood that he had seeded, Ryouma handed the ingot to Rheinhart-san and had him use ¡®Identify¡¯ on it.

    ¡°You really were able to do it........................I¡¯m sorry, Ryouma-kun.¡±

    Rheinhart was shocked that Ryouma was actually able to produce iron. While he was dumfounded for a while, he quickly put himself together and bowed his head deeply. At that sudden behavior, Ryouma was at a lost.

    ¡°Eh!? Why all of the sudden!? Please raise your head!¡±

    At those words Rheinhart raised his head but he spoke with a face that looked very apologetic.

    ¡°Although I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d swindle others, but because there are a lot of people who say they can make gold and swindle others, I thought for sure you wouldn¡¯t be able to do it. I¡¯m sorry for not having been able to trust you.¡±

    When Ryouma finally understood what was bothering Rheinhart, he immediately told him that he doesn¡¯t mind, however, Rheinhart did not look satisfied. Rheinhart kept apologizing, and Ryouma kept forgiving, their conversation kept moving parallel to each other until Elize and Rheinbach finally interfered. When they finished talking, Sebasu spoke up.

    ¡°Rheinhart-sama, about this iron...¡±

    ¡°Right! We need to prepare to sell these iron ingots...¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately, we cannot sell these things.¡±

    ¡°What? Why is it no good?¡±

    ¡°This thing is certainly iron and Ryouma-sama¡¯s ability to perform Alchemy is truly awe-inspiring, however, there is just one problem, the purity is too high.¡±

    Having been told that, Rheinhart, Elize, and Rheinbach used ¡®Identify¡¯ again. Afterwards, they each breathe out a defeated sigh. Seeing those three¡¯s expressions, Ryouma couldn¡¯t help but ask what was wrong.

    Apparently in this world, the highest purity that can be sold has 10% impurity. And the inferior ones have greater than 40%. If there happened to be an iron with 0% impurity, meaning a pure iron, there would be a hugemotion over it and there would be many people who would try to find out the manufacturing method.

    Receiving that exnation, Ryouma realized what the problem was. At the same time, he thought of a way to fix it.

    Ryouma quickly drew a hexagram within a circle, and put on top of it the ingot and the soil he got when he extracted the iron. And then he allowed his magic power to flow into the formation.

    The hexagram formation is for using Alchemy¡¯s ¡®Mixing¡¯. Using this, one will be able to mix several materials without bias. Because of this, Ryouma was able to lower the purity of the ingot by mixing it with the original material. As a result its color changed to ck. When he used identify on it this came out,

    Iron Ingot

    An iron ingot with 10% impurity

    When he gave it to Rheinhart-san, they couldn¡¯t help but be shocked. At the same time, though, they showed great joy since with this, it can now be sold.

    After that, because Rheinhart and Sebasu-san were figuring out who to sell the iron to, the afternoon monster hunt party ended up bing Ryouma, Elia, Elize and Rheinbach.

    ¡°Good grief, I¡¯m happy that guy is trying to improve the town I made but when he¡¯s like that, he bes impossible to deal with.¡±

    Grumbled, Rheinbach.

    ¡°Really, father...¡±

    The madam looked at Rheinhart and asked

    ¡°I¡¯m troubled that you¡¯re neglecting Ryouma and Elia. You don¡¯t think so?¡±

    ¡°I am also a part of the cause... and also isn¡¯t it better that Rheinhart-san is doing his work rather than beingzy.¡±

    Because Ryouma was also the same kind of person who would lose track of everything around him when caught up in his work, it wasn¡¯t actually possible for him to scold Rheinhart.

    The madam helplessly said¡¢

    ¡°Well that¡¯s true... ah, we arrived.¡±

    Ryouma and Elia arrived in front of the entrance to another tunnel.

    ¡°Well then, from here on you guys decide on how to move. I and father-inw will only go along with you guys from here on. We¡¯ll save you when it gets dangerous, but aside from that we won¡¯t do anything at all.¡±

    ¡°Since this is to help Elia gain some experience and since Ryouma-kun already has some experience, Ryouma will also have to step back. If she needs help, at most just talk to her.¡±

    Suddenly having a problem pushed onto you, a normal person would be troubled. Elia, however, was someone who had always received their training. And so this is how she replied,

    ¡°I understand, I¡¯ll do my best.¡±

    From the looks of things, it would appear she¡¯s used to suddenly being given a problem.

    ¡°It¡¯s dark and I can¡¯t see very well.¡±

    Elia was differentpared to Ryouma who had always hunted during the night in the forest.

    ¡°Ryouma-san, what do you do when hunting during the night?¡±

    ¡°If you do it for a long time you¡¯ll get used to it but... if it¡¯s ok for us to be seen, then it¡¯s fine to use the light magic, ¡®light¡¯ as many times as you want. If you don¡¯t want to be found out then using the neutral magic, ¡®Search¡¯ would be best. There¡¯s still a chance of being discovered through the perception of magic but it¡¯s still better than ¡®Light¡¯.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t use Search. Can Ryouma-san use Search?¡±

    ¡°I can use it.¡±

    ¡°How do I use it? I know the theory, but I don¡¯t actually know how to apply it.¡±

    Hearing that, Ryouma thought for a while. Then he created a container made out of stone with earth magic and filled it up with water using water magic.

    ¡°Please look at this.¡±

    ¡°What will you do with this?¡±

    Ryouma showed the vessel to Elia, and then dropped a rock in the middle of it causing waves to rise within the small vessel.

    ¡°The center of the rock is one¡¯s self. The waves are the flow of magic power. Imagine yourself to be at the center and allow your magic power to be like these waves of water. Then allow it to spread to your surroundings where you think the monster may be.¡±

    Ryouma then, continued to drop small rocks on the vessel while sinking the waves with water magic. After a while, he dropped a rock one more time, but this time the wave could clearly be seen stopping at some point when it hit a rock.

    ¡°In a simr sense, this is how a monster could interrupt the wave you are releasing, and is the reaction that you will get when using Search if there is a person or a monster in the area.¡±

    ¡°I get it. That exnation was really easy to understand. Well then, ¡®Search¡¯ !¡±

    Elia immediately invocated the magic, ¡®Search¡¯. At that instant, magic power flowed into the surroundings with Elia as its center.

    ¡°There are a lot of monsters just a little bit ahead of us!¡±

    ¡°Looks like it worked, unfortunately though, you put too much magic power. Using a lot is a waste, and also if there were a magician on their side, we¡¯d be found out.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Looks like I need to practice.¡±

    ¡°Search goes alongside with the duty of the vanguard, so I¡¯ll do it. It will be better for Elia to focus on magic.¡±

    ¡°I understand. Thank you, Ryouma-san.¡±

    Ryouma nodded and invocated ¡®Search¡¯. And as Elia mentioned, there were a lot of monsters ahead.

    ¡°If we go this way, the road will get wider and there¡¯s an empty cave ahead. I am getting a lot of response from the ceiling of that ce. It looks like there are plenty of monsters filling the ceiling, they¡¯re probably cave bats.¡±

    Rheinbach-san nodded,

    ¡°If they¡¯re in the ceiling, then they¡¯re probably cave bats.¡±

    The Madam followed,

    ¡°If there¡¯s so much of them that they¡¯re filling up the ceiling then... Elia, will you be alright?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re small and on top of that they¡¯re fast, so one or two would be good practice, but...¡±

    Said Rheinbach-sama.

    ¡°Then in that case, do you mind if I try out an experiment?¡¯

    Hearing that, the three couldn¡¯t help but ask at the same time,

    ¡°Experiment?¡±

    ¡°Yes. If it goes well I may be able to round up the bats.¡±

    Ryouma then exined while he confirmed the bat¡¯s ecology.

    At that, he found out that the Cave Bat¡¯s ecology is not that different from the bats of Earth. Knowing that, Ryouma proposed the use of sound. He figured, if they were to use a magic that can create a powerful sound, it should be able to knock the cave bats out.

    Actually, while he was living in the forest, Ryouma was able to create several sound magic.

    A magic that silences the sound surrounding the target, ¡®Silent¡¯. A magic that does the opposite and makes the sound louder, ¡®Big Voice¡¯. A magic that allows sound to reach far, ¡®Whisper¡¯. While practicing Big Sound, Ryouma was idently able to produce a sound explosion capable of destroying the ear drums, which he called ¡®Stun Sound¡¯ and bybining it with ¡®Whisper¡¯ he was able to create a remote non-lethal magic called ¡®Sound Bomb.

    Sound Bomb is extremely powerful but it has the downside of making a big noise. Using this magic, it was possible to destroy the ear drums of the ck Bear in one shot, causing it to faint. Ryouma figured that if this was used against the bats it would have some effect.

    Only, there were currently three problems. The first is whether or not the noise it produces will cause the tunnel to copse or not, the second is whether there are people around or not and thest one is what will happen if it fails to dispose of the bats.

    Ryouma asked Rheinbach about the first question and as it turns out, since the tunnel has been strengthened by earth magic, there¡¯s nothing to worry about regarding the cave copsing. As for the second problem, it¡¯s possible to figure out if there are any people around by just using ¡®Search¡¯ and then in the instance that the ¡®Sound Bomb¡¯ fails to dispose of the bats, then Ryouma will deal with it using the slimes.

    Ryouma brought out the Sticky Slime from the Dimension Home and using ¡®Erge¡¯ had it block the tunnel, giving it the order to act as some kind of. The slime, following that order, used the ¡®Sticky Liquid¡¯ to create a. Ryouma then put up a sound proofing barrier preventing the sound from the outside from going inside.

    ¡° ¡®Search¡¯ .................. Good, there¡¯s no one there. The preparations have beenpleted.¡±

    Rheinbach nodded

    ¡°We¡¯re ready as well, you can go anytime you want.¡±

    ¡°Then in that case, ¡®Sound Bomb¡¯ ¡°

    At that instance, a tremendous sound erupted like an explosion from outside the barrier, echoing within the tunnels.

    The cave bats in the ceiling of the tunnel were unable to run and most of them fainted. The ones that were able to run away were only 10, but those cave bats were unable to fly steadily and ended up hitting against the walls. There were also some bats that went over to Ryouma¡¯s side, but they got caught in the and was unable to move.

    ¡°Looks like a sess. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Removing the barrier and the slime¡¯s, the four headed over to where the bats were. When they got there, a significant number of cave bats could be seeing lying on the floor.

    Seeing that, Rheinbach and the Madam couldn¡¯t help but praise,

    ¡°This is amazing.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true that cave bats aren¡¯t particrly dangerous, but they¡¯re kind of hard to kill. To think that a child would be able to deal with them so easily, I don¡¯t think something like this has happened before."

    ¡°Amazing, Ryouma-san!¡±

    ¡°The experiment seemed to have ended well. Ah... these, is it ok if I feed these to my slimes?¡±

    ¡°Well cave bats don¡¯t really sell that well so...¡±

    Hearing that, Ryouma made the sticky slime split and had the 364 sticky slimes eat all of the cave bats. After that, Ryouma felt that the sticky slimes have be able to split again, so he decided to have them split once he got back home to the lodging.

    After that, Ryouma and his slime continued to support Elia while she hunted the small rats for the next hour.

    Afterwards, the four people left the tunnel. After they had rested, they were nning to go to the next dungeon, but at that moment, Rheinhart came over. And then he said,

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, can you make a few more samples of the iron we are going to sell?¡±

    And so, because of that, Ryouma had to separate from the others to make more ingots.

    He finished the ingots fairly quickly, but the three had already gone into the tunnel. Being bored, Ryouma thought of entering a tunnel but instead started making the slimes split.

    However that also ended in an hour and without anything to do, Ryouma took out the slimes from the Dimension Home and passed the time by training.

    Ryouma used Earth Magic to make a rod out of stone and used it along with his fists to hit the slimes. In response, the slimes either dodged that or defended.

    Ryouma did something like this from time to time while in the forest to train the slimes. The slimes may be weak monsters but unless one hits the nucleus inside their body or hits the soft semi-liquid body of theirs, they can¡¯t die.

    The slime can make the nucleus inside its body go anywhere. So when Ryouma is fighting the slimes, the slimes move the nucleus to the opposite direction to protect it and escape from the attack with its semi-liquid body. In the instance where it is kicked to the ground, the slimes can do the same thing to negate the damage.

    Right after taming it wasn¡¯t possible, but after being together for a long time, Ryouma began to see the slimes making skillful movement and so he began the training.

    Ryouma focused on teaching the slimes the foundation of battle techniques on dodging and defending. Like going under the bosom of the opponenting at you to cut you down to dodge, and entwining yourself around the hand holding the sword that hase near you or making use of the semi-liquid body and using the enemy¡¯s weapon to parry.

    Moreover, while slimes are normally unable to fight except by ramming their body against their opponents, Ryouma¡¯s slimes are able to extend tentacles and use it like some sort of whip. There are also some that can counter attack with weapons as if they were using their hands. Nowadays there are slimes that can extend their bodies and use spears and pseudo-rod techniques.

    Also, while Ryouma was practicing with the slimes, Lilian was watching. Lilian couldn¡¯t¡¯ believe her eyes when she saw the slimes executing movements that slimes normally couldn¡¯t, however, Ryouma didn¡¯t notice this.

    After this, Lilian went to Sebasu and asked, ¡°Are Slimes able to use battle techniques?¡± Because of that Sebasu began to worry about her health. Fortunately though, she was able to solve the misunderstanding when she mentioned that she was talking about Ryouma¡¯s slimes. However, being unable to believe that slimes could use battle techniques, Sebasu said, ¡°Ryouma-sama¡¯s slimes are able to perform skillful movements so maybe that¡¯s what you saw?¡± Hearing that, Lilian was convinced and she forgot about the slimes.

    ¡°Ryouma-san!¡±

    ¡°Elia, you¡¯re done with your training?¡±

    ¡°Yes, the training for today has ended. But more than that, I have a present for Ryouma san.¡±

    ¡°Present?¡±

    ¡°Fufufu... If it¡¯s Ryouma, I wonder if you¡¯ll like it?¡±

    As Elia and Elize said that, Rheinbach came with a box made out of a stone. Looks like it was made with earth magic.

    ¡°Inside this is a magical beast, it¡¯s weak but you should still be careful.¡±

    Hearing that it¡¯s a magical beast, Ryouma opened the lid while being cautious. In the next moment, Ryouma was captivated when he saw what was inside.

    ¡°Slime?¡±

    What was inside was a dark grey Slime. It was obviously not a normal slime, but it was a kind of slime Ryouma had never seen.

    ¡°It¡¯s a high ss slime called Metal Slime. We saw it by chance so we caught it.¡±

    ¡°Thank you very much! I¡¯m really happy! To have another slime, and what¡¯s more, a new kind...¡±

    Ryouma gave his thanks to the other three and then began to observe the slime. The three were happy that Ryouma happily received it but when he started observing, they couldn¡¯t help but give a wry smile. At that, Rheinbach reminded Ryouma,

    ¡°Even if it¡¯s a slime it¡¯s still a magical beast so it¡¯ll be better for you to make a contract with it now.¡±

    As if he head just remembered it when Rheinbach mentioned it, Ryouma enacted the ve Monster Contract. After that, until it was time to go back, Ryouma made some iron out of the red soil and gave it to the slime, wondering whether or not it would eat it.

    The result was that the metal slime did in fact eat the lump of iron but needed time. So instead he used Alchemy to turn the ingot into its previous sand like state and the slime was able to eat it quickly.

    Ryouma hypothesized that the slime had most likely eaten the soil with metal content, and as a result it ended up evolving like that.

    And so he thought of using the sand-like iron that the metal slime liked to eat as lure. And then made a contract with the lured slime. He continued to feed the slime iron for the sake of ascertaining of whether or not the evolution condition is to feed it metal. If it does evolve, then that will prove that the hypothesis is correct.

    After that, he was told that they were about to leave and so Ryouma got permission from Rheinhart to get a huge amount of red soil as feed for the slime, and put it in a corner in his Dimension Home.

    He used ¡®Create Block¡¯ on the red soil and had the slimes transport it. Like this he was able to secure a huge number of red soil. At this point, Ryouma began to feel that he¡¯s starting to reach the limit of his magic power. A sensation that he hasn¡¯t felt in a while.

    Ryouma rode the carriage in that condition and was heading for the town but while he was there, Rheinhart told him this,

    ¡°I know you¡¯re tired and I¡¯m sorry about this, but can you go with me for a while? I want to go to the ce of the person who will work with us to sell the iron, the slime thread, and the water proof cloth that you made. He¡¯s a trustworthy person, so I thought of introducing Ryouma-kun as well.¡±

    Since Ryouma-kun was only a little tired, he felt that there was nothing wrong with going, and he agreed.

    After that, 1 hour had passed and they finally reached the town. They then stopped in front of a huge shop.

    ¡°Well, well. What a pleasant surprise to have the members of the Duke¡¯s Householde. Wee.¡±

    When they entered the store, they immediately went deep inside the shop and entered a big room. When they got there, another man entered as well. That man couldn¡¯t really be called fat, but he certainly had a stout figure.

    When he came, Rheinhart greeted him,

    ¡°Serge, it¡¯s been a while.¡±

    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s unfortunate that I am unable to get many opportunities to meet with the members of the Duke¡¯s Household like this. But I¡¯m happy to see that you are all doing well.

    And as for this youngd here, I believe it¡¯s the first time we¡¯ve met. My name is Serge Morgan. I am the president of the Morgan Firm.¡±

    ¡°I am Ryouma Takebayashi. Because of some twist of fate I¡¯vee to be in the care of the Jamil Household. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡±

    Although Serge was surprised at Ryouma¡¯s manner of speech, he showed a smile. And in response Ryouma also smiled. And although this man¡¯s manner of speech was simr to Matthew of the Tamer Guild, Ryouma wasn¡¯t able to feel the sort of ill will he felt from Matthew.

    Like this their greetings ended, and they went onto the main topic.

 Volume 1 - 21

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Volume 1 Chapter 21

    TL Note: Hi guys, I¡¯ve made the front page morepact now and also added some buttons to the tab, like this it should be much more functional for the mobile users. I also moved the donation button to its own page to avoid cluttering the sidebar.

    If you guys could spare some time, I¡¯d like to know what you want to see more in the blog, functionality-wise, to make your experience better. Thanks. By the way, please write it down in thements so we can all join in on the discussion.

    Volume 1 Chapter 21

    ~ Side Ryouma ~

    It¡¯s the biggest store that gives off a high ss ambience so far, but Rheinhart-san and the others went to the reception room as if it were normal.

    I was a bit out of ce, but... in order not to do anything that would inconvenience the others, I stayed meekly by Sebasu-san¡¯s side.

    After waiting for a bit, a man with a good build came. I think he might be the owner of the store.

    ¡°Well, well. What a pleasant surprise to have the members of the Duke¡¯s Householde. Wee.¡±

    Rheinhart-san was the one to greet him,

    ¡°Serge, it¡¯s been a while.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. It¡¯s unfortunate that I am unable to get many opportunities to meet with the members of the Duke¡¯s Household like this, but I¡¯m happy to see that you are all doing well.

    And as for this youngd here, I believe it¡¯s the first time we¡¯ve met. My name is Serge Morgan. I am the president of the Morgan Firm.¡±

    Uh-oh, he also came to greet me.

    ¡°I am Ryouma Takebayashi. Because of some twist of fate I¡¯vee to be in the care of the Jamil Household. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡±

    When I finished introducing myself, he gave me a smile.

    He seems to be an acquaintance of Rheinhart-san. I wonder if he¡¯s a good person. Then again, Rheinhart-san won¡¯t introduce me to a weird person, right?

    ¡°Well, going straight into business...¡±

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve heard you were nning to sell something new again.¡±

    As I was caught up in my thoughts, these 2 suddenly went straight to business. Wait. Again? Rheinhart-san, exactly how many products have you already proposed to be sold?

    ¡°Before I show you the product. I need you to promise me that not a word of what I am about to show you will leak out. I know that someone like Serge can be trusted, but just in case.¡±

    ¡°But of course, the information of our business partner is very important to us. If Rheinhart-sama wishes for us not to allow the information to be leaked, then we shall deal with it in a way that will not attract eyes. However, I must say that this is quite unusualing from Rheinhart-sama. To think that Rheinhart-sama would like to suppress something like that.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just for now, and I do have my reasons. I believe that what am I about to show you today will bring us profit on apletely different level than everything so far.¡±

    Will it really be something like that? In my previous world, things like raincoats were a given so... other than intuition, I don¡¯t really know what he¡¯s basing this on.

    ¡°Sebasu.¡±

    When Rheinhart-san said that. Sebasu-san opened his item box and took out from it the waterproof cloth, the slime¡¯s thread, and the iron ingot I made. Rheinhart-san took those and showed them to Serge-san.

    ¡°This cloth has been treated in a particr way.¡±

    ¡°Would it be alright to take it and examine it?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    As Serge-san said that, he took the cloth and took a good look at it. He examined it curiously as he rubbed the cloth.

    ¡°Oh, it feels good to touch.¡±

    ¡°That cloth isn¡¯t only good for that, you know? That cloth can repel water and prevent it from going through.¡±

    ¡°...Is that true?¡±

    ¡°If you want you can use Identify on it or try it out for real by wrapping it on your hands and dipping it in water. After all, it¡¯s just a sample we brought, so I don¡¯t mind.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll ept your offer...¡±

    Serge-san called a servant and asked her to prepare a bowl with water in it. In the meantime, while the bowl was being prepared, Serge-san used Identify and intently examined the waterproof cloth. After a while his eyes began to sparkle. When the servant came back with the bowl filled with water, he quickly wrapped the waterproof cloth around his hand, dipped it in the water, and after confirming that it is in fact able to repel water, he said this,

    ¡°Rheinhart-sama, this is amazing!¡±

    ¡°Right? Don¡¯t you think that if we were to turn this material into raingear it would sell?¡±

    ¡°It will! It definitely will!¡±

    Wow! He¡¯s really into it!

    ¡°What¡¯s surprising isn¡¯t only that. Next, we have this thread.¡±

    ¡°I will examine it.¡±

    This time he took a spool of thread, looked at it, touched it, and then tried pulling it. After he had done all that, he then said,

    ¡°Was this thread, perhaps, created by the same material used to create the treatment of the waterproof cloth?¡±

    He noticed! That¡¯s amazing! Even though he didn¡¯t get any hints, he managed to figure something out by touching it?

    Hearing Serge-san¡¯s answer, Rheinhart-san smiled as he nodded.

    ¡°As expected of Serge. It is exactly as you have thought. The manufacturing process was changed a little bit, but the same thing was used. What do you think? It¡¯s a good thread, right?¡±

    ¡°Certainly, if we were to have workers that deal with high-ss clothes work with this, it should sell. This thread is also beautiful, but more than anything it¡¯s durable.¡±

    ¡°We also have an outfit that was made out of that thread and the waterproof cloth from a while ago.¡±

    Having said that, what they brought out was the jumpsuit and the waders that I made... wait, what? I have mine with me, so did they make a new one?

    ¡°This is an outfit for working in wet ces and ces where it is easy to get dirty. The design is a bit entric, but function-wise it is excellent.¡±

    ¡°Indeed, this certainly looks like the kind of cloth that aborer would like to work with. If we can let the people know just how good this is, it¡¯s possible for this to catch on like wild fire.¡±

    ¡°While that something to make this famous is needed, do keep the potential of this product a secret. Also, we have this forst.¡±

    After Rheinhart-san put aside the jumpsuit and the waders, he presented thest item, the iron ingot.

    ¡°Would it be alright for me to use Identify?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    Serge-san got permission and used Identify but afterwards, as if feeling a little disappointed, his shoulders fell and he said this,

    ¡°Since this iron is of good quality it can be put up as a product, however, if I may be so bold there is nothing exceptional about this iron.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, then how about you take a look at this iron over here¡±

    Sebasu-sama brought out another iron ingot (ultra-high purity iron) and handed it to Serge-san.

    ¡°Is this aluminum? No, the weight is... I will examine this.¡±

    As he said that, he used Identify. The moment he used it, the results that came shocked him. He was able to keep hisposure, but his face was sweating a lot. It¡¯s obvious that he has been greatly shaken.

    ¡°Rheinhart-sama, this ingot is...¡±

    ¡°Amazing, right? Don¡¯t you think that if we were to start selling this, that it would cause a greatmotion?¡±

    ¡°Of course, that¡¯s a given. It wouldn¡¯t even be strange for spies toe from other countries, looking for its source.¡±

    ¡°And that¡¯s exactly why I want to put up the other ingot. The ingot you held a while ago is the same as the ingot you¡¯re holding now. Only, it went through some process and had its purity reduced.¡±

    At those words, Serge-san gave an understanding nod.

    ¡°I understand the circumstances, but in that case it will be treated as a normal ingot and will not have any special advantage. Is that ok?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. What we want is for this ingot to be sold discreetly and legally. You see, this ingot came from the abandoned mine.¡±

    ¡°Discreetly and legally? If a new ore vein was found in the abandoned mine, then wouldn¡¯t it be best to simply take back its status as an abandoned mine and send people over?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not possible. Or rather, even if we were to send people there wouldn¡¯t be any meaning since we didn¡¯t find a new vein. Also, the normal method of mining and refining is also not possible.¡±

    ¡°I see. So Rheinhart-sama wants to sell the ingots produced while keeping the method of production of the high purity ingot under wraps, right?¡±

    ¡°Precisely. More specifically, I want it to be exported to a different country. If we were to simply sell it within the country, then it would be necessary to specify exactly where it came from. However, if we were to sell it to a different country, just mentioning what country it came from would be sufficient.¡±

    ¡°Yes. There should be no problems with that.¡±

    Isn¡¯t that alone a problem!? Isn¡¯t that way of doing things too sloppy!?

    ¡°Also, along with the ingot I also want to entrust Serge with keeping the identity of the manufacturer a secret. Of course, I can ask this because I trust you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡±

    ¡°Although there are 3 products...... the developer responsible for all these is only one.¡±

    Oops, this really isn¡¯t the time to be shocked. I¡¯m being introduced.

    ¡°Each and every one of these three products is amazing. A single person had actually...?¡±

    Hearing Serge-san¡¯s words, Rheinhart-san broadly grinned and said this,

    ¡°That¡¯s right. The man who developed these things and will produce it from now on is this young boy over here, Ryouma-kun.¡±

    The moment Rheinhart-san said that, Serge-san¡¯s eyes became a dot and alternately looked at Rheinhart-san and I.

    ¡°Right now, what did...?¡±

    ¡°The developer responsible for these products is the Ryouma-kun over here. I understand that this is hard to believe, but it¡¯s the truth.¡±

    ¡°Did Takebayashi-sama truly make all of these?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I made these myself.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true. Ryouma, despite being at his age, is already an aplished researcher and an alchemist. Of course, I¡¯d like for you to keep this confidential.¡±

    When Serge-san heard the word ¡®alchemist¡¯ his eyes immediately gave off a quizzical look... as expected, alchemists are hard to trust, huh?

    ¡°I understand that you find it hard to believe, however, he created that ingot right in front of my eyes. He¡¯s not a crook.¡±

    ¡°... I see, so he created it in front of Rheinhart-sama. If it¡¯s alright, I would also like for Takebayashi-sama to show me that ability.¡±

    Oh? Doubting is doubting but it seems he¡¯s at least willing to see for himself. Well I am someone that the Duke brought along... I¡¯m not confident about the remaining magic power I have, but I have to do it.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already used up a sizeable portion of my magic power today, would it be ok even if it¡¯s something small?¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then I can prepare some magic power recovery potions from my shop. It was my request after all, so at the very least I could provide something like this.¡±

    Eh? Is it ok to take something like that? Well if that¡¯s the case, then there¡¯s no problem. Ah right, anything is fine, but I need to borrow something to write with or I can¡¯t draw the magic formation.

    ¡°Then in that case, could I trouble you to lend me a potion, two sheets of paper, and a pen? I need to draw a magic formation, you see?¡±

    Serge-san called the servant again, and made her bring over the magic recovery potion, the paper, and the pen.

    ¡°Would this be alright?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s sufficient. Thank you very much.¡±

    I give my thanks, and then write two simple magic formations on the two sheets of paper. Afterwards, I take out a red stone block from my Item Box.

    ¡°This is the soil from the abandoned mine which I¡¯ve hardened with Earth Magic. Please confirm it.¡±

    Serge-san immediately used Identify.

    ¡°Certainly, I¡¯ve confirmed it.¡±

    ¡°Also, it¡¯s dangerous, so please don¡¯t put your hand inside the magic formation. With that, I will begin.¡±

    Just like that time while I was in the mine, I allow the magic power to flow through into the formation. The formation started to glow, and the stone block had its color changed from to red to ck as it was pushed outside the formation. The formation shone again, and this time the stone block that had copsed was pushed out, and all that was left in the formation was a silver-colored sand.

    I ce that on top of the other magic formation and make the formation glow. As I did so, the silver-colored sand transformed into a nk-shaped object. I then hand that object over to Serge-san.

    ¡°Please confirm it.¡±

    When Serge-san used Identify on the nk he received, his body stiffened. And immediately, in the next moment, he stood up, kneeled on the floor, and with he¡¯s head touching the ground, said this,

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡±

    ¡°No, no, no, no, no!! It¡¯s fine even if you don¡¯t do something like that so, please raise your head! I¡¯ve already heard about alchemists being doubted, so in my opinion Morgan¡¯s behavior was actually quite good.¡±

    That¡¯s just too much! Why does this person have to apologize to this extent!?

    ¡°I¡¯m grateful for those words. I truly had not thought that Takebayashi-sama would actually be a true alchemist. By any chance, is Takebayashi-sama¡¯s real age actually different from Takebayashi-sama¡¯s outer appearance?¡±

    ...huh? ...eh, no way... he found out!?

    ¡°Excuse me, what are you saying all of the sudden?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that a true alchemist was capable of creating immortal medicines and medicines that can bring back one¡¯s youth. Because of all the swindlers, I had thought that it was a lie, but if it¡¯s a real one...¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s wrong.¡±

    So that¡¯s what he meant... he shocked me there for a moment...

    I show him my status board.

    ¡°I can¡¯t create things like immortal medicines or medicines that can bring back one¡¯s youth. There may be a person capable of such things, but at the very least it¡¯s impossible for me. At most what I can do is what you have seen today, which is simply gathering the iron content within the soil and making an ingot out of it.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? My apologies.¡±

    At that, Rheinhart-sama joined in the conversation.

    ¡°Well then, now that you¡¯ve confirmed that Ryoma-kun is the real thing, let¡¯s continue with our conversation. Just as you have seen just now, Ryouma possesses great knowledge and technique, and with it he created the ingot and devised the water-proof cloth.

    However, if the knowledge that he is an alchemist were to get out, then he would be grouped together with the other alchemists. And even if we were to show proof of his ability, because of his age, people who will detest him, and people who will try to win him over will definitelye.

    As such, I would like for Serge-san to purchase the things Ryouma-kun has brought with him at a fair price. Of course, without making it public that the seller was Ryouma-kun.¡±

    ¡°I understand. If it¡¯s something like that, then there¡¯s no problem at all.¡±

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, Serge is a trustworthy merchant. If there¡¯s anything you want to sell, then it would be best for you toe here. Also, if there¡¯s something you want to buy, then buying from here would be best.¡±

    ¡°I understand, thank you very much. Serge-san, please take care of me from now on.¡±

    ¡°Please take care of me as well. I will be eagerly waiting for Ryouma-sama¡¯s visit.¡±

    ¡°Also, Ryouma-kun, you may take as much soil as you want from that abandoned mine. That is, whether it¡¯s for the sake of feeding it to your slime, or making ingots to sell.¡±

    ¡°Is that alright? How about the profit of Rheinhart-san?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. To begin with, we¡¯ve already decided to treat it as an abandoned mine. Not having profits from it is a given since we, who do not have the ability to use Alchemy, can¡¯t do anything with it. Even without anything changing, you¡¯ll be able to sell ingots to Serge and make a little profit on the side.

    And since we already expect to make sufficient profits from the water-proof cloth you made for us, it¡¯ll be fine for you to sell wholesale to Serge¡¯s store or to a branch. Right, Serge?¡±

    ¡°Yes, there won¡¯t be any problems regarding that. Also, if Ryouma-sama could tell me where he lives, I will be able to inform a nearby branch to buy the goods while keeping quiet about Ryouma¡¯s case.¡±

    I¡¯m grateful, but aren¡¯t these people being too nice?

    When I mentioned that I lived in the forest, he was shocked. Since I¡¯m still thinking of whether to go back to the forest or not, it was decided that I¡¯ll let him know where I¡¯ll be living after I¡¯ve made up my mind.

    For the meantime I¡¯ll be selling to this shop while I¡¯m still in this town. If I decide to go back to the forest, then I¡¯ll end up selling the waterproof cloths to the branch in the Town of Gaunago.

    Having been taken care of to this extent, I really don¡¯t know how to show my gratitude... For the meantime I¡¯ll just sell the ingots and the threads whole sale to this shop while I¡¯m around. If I were to exhaust around two days¡¯ worth of magic power, I¡¯d be able to do something like that... Also, as an apology for doubting me, Serge-san gave me arge number of magic power recovery potions.

    Well, at any rate, I¡¯m happy that we were able to decide on a store where we would be able to sell safely. Serge-san also told me toe by whenever there was something that I needed. With this much, there¡¯s no such thing as being ripped off.

    After that, we were sent off by the female servant, and then we went back to our lodging.

 Volume 1 - 22

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Volume 1 Chapter 22

    TL Note:

    Special Thanks to Mee for donating!

    I couldn¡¯t figure out a western way of making the samurai sound samurai, so I just started attaching ¡®de aru¡¯ at the end of Raypin¡¯s sentences.

    Volume 1 Chapter 22

    Elia seems to have taken her contemtions yesterday seriously and is again in the abandoned mine, training.

    Because of that Rheinbach-sama told me to take care of the monster subjugation request put up by the Adventurer¡¯s Guild today. I told them it would be fine if Elia also came with me, but Rheinbach-sama and the Madam were against it.

    There¡¯s a huge difference in battle experience and fighting abilities between me and Elia. So, because of that there¡¯s a very high probability that she¡¯ll only end up relying on me a lot.

    Well it is true that if she were to ask me for help I wouldn¡¯t really be able to refuse...

    In any case this is why I ended up going to the guild and being called into the guild master¡¯s room.

    ¡°Ryouma, you came.¡±

    ¡°I came when I heard the Guild Master was looking for me. Is there something the matter?¡±

    ¡°The butler of the duke¡¯s family came a while ago. And after putting up the request I wanted to confirm something. Did you go to the abandoned mine yesterday?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I did.¡±

    ¡°Right, I want you to tell me what kind of magical beasts came out. The big request I mentioned before already came, but it¡¯s really too dangerous without having a good grasp on the monsters beforehand. I also heard from the butler, but the more information the better. So I want to get whatever information I can get before starting the mission.¡±

    ¡°The ones I fought were the cave mantis, the cave bat, and the small mouse. From the looks of things the Ojousama also seemed to have defeated a slime. And then, there¡¯s also the metal slime which the Ojousama found.¡±

    ¡°Alright, looks like this time I can allow members from G Rank up, to take this request. But... to think there was also a metal slime.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that time we were moving separately but the Ojousama captured it and gave it to me as a present. Like that I was able to tame it.¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah, you liked to collect slimes, huh? From what I¡¯ve heard you actually managed to get over 1000 slimes.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Right now, I have 728 sticky slimes, 323 poison slimes, 211 acid slimes, 11 cleaner slimes, 3033 scavenger slimes, 2 healer slimes, 1 metal slime, 1 normal slime, which in total makes 4310 slimes."

    ¡°That¡¯s too many.¡±

    ¡°The reason the scavenger slimes ended up this many was because of the previous case, you know? Because of that I ended up making them split so many times in a short period of time and they quickly surpassed 3000. On that point, slimes are able to livergely on water alone, so it¡¯s not a problem.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s why. By the way another request to clean thetrine pits came out so... mind taking that?¡±

    ¡°No problem. Still, that is quite fast. It hasn¡¯t even been a few days since thest one.¡±

    ¡°Well the previous request took 5 months before it was epted. So since there¡¯s no telling when the next request to clean will be epted, there are plenty of guys who are thinking, ¡°Let¡¯s start putting up the request now!¡± And they also threatened us by saying that if no onees for a long time they¡¯llin until they die or something. In the end the public office wasn¡¯t able toe to an understanding with the slum and now they¡¯re just ignoring them and not doing their job.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I got it. How many pits do I have to clean today?¡±

    ¡°All 30 pits. Can you do it?¡¯

    ¡°Because of the previous case, the slime¡¯s ability to deal with that kind of stuff has greatly increased. And so, if I were to use it for an entire day, I think I should somehow be able to do it...¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll leave everything to you. The townsmen are really annoying.¡±

    ¡°Got it. Ah, can I also take the monster subjugation request?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s no limit on the number of people participating, so there won¡¯t be a problem. You can even process the documents as soon as you get home after the quest, today.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I understand. And then, regarding the monsters in the abandoned mine, can the corpses be sold?¡±

    ¡°Nope. Based on the information we have now, you can¡¯t sell them. The reward for this request is simply for the subjugation of the monsters.¡±

    ¡°Then, if I were to pay up, will I be able to get the corpses?¡±

    ¡°Well to begin with, those are pretty much only garbage. Even if you buy it, what will you do with it?¡¯

    ¡°I¡¯ll feed it to my slimes of course. Even though they¡¯re not really eating that much I want to make sure I have supplies while I can.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s why. Then in that case leave the handling of the corpses to the guild. I¡¯ll make it so that there¡¯ll be an extra reward for people that bring the corpses back.

    To begin with, leaving the corpses there was never really a good idea since other monsters may just end up living there after scrounging for those, so I was already nning to have those gathered. Even if the bonus is dirt cheap, if there¡¯s a bonus then they¡¯ll end up wanting to do it. Also, you¡¯re the one paying for the bonus, alright?

    ¡°Of course. In the meantime, will 20 small gold coins be enough?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need 20. Even 10 is plenty.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll leave you with 10 small gold coins. If that bes insufficient, I¡¯ll pay it afterwards.¡±

    ¡°Got it. However, are you able to bring that many with you? And also, it¡¯s going to rot, you know?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. I can use space magic and preserve it with ice. And even if it rots, there are slimes that like that, so it won¡¯t be a waste.¡±

    ¡°Slimes are quite convenient, huh?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Very much.¡±

    After talking with the Guild Master, I left the room and took the request we talked about a while ago from the receptionist.

    ¡°Thank you so much for taking this quest again. There really aren¡¯t any people who wants to take this quest, you see?¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s because I have my slimes and magic which make this job convenient for me, but as for others, there probably won¡¯t be anyone who¡¯d want to do this job.¡±

    ¡°Honestly we¡¯d be better off, if they just took the odd jobs instead of pushing themselves and failing a job... Oh by the way, Ryouma-kun, because of the previous job you took your rank rose. From today on you¡¯re an F Rank.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. In order to go from G to F, you need toplete 20 missions of any kind. When you cleaned thetrine pits, there were 30 pits in total. Each pit counted as a mission, and so you were able to fulfill the conditions to go up to F Rank.

    In order to go from F to the next rank, E. You need toplete 40 missions of any kind, plus some kind of subjugation request. You went 10 jobs over the 20 jobs required to go from G to F, so I¡¯ll add that towards thepletion of your Rank E. If you¡¯re able to finish the cleaning of all of the 30trine pits again today, you¡¯ll be able to clear all the conditions for Rank E aside for the subjugation request.¡±

    ¡°Really? Thank you very much. Umm...¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. I haven¡¯t introduced myself have I? It¡¯s Meilin.¡±

    ¡°Thank you very much, Meilin-san. Well then I¡¯ll be on my way.¡±

    I left the guild and then did my best to clean thetrine pits again today. Because of the King Scavenger Slime¡¯s ¡®Erge¡¯ and ¡®Overeat¡¯, I was able to finish all 30trine pits in one day. Although the skill level rose, the amount we had to deal with today were quite few...

    I then went to report thepletion of the request. After a little bit of time, they were able to confirm that I finished the job, and the request waspleted.

    ¡°Alright, you¡¯re good to go. Take care of it again in the future, ok? And then... Ryouma-kun will also be taking the subjugation request for tomorrow, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, please let me take it.¡±

    ¡°Then in that case I¡¯ll take care of the papers...... OK. If youe over to the guild by 8 in the morning tomorrow, there¡¯ll be a stagecoach that you can ride for free. If you miss that, you¡¯ll have to either borrow a horse or walk there, but regardless, if you fail to get there by 11, then you¡¯ll have your pay reduced.¡±

    ¡°I understand. Thank you very much.¡±

    After that, I went back to the lodging, prepared for tomorrow, and then went to sleep. It would be nice if a metal slime were toe... if I spot one, I¡¯ll tame it. Definitely.

    The Next Day

    Because of my appointment today, I was sent off by the four members of the Jamil Household and the guards. I then headed towards to the guild in order to be able to ride the stagecoach. When I got to the guild, there was a huge crowd of adventurers and many stagecoaches lined up.

    ¡°That¡¯s quite a crowd, huh?¡±

    Seeing the stagecoaches, I wondered to myself whether to exercise by running while using the neutral magic ¡®Strengthening¡¯ since I still had some time, but a voice suddenly called out to me from afar.

    ¡°Hey! Ryouma!¡±

    ¡°Eh? Ah, Jeff-san!¡±

    That voice was Jeff-san¡¯s. Looking carefully, I can see Raypin and Shell as well.

    ¡°Good morning, Jeff-san, Raypin-san, Shell-kun.¡±

    ¡°Mornin¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Good morning, Ryouma-kun.¡±

    ¡°Good morning ¨C de aru. Ryouma took this quest too?¡±

    ¡°You guys took it as well?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s ¡®cause the old man made us take this request. The request this time ¡®round can be taken even by those of the Rank G, but if a strong monster were toe out it will be a huge disaster. So just in case, we¡¯re participating too. Also, it¡¯s not just me and Raypin, Miya and Asagi areing as well. They¡¯ve already gone ahead though.¡±

    ¡°Still, although there¡¯s been big requests like this before, there¡¯s quite a lot of people this time, huh?¡±

    ¡°That can¡¯t be helped -de aru. The beasts in the mine are something that even Rank G adventurers can handle, and since this is a request given by the feudal lord, the reward for it is also suitable. Besides there¡¯s also the bonus from the corpses, when they¡¯re brought back to the guild.

    This is one of the few good opportunities to earn for adventurers of low rank ¨Cde aru. And even people who can¡¯t fight can get a reward just by gathering corpses. Like this there¡¯s almost no one who is unable to take part in this mission ¨Cde aru.¡±

    ¡°Still, I wonder who¡¯s the guy paying for the bonus and buying the magical beasts. I took a look at the list of the magical beasts, and no matter how you look at it those aren¡¯t the kind of beasts that have any useful parts. These beasts are just small fries, you know?¡±

    ¡°Although it¡¯s good for us, it is quite concerning ¨Cde aru.¡±

    ¡°Nah, actually, it¡¯s nothing special. It¡¯ll just be used for feed for the ve monsters.¡±

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, do you know something?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because the one buying the corpses is me.¡±

    ¡°So the one buying the corpses was Ryouma? If you¡¯re going to use the corpses as feeds for you slime, then I can understand ¨Cde aru. Because... you do have a lot of slimes...¡±

    ¡°What do you normally do for their meal anyway?¡±

    ¡°Depending on what kind of ve monster, it could be quite expensive. And those things look like they¡¯d eat quite a lot.¡±

    ¡°Slimes don¡¯t really eat that much. They can livergely on water alone with a little bit of feed. This time around, I¡¯m nning to use Ice and Space Magic to preserve the corpses, so I can give it to the slimes little by little. Also, I can do this since, if something were to start rotting, then I can simply have the slimes deal with that in one gulp.¡±

    ¡°Well that¡¯s true. Aside from you, there¡¯s no one who can do this.¡±

    ¡°Now that you mention it, where are those slimes ¨Cde aru?¡±

    ¡°Today the slimes are resting because I worked them really hard yesterday to clean thetrine pits. And also they¡¯ll just get mistaken by the surrounding people and end up getting killed.¡±

    ¡°Well that¡¯s true ¨Cde aru.¡±

    Shell looked at me quizzically,

    ¡°Wait a moment, you cleaned thetrine pits again?¡±

    ¡°Well I was asked to by the guild master and also, today,pleting this subjugation request will apparently allow me to be an E Rank.¡±

    Hearing that, Jeff-san was shocked,

    ¡°That¡¯s fast! It hasn¡¯t even been a week since you registered, right?¡±

    ¡°I cleaned 30 pits for 3 days during the incident, and then yesterday I cleaned another 30. Every single pit, counts for a mission, so all in all that counts towards a total of 60pleted missions.¡±

    ¡°I see...¡±

    While we wear chatting idly, another stagecoach came over. Well, since an empty carriage already came near us, we took the opportunity and rode together.

    Like this, we leisurely headed towards the abandoned mine while we chatted. When we got there, we were immediately told to go report to the reception desk they prepared in front of the entrance of the abandoned mine. We did as we were told and were then made to wait there. At 11, all the adventurers were gathered, and the guild master gave us some opening words.

    ¡°The people participating today number 264! In order to do this safely, you will all be going in as a 6 man party, one at a time! There will be no scrambling for prey! Those without a party, you were already grouped ahead of time! Come over here to confirm it! Andstly... earn as much as you can!¡±

    Everyone rose their voice at those simple words. Then people gathered, and started entering the tunnel. I also went to check my group and my party ended up being Jeff-san, Miya-san, Wereanna-san, Mizelia-san, and Syria-san. Pretty much everyone was someone I knew. Was the guild master worried about me?

    Looking around me, Wereanna-san led 5 other people as they walked towards me.

    ¡°Wereanna-san, please take care of me today. The others too, please take care of me.¡±

    ¡°Same here, Ryouma.¡±

    ¡°Take care of me, nya.¡±

    ¡°Take care of me ok?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll properly guide you as your senpai.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s probably impossible for Mizelia. We already met a while ago, but take care of me as well, ok?¡±

    ¡°Wai¨C, Jeff! Isn¡¯t that rude to me!?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s cuz even though you¡¯re good at fighting, you¡¯re careless.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean by that!?¡±

    Seeing the two argue, Wereanna-san couldn¡¯t help but sigh,

    ¡°What are you guys doing...? Ryouma, let¡¯s just leave these two. Just to confirm our fighting strength, what weapon do you have with you? And also, the magical beasts we have in this cave are the cave mantis and the small rat, have you ever fought with them?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve fought with the cave mantis before. As for my weapon, I normally use my bow but, and I can also fight with my short sword as well as with my fists. And then, I can also fight with my magic.¡±

    ¡°I see... an all-rounder huh? Then in that case Ryouma will be in charge of attacking with magic since no one else can use magic aside from Ryouma in our group.¡±

    ¡°Well it¡¯s not really like I can¡¯t use it nya. It¡¯s just that as beastmen we run out of magic power really quickly nya. So please don¡¯t rely that much on our magic.¡±

    ¡°As for me, my magic power is rtively high but I can¡¯t use anything except for healing magic. Sorry.¡±

    After her, Jeff-san began to say as he puffed his chest up,

    ¡°As for me and Mizelia, we suck at all magic except for the neutral magic harden and strengthen!¡±

    ¡°... You just changed the way you phrased it. In the end it¡¯s all the same nya. Well, Ryouma, what attribute do you have nya?¡±

    ¡°All of them, but, I mainly use earth.¡±

    ¡°All Attribute Aptitude huh? That¡¯s quite rare nya.¡±

    ¡°With that, we can fight in a lot more ways. Regarding earth, is the only attack magic you have Earth Needle?¡±

    ¡°Earth Needle and Rock Bullet. As for the other attributes, the ones I can use inside the cave are the ice attribute, Ice arrow. And the electric attribute, Stun Arrow.¡±

    ¡°Then in that case, that¡¯s more than enough. Alright, let¡¯s go!¡±

    And so we started the mission. Only, because the monsters were so weak, we ended up proceeding quite fast.

    ¡°These things just can¡¯t fight back.¡±

    Mizelia-san couldn¡¯t help but shake her head,

    ¡°What¡¯s the point of asking small rats and slimes to fight back?¡±

    ¡°Besides if a monster that could fight Jeff were toe out it¡¯ll problematic nya. We¡¯ll be fine, but the others who are ranked G and F will be in danger nya.¡±

    ¡°The reason we¡¯re here is to deal with a situation like that.¡±

    Said Syria-san, as Wereanna-san continued to exin,

    ¡°However, since we¡¯re already here we can¡¯t show a bad example to the lower ranks. It will be bad if they think that we¡¯re making money even though we¡¯re not doing anything. So let¡¯s just keep killing these guys like this.¡±

    These guys are amazing. They¡¯re all high rank, right? Oh, wait a moment, why is someone like me grouped up with guys like these?

    Seeing me deep in thought, Wereanna-san spoke up,

    ¡°Something the matter, Ryouma?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I was just wondering why a Rank F like me was grouped up with high ranked adventurers like you guys. I wonder if it¡¯s because the guild master was worried about me, thinking that it¡¯s probably better for me to be with people I know.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no such thing. That old man is definitely a busybody, but when ites to request he¡¯s quite strict. At times like these, he ces priority on ability alone.¡±

    Syria-san added,

    ¡°The guild master may have thought that it would be problematic if a monster that couldn¡¯t be defeated with anything else except with magic were toe out with only the five of us, so he had youe along with us. I think he must value Ryouma-kun¡¯s abilities quite a bit to make youe with us.¡±

    ¡°Actually, Ryouma-kun, the pace we¡¯ve been going at is actually quite fast, you know? For a normal Rank F Adventurer, the most they would be able to do is to just keep up with us, you know?¡±

    ¡°At the start I thought that we¡¯d have to slow down the pace once Ryouma started to get tired. But since you kept up with us calmly we just kept going like this.¡±

    Said Mizelia-san and Wereanna-san as they tried to encourage me.

    Really? I didn¡¯t notice at all.

    ¡°Ryouma, your actual ability is definitely not at F.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the strongest magical beast you¡¯ve been so far?¡±

    ¡°The strongest I¡¯ve fought isn¡¯t a magical beast. It¡¯s a beast that lives in the Forest of Gana, ck bear.¡±

    Hearing that, the five made a face that said, ¡°Knew it.¡±

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, a ck bear isn¡¯t something that a normal Rank F can beat nya. In order to safely hunt it, one needs to at least be Rank D and have a party. To beat it alone, one needs to be at Rank C, nya.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡±

    Syria-san nodded,

    ¡°That¡¯s right. If Ryouma-kun can beat a ck Bear alone, then Ryouma-kun definitely has the ability of at least a Rank C. Did you show that ability to the guild master?¡±

    Now that she mentions, yeah he has.

    ¡°When I registered, the proctor of the practical test was the guild master.¡±

    ¡°That must have been it.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, without a doubt. From that time on, he must have been watching you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why you were grouped with us.¡±

    Said Mizelia-san as Jeff-san added,

    ¡°Since you have ability, you don¡¯t have to worry about something like rank. With time, you¡¯ll eventually reach the same rank as us.¡±

    ¡°Oh, now that you mention it what are your ranks?¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah, I haven¡¯t mentioned it, nya?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re all Rank B.¡±

    Responded, Mizelia-san.

    ¡°It¡¯s the rank at which an adventurer can finally call himself first ss.¡±

    ¡°And also, the ones who came with us when we did the job before, were Shell, who is Rank D, Gordon, who is Rank B, and Asagi and Raypin who are both Rank A.¡±

    We were talking like that as we walked when Wereanna-san suddenly focused her awareness on what¡¯s ahead of us, and began sniffing while she searched for something.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°From the smell, there¡¯s a colony of bats ahead IT¡¯s not dangerous but because there¡¯s too many of them we won¡¯t be able to beat them all as they¡¯ll end up running away.¡±

    ¡°How troublesome... nya¡±

    ¡°Are there any person over there?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t smell any humans. Do you have some kind of n?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I have a magic that¡¯s convenient for this kind of situation.¡±

    As I mentioned that, I exined the effect of my ¡®Sound Bomb¡¯ from yesterday.

    Wereanna-san showed me a look of admiration,

    ¡°Ho... you could actually do something like that?

    Syria-san also nodded,¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a magic I¡¯ve never heard of before.¡±

    Well yeah... it¡¯s something I made by using the knowledge I got from back in Earth.

    ¡°That magic will only knock them out, right? Can you finish the cave bats off before they recover?¡±

    ¡°The number is really a bit much. If you knock them out, killing them off will be quite easy, but as for whether or not we can finish them off in time...¡±

    ¡°Then in that case, couldn¡¯t we receive the help of the people behind us?¡±

    As I said that, the other people also agreed.

    Then, Wereanna-san realized something,

    ¡°Wait, so you noticed too?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯ve lived in the forest for 3 years. I¡¯ve be quite sensitive to the presence of others.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Then can you wait here for a bit?¡±

    Actually, there was a group of six following us from quite a distance behind for a while now. Since they weren¡¯t trying to attack us, we¡¯ve left them alone until now. Also, hearing the conversation of the five with me, I mentioned that they were probably G or E Rank adventurers who were following us from behind to gather the corpses of the monsters to bring it back for money.

    Although something like this isn¡¯t prohibited, it¡¯s not something to be praised either. It¡¯s an act that can be considered to be in the ¡®gray zone¡¯. The monsters killed by someone normally belong to that person, but what they can¡¯t carry and things that don¡¯t have value are thrown away. Those kind of things being picked up isn¡¯t an issue. But because it might be a source of a problem in the future, there aren¡¯t a lot of people that do it without permission.

    When we rested for a bit, the group came closer. Noticing that we had stopped moving, they were thrown into a panic and quickly stopped moving. At that, Wereanna-san called out in a loud voice.

    ¡°To the bastards that have been following us! You¡¯ve already been found out! Show yourselves!¡±

    Although the 6 were flustered, before long, they showed themselves. What appeared was a group of four humans and two beasts. Wereanna quickly began to question them.

    ¡°Why were you guys following us?¡±

    ¡°We were picking up the monsters that you threw away...¡±

    ¡°So you were just picking up the monsters we killed at your own convenience, huh? Well it¡¯s not like we actually want to lecture you about this.¡±

    At those words the 6 appeared to have been relieved as their expressions became brighter.

    ¡°We just want to know why you¡¯re doing this kind of thing.¡±

    When she said that, a young man replied in a panic.

    ¡°Y¨CYes! Actually, we are still only ranks G and F so... we were having a bit... of a problem with money...¡±

    ¡°At the start we were still fine, but when we bought weapons and armors for ourselves we ran out of money...¡±

    ¡°And then as for me I failed a contract and ended up having to pay the fine and ran out of money...¡±

    ¡°We are also just barely getting by with our lodging fees and so we wanted to find a way to cut down on our expenses, when this request came out. We thought, that if it was this request, then we would be able to get some money for our current lifestyle for a while. The magical beasts are weak so it¡¯s safe, as long as you join you get money, and if you bring monsters with you back you¡¯ll also get money. So we thought that we didn¡¯t have any way to get money aside from here!¡±

    ¡°And then after taking this request, when we got here we saw you guys. And...¡±

    Jeff-san seeing the stagnant reply of the female human adventurer asked,

    ¡°And then what?¡±

    ¡°And...¡±

    As the girl failed to reply properly, a male adventurer continued for her.

    ¡°We saw you guys take with you that brat. We figured if you¡¯re taking with you into the tunnel a brat like that, then it¡¯d be fine even if we took the corpses of the monsters you threw away. We thought you¡¯d let us off with picking those up since your taking with you a brat that couldn¡¯t be anything else except for a hindrance.¡±

    At that young man¡¯s unpleasant words, the other 5 gave off an unpleasant look. Well I mean yeah, even as a joke I am still a member of this group. You normally wouldn¡¯t say that a member of a group is useless. But as for whether it was because they also thought what he thought, or because they were reflecting on the fact that they gave their approval and started acting on that thought, not a single one of them tried to rebut what the young man had said.

    To that young man over there. You said it really arrogantly, but you know... the monsters I fell with my own magic were also included amongst the corpses you¡¯ve picked up, you know?

    I¡¯m a little irritated, but it can¡¯t be helped even if I were to mind it.

    ¡°You guys should know your...¡±

    Wereanna-san who wasn¡¯t happy about that raised her voice, but I stopped her.

    ¡°Its fine, Wereanna-san.¡±

    ¡°Ryouma, it¡¯s better to tell it straight to a person like this, you know?¡±

    ¡°This kind of thinking isn¡¯t something that can be changed by talking. It really can¡¯t be helped that I look weak on the outside.¡±

    I could also fix them up with brute force, but I¡¯m not particrly good at holding back so... this guys will probably end up really hurt if I did that...

    ¡°... Got it. But... You guys! If you¡¯re going to do something like that, at least say something! Just doing something like that on you convenience makes you look like a bunch of thieves! Don¡¯t do that!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry!!¡±

    The 6 people apologized in a big voice. Well, they apologized to everyone aside from me. As expected the other five aren¡¯t exactly reflecting, huh?

    After apologizing, the 6 people tried to give us the monster corpses they had collected and then go home, but Syria-san and Mizelia-san stopped them.

    ¡°Wait! Although we told you it was wrong to gather the corpses without permission, we don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything wrong with the act itself.¡±

    ¡°If you have problems with money, then its fine. Take it.¡±

    Hearing that, the six¡¯s expression immediately brightened up. They showed their gratitude to everyone else except for me, and said their thanks. Wereanna-san wasn¡¯t happy, but in the end we continued as we nned and Miya-san began to rmend the others to help us.

    ¡°Actually, there¡¯s another reason why we called you guys, nya. There¡¯s a colony of bats up ahead, but there¡¯s too many so it¡¯ll take time before we¡¯re able to kill them all, nya. So, won¡¯t you guys also help out? It¡¯ll be fine even if you take all the corpses back with you, nya.¡±

    The six agreed as if it was given. And then, while I confirmed that there were no people around with the magic ¡®search¡¯, Miya-san gave a simple exnation.

    ¡°First, Ryouma is going to hit them with magic, and then afterwards were going to rush in, nya.¡±

    ¡°That brat will?¡±

    ¡°Won¡¯t that kid¡¯s magic just make the enemy put up their guard?¡±

    Yep, as expected they aren¡¯t reflecting at all.

    ¡°If you have anyints then go home!¡± roared Wereanna-san.

    At that they withdrew, but after getting away a bit, they started whispering things like, ¡°It¡¯s the kid¡¯s guard, huh?¡± or ¡°I don¡¯t like this¡± or ¡°It¡¯s for the sake of money so it can¡¯t be helped¡±. I know, because they can be heard perfectly clear.

    Even then though, I ignored them and continued with my preparation. After confirming that there aren¡¯t any people over there, I put up a sound-proof barrier, and finished my preparation.

    ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡±

    ¡°Alright, do it Ryouma. And you guys too, get going!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going! ¡®Sound Bomb¡¯!¡±

    As I invocated the magic, a sound exploded from within the tunnels. However, because of the barrier, we didn¡¯t hear a single sound. So the 6 people from a while ago thought I failed.

    ¡°Nothing is happening though?¡±

    ¡°As expected it failed.¡±

    ¡°This is why brats are useless.¡±

    These guys are really shameless. They alreadypletely forgot about what happened a while ago, huh?

    ¡°It¡¯s a sess. It just happens to be a Wind Attribute Magic, so you guys can¡¯t see it.¡±

    Saying that, I went with Wereanna-san and the rest deep inside. At that, the 6 people made a bunch of excuses while they followed.

    However, when they got inside they couldn¡¯t help but look at the floor, dumbfounded. Whaty on the floor was a great number of cave bats.

    ¡°These have all only been knocked out, so please divide thebor amongst yourselves and quickly dispose of them all.¡±

    As I said that I immediately began. After we finally finished killing off all the cave bats, we left the six members alone in the deepest part of the cave and went out. As we went outside, Wereanna-san said this,

    ¡°Ryouma, is it really ok not to have said anything?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I already showed off my ability with a shot of my magic. If they can¡¯t understand it even with that, then that¡¯s all there is to them.¡±

    ¡°Well that¡¯s also probably true but...¡±

    Jeff-san also couldn¡¯t help but say,

    ¡°Having been ndered like that, if you don¡¯t beat them up a bit and show off your strength, you¡¯re going to be made light of, you know?¡±

    ¡°I also thought of beating them up... but I¡¯m quite bad at holding back. I can¡¯t do anything else except protecting myself, running away, or killing. If I were to deal with those six, even if I hold back, they¡¯ll still end up getting hurt too much.¡±

    I didn¡¯t really get to fight a lot with normal people back in my previous world... and ever since I got here the only people I¡¯ve had disagreements with are the bandits.

    In elementary, junior high, and high school, if you were to resist someone¡¯s bullying half-baked, then it will just end up getting worse... If I fought seriously I could have easily beaten them up but I went easy on them... Of course when my life is in danger I¡¯ll resist, but even though I held back a lot, after that everyone started looking at me with eyes as if they were looking at a monster.

    While I was thinking that Jeff-san said this,

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to mind something like that, you know?¡±

    ¡°They also seem like they don¡¯t have any money, so if I beat them up right now, they¡¯ll end up unable to work and that¡¯ll make me feel a bit bad, you know? Right now let¡¯s just say that it¡¯s because they¡¯re desperate to make a living that they¡¯re being a bit rebellious.¡±

    ¡°Rebellious... is that something that someone younger should say? They should be around 15 years old, you know?¡±

    ¡°Ryouma-kun are you really 11 years old?¡±

    ¡°Well, whatever... if that¡¯s what Ryouma-kun has decided then just leave it be, nya. It will be fine as long as you raise your rank quickly, nya.¡±

    Although it¡¯s true that I¡¯m bad at holding back, it¡¯s also because I¡¯m actually an uncle at heart, even though I may look like a kid that is... Anyway, I don¡¯t really feel like scolding them over a minor matter, much less beat them up. I really can¡¯t do something so childish.

    Besides everyone had already scolded them. I¡¯ve also shown them my abilities with my magic. Aside from this, all that¡¯s left is to let them reflect on their own.

    While we were talking about that, since it¡¯s already time for us to start preparing our meals, we all went back to the entrance of the mine.

 Volume 1 - 23

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Volume 1 Chapter 23

    TL Note: So I heard you guys wanted action...

    Volume 1 Chapter 23

    Break Time

    Ryouma was eating by himself in a corner where the adventurers were gathered after he received his portion of lunch.

    As for Jeff-san and the others, they went with the other adventurers to exchange information while eating, but since Ryouma didn¡¯t know what to talk about with other adventurers, he was by himself.

    ¡°Even though I can talk normally now, it¡¯s not like my fear of strangers has been cured... oh yeah, now that I think about it I did keep my conversation with other people to a minimum... it was normal for me to wait until someone talked to me...

    As Ryouma dropped his head to his own cowardice, a group of men came over and spoke to him.

    ¡°Hey.¡±

    ¡°Eh? Ah, yes, is something the matter?¡±

    Although Ryouma felt the mene close to him, he didn¡¯t expect them to actually talk to him, so his response ended up beingte.

    ¡°You¡¯re wearing a pretty nice armor, huh?¡±

    ¡°My armor? Well, yeah, it was quite expensive.¡±

    ¡°Wow, bastards with money really have it nice.¡±

    ¡°Won¡¯t you give some of that to us?¡±

    At the start, Ryouma responded normally. But with those twoments, Ryouma finally realized that these adventurers were up to no good.

    Adventurers would normally make a party of up to six and move as such. In the instance where they have to fight a lot of monsters or a particrly powerful prey, then they would gather more members and be an even bigger group. That kind of group normally disperses as soon as the job is over, but there are some rare instances where adventurers who worked in the same town would work together for a long time.

    These people belong to that kind of group. The members of the adventurer group who calls themselves, The Fang of Orbtem, are famous in the Town of Gimuru. Not because they¡¯re strong, but because of their bad deeds.

    When they find beginner adventurers and lower level adventurers with plenty of money, they do things like what they¡¯re doing right now, and try to extort money and equipment. There are plenty of beginner adventurers who give up their money after being threatened because of the difference in numbers. And even if they were to fight back, because there¡¯s simply too many, they still end up being stolen from.

    Right now, the prey of this group is the lonely adventurer who has no friends beside him, eating food by himself. When they saw this weak looking adventurer, well they just couldn¡¯t help themselves. And so, they nned to do their usual stuff, but...

    ¡°Sigh... extortion... I thought there were people who finally came to talk to me, but it turned out to be extortion...¡±

    Muttered Ryouma as he sighed disappointedly.

    For Ryouma, being caught up with people like this was an everyday urrence for him in his student days. Because of that, he didn¡¯t feel anything anymore in situations like this.

    Seeing the Ryouma who was acting boldly and sighing, the six faltered a bit. That¡¯s because it¡¯s normal for people to resist. Well, at the very least that¡¯s how it was for the adventurers they¡¯ve extorted from until now.

    ¡°That¡¯s cruel, man. This isn¡¯t extortion, we¡¯re just...¡±

    ¡°You said you wanted money right? I won¡¯t give you any, you know? Please work honestly and make money for yourselves.¡±

    Ryouma has always been entangled with people like this during his school days. But amongst those countless times he was being harassed, not once did he give money to them.

    There were many who would give their money and live peacefully, but Ryouma didn¡¯t give in to extortion. He could have beaten them up, but because he was forbidden by his father to fight, he lived his days irritating the bullies and being hit.

    Because of his bad habit from those days, Ryouma also acted rude in response to the six people. And as one would expect, they were enraged and started trying to threaten Ryouma. The voices of the six people reached even the ears of the surrounding adventurers, catching their attention.

    ¡°You have some guts, don¡¯t ya...? Don¡¯t fuck with me you shitty brat!! You think I don¡¯t know? The only job you¡¯ve taken till now is a measly cleaning job! A fucker like you who doesn¡¯t know how to fight only needs to do what he¡¯s told!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t fucking get cocky just cuz you bought some nice armor!! You¡¯re just a fucker who can¡¯t do anything but loiter around in a weird outfit!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m telling you to just hand over the fucking cash! You want to make this difficult?¡±

    ¡°You went against us, so leave your armor and your weapons!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s better than getting hurt ya know?¡±

    ¡°What, can¡¯t you hear me!?¡±

    ¡°I am able to hear you just fine even without you shouting. Or are you perhaps unable to hear? In any case, I will not be handing any money to you people. Nor will I hand my weapons and armor.¡±

    As he said that, he went back to eating his meal. Seeing that, the six people took out their swords. As expected, Ryouma was rmed and he steeled himself for battle.

    Ryouma generally didn¡¯t fight back in his previous life, but there were exceptions. That exception being when his life was in danger. In cases like that, Ryouma fought back. As for why he would only fight when his life was in danger, that¡¯s because he was bad at holding back.

    Even if he was forbidden by his father to fight, he was still given permission to defend himself. Only, the difference between his strength and his opponents were too much. So if Ryouma were to try to fight back, it would only end up as excessive self-defense. The techniques Ryouma had learned from his father were meant to efficiently destroy one¡¯s opponents. And those techniques were ingrained into him by his father¡¯s strict training.

    When he fought back during his school days, even the person who suffered light injuries had the hand he was holding a weapon with broken. That was the best Ryouma could do to hold back in his student days.

    This also means that in situations where Ryouma¡¯s life isn¡¯t in danger, he won¡¯t fight back.

    But this time, his opponents tried to take out their swords. If he were to be hit by those swords, his life would be in danger. Ryouma is the kind of man who wouldn¡¯t hesitate in a situation where his life was in danger.

    While Ryouma had his guard up, and as the men tried to take out their swords, someone called out to them.

    ¡°What are you guys doing!!?¡±

    That voice came from the man standing in the middle of the onlookers surrounding them from a distance.

    The guild master of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, Wogan.

    Wogan red at the six guys as he walked over to Ryouma.

    ¡°You guys, I can still let you off if you¡¯re only arguing, but I won¡¯t approve of you taking your swords out.¡±

    ¡°Why is the guild master...?¡±

    ¡°Withdraw!¡±

    ¡°Even if it¡¯s break time, we¡¯re still in the middle of a job. So stop fighting with your fellow adventurers!¡±

    ¡°Fight? There¡¯s nothin¡¯ like that. We¡¯re just teachin¡¯ this brat a lesson.¡±

    ¡°Cuz this kid don¡¯t have a single inkling of respect towards his senpai adventurer.¡±

    As the two men brazenly said that it was education, Ryouma said this while he was eating.

    ¡°You can¡¯t call extorting money, then getting mad when refused and trying to threaten me to get my armor and weapon, ¡®education¡¯, you know?¡±

    At those words, four of the men were startled and two of them stared at Ryouma with resentful eyes. Naturally, having something like that said while the guild master was around was bad.

    Of course, Wogan responded to those words,

    ¡°Certainly, that isn¡¯t education. What¡¯s the meaning of this?¡±

    ¡°Hey, hey. It¡¯d be problematic if you misunderstood us... what we were trying to do was for you...¡±

    ¡°Exactly how is trying to take my money, armor, and weapons, for my sake?¡±

    ¡°You fucker! Stop trying to nder us!!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll fucking kill you bitch!¡±

    The previously calm four, started to shout angrily at the few calm words Ryouma spoke. And then,

    ¡°Duel me!¡±

    Ryouma thought he had heard wrong at those sudden words and asked,

    ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°I said to duel me you brat!¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because you fucking falsely used us is why!!¡±

    ¡°If you lose you have to give us your money, armor, and weapons!¡±

    ¡°Consider it payment for the ss, brat. Because we¡¯ll be teachin you exactly how cruel adventurers are.¡±

    Ryouma opened his eyes, shocked. And then after his shocked had lessened, he said what he thought,

    ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve seen someone ask for a duel.¡±

    Those words that didn¡¯t carry a hint of tension caused the six to be irritated.

    ¡°Who cares about something like that!?¡±

    ¡°Are you going to ept?! ept or not, which is it!?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no way I would ept something like that, right? Trying to justify your crimes is meaningless, you know?¡±

    ¡°You scared, you brat?¡±

    ¡°This fucking coward!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re pathetic!!¡±

    This time, the six started to shower Ryouma with jeers.

    Although Wogan tried to stop that, he couldn¡¯tpletely stop it. As Ryouma was gloomily thinking of that, he suddenly thought,

    (Now that I think about it, Jeff-san said that if I don¡¯t fight them and show my strength, that I¡¯ll be looked down on.)

    Having remembered the words he was told this morning, Ryouma thought a little.

    Why won¡¯t I fight them? Well that¡¯s because I¡¯m bad at holding back. It¡¯ll just end up as excessive self-defense.

    But this world is different. If one is attacked, as long as it¡¯s for self-defense, then it¡¯s legal even if you kill. This is a world where the fracture Ryouma caused in his school days when he held back wasn¡¯t even worth mentioning. This is a world where you can¡¯t avoid fighting if you want to protect your daily life and your rights.

    And also, the opponents right now have a good build, unlike the kids he faced back then. Even if they¡¯re a bunch of thugs, they are adults that have trained how to fight.

    What¡¯s more, is thatpared to his school days, Ryouma can hold back better now. As he was thinking that, he thought again,

    (Oh yeah, I was pretty unsatisfied back in my previous life, huh?)

    Although Ryouma had endured the extortion and bullying, it¡¯s not like he didn¡¯t feel anything.

    It hurt when he got hit, and when he was spoken ill of, it also hurt. So he also thought of wanting to let loose. But by muttering to himself about excessive self-defense, he was somehow barely able to keep that urge. In other words, he had always wanted to beat those guys up.

    Having noticed that, Ryouma heard the jeers of the other men again.

    ¡°Coward!!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t run, and ept it!¡±

    ¡°A scared adventurer that can¡¯t ept should just retire!!¡±

    At those words, Ryouma said this,

    ¡°I understand, I¡¯ll ept it.¡±

    The moment he said that, the jeers stopped. And the onlookers watching all looked at Ryouma.

    However, Wogan, wanting to confirm Ryouma¡¯s intentions, asked with a serious face,

    ¡°Ryouma, you n to fight?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s no use even if I kept doing this.¡±

    Like this, Ryouma epted the duel of the six members of the adventurer group, The Fang of Orbtem.

 Volume 1 - 24

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Volume 1 Chapter 24

    TL Note: This is the full chapter, but for those who want to see the parted version of this. Click Here

    Volume 1 Chapter 24

    After dering that he¡¯ll be epting the duel, Ryouma made a rod with his short sword by cutting off and shaving a moderately sized branch of a nearby tree. The adventurers surrounding him, gave a sidelong nce as they whispered amongst themselves.

    These kinds of squabbles are fairlymon amongst the adventurers. Well, for it to reach to the point where it turns into a duel is pretty rare, but fist fights do happen a lot. So with that in mind the adventurers basically didn¡¯t try to stop the fight.

    Because adventurers put their lives on the line for their job, the ability to be able to judge the strength of their opponent inparison to theirs is very important. Even if one were to end up badly hurt after picking a fight with someone stronger, the one at fault is the person who couldn¡¯t properly gauge his opponent¡¯s strength. This is true even if it¡¯s not a quarrel between two adventurers and is a job. If you take a request that you can¡¯t handle, if you fail, then you¡¯ll lose your life.

    Normal people would fail that once or twice, after which they¡¯d understand their limits. But even then, there have been hardly any deaths when ites to arguments between adventurers. Even if an adventurer was known for his bad deeds, he would still remember the days when he too was inexperienced and will keep himself from going overboard.

    That¡¯s why, other adventurers won¡¯t do anything else aside from spectating. Unless the members of the Fang of Orbtem really try to kill Ryouma, or injure him in such a way that it will leave irreversible injuries, they won¡¯t do anything.

    These people are the same, believing that Ryouma is a novice that picked a fight with an opponent he cannot win against, and n to leave them alone for it to serve as a lesson for him, going in only to help when his life is in danger.

    However, not all the adventurers are just there to watch over them.

    There are also people that are cheering. For example, the group of Wereanna who had just finished eating and hade back.

    Since they can¡¯t fight, they decided to at least throw Ryouma words of encouragement.

    After that, Wereanna asked Ryouma,

    ¡°Ryouma, why did you ept the duel when you didn¡¯t even say anything to the six in the cave?¡±

    ¡°Those guys were also annoying but these guys are wearing armor so it won¡¯t end that badly for them. I wanted to settle it by talking, but that doesn¡¯t seem to possible right now... and also...¡±

    ¡°And also?¡±

    ¡°Actually, there¡¯s also that urge to let loose, you know? I believe I¡¯ve talked about this a little while ago with you guys, but I haven¡¯t actually fought a lot. I¡¯ve always remained defenseless except for situations where I¡¯ve decided that my life is in danger.

    And even if I were to resist, it would be as self-defense. Without killing my opponent and dedicating myself to running away, and no matter what fighting only when it¡¯s not possible to run away. That is my way of living. Because I had to do that, that¡¯s why. But, right now is different.

    I thought I¡¯d try to choose how to live my own life. So I thought that I¡¯d like to use the skills I¡¯ve trained in my life, and resist unreasonably for once. That¡¯s why those kind of guys are really convenient. Not only are they wearing armor, they have also been trained. If it¡¯s like that then they won¡¯t end up too hurt.¡±

    ¡°Ryouma-kun...¡±

    ¡°Ryouma. I can¡¯t stop you guys, but be careful.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re ready!¡±

    Having talked up to that point, the ce where they were going to duel was finally prepared, and so they called Ryouma. Ryouma took the rod he made out of a tree, and went to duel. Seeing that, the six members of the Fang of Orbtem and the surrounding adventurers couldn¡¯t help butugh.

    ¡°Hey, hey, hey, what is that piece of wood?¡±

    ¡°How funny, it¡¯s perfect for an F rank!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just holding my weapon, isn¡¯t it fine?¡±

    As he said that, the adventurers of the Fang of Orbtemughed even harder.

    ¡°Hey brat! Are you seriously thinking of picking a fight with us with that?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m not good at holding back, if I use a weapon with a de attached I might identally kill you.¡±

    At those words, the surrounding voices quieted down, and the faces of the adventurers of the Fang of Orbtem flushed deep red.

    ¡°You looking down on us bitch?¡±

    ¡°I am not looking down on you. I have taken into consideration your ability as well as mine, and have decided that this is for the best.¡±

    ¡°You fucking brat! I¡¯m gonna fuckin¡¯ kill you!!¡±

    At those words the other adventurers also raised their voices. Right after that, Wogan, who took the role of the referee, gave the signal to start, and two of the men came rushing at Ryouma.

    Ryouma quickly swung the rod he was holding up, hitting the pommel of the sword the man swung down with his right hand and repelling it. He then took a half step and hit the sr plexus of the man with the opposite side of the rod.

    As if he was flowing, he kept moving and swept the rod to his left, hitting the grip of the man to his left. Returning the rod, he hit the wrist, and with the kote, a gauntlet used in kendo, he pped down the sword, and thrust the man¡¯s throat.

    Having lost the grip on their sword, and receiving a blow to the pit of their stomach and to their throat, the two men gave a painful moan as they backed off. At that opening, Ryouma rushed in, and quickly hit the chin of the two with his rod, giving the two a cerebral concussion and knocking them out. As the sound of the swords hitting the ground echoed, the two men fell to the ground.

    The onlookers believed that Ryouma didn¡¯t have the ability to win against the six people in front of him. And even if he had fought only one, he still wouldn¡¯t be able to win, in the end the six would have just made a sport of him. But seeing the scene unfolding right before them, they couldn¡¯t help but tremble as they were left speechless.

    The 6 people before Ryouma were the same. Failing to understand the sight of two men falling into the ground, the four remaining memberspletely forgot to move.

    ¡°Hey! The four over there, youing?¡±

    ¡°Che!¡±

    At those words, one of the men clicked his tongue, wielded his axe and jumped at Ryouma.

    The axe came falling down at Ryouma¡¯s head. Seeing that, he spun his body, and as he did so he hit the side of the axe with the rod, moving its trajectory, and allowing him to dodge. Continuing that, he moved the rod that had just hit the side of the axe and thrust it into the man¡¯s throat. As he took control of his spinning body, he turned the rod and used the tip that had just plunged into the man¡¯s throat to hit the chin. Doing so he sent another man into a cerebral concussion, putting the number of men down at three.

    When the three remaining men saw that, one of them put his sword back into the scabbard and walked out. What was he nning? Is he giving up? No. The man that has now be unarmed, ns to take Ryouma¡¯s rod. Once he has taken control of Ryouma¡¯s rod, the two behind him will make their move and attack with their spear and knife.

    The man seeded at grabbing Ryouma¡¯s rod. At that moment he believed that Ryouma has now been pushed into a corner.

    ¡°Ha!!¡±

    However, in the next instant, Ryouma poured out his fighting spirit as he thrust his rod into the man while the man was still holding it. As the man was thrust away, he let go of Ryouma¡¯s rod, and came crashing at the two men behind him.

    Because of that the man ended up receiving the knife of the man behind him, and the man that had a spear had to dodge the man, causing him to stagger and show a huge opening. Ryouma did not miss that opening. He quickly took his rod, and hit the man¡¯s head to knock him out.

    When the man with a knife saw that hisrade that held a spear has been knocked out, and the unarmed man was beside him squatting as he held his stomach, he clearly became panicked. To such a man, Ryouma leisurely walked closer.

    They all thought that they had the advantage, everyone did. However when the battle had begun, Ryouma one-sidedly trashed the other five. Unable toe to grips with the reality before him, the man couldn¡¯t ept their loss.

    The man frantically held his knife and rushed at Ryouma, but such a thing wouldn¡¯t work. Ryouma quickly swung his rod diagonally from his right below going up to the left, and knocking down the knife. Continuing that, he swept against the man¡¯s leg with the rod, hit the head when the man fell, and thrust at the throat.

    ¡°Uwaaaaaaaa!!!! Aga!¡±

    These men kept spitting insults at Ryouma, yet this men¡¯s abilities were no better than an amateur¡¯s. These guys were the kind that would pick on people weaker than them or around their level, and would only overpower them by their number.

    Since from the start these men didn¡¯t have any guts to fight people stronger than them. When they see that there¡¯s a difference in power, they will immediately withdraw, and without any hesitation surrender like this.

    ¡°I, I give up! I¡¯m surrendering!¡±

    "Winner! Ryouma Takebayashi!"

    ¡°Wahoooooo!¡±

    At Wogan¡¯s deration, the surrounding onlookers all cheered for Ryouma. The eyes and thements that were around when they thought Ryouma was someone who didn¡¯t know his own limits had all disappeared, and now the crowd unanimously admired Ryouma.

    A man came out from the ring of onlookers with a double-edged axe on his back. As he moved closer to Ryouma, the crowd grew quiet.

    ¡°Not bad. For a brat. I¡¯m the leader of the Fang of Orbtem, Shi. What do you think? How ¡®bout joining us?¡±

    ¡°I refuse.¡±

    It was a sudden invitation, but Ryouma gave a prompt reply.

    ¡°You¡¯re refusing my invitation?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no way I¡¯d want to suddenly be therade of a bunch of guys who were looking down on me just a while ago.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s true. But you see... we need to do something about the fact that you sullied our name.¡±

    ¡°Wait!¡±

    At Shi¡¯s words, Wogan put himself in between the two.

    ¡°The one who proposed this duel was your men. It¡¯s unreasonable to say that just because you lost.¡±

    ¡°Unreasonable? That kind of thing doesn¡¯t matter. The problem is that what belongs to me just lost to this brat. You also understand, right? Just how important this thing called ¡®face¡¯ in this job is. An adventurer with good reputation will find a lot of jobs, and a poor reputation will find few. And for an adventurer, the worst kind of rumor, is the rumor of being weak. A weak adventurer can¡¯t do jobs, that¡¯s what it means to be an adventurer. To an adventurer like that, jobs won¡¯te.¡±

    As he said that, Shi looked at the six men on the ground and then dered this,

    ¡°From now on you bastards aren¡¯t allowed to use the name, Fang of Orbtem! You¡¯re fired!¡±

    ¡°W¨Cwait Shi-san, please wait!¡±

    ¡°Shut up!! To think you would actually, in front of all people, lose to this brat! I don¡¯t need weak bitches like you in my team! Right now I really want to kill you fuckers! If you¡¯re going to surrender then you might as well die!¡±

    At those words, Ryouma remembered something from the past. Shi¡¯s words right now were simr to the behavior of an authority in thepany that his deceased mother had insulted. Realizing that, an unspeakable displeasure crawled through Ryouma¡¯s body. It¡¯s not like Shi hasn¡¯t done anything to Ryouma. If I must say it then right now Shi is trying to find fault with Ryouma. But, that¡¯s just it. Between the two of them, that¡¯s all there is.

    However, right now, Ryouma has the urge to thoroughly tear Shi apart. The reason for that is the repugnance and hate that he had continuously piled up for the authorities and thepany employees in his past life that he had forgotten sinceing here. But of course, Shi had nothing to do with that. Understanding that, Ryouma kept his urge. But that was extremely unpleasant.

    Furthermore, Ryouma is as calm as he can understand the difference in ability between them. However, what that means is that even if Shi were to attack with all the members of the Fang of Orbtem, he would deal with them without question. And that prediction was correct.

    Although the members of the Fang of Orbtem are D Rank up, that is not because of their own individual strengths but because of their number and the quality of their equipment. The only ones that actually have ability are Shi and several of the cornerstones of the Fang of Orbtem. Moreover those people are Rank C. If Ryouma were to seriously go at it, he would be able to deal with them easily. To put it bluntly, there isn¡¯t a single factor for Ryouma¡¯s defeat.

    However, strangely enough, it was that calm judgement that became one of the factors that loosened Ryouma¡¯s bound of reason. If the one here right now was someone that he absolutely could not win against, then he would have made a decision to withdraw. Even if it was only dangerous and he could actually win, he would still make the decision to put up his guard and try to avoid fighting.

    But, Ryouma can win. Easily too. Because of that all thoughts of running away ceased. Right now, just keeping himself from picking a fight with this man has already pushed his reason to its brink.

    And in that brink, Shi¡¯s words reached him and... it broke hisst sense of reason.

    ¡°If you just hand that brat over to us we can settle everything peacefully. It¡¯s better even for that brat¡¯s sake, right? I heard it you know? That brat is being raised by some noble. From now on he¡¯s going to be kept until he dies, and if the nobles get tired of him they¡¯ll just throw him away. If he does something poorly, won¡¯t they just throw him away? Rather than being treated like a tool by some noble, it¡¯s better for him to go with us and live more freely...¡±

    ¡°Shut up.¡±

    While Shi was speaking loudly, all of the sudden Ryouma cut him with a voice that carried a heavy aura of intimidation. Hearing that all of the sudden, everything quietened down.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you saying something really convenient for you? What do you know about those people?¡±

    ¡°What? You mad that I¡¯m making fun of your owner?¡±

    ¡°Ahh, it¡¯s getting to my head. The one who treats people like tools is you isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Ryouma¡¯s eyes were already clearly enraged. Because of that he spoke loosely to Shi as his body gave of an unusual pressure. Shi, finding fault in that, yelled at Ryouma.

    ¡°You arrogant brat... the only thing a bitch like you needs to do is obey me! To begin with, what¡¯s up with that way of talking you bitch? I¡¯m the leader of the Fang of Orbtem, a C Rank adventurer, Shi! A brat like you shouldn¡¯t be talking like you¡¯re looking down on me!! A brat like you who is always talking politely shouldn¡¯t suddenly talk like that! Talking like that doesn¡¯t make you scary! Don¡¯t think you can scare me with something like that!!¡±

    (TL Note: From here on out. Ryouma stops using polite speech (keigo) and also uses °³ to refer to himself instead of Ë½. His manner of speaking is far less polite here, enough to be considered rude depending on who he¡¯s talking to. But still not as boorish as Shi or the others.

    Being told that, Ryouma suddenly remembered.

    ¡°Always? ... Ahh, you mean the way I normally talk? I¡¯m bad at getting along with people, so I got used to talking like that. Since I got used to it too much, whenever I try to talk normally, I just end up using it. Really, I¡¯m just talking politely, but the truth is when I¡¯m talking inside my head this is how it alwayses out.¡±

    ¡°Then don¡¯t you think you should respect me? Listen up brat, you may be stronger than the trash over there, but you better not think that it¡¯s a good idea to talk like that to me!¡±

    ¡°I just thought that there isn¡¯t any value in being polite to you, that¡¯s all.¡±

    At those words a vein popped out over his eyebrow. Looking at this exchange, it can be seen that Ryouma is intentionally provoking, but Ryouma actually doesn¡¯t have any ill will. He is actually just talking of boring things while he¡¯s pissed.

    However, everyone was confused at Ryouma¡¯s sudden changed, and were silently watching.

    Within that confused group, the one who was most rmed was Wogan.

    If I don¡¯t stop them, Shi will be in danger.

    Normally, the one who you¡¯d be worrying about is Ryouma, but Wogan understands how much more powerful Ryouma is over Shi even without his bow. And so he desperately tried to put a stop to the fight, but...

    ¡°Ke! Don¡¯t try to be cheeky with me you shitty brat, it¡¯d be better if you just shut up and join us. If you refuse, then pay the debt! Which is it? Huh, brat!?¡±

    ¡°No matter how many times you say it, I won¡¯t join you. If it¡¯s a duel, then I¡¯ll ept whatever you want.¡±

    With this, the two has already clearly shown their intentions to duel.

    In this world, once two people have shown their intentions to duel, no one is allowed to interfere. The only way to stop the duel is for the two people involved to reconciliate, toe to an understanding or to give money causing the person who receives it to have no choice but consent. However in this case, neither is willing to withdraw. And so the duel urring is now a given.

    ¡°Good guts... drink, it¡¯s thest alcohol you¡¯ll get to taste before you die. It¡¯s some good stuff, you know.¡±

    Saying that, Shi threw the wine bottle from his waist to Ryouma.

    ¡°Unfortunately, I am still only 11. You need to be 12 to drink, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯re a brat! That¡¯s something that you should be drinking! Don¡¯t you havemon sense!?¡±

    Having said that, Shi clearly took Ryouma to have been making a fool of him. However, Ryouma refusing this wine is not because of thew. The drinking age may be 12, but the reason greatly differs from Japan. The reason in this world is simply because since one is young, one will easily be able to get drunk.

    Depending on the ce, because of some reason there are some situations where it can be more dangerous to drink water than alcohol. There are also no age restrictions.

    Above all, ording to Sebasu-san, Ryouma had received the protection of the God of Wine, Tekun. People who have received the God of Wine¡¯s protection, are unable to get hangovers or get drunk and so it is said that they are not affected by the age restrictions on alcohol.

    Then, why did you Ryouma refuse the wine?

    Actually that wine has poison in it. A paralyzing poison has been mixed in with that wine, and anyone who drinks it will be unable to move properly. Shi handing it over as one¡¯s st drink¡¯ is something that he always does against opponents he can¡¯t afford to be careless against. But of course, doing something like this is foul y.

    In the instance where one bes poisoned after receiving an attack from a magic weapon enchanted by poison magic, the act of using poison can still be excused because that is something that urred because of the difference in weapons. However, secretly poisoning your opponent like what Shi does is uneptable. If it were to be found out, on top of instantly being considered the loser, he will also be disdained by the people around him.

    And so, people who actually try to poison their opponents like this are extremely rare. Even if one¡¯s prospects for winning is one in a million, if one were to be found out, on top of losing, that person will be punished and be ostracized by everyone around him. The end result of that possibility is far worse than just losing, so no one does it.

    Because everyone understands this, there are plenty of people who would drink the wine unassumingly, believing that there is no way that it could be poisoned. It¡¯s actually quite miraculous that until now a young man like Shi who gets a lot of attention, is confident and hot-blooded has not been caught red-handed yet.

    Of course Ryouma didn¡¯t trust Shi at all, so he stealthily used ¡®Identify¡¯ to confirm whether there¡¯s poison or not. Realizing that the only thing mixed in was a paralyzing poison, Ryouma drank it. Why? Because Ryouma who possessed the skill, ¡®Poison Resistance¡¯, couldn¡¯t possibly be affected by something on this level. So he drank it till thest the drop and was going to show proof that he drank it.

    ¡°...Don¡¯t get mad at being taught somemon sense¡±

    As Shi said that he looked at Ryouma who had just drank the wine, andughed.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it great to drink some good wine before dying?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t really think it¡¯s that good.¡±

    ¡°Che! What an annoying brat! That was high ss stuff! I just wanted to let you enjoy yourst moments, and yet you make such rude remarks...¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re pretty noisy for someone who just gave it on his own ord. I¡¯ll give you this wine, so quiet down.¡±

    Said Ryouma as he threw the wine he had bought before as offering to the god of wine, The Tear of Keromi.

    ¡°Why do you have alcohol with you? I thought you didn¡¯t drink because you¡¯re still a brat.¡±

    ¡°I bought it as offering to the god of wine. After offering it, I didn¡¯t know what to do with it, so I just left it in my Item Box. Also it seems to be some high ss stuff too so if I give this to you we¡¯ll be even.¡±

    ¡°Oh, what¡¯s this called?¡±

    ¡°I believe it¡¯s called ¡®The Tear of Keromi¡¯.¡±

    At those words all the wine lovers in the area looked at the bottle Ryouma had thrown over to Shi. Shi, himself, also couldn¡¯t help but look.

    It¡¯s true that the wine that Shi had given Ryouma was high ss, butpared to the Tear of Keromi, it isn¡¯t even worth mentioning. There are many who actually resell this wine, not just because of its taste, but also because of the small amount produced in a year. It¡¯s a super high ss wine that if resold will not go for less than 100 small gold coins. Having been tossed something like that, it can¡¯t be helped that Shi actually forgot what they were talking about.

    ¡°Ah, ah, I¡¯ll let you go with this.¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re going to drink then drink. Let¡¯s start quickly and end quickly.¡±

    As Ryouma said that, Shi quickly handed the Tear of Keromi to his subordinate.

    ¡°Hey brat! You ready?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, whenever you want. Are youing alone?¡±

    Ryouma¡¯s responses up till now have been tinged with displeasure because the duke¡¯s family was insulted, but those words he had spoken just now didn¡¯t have a trace of anger and was just an honest question.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Nah, if you¡¯re not going to beining after you lose then it¡¯s fine. But if you¡¯re going to beining afterwards, then you might as well bring the entire Fang of Orbtem with you now. Oh and byin I don¡¯t just mean you, but also your subordinates.¡±

    Or so Ryouma said with a really bored tone. Hearing that Shi and the members of the Fang of Orbtem was enraged.

    ¡°You¡¯ve fucking said it brat!! Hey, fuckers! Get your weapons ready and get your asses over here!¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t have any choice left Shi-san!¡±

    ¡°Fucking looking down on us!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you, you brat!¡±

    ¡°Even if you cry we¡¯re not gonna hold back!¡±

    33 armed men went out before Ryouma as they showered him with their jeers.

    ¡°Look! You still feel like taking on all of this at once!? If you apologize now I can still let you off! Or are you gonna call your friends? Well, that¡¯s if you have friends, that is!¡±

    Without getting particrly worked up, Ryouma sluggishly replied.

    ¡°I have ve monsters, but I¡¯ll be fine alone.¡±

    At Ryouma¡¯s words, Shi who had be so mad that he had forgotten his goal yelled,

    ¡°If you have, then call them! There¡¯s no point in winning against a lone brat!!¡±

    What is he saying after all this time? Even if it were one on one, for a grown man who is an adventurer and is also equipped with a magic weapon to go up against a kid with nothing but a stick, it would still be the same, no?

    ¡°You just won¡¯t stopining, huh? Fine, I¡¯ll call them over, just wait for a bit.¡±

    As Ryouma said that, he left the area for a bit.

 Volume 1 - 25

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Volume 1 Chapter 25

    TL Note: Raypin is the one that keeps saying ¨Cde aru and is not a samurai. Asagi is the one that keeps going ¨Cde gozaru and is samurai. I may have mixed this up a while ago, but only in the TL notes I think.

    Also when you see the words old man, it¡¯s usually Jeff talking.

    Volume 1 Chapter 25

    After Ryouma left, the onlookers all started talking.

    ¡°Old man, can¡¯t you stop them?¡¯

    ¡°If I could I would have already had! They¡¯ve already agreed to duel so there¡¯s nothing we can do anymore!¡±

    ¡°If you leave them alone like that the members of the Fang of Orbtem will be in danger ¨Cde gozaru.¡±

    Syria-san tilted her head.

    ¡°Eh, the Fang of Orbtem is? Not Ryouma-kun?¡±

    Wogan nodded.

    ¡°Umu, most likely even if the Fang of Orbtem uses all their members they won¡¯t be able to stop Ryouma.¡±

    ¡°It looks like Shi has pissed him off, nya.¡±

    Pondering, Jeff san said,

    ¡°He probably feels some sort of gratitude to the nobles that Shi was talking about. Old man, do you know something?¡±

    ¡°Whether I know something or not, the ones who put up the request for today is them, the Ducal Household of Jamil.¡±

    At that the group couldn¡¯t help but exim in unison.

    ¡°What!?¡±

    ¡°The Duke!? Isn¡¯t that like a super big thing!?¡±

    ¡°Why is something like that involved!?¡¯

    ¡°Like I¡¯d know! Even I was surprised. That guy actually came over with the entire household of the duke to register, you know?¡±

    Jeff shook his head.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand that guy...¡±

    Pondering, Syria-san asked,

    ¡°Ryouma-kun isn¡¯t a noble, right?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of the Takebayashi Family so he most likely isn¡¯t. And besides, if he were a noble then there¡¯s no way he would have taken the job to clean thetrine pits --de aru.¡±

    Mizelia-san sighed.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun is quite the mysterious child, huh? In a lot of ways.¡±

    Nodding, Syria-san said,

    ¡°He also has a lot of high level and difficult skills at his age.¡±

    ¡°Holding several resistance skills, and that story about him being an orphan, it would appear that he has suffered quite a lot ¨Cde gozaru.¡±

    Jeff-san nodded.

    ¡°There¡¯s no mistaking that. Lv7 Disease Resist and Sleep Resist, isn¡¯t something you get by living normally.¡±

    ¡°Everyone, rather than inquiring about Ryouma¡¯s past, right now we need to find out how to put a stop to this mess ¨Cde gozaru.¡±

    Wogan sighing said.

    ¡°Even if you tell me that... fortunately I¡¯ll be the referee again. So I¡¯ll stop it when things get bad, then under the pretense of following the order of the referee, you guys will interfere and stop them. Asagi and Jeff, you two should be able to stop Ryouma... but in the worst case I¡¯ll go as well.¡±

    ¡°Understood ¨Cde gozaru.¡±

    ¡°Guess we¡¯ll have to go with that.¡±

    Mizelia-san nodded.

    ¡°Understood! By the way, Ryouma-kun said that he¡¯d bring his ve monsters but...¡±

    As if he realized something, Jeff asked,

    ¡°By monsters, he means those slimes, right? And when he mentioned that he¡¯d bring them back with him... he wouldn¡¯t actually go all the way back to the town, would he?¡±

    Shaking his head, Wogan replied,

    ¡°It would be great if he just ran away like that but... That guy is unusually earnest so I doubt he¡¯d run. He also doesn¡¯t have any reason to run.¡±

    ¡°Ah, he came back nya!¡±

    Ryouma came back with his ve monsters following him from behind. Seeing that, the Fang of Orbtem¡¯s members that were insulting Ryouma, became even more enraged.

    ¡°Hey, that guy brought slimes!¡±

    ¡°Slimes? The asshole is treating us like idiots!¡±

    ¡°Wait a minute... isn¡¯t there a bit too many?¡±

    The slimes were bouncing behind Ryouma in a straight line, but that line was extending continuously, seemingly having no end.

    ¡°Sorry, my bad. Slimes are really quite slow so... And then, there¡¯s also a lot of them so I figured that if I brought them all at the same time it would be quite shocking... so instead I made them line up behind me. We could havee faster if I didn¡¯t make them line up but...¡±

    ¡°Whatever, let¡¯s just start this fucking duel! Brat!!¡±

    Because Shi yelled that, Ryouma ordered the slimes to break formation and toe as soon as possible. Doing so, a great number of slimes gathered.

    ¡°Eh? Wai¨C, kyaa!?¡±

    ¡°So many!¡±

    ¡°How many are there!?¡±

    After they had all gathered, Ryouma spoke.

    ¡°I made you wait, these are my ve monsters. 4310 slimes in total.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s too many!¡±

    Shi¡¯s yell spoke not only for himself but for everyone who saw that scene.

    ¡°Seeing all the slimes gathered in a bright ce like this, it certainly is an amazing sight, -de aru.¡±

    ¡°This is the first time that this one has seen so many slimes ¨Cde gozaru.¡±

    Syria-san nced at the Fang of Orbtem¡¯s members.

    ¡°Looks like some of them have already withdrawn.¡±

    Shi was shocked at the number of slimes that came out but he still yelled to start the duel. And so the two of them went to their starting positions, and at Wogan¡¯s sign, the duel began. However, because of the great number of slimes, the members of the Fang of Orbtem were confused. Seeing that, Shi jeered at them.

    ¡°You fucking idiots! Why the fuck are you being scared just because there¡¯s a lot slimes!? Kill them all!¡±

    At those words, around ten men stepped forward. Within that ten, one man tried to cut one of the nearby slimes.

    ¡°Ha! Che! Next... shit!¡±

    ¡°What are you doing? You suck!! You still call yourself a D Rank with that!?¡±

    Dodging and dodging, the Slime continued to dodge the man¡¯s sword. That man beingpletely unable to beat that slime, was joined by another man, but...

    ¡°Arrgh! What is this slime!?¡±

    ¡°It moves so fucking quick while it dodges!¡±

    ¡°Why can a slime dodge like this!?¡±

    ¡°Even if I graze it, I just can¡¯t hit the nucleus...¡±

    The 10 D ranked adventurers swung their swords many times, but they couldn¡¯t kill even a single slime. Seeing that, the onlookers were left speechless.

    Looking at that scene, Mizelia-san praised,

    ¡°Unexpectedly, those slimes can move pretty darn well.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, those slimes are unusually strong.¡±

    ¡°Umu. Completely seeing through their opponents attacks, they dodge while taking only a paper thin space ¨C de gozaru.¡±

    ¡°I heard that amongst the ve magic users, there were some people that strengthened their ve monsters by training them. Looks like, Ryouma¡¯s slimes have received some sort of training -de aru.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not the kind of movement you¡¯d expect from a slime, nya.¡±

    Seeing that the slimes couldn¡¯t be hit at all, they looked at it admiringly. Hearing that, Shi yelled jeers even harder.

    ¡°How long have you fuckers been adventurers!? Stop messing around and get rid of those slimes!!¡±

    And so it became a rough melee between the 33 adventurers and the 4310 slimes... or so it should have been.

    ¡°Uwaah!? What is this!¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t move! Help me!¡±

    While rushing in to attack, the Sticky Slime spit out its Strong Sticky Liquid, tripping seven of the men and turning them over. Five other men tried to save them, but the liquid got stuck to them too. Having been entangled, all 12 of them where stuck on the ground. Seeing that, the other adventurers stopped moving.

    ¡°It¡¯s a high ss race! Don¡¯t save the people that have fallen over! You¡¯ll get stuck too!¡±

    ¡°Aah!! What is this!?¡±

    ¡°Now what!?¡±

    ¡°The, the spear...¡±

    ¡°What about the spear!¡±

    ¡°My spear is melting!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s acid slime! There are acid slimes mixed in with those!¡±

    ¡°What!?¡±

    ¡°Be careful! Your weapon will be melted!¡±

    ¡°This isn¡¯t funny! My sword was expensive, you know!?¡±

    ¡°Hey! Your armor is being melted!!¡±

    ¡°Che! Zeno, Kotor... what¡¯s wrong Kotor!? Get a hold of yourself!¡±

    ¡°Be... care....ful... the...re....are....ev...en....poi.....son.....sli...mes...¡±

    ¡°Ko, Kotor-san has been done in!?¡±

    ¡°Seriously?... What¡¯s wrong with these slimes!!?¡±

    At the unexpected fierce attack of the slimes, the members of the Fang of Orbtem were defeated one after another. Seeing that one-sided fight, the onlookers were stunned.

    ¡°How frightening...¡±

    ¡°It gets really troublesome when you gather these many high ss slimes... One at a time can be disposed of easily, but...¡±

    ¡°Unless you wipe them all out with magic, this is impossible.¡±

    ¡°Because the slimes¡¯ movements are good, it¡¯s be even more difficult to kill them ¨Cde gozaru. The members of the Fang of Orbtem needs to attack the nucleus. In contrast to that, all the slimes need to do is spit out poison and acid without needing to actually target something so precise, while the members of the Fang of Orbtem, because they need to get close to attack, are basically targets that keeping to get hit. If they throw up the acid and the poison they¡¯ve dodged, it¡¯s also easy for it to hit their allies or their armors. On top of that, because of the number of slimes there are they won¡¯t be able to dodge ¨C de gozaru.¡±

    ¡°As a magician, it¡¯s still fine for me, but it¡¯s extremely difficult for warriors. However, even for a magician, if one were to be attacked by this many slimes, there¡¯s a possibility of eventually being grabbed. I will definitely not make an enemy out of Ryouma ¨C de aru.¡±

    Jeff showed a hint of disdain.

    ¡°That bastard, Shi. It became like this because he let his guard down because they were slimes.¡±

    ¡°And on top of that, they¡¯re also really slow at dealing with them, nya.¡±

    The onlookers now all believe that the Fang of Orbtem¡¯s defeat has already been decided. And opinions about it have beening out here and there. As for the leader, Shi. Hisrades have all fallen, and the only thing he can do now is to keep yelling.

    ¡°Son of a bitch! Why are we, by that brat!? Why, by something like a slime!? This is dirty you brat!¡±

    ¡°The one who said to use my ve monsters was you, right? I did tell you that I didn¡¯t mind fighting alone.¡±

    ¡°Arrgh... then, you, using poison is unfair!!¡±

    ¡°Is that something you should be saying!!!!?¡±

    Right after Ryouma¡¯s thundering roar against the Shi who was blind to his own shorings, more members of the Fang of Orbtem fell, and for a moment the battle stopped. Because of that what Ryouma had just said echoed.

    ¡°Using poison is unfair? You also used poison, right? Then we¡¯re the same. You don¡¯t have the right to say it¡¯s unfair or to call me a coward. At the very least I don¡¯t want to be told that by someone like you.¡±

    ¡°Wh, what are you talking about!?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t y the fool... Raypin-san!¡±

    ¡°What is it ¨Cde aru?¡±

    ¡°Please use Identify on the contents of this wine.¡±

    Saying that, Ryouma threw the wine Shi had thrown him before to Raypin. After that, Raypin who had used Identify on the bottle, yelled.

    ¡°This wine is poisoned!!¡±

    At those words, the entire area broke into an uproar. Wogan stopped the duel, went over to Shi, and said this.

    ¡°The duel is being postponed! Shi, I would like to hear an exnation from you.¡±

    ¡°Wait, I didn¡¯t do something like putting poison in the wine! That kid put it in the bottle himself and is trying to fuck me over! Didn¡¯t he add the poison when he called the slimes a while ago? As proof of that, that kid is perfectly ok, isn¡¯t he!? He drank the wine, so isn¡¯t it weird that he¡¯s perfectly ok!?¡±

    ¡°Not really ¨C de aru. This poison will only lightly paralyze the limbs. It will be problematic to hold one¡¯s weapons, but just standing alone shouldn¡¯t be a problem. ¨C de aru.¡±

    ¡°Ryouma, are you paralyzed?¡±

    ¡°I have the Poison Resist Skill, so no. If I didn¡¯t have the poison resist, then I wouldn¡¯t have drank it to begin with.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t lie! Even if you had 1 or 2 levels of poison resist, this isn¡¯t the kind of poison that you could...¡±

    At this time Shi who has been enraged until now has be shocked and impatient upon finding out that Ryouma knew about the poison. And upon knowing that Ryouma drank the wine while knowing about the poison in it, he became even more enraged. Having been taken over by his emotions, he couldn¡¯t help but explode at Ryouma.

    ¡°... Certainly, just as Shi has mentioned, this is not the kind of poison that you could stop with a level or two of poison resist ¨C de aru¡±

    Wogan shook his head and stared hard at Shi.

    ¡°Shi, you did say that you didn¡¯t know about the poison in this wine, right? You said the one who put the poison in this was Ryouma. Then, howe you know the strength of the poison mixed in with this? Hahhhh?¡±

    ¡°Gugugu...

    ¡°Give it up, Shi.¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯d like, should I drink what¡¯s left of that wine in front you? I¡¯ll do it just like a while ago.¡±

    ¡°Certainly, with that you¡¯ll definitely be able to provide proof that you did drink it, but... is that alright ¨C de aru?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s won¡¯t be any problem because my poison resist level is 7. Most poison won¡¯t work on me.¡±

    At those words, the people around started to murmur.

    ¡°Ryouma, how have you been living up till now? Level 7 poison resist is definitely not something you can get by living normally ¨C de aru.¡±

    ¡°Ahh, I became a target of gambling, you see? So it was probably because of that, that it rose.¡±

    ¡°Gambling?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m an orphan who was taken in by my grandparents who lived in a vige that was extremely cruel to outsiders. My grandparents raised me up, but because I¡¯m an outsider the vigers hated me. And so they made me drink things like dirty water and poison. They then made me the target of their gambling and gambled as to whether or not I¡¯d end up suffering because of the poison or because of a disease.¡±

    Ryouma smoothly mixed the memories of his past life with the settings that the gods had set up for him. And after having said that, the people around him looked at him with eyes of pity.

    ¡°I asked you something bad. My apologies ¨C de aru.¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t mind, it¡¯s already something of the past. Ah, and guild master please use this as evidence for the time being.¡±

    As he said that, Ryouma showed the poison resist Lv7 on his status board.

    ¡°I¡¯ve confirmed it. You certainly have poison resist Lv7. With this, unless it¡¯s a really powerful medicine, then it won¡¯t take effect on you. Now then, this duel, because of Shi¡¯s foul y! This duel goes to Ryouma!!¡±

    At Wogan¡¯s decision, the people around shouted cheers and showered Ryouma with praises. At the same time they threw jeers at Shi and the Fang of Orbtem. After that, Shi and the Fang of Orbtem¡¯s members, were taken to the guild by a number of adventurers and guild employees. ncing at that, the onlookers finished their lunch break and went back to subjugate the monsters.

    However at that time, Shi, who was unable to ept the result of the duel, did something reckless. We thought Shi would obediently allow himself to be taken, but he went against that expectation and knocked the adventurer, who was taking him to the guild. He then stole that adventurer¡¯s one-handed axe and jumped at Ryouma from behind.

    ¡°Die brat!!!¡±

    However that was also meaningless to Ryouma. Ryouma, without even turning to look at Shi, took a step back, and while dodging Shi¡¯s stolen axe, bent his back backwards and grabbed Shi¡¯s Adam¡¯s apple with the thumb and index finger of his left hand.

    ¡°Awk!? Gak! Gah......¡±

    At that attack, Shi unintentionally stepped back and coughed violently. During that time, Ryouma turned and stared at Shi.

    At the same time, Shi red at Ryouma again and came shing with his axe diagonally down. Ryouma closed the gap between himself and Shi, and with his left arm he hit Shi¡¯s right hand which held the axe, and averted the attack.

    And then with Shi having swung the axe and extended his arms, Ryouma entangled his own right arm underneath the other side of the elbow of Shi¡¯s right arm and like that kicked the back of Shi¡¯s right knee. Having made Shi kneel, he hardened the arm he had taken Shi¡¯s back with. At that, Shi dropped the axe he was holding.

    After tightening his arm, Ryouma hit the back of Shi¡¯s head with a karate chop from his left, grabbed Shi¡¯s cor, pulled him behind, bent him backwards, then putting his arm around Shi¡¯s neck, he strangled him and took away his consciousness.

    Because of Ryouma, Shi was quickly arrested, preventing things from escting. However, seeing Ryouma easily subdue Shi, who is a C Rank adventurer, the people around couldn¡¯t help but be shocked.

    Ryouma handed Shi over to the adventurers responsible for taking him to the guild. And then went back to Jeff and the others, only, the face he had was clearly not happy.

    Jeff-san seeing that expression.

    ¡°Something wrong, Ryouma?¡±

    ¡°Is the poison taking effect, nya?¡±

    ¡°No, there¡¯s no problem with the poison. It¡¯s just that... in the past, I wasn¡¯t able tosh out. And so, while I thought of that, I thought ofshing out this time... but now that I¡¯ve tried it, it doesn¡¯t really make me feel that much better.¡±

    Until the incident had ended, Ryouma had been remembering something painful. But, hearing Ryouma¡¯s words just now, the expression of Jeff and the others who were there, softened. Seeing that, Ryouma was a little bewildered.

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±

    ¡®We were just a little worried ¨C de gozaru. Ryouma already possess a suitable amount of strength. If today¡¯s incident caused Ryouma to be drunk on violence, then it would be quite bad for Ryouma, himself, as well as his surroundings. ¨C de gozaru. But it looks like there¡¯s no need to worry about that. ¨Cde gozaru.¡±

    Mizelia-san nodded.

    ¡°Among the adventurers that raised their rank, there are definitely those that be arrogant and be violent... The members of the Fang of Orbtem, especially Shi, are that kind of adventurer.¡±

    ¡°In the past, he was also a serious adventurer... still, he was never the type who would poison someone in a duel. But then he rose up in the ranks, got drunk in power, and now he¡¯s nothing but a shadow of his former self.¡±

    ncing at Ryouma, Wogan said.

    ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re not that kind of person. It was a little shy, but something like this is a normal urrence for us adventurers. Also, you don¡¯t have to worry about those guys, since they only have themselves to me. As for Shi¡¯srades that haven¡¯t done that much wrong, we¡¯ll let them off with a light warning and punishment. Of course, provided that they¡¯re really innocent, right?¡±

    After talking for a bit, Ryouma and the rest went back to subjugating monsters.

 Volume 1 - Volume 1 END

    Volume 1 END

    ~Side Ryouma~

    After the job, I was called over by the guild master. Apparently I have the rights to the money and equipment of the members of the Fang of Orbtem.

    I got a bag and the Tear of Keromi that I gave to Shi. Inside the bag were all the money of the members of the Fang of Orbtem, totaling to 140,800 suits. As for the equipment, it¡¯s worthless so it¡¯ll all be sold. The money, will of course, be kept.

    Unfortunately though, I was told by the guild master not to expect much from selling the equipment. The equipment I got from the Fang of Orbtem definitely used to be good, but because of the acid of the acid slime, many of it has been damaged. Some of the obvious ones were the melted spear that had no spearhead left, and the armor whose leather strap and metal fixings have be brittle, making it impossible to wear.

    One exception would be Shi¡¯s axe. Because Shi was leading, he wasn¡¯t able to use it, leaving it undamaged. It¡¯s also apparently been enchanted with harden, make it a magic weapon. Like this, it should sell for a bit of price.

    After that, Ryouma went home after also receiving the gathered corpses of the magical beasts.

    When Ryouma rode the stagecoach, arge number of people showered him with praises. And now, he¡¯s leisurely enjoying the quiet ride.

    During that, he remembered what had happened again today.

    It¡¯s been awhile since I¡¯ve let loose... I wonder when I got madst was... most likely it was when my boss insulted my deceased mother. So thest time I acted violently was before I retired from thatpany...

    As the people around me saw me thinking about what had happened today, they told me not to mind it. They were the ones were wrong. You¡¯re still a kid, so it can¡¯t be helped.

    But am I kid? Wrong. Even if my body is that of a kid¡¯s, I¡¯m already a 42 year old grown man. I¡¯m an adult that should be capable of reason.

    Reason, do I have that?... No. Today I gave into my emotions and flew off the handle. Although I may not bepletely out of mind, it still wouldn¡¯t be strange for me to go on a rampage given the chance. Today I got provoked by the first six, and then because of Shi¡¯s words, I was really just a little bit off ofpletely losing all sense of reason.

    Because of the poison, I was able to cool my head a bit. And then, after that because I brought out my slimes from the Dimension Home, I was able to keep my distance and calm myself down. However, if I hadn¡¯t let the slimes fight and instead fought by myself. I would probably have killed all of them. When Shi came at me thest time, I seriously wanted to strangle him to death.

    Will I kill when I¡¯m not liked? Will I kill whenever someone picks a fight with me? ...if so, then how would I be any different from the Fang of Orbtem?

    Somehow someway I was able to keep myself, but saying something like ¡°I wanted to kill Shi by impulse¡± is uneptable.

    Right now, my abilities are more than enough. The only problem left is... my mind.

    Now that I think about it, during my school days, did I really try to hold back? At that time there was already a difference in power between myself and my opponent. Would it have been possible to deal with them without hurting them? While I say that did my best at holding back, isn¡¯t there also a part of me saying that I wanted to hurt them?

    ...I can¡¯t refute that.

    Now that I think about it... since I¡¯vee into this world, nothing has changed. I isted myself in the forest, and avoided interacting with other people because I hated it. And then just like that, I kept living by myself in the forest.

    And then, at a time like that, I met Rheinhart-san and the others.

    If I hadn¡¯t met them, I would have put off leaving the forest, and in the end I probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to leave it. Since I¡¯ve met them, I¡¯ve troubled them a lot. They provided for my lodging and my food. They weed me warmly... and, slowly, I started relying on them.

    Thinking back on the things that have happened since I¡¯vee here. Running from the things I don¡¯t like, having no hardships, and being spoiled by the duke and ying around.............................is no good. If I keep going like this, I¡¯ll end up being worthless.

    I¡¯m grateful to the household of the duke, but I¡¯m going to try leaving them. I need to retrain myself. Continuing to rely on the duke like this is also no good... I need to be independent.

    Until now I¡¯ve always been thinking on how I can show them my gratitude. But after everything they¡¯ve done for me, to say I¡¯m going to pay that back, it¡¯s really quite shameless.

    I kept thinking about that until I got to the town, then I made up my mind. When I got back to the lodging, I headed to where the four members of the Jamil Household were.

    I was greeted by Aro-ne-san, and then brought to the table where the four members of the Jamil Household were.

    ¡°Wee home, Ryouma-san.¡±

    ¡°Wee home.¡±

    ¡°Wee home. Looks like today got a bit rough, huh?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not good to push yourself too hard.¡±

    Looks like they already know about today.

    ¡°Everyone, thank you very much. This is quite sudden, but there¡¯s something I¡¯d like to talk about.¡±

    The words I spoke after giving my thanks, immediately caused the four people¡¯s faces to stiffen.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°What is it all of the sudden, Ryouma-san?¡±

    The one who asked first with a serious expression was Rheinhart-san. And the one who said the next line with an uneasy expression was Elia.

    ¡°I¡¯ve decided what I should do now from here on. I¡¯ve been greatly taken care of by everyone but... I¡¯m leaving because I want to be independent.¡±

    The moment I said that, Elia stood from her seat and pressed me for answers. The other three remained seated without saying anything.

    ¡°What do you mean by that!?¡±

    ¡°I thought that if I were to keep going like this, being taken care of by everyone, I¡¯ll end up bing some no good guy. I¡¯ve been spoiled much by everyone in these past few weeks, and I epted that like it was perfectly normal. On top of that, today I lost control of myself, and giving in to my emotions I acted violently. It may be just me who¡¯s saying this, but I believe I¡¯m quite strongpared to other people. Because of that, if I were to lose control of myself and act violently, a lot of people could get hurt. That¡¯s why I intend to be independent and retrain myself.¡±

    ¡°That... can¡¯t we go together?¡±

    ¡°If we¡¯re together, then I believe I¡¯ll end up being spoiled. That¡¯s why I¡¯d like to take some distance for a bit.¡±

    At that, the Madam asked.

    ¡°A bit, so in other words it¡¯s not like we won¡¯t meet again right?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m not keeping distance because of something like hate. That¡¯s why if it¡¯s alright, I¡¯d like to meet again after I¡¯ve retrained myself.¡±

    At those words, the Madam eximed.

    ¡°Of course! Although really it would be fine to keep being spoiled. Ryouma-kun, you¡¯re still only 11 years old, you¡¯re at an age where it¡¯s not strange at all for you to be living with your parents. Ryouma-kun, we¡¯ll wee you whenever you want!¡±

    ¡°Mother!? You¡¯re not going to stop Ryouma-san!?¡±

    ¡°Elia, it¡¯s not like we¡¯ll never meet Ryouma-kun again. Elia, you¡¯ll be going to school, and as for Ryouma, he too will be going to study on his own. Although, honestly speaking, I don¡¯t believe there¡¯s any need. Rather, I believe what¡¯s important for Ryouma right now, is for Ryouma to be spoiled.¡±

    Seeing the Madam start changing the flow of the conversation. Rheinhart-san interjected.

    ¡°Hey, hey, Elize. Haven¡¯t we already made our decision on this?¡±

    ¡°I know. That¡¯s why I¡¯m not objecting. I¡¯m just giving my opinion, that¡¯s all.¡±

    Decided? What is?

    ¡°Umm... what do you mean by ¡®decided¡¯?¡±

    The ones who answered that question were Rheinbach-sama and Sebasu-san, respectively.

    ¡°Actually, we¡¯ve already expected Ryouma-kun to say something like that since we¡¯ve arrived at this town. After all, even though I¡¯m like this I¡¯ve already lived for a quite some time. Colleagues, subordinates, enemy, there are all sorts, but I¡¯ve seen kids like you plenty of times.¡±

    ¡°Ryouma-sama may have felt that he was being spoiled, but we thought no such thing. It¡¯s true, that until now the food and the lodging have been provided for by the duke, but that¡¯s all there is to it.

    Ryouma-sama did not make any requests, registered into the guild, and continued to work earnestly. Ryouma-sama is the kind of person that will do his best even without being told to. So we believed that the day woulde when Ryouma-sama would bring up something like this. Of course, it was far earlier than we had expected.¡±

    Rheinbach-sama nodded.

    ¡°We won¡¯t stop you, but you¡¯re not allowed to overdo it. In the past I had a subordinate that was like you. He was quite talented at the sword, and so he eagerly trained himself in its ways. He did nothing but train under harsh conditions, and in the end his body broke and he became unable to wield it.

    Children like you are able to do their best by themselves, but in exchange they don¡¯t know how to pace themselves. For some reason, these types keep going on until they destroy their body, and in the end before they¡¯re able to get anything done, they end up broken. People like that are too serious and when they¡¯re not able to reach their goals, they persecute themselves. And then there are also those who put their efforts in the wrong ces so be careful.¡±

    Sebasu-san continued.

    ¡°Other than resting there¡¯s also asking other people for help and relying on them. Please treasure the fact that others can also help you. Ryouma-sama take on everything by himself a bit too much. Just doing what one is capable of by themselves like what the Ojousama had done in the house in the Forest of Gana, isn¡¯t only limited to the Ojousama. I believe this also applies to Ryouma-sama.¡±

    Rheinhart-san heaved a sigh.

    ¡°Seeing you, sometimes reminds me of a good friend I had. Your personality ispletely the opposite though. You¡¯re serious, whereas he¡¯s not. He would normally throw all the annoying things to his subordinates or to other people while he¡¯d slip out from his work. That much is a bit troubling, but I think that¡¯s something that could be important to you. Just like what Sebasu and my dad told you, you should rest properly and rely on others. That kind of stuff isn¡¯t bad, you know? My good friend for example, even though he does things like that, he¡¯s doing pretty well.¡±

    ................... I didn¡¯t notice it at all. To think that they were actually thinking about me to this extent. I am truly grateful.

    Now that I realize it, unconsciously, I suddenly started to shed tears.

    ¡°Thank you.........very much.¡±

    Rheinhart-san smiled.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. In exchange, I want you to make several promises. First of all, it¡¯s alright if you separate from us for a bit, but you muste back. This world is dangerous, and all the more so when you¡¯re an adventurer. I think Ryouma also understands this, but pleasee back to us without dying. It¡¯s also fine if youe frequently.¡±

    Rheinbach-sama nodded.

    ¡°Second, you have to continuously send us letters. And if anything happens, report it to us, so we can warn you if anything¡¯s amiss.¡±

    ¡°Otherwise please let me personally visit Ryouma-sama with my space magic.¡±

    Suggested Sebasu-san as the Madam began to vehemently push the third promise.

    ¡°And third, if something happens I want you to rely on us without holding anything back! You absolutely have to! Ryouma-kun, your magic, knowledge, and fighting abilities are already more than enough. You¡¯re already more than good enough to be employed by us, so if anything were to happen you can alsoe work for us.¡±

    I don¡¯t know what I should say anymore... all I can really say now is that I¡¯m grateful. At times like these it¡¯s really unfortunate that my vocabry is so limited.

    ¡°Ryouma-san.¡±

    Hearing that voice, I looked at Elia, who hade to my side. Then while staring straight at me, Elia said this,

    ¡°I¡¯m a little disappointed, but... if that¡¯s what Ryouma-san has decided then I¡¯ll respect that... however!¡±

    And then Elia pointed her finger at me and then dered this,

    ¡°I have a condition!¡±

    ¡°...condition?¡±

    ¡°On top of the conditions my father, my grandfather, and mother had given. I¡¯m going to give one more condition. Our reunion will be after 3 years, and then after 6 years.¡±

    ¡°After 3 years and then after 6 years?¡±

    ¡°I believe I¡¯ve said this to Ryouma-san before, but I¡¯ll be going to the school in the imperial capital this year to study. In that school, the graduation is after six years. Halfway through that, I¡¯ll be given a long holiday. So at that time, let¡¯s meet again. Until that time, I¡¯ll do my best by myself in studying and practicing my magic.¡±

    [TL Note: The meet used by Elia when she says, ¡°Let¡¯s meet again.¡± Uses ·ê¤¦ and not »á¤¦. Meaning it is an emotional meeting. The kind of meeting where you¡¯re going, ¡°My love, my love! Where art thou? Thou hast left mine chest cold. And mine heart in tatters. Ah! If I could fly I would and embrace thee now! Ah I want to meet thee!¡±... ? well something like that. Basically, it¡¯s emotional whereas the other is just routine.]

    I see, so it¡¯s like that.

    ¡°I got it.¡±

    ¡°Good. I won¡¯t forgive you if you forget because you got too caught up with something.¡±

    As she said that she red at me hard. Certainly, I do have the tendency to lose track of time when I¡¯m fussing over something.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best not to forget.¡±

    ¡°At a time like this you should say that you won¡¯t forget! Seriously...¡±

    Said Elia with an amazed voice. At that, Rheinhart-san asked me whileughing.

    ¡°Hahaha, well I think it¡¯s going to be fine. By the way, have you decided what you¡¯re going to be doing from now on?¡±

    ¡°I have my slimes, so I thought I¡¯d try living around this town. And also I can live in this town as an adventurer, and while keeping my rtionship with others I¡¯ll be able to practice my Alchemy.¡±

    ¡°I see... then in that case can I ask you to care of something for me?¡¯

    ¡°What is it? If it¡¯s something I can do, then by all means.¡±

    ¡°I want you to take care of the abandoned mine you¡¯re clearing out right now. We had only left it alone for a year and yet it¡¯s already been infested by magical beasts and has even had a nest created within it...

    It¡¯s not good for there to be a nest of magical beasts not that far away from the town. That¡¯s why I want the abandoned mine to be cleared out from time to time. If it¡¯s not possible alone, then I¡¯d like for you to post in the guild.

    I¡¯ve thought of blocking the entrance with earth magic or something, but then the cave mantises could just use their scythes to dig and make a nest anyway so there¡¯s no meaning to that.¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s something like that then I¡¯ll ept it.¡±

    ¡°Thanks. As thanks, you can use that mine as you wish. If it¡¯s over there, then even if you train and practice your magic it won¡¯t be a problem.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s...¡±

    Isn¡¯t that ce perfect for me?! There¡¯s space for me to make a house, it¡¯s at a good distance away from where the people are, it¡¯s doesn¡¯t attract people so it¡¯ll be good for my training, and I can also let the slimes muck around freely and on top of that I can make ingots as I please. There¡¯s more to it for me than money, but...

    ¡°If you treat me this well, then I¡¯ll end up being spoiled again...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not spoiling you. This is a proper deal. Within the magical beasts, there are even more dangerous races. If those were to make nest not far away from the town, you understand what will happen once they multiply, right?¡±

    ¡°I understand that, but to allow me to do as I please with that mine...¡±

    At that time, Rheinhart-san stopped me from talking with his hand, and with a serious face said this.

    ¡°It¡¯s not strange to hire someone to take care of an abandoned mine. Normally the public office will send someone to check its condition and employ people, but... apparently this town¡¯s public office doesn¡¯t have that kind of management. That¡¯s why I¡¯m employing someone right now who has the ability and is someone that I can trust.

    Technically speaking giving a different payment is a given, but we are actually able to settle that issue by just allowing you to do as you please with this mine that no longer holds any value to us or to the town. We are also able to decrease the work load, and there¡¯s also no expenses for us.¡±

    ...Certainly, that may be true. Putting it that way, even I can understand. While I think that they¡¯re spoiling me with their good intentions, it also makes me feel bad to just t out reject them...

    Realizing that I was thinking about such things, Rheinhart-san smiled wryly as he said this.

    ¡°Oh boy, looks like you really are too serious... you don¡¯t¡¯ have to think so much over something so trivial. Alright, let¡¯s do it this way. Make some ingots over there, and then from that we¡¯ll make some profit. Oh, and please don¡¯t push yourself too hard making ingots.¡±

    ¡°I understand, I¡¯ll do my best!¡±

    Ok, I¡¯ll set the quota for every month and then sell it whole sale to Serge-san every month. I have to be able do at least this much, otherwise it just wouldn¡¯t be right.

    ¡°No, there¡¯s no need for you to be that fired up...¡±

    Seeing Ryouma like that the madam smiled.

    ¡°Also, while you¡¯re here,e stay with us in the lodging.¡±

    ¡°Umm, that¡¯s...¡±

    ¡°No. Even though I thought we would finally be able to travel together. Really, Ryouma-kun, you made up your mind too fast. That¡¯s why you absolutely have to stay here!¡±

    Rheinbach-sama continued.

    ¡°It¡¯s only for around 1 or 2 months. Even if you retrain yourself after that time period, it still won¡¯t be toote. This should be fine even for you, right?¡±

    ...If I don¡¯t reject this I¡¯ll end up being spoiled again

    ¡°You won¡¯t be spoiled, Ryouma-sama.¡±

    Sebasu-san read my mind!?

    ¡°Ryouma-kun. It came out on your face, you know? Just like a while ago.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a face that¡¯s really easy to understand.¡¯

    Did I really make that kind of face?

    The madam puffed up and with a really strong tone said.

    ¡°In any case! Ryouma-kun, while we¡¯re here in this town you¡¯re going to be staying with us! Ok?¡±

    ¡°But...¡±

    ¡°Ok?¡±

    ¡°But...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright right!? Good!¡±

    Doesn¡¯t look like the madam will agree to anything else except a yes... it can¡¯t be helped... or rather... was I always this weak-willed? Really, I¡¯m extremely grateful but...

    ¡°I understand, then until everyone leaves the town, please take care of me.¡±

    The madam grinned as she nodded.

    ¡°Right! That¡¯s good~¡±

    Well this kind of goodwill is something precious, so in the end I wasn¡¯t able to reject.

    After that, I gave my thanks one more time, then went back to my room.

    Having gone back to my room, before going to sleep, I thought back to what the others said.

    As I did so, tears naturally flooded my eyes.

    I truly cannot express the gratitude I feel to those people...

 Volume 2 - 1

    TL Note: Just a heads up, there won¡¯t be a chapter in theing Saturday and Sunday because of exams.

    Also the TOC gets updated every chapter, so if you¡¯re not seeing the chapter there, try refreshing the page. It should be updated.

    Volume 2 Chapter 1

    2nd day of the Mine Monster Subjugation Request

    ~Side Ryouma~

    Just like yesterday, we will also be subjugating monsters today.

    Although I said I¡¯d be independent, the truth is I¡¯m still being spoiled by Rheinhart-san and the others. So even if it¡¯s just a little I need to start doing my best.

    There¡¯s no problem with where I¡¯m going to be living since I¡¯ll be staying in the abandoned mine. As for my training and my discipline, I¡¯ll just go with my previous life¡¯s routine and also meditate. Aside from that there¡¯s nothing else left except taking requests from the guild, getting along with others, and piling up my experiences in this way.

    The problem is my cost of living. But it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t have any money. I have the reward money I got from subjugating that bandit called Melzen of the Red Spear, which totals to 700 small gold coins. And I also have the money I looted from all the bandits, which total to 40 medium gold coins. And thenstly, although it¡¯s not much, I have the money I got from selling off the equipment of the Fang of Orbtem¡¯s members. So for a while I should be able to live a bit luxuriously.

    As for making money, if I were to ept the guild request to clean out thetrine pits. Then if I were to clean all 30 pits, I should get 3 middle silver coins, totaling to 3000 suits. For a normal guy, this shouldst for 30 days.

    Moreover, if I were to sell the iron ingots and the water proof cloth wholesale to Serge, I should be able to make more than enough.

    While I¡¯m not particrly troubled over it, but because it seems like I¡¯m making money too easily... and because there is high risk involved when working as an adventurer. I figured that I should also think of a different way to make money.

    That method doesn¡¯t have to be anything special or make me too much money. In fact, I would go so far as to say that as long as I can make just barely enough to get by then it would be fine.

    Why? Because ever since I¡¯vee to this world, until I met Rheinhart-san and the others, I haven¡¯t used a single suit to keep on living. 100 suits a day should be more than enough for use in case of emergency... and as for the rest of the time, I¡¯ll use it to train myself.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun. Hey~, you listening~?¡±

    Ah, no good. I got too caught up in my thoughts again...

    ¡°Sorry, I was thinking of something. Is something the matter?¡±

    Syria-san shook her head.

    ¡°It¡¯s not good to be distracted in the middle of a fight... is what I thought I¡¯d say but...¡±

    ¡°Even though you¡¯re not really here with us in spirit, you still managed to easily dispose a magical beast.¡±

    Wereanna nced at me.

    ¡°Not even a single beast came over to us, you know?¡±

    ¡°Ah, sorry. My body just moved by itself...¡±

    ¡°Eh, forget it already. Rather than that, I¡¯d like to stop killing monsters nonchntly while muttering something, nya. It¡¯s really scary, nya.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s... I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Was I unconsciously speaking out loud...?

    Jeff-san nced at me and asked.

    ¡°About that, Ryouma, are you having problems with your finances? You said something about living expenses so...¡±

    ¡°Actually...¡±

    As I tried to talk about my situation, a male adventurer came.

    ¡°Immediately gather by the entrance of the mine! We¡¯re having a meeting!¡±

    Seeing the anxious adventurer, Wereanna asked.

    ¡°Did something happen!?¡±

    ¡°The goblins made a vige in a corner of the mine. What¡¯s more is that it¡¯s quite big. Fortunately, no adventurers had died, but there are many G Rank adventurers who have been injured.¡±

    ¡°A goblin vige, huh? If we don¡¯t get rid of it quickly...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna go call the others too, so you guys hurry up and gather by the entrance!!¡±

    As he said that, the man left hurriedly. We also left hurriedly and gathered by the entrance of the mine. A lot of adventurers had already gathered there. After waiting for a while, the guild master went up on the stage that was prepared just a while ago.

    ¡°I think you¡¯ve already heard most of the story, but I¡¯ll exin it now! Just a while ago in the tunnel where the goblins were, we found a vige in that area! Because of this we¡¯ll be starting an operation topletely wipe out the goblins! Consider this to be a mid-scale operation! There should be around 500 goblins! In order to lessen the damages as much as possible, D Rank adventurers up will be the ones to lead. Each rank should gather together and follow orders!!¡±

    After that the guild master finished talking and called out to me.

    ¡°Ryouma, you here?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m here.¡±

    ¡°Although you¡¯re an F Rank right now, in terms of ability you¡¯re already E Rank up. Also, this request is for your E Rank promotion, right? So although it¡¯s a bit early, I¡¯ll have you participate as an E Rank.¡±

    ¡°I Understand.¡±

    ¡°No one has anyints, right?¡±

    At guild master¡¯s words, no one came to object. I guess it¡¯s the effect of yesterday¡¯s incident.

    ¡°Alright! Everyone ready yourselves! If there¡¯s anyone of you that needs some equipment, thene over here! Once you¡¯ve finished your preparations, go gather with your respective ranks and start the operation!¡±

    After that, I gathered with the other E ranked adventurers and took with us the G and F ranked adventurers. Our mission is to block the path of the goblins fleeing and to kill them, making sure no one escapes.

    I then entered the meeting of the E Rank. There, the leader that was elected, a female adventurer named Poly, pointed her finger at a point in the map and began exining the operation.

    A, B, C, and D ranked adventurers are going to attack the tunnel and vige from both directions, sieging and breaking into it. They will kill all the goblins running away except for those going a certain direction. And the ones waiting for that certain direction are us, the E, F, and G ranked adventurers. We are hiding in wait a little distance away from where the goblins fleeing are headed to. When they get here, we will be killing every single one of them without letting anything escape.

    ¡°I believe everyone already knows this, but our mission is toy here in wait for the fleeing goblins, and then kill them all without letting a single one escape. Also, because we¡¯ve taken with us the F and G ranked adventurers that have no experience, we need a way to ensure their safety. If anyone has any suggestion regarding this matter, please feel free to speak up.¡±

    Many people raised their hands and gave their suggestions. I also gave my own suggestion, which was to use the method I had applied while I was in the forest.

    ¡°It was Ryouma-kun, right? What is it?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I have a method when dealing with a great number of goblins. What we could do is to dig a ditch between the nest and the ce where we are waiting at and then fill that ditch with acid slimes. And then...¡±

    I took out from my item box, a long rod with a knife attached to it, making it out to be something like a scythe.

    ¡°The goblins that havee near can be dealt with, with something like this together with the acid that has been poured into the hole. As for the people from afar, they can be dealt with archery and magic. With this method, the goblins that have fallen into the hole are powerless. Only a few of them should be able to climb up, and while they¡¯re climbing we can pierce them with our spears. And then as long as we stay wary of the goblin archers and the goblin mages we should be fine, and even the beginner adventurers will be able to fight.¡±

    There were quite a few people that liked my idea, and from the looks of it, it seems they have taken it into consideration. They also asked questions about it, and together we were able to hammer out the details. In the end, it was decided that we will be going with my proposal.

    I took with me several adventurers that can use earth magic and went to an area in our waiting point, where there were cliffs on both sides of the path. Then using earth magic, we dug a hole that was 4m long, 50m wide, and 3m deep.

    Inside the ditch we had just made, holes could be seen here and there. Deep inside this hole is a hollow area. This hollow area is for the sake of hiding the nucleus of the acid slime. In order to keep the slimes from being killed in an extremely unlikely case where a goblin is able to hit their nucleus, they can hide their nucleus in here.

    The slimes will extend their tentacles from inside the hole, and melt the goblins that have fallen. The acid slimes start producing acid, and after a while they were able to make a pool of acid and digestive fluids.

    When we started this operation, a different group had brought our luggage. The contents of the luggage were the long rods cut out from the nearby trees, and the scythes of the cave mantis that we¡¯ve killed.

    The cave mantis¡¯ scythe isn¡¯t that sharp but it¡¯s strong in its own way. Because of that we decided that it¡¯s good enough if its purpose is just to drag the goblins down the hole. I sent an order out to the sticky slimes in my mind, and had them glue the rod and the scythe together with their sticky liquid.

    We also used the earth we dug out with earth magic to create some railing on our side, so as to prevent ourselves from falling in to the hole we had just made. We also made a small tower for magicians and archers to stand on. With this, they¡¯ll be able to shoot from quite a distance.

    The small tower is quite conspicuous, so I put up an anti-physical barrier with barrier magic to protect from the goblin archers. It¡¯s also important to note that the anti-physical barrier can only block physical attacks and magic attacks will pass through, so everyone still had to be careful of the goblin mages.

    It would be great to have put up the barrier on everyone, but unfortunately I¡¯m not that proficient at it and the strength of my barrier is still not that strong. My barrier can work against arrows, but against blunt objects, it¡¯ll break quite easily. Also, if one were to get hit by enough arrows, the barrier might also notst either. Because of this we should put the subjugation of the goblin archers and the goblin mages at maximum priority.

    The adventurers ranked F and G are responsible for subjugating the goblins near the ditch we made. As for the E Rank adventurers, they are responsible for fighting in closebat at both sides, driving the goblins down the ditch, and assuring the safety of the F and G ranked adventurers. As for me, I¡¯m waiting right at the center of where we¡¯re waiting for them, striking the goblins from a distance with my bow.

    With this, we¡¯ve finished our preparations, and are resting until the battle begins.

    After that 1 hour passed, and the battle began.

    ¡°Everyone¡¯s at their positions, right? It¡¯s a bit early but the enemy ising! Please be careful!¡±

    At poly-san¡¯s words we all riled ourselves up. And then after 10 minutes, the first goblins came.

    ¡°They¡¯re here! 3 in front! And then there¡¯s moreing from the back!¡±

    ¡°Roger that!!!¡±

    After I reported that I¡¯ve spotted them, the people around me raised their voices. The goblins also noticed us, but because their heads aren¡¯t very good, they came at us in a straight line. The first one of the three goblins, didn¡¯t need to be dragged down the hole and fell by itself. The second one became wary of the hole when it saw the first one fall, but then it got dragged in by the scythe-like rod of one of the adventurers. The third one tried to jump over the hole, but being unable to jump far enough, it came falling straight into the hole.

    The goblins that have fallen, cried voices of suffering, but because of being spit on by the acid slimes and because they swallowed the acid, they died fairly soon and it became quiet again. Their bodies were then melted by the acid slimes.

    After that, many goblins came one after another. Some of them were made to fall in the hole, while some were felled with arrow or magic. By the way, all the arrowheads I¡¯m using have being dipped in the poison slime¡¯s poison. Because of this even if it¡¯s a light injury, they¡¯ll immediately be unable to move. Like this we were able to put a stop to the attacks of the goblin archers and the goblin mages, and until now not one of us has been injured.

    Because I have the Magic Detection skill I can instantly tell when the goblin mages are trying to use magic. And although they can use magic, it¡¯s not like they¡¯re particrly skilled at it, so their invocation is quite slow. As for me, I¡¯m using my Magic Detection, so before they¡¯re even able to invocate, I can shoot them down.

    Until now there¡¯s been no casualties on our side, but... what¡¯s up with this number? There¡¯s just too many of them. The goblins we¡¯ve subjugated already number over 500... and on top of that, the digestion fluids of the acid slimes are failing to keep up with the body count, and the corpses are starting to pile up. It¡¯s not a problem yet, but at this rate it will be quite troubling...

    The surrounding adventurers also started to be confused.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t something strange!?¡±

    ¡°True, there¡¯s really too many of them.¡±

    ¡°At this rate we¡¯ll run out of arrows!¡±

    ¡°My arrows are running low!¡±

    ¡°You there! Don¡¯t waste the arrows!¡±

    ¡°Haa... Haa... why are there so many goblins... until when are they gonna keep oning?!!¡±

    Goblins are not strong for a magical beast, and they¡¯re not something that¡¯s hated either. With a stature not bigger than that of a human child¡¯s, their power isn¡¯t all that great. The only problem is that they possess the knowledge to use weapons. And the fact that they reproduce ludicrously fast.

    Also even if their skill is bad, as long as they have something sharp and can swing it, then it¡¯s more than dangerous enough. There¡¯s also the fact that because there¡¯s so many of them, it bes rather difficult for a single person to fight them alone. As for us we have over a 100 people ourselves, ording to what I¡®ve heard in the meeting. But more than half of that is made up of F and G Rank adventurers. These adventurers aren¡¯t very strong to the point where they actually find 1v1¡¯ing a goblin quite difficult, so much so that they can actually lose. And when they do fight they are only able to take out one at a time, and have a tendency to forget their surroundings and can get hit easily when attacked from the side. Naturally, someone with that kind of ability can¡¯t be sent out to the front lines to act as the vanguards.

    Because of this, the E Rank adventurers are the ones who were made to fight in close quarters, but unfortunately, their numbers are just insufficient. And although E Rank is the level at which an adventurer is finally able to show some degree of ability, in the end it is still a beginner¡¯s rank.

    Also, it¡¯s not like all E Rank adventurers can fight in close quarters. Depending on the person, there are people that specialize in the bow, in magic, and then there are also people that specialize in healing magic. In the end, the number of people that can fight in close quarters number only to 28. And although there are also goblins that have been felled with by arrow and magic, the people fighting as vanguards are already starting to show signs of fatigue. There are also people that have incurred some damages. Although they woulde back to the front lines right after being healed, it looks like they¡¯re already at their limit. It¡¯s true that it was certainly possible to deal with a few goblins running away, but this number of goblins is just too much.

    It¡¯s fortunate that Poly-san hasn¡¯t lost her calm yet, but if we don¡¯t do something about this, it¡¯ll be really bad.

    ¡°Poly-san should I take the front lines with my slimes? It looks like it¡¯s going to be a long battle, so please let me take the front lines and during that time let¡¯s allow the adventurers to rest.¡±

    ¡°Well that¡¯s true. Can I entrust you with this?¡¯

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Everyone in the front lines! Right now Ryouma and his slimes will substitute with you! During this time, even if it¡¯s just a little bit, please use this time to recover!¡±

    I sent the sticky slimes, the poison slimes, and the scavenger slimes that were on standby to take the front lines where the goblins were. And then I also jumped down from the pedestal, then jumped over the ditch and when I got to the other side, I gave this order to the slimes.

    Fight the goblins, and show me the result of all that training you¡¯ve done until now!

    When I gave that order, the slimes started trembling in excitement. And then every one of them turned a part of their body into a tentacle and faced towards the goblinsing their way.

    The sticky slimes would skillfully manipte the rod the goblins were holding, hit the goblins, knock them over, and stop their movements with their sticky liquid.

    The poison slimes would pick up the spears the goblins were using, smear the spearhead with poison and pierce the goblins with it.

    As for the scavenger slimes, they would slip through the opening in between the legs of the goblins, wrap their tentacles around the goblins¡¯ feet, and topple them. When the goblins fell, they would then cling to the head. They would also slide underneath the feet of the goblins, and when stepped on they would move their body and trip the goblins.

    Because their power is simply not that strong it¡¯s not possible to beat the goblins dead, but without being killed in a 1v1 situation and through certain varying methods, the slimes were able to kill the goblins. Especially the poison slimes that were able to kill faster than the other slimes because of their poison.

    While seeing that, I also fought. Since I got here on the opposite side, the goblins have been swarming.

    I take out the two short swords I have by my waist. I jump at the goblinsing at me and strike at its heart, piercing it in an instant, and without stopping I pull out my sword. I then rush at another goblin and cut its carotid artery. Next, I cut a wrist of a goblin¡¯s hand that¡¯s holding a sword, and at the same time kick it down, and have the slimes finish it off. I dodge the spears of the goblining at me from behind and move behind them. Continuing that, I moved my short swords, and with them I struck at their medu oblongata.

    ¡°Guki!?¡¯

    ¡°Goga!¡±

    ¡°Gue!!¡±

    ¡°Giiiiii!!!¡±

    As I killed them one by one, their guts and blood filled the air. I can hear the death throes of the goblin, but I don¡¯t care. I continue to focus on only killing them one after another.

    The goblins may have a simr figure to humans, but they are a magical beast race that has a far stronger life force than humans. Even if their stomach gets pierced, they can still live for a short while. However, that only means to say that they willst a bit longer than humans, in the end if they were to take a fatal wound, then they would still also die.

    Moreover, they have one particr feature, which is something brought about because of their simrity to humans. What I¡¯m referring to of course is their vital points. If I were to strike at their vital points, then it is possible to take them out in one hit. For example cutting off their wrists and cutting the carotid artery will cause them to bleed and incapacitate them.

    As for the ogres and the trolls who are also simr to the humans it may also be possible, but I¡¯ve never fought against them so I don¡¯t know for sure. In any case, from what I¡¯ve seen so far when fighting goblins, as long as I cut their vital points, they¡¯ll bleed quickly and be unable to fight, allowing me to easily take their lives. Just like I¡¯m doing right now. Like this, there shouldn¡¯t be any problems with subjugating these critters.

    Although there is one thing concerning, their numbers. Really, they just keep oning anding. Exactly how many are there of these things?

    The goblins might keep oning, but in terms of war potential, we¡¯re hanging on. Because their numbers far outstrip ours, and because we were able to get some room, I made the slimes pick up the arrows that haven¡¯t broken.

    I can also hear the voices of the adventurers that are resting, and from the looks of it they seem to be properly resting.

    In a ce somewhat distant from where Ryouma was fighting, some of the adventurers were talking. One of the female adventurers, seeing Ryouma fight, couldn¡¯t help but say,

    ¡°Wait... haa... what¡¯s up with that kid? Isn¡¯t he too strong? Even though... we suffered so much...¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re saved...¡±

    One of the men amongst them, calmly analyzed the situation.

    ¡°In any case, let¡¯s leave it to that kid for the time being... He¡¯s buying as some time right now, so let¡¯s do our best and get some rest!! And then we¡¯ll substitute again!!¡±

    At that the adventurers replied in unison.

    ¡°Right!!¡±

    ¡°Hey, are those really slimes?¡±

    ¡°Those slimes are really good at using the spear. They might actually even be better than me...¡±

    ¡°Forget being skilled. Why are those slimes using weapons!?¡±

    ¡°There are a lot of things weird, but at least were saved... huh? Arrow?¡±

    ¡°!? Archers! The slimes are bringing over arrows! Hey you! Move aside! Let the slimes pass!¡±

    Slimes using weapons are certainly strange, but, can you really say that you have the luxury to think about that right now?

    As I was thinking that, I suddenly felt the presence of magic. Looks like there¡¯s another goblin mage!

    I sheathe the short sword I have in my right hand, take out a throwing knife, and then agilely throw it at the mage, killing it one shot.

    We continued like that, while the other adventurers continued to recover.

 Volume 2 - 2

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Volume 2 Chapter 2

    TL Note;

    Remember,

    De aru = Raypin (mage)

    De gozaru = Asagi (samurai)

    Term changes:

    Magic Power Recovery Potion -> Magic Recovery Potion

    I dont want to use MP recovery potion, because it¡¯s too game like for the other characters to mention it.

    The story has game elements, but the other characters don¡¯t really act like it as they barely use any game terms.

    So I¡¯d like to hold off on using game terms as much as possible.

    Volume 2 Chapter 2

    The battled continued as we substituted several times, taking turns to take rest. After we were able to y over 2,000 goblins, they finally stoppeding.

    Because of the efforts of the healers, and the heal slimes, there weren¡¯t big injuries on our side. As for the front line of the partitioned part of the ditch, it had so many dead bodies scattered on it that there was no more ce left to step on.

    Some time passed and 4 men came out of nowhere with space magic. These four were Raypin-san, Asagi-san, Gordon-san, and Shell-kun. Everyone else aside from Raypin-san was covered in blood.

    ¡°Is everyone alright, de aru?¡±

    ¡°Sorry guys! Relief really came too slow, what¡¯s the situation?¡±

    ¡°It looks fine, yeah? By the looks of things there also seems to be quite a lot of dead bodies here.¡±

    ¡°Raypin-san, Asagi-san, Gordon-san, Shell-kun, you guys came, huh?¡±

    ¡°Hey! Ryouma, you¡¯re safe, de aru!¡±

    ¡°Looks like you also had a rough time, huh? You¡¯re covered in blood.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re the same too, so we really can¡¯t be speaking for others.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true, but anyway, what¡¯s up with this number? More than 2,000 goblins came you know? And from the way you look, it would appear there were also quite a lot on your side...¡±

    ¡°Umu, we have to exin this.¡±

    ¡°Umm... who is the person in charge here? I¡¯d like to talk about the situation.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s me!¡±

    That voice came from Poly-san as she came over to exin the situation.

    ¡°I see, so that¡¯s how it was, de aru.¡±

    ¡°Yes. If it wasn¡¯t for Ryouma-kun and his slimes, the goblins would have broken through and our unit would have been destroyed.¡±

    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. Just being able to fight against this many without losing anyone is already a miracle, de gozaru.¡±

    ¡°In any case, it¡¯s great that everyone is safe.¡±

    ¡°Umm, how are the people in the main force?¡±

    ¡°For the meantime, the situation¡¯s been settled, de aru. However...¡±

    ¡°No one also died on our side, but many have been injured. The scouts weren¡¯t able to grasp the opponent¡¯s numberpletely and as a result there were far more than what we had originally expected. They even had a goblin king and a bunch of goblin knights serving it.¡±

    ¡°There was a goblin king!?¡±

    The people around started chattering at the words ¡®goblin king¡¯.

    ¡°You guys! The goblin king¡¯s already been taken care of so you don¡¯t have to worry!¡±

    At Gordon¡¯s words, everyone calmed down a little, and then right after, people started to cheer. Ignoring that, Gordon continued his exnation.

    ¡°The tunnel that the goblins were using as a nest that the scouts found was actually connected to a different ce and to a different tunnel just a little bit deeper inside. ¡®Search¡¯ apparently wasn¡¯t able to reach until the deeper parts, and we used the map of the mine as a reference and then put up a battle n.

    ording to the map, there shouldn¡¯t have been a connecting route there, so the goblins must have dug a path themselves. More than likely they did it in order to widen the path and make their vige bigger. There were also several pick axes which the miners seem to have forgotten.¡±

    ¡°The goblin vige we attacked was really just a small part of the real thing. A lot of them came from a nesting hole that had be really big, de gozaru. The real vige and boss was on the opposite side of the tunnel, it was already after some time after we had begun attacking when we noticed that.

    Until then, arge number of goblins were able to escape through a different nesting hole. When we realized it, we immediately tried to stop it, but then the goblin king and the goblin knights resisted, as a result a lot of goblins came at us, de gozaru. This is the result of our ipetence, I truly feel regretful, de gozaru.¡±

    ¡°I see... but since no one was hurt that much, please don¡¯t mind us. However, I do wonder how these many goblins had managed to keep themselves hidden for so long.¡±

    ¡°Raypin-san says that it¡¯s most likely because they were able to feed off the small mice, the cave bats, and the cave mantises who had made their nest here. Because of that they didn¡¯t have to go near the town, and so they were able to multiply to this extent. Within the goblin¡¯s nest, there were plenty of bones belonging cave rats and cave bats. Add to this the fact that sincest year no one has beening close to this mine.¡±

    ¡°Since this mine wasn¡¯t producing iron anymore, the public office has be negligent in managing it. And on top of not making any iron, because this mine wasn¡¯t producing anything, the administration costs regarding it has already be nothing but unwanted expenses. However...¡±

    As Raypin-san said that, he looked around and then said this.

    ¡°I¡¯m really d that everyone¡¯s safe despite fighting so many, de aru. Since there doesn¡¯t seem to be a lot of problems on this side, would it be ok if we took some healers with us? I want to entrust them with healing the injured ones on the side over there, de aru.¡±

    ¡°I understand. Those who still have some magic power left, and can use healing magic, please gather!¡±

    The ones who came out to respond to Poly-san¡¯s words, were me and three other adventurers.

    ¡°Sorry but we can only take three people at most with my space magic, de aru. One needs to go by himself, but...¡±

    ¡°Then in that case I¡¯ll stay. Recently I¡¯ve also started to learn ¡®movement magic¡¯ so I¡¯ll be able to follow fairly soon.¡±

    ¡°Ryouma, you¡¯ve also be able to use ¡®movement magic¡¯? That¡¯s good to hear, de aru.¡±

    ¡°Ah, Raypin-san. Is it ok if you to take something with you?¡±

    ¡°As long as it¡¯s not too big, then it¡¯s fine.¡±

    Hearing that, I called the two heal slimes over.

    ¡°Then, please take these two slimes with you, since I still can¡¯t use ¡®movement magic¡¯ while taking someone along with me.¡±

    ¡°I understand, de aru. However, what are these slimes, de aru?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re heal slimes. They¡¯re slimes that can use healing magic.¡±

    ¡°Oh! So this is a heal slime, de aru!? I¡¯ve been researching magical beasts for a long time, but this is my first time seeing one, de aru. Alright, I¡¯ll take responsibility for these two, and take them with me, de aru.¡±

    ¡°Please take care of them.¡±

    ¡°Umu. Then, I¡¯ll be waiting for you there. ¡®Warp¡¯ ¡°

    As Raypin-san said that, he took the three adventurers with him, and then warped. Next is me, I guess. I¡¯ll go give my greetings to Poly-san, and then I¡¯ll warp over there as well.

    ¡°Poly-san, I¡¯ll leave my slimes here, so please take care of them. It¡¯s fine even if you just leave them alone.¡±

    ¡°Please leave it to me.¡±

    ¡°Yes. Then... ¡®Teleport¡¯ ¡°

    I use the low level short ranged movement magic several times until I reached a ce where no one was around. There I used the mid-level magic, ¡®Warp¡¯. Naturally, if I were to make it known in front of so many people that I could use mid-level space magic, it would cause a hugemotion, so I went through all the trouble to do this.

    When I had warped to the where the others were, I saw many adventurers who have been injured that were receiving treatment.

    ¡°Ryouma, over here, de aru!¡±

    Hearing that, I rushed over to Raypin-san, took the two heal slimes, and while drinking the magic recovery potion I got from Serge-san, I continuously healed the injured people.

    I and my slimes were healing rtively lightly injured people. Because of this they were fully awake and were able to see the slimes healing them. Seeing the slimes use healing magic, they couldn¡¯t help but be shocked.

    It would appear that the heal slimes are rare even amongst the different slime races, because of that there are plenty of people who haven¡¯t seen them. But then again even if you say that they¡¯re rare, I brought two with me so it may not seem like that at all.

    After I finished the lightly injured, I went over to heal the more serious ones next.

    The people who were injured heavily were only a few, but those few people have bled a lot, and so it took several healers, using the middle ss healing magic, ¡®High Heal¡¯ in order to heal them.

    The low level healing magic, ¡®Heal¡¯ won¡¯t work on bigger wounds, but it can serve to dy it from getting worse, so with that in mind, we also joined.

    I also distributed the magic recovery potions I had to the other healers.

    After some time had passed, the person I was treating and the other healers who were treating others suddenly raised their voices. Hearing that, I asked the other healers in a loud voice.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong!? Do you need more help!?¡±

    ¡°N¨C No! There¡¯s no problem!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just that, the slime here that was helping out suddenly started using ¡®High Heal¡¯, I was just surprised!¡±

    Haa!? My heal slimes are!? But my heal slimes can¡¯t use any other healing magic other than ¡®heal¡¯. I¡¯ve never seen it use anything other than heal...

    The men who heard that reply looked at me and asked,

    ¡°Your heal slimes could use ¡®High Heal¡¯?¡±

    At that I immediately shook my head.

    ¡°It probably learned how to use it just now, since I¡¯ve never seen it use it before.¡±

    ¡°Well I¡¯m grateful that the helping hands have increased!¡±

    As he said that, we went back to healing the adventurers. Then after a while, it would appear that the heal slime who had been treating the patients that screamed a while ago and another patient have also started to use ¡®High ¡°heal¡¯. Because of that, after using a lot of magic recovery potions, we were able to save everyone.

    After the situation had settled down a bit, I tried checking the skills of the heal slimes, and apparently the skill level had be 3. Incidentally, I also took the opportunity to check mine, and it would seem that it had risen up to 2.

    While I was doing that, I was suddenly surrounded by over 10 people, and they showered me with thanks. From what we¡¯ve heard, they were apparently therades of the people we healed. While crying they said that if it weren¡¯t for me, my slimes, and my magic potions, theirrades would have died.

    As I was having a hard time dealing with them, the guild master came over and ordered me to act as a messenger to the unit I was a part of. Thanks to that I was able to run away. The message he had entrusted with me was to gather by the entrance of the mine.

    I give my gratitude to the guild master inside my heart, and then quickly go back to my unit.

    After that, I gave the guild master¡¯s instructions to Poly-san. Then, I retrieved my slimes, and then went over to the entrance of the mine where everyone had gathered.

    ¡°Good work everyone! Today¡¯s work ended up bing bigger than expected, but as a result of that, the pay will also increase!¡±

    The moment the guild master mentioned that, cheers began to erupt from all over the ce.

    ¡°This time, everyone will at the very least, receive 1 big silver coin!¡±

    At those words, the cheers became even louder. The voices of the F and G Rank adventurers were especially loud. 1 big silver coin is equivalent to 5000 suits. That¡¯s enough to live on for 50 days. I guess this is their first time receiving such a big reward, huh?

    ¡°Does anyone have anyints? Good! It¡¯s still early, but we¡¯ll proceed to dealing with the goblin corpses, and after that we¡¯ll end the job here!¡±

    At that, as if the guild master had remembered something, he looked at me and said this.

    ¡°Oh yeah, Ryouma!¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re paying for the corpses of the magical beasts, but you can have the goblins¡¯ for free.¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re giving it, then I¡¯ll gratefully ept, but is it really ok?¡±

    ¡°The goblins don¡¯t really have any parts that can be sold, so... Hey! you guys are also cool with this, right?¡±

    There were many adventurers who didn¡¯t know that I was buying the corpses of the magical beasts and were greatly surprised, but no one came out to object. Many of them were saying that it¡¯s good that they didn¡¯t have to use magic to deal with the corpses, so they were actually grateful instead.

    The method of dealing with the corpses is by incinerating them. It would appear, however, that in spite of the fire magicians being close to using up their magic power, they find being asked to use their magic to be painful and so they don¡¯t really feel like doing it.

    ¡°In that case I¡¯ll gratefully ept it. As a reward to the slimes, I¡¯ll have them eat their fill.¡±

    Just epting is also bad. So I guess after all of this is done I¡¯ll have the cleaner slimes service the adventurers.

    After that we went back to where we had waited for the goblins before, and threw the goblins to the ditch were the acid slimes were. Because I¡¯d already retrieved the acid slimes, there were no longer any acid left in the ditch. Along with the acid, the melted goblins had also disappeared, because the acid slimes had already absorbed them.

    After we finish throwing off all of the dead bodies, I put the poison slimes and the sticky slimes inside, and made them eat the goblins. As for the scavenger slimes, I had them eat the blood and pieces of guts on the ground, as a result not even a single speck of blood was left.

    Now that I think about it, isn¡¯t this quite useful for removing the evidences of a crime? I really don¡¯t want to give these slimes to a bad person. Not that I have any interest of handing these to anyone.

    While the slimes were eating, I told the E, F, G, Rank adventurers, who I had worked with first, about the ability of the cleaner slimes, and showed it to them by using the cleaner slime on myself as a demonstration. Seeing my body, my equipment, and the smell that had clung to my clothes, all be clean, the number of people that wanted to try it overwhelmed me. In the end everyone came and asked for it.

    After I had the eleven cleaner slimes clean everyone, I waited until the slimes that were eating in the ditch finish, and then after that I went over to where the main force was.

    And then in the same way, I offered to have the cleaner slimes clean the people who had helped carry the dead bodies. I also had the scavenger slimes eat the dirt on the ground and the dirt in the nest of the goblins.

    Just like a while ago, because the smell of the blood and bodily fluids of the goblins became extremely thin, the adventurers greatly thanked me for the cleaner slimes¡¯ service.

    And then as soon as we finished dealing with the corpses, everyone dispersed, rode the stage coaches and then went home. As for me, I rested in a ce a little bit separated from where the stagecoaches were, along with the slimes.

    Because of all the food the slimes have eaten today, the poison slime, the acid slime, and the cleaner slime have all be able to split. But because I didn¡¯t have enough magic power in order to use the ve monster contract, I had to wait until I got enough magic power.

    In order to allow my magic power to recover faster. I didn¡¯t scramble with the others to be one of the first to ride a stage coach, and decided to be one of thest to ride instead.

    I really used up quite a bit of magic power today. As expected I¡¯m quite tired...

 Volume 2 - 3

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Volume 2 Chapter 3

    TL Note: For the record the reason I try not to do [sentence] ¨C[name of character speaking] is because it distracts from the immersion. Or so at least someone said. But in this case, there¡¯s too many conversations and I wanna sleep already and not try to rack up my brain on how I can add names without the hyphen. So yeah... enjoy.

    Volume 2 Chapter 3

    I was with my slimes in a ce away from the stagecoaches doing nothing, when Jeff-san and the others called out to me.

    ¡°Ryouma, what are you doing in a ce like this?¡± ¨C Jeff

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going home, nya?¡± ¨C Miya

    ¡°Ah, everyone, good job today. As for going home, there¡¯s a lot people crowding over it right now, so I thought I¡¯d take thest ride and spend my time leisurely.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°You too, huh?¡± - Jeff

    ¡°You too? You mean you guys are also...?¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°We¡¯re also tired, you see? So we don¡¯t really feel like joining in that crowd.¡± - Mizelia

    ¡°Seriously... although we were hired exactly for things like what had happened today, it was still really tough.¡± - Wereanna

    ¡°Today was definitely out of our expectations. To have that many goblins and even have a goblin kinge out. We¡¯d normally prepare well before setting off to do a job but this time... While we were fighting, I remembered that story. You know, that story about not letting one¡¯s guard down around weak monsters. ¡°

    ¡°Ah, is it that true story of a country that was ruined after being attacked by 100,000 goblins? I remember! I remember! It¡¯s really a miracle that no one died today.¡± - Shell

    There was a story like that!?

    ¡°I remember, de aru!¡± - Raypin

    ¡°What is it all of the sudden, old man?¡± - Jeff

    ¡°Ryouma, can you show me that heal slime from before? I¡¯ve always only heard about heal slimes, de aru.¡± - Raypin

    ¡°Alright.¡± - Ryouma

    As I said that, I called the two heal slimes over.

    ¡°Here.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°I¡¯m grateful, de aru. Fumu fumu, the body is white, and its body is quite small even amongst the slimes. I saw it use healing magic with my own eyes... it¡¯s exactly as what I¡¯ve heard. What about its meal? What do you feed it? - Raypin

    ¡°Not much actually, since it doesn¡¯t eat anything else aside from water. The cleaner slime also doesn¡¯t normally eat meat, but if you order it to, it will eat. There¡¯s a big difference between the two though. When I thought that it was just a matter of preference, it turned out that the heal slimes really don¡¯t eat anything else except water.¡± ¨C Ryouma

    ¡°Is that true, de aru?¡± - Raypin

    ¡°How does it manage to live on water alone?¡± - Wereanna

    ¡°The heal slime has a skill called photosynthesis. This skill allows the slimes to get the necessary nutrients by bathing under the sunlight. From the looks of things, it¡¯s thanks to this skill, that the slime can live on water alone.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°There was such a skill, de aru!? Mu mu mu, how curious...¡± - Raypin

    ¡°Is that slime strong?¡± ¨C Mizelia

    ¡°No, it¡¯s ridiculously weak. It has no fighting abilities, and if it fights, it would lose even to a normal slime.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°That is weak...¡± - Mizelia

    ¡°That¡¯s probably the reason why the heal slimes are so rare. Even if a heal slime were to be born, it would immediately be killed by another beast or monster, and so it bes extremely rare for people to find it.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°I understand, de aru. Someone with no strength wouldn¡¯t be able to survive in the wild. So does that mean the heal slime doesn¡¯t have any way of defending itself, de aru?¡± - Raypin

    ¡°Nothing else aside from resistance skills. On top of the healing magic, it also has the strengthen vitality skill. So it can run away while being hit as it heals itself.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°So all it can do is resist, heal, and run, de aru?¡± - Raypin

    ¡°It¡¯s unexpectedly tough, but with that alone it can¡¯t live in the wilds for long. I think it¡¯s because they understand this themselves, that even if I tell them to do as they please, they won¡¯t separate from me or my other slimes. Well, they can heal me and my slimes as soon as we get hurt, so they¡¯re quite the useful bunch.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°These kids arepletely healers, huh.¡± - Syria

    ¡°Yes. I won¡¯t take them out to fight.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°I see... you¡¯ve shown me something good, de aru. Thank you, de aru.¡± - Raypin

    ¡°No, if it¡¯s something like this, I don¡¯t mind. After all, it¡¯s quite rare for me to show my research to someone who can understand. Something at this level is not a problem.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°Umu. Ryouma, if you have anything you want to hear about monsters, then without holding back, please ask me, de aru. I find Ryouma¡¯s discoveries to be very interesting. I truly do not understand what the tamer guild who doesn¡¯t value Ryouma is thinking, de aru.¡± - Raypin

    Hearing that, Asagi-san interjected.

    ¡°Ryouma, the tamer guild doesn¡¯t see you in high regard, de gozaru? I have never seen a ve magic user control so many ve monsters, de gozaru. From what I¡¯ve heard the more ve monsters there are, the harder it is to control them. So from that I think Ryouma-kun should be quite an aplished ve magic user, de gozaru. But...¡± - Asagi

    ¡°Thank you, Asagi-san. However, because of my age and the fact that I¡¯m only controlling slimes, it really can¡¯t be helped that they end up looking down on me.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°Age has nothing to do with ability, de aru. And also Ryouma has managed to discover these two types of slime, the Cleaner Slime, and the Scavenger Slime, both whose abilities are extremely useful, de aru. For someone to be unable to value that, and not understand the value of these two types of slimes. Such a person could only be called, a fool, de aru.¡± - Raypin

    ¡°I thought those two types were quite strange... are they a new race, nya?¡± - Miya

    ¡°Someone who doesn¡¯t understand the value of the Cleaner Slime and the Scavenger Slime is really an idiot. Even someone like me who can¡¯t be called ¡®educated¡¯ can understand the value of these two types. If I could use ve magic, I¡¯d also use these.¡± - Wereanna

    At Wereanna-san¡¯s words, everyone in that ce nodded. It seems that because of thetrine pits case and today¡¯s goblin case, everyone can understand the value of the Scavenger Slime and the Cleaner Slime.

    Seeing everyone¡¯s reaction, I thought of something.

    ¡°If I made aundromat, I wonder if I¡¯d be able to make enough for a living...¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°Laundromat?¡±

    Looks like I didn¡¯t just think of it, I also said it out loud.

    ¡°I thought of it just now. I figured if I announced something like, ¡°Use the cleaner slime and with a low price, you can even get rid of a goblins¡¯ dirt!¡± to the adventurers, and took care of theirundries for them I would be able to make a living.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°How cheap?¡± ¨C Mizelia

    ¡°Let¡¯s see... I¡¯ll make a special bag, and for every one thing you put inside it, it would go for 1 small copper coin for the cheaper ones, and 1 medium copper coin for the more expensive ones. What do you think?¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°You would!¡±

    As I said that, everyone eximed in unison.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, that job will definitely make a profit! If it¡¯s a goblins¡¯ dirt, then there are people who¡¯d pay even 1 mid copper coin! To provide that kind of service at 1 copper coin, everyone will definitelye!¡± ¨C Mizelia

    ¡°There are people who buy new clothes and throw away their old dirty clothes, when they can¡¯t get rid of a goblin¡¯s dirt. It¡¯s cheaper to pay 1 copper coinpared to buying a new one, and also, with your cleaner slime, the clothes will be as good as new. There¡¯s no way it wouldn¡¯t make a profit.¡±

    ¡°At that price, even people other than adventurers wille. When you think about the time and effort it takes, leaving it to you is faster and morefortable. In fact, I¡¯d want you to clean my stuff for me starting tomorrow.¡± - Jeff

    ¡°As for me, I¡¯m bad at chores, and once I¡¯m caught up in my research, the chores, especially theundry bes neglected, de aru. During that time I¡¯d hire people, but the fees are not something one could scoff at, de aru.¡± - Raypin

    ¡°While in Raypin¡¯s case, he gets charged a premium because his clothes gets too dirty after being neglected for too long... it is true that hiring people is quite expensive. Only nobles and rich people could possibly afford to do something like that, so it¡¯s not worth it, de gozaru. With that in mind, the price Ryouma had proposed just now, would cause even themoners to cheerfully ask for your service, de gozaru.¡± ¨C Asagi

    Somehow everyone seems to be in really high spirits... it¡¯s something I just thought of but, it seems it¡¯s quite a big deal...

    ¡°If you¡¯re doing it for real, then there¡¯s plenty of potential to make a profit. And also we¡¯lle by as customers and make full use of thatundromat of yours.¡± - Wereanna

    ¡°But why did you suddenly think of something like that?¡± - Mizelia

    Ah, now that I think about it, I haven¡¯t mentioned it, have I?

    ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve thought of various things yesterday. And so I decided that I¡¯d be independent.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°I think everyone knows, but I came to this town along with the duke¡¯s family. And so they took care of me a lot, but recently... I noticed that I¡¯d gotten too spoiled by the good will of the duke. And so I talked to them, refused their aid, and decided to be independent.¡± ¨C Ryouma

    ¡°You refused the duke¡¯s support!?¡±

    ¡°What a waste...¡±

    ¡°Even if I say I refused their support. It¡¯s really only about the financial stuff and lodging. I received a lot of that kind of stuff, but it¡¯s exactly because of that, that I started to be dependent on them, and so I thought I¡¯d focus my mind.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°But even then, that¡¯s not something you¡¯d normally do, you know? Something like refusing the duke¡¯s support is something that¡¯s normally improbable. To begin with, most don¡¯t have that kind of opportunity.¡± - Mizelia

    ¡°However that kind of thinking is admirable, de gozaru.¡± - Asagi

    ¡°Hahaha... and so from what we¡¯ve discussed, I made a promise to take the contract of one job and to contact them regrly. I¡¯ll also be staying in this town, so because of that, I¡¯ve been looking for different ways on how to make money.

    I intend to continue as an adventurer, but on top of the contract I have with the duke, I can¡¯t go too far away from this town. There¡¯s also the off chance where I might end up bing unable to continue as an adventurer, so in order to prepare for that, I¡¯ve been thinking of several other ways to make money.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°I see, then that¡¯s fine. Do your best, ok?¡± - Wereanna

    ¡°Since you¡¯ll be remaining here, it seems we¡¯ll be seeing each other a lot. Let¡¯s get along, de aru.¡± - Raypin

    ¡°Same here.¡± - Ryouma

    After that, we continued to chatter about trivial things, and then we went back to the town on thest carriage.

    Aftering back to the lodging, I was called over to Elia¡¯s room.

    ¡°Wee back.¡± - Madam

    ¡°Ryouma-san, good job today as well.¡± - Elia

    ¡°The job ended early today, huh? Are the people at the mine doing well?¡± ¨C Rheinhart

    ¡°Huh? Haven¡¯t you been informed about it yet?¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°It¡¯s because we were at the public office today, inquiring something about the management. Did anything happen?¡± - Rheinbach

    ¡°Today, we found a goblin vige. Seeing that we decided to destroy it... but then it turned out that there was actually a goblin king there and it turned into a huge mess.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°There was a goblin king!?¡± - Rheinbach

    ¡°Are you alright!?¡± - Elia

    ¡°Fortunately I was only tasked with the mission of preventing the goblins fleeing from escaping, so I¡¯m alright. The others were also quite lucky, so in the end no one died.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°I see, that¡¯s good...¡± - Rheinhart

    ¡°However, because the nest was big enough to have even a goblin king and its servants, the goblin knights. The goblins that came fleeing to our side numbered 2000. Like this the job today turned out to be quite big, and so after dealing with the corpses, we were told to go home.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°It¡¯s really quite amazing that no one had died.¡± - Rheinbach

    ¡°In any case, I¡¯m d you¡¯re alright.¡± - Madam

    ¡°Seeing how hard you worked today, you must be hungry, right? Is there anything you want to eat?¡± - Rheinhart

    ¡°Thank you, I¡¯d love to eat my fill today.¡±

    ¡°The slimes worked hard today as well, right? Should we feed the slimes something too?¡± - Madam

    ¡°Oh, they¡¯ve already eaten their fill today with the goblins. They ate so much so that they can split again tonight, so I think it¡¯s more than enough already.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°Oh, is that so? Which slimes are going to multiply?¡± - Madam

    ¡°The acid slime, the poison slime, the cleaner slime, and also the sticky slimes will multiply more.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°They just suddenly decided to multiply, huh?¡± - Madam

    ¡°It¡¯s because they ate so much. It¡¯s not really a bad thing though. After all whichever slime reproduces, my fighting potential will increase, and the production rate of the waterproof cloth and thread will also increase, so it¡¯s not exactly a bad thing. But unfortunately, because of how many there are I¡¯ll end up having to spend quite a bit of magic power to enact the ve monster contract, and that¡¯s quite troubling.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s so many of them, so it can¡¯t be helped. But please don¡¯t push yourself, ok?¡± - Madam

    ¡°Yes. If it¡¯s too much for a day, then I¡¯ll perform the contract across several days.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°Right, that¡¯s for the best.¡± - Madam

    After that, I talked to them about what I¡¯ll be doing from now on while we ate. I talked to them about how I n to continue to live as an adventurer, as well as my thoughts about finding other ways to make money.

    After that, I tried asking about how long the duke¡¯s family will be here in the town. After all, I¡¯ve never heard anything about how long they¡¯ll be staying here.

    ¡°By the way, how long will you guys be here for? I haven¡¯t been able to ask it until now, so...¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°We didn¡¯t¡¯ tell you? We¡¯ll be staying here until the Grell Frog outbreak ends. Also, we¡¯ll stay here for as long as Elia¡¯s enrollment date will allow. We¡¯ve already finished most of the procedures, and there¡¯s also value in just staying here.¡± ¨C Rheinbach

    Grell Frog. If I¡¯m correct that¡¯s...

    ¡°Grell Frog is the magical beast from which the hide used on some armore from, right?¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°Umu, its hide is definitely used to make armors. On top of that, its guts are also used to make medicine. Every year, around this time, a lot of theme out in the swamps around here.¡± - Rheinbach

    ¡°Halfway from this city towards the abandoned mine, there¡¯s a swamp with red mud. Every year, that¡¯s where the Grell Frogse out in great numbers. Our goal in staying here, is to bring Elia to that ce the moment the Grell Frogs erupt.¡± - Rheinhart

    ¡°Are you going to defeat the Grell Frogs?¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°That¡¯s secondary. We¡¯ll be heading there on foot for the sake of training how to travel¡£It¡¯s not really a ce a carriage can normally go to. Also that ce doesn¡¯t have a good environment, so going there is also for the sake of getting used to ces with bad environments. As for why it¡¯s bad, it¡¯s because the mud of that swamp releases a really bad odor, and then some.¡± ¨C Rheinhart

    ¡°It¡¯s not all that bad. At the same time as the outbreak of Grell Frogs, the Rimel Birds that feed on the Grell Frogs will alsoe. The Rimel Bird is a magical beast bird with beautiful blue wings. But not only is its appearance beautiful, even its voice is. It can also fly quite fast, so it¡¯s quite popr. Unfortunately though, it¡¯s quite difficult to catch, so there are very few people who are able to do so. Because of that, it¡¯s very rare to see one. Ryouma-kun, you should take this opportunity to see them.¡± - Madam

    It doesn¡¯t seem to be a scary magical beast. But the fact that it eats Grell Frogs means that it¡¯s a carnivorous bird, right? Speaking of carnivorous birds, the only thing thates to mind are the crows. But it has color, so I guess it¡¯s a peacock? I don¡¯t know. Yeah, I¡¯m curious. If that bird ising, then I guess I¡¯ming to take a look as well.

    ¡°I want to see.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°Then you shoulde with us.¡± - Rheinhart

    ¡°Then please let mee with you during the Grell Frog Outbreak.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°Of course! We¡¯ll definitely go together!¡± - Elia

    I promise Elia, and then after eating Ie back to my room.

    There, I began to let the slimes split and contract them, but halfway through, I ran out of magic power, and so I decided to just continue it tomorrow. I still have some magic potions, but really it¡¯d be a waste.

 Volume 2 - 4 Part 1

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Volume 2 Chapter 4 Part 1

    TL Note: As has been mentioned before, I¡¯ll be cutting the extra-long chapters like this one into two parts. This chapter is almost twice as long as the previous one, but because I needed to find a decent ce to cut it, this part is quite shorter than the next. There are only two parts.

    Also, the extra chapter will be released either tomorrow or on Friday.

    Some Japanese terms:

    Torimochi is a sticky liquid you use to catch birds and insects.

    SOURCE

    Edit: (2015/09/03) Some lines pertaining to silver coin -> copper coin fixed.

    Volume 2 Chapter 4 Part 1

    The day before yesterday I beat up the Fang of Orbtem¡¯s members. And then yesterday, there was that goblin king incident that caused many adventurers to be hurt. Thanks to that, the subjugation of the monsters in the mine feels so slow.

    Also, because of yesterday¡¯s incident, my previous group has been dissolved. Jeff-san and the others were made to lead the lower ranked adventurers to ensure their safety.

    As for me, I don¡¯t need any guidance, but on the other hand you can¡¯t really put me with the lower ranked adventurers and make me lead them. After all my rank is low, and my time as an adventurer is short. If I were to lead them, rather than feeling ensured, they¡¯d just feel even more anxious instead. So because of that, I ended up hunting by myself alone with my slimes.

    Regarding my hunt, I came up with an idea to use a rod that¡¯s been covered in the sticky liquid of the sticky slime. By swinging this rod around, I¡¯m able to catch the cave bats and the small rats quite easily, as they stick to the rod like they would to a torimochi. And as for the cave mantises, I equipped the poison slimes with the spears of the bandits I¡¯d defeated before, and made them fight the cave mantises from a distance outside the range of their scythes. Like this, they were easily beaten and then eaten..

    How should I put it? It seems that after some training these slimes have gotten quite strong. And also, after seeing these guys fight the cave mantis, I remembered that... what was that again? It¡¯s a game from Earth that was really popr once. The theme song of that game was quite odd. Even though it was such a leisurely song, from what I remember its lyrics were for some reason quite blood thirsty.

    Anyway, today nothing out of the ordinary happened and we finished the job. We found 5 goblins before noon once, but it didn¡¯t have any allies. I reported it afterwards, but apparently it¡¯s just the remnants of the vige we destroyed yesterday.

    Halfway through the job in the afternoon, I thought of trying out various different experiments with the sticky slime.

    For example I had the sticky slime stick to the ceiling and stretch itself downwards, causing it to hang. And then we moved through the tunnel while the sticky slime remained in that state. Why? Well the cave bats were quite annoying as they kept flying around like flies. So since they reminded me of flies, I figured I¡¯d have the sticky slime act like a fly paper. Thanks to this the cave bats were caught one after another, as they found themselves stuck into the sticky slime. Naturally, they were then eaten shortly after.

    What¡¯s more is that when I gave an order to the sticky slime to turn into a right after jumping it was able to do it. So I took that slime and tried throwing it against a colony of cave bats. Mid-air that slime turned into a, caught a huge number of them, and then fell to the ground. Hah! Ipleted a really convenient skill! Looks like I¡¯ll be able to use this for a lot of things...

    The sticky slime is super useful! How should I put it, I think the sticky slime can really do a lot of things. It¡¯s a slime that can be used in battle, and even in one¡¯s day-to-day life.

    After the job finished, I rode the stagecoach to go back home. But as we were entering the town, there was an ident and the wheel of the carriage broke. Now although I say it¡¯s an ident, it¡¯s not like anyone was injured in particr. The carriage really just broke suddenly as it swayed a lot. Running seemed to be dangerous, so like the others, we all respectively walked back to the town.

    And as I was walking, I happened to pass by Serge-san¡¯s Morgan Firm.

    Speaking of which, I was saved by the magic recovery potions I got yesterday. And there¡¯s also the chance that I might happen by something I can use as a reference for the bag that I¡¯m going to use in myundromat, so I figured might as well stop by.

    Thinking that, I entered the store. From what the female clerk said, it would appear that Serge-san was around.

    As soon as he saw me, he smiled and called me over to the reception room. I tried to look at the goods of the store at the storefront, but...

    ¡°Wee, Ryouma-sama. May I know what your errand is for today?¡±

    ¡°The magic recovery potion I got from Serge-san proved to be really useful yesterday, so I would like to give my gratitude for it. Also there¡¯s also something I¡¯d like, and because I don¡¯t know any other store...¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Then if my store¡¯s goods could prove to be any useful, please help yourself. It is also my honor to know that Ryouma-sama chose toe to my store. May I know what it is that Ryouma-sama is looking for?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m looking for some robust bags. Also, I don¡¯t mind even if the material it is made out of is cheap. As for the size, I haven¡¯t decided yet.¡±

    ¡°Oh? It¡¯s also depends on what Ryouma-sama is going to be putting in it, but may I know for what purpose Ryouma-sama will be using the bag?¡±

    ¡°This¡¯ll be quite a long story, but actually...¡±

    As I began exining to Serge-san about my decision to be independent, he showed me a shocked expression, while giving me a look of approval. As for my idea to start aundromat, he showed great interest.

    ¡°I see, so Ryouma-sama ns to have a side job while working as an adventurer. And while thinking that Ryouma-sama has even thought of preparing for the possibility of bing unable to continue work as an adventurer. This level of nning is truly admirable for someone of Ryouma-sama¡¯s age.¡±

    Well that¡¯s because I¡¯m actually 42 years old. I¡¯m actually not that much of a nner when youpare me to the other uncles my age. But at the very least I do have enough reason in me to understand that the work I¡¯m doing is dangerous and that I should prepare for it. After all, this world doesn¡¯t have insurance or pension.

    ¡°No, no, it¡¯s really not that much.¡±

    ¡°Still, aundromat, huh? If the price range goes from 1 small copper coin to one medium copper coin, then it will certainly attract customers. And not only adventurers but also themoners at that. But, there¡¯s still the problem of getting people to help out who can bring out results good enough to satisfy the customer. Even if Ryouma-sama may start out fine, I don¡¯t believe Ryouma-sama will be able to handle the work load once the number of customers increase.¡±

    Ah, I forgot to talk about the cleaner slimes.

    ¡°My apologies, I forgot to inform you of something. Please wait a moment.¡±

    I took out one cleaner slime from my dimension home.

    ¡°This is my ve monster. It¡¯s called a cleaner slime.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a slime I¡¯ve never heard of before.¡±

    ¡°Yes, this is a new kind of slime I discovered. I¡¯ve already given the information to the tamer guild, but as of now the only one who has this kind of slime is me.¡±

    Having been told directly by the gods, themselves, that it¡¯s a new type. There shouldn¡¯t be any other cleaner slimes, right?

    ¡°Does theundromat have anything to do with that slime?¡±

    ¡°This slime has a skill called ¡®cleaning¡¯. When that skill is used, this slime will eat only the dirt of something. And of course, once the dirt of something has been eaten, it will obviously be clean. I n to use this for theundry.¡±

    At those words, Serge-san had his mouth hanging open. As expected, it¡¯s quite hard to believe...

    In response to that, I then took out the loin cloth of a goblin I had defeated today from my item box and then said this.

    ¡°I understand it must be hard to believe with just words alone. Then in that case, please take a look at this. This cloth is the loin cloth of a goblin that I¡¯d defeated today. If it¡¯s alright with Serge-san, I¡¯d like to let the cleaner slime eat this, and show Serge-san the cleaned cloth.¡±

    As I said that, Serge-san gulped and then meekly said this.

    ¡°Please by all means.¡±

    ¡°Just in case, would Serge-san like to use ¡®identify¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Yes, please allow me to. This smell is definitely that of a goblin¡¯s loin cloth, but...¡±

    As he said that while chuckling, Serge-san used ¡®identify¡¯. Having confirmed that the cloth is in fact, a goblin¡¯s loin cloth, I passed the cloth over to my cleaner slime. The cleaner slime took the cloth inside it as usual, and moved like a washing machine. And right there and then, the cleaner slime quickly got rid of the dirt, and then threw up the cloth on the table in the reception room. The time taken was less than 30 seconds.

    Serge-san timidly took the cloth that had a clearly different color from before, and used ¡®identify¡¯ on it. As soon as Serge-san saw the ¡®identify¡¯ show the result, ¡®clean cloth¡¯, he couldn¡¯t help but exim in praise as he took my hands.

    ¡°To think that a goblin¡¯s dirty loin cloth could actually be made this clean in such a short time!¡±

    Umm... my hands were touching that dirty goblin¡¯s loincloth just now, so... Ah. Looks like he remembered it after seeing the way I was looking at him, since his countenance had suddenly be visibly clouded. Well this is a good opportunity, so I guess I¡¯ll also exin about the cleaner slime¡¯s ability to clean even people. And I¡¯ll also have the cleaner slime clean him. Of course, only the hand though.

    As I exined that to him. He even went through the trouble to take my hand and uses ¡®identify¡¯ on it. And then after having the cleaner slime clean it, Serge-san exploded into a storm of praises.

    You know, this guy is really not a bad guy. That, I can understand. However, mentally speaking, this guy is really exhausting...

 Volume 2 - 4 Part 2

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Volume 2 Chapter 4 Part 2

    TL Note:

    I¡¯ll just post the parts in parts from now on because it seems people prefer it that way. Also I¡¯m sorry about the extra chapter but I¡¯ll have to dy it to next week. There also won¡¯t be a chapter tomorrow, on saturday, and on sunday. Sorry guys, but my exam thising weekend is really big, and I really need to cram now.

    This little excerpt down here is in fact rted to the chapter, just some extra tidbits about what Ryouma is talking about in case you don¡¯t know:

    Gyudon is Japanese food. If you¡¯ve never eaten it, you should. It tastes good. Usually it¡¯s beef and rice with egg and sometimes veggies too. Mmm... it¡¯s really good.

    Some are expensive and some are cheap. The stores Ryouma are referring to are the cheaper ones. They go for like 250 yen to somewhere around less than 500 yen. Of course, there are also more expensive versions. Oh, and they also sell other stuff too, of course. Not just Gyudon.

    CLICK HERE TO WATCH GYUDON

    Edit: (2015/09/03) 4 pieces of silver -> 4 pieces of copper.

    Volume 2 Chapter 4 Part 2

    ¡°Please excuse my unsightly behavior. Still though, this slime is truly amazing. With this slime, even if Ryouma-sama opens aundromat, there should be no problem. Ah, with this speed, this price, and this result, Ryouma-sama¡¯sundromat will surely flourish.¡±

    Ah, he seems to have gone off on a trip by himself...

    ¡°Then, how big of a bag would be good? It¡¯s quite embarrassing, but I don¡¯t know much about the market price.¡±

    ¡°Right... I¡¯ll have several sizes brought over then.¡±

    As Serge-san said that, he called a female servant over and had her bring several bags to us.

    ¡°As Ryouma-sama can see, I¡¯ve arranged the bags from smallest to biggest, starting from the left to the right. The left most can take in an average man¡¯s portion of clothes.¡±

    ¡°A slightly bigger one would be better I think. Families in general have moreundries, and amongst the bachelors there are many who findundry to be troublesome and end up stockpiling them.

    And also it¡¯s cheaper for 4 and 5 pieces of clothes to go for 1 medium copper coin, than 1 medium copper coin for 1 piece of clothing. Like this, the customers will find this to be to their advantage. There¡¯s also not much of a difference between one piece of clothing and five pieces when ites to the efforts I have to put in on my side. And moreover I¡¯m not even aiming to gain that much profit as all I¡¯m aiming for is to make enough to get by. Lastly, I believe if I make one batch cheaper, then I¡¯ll be able to make a profit as plenty of people wille and use my services repeatedly.¡±

    In my previous life I was really indebted to these kind of cheap businesses... Even for lunch I¡¯d go buy from those Gyudon chain stores.

    The shop I bought from was also pretty much decided. During my previous life, I went there all the time, and so the people there already thought of me as a regr customer. I don¡¯t know how much I¡¯ve paid all in all to the stores around the ce I lived in, in my previous life. But I¡¯m not dissatisfied at all, rather I¡¯m really grateful for being supported by them in my previous life. With that in mind, I think it¡¯s important to create repeat customers for one¡¯s business.

    As I was thinking that, I noticed that Serge-san¡¯s eyes were actually sparkling as they gazed at me.

    ¡°Wonderful. Ryouma-sama, to actually look into the future and not be influenced by immediate profits. Ryouma-sama already seems to possess amazing managerial insight. This Serge is in admiration.¡±

    Most of the people in Japan know that, you know? Even kids could up with this, I¡¯m not amazing at all...

    I just spoke a little of something from my experiences in my previous life, so being praised over something like this makes me feel quite uneasy. To the people in Japan that seriously study management, I¡¯m really sorry.

    ¡°Then in that case, how about this bag over here? This bag can take up to 3 to 4 people of a normal family¡¯s 2 day¡¯s portion of clothes.¡±

    ¡°And it seems that for a bachelor, this bag should be able to take even up to 1 weeks¡¯ worth ofundry. Yes, this is quite good, let¡¯s go with this. Also, I¡¯d like to take around 2 or 3 bags that¡¯s double the size of this one, as well as one whose size is five times this one. Will that be possible?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s possible, however isn¡¯t it too big?¡¯

    ¡°The bag from a while ago will be targeted to individuals. The bag double its size will be for small parties of adventurers. The one five times the normal bag¡¯s size will be rmended for smithies with plenty of disciples, construction workers, and other big groups.

    If we were to calcte the bag targeted at individuals as a man¡¯s portion for a day, then for a week it¡¯ll be as 7 people¡¯s portion. Doubling that will get us 14 people¡¯s portion, and five times the first bag will get us a portion for 35.

    The bag targeted at individuals will go for 1 medium copper coin or 10 suits. The double-sized will go for 1 medium copper coin and 8 pieces of small copper coin for 18 suits. The bag five times the size of the first bag will go for 4 pieces of medium copper coins for 40 suits.

    Since there¡¯s a discount based on usage, I believe the number of people that will think of using the service will increase. In the instance where they don¡¯t¡¯ have enough people, then they¡¯ll talk to other people about theundromat in order to gather people. In the end, talk of theundromat will spread and everyone will know about myundromat.

    And because there will be more people who will use the service, there will be more clothes to wash. A bag that would normally go for 14 portions if an individual were to fill it up, could then be filled up by 14 people for a day. Like this, the customers will use theundromat almost every day, and I¡¯ll also get a medium silver coin and 8 small copper coins almost every day as well.

    Like this there will be ie on a daily basis. Also because the amount paid per person is cheaper, it is clearly an advantage for the customers. And so like this it can be advantageous for both me and the customer.

    Moreover because jobs like smithing and construction are upations where one can get dirty easily, I expect arge number of customers from those upations to use my services should theye. In that instance, there is the possibility that the customers whoe to know the effectivity of myundromat with their worker clothes maye to use my services personally. There is also the possibility that their coworkerse to have their clothes washed as well.

    After all, construction work and the smithy are jobs that are generally taken care of by the men. So, there are people who are bad atundry or find doingundry to be troublesome and neglect theirundry, right? If I am able to make one big contract for that workce, then it should be possible to acquire those kind of customers as well.

    Fu...ah! Ah~...I screwed up, Serge-san has stiffened up... and his eyes are even wide open...Since a long time ago, I¡¯ve always had this bad habit of talking one-sidedly... I¡¯ve screwed up so much before because of this... I guess it¡¯s because I had a business-like talk after a long time that I ended up slipping again.

    ¡°Sorry, from time to time I have this bad habit of going on and on by myself. Please excuse my rude behavior.¡±

    ¡°No, no, no! There¡¯s nothing to apologize for! I¡¯m just a little surprised. Ryouma-sama should only be 11 years old. To be able to calcte at that age, and on top of that mental math is certainly something to be praised. But more than that, the business policies that Ryouma-sama had talked about just now are things that I have never heard of. However, it should definitely be a very effective method. Today, I feel as if the scales have fallen from my eyes.¡±

    That¡¯s it!? That¡¯s where you¡¯re shocked!? Oh wait, now that he mentions it I am supposed to be an 11 year old kid! Calctions are... umm, whatever. But it would appear that he¡¯s quite shocked even though all I did was spout a bunch of simple management strategies, huh? Rather than say I thought it up though, all I really did was line up the present time business strategies...Wait a moment, do they not have discounts around here? Did I really say something that shocking?

    ¡°Umm, aren¡¯t there discounts around here?¡±

    ¡°There are discounts, but the kind of discount that Ryouma-sama had mentioned has not been thought up until just now. Discounts are something a merchant will normally do to gain favor even at the cost of suffering some loss for the sake of future transactions. There are also cases where discounts are given in order to quickly sell something.

    Well those two are the basic reasons, as for others, there are also cases where discounts are given to make the customer leave quickly. And then there are also merchants that start off at an exorbitant price to customers that don¡¯t know the market price, and then they pretend to sell it at a far lower price when in fact it is still higher than the market price. But that¡¯s about it. As for shops that have a regr discount, I¡¯ve never heard of such a thing.¡±

    Well, he looks like he¡¯s being serious.

    ¡°Since it has be like this, I highly rmend that Ryouma-sama register to the merchant guild.¡±

    ¡°Merchant guild?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Because there is also a branch of the merchant guild in this town, it is possible to register right away. The merchant guild is unique to each country, as it is necessary for all businesses to go through it before being granted permission. This includes even peddling, stalls, and carts.¡±

    Eh!? Then...

    ¡°Then does that mean what I tried to do just now was illegal?¡±

    ¡°No, on the outward the guild may be operating the businesses of many countries, but it¡¯s not like they¡¯re really in charge of everything. For one, the viges in the borders trading their ownmodities as they please, and adventurers stopping by in the middle of their adventure to sell the herbs they¡¯ve gathered to a pharmacy isn¡¯t forbidden.

    In the same way, children or adventurers having a sideline, doing some sort of odd job, and receivingpensation isn¡¯t a problem. In those instances, the money being exchanged isn¡¯t that big, and is also not illegal, and as long as both participants show consent then it isn¡¯t a problem.

    However, from what Ryouma-sama has spoken about today, the money Ryouma-sama will be stumbling into is not something that can be called small. In this situation, the guild will definitely intervene and it will be a problem.¡±

    ¡°I see, that was close... thank you very much Serge-san.¡±

    ¡°Not at all, I have also made light of Ryouma-sama. I thought Ryouma-sama was just going to take a side job, and make some small change. But I had never imagined that Ryouma-sama would actuallye up with such deep management policies. Because of that I didn¡¯t talk about registering at the guild.¡±

    I didn¡¯t think about it that much at all actually...

    ¡°Then in order to start up myundromat, I will have to register at the guild, right? However I am already affiliated with the adventurer¡¯s guild and the tamer¡¯s guild, will there be any problems?¡±

    ¡°Please rest assured as I will be rmending Ryouma-sama. Therefore there won¡¯t be any problems, and Ryouma-sama will be able to register. Also there aren¡¯t any exams in particr. And as for being a member of more than one guild, rather than that being seen as an impediment, because it will allow one to get information easier, it is actually seen as something that is very much wee. If it¡¯s alright with Ryouma-sama we can register at the guild tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Tomorrow? I still have a job to do as an adventurer tomorrow, so by the time Ie back it will be around the same time as today.¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t be a problem. The merchant guild has several staff members, and so it is possible to process the papers at any given time. After all to a merchant, information is life. And so it is of utmost important to get any information before it bes old.¡±

    You mean even though it¡¯s a different world they have 24 hour service?

    ¡°Then in that case, if it¡¯s alright with Serge-san, then...¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡±

    Woah!?

    ¡°Theundromat that Ryouma-sama hase up with, is truly a wonderful thing! This business idea will be able to reap huge profits that not even merchants have seen. It will definitely create a huge sensation on how businesses have been tackled until now! I, Serge Morgan, am fascinated. Please allow me to be of help!¡±

    Somehow he¡¯s started to really exaggerate this! To think it would actually be something so important... will this really turn out to be just some extra change?

    ¡°Th, thank you very much. Your words are very reassuring.¡±

    ¡°Such words are wasted on me. Since it¡¯s already be like this, we also have to think about thend Ryouma-sama is going to be opening the store on.¡±

    Store!? Hey, I wasn¡¯t nning on doing something that big!

    ¡°Fumu... from Ryouma-sama¡¯s face, I suppose Ryouma-sama wasn¡¯t intending on making this that big?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I thought I would only be making enough to get by at most. So I thought that it would have been fine if I just took a corner of the town somewhere like a stall and then go around the neighborhood by myself. After all if it were to be a store then it wouldn¡¯t be a side job anymore,¡±

    ¡°I see. However in terms of management, Ryouma-sama can rest assured as I am able to lend some of my people.¡±

    No, that¡¯s no good, right? Something like leaving it to others...

    ¡°No even if it¡¯s a store, leaving everything to others is...¡±

    As I said that, Serge-san made a wry smile.

    ¡°Fumu... I feel like I¡¯ve somewhat understood at least a little of what the duke was saying. Ryouma-sama, there¡¯s really nothing strange about leaving the management to other people.¡±

    Eh?

    ¡°Of course at the start, it¡¯s normal for someone to manage his store by himself. However once the store branches increase and bes something on the level of my stores, then at that point it bes impossible to manage everything by one¡¯s self. In this instance it¡¯s a good choice to pick trustworthy subordinates, raise them, and leave the management of the stores to them. Does Ryouma-sama find doing things in this way to be strange?¡±

    Well... true. Now that he mentions it, it was quitemon for the chain stores in Japan to have an employee manage it and not the owner...

    ¡°Certainly, it¡¯s not something strange.¡±

    ¡°Right. Moreover there are people in the world that can and cannot do management. For people that can¡¯t, instead of forcing it, those people generally hire someone else that can do management.¡±

    ¡°I can also understand that.¡±

    ¡°It would seem that Ryouma-sama can¡¯t make a decision as of the present time. In my opinion Ryouma-sama has the talent for management. After all, there is the idea, the way to make it a reality, and amazing management strategies that will surely change thendscape of how businesses work. However I do not believe Ryouma-sama is very talented at the psychological war in discussions. Because, everything Ryouma-sama¡¯s face is like an open book. Everything shows.¡±

    You¡¯d say something like that so bluntly!?

    ¡°For someone of Ryouma-sama¡¯s age it may be something conceble, but that level won¡¯t work against a sly old fox of a merchant such as myself.¡±

    ¡°I see...¡±

    I had some confidence in my poker face in previous life, but was that just my imagination?

    ¡°Also, I am not lending Ryouma-sama my peoplepletely out of virtue. When Rheinhart-sama had introduced Ryouma-sama to me, he told me to give Ryouma-sama advice. Aside from that we also talked about our thoughts on Ryouma-sama¡¯s future prospects.¡±

    ¡°Future prospects?¡±

    ¡°Yes. To havee up with the waterproof cloth and the thread, as well as that iron ingot at that age. Even without Rheinhart-sama¡¯s introduction, Ryouma-sama is definitely someone to watch out for. On top of that, because of the conversation today, the earnings from today onwards is something that can be looked forward to. This isn¡¯t something that a merchant such as myself can ignore. Being able to sell the bags whole sale to Ryouma¡¯s store is also good, so I would love to have a share in this. With all that in mind let us open the capital for investments.¡±

    ... Going this far, is that really ok? But you know...

    ¡°If you invest money into this and it fails, then what?¡±

    ¡°One who is afraid of failure would not be able to make a store big. A merchant that owns a store this size can more or less carry the risks.

    Moreover, nothinges to mind when ites to factors that will cause Ryouma-sama¡¯s business to fail. But in the case that it does fail, it will be enough for Ryouma-sama to create iron ingots and waterproof clothes topensate the loss. The chance for sess is high, and there¡¯s even a way to get back my losses. With this kind of conditions, if I didn¡¯t pitch in then I wouldn¡¯t be called a merchant anymore.¡±

    True, if I just made some ingots I would make money...

    ¡°I understand. Let¡¯s work together.¡±

    ¡°Has Ryouma-sama started to feel like doing it?¡±

    ¡°Yes. But please excuse me from the financial investments. In the past I had subjugated some bandits, and because of that I have received quite a bit ofpensation.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Then, how about the workers.¡±

    ¡°Yes, please take care of that. Also, please let me buy the misceneous goods including the bag that will be used in the store, here. As for the talk regarding the ingot, let¡¯s do that at a different time. To begin with, because the management of the mine had been left to me, I had already been nning on making some.¡±

    ¡°Thank you very much. From now on it appears that we can look forward to a good working rtionship.¡±

    With this we were able to conclude our discussion. After that I bought the bag from Serge-san, who was quite in a good mood, and then left the store.

    I walked back home on the road that had already be dark. When I finally got to the lodging, Elia was there waiting for me. She was not happy, no. She was clearly pissed off and was releasing a horrifying aura to go with it.

    ¡°Elia...?¡±

    ¡°Ryouma-san, what were you doing up till now? I was worried, you know?¡±

    As Elia put away her anger, she burst crying. Looks like she was really worried. Even though it was against a bunch of small fries, I still did take a request to subjugate monsters... my bad. Because of that I quietly received Elia¡¯s scolding. After that, she got tired of crying and being angry, and then just said that she¡¯s going to bed already. I was taken along by the maid as I sent Elia off.

    ¡°Excuse me. My apologies for having caused you to worry.¡± ¨CRyouma

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, since from the looks of things it would appear that you¡¯ve already been scolded plenty by Elia.¡± ¨C Madam

    ¡°It¡¯s true though that you made us worry.¡± ¨C Rheinhart

    ¡°Be careful next time, ok?¡± ¨C Rheinbach

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve taken it to heart.¡± ¨C Ryouma

    ¡°And? Where did Ryouma-kun run off to, to be home thiste?¡± ¨C Madam

    ¡°The carriage had an ident and was broken. Because of that, I walked from somewhere near the northern gate, and as I passed by Serge-san¡¯s store, I decided to stop by. Thanks to the magic recovery potion that Serge-san gave me, we were able to keep healing the injured. So I went over to thank him for that. Along with that, I thought of buying some things, but before I knew it, it turned into a long discussion.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°You were over at Serge-san¡¯s? What did you talk about?¡± ¨C Rheinhart

    ¡°We talked about the ways on how to make money for me to be able to support myself, as well as the use of cleaner slimes in myundromat. Ah! By the way, I¡¯ll being home a littlete tomorrow. I know I was scolded just now, but...¡± ¨C Ryouma

    ¡°It¡¯s fine as long as you let us know, Ryouma-kun. Anyway, what¡¯s going on tomorrow?¡± ¨C Madam

    ¡°I¡¯m going with Serge-san to the merchant guild to register. While we were discussing my ns, for some reason it ended up bing something big.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°What? Weren¡¯t you just nning on making enough for your living expenses by doing chores?¡± ¨C Rheinhart

    ¡°That¡¯s also what I¡¯d thought of at the start. But as I was talking with Serge-san, before I knew it, we ended up talking about setting up a store.¡±

    ¡°A store? Your discussion actually progressed to that point?¡± ¨C Rheinbach

    ¡°Serge-san¡¯s reason was apparently because he can see a prosperous future. And so it seems that the personnel who will be taking care of the store will being from Serge-san¡¯s store.¡± ¨C Ryouma

    ¡°Serge-san actually said that much, huh? So, when is the opening?¡±

    Eh!? He actually went to ask about the opening naturally. And here I thought he was going to be surprised.

    ¡°There¡¯s still a lot of things regarding the store that we haven¡¯t discussed, so it¡¯s still undecided. That aside, aren¡¯t you guys surprised? For an 11 year old kid like me to actually say that he¡¯s opening a store...¡± ¨C Ryouma

    ¡°Well it¡¯s because owning a store doesn¡¯t have an age restriction. There are kids like Ryouma that have a stall and then there are also kids that tend the store.¡± ¨C Rheinhart

    ¡°But of course there aren¡¯t any 11 year old kids that have a store, but... well, since it¡¯s you.¡± ¨C Rheinbach

    ¡°Ryouma-kun is different from a normal kid after all, so I just ended up thinking, can he do it? But Ryouma-kun does possess various knowledge, and has even managed to get Serge¡¯s stamp of approval, so it¡¯s probably fine. But if anything happens you must rely on us, ok? You better not forget to contact us regrly as well, understand?¡± - Madam

    Is it ok with that?

    ¡°I understand.¡±

    Well after that I was able to somehow hazily go back to my room. There I had the slimes who haven¡¯t split yet, split. Afterwards I contracted with them.

    The current number of slimes are as follows:

    Sticky Slime x 907

    Poison Slime x 666

    Acid Slime x 666

    Cleaner Slime x 22

    Scavenger Slime x 3033

    Heal Slime x 2

    Metal Slime x 1

    Slime x 1

    The sticky slime went over 900, in a little while it should go over 1000 too.

    The poison slime and the acid slime are like a pair of double dices and even have the same number. That 666 is quite ominous though...

    As for my cleaner slimes, I¡¯m happy that they doubled in number.

    I wonder if it¡¯s because of the battle with the goblins. The slimes have gotten quite strong. The big slime and the huge slime acquiring the physical resistance is quite good. But I didn¡¯t¡¯ think at all that the slimes were actually capable of learning rod techniques, spear techniques, and even taijutsu.

    I taught them a bunch of stuff, but I didn¡¯t think that the slimes would actually be able to learn these kind of skills. I guess I¡¯ll teach them all sorts of stuff from now on.

 Volume 2 - 5

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Volume 2 Chapter 5

    TL Note: Names added. Since the poll went 50/50, we¡¯ll be going with the right alignment, so as to not bother the people that don¡¯t want to read the names.

    Don¡¯t know if this is a coincidence but:

    Gris from (¥°¥ê¥·¥¨©`¥é)

    http://.urbandictionary/define.php?term=Gris

    Also the deposit-reward thing is like a tip to the person who helped you get housing or something, I think.

    Volume 2 Chapter 5

    4th Day of the Monster Subjugation

    Just like yesterday, I went to the mine to kill off some monsters, then went back to the town. As soon as I got back, I went straight to Serge-san¡¯s ce.

    ¡°Good evening Serge-san.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting Ryouma-sama. Shall we go?¡± - Serge

    We rode the carriage that Serge-san had prepared. And with it we went to the merchant guild that was just a little bit south of the town¡¯s center. The merchant guild¡¯s building was big but in. When we got in, there were people, but they were sparse.

    We walked towards the receptionistdy, but as soon as we got to her, she immediately let us go into the back room. It seems that this guild treats Serge-san very well. Then again he is the president of a huge firm, so I guess it¡¯s a given?

    After a while, a thin man and a woman with a humped back entered the room. As soon as we saw them, I stood up with Serge-san while the old woman covered her mouth as sheughed. At that, the man spoke.

    ¡°Well if it isn¡¯t Serge. It¡¯s been a while, hasn¡¯t it? I¡¯ve been hearing some rumors so I was wondering what you were up to.¡±

    The man started talking with a somewhat Kansai Dialect-esque manner of speech.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Pioro.¡± - Serge

    Looks like the man¡¯s name is Pioro.

    ¡°I wonder what your business is Serge. It¡¯s truly quite rare to see someone like you who doesn¡¯t show his face around save for the meetings. Oh, and what do we have here? Little boy, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Gris, an old hag and the guild master of this merchant guild.¡± - Gris

    ¡°My name is Ryouma Takebayashi. Our business today is to register at the merchant¡¯s guild. I may be inexperienced and young, but please take care of me.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°Oh? My thanks for such a polite greeting. Serge, is this kid your ce¡¯s new servant? You¡¯ve taught him quite well considering his age.¡± - Gris

    ¡°True, true. There are very few kids who are able to be as polite as you. I¡¯m Pioro Saionji, nice to meet you. When you talk to me, there¡¯s no need to be stiff.¡± - Pioro

    ¡°Ryouma Takebayashi. A pleasure to meet you too.¡± - Ryouma

    Pioro nodded.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, right? I¡¯ve properly taken note of it. Madam Gli had just mentioned it, but why did you guyse here again Serge?¡± - Pioro

    ¡°We just came here to register Ryouma-sama. I¡¯m just apanying him.¡± - Serge

    Hearing that, the two people¡¯s eyes moved towards me as the guild master took a good look at me.

    ¡°Fumu, fumu... alright, wait a moment.¡± - Gris

    As she said that, she held her cane with her hand and with a thundering voice, poked Serge-san¡¯s head.

    ¡°This moron! What are you doing fussing over a kid!?¡± - Gris

    ¡°It hurts. I¡¯d like you to please stop hitting me guild master...¡± - Serge

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what the situations is, but this child is an earnest child. Even if he shows respect to you who is obviously an old man, all I feel is shame and uneasiness.¡± - Gris

    Why does she think he¡¯s concealing something!? Is there also a mind reading skill!?

    ¡°Ryouma, right? I can¡¯t read your mind.¡± - Gris

    Aren¡¯t you reading it right now!?

    ¡°I may have put on some years, but my insight as a merchant hasn¡¯t dwindled one bit. You seem to be an honest individual, so I can at least do something this much.¡± - Gris

    ¡°Is that so?¡± - Pioro

    Pioro-san chuckled.

    ¡°This old woman is scary, right? I mean that¡¯s what she always says, but she¡¯s probably actually really reading our minds.¡± - Pioro

    ¡°Rather than being scary though, I think it¡¯s amazing. Unfortunately I¡¯m not very good at discerning people¡¯s intentions.¡± - Ryouma

    Gris smiled.

    ¡°Something like that, you¡¯ll get used to it. As long as the circumstances permit it, you¡¯ll learn it as you put on some years. You still have plenty of years ahead of you. It seems something happened in the past, but don¡¯t worry, you still have a future.¡± - Gris

    ¡°Thank you very much, however, can you truly not read minds?¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°There¡¯s no way I can. I already knew that you were wondering whether I could read minds the moment I saw you make those eyes that looked like you were looking at something far away.¡± - Gris

    Seriously!?

    ¡°My eyes did that?¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°Those eyes were like the eyes of an uncle in his middle years remembering something.¡± - Gris

    Bull¡¯s eye!

    ¡°Anyhow, you may be a bit surprised, but you came here to register, right? Shall we hurry up and process your papers?¡± - Gris

    Having been told that, I filled up the registration forms.

    ¡°Hmm... what is ¡®upation¡¯? Isn¡¯t the upation supposed to be a merchant?¡± - Ryouma

    Pioro replied.

    ¡°Write the trade you want to pursue. If you want to sell weapons, then write weapons merchant. But you can add to thatter, so there¡¯s no need to make that much of a fuss and write so many things now. Also there¡¯s a list of the basic upations written at the back, so just take look at that, then write that into the nk.¡± - Pioro

    ¡°I understand.¡± - Ryouma

    Now that he mentions it, I remember hearing something about the adventurer¡¯s guild also dealing with peddling... well for the mean time I guess we¡¯ll go with that, and then... I guess I¡¯ll also write, ¡®a shop keeper of the store I want¡¯.

    ... By the way, what is this, ¡®minstrel¡¯ upation? I understand what the word means, but is this also considered a merchant?

    While I was thinking that, I handed the registration forms to the guild master. The guild master looked over the form, and then said this.

    ¡°Oh? So you¡¯re an adventurer? Then in that case you should take care of your body. It¡¯d be a waste after all. And also, you want to have a store?¡± - Gris

    ¡°Actually I¡¯ve been thinking of a slightly different upation. At the start I had wanted to have a job on the side that I could do in between my jobs as an adventurer, but then Serge-san told me that I should make my ns bigger.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°Serge, did?¡± - Gris

    Pioro chuckled.

    ¡°Heh, that¡¯s quite interesting. What kind of work is it?¡± - Pioro

    ¡°Aundromat.¡± - Ryouma

    Pioro nced at me, then to Serge-san.

    ¡°Aundromat? You n to receive money and wash clothes? Serge, why did you have to go through all the trouble of registering for this? While it¡¯s that there isn¡¯t any loss in registering, but the same time it doesn¡¯t really matter for something like this, no?¡± - Pioro

    ¡°I also thought that at the start. But after hearing from Ryouma-sama, I thought that his idea was nothing short of a gold mine! And so, since it will be a problem if he makes too much money without registering at the guild, I urged Ryouma-sama to register.¡± - Serge

    ¡°Can aundromat really make that much money?¡± - Pioro

    The guild master made a curious face.

    ¡°I¡¯d also like to hear about thatundromat. In all my life, I¡¯d never heard of aundromat that will earn so much money that it would have problems with the guild.¡± - Gris

    After that we finished the registration. Serge-san was the one to exin about the managerial policies we discussed yesterday. When Pioro-san and the guild master heard that, they started to groan, then they started tough.

    ¡°Hee hee hee! Living a long life is interesting because things like this happen from time to time! Ryouma, your idea is really interesting. There¡¯s never been a guy like you who¡¯s attempted to make a profit with those methods.¡± - Gris

    Pioro nodded.

    ¡°Certainly, if this were implemented it would certainly reap great profits. And if you don¡¯t register, it would certainly cause a hugemotion in the guild.¡± - Pioro

    But as Pioro was praising me, he said this.

    ¡°But you know... In order to implement this, you need to increase the effectivity of yourundry. If you just increase the number of employees, the expense will just pile up. Do you have some sort of n? You have some kind of secret, right? Mind telling it? Don¡¯t worry I won¡¯t copy you." - Pioro

    ¡°Alright.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°Is that really ok? Even if I say I won¡¯t copy you, it may be a lie, you know?¡± - Pioro

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re an acquaintance of Serge-san, so you probably won¡¯t lie. And also...¡± - Ryouma

    The guild master gave me a quizzical nce.

    ¡°And also?¡± - Gris

    ¡°Even if you try to fake it, I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll seed with my method.¡± - Ryouma

    As I said that, I got permission from the two. I then opened the Item Box and the Dimension Home, and took out a cleaner slime and a goblin¡¯s loin cloth from inside. After that, I exined to them in the same way I¡¯d exined to Serge-san.

    First, they were shocked by the fact that I could use a mid-level space magic. And then they were shocked by the fact that I was in possession of a new type of slime. Lastly they were shocked by its abilities.

    ¡°Ha~ Never thought I¡¯d be shocked this much today. This shock is probably worth 8 years of shock. But now I understand. That kind of business is impossible for us. Those business policies aside, unless one has those slimes it just won¡¯t be worth it. But since you have those, you can definitely do it. You should puff your chest up, you have a great opportunity in your hands.¡± - Pioro

    The guild master chuckled.

    ¡°I¡¯vee to take a liking to you. At this age, I don¡¯t get surprised by trivial things anymore... and also you have quite a promising future, so you should go show your face around here lots. I¡¯ll bring out some sweets and tea and we can have a good chat.¡± - Gris

    ¡°Thank you very much. I¡¯ll do my best.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°Then, let¡¯s decide on the temporary store next. Guild master, please.¡± - Serge

    ¡°Good grief, you shouldn¡¯t be use old hags roughly, Serge. Pioro, see that shelf to your left? Take the second bundle of papers in the upper section of that shelf from the left.¡± - Gris

    ¡°If you¡¯re going toin about being used roughly, shouldn¡¯t you move!?¡± - Pioro

    ¡°Just hurry up and get it.¡± - Gris

    ¡°Yes, yes. I¡¯m on... wait, what is this? Isn¡¯t this the collection of the documents of the problematic stores? Since Ryouma¡¯s store is quite promising, shouldn¡¯t we take out something else? If anything I can even invest some of my own money.¡± - Pioro

    ¡°Moron. Weren¡¯t you listening to Serge? The kid¡¯s unusually serious. If you bring out your own money, he¡¯ll obviously turn you down.¡± - Gris

    Ah looks like she¡¯s managed to figure me out in this short time that we¡¯ve met.It¡¯s true that I¡¯ve always been called too serious, or stupidly honest. But that¡¯s not all, she has actually also managed to understand that I don¡¯t want to borrow other people¡¯s money to make my store. A merchant¡¯s insight is scary... in this way, even though it¡¯s not brute force, it¡¯s still quite scary.

    ¡°Well then, this document is a collection of the buildings with some sort of issue. But it¡¯s thanks to this that the prices are cheap. Also, for you, you¡¯ll be fine as long as it has a reception and a stock room, right?¡± - Gris

    ¡°Yes, since I¡¯ll be leaving everything up to the slimes, there won¡¯t even be a need for a watering hole.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°Hah! Normally, if someone said something like, ¡°I¡¯m going to make aundromat, but I don¡¯t need a watering hole.¡± You¡¯d go, ¡°What are you saying!?¡±... anyway, how much money did you bring with you again, boy?¡± - Gris

    ¡°I have 700 small gold coins with me.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°Oh? You unexpectedly brought quite a bit, huh?¡± - Gris

    ¡°There were some bandits near the ce I lived in before. I beat them with poison and because of that I got quite a bit of cash.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°With that much... guild master, couldn¡¯t he take an empty plot ofnd near my store?¡± - Serge

    ¡°Right... If I¡¯m correct there should be one...¡± - Gris

    As she said that, the guild master started looking through the documents.

    ¡°...Ahh, there is. A ce facing the residential area. It has a huge bar and lodging, and then it also has a storehouse for storing furniture, but because of a fire, more than half has been burnt. Right now, there¡¯s plenty of grass growing all over, and the building can¡¯t be used anymore.

    Before building, you need to demolish the current building, and then prepare the soil. So it¡¯s going to take quite a bit of time. What¡¯s more is that thend is wide, so demolishing and preparing thend will both take quite a bit of time and money.

    Another reason it¡¯s expensive is because it¡¯s in a good location. In the end, no one¡¯s bought it, and it¡¯s been left there like that for some years now. But aside from preparing the building and the soil, there¡¯s no other problem.¡± - Gris

    ¡°Ryouma-sama, I¡¯ve heard that Ryouma-sama is an aplished earth magician. Thisnd is wide, and Ryouma-sama can change thend as he wishes.¡± - Serge

    True, it¡¯d be nice to be able to make it to my liking.

    The guild master hearing that, said.

    ¡°Since you can use earth magic, given the time, you should be able to do something, right?¡± - Gris

    ¡°That¡¯s right...¡± - Ryouma

    Earth magic¡¯s ¡®Create Block¡¯, and the sticky slime¡¯s ¡®Hardening Liquid¡¯... yeah, I can definitely do something.

    ¡°From what I can see from the map, this is close to the residential area, making it a good location for aundromat.¡± - Ryouma

    The Town of Gimuru is surrounded by a sturdy wall.

    There is a main street that connects the center, the north gate and the south gate. To the left is the residential district, and to the right is where the steelworks and the likes are, the industrial district so to speak.

    The lodging that peoplee here to stay at, can mostly be found near the south gate. The lodging I¡¯m staying at right now is also there.

    The north gate leads to the mine. It¡¯s mainly used by workers and so it isn¡¯t really used much by other people. When that mine became an abandoned mine, even miners had stopped using it.

    In the east gate, there¡¯s another road leading to a mine. That mine isn¡¯t an abandoned mine. And since it isn¡¯t abandoned, the miners decided to live at the eastern district to make it easier on themselves to get to the mine.

    The plot ofnd that has been introduced just now, is east from the center of the town. It¡¯s located right in the space between the residential district and the main street. From here it¡¯s close not only to the residential district, but also to the adventurer¡¯s guild. This ce is probably the best I could ask for.

    As I said that to the guild master, she gave me her approval.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, in the past it was a very popr bar. The location was good, and the people woulde in after finishing their work. It was always packed. Even now, if you open a store here, then it will surely attract peoples¡¯ eyes.¡± - Gris

    ¡°I see... then in that case I¡¯ll take it.¡± - Ryouma

    To be honest, I don¡¯t really know much aboutnd. But I don¡¯t think its location is bad. Not only is it close to the residential district and the adventurer¡¯s guild, but I can even make the ce as I please. Also, these guys were introduced by Serge-san. They seem to be nice people. So it¡¯s fine if I trust them, right?

    The guild master asked me again.

    ¡°Is it ok?¡± - Gris

    ¡°Yes. There¡¯re no problems with its location, and I can deal with all the preparations with my magic and my slimes. What makes it even better for me is that I can make the store as I wish.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°I¡¯ve already said it before, but it¡¯s quite expensive. First of all it costs 580 small gold coins. Then on top of that because thend is wide, thend tax is 10 small gold coins. And then in order to earn the right to put up a business you have to pay an additional fee of 60 small gold coins, totaling to 650. Even then, is it ok?¡± - Gris

    ¡°Yes. There¡¯re no problems. After all I still have some allowance for my living expenses.¡± - Ryouma

    ¡°True, with 50 small gold coins left over, you¡¯ll still be able to live like a noble for a year. Also I forgot to mention it, but the fee to start a business is a one-time fee you have to pay during registration. Thend tax, while not a one-time payment, is doubled when you purchasend for the first time. So from next year onwards, you¡¯ll only have to pay 5 small gold coins.¡± - Gris

    ¡°I understand, thank you very much.¡± - Ryouma

    After that, I was taught all sorts of things, but from what I gather, owning a store in this world isn¡¯t that difficult. You just have to go through the guild, buy and and property, and start your trade there. Then all you have to do next is record your ie and expenditures, then calcte the tax in line with your profits and yournd tax, and then pay that to the guild. If you can do that, then it doesn¡¯t matter what your age or gender is.

    Furthermore, the doubled tax can be considered to be the same thing as a reward-deposit back in Earth. As for the fee for the right to open a business, it changes depending on the size. Stalls go for 5 middle silver coins. Buyingnd like I did, will go for 2 small gold coins at the minimum. Then, howe I¡¯m being charged 30 times that? Aren¡¯t I being ripped off?

    The fee for the right to own a business has a minimum fee, but there¡¯s no maximum fee. If one were to pay a lot, then it will go to show that, that person has that much assets. And the amodation and information that the merchant¡¯s guild will give, will respond to that.

    By the way, the price they used as reference, was the price the owner of the bar who owned the ce before me had been paying for a long time now.

    After that, I finished all the procedures, gave my thanks to the three, and then left the guild.

    It would appear that in the near future, Serge-san will have to attend the meeting at the guild. In rtion to that, the guild master and Pioro-san seemed to have something they wanted to talk about with Serge-san, so we separated there at the guild.

    After I finish my job at the guild, I guess I¡¯ll start constructing my store... this reminds me a bit of the part-time job I had in my previous life. I¡¯m a little excited... Although the job was difficult, I think being able to see the result of your work easily is really fun.

 Volume 2 - 6

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Volume 2 Chapter 6

    TL Note: So I heard you wanted a preview...How about a full chapter instead?

    Hehe, so anyways here¡¯s the long awaited extra chapter. A huge thanks to Mee and Rakyu (Konami Asaba) as well as to the anons for donating and making this chapter possible.

    Also I¡¯m not sure whether that girl talking right underneath Miya is Mizelia or Wereanna. She¡¯s not doing any of Wereanna¡¯s pattern (¥¢¥¿¥¤, ¥«¥¤, ¤â¤ó... those kind of stuff), so I just wrote it there as Mizelia since that¡¯s the only other female in their group that speaks colloquial.

    Volume 2 Chapter 6

    Day 5 of the Monster Subjugation

    Day 1 of the Construction

    As I was having my lunch break, Wereanna-san and the others came over. Behind them, were Asagi-san, Jeff-san, and Raypin-san. Everyone seemed to be covered in blood.

    ¡°Ryouma, please save me, nya...¡± [Miya]

    ¡°Can you get rid of all this blood with your cleaner slime? It¡¯s so stinky, I can¡¯t stand it.¡± [Mizelia]

    ¡°Goblins? You did something showy again, huh?¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that, I ordered the cleaner slimes to clean all seven of them.

    ¡°Ah~ I¡¯m finally clean... Ryouma-kun, your slimes are really convenient.¡± [Mizelia]

    ¡°You¡¯ve saved me, de gozaru. Leaving it like that would have made it really difficult to get lunch, de gozaru.¡± [Asagi]

    ¡°Good grief, Jeff makes these things soplicated, de aru.¡± [Raypin]

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I already apologize?¡± [Jeff]

    I waited for them as they went to get some food. When they came back we chatted over lunch. Apparently they found a new goblin nest built by the remnants of the goblins we killed, and went to crush it. The nest was around the size that could be destroyed by seven people along with a few others.

    Part of the reason why they were covered in blood was the goblin subjugation. But more than that, while they were dealing with the corpses, Jeff-san gathered the corpses by piercing a corpse, dragging it, and then throwing it over to one ce.

    It¡¯s great that he was able to quickly gather the corpses, but it just so happens that while they were nning to go back, that pile of corpses suddenly fell over, and came crashing at them.

    Even though they had tried to dodge the falling corpses, they were unable to dodge the spurts of blood. Raypin-san in particr, who couldn¡¯t be said to have good motor reflexes, took a direct hit.

    ¡°It must have been rough...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Seriously. If it wasn¡¯t for Ryouma, we would have eaten our lunch while we stank and continued our job like that.¡± [Jeff]

    ¡°To be able to clean a goblin¡¯s filth this easily, that¡¯s really amazing.¡± [Syria]

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    At that, I remembered that I haven¡¯t talked to them about the new events regarding theundromat, so I decided to talk to them about it.

    ¡°By the way three days ago, I talked to you guys about aundromat, right?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I remember. What about it?¡± [Jeff]

    ¡°It¡¯s been decided that I¡¯ll be doing that from now on.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Seriously? From what time?¡± [Jeff]

    ¡°I haven¡¯t made the preparations for the store yet, so it¡¯ll still take some time. As for the price, it¡¯s just as we¡¯ve discussed before, it¡¯ll be at 1 medium copper coin.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Store? So you¡¯re going to have a shop, de aru?¡± [Raypin]

    ¡°When I went over to the ce of a merchant I knew, to look for some bags. We talked for a bit, and because he expects me to make a lot of profit from this business, he feared that a problem mighte if I don¡¯t register to the guild.

    I had some reward for subjugating bandits in the past, so when I went to register at the guild, I used that to buy a plot ofnd. As for the employees, I can get them from the guild, but I¡¯ve also been told by the merchant I¡¯ve talked with, that he¡¯ll be providing them for me. Like this, I¡¯ll still be able to continue working as an adventurer.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I see. I¡¯m a bit surprised to know that you have a shop at that age, but when I try thinking about it, it seems obvious, de aru. Adventurers like us who know about Ryouma¡¯s slime¡¯s ability will undoubtedlye to make use of your services, de aru. Moreover, if word of it were to get out, there¡¯s no way you¡¯d be able to amodate that many people without a store, de aru.¡± [Raypin]

    ¡°I don¡¯t think anything is impossible, but even so, you¡¯ll definitely find less time to work as an adventurer.¡± [Syria]

    ¡°I was really surprised to see it be far bigger than I¡¯d expected, but it would be nice if I could keep up my job as an adventurer. The store hasn¡¯t opened yet, but please do make use of my services. There¡¯s also a discount for those thate in groups.¡¯ [Ryouma]

    ¡°Really? Then I wonder who I should invite...¡± [Mizelia]

    ¡°Ryouma-kun already looks like a merchant, nya.¡± [Miya]

    ¡°Because he¡¯s always been talking politely, there¡¯s nothing unusual at all about the way he talks, de gozaru.¡± [Asagi]

    We chatted like that while we ate. After I finished my job in the afternoon, I went back to the town. Then, I paid Serge-san a visit and went over to check out the plot ofnd I¡¯d bought.

    ¡°This will be Ryouma-sama¡¯s.¡± [Serge]

    ¡°It really is big, huh?¡± [Ryouma]

    What was in front of me was a two story building that has crumbled. The empty space was only slightly smaller than that of an elementary school¡¯s baseball practice area. I guess it¡¯s around 20m x 100m? If it¡¯s just the size, then it should be even bigger than Serge¡¯s store.

    I thought it would be a bit narrower when I¡¯d seen it from the map, but...

    ¡°I believe Ryouma-sama is already aware that there was a bar here before, but aside from that there was also an inn. The cause of the fire was apparently a customer¡¯s carelessness.

    They tried to split thend and sell it, but when the prospective buyers had thought of the cost of removing the debris, they all declined. Because of that, it wasn¡¯t bought for a long time, and as time passed the state of thend became even worse, making it even less desirable to buy. This vicious cycle continued until Ryouma-sama finally purchased it.¡± [Serge]

    ¡°I see... is it really ok for me to do as I please with this?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes. Please feel free to do as you wish, as long as it is within your premises. Are you going to start today?¡± [Serge]

    ¡°Thank you very much. I think I¡¯ll start working on the weeds and the demolition a little bit now.¡± [Ryouma]

    I took out the scavenger slimes from my Dimension Home, and had them eat the weeds. While they were doing that, I entered the building and put up a sound proof barrier. I then went up to the upper floor and started slowly destroying the roof. After that, I used the magic, ¡®Break Rock¡¯, on the stone walls on the side, turning it into soil as I threw it out.

    And then I used the wind magic, ¡®Wind Cutter¡¯ to cut the pirs and disassemble the building little by little. Because of the effects of the Lv. 3 skill, ¡®Architecture¡¯, I was able to know where I should do what, in order to demolish the building.

    My ¡®Architecture¡¯ skills came about from my part-time job where I just did what I was told, but sinceing here, even the knowledge regarding designs have been included. Because of that as long as the building is simple enough, if I put in effort I can demolish it.

    The architecture skill is amazing. And as for magic? Super useful.

    After around an hour, I managed to get rid of half of the weeds, as well as finish half of the demolition work. It¡¯s gotten quitete already, so I decided to go back home.

    By the way, Serge-san had been watching me do my work intently right from the start. Seeing the pace at which I worked at, he was greatly shocked. Thanks to my slimes and my huge magic power, I was able to bulldoze my way through. Of course it¡¯d be fast.

    6th day of the Monster Subjugation

    2nd Day of the Construction

    The monster subjugation in the mine has finally ended today.

    ¡°A lot of things happened, but with this, the request has beenpleted,¡± [Wogan]

    Said the guild master to everyone.

    From here on, this will be under my management. I¡¯ll be very busy, but I have to do my best. At the very least, until I start leave on the other side, I need to patrol this ce at least once a week.

    As I was thinking that, the guild master called me.

    ¡°Ryouma,e with me for a bit.¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°Yes.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Good job today. The corpses of the monsters are at the usual ce. And also because you¡¯vepleted this request, you are now officially an E Rank... Lastly, from what I¡¯ve heard from the butler of the duke, you¡¯re going to be managing this mine, right?¡¯ [Wogan]

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s correct.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°If it¡¯s you, then I think it¡¯ll be fine, but be careful. If you can¡¯t do something by yourself, say it. That report is also a part of your job after all.¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°Got it.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Still, to actually refuse the duke¡¯s support and be independent, you sure make some crazy decisions, huh?¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°I realized that I¡¯ve been depending on others a bit too much, so I thought I should try focusing my mind.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You¡¯re a brat you know? Don¡¯t push yourself. Also, I heard that you¡¯re apparently starting up aundromat with your cleaner slimes... is that for real?¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°It¡¯s true, but how did you find out about it?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s be quite a famous rumor amongst the adventurers here who took the subjugation request. They know about your cleaner slime, so they seem to be waiting for the store to open.¡± [Guild Master]

    ¡°I see, then in that case I¡¯ll have to hurry up with the construction. It¡¯s being built with my magic, so please just wait a little bit more.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I can also use your services, right? In that case, I want to know what the price will be.¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°Of course, anyone can use it. The price is 1 medium copper coin per bag. And then, there are two options targeted at groups of people. Those options provide a discount.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Oh? Then putting it bluntly, if I were to gather my staff, how much of a benefit will those options be?¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°Comparing the payment one would pay in a week for the individual course to the biggest course, the price one would pay person will go down by around 20%.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s that cheap?¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°Yes. Since to begin with I thought of this as a way to make some extra coins, at least enough to live on, during my spare time as an adventurer. Because of that I¡¯m selling my services at a low price. Also, the discount isn¡¯t limited to first timers. As long as one takes the course, then one will get the discount as many times as they use it.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Then in that case, I guess I¡¯ll have to call a bunch of people over, huh?¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°Thank you for your consideration.¡± [Ryouma]

    After we finished talking, I went back to the town and continued disassembling the building. Because I was able to get more time todaypared to yesterday, I was able topletely finish the building¡¯s disassembly and the weed¡¯s removal. After that I looked over the direction of the street and noticed that several kids were surrounding me from a distance. I ended up going nuts over my work again, so I didn¡¯t realize them at all.

    Trying not to scare them, I walked towards them, and then spoke up.

    ¡°You need something?¡± [Ryouma]

    Within that group of kids, a remarkably young boy replied.

    ¡°You¡¯re not from around here, right? Who are you!?¡± [Boy]

    Because of those belligerent words, the young girl beside the boy scolded him and the boy who seemed to be the oldest among them apologized.

    ¡°Rick! That¡¯s rude!¡± [Girl]

    ¡°Sorry all of the sudden. Rick is a bit of a rascal you see. Also, sorry for getting in the way of your work.¡± [Oldest looking boy]

    ¡°Not at all. Actually, I hadn¡¯t notice you guys at all because I was too caught up in my work. And I¡¯m almost about to finish, so it¡¯s not a problem.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Really? Thank you. You¡¯re quite amazing, huh? Even though you don¡¯t look that much older than me, you can actually use magic to that extent.¡± [Oldest looking boy]

    ¡°Oniichan, magician?¡± [Child]

    ¡°Adventurer?¡± [Child]

    The children around me bombarded me with questions.

    As I was about to answer them while I was panicking, a woman¡¯s voice flew over.

    ¡°Calm down for a moment! If you all ask at the same time like that, that kid won¡¯t be able to answer!¡± [Woman]

    Facing towards the direction of that voice, what stood there was a woman with a good physique.

    ¡°Sorry about that. My kids and the kids in the neighborhood bothered you.¡± [Woman]

    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s no such thing, please don¡¯t worry. And also, thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Oh? You¡¯re quite polite for your age. Are you an adventurer?¡± [Woman]

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve just registered some few days ago.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I see, do your best, ok? Did you receive some sort of request today? It seems the rubble here has been cleaned out, but...¡± [Woman]

    ¡°No. I¡¯m going to be opening aundromat here to make money during my spare time as an adventurer, and so I came here today to build that store. Are you perhaps living near here?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes. We¡¯re all living in the residential area near here. Also, I work at a flower shop near here.¡± [Woman]

    ¡°I see. Then in that case I guess we¡¯ll be neighbors. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you. In the future please feel free to call out to me.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s fine it¡¯s fine, no need to mind me. Rather than that, you said you were making aundromat, right? If I were to pay, you¡¯d wash myundry?¡± [Woman]

    ¡°Yes.¡± [Ryouma]

    I take out a bag that¡¯s catered to individuals from my ¡®Item Box¡¯ and then begin exining.

    ¡°This is a bag for home use. I will wash the clothes you put in this bag for 1 medium copper coin.¡±

    As I said that, the woman appeared to show interest.

    ¡°This 1 bag for 1 piece of medium copper coin? That¡¯s quite cheap.¡± [Woman]

    ¡°If you¡¯d like, when theundromat opens I can give you some service and wash one of these bags for free. Your neighbors as well.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Really? Then, I guess I¡¯ll try it out once. I¡¯m Poline by the way. And this rascal of a boy is my son, Rick. While this tomboy over here is Lenny.¡± [Woman]

    ¡°I¡¯m rick. I don¡¯t mind making you my henchman.¡± [Younger looking boy]

    ¡°What stupid thing are you saying!? I¡¯m sorry. My name is Lenny, it¡¯s nice to meet you.¡± [Young girl]

    ¡°And I¡¯m Toll, nice to meet you.¡± [Older looking boy]

    ¡°I¡¯m Ryouma Takebayashi, It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you all.¡± [Ryouma]

    After that we talked about the neighborhood around here. When we finished, I gave my thanks and then went back home.

    At the lodging I began the design for my building. As I thought about it, I figured that making the entirend a store would be too big. So I decided to make half a store, a quarter of thend as lodging for the employees, and the remaining quarter as a backyard.

    Well even though I say it¡¯s a backyard, I¡¯m not really going to do anything with it. At most I¡¯ll just make some walls and get rid of the weeds.

 Volume 2 - 7

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Volume 2 Chapter 7

    TL Note: Don¡¯t remember what I called it before. But the version of ¡®Identify¡¯ he uses will be called ¡®Identify Monster¡¯ from now on.

    Oh and I mistranted something in thest chapter. Poline wasn¡¯t going to stop by a flower shop, she is actually the florist.

    I¡¯ll update the previous chapter shortly after I post this chapter.

    Volume 2 Chapter 7

    Day 3 of the Construction

    From what I¡¯d thought upst night with my architecture skill, my store will be two stories high with a basement underneath. Since ording to my architecture skill that¡¯s the limit.

    Using my earth magic, ¡®Create Block, I dug a basement and made some rocks for construction at the same time. Afterwards I let the some slimes carry the rocks.

    And then with my earth magic, ¡®Create Block¡¯ and an application of the architecture skill¡¯s knowledge, ¡®Pavement¡¯, I changed the surface of the earth into a strong foundation.

    It feels like I just pushed the earth together, creating an entirely t surface ofnd without any cracked or hollowed parts. Anyway with this I¡¯ve finished preparing the foundation.

    Back in Earth, it was still necessary to arrange the bars in between the base concrete and the levelling concrete, but ording to my architecture skill this world doesn¡¯t have that. Hmm... I wonder if it¡¯ll be alright.

    ... Well, it¡¯ll probably be fine. After all, the knowledge I have in construction just came from my part-time so it¡¯s shallow to begin with, and that kind of stuff doesn¡¯t seem to be present in the knowledge of this world. Anyways, for the meantime, it¡¯s good that I¡¯ve finally managed toplete the foundation of the building. And also, the other buildings around here also use the same knowledge, so it¡¯ll probably be fine. If I do something strange I¡¯ll just get attention, and if it¡¯s half-baked and something bad happens it¡¯ll be a problem, so let¡¯s just say that it¡¯s fine.

    After that I used the rock I¡¯d just made a while ago along with the sticky slime¡¯s hardening liquid to serve as recement for cement. This part of the construction proceeded smoothly without magic.

    Next, I used magic to create some stone pirs. I also used magic to create the basement and its walls, the floor of the first floor, and the part that will be the wall outside.

    Magic is really useful. To actually manipte lumber this much, and I hadn¡¯t even used one suit. I installed the walls and the stone pirs inside the box of stone and then reinforced it. It¡¯s simple, but I know that¡¯s its durable enough.

    When I saw the pirs made of stone, for a moment I thought of turning it into a pir like those in the old temples I¡¯d seen in a text book once in my student days, but then I decided not to. There¡¯s no point even if I were to put something that pompous in the basement.

    Lastly, I used ¡®Smooth Pavement¡¯ on the area that was going to be the stores interior. This magic is different from ¡®Pavement¡¯. This is a magic that focuses on smoothness rather than durability. With this magic I can make the floor look as smooth as marble.

    Anyway, it¡¯ste now and I¡¯ve used up quite a bit of my magic power too, so I guess I¡¯ll end today here.

    Day 4 of the Construction

    I divided the first floor with walls made out of rock and hardening liquid. After that I also went to make the second floor. I made it smooth just like I did yesterday. After this I went back home.

    Day 5 of the Construction

    Today I¡¯m going to make the ceiling and arrange the interiors. So I cut down a tree from near the mine and then shaped it with magic ording to the knowledge from my woodworking skill.

    I remove the water of the tree using alchemy little by little. Then using the wind magic, Wind Cutter, I imagine the chain saw back in Earth inside my head as I create a new kind of wind magic called, ¡®Circle Saw¡¯. With that I cut off several nks of wood. After that Ibined earth and wind magic to use the magic, ¡®Polish Wheel¡¯, and using that I made the surface of the nks pretty.

    With ¡®Polish Wheel¡¯, I imagine ¡®Break Rock¡¯ making sand, and the wind magic, ¡®Circle Saw¡¯ rotating quickly on its surroundings. This magic can¡¯t cut things, it can only polish. There¡¯s sand inside the wind that is spinning very quickly, which will polish the surface its acting on.

    Anyway, next, I dried the trees with alchemy. Unfortunately, though, because I took out all the water too quickly, there were many whose shapes have been warped. Well I¡¯m not going to turn these things into pirs anyways, so I guess it¡¯ll be fine.

    After I managed to turn them into lumbers, I ended the day.

    Day 6 of the Construction

    I made some shelves and counters with the lumber I made yesterday. Then I used the sticky liquid to varnish it, and then I dried it.

    I also stuck some nks to the walls with the sticky liquid.

    While a building made out of stone is fine. For a store, the kind of feeling a building like that exudes is just too heavy.

    Along with sticking some nks to the walls, I also used earth magic to modify the affixed nks. Like this I was able to make the interior feel like it¡¯s made out of wood.

    It was around this time that I suddenly noticed the cleaner slimes acting strange.

    Eh, it¡¯s eating the trash and the wood cuts from the construction? Although they eat filth, they¡¯ve never eaten trash by themselves... scavenger slimes have, but... huh? Isn¡¯t it eating right now? Wait, it¡¯s eating it, then throwing it over to one ce... wait a moment, it¡¯s cleaning!

    As I quickly used ¡®Identify Monster¡¯ on the cleaner slimes I noticed that it had a new skill called, ¡®Cleaning Duty¡¯. There was actually this kind of skill? Or rather, slimes were able to learn skills? To think I that would find out just now. Oh wait, there were slimes that learned how to use staff techniques, right?

    Ah, whatever. I don¡¯t really have any problems with it.

    After that, whenever I ran out of nks I cut them, and then left the size and shape up to the acid slimes. Because of this the pace sped up again.

    Looking at the lumbers the acid slimes had made, I felt like they did a good job.

    Day 7 of the Construction

    I arranged the part of the interior that can be seen by the customers. Then after that was the exterior. The exterior is exactly the same color as the color of a hardened block of soil. Although there¡¯s nothing particrly wrong with it, when ites to business I kind of want to change it.

    Aundromat. In other words a store that doesundry. When I imagine that kind of store, whates to my mind is a white store. I want to paint the outer walls white. I can¡¯t do anything about this with earth magic, so I went over to Serge-san¡¯s ce to ask.

    ¡°You want the walls painted white?¡± [Serge]

    ¡°Is it not possible?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s possible, only, it¡¯s not a color that gets used a lot by stores. White stones are expensive, and it¡¯s easy to get dirty, so it¡¯s mostly used in the nobles¡¯ mansions.¡± [Serge]

    ¡°That¡¯s true... but thinking about the current color of the walls, I think white looks cleanerpared to the color of the soil.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I agree with you on that point. However, because there aren¡¯t really plenty of demand for it, there¡¯s not much in stock.¡± [Serge]

    ¡°I see...¡± [Ryouma]

    I wonder if white is impossible... wait a moment... isn¡¯t this town a mining town with a mine?

    ¡°Serge-san, does this mining town also have a ce that deals with iron?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°There is, however, what are you nning to do with it?¡± [Serge]

    ¡°If there is, then they must use quicklime in their manufacturing process, right?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°As expected of Ryouma-sama, you¡¯re well informed. They are using the quicklime to remove the impurities from the iron.¡± [Serge]

    ¡°Would it be possible to acquire some of that quicklime? If possible, cheaply.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s possible. Since it isn¡¯t expensive to begin with, and my store actually deals with quicklime.¡± [Serge]

    ¡°I see, that¡¯s good to hear. If I were to harden quicklime with my earth magic, I might be able to make white stone cheaply.¡± [Ryouma]

    There won¡¯t be any problems with the color if it¡¯s quicklime. It¡¯s also used in Japan as ingredient for mortar, so there shouldn¡¯t be any problems with using it. While it¡¯s unfortunate that I don¡¯t have any knowledge regarding how to make mortar, it¡¯s good enough that I can turn it into a block with my earth magic. After that if I were to varnish it with the sticky slime¡¯s sticky liquid, it should be quite easy to clean.

    It seems Serge-san didn¡¯t¡¯ think of this.

    After that I received the quicklime from Serge-san. As I tried out my idea it turned out that just as I had predicted, it was possible to turn the quicklime into a building stone with ¡®Create Block¡¯.

    Serge-san showed a little interest when he realized he could get white stones at a low price and bought what he could as he quickly took his leave. He¡¯s a nice guy, but right now I want to focus on building my store.

    Today, I ended up buying a huge bulk of quicklime from Serge-san.

    When I got back to the store, I was just about to stick the white stones on the wall when I suddenly thought of something.

    I took out one normal building block and lightly spread on it the sticky slime¡¯s sticky liquid. And then on top of that, I used the magic, ¡®Smooth Pavement¡¯, on the quicklime. As I did so, as if it was wrapping itself around it, the normal building block became a smooth white building block.

    Quicklime coating sess!

    Right after that I quickly mobilized my sticky slimes and had them creep the walls to cover it in sticky liquid. And with my ¡®Smooth Pavement¡¯ I was able to coat the outer walls white.

    I was able to finish it way easier this way than by making blocks, but because of that I ended up not using most of the quicklime. Because I had a surplus of quicklime, I decided to stop coating the outer walls with the sticky liquid.

    Since it would be hard on the slimes if I were to do the whole thing one more time, and since it also won¡¯t take that much effort, then I guess it¡¯ll be fine to just recoat the wall when it gets too dirty.

    Like this I put away therge excess of quicklime inside my Dimension Home.

    The pace was ridiculously fast and the store¡¯s been mostly made now... only, now that the store has been made, it¡¯s kind of lonely to just leave the surroundingnd bare.

    I want to nt some nts on thewn, but... oh yeah, why don¡¯t I go ask my neighbor with a flower shop? I might be able to buy something. If I do buy, I should take care of it with my wood magic.

    As soon as I got to the store, a voice called out to me.

    ¡°Wee¨C! Ah, Ryouma!¡± [Lenny]

    ¡°Good morning, ...Lenny-san¡± [Ryouma]

    I almost forgot her name.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to attach a san. Besides I¡¯m also younger, so just call me Lenny. Well, what¡¯re you here for?¡± [Lenny]

    ¡°Then, Lenny, I want to buy some seeds to nt in mywn.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Alright, we have several kinds. Just wat a moment. Mooooom!¡± [Lenny]

    As Lenny went inside the store, she called out in a loud voice. Poline-san was talking by the counter with two other women when she heard that loud voice.

    ¡°What¡¯s all the ruckus for? It¡¯s immodest you know?¡± [Poline]

    ¡°It¡¯s because mom¡¯s too caught up chatting! But forget that, we have a customer!¡± [Lenny]

    ¡°Oh? Well if it isn¡¯t Ryouma. Did youe to buy something?¡± [Poline]

    ¡°Oh, so that kid¡¯s Ryouma?¡± [Woman]

    ¡°Even though he¡¯s this small, amazing, huh?¡± [Woman]

    For some reason even the women Poline-san was chatting with, came over. For the meantime let¡¯s greet them.

    ¡°Hello, my name is Ryouma Takebayashi.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Oh? You really are polite. I¡¯d also like my kids to learn that. I¡¯m Chiara by the way.¡± [Chiara]

    ¡°I¡¯m Mary. It¡¯s nice to meet you. Also, I¡¯ve been hearing rumors of you.¡± [Mary]

    ¡°Rumors?¡± [Ryouma]

    Eh? What kind of rumors?

    ¡°You¡¯ve always been building a store around here, right? Well it turned out to be better than expected, so it got spread around that you¡¯re an amazing magician.¡± [Poline]

    ¡°I¡¯m not amazing, you know? I¡¯ve always been using magic that could be used in day-to-day life, so this kind of job is my specialty.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°To be able to make something that robust, that¡¯s plenty amazing. There¡¯s also the rumor that you have a lot of slimes with you.¡± [Poline]

    ¡°Oh that one¡¯s true.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°We know. After all we saw it with our own eyes.¡± [Chiara]

    ¡°We saw a lot of slimes carrying the stones Ryouma-kun was using.¡± [Mary]

    ¡°Oh, so you saw that.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It was my first time seeing slimes move like that. They just kepting.¡± [Chiara]

    ¡°There¡¯re plenty of ve magic users other than you, but I¡¯ve never seen any ve monsters like yours. By the way you said that you wanted to buy something, right? What do you want to buy?¡¯ [Poline]

    ¡°I want something I can nt in mywn. Do you have any?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°We do. The price will depend on what kind you buy. If it¡¯s for yourwn, a bag will cost you 130 suits. How much do you need?¡± [Poline]

    ¡°I would like to purchase enough to cover thend around the store I¡¯d just built.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I was trying to think of how much I actually needed, Poline-san offered to help me.

    ¡°Mind showing me the store? I¡¯ll give you advice.¡± [Poline]

    ¡°Oh, thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that, I brought Poline-san over. Lenny, Chiara-san, and Mary-san also came.

    And then when the four saw my store, they stopped in their tracks and closely stared at it.

    ¡°Is something the matter?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I was just a little bit surprised. This morning, the store had a different color, right?¡± [Poline]

    ¡°When we came around before it still had the color of the soil.¡± [Mary]

    Ahh, so that¡¯s why.

    ¡°Just a while ago I painted it with magic. It¡¯s aundromat after all, so I thought its color didn¡¯t feel ¡®clean¡¯ enough. So I bought some quicklime and with earth magic painted it.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Haa~ you¡¯re really skilled.¡± [Poline]

    ¡°Certainly, this way is prettier.¡± [Mary]

    ¡°You¡¯re opening aundromat, right? I wonder if I should also try it out. After all if I could save time on washing clothes, then I could have more time doing the chores.¡± [Chiara]

    ¡°By all means, please doe. Since we¡¯ve just gotten to know each other, I¡¯ll offer to let you use theundry free of charge, once.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that, I took out 2 bags from the item box and distributed it to them. After all, making use of opportunities like this to get customers is a must.

    After that I got from Poline-san the seeds I needed. 15 bags of seeds for thewn, and 2 bags of flower seeds.

    I¡¯ll sow these tomorrow.

    Speaking of which, I feel like I¡¯ve heard from someone before that it¡¯s possible to advertise on the bulletin board of the guild...

    I also need to get the scavenger slimes make me some fertilizer... so I guess I¡¯ll go to the guild tomorrow.

    Since that¡¯s the case I¡¯ll have to go home quickly and think of an advertisement...

 Volume 2 - 8

    Volume 2 Chapter 8

    I went back to the town and decided on the contents of the advertisement. However, there was one thing I couldn¡¯t quite make up my mind on, the name of the store. For some reason the only thing I¡¯m able toe up with are simple stuff...

    ¡°Umumumumumu...¡±

    While I was being troubled, Sebasu-san came.

    ¡°Ryouma-sama have youe back?¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m here.¡± [Ryouma]

    While I was saying that I opened the door.

    ¡°Ryouma-sama, the Ojousama would like to know if you¡¯d like to have tea with them.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯m not really making any progress now anyway, so I guess I¡¯ll gratefully ept that offer.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that, I went to where Elia and the others were.

    ¡°We¡¯ve been waiting, Ryouma-san.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Come, sit, sit.¡± [Madam]

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    As the teas were distributed, I took a sip. Then Rheinhart-san asked me.

    ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve been working hard. Aren¡¯t you overworking yourself?¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°A little.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I heard you were making a store. How is it?¡± [Madam]

    ¡°The store¡¯s been mostlypleted already. Tomorrow I n to nt some flower seeds for thewn and raise it with my wood magic. And then after that, all that¡¯s left is the store¡¯s signboard and the ¡®Open¡¯ sign.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ehh!? You¡¯ve already finished that much!?¡± [Madam]

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, aren¡¯t you pushing yourself too much after all?¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°Not at all.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I heard that Ryouma-sama made the building with earth magic, but I wonder how much magic you¡¯ve been using every day?¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°I stop using magic just a little before the symptoms of magic exhaustion show up. And as for manualbor, I just do what I can.¡± [Ryouma]

    When everyone heard those words, they all sighed.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, that¡¯s exactly what we call working too hard...¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°Ryouma-sama¡¯s magic power is right next to Elia-sama¡¯s. For someone who possesses that much magic power to use magic just a little before the symptoms of magic exhaustion show up, would mean that Ryouma-sama is in fact pushing himself too hard. That amount of magic power is equivalent to at least 40 people exhausting their magic. For that amount of work to be carried by one person, it¡¯s definitely too much.¡± [Sebasu]

    Oh yeah, my magic power is abnormallyrge.

    ¡°You¡¯re making a face saying you just realized it now.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Now I¡¯m worried. Is it really ok for you to work by yourself?¡± [Madam]

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Something like this can¡¯t bepared at all to the work I did in my previous job.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Previous job? Did you do some kind of work before?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Eh?¡± [Ryouma]

    Oops! I identally said it, but even if I tell them now that I worked as a programmer they wouldn¡¯t understand, right?... I guess I¡¯ll tell them about my part-time job.

    ¡°I did quite a few things... like carrying stuff, or making dolls...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ryouma-san, you don¡¯t think working is difficult?¡¯ [Elia]

    ¡°There were also times where I thought it was difficult... but if I don¡¯t work I won¡¯t be able to live. And also, it¡¯s not like everything is painful. When I said I carried stuff, it was actually the raw materials in a construction site. And though it¡¯s tough work, I think it¡¯s interesting to see the building slowly being constructed. There¡¯s also that feeling of achieving something whenever something waspleted. And as for my work involving dolls, all I did was color the parts in the color that I was told to, but even then, whenever we were able toplete one I felt happy.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I see. In the future I¡¯d also like to do those kind of work.¡± [Elia]

    Eh? Elia is going to work? Even though she¡¯s the daughter of a duke?

    As I was thinking that, Elia said something unthinkable.

    ¡°Oh right! Ryouma-san, since I want to see you making a doll anyway. How about making me one?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Eh? Ah, umm, that¡¯s...¡± [Ryouma]

    Not good!! I made some for my hobbies and sometimes for profit, but this is really bad for all sort of reasons! While it¡¯s true I epted any requests and made a bunch of dolls, there¡¯s no way these people will understand. Besides there are things that shouldn¡¯t be shown to a young girl like Elia...

    ¡°Is something the matter?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°All I did was paint dolls, so making the doll itself is a bit...¡± [Ryouma]

    Please give up with this!!

    ¡°But isn¡¯t Ryouma-san really good with earth magic? In that case, why don¡¯t you just make the doll¡¯s body with earth magic?¡± [Elia]

    ... All of the sudden earth magic doesn¡¯t seem all that convenient...

    I guess it can¡¯t be helped. Let¡¯s try to make something that won¡¯t offend anyone.

    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll make it next time.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Really!? Thank you so much¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Sebasu-san, where could I purchase art materials?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°If Ryouma-sama is in need, then I¡¯ll have it prepared tomorrow.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°Thank you very much. I also want to use it for my shop¡¯s signboard, so please provide plenty of paint. Of course, I¡¯ll pay.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Understood.¡± [Sebasu]

    After that we spent the rest of the time together chatting, then I went back to my room. They reminded me again not to overwork myself so I guess I have to be careful.

    Speaking of which, what should I do about the store¡¯s name? I should probably make it simple, huh?

    ¡®Clean a goblin¡¯s filth, cheap and easy! Laundry Agency Bamboo Forest¡¯

    ... yeah, let¡¯s go with this.

    Day 8 of the Construction

    I thanked Sebasu-san as I got the materials I asked for, then I went to the guild.

    When I entered the guild, the receptionist, Meilin-san, called out to me.

    ¡°Oh! Ryouma-kun, how are you? I was quite worried, you know? You didn¡¯t drop by the guild at all after the subjugation request finished.¡± [Meilin]

    ¡°Sorry about that. I was really busy.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You¡¯re making a store, right? I heard from the guild master. That¡¯s really amazing for someone of your age.¡± [Meilin]

    ¡°Thank you very much. By the way, there was something I wanted to ask regarding that.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°What is it? [Meilin]

    ¡°I heard it was possible to advertise somewhere in the bulletin board of the guild. Is it true?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Advertise? There¡¯s no such service in the guild. Most likely what you heard was, ¡®that¡¯.¡± [Meilin]

    As Meilin-san said that, she pointed her finger over to a corner of the guild where a small bulletin board stood.

    ¡°It¡¯s a bulletin board for recruiting parties. Whenever you need a party, you can write about yourself and the kind of people you need there. As for a bulletin board that advertises stores, we don¡¯t have any.¡± [Meilin]

    ¡°I see, thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    Since things turned out this way, does that mean I don¡¯t have any choice but toboriously advertise by word of mouth? I can¡¯t distribute leaflets either...

    While paper is cheap enough in this world to be used daily, there¡¯s still a problem with producing lots of it, so if I were to use up a huge amount of it, it won¡¯t be cheap.

    Toilet papers are an exception though. In the past there was a man (most likely an other-worlder) who created a magic tool that creates toilet paper and tooth brushes, which spread throughout the world.

    But I digress... going back to the topic.

    ¡°Oh, right. Can you go over to the guild master? He told me to tell you to go there the next time you dropped by, you see.¡± [Meilin]

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll go the guild master now then.¡± [Ryouma]

    When I got to the guild master¡¯s room, he weed me with a smile.

    ¡°Ryouma! You finally came!¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°I¡¯ve been devoting myself to the store, still, it¡¯s only been a week, you know?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Right. I¡¯m sorry for the short notice, but mind taking care of the cleaning job for thetrine pits again?¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I talked to you about it before, right? About those guys who startining early. The thing is, in only one week those guys came and startedining again.

    Do you still remember the Fang of Orbtem? I made those guys clean as much as the penal regtions would allow, but as soon as the subjugation request ended, those annoying guys came and startedining saying it¡¯s no good.

    A week passed and their grumbling just got worse. Looks like the five months before you came here was really tough. Having had enough of that experience, they came here desperatelyining that they want thetrine pits so clean that there¡¯s no smell.¡± [Wogan]

    Uwaah... did I make it too clean? Maybe I did, and because of that their living environment leveled up. And now they don¡¯t want to go back to the way it was before anymore. Then again... they did suffer for 5 months...

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t understand. After all, that smell really was horrible. I understand, I¡¯ll set off immediately.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I¡¯m counting on you.¡± [Wogan]

    I was nning to take the job from the start anyway, so I epted it, and then quickly cleaned up thetrine pits.

    After I finished cleaning it, I reported to the guild, got my rpense, and headed back to the store.

    I then ordered the scavenger slimes to use, ¡®Return Nutrients¡¯, making it spit out the nutrients it got from what it¡¯s eaten in the form of fertilizer. I mixed it with the soil around the store, nted the flowers in thewn, and after watering the soil, I went back to my lodging.

    I¡¯ll raise it tomorrow.

    Day 9 of the Construction

    I go to the store in the morning, and water the soil with my water magic, ¡®Water¡¯. Then afterwards I use the wood magic, ¡®Grow¡¯, on the seeds I¡¯d nted yesterday, to make them grow faster. 3 hours after I started using the magic, the area surrounding the store blossomed into a fresh and greenwn, finally allowing the store to have that lively feeling I wanted it to have.

    Though this magic is quite useful, it takes quite a bit of concentration to use. Moreover, if the nutrients and moisture of the soil is insufficient, then the practitioner will have to make up for that with his magic power, increasing the magic cost. Naturally, by using this magic to speed up the growth of the seed, the soil¡¯s nutrients will be used up faster. In the end, without being able to make the seeds grow up, the practitioner is left with no choice but to wait some time for the seeds to grow. It¡¯s really not easy to use. If it wasn¡¯t for my scavenger slimes, there¡¯s no way I would¡¯ve been able to turn this wide of an area into a fresh and greenwn.

    After that I cut the part of thewn that grew too much with the wind magic, ¡®Circle Saw¡¯. At the same time, I had the scavenger eat the cut parts. With this I¡¯ve finished preparing the surroundings. All that¡¯s left is for me to start working on the signboard.

    So I take out a nk of wood, and coat it in white. On it I write, ¡®Laundry Agency Bamboo Forest¡¯. On its two sides I drew ÖñÁÖ (Takebayashi) and on its base, I drew the picture of a slime. Afterwards I dried the board and coated it with the waterproof treatment, giving it a polished exterior.

    At the same time, I prepared the price list of the store, created various things for the store, and then ran some final checks to make sure everything¡¯s good to go.

    Hmm... everything¡¯s almostplete, but I think I should run some actual tests. How about calling Jeff-san and the others over? Right! Let¡¯s go with that and call over the people I know. Also I might as well include with that the celebration forpleting the store.

    Having made up my mind, I stopped by Serge-san¡¯s store before going home. He did prepare the essentials for starting the store.

    ¡°Wee Ryouma-sama.¡± [Serge]

    ¡°Good evening Serge-san. Going straight to the point, today I¡¯ve finallypleted the store.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Is that true!? That is really quite fast Ryouma-sama...¡± [Serge]

    ¡°Yes. I was told by the people I know at the adventurer¡¯s guild that they were anxiously waiting for it, so in these past week I¡¯ve been doing my best building the store. Since the building¡¯s already beenpleted, I thought I¡¯d gather the people I know for the store¡¯s debut and to test it out.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°In other words, thest checks before opening the store for business, right?¡± [Serge]

    ¡°Exactly. I n to open the store the day after that, and afterwards I thought of having a light meal while celebrating the opening of the store. If you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯d also like for you toe, however, is your schedule free on that day?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Thank you for inviting me. As for my schedule, I have something nned for tomorrow, but I don¡¯t have anything nned for the next two weeks starting the day after tomorrow. At that time, I¡¯ll be perfectly fine with whatever schedule is good for Ryouma-sama.¡± [Serge]

    ¡°Thank you very much. I¡¯ll decide after speaking with my acquaintances.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ryouma-sama, would it be alright if I were to bring two other people with me?¡± [Serge]

    ¡°Yes, there won¡¯t be any problems. By any chance are you referring to Pioro-san and the guild master?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°No, actually, I wanted to take two of my employees. Ryouma-sama is working as an adventurer, so I thought I¡¯d introduce some people who can assist. And so, in order for them to get used to the work quickly, I thought it would be good to introduce them early.¡± [Serge]

    ¡°Thank you for your kind efforts.¡± [Ryouma]

    Oh right... there was that thing, wasn¡¯t there? Where I decided I¡¯d make a ce for the employees to sleep in. Ah... I forgot about the things regarding the employees. As an adventurer I can¡¯t do everything by myself, so this is really quite important. I am really grateful for this.

    After that I gave my thanks and then left the store. The next stop was the adventurer¡¯s guild, where I talked the same thing with Meilin-san and the guild master. Hearing about their schedule, they¡¯re apparently free 3 days from now. I also called over to Jeff-san¡¯s group and everyone that participated in that epidemic prevention operation, and it seems that they¡¯ll being too. I¡¯ll drop by again tomorrow.

    After that I went to the merchant guild. As I was about to ask the receptionist to send a message to the guild master, I was instead brought into the reception room. It seems that this amodation is the result of paying a lot for the business rights.

    ¡°You came. It¡¯s been a week since then. Is your work going well?¡± [Gris]

    ¡°Yes, thanks to your help. In fact I¡¯ve already finished the building.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Oh? You¡¯ve already finished it? Although it also depends on the quality of the building, still, you¡¯re quite a good carpenter, huh?¡± [Gris]

    ¡°I can¡¯t build anything else aside from simple constructions you know?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That¡¯s more than enough. After all, there¡¯s no one who¡¯d ask for borate houses outside of nobles and entrics.¡± [Gris]

    ¡°So that¡¯s why.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Did youe to report thepletion of the store today?¡± [Gris]

    ¡°Yes, but other than that, three days from now I¡¯m going to test out the store by taking jobs from only the people I know. And then afterwards I thought to celebrate thepletion of the store while having some snacks. I¡¯ve been taken care of quite a bit by guild master, so if you wouldn¡¯t mind.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You¡¯re inviting me?¡± [Gris]

    ¡°I can¡¯t prepare anything special, and there will be other people too, so if it¡¯s alright with you.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Hee hee hee, an easy going party is good, right? It¡¯s happier that way. Because of my position, I haven¡¯t been called into something like that for a while now. Even if I do get invited into a party that seems carefree, that¡¯s only on the outside, and it¡¯s actually really stiff. But since adventurers are going to being, it¡¯s going to be a real carefree party, right?¡± [Gris]

    ¡°Yes, besides I¡¯m also bad with formal events. In those cases even people¡¯s kindness are just to keep up appearances.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Alright, I got it. 3 days, right?¡± [Gris]

    ¡°Yes. That¡¯s the n. I still have to confirm it with the others, but once I¡¯ve confirmed it, I¡¯ll leave a message here at the guild. Also, could you tell me how to contact Pioro-san? I¡¯d also like to invite him if he has the time.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Pioro? If it¡¯s three days from now, then he¡¯ll be fine. That guy holds a different town, you see. But he¡¯s staying here using tomorrow¡¯s meeting as a pretext toe here and get a vacation. From tomorrow onwards he won¡¯t have anything to do for a while. So I¡¯ll just let Pioro know for you.¡± [Gris]

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    I give my thanks to the guild master, and then leave the merchant guild.

    After that I went back to the lodging and then invited Elia and the others to the store¡¯s preopening. When I did so, they were delighted and it was decided that all the four members of the duke¡¯s household, along with Aro-ne-san, Lilian-san, and Sebasu-san will being. Oh, and the four guards, Jill-san and the rest, will also being.

    With this the people attending will be Elia¡¯s 11 + adventurer guild¡¯s 11 + merchant guild¡¯s 5, totaling to 27 people. If you include me, then it¡¯ll be 28. As for where we¡¯ll be holding the celebration, I figured it would be fine if I used the employee¡¯s lounge for that.

    After that, I confirmed the schedule with the adventurers, and then contacted the rest.

    Day 10

    As I went to the guild to confirm, it¡¯s been decided that everyone will be participating. The guild master and Meilin-san were a given, but as for the 9 it seems that they took tomorrow off and are alsoing.

    Hearing that, I left a message at Serge-san¡¯s store and the guild that the preopening will be in the morning the day after tomorrow, and the celebration will be the afternoon of that day.

    After that, I ran some rounds in the mine, killed some monsters along the way, and then went back to the lodging. After I let Elia and the rest know about the n 2 days from now, I retired to bed.

 Volume 2 - 9

    Volume 2 Chapter 9

    Today I went to buy a lot of ingredients. I bought vegetables and fruits from the grocery, beef from the butcher, and from a slightly high ss store I bought pepper. Lastly, I went to the liquor store to buy alcohol.

    Since it¡¯s a rare asion, I thought I¡¯d splurge a bit on the wine. I told the clerk that I had 3 small gold coins and would like to purchase enough wine for 30 people. Hearing that she rmend to me the wine called, Jamis Spring. 3 small gold coins of that would get me a barrel of it, enough for 1 or 2 drinks per person, so I decided to buy it just as she had rmended me to.

    After that I went to the store and did the preparations that I could do for the meal tomorrow.

    Tomorrow¡¯s menu includes sd, meat sauce spaghetti, and steak. And for dessert I¡¯ll be serving apple pie.

    I was troubled over what to serve but since there was pasta and steak in this world, I went with that. It¡¯s better to choose something safe so as to not unnecessarily cause trouble for myself. Unfortunately though this kind of food doesn¡¯t really feel that suited to parties.

    When I think of a party, what generallyes to my mind is pizza. But that food doesn¡¯t exist in this world.

    As for drinks, there is water and wine, along with 2 types of fruit juices that I prepared.

    Alchemy was quite convenient for this. I pounded the noodles of the spaghetti, and used alchemy to remove its water, turning it into dried noodles quickly. With this I can store it and all I¡¯ll need to do tomorrow is to boil it. As for the juice I crushed the fruits, and then separated the juice from the dregs, making a 100% genuine fruit juice.

    This is really convenient, but if I¡¯m not careful, it might end badly for me. It¡¯s good that I can extract the water and quickly dehydrate things, but since the magic formation doesn¡¯t discriminate what¡¯s on top of it, if I were to identally put my hand on top, my hand will be mummified. During the time I lived in the forest, I would often turn the rabbit meat I caught into dried meat to preserve it. If I¡¯m not careful I¡¯ll end up like that.

    Going back to the topic.

    I¡¯m going to make a meat sauce, but I don¡¯t have any consomm¨¦. So instead of the consomm¨¦, I decided to use chicken and vegetable soup. Tomorrow I¡¯ll cut the meat I bought from the butcher today, then mix it and the tomato with this. Afterwards, I¡¯ll add the soup and ssh some water.

    Next, I made a refrigerator with a box, by coating it in the hardening liquid, and using anti-cold barrier along with ice magic on it. Then I ce the food I prepared inside that.

    The anti-cold barrier when used, will normally keep me from being attacked by the cold weather in my surroundings. However, when applied in a small space, it instead prevents the cold inside from going outside. Also, since I can use ¡®Identify¡¯ to check whether or not the food inside is spoiled or not, I can use this convenient refrigerator with a peace of mind.

    I was quite surprised before when I used ¡®Identify¡¯ for the first time on this refrigerator. When I used ¡®Identify¡¯ it actually included a list of the things inside, the freshness of the objects, and even what was decaying. Perhaps it¡¯s not far off to say that this refrigerator is even more convenient than the ones back at earth.

    When I finished preparing, it was already evening. If I were to go to the guild now it would be quitete, but then again it¡¯s still too early to go home...

    Walking aimlessly around the town, I ended up passing by the church.

    Good timing. I haven¡¯t been able to pray recently, so I might as well take this opportunity to pray.

    Thinking that, I went to the church. This time what greeted me wasn¡¯t the woman from before, but instead it was a young girl perhaps around the age of 10.

    ¡°Wee. How may I help you?¡± [Girl]

    ¡°I¡¯ve managed to make some time, so I thought I¡¯d go offer my prayers.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Then in that case, this way please.¡± [Girl]

    The girl brought me over to a wide room with many chairs in front of the altar.

    ¡°Please take your time.¡± [Girl]

    Said the girl as she left the room. It seems I can use this room to pray as I wish.

    When she left the room, I took a nearby chair and sat on it. Then I put my hands together and closed my eyes. For some reason it suddenly felt like something wasing loose. The next moment, I opened my eyes. But when I did so, what greeted me was that white room I¡¯d seen twice before.

    ¡°Oh, you came again...¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°Yeah, looks like I ended uping again.¡± [Ryouma]

    When I turned to face the voice that came at me from behind, I saw Kufo.

    ¡°Kufo, we meet again.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Well it hasn¡¯t really been that long though. It hasn¡¯t even been a month since west met.¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°Are Gayn and Rurutia out today?¡¯ [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yeah, they went out for a bit.¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°So gods also go out?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yeah, although it¡¯s really rare,¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°Where did they go off to?¡± [Ryouma]

    The moment I said that, Kufo made a face that looked like he just made a blunder.

    ¡°Ah... umm.... Actually, they went to your previous world.¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°To Earth!? Why? Are they going to call another person?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Oh, no, no! They didn¡¯t go for that. This time they¡¯re...¡± [Kufo]

    As Kufo was about to exin, he hesitated.

    ¡°This time what? You know if it¡¯s difficult to say, I won¡¯t insist.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Nah... if it¡¯s Ryouma, then I think it¡¯s fine. They went sightseeing.¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°Huh?¡±[Ryouma]

    Sightseeing?

    ¡°Rurutia went around in your world to treat herself to some desserts. And Gayn seems to have taken quite a liking to your idol groups in Japan.¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°What¡¯s with that reason? Well, no... Actually it doesn¡¯t really matter, but can you really go to another world with that kind of reason?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°We gods generally don¡¯t interfere with each other¡¯s worlds. But in our case we¡¯ve been bringing people over from Earth for a long time now... and besides, this world doesn¡¯t really have a lot of options for entertainment. Even the sweets Rurutia wants to eat are few here. Also in terms of taste, you can¡¯t evenpare the sweets in this world to yours, right?¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s true but...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I also went around Earth before too, you know? As the god of life, I¡¯m very much interested in organisms that are able to survive in harsh environments. So with that in mind I went to see the secluded regions of Earth. Like the Amazon, the Sahara Desert, the Antis, or even the deep sea...¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°Wait a moment, isn¡¯t one of those kind of out of ce!?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Keep this a secret from other humans, ok? Otherwise our dignity as gods will be tarnished.¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°I won¡¯t do something like that. Besides, even if I did spread it around, no one will believe me anyway.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Well I guess that¡¯s true.¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°Gayn¡¯s hobby aside, wouldn¡¯t it be better if you guys made the desserts Rurutia like popr? There¡¯s plenty of otherworlders in this world, right?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Well that¡¯s true, only, it¡¯s difficult to spread the recipe. It¡¯s hard to get a hold of sugar and spices. Not to mention it¡¯s also expensive. Also, you¡¯re aware that any food with plenty of spices is considered a luxury, right?¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°Well, yeah...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°The only exception to that is the royal family or the nobles who have several luxurious goods. To the masses though, those kind of ingredients are impossible. That¡¯s why even if otherworlders try to make the dishes from earth, the people who are able to make it are limited. And in the end they won¡¯t be able to pass it on. Even if they do though, it will gradually be forgotten. For example, you¡¯ve recently met a person that goes by the name of Pioro Saionji, right?¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°I thought of it when I first heard hisst name, but as expected, he¡¯s the descendant of an otherworlders, right?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That¡¯s right. That guy¡¯s lineagees from a guy who was born to a family with an okonomiyaki shop. And he even went to a culinary school in his student days.

    When that guy came to this world he tried to make okonomiyaki, but unfortunately he couldn¡¯t make the sauce and couldn¡¯t get the seafood to make the dish. So he decided to go all over the world to gather the ingredients. Only, in order to travel and buy those ingredients he needed money. So he became a peddler and worked a cart along the way. Through that he was able to make a killing and in the end, he was able to make his okonomiyaki. However, it didn¡¯t spread.

    After that, he used the connections and knowledge of food he gained in order to make his okonomiyaki, and started a firm that grew to y a leading role in handling food ingredients. That¡¯s where the current Saionji Firm came from.

    Though in the end he was able to make his okonomiyaki, you could also say that the ingredients were so hard to get during the era he was born in that unless someone did what he did, it wouldn¡¯t have been possible to make it. Nowadays there¡¯s the Saionji Firm and other simrpanies who imitated them, so it has be slightly easier to get the ingredients. Only slightly though...¡± [Kufo]

    Something like that actually happened?

    ¡°That kind of thing isn¡¯t limited only to food. Like craft or technology for example.

    Well to begin with, the otherworlders aren¡¯t all as passionate as he is. And even when they are, there¡¯s still the question of knowledge and luck. Many have failed because theycked one or the other. There were also things that was lost because of war or because of other adventurers.¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°When you put it that way, I think I can understand. But what do you mean when you say that some of the other adventurers a better technique or something?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Although I don¡¯t have any way to say it other than bad luck, in the past there was a med student who came to this world who spread his knowledge in the field of medicine. But right now, there aren¡¯t any traces of such knowledge, right?¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°Ah, now that you mention it, yeah. And the guild master didn¡¯t seem to have any knowledge regarding epidemics either.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Actually, in the past there was a girl who came into this world. That girl said that she wanted to be a saint.¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°Saint? You mean like that thing that seems to be a really high position in the church or something?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes, that. A person who holds a mysterious skill and heals people, something like that. Anyway, when that girl came here, she made a fuss saying that she wanted to live like that. Oh, but she wasn¡¯t a bad girl or anything. Though she did give off that feeling that said, ¡°I want to be spoiled!¡± her desire to save people was the real thing.

    That¡¯s why Rurutia, I, and Gayn, gave her our divine protection. She may not be able to resurrect the dead but with the ability we gave her, she was able to heal anyone no matter how injured they were and no matter what diseases they had. And as for her, herself, she was immune to poison, medicine, diseases and was immune from being physically hurt. She had a power to protect that couldn¡¯t¡¯ be bound by anyone. And because of that she lived her entire life as a saint, a holy woman. Only...¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°Only?¡± [Ryouma]

    Did something happen?

    ¡°That girl was able to heal anything, but other people were only capable of normal healing magic, so they weren¡¯t able to heal diseases. The people who were infected with a disease that couldn¡¯t be healed by this world¡¯s medical knowledge died when they weren¡¯t able to be healed by her.

    Seeing that, she thought, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t the number of people who die from such things increase after I die?¡± and so until the very end, she spent her whole life healing people with the power of god while she wished that she would be able to eradicate all sickness from this world.¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°Eradicate all sickness? Is that possible?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Normally you can¡¯t. But she is an otherworlder who had directly received our blessings. Moreover, because of all her achievements, she was able to gather the faith of many people. That faith acted as a boost and amplified her power.

    And on top of all of that, she herself literally exhausted everything she had for the sake of that wish. So much so that after she used her power, she lost her life. But it didn¡¯t end there. She gave up everything for the sake of that wish and in the process she even erased her own soul. Normally she should have entered the circle of transmigration right after she had died, but after exhausting her power so much, she vanished.¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°Somehow, I feel like she¡¯s an amazing person...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°When that child first started, a lot of people came to be healed and she was actually quite troubled. But, having a sense of duty, and after several things happened, in the end she became a true saint.

    It was because of her actions that for nearly 400 years almost no one caught any diseases. And it¡¯s because of that, that the knowledge regarding medicine, diseases, and prevention of it had all disappeared. As for healing magic, it was passed on since people still get wounded.

    Nowadays though, because the effect of her power has disappeared, there are now people who are bing sick. Unfortunately, the knowledge that was lost won¡¯t being back.¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°I see...¡± [Ryouma]

    Was a single human actually capable of something like that? She may have had a cheat ability... but still...

    ¡°Ah, speaking of which, as long as you¡¯re prepared to have your own soul extinguished, you can do the same thing.¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°Eh, seriously!?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Thebination of god¡¯s power and the soul of man is quite powerful. It¡¯s also because of that, that it¡¯s possible to use the soul of people like you to take magic power from your world to our world.

    And although I said that you could do the same thing. The most you¡¯d be able to do is extinguish diseases for a few years at most. The reason she was able to remove disease for 400 years was because of the faith the people had in her, and because she specialized at healing. In your case though, on top of not having a specialization in healing, you also don¡¯t have any believers.

    Ryouma-kun, you¡¯re individual abilities are weakpared to someone who specializes in one ability. To begin with, the path you chose wasn¡¯t to start off as a cheat but to grow by working hard and being creative. Because of that your growth has nearly no limits. Since your growing really quickly, then given time you might grow to be even stronger than someone who possess a special ability. And more than anything, watching you is interesting, so it¡¯s all good for us.¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°In the end it¡¯s about that, huh?¡¯ [Ryouma]

    ¡°Well it can¡¯t be helped since here in the divine realm we don¡¯t have anything to do, so we¡¯re always bored.¡± [Kufo]

    After Kufo said that, all of the sudden everything started to glow. Ah, it¡¯s ¡®that¡¯.

    ¡°We¡¯re out of time it seems.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Eh, already? Oh right! Since Gayn and Rurutia aren¡¯t here, only my power is being used to stop the time, so it¡¯s way shorter! Ryouma-kun!¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°What are you panicking for all of the sudden?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Actually I called you here because I need to tell you something! And yet I wasted time chatting about pointless things! Anyway I¡¯ll just tell you the important stuff! When your body became younger it also influenced your mind! Because of that you¡¯ve regressed a little bit to a child!

    This is the same for the other otherworlders! You not being able to control yourself or keep up your poker face is because of that! It¡¯s fine that you want to retrain yourself, but don¡¯t push yourself!¡± [Kufo]

    As soon as Kufo said that, my field of vision waspletely wrapped in light and when it faded, I was back there in the room the girl had brought me to.

    What does he mean by my mind being influenced by my young body? I don¡¯t understand well... but isn¡¯t that something really important?

    I think I can somewhat understand the regressing part though... my poker face was so good in my previous life that I would often get asked what I was thinking about. However, nowadays, what I¡¯m thinking easily shows on my face. Just like how it was when I was a kid before... Still, I won¡¯t change my ns. Kufo went through all the trouble of letting me know, so I might as well make sure I set myself straight.

    After thinking for a bit, I give my thanks to Kufo inside my mind, and after donating a little, I left the church.

    When I left the church it was already dark, so I decided to go back to my lodging.

    Tomorrow, everyone will being to the store.

    So I¡¯ll sleep early today, then tomorrow, I¡¯ll do my best!

 Volume 2 - 10 Part 1

    Volume 2 Chapter 10 Part 1

    Day 12

    Since morning, Ryouma had been strenuously working to prepare for the store and the party.

    At a time right before noon, a carriage was heading towards Ryouma¡¯s store. Inside this carriage were five people.

    They were the members of the merchant guild, Gris, Pioro, and Serge. And along with this three members, Serge also brought his subordinates, Karma Norad and Ka Norad.

    These two, Karma and Ka, are twins. Today, Serge brought them for the purpose of introducing them to Ryouma as his future assistants. But what Serge doesn¡¯t know is that these two are actually stressed out and anxious over what¡¯s toe.

    Although these two twins are young, they¡¯ve been picked up by Serge and have been serving him as his right-hand men for a long time.

    This kind of people, who could be said to be experts, have been ordered to go to Ryouma¡¯s store to help him out as his assistants. But while it may be true that these two are happy that they are being trusted with work, at the same time they can¡¯t help but feel worried when the store that they have been told to go to is aundromat whose future prospects for profit normally aren¡¯t bright. On top of that, they aren¡¯t being told to handle the store. They are being told to support the manager who happens to be an 11 year old kid.

    When you think about it, it¡¯s only natural for an 11 year old kid to need assistance in managing a store. There¡¯s no way that an 11 year old could possibly handle a store by himself. The life of a merchant isn¡¯t that easy.

    Actually, in order for Serge to get the trust of these two, he informed them of Ryouma¡¯s close rtionship with the duke. But it was because of that, that these two misunderstood and has assumed that Ryouma opened the store as a noble child¡¯s toy.

    Amongst the children of the nobles who received educations as nobles, there are some amongst them who consider the lives of themoners to be easy and wish to imitate it. And then amongst those, there are those who are spoiled by their parents and are able to use money as if it were water and are able to use that money to ymoner.

    Naturally the businesses of those pretendmoners see little sess. Even if one were to provide them with an exceptional assistant the business will most likely fail. To begin with the gap between the sense of values of a noble and amoner is simply too big a gap to bridge.

    In such cases the one at the most disadvantage is the person in charge. If one listens to the advice of the children too much and the store gets shut down, the one to take responsibility is the person in charge. And in these cases there are those who have been made to pay reparations.

    Although there are also cases where the parents of that child won¡¯t pursue the matter and ask for payment. The thing is even if you say that it was just a child¡¯s toy, the fact that a store handled by one was closed, will cause that person¡¯s reputation within the guild to plummet.

    Alternatively, if one were to just ignore the children¡¯s opinion and go with whatever the person in charge wants. Even if the store were to flourish, there are cases where the parents woulde and take the store away because the children¡¯s wishes weren¡¯t fulfilled. So with all this in mind, this kind of job is very difficult.

    ¡°We should almost be there, right?¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°Yeah. Just two more corners.¡± [Serge]

    Hearing the words of their superior, the two children couldn¡¯t help but think about how close they are to what might be their graveyards as merchants. Because of that their hearts sank and their countenance visibly darkened. They hung their heads down, and like that they continued to wait until the carriage stopped. But when Serge spoke up another time, they steeled their hearts and looked out the window. What they saw shocked them.

    ¡°I can see it! Over there!¡± [Serge]

    ¡°Ho Ho, not bad at all kid..¡± [Gris]

    ¡°Wow! What a splendid store! He was actually able to make this in one week? Amazing~¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°Sister, this...¡± [One of the twins]

    ¡°Yeah...¡± [One of the twins]

    What spread before their eyes may have simply been a white square building with some windows here and there, but the surroundings were covered by a bright green lush along with some flower beds here and there, giving off a strong sense of cleanliness. As the splendor of that scenery unwrapped itself before the eyes of the guild members, they couldn¡¯t help but leave their mouths agape. While Karma and Ka suddenly felt as if a ray of hope had just thrust itself into their dark and dreary future.

    When they entered the store, the first thing that caught their eyes were the four statues of the gods on the shelf near the ceiling.

    The warm atmosphere the wooden interior exudes along with the simple but lovely reverse L shaped counter,plemented by other furniture, struck the five with admiration. But as Karma and Ka felt their future getting brighter, the next instant crushed their hopes.

    ¡°Wee to the Bamboo Forest Laundry Agency!¡±

    As soon as they had entered, Ryouma quickly came out from inside.

    Karma and Ka¡¯s first impression of Ryouma was that of a normal kid with an honest and a decent face. Unfortunately, though this might be poorly put, Ryouma also looked like he had no ambition, and his docile impression wasn¡¯t the kind that suited merchants. If it was just one of the neighboring kids they wouldn¡¯t care, but as they thought that this kid was going to be their boss, they couldn¡¯t help but grimace in fear of their future troubles.

    ¡°Thank you for inviting me today, Ryouma. I¡¯m really happy to have been invited.¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°This store gives off such a good feeling, I guess we can expect much from you in the future.¡± [Gris]

    ¡°You¡¯ve finallypleted your store, congrattions.¡± [Serge]

    ¡°Thank you very much. Speaking of which, these are...?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Oh, right. I almost forgot, these are the two assistants I was nning to give to Ryouma-sama.¡± [Serge]

    ¡°Karma Norad.¡± [Karma]

    ¡°Ka Norad. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, please take care of me and my younger brother.¡± [Ka]

    ¡°Thank you for your courtesy. My name is Ryouma Takebayashi. Please take care of me as well.¡± [Ryouma]

    The two breathe a sigh of relief in their hearts as they noticed that Ryouma didn¡¯t act haughtily. Unfortunately though, while it did not show on their faces, anxiety continued to stir within their hearts.

    But in the next instant they couldn¡¯t help but let some of their anxiety show when Ryouma acted rather vaguely in response to Serge¡¯s introduction.

    ¡°Even amongst my subordinates these two are quite exceptional. You could consider them my right hand men. I believe they will be able to serve Ryouma-sama well.¡± [Serge]

    ¡°Oh? They are Serge-san¡¯s right hand men? That¡¯s ...¡± [Ryouma]

    At that the two let it slip.

    ¡°Is there a problem?¡± [Karma & Ka]

    At those twin¡¯s words, Ryouma hurriedly rationalized.

    ¡°No, there are no problems. I was just quite surprised as I hadn¡¯t expected Serge-san¡¯s right hand men to be the onesing as my assistant.¡± [Ryouma]

    Having been convinced by Ryouma¡¯s answer, at theirst murmuring the twins asked another question.

    ¡°Is there anything inconvenient about us?¡± [Karma]

    ¡°If there¡¯s anything, then please let us know. After all Ryouma-sama will be our superior from now on.¡± [Ka]

    ¡°While there are no problems in regards to the job. I believe you two are overqualified. Work in the shop isn¡¯t difficult and because of that you two won¡¯t have plenty of opportunities to use your abilities. If I may as to be so blunt, your abilities are wasted here, and so I believe it would be better for you two to work at a more suitable environment.¡± [Ryouma]

    Actually all Ryouma was looking for was someone who would serve as a receptionist and another to carry the clothes. So when he saw Serge bring some exceptional merchants with him, he couldn¡¯t help but think it to be a waste. But at the same time, because of what Ryouma said, the two couldn¡¯t help but to feel down.

    Although Ryouma said what he had said out of concern, if someone were to tell you that your abilities weren¡¯t needed, it¡¯s only natural for you to feel down, right?

    Seeing the downtrodden look of the two, Gris and Pioro asked Serge.

    ¡°Serge, did you properly exin to these two?¡± [Gris]

    ¡°Aren¡¯t these two misunderstanding something?¡± [Pioro]

    Serge, having just realized, quickly went to the twins to exin. He then exined that Ryouma¡¯s store isn¡¯t a noble¡¯s toy, and is in fact a business endeavor expected to make a huge profit. So much so that even the head of the merchant guild, Gris, and the president of anotherrge store, Pioro, were interested. As the twins came to understand the situation, they couldn¡¯t help but shiver at the honor of working here and the amelioration it will bring to their future. As Serge-san finished exining to them, they turned towards Ryouma, and with great vigor, apologized.

    ¡°Please excuse our previous behavior!¡± [Karma & Ka]

    ¡°Because of our inexperience we were unable to fullyprehend Ryouma-sama¡¯s true motive.¡± [Ka]

    ¡°I¡¯m truly sorry for my behavior until now.¡± [Karma]

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be like that, it¡¯s not like you¡¯ve done anything rude in particr. Besides I understand just how unusual it is for a child my age to hold a store. Also, I too know just how absurd the nobles¡¯ children can be.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You two can stop now. If you guys apologize it will just trouble Ryouma instead. Ryouma really looks like he doesn¡¯t mind so if you really feel sorry just work to the best of your abilities as an apology.¡± [Gris]

    ¡°Understood!¡± [Karma & Ka]

    When he saw that enthusiasm, Ryouma chuckled.

    ¡°But no matter how enthusiastic you are... just like I said a while ago it¡¯s really not that big of a job, you know?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°A job to this extent will definitely make a lot!¡± [Ka]

    ¡°We can also take care of the ount book and manage the expenses.¡± [Karma]

    But even if they say that, to someone like Ryouma who knows a little of Japan¡¯s ridiculous earning calls and ounting, such things didn¡¯t seemplicated at all.

    Moreover, though Ryouma¡¯s store may have plenty of ie, the only expenditures his store really has are the bags and daily necessities bought from Serge¡¯s store. Compared to other stores, the ounting here is far simpler.

    While he was thinking that, the surrounding were suddenly filled with chattering as 11 people entered the store from two different entrances. They were the members of the adventurer¡¯s guild.

 Volume 2 - 10 part 2

    Volume 2 Chapter 10 PART 2

    ¡°Ryouma! We¡¯re here!¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°Wee to the Bamboo Forest Laundry Agency!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You did a pret¨C... Geh!? Why is there a shitty old hag here?¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°Who¡¯s a shitty old hag? I may be an old hag, but I¡¯m no shitty old hag! You¡¯ve been a guild leader for so long, yet you¡¯re still as bad mouthed as ever, Wogan.¡± [Gris]

    ¡°How long do you n to stay as a guild leader anyway? You¡¯re such a stubborn old hag. Why are you even here?¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°Obviously because I was invited.¡± [Gris]

    ¡°Seriously?¡± [Wogan]

    As their face met, Wogan couldn¡¯t help but flinch. After he was able to get himself together, he talked to Ryouma.

    ¡°Ah, whatever. Ryouma, how does thisundry agency of yours work?¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°Right, currently... Ah, since Karma-san and Ka-san are here as well, I guess I might as well take this opportunity to exin how things work. Then, pleasee with me. Serge-san and the others, as well.¡± [Ryouma]

    As Ryouma opened a part of the counter, he urged the other five to enter. The five people agreed, and entered with Ryouma.

    ¡°First, the customers need to buy one of the bags specially tailored to them. Bags tailored for individuals go for 20 suits a bag. This bag will be used whenever the customeres to the store, so after purchasing one of these bags once, there won¡¯t be any need to buy again when that customeres the second time.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Then in that case I¡¯ll take one. I should stuff this bag with myundry, right?¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°Yes, also, since today is simply a rehearsal for the real thing, today¡¯s request will be free of charge. The bag, as well. So please take it ande again.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Thanks.¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°Next is Karma-san and Ka-san. When a customeres and pays, please insert the nk corresponding to the price paid into this pole by the counter¡¯s right side.¡±

    Ryouma took out a variety of thin and assorted colored tes from the counter and showed it to them. At the same time he also showed them the pole near the counter where the tes fit and the te holder.

    ¡°What is that?¡± [Karma]

    ¡°It¡¯s a tool for calcting ie. The price in this store has already been decided by the size of the bags, as opposed to the pricing of other stores which is always changing. Moreover there are no prices other than 1 medium copper coin, 1 medium copper coin and 8 small copper coins, and 4 medium copper coins.

    For every piece of medium coper coin you receive, please ce one ck te into the te holder for the ck te. This te holder has a gradation and can take up to a hundred. Whenever it reaches 100 tes, please write a 1 on the paper underneath the te holder, and then please put all the tes back into the shelf below the counter. Once a day after starting work, you can calcte the ie of the store with this.

    For example, when you fill up the ck te holder 3 times, and then after having removed the tes inside 3 times. If inside the te holder 42 still remained, then in that case the earnings for the individual option bes 342 medium copper coins or 3420 suits.

    Seven types have been prepared all in all including the 3 options with the differing bag sizes, the 3 differingundry prices, and the full body wash service aimed at adventurer¡¯s armors and weapons. So if you check the tes respectively after starting work and adding them, you can calcte the profits.¡± [Ryouma]

    After Ryouma said that he went back to talking to Wogan, but Ka, Karma, Serge, Pioro, and Gris were all rooted on the spot as they stared at that tool after hearing Ryouma¡¯s exnation.

    Ryouma made this tool after remembering how easy it was to calcte the profits at the conveyor belt sushi (Kaiten-zushi) he worked at in his previous life. In that sushi shop, they divided the prices with different colored tes. Then they calcted the prices based on how many tes of a color were there.

    Although it was something Ryouma made on a whim, to this world it wasn¡¯t a trifling matter.

    The so called arithmetic of this world, despite only really involving the four basic operations, is something that many people are incapable of. People are able to deal with small numbers they use in their day-to-day lives, but when ites to big numbers such as the tally of the day¡¯s profits, then even merchants find themselves struggling with the calction.

    One reason behind this are theck of cash registers and calctors. Because of that, there¡¯s no other way to calcte other than to look at the ounting book, check the number of times something was sold, and then add them one by one. Naturally, this takes a lot of time.

    However with the tool that Ryouma had just made, even without the discount, it¡¯s possible to easily calcte the earnings for the day. You could say that to this world it¡¯s an exceptional tool to save time.

    The price Ryouma is asking for is already so cheap to the people of this world that no one would dare to ask for a discount. With a price like that, no one wouldin. But even if there was, they would simply be turned down. Ryouma has no intents of entertaining any further discounts than what he¡¯s already set.

    But not only is Ryouma¡¯s store cheap, but its speed at calctingpared to other stores is also overwhelmingly fast, allowing the transactions to end easily. When the five people noticed that, their eyes became sharp. But Ryouma didn¡¯t notice that as he continued to indifferently talk.

    ¡°After receiving the payment, please take the bag with theundry and attach thisbel, which has been prepared ahead of time and can be taken from the shelf below the counter, to the bag¡¯sce. When giving the bag to the customer, please confirm thebels to make sure that thebel of the customer and thebel of theundry matches.¡± [Ryouma]

    The two tes that Ryouma brought out to attach to thece is what you¡¯d call an identifier. By attaching this, the store can prevent people from mistakenly taking the wrong bag.

    After Ryouma exined that to them, he took the baggage and tossed it into a disposable chute like hole installed on the wall behind the counter.

    ¡°The cleaner slimes I¡¯d talked about before are in the next room. I¡¯ve already ordered the cleaner slimes to immediately clean and carry to the next room whatever is thrown into the chute. Like this anything thrown into the chute will automatically be cleaned and then brought to the ce designated for theundries.

    Afterwards, all that¡¯s left is picking it up, cross-checking thebels, and then giving it back to the customer. This is how the store will operate from now on. How is it? Are there any questions?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°No questions.¡± [Karma & Ka]

    ¡°Then please divide thebor among yourselves, then try to serve the customers.¡± [Ryouma]

    As Ryouma said that, he also urged Karma and Ka toe to the counter. After which, they then took 10 people¡¯sundries, tossed it into the cleaner slime room, retrieved it, then gave it back to the customers.

    If it this was one of theundromats in Earth, they¡¯d also iron the clothes after washing, but theundry agency that Ryouma built was made specifically only for cleaning.

    All the cleaning were left up to the cleaner slimes. And the cleaner slimes would either go inside the bag or put everything including the bag inside their body, then wash it. Because of this, they were also able to prevent losingundry. After all, without even taking out a single piece of clothing and finishing theundry in just one room, it¡¯s only natural that nothing would go missing.

    As for providing services other than cleaning, at most there¡¯s only folding the clothes in this world. If that kind of service is desired, then Ryouma could just have someone do it, or do it himself. Or alternatively, hire the people who do theirundries themselves and wouldn¡¯t use Ryouma¡¯s store

    ¡°Looks like it¡¯s going fine. Do you have any questions?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Has this really be clean?¡± [Karma]

    ¡°We¡¯re not really seeing the kind of results we¡¯d heard from Serge-sama.¡± [Ka]

    Because the twins said that, Ryouma had them open theundry they got from Jeff and had them use ¡®Identify¡¯ on it. Having understood that the clothes were clean, they felt admiration for the cleaner slime¡¯s ability. They had heard that the clothes from Jeff were covered in monster blood, so they were quite surprised when they found out there wasn¡¯t even a trace of it on theundry.

    After that, Ryouma distributed the bags targeted to individuals to the 11 for free as a service. And because Wogan announced that he will be taking the groupundry option with the staff, Ryouma passed them a giant bag that could take 35 people¡¯s worth ofundry along with 35 individual bags for free.

    When they saw that, they couldn¡¯t help but wonder why the individual bags were also given. At that question Ryouma replied,

    ¡°It¡¯s a hassle to have your clothes mix up with others¡¯, right? Moreover, I think that the female clients wouldn¡¯t want their clothes and underwear to be seen by others, especially by other men. So as a subdivision, I¡¯ve also included the individual bags. Like this, theundry won¡¯t be seen by the male staff.¡± [Ryouma]

    At those words, everyone agreed, especially the women. Hearing this, Meilin promised to rmend the store to the other female staff in the guild.

    Actually, Wogan did mention about Ryouma¡¯sundromat to the other female staff, but precisely because of the reason Ryouma had mentioned just now, they declined.

    While they were talking like that, the household of the duke arrived. For even the duke¡¯s family, themselves, toe. Naturally, the people were in a slight uproar. And so, all 23 of them were brought into one of the rooms of the store.

    Though this may be off topic, because Ryouma had no surviving rtives in his past life, he had no experience in these kind of gatherings. Because of that, it was only when they came here that Ryouma noticed that he had just called the duke¡¯s family whose social position has no rtion to his, for a private matter. Thereby perpetuating an unthinkable act showing an obviousck ofmon sense.

    Normally, it shouldn¡¯t be possible to call the guild masters of the adventurer¡¯s guild and the merchant¡¯s guild. Ryouma nned this event with gratitude to his benefactors in mind, as well as his aspiration to have some sort of social disposition. But when he saw what was happening, he realized how hasty he was and decided that he will secretly reflect after this.

 Volume 2 - 11

    TL Note: A slight reminder for those who¡¯ve forgotten.

    Wereanna ¨C Dog Tribe

    Miya ¨C Cat Tribe

    Syria ¨C Rabbit Tribe

    Mizelia ¨C Tiger Tribe

    Asagi ¨C Dragon Newt

    Jija = Ginger (in their world)

    Also name change. Sorry about this, but when I looked at it again, I realized just how horrible it looked like in English.

    Aro-ne to Araune. (For those wondering a long dash in between words in Japanese, means a longer sound.)

    Volume 2 Chapter 11

    Ryouma brought everyone deep into the store.

    ¡°This area is specifically for employee use and customers are prohibited from entering. You can find the reception office, the office, the locker room, the employee lounge, and the toilet, here. There¡¯s also the office kitchte which will allow the workers to be able to prepare things like tea.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Mind if we take a look?¡± [Wereanna]

    ¡°Please go ahead.¡± [Ryouma]

    When Ryouma saw everyone looking around, he was reminded of the tourist bus tours in his previous life.

    After a while, Ryouma brought everyone to the employee lounge. Then he went off to the kitchen to prepare the food while everyone else waited in the employee lounge.

    Having been made to wait by Ryouma. The people chatted idly to pass time while feeling a little nervous. However, after around 10 minutes had passed, all of the sudden Wereanna became fidgety.

    ¡°Hey, Wereanna. What¡¯s the matter?¡± [Jeff]

    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m just a bit bothered by something. Something from somewhere... smells really delicious. I think it¡¯s probably Ryouma¡¯s cooking.¡± [Wereanna]

    When the people in the room heard that, they all tried to smell it. But the only ones who were able to smell it aside from Wereanna, were the 3 other beastmen and the dragon newt, Asagi.

    ¡°Nya!? Now that you mention it, it really does smell delicious, nya!¡± [Miya]

    ¡°It¡¯s true...¡± [Syria]

    ¡°Really? I can¡¯t tell though.¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°It¡¯s probably too thin for human noses to smell. So unless you¡¯re of a beastmen tribe, you probably won¡¯t be able to smell it.¡± [Mizelia]

    ¡°No, I can also smell it, de gozaru. Is this meat? Or perhaps a fragrant bread? Well, whatever it is, it certainly smells delicious, de gozaru.¡± [Asagi]

    ¡°Speaking of which, Ryouma-kun¡¯s cooking was really delicious.¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°Is that true, Rheinhart-sama?¡± [Serge]

    ¡°Yes, even though he only used a few ingredients, it was something to be remembered. That rabbit meat saut¨¦ with the root of jija was so delicious.¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°Despite being at that age, Ryouma-sama is already in possession of level 10 domestic chores. Thanks to that, I believe we can expect something good.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°By that age, you mean 10 years old, right? He¡¯s really something. Regardless of how easy it is to level up that skill, there really aren¡¯t many who can before the age of 40.¡± [Wereanna]

    After that, five more minutes passed, then Ryouma came back.

    ¡°Sorry for waiting. The meal has been prepared.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for this, nya!¡± [Miya]

    ¡°You¡¯re slow! You made it smell good and then even made us wait, don¡¯t you know how hard that is for us?¡± [Wereanna]

    ¡°Eh, you smelled it? But I put up an anti-odor barrier... did it get cancelled half way through?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Who cares about that stuff? Hurry, give us some food.¡± [Wereanna]

    ¡°Understood.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°We¡¯ll help out.¡± [Sebasu, Lilian, Araune]

    Ryouma gave his thanks, and then took Sebasu, Lilian, and Araune to the kitchte to carry the meals. As for the drinks, Ryouma ordered the slimes to carry them.

    Seeing the slimes act like this, the five members of the merchant guild who didn¡¯t know about Ryouma¡¯s peculiar slimes were shocked. The others, then exined to them to calm them down.

    All the while, the food and the drinks were brought in one after another. And when the food had finally been distributed to everyone, Ryouma lead everyone to make a toast.

    ¡°Today I¡¯ve called everyone here to celebrate the store¡¯spletion. Thank you for being with me here today. It¡¯s nothing special, but I¡¯ve prepared for you all a hearty meal. Please, enjoy it to your heart¡¯s content. Cheers!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Cheers!¡± [Everyone]

    As everyone said ¡®cheers¡¯ out loud, they drank the wine inside their respective sses. When they did so, Gordon suddenly cheered out loud.

    ¡°This wine... isn¡¯t this some high ss stuff!?¡± [Gordon]

    ¡°It¡¯s for a celebration after all, so I decided to splurge a bit.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°What kind of wine is this?¡± [Gordon]

    ¡°ording to the shopkeeper of the wine store, it¡¯s called the Spring of Jamis.¡± [Ryouma]

    When Gordon heard that, heughed as he looked at the ss in his hands.

    ¡°The Spring of Jamis!? I heard it was good, but I¡¯ve never had the opportunity to drink it!¡± [Gordon]

    ¡°Really?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You bought it without knowing? The spring of Jamis is well known amongst wine lovers.¡± [Gordon]

    ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t know that at all. I just bought it because the shopkeeper rmended it.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You¡¯re luck¡¯s really good. The Spring of Jamis may be cheap price-wise, but because a lot of aficionados want to get their hands on it, it gets sold out pretty quickly, making it hard to get one.¡± [Gordon]

    ¡°I see, my luck, huh? ...Ah!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± [Gordon]

    ¡°No, I just realized the reason why I was able to get that wine.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°The reason?¡± [Gordon]

    ¡°Yes. Most likely it¡¯s because I have the divine protection of the God of Wine, Tekun, that I was able to buy this wine.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°What did you say!? Is that true!?¡± [Gordon]

    ¡°Boy, is that true!?¡± [Pioro]

    When the people there heard that, Pioro and Gordon responded quite strongly.

    ¡°Y-yeah. It¡¯s true, is there something...?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I¡¯m envious...¡± [Gordon]

    ¡°I¡¯m envious~, I¡¯m so, so, sooooo envious~¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°Tekun-sama¡¯s divine protection is an enviable thing amongst dwarves. Especially the God of Wine¡¯s protection.¡± [Gordon]

    ¡°Is it better to receive the God of Wine¡¯s divine protection, rather than the God of Craft¡¯s?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Well that¡¯s because I¡¯m an adventurer. Being an adventurer it¡¯s only natural for one¡¯s smithing to improve. Moreover, a guy who relies on a divine protection to make things is a failure as a cksmith. One should train their own abilities with their own strength.

    But contrary to that, any dwarf would want to drink delicious wine. That¡¯s why every dwarf wants Tekun-sama¡¯s God of Wine protection. Having the opportunity to drink delicious wine isn¡¯t something you can help with your own efforts, but Tekun-sama¡¯s God of Wine divine protection can.¡± [Gordon]

    Hearing that, Ryouma understood. Afterwards, he asked Pioro.

    ¡°Alright, I think I can understand Gordon-san, but Pioro-san? Do you also like wine?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°While I don¡¯t hate wine, I¡¯m more jealous as a merchant. I wasn¡¯t able to tell this to you before, but as a merchant I deal mostly with foodmodities. Because of that, I¡¯m envious that you can get good wine easily.¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is.¡± [Ryouma]

    While we talked like that, Wereanna called out to me.

    ¡°Ryouma.¡± [Wereanna]

    ¡°What is it?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Seconds.¡± [Wereanna]

    ¡°That¡¯s fast! You ate it all, already!?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ryouma, me too.¡± [Jeff]

    ¡°Me too.¡± [Hyuzu]

    ¡°Me too.¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°Even Jeff-san, Hyuzu-san, and guild mas... Wogan-san? You all eat fast, huh?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s because Ryouma¡¯s cooking is so delicious. It¡¯s my first time eating something like this.¡± [Wereanna]

    ¡°Really? Being told that make me somewhat happy for making it, but...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I¡¯m also of the same opinion as that child¡¯s. Ryouma, what do you call this pasta?¡± [Gris]

    ¡°It¡¯s called Meat Sauce Spaghetti.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Meat Sauce Spaghetti, huh? It¡¯s delicious. Because of my age, my jaws have gotten weaker and I¡¯m no longer able to bite meat well. So I¡¯ve ended up unable to eat delicious food. But this spaghetti¡¯s meat is easy to eat as the meat of this steak is so soft. To be able to eat meat in a long while again, I¡¯m really happy to havee here.¡± [Gris]

    ¡°I¡¯m happy that you like it. Please eat as much as you want.¡± [Ryouma]

    As Ryouma said that, he prepared the second helping for three people. But just as he hade back with the three¡¯s second helping, Mizelia, Miya, Rheinhart, and Asagi all finished up theirs and asked for seconds.

    ¡°I¡¯ve also prepared some desert, so please do leave some room for that.¡± [Ryouma]

    But even after saying that, they didn¡¯t stop at all and everyone asked for more than one refill. Wereanna and Jeff has even asked for seconds 4 times, causing Ryouma to tilt his head as he wondered where they put all that.

    After the main meal, Ryouma brought out sliced apple pie, with some ck tea toplement it. When they saw that, the people were speechless.

    It¡¯s because this was something delicious made with the luxurious honey. This fact shocked everyone. And when they ate it, they were touched. Especially the women, who found themselves on cloud nine.

    When the meal ended, Ryouma brought out another serving of ck tea. As they all took a short rest from the splendorous meal they¡¯d just eaten, Miya said this.

    ¡°Fuha... I ate to my fill, nya. I¡¯m so happy I came, nya.¡± [Miya]

    ¡°I¡¯m happy to see that you¡¯ve enjoyed yourselves. Still you all ate quite a lot, huh? Especially, Jeff-san. Exactly where do you put all that?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Huh? As long as I want to eat, I can eat. Because I have the ¡®Eat All You Can¡¯ skill.¡± [Jeff]

    ¡°¡®Eat All You Can¡¯?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You don¡¯t know about it? Well it is an unusual skill. With the ¡®Eat All You Can¡¯ skill, the amount you can eat will increase greatly once. Because of that you¡¯ll be fine even if you don¡¯t eat anything for a few days after that. I have it because I used to be from the slums and when I became an adventurer and began to make some money, I mostly spent my money on food. Because of that I ended up acquiring the skill.¡± [Jeff]

    ¡°Jeff used that ability along with the resistance skills he got from living in the slums, to take requests that would have been harsh to a normal adventurer, one after another. Because of that he ended famous, nya.¡± [Miya]

    ¡°Jeff-san, you¡¯re amazing.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I just chose a bunch of profitable jobs. There¡¯s nothing amazing in particr about it. Besides, if you try, you can also do the things that I do, right? After all, you even have resistance skills that I don¡¯t have. If you want we can try taking on a request together. Although it¡¯s not really possible unless you raise your rank a little bit first.¡± [Jeff]

    ¡°Then when that timees, please take care of me.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I¡¯d be grateful too, on behalf of the guild, if you were to take a job with Jeff. Jeff has resist skills, so while that¡¯s a good thing, it also means that he works at a different pacepared to others.

    Which is why he always works solo. But amongst the requests, there are also requests that you can¡¯t take alone. He hasn¡¯t been able to take those requests at all.¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°Like what kind of request?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°For example, this may be a rank C mission, but in this request you have to dig out some me crystals from a volcano. Unless you have the foul odor resistance skill, this mission is quite tough. You have to endure the long time it takes to go to and fro the mine, and the long hours of work. And then on top of all that, you still have to be exposed to the rotting egg like smell of the volcano. Moreover, there¡¯s also the light poison that¡¯s present in the entire volcano. Depending on the ce, there are people who have died.¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°By light poison... do you mean the kind which causes your eyes to swell and tear up, while in ces where the exposure is strong, it causes one to have a harder time breathing?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes, that, that. Seriously, you¡¯re really well informed, huh?¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard a little about it.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Well there¡¯s no harm in knowing, in fact, having that knowledge is quite advantageous to an adventurer. Do you know of a way to cope with it? Like an antidote for it or something?¡± [Wogan]

    Even if he tells Ryouma that, because this world doesn¡¯t have any knowledge of such a medicine, and because it¡¯s not possible to create the medicine from Earth here, Ryouma wasn¡¯t able to give him anything.

    ¡°Unfortunately, I don¡¯t know of any medicine to deal with the poison in the volcano. What I do know is that the poison is from the volcano¡¯s smoke and from the air jetted out from underground. It may be possible to defend oneself from the poison as long as one covers his surrounding with wind magic.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Just knowing that is more than enough. Still, your grandma who taught you medicine and poison must have been an expert, huh? Even though I¡¯ve been a guild master for a long time, you¡¯ve been surprising me one after another when ites to poison and diseases.¡± [Wogan]

    When Wogan said that, Ryouma was a little surprised. But he justughed and agreed, as he let it pass.

    After that, Ryouma remembered something and went to talk to Karma and Ka.

    ¡°Right, Karma-san, Ka-san.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°What is it?¡± [Karma & Ka]

    ¡°I¡¯m grateful that you¡¯ve worked for me so much, but is it really ok? I¡¯ve mentioned it before, but you won¡¯t be able to show your abilities in a work ce like this.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Please allow us to work for you.¡± [Karma]

    ¡°It¡¯s true that we won¡¯t be able to put to use our haggling skills, and the ounting is also taken care of easily by the tool Ryouma-sama made. But even then we would still like to work here and learn from Ryouma-sama¡¯s innovative business practices.¡± [Ka]

    When they said that, Ryouma thought that they were really simr to Serge-san.

    ¡°I understand. It¡¯s reassuring to have someone with plenty of experience work for me, so I have no problems with it. It¡¯ll be a pleasure to work with you from now on.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Please take care of us!¡± [Ka & Karma]

    Replied the two with a smile that covered their entire face. And paying attention to that, was Serge who seemed to be fully satisfied. While all that was taking ce though, Wogan secretly asked Gris something.

    ¡°Hey, shitty old hag.¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°What? Scatterbrain.¡± [Gris]

    ¡°Is Ryouma¡¯s store that profitable? I know it¡¯s a strange store, but...¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°It is. Only, I don¡¯t know to what extent.¡± [Gris]

    When Wogan heard that, he knit his eyebrows.

    ¡°Did the shitty old hag, give him advice?¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°I didn¡¯t give him anything. That kid thought it all up by himself. Besides it¡¯s not something a normal merchant coulde up with, and it¡¯s also not something realistic.

    That kid is smart, but he doesn¡¯t have that certain inclination to money that every merchant should have. It¡¯s probably because he¡¯s a kid like that, that he was able to think this up. There¡¯s no way a normal merchant would think up a method where he¡¯d give a discount every day and go through all the trouble to reduce his own ie himself.

    But even if someone were to think of it. Because of the expenses in hiring employees and the results required of a shop like that, it wouldn¡¯t go well. But that kid has those cleaner slimes of his. With that, there¡¯s no reason for his store not to flourish. Really, that kid is quite something.

    But that aside, you too need to be careful. While I can provide protection for that kid as a merchant, I can¡¯t protect him from greedy merchants who are indiscriminate in their ways and choose to use violence.¡± [Gris]

    ¡°I know. Though I do think that if it¡¯s him, it won¡¯t be needed.¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°What?¡± [Gris]

    ¡°That guy, just a while ago, had a dispute with the members of the Fang of Orbtem.¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, that¡¯s the adventurer group with 40 hoodlums.¡± [Gris]

    ¡°Yeah, and during a request, they had a little dispute. What do you think happened?¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°It would have been great if he was able to beat them, but his opponents weren¡¯t limited to just 2 or 3 people, you know? You wouldn¡¯t actually say he beat up all 40 of them, would you?¡± [Gris]

    ¡°Bingo.¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°... Are you serious?¡± [Gris]

    ¡°Yeah, Ryouma took on 6 members plus the head, Shi, all by himself. While his slimes took on 34 of the members. It waspletely one sided. There¡¯s no problem with Ryouma¡¯s abilities. But on top of that, his slimes are numerous. And speaking of which, that guy¡¯s slimes are quite dangerous, you know?¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°... But even then, be careful.¡± [Gris]

    ¡°... I know that.¡± [Wogan]

    Those two talked like that in a corner of the room without Ryouma noticing. During that time Ryouma fully enjoyed himself with the friends he didn¡¯t have in his previous life.

    When everyone was about to leave as the celebration came to a close, Ryouma was told not to push himself too hard.

    After that, Ryouma cleaned up after the banquet, left the store, and then took one good look at the store he had just made. Then as he tasted an unspeakable sense of fulfillment that he didn¡¯t have in his previous life, he went back to his lodging.

 Volume 2 - 12

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Volume 2 Chapter 12

    TL Note: Here¡¯s your extra chapter. A special thanks to the anons, as well as to Tundy for donating and making this chapter possible.

    Name change:

    Lenny -> Reni; apparently Lenny was too manly. Well it did remind of me that shark form sharktale so... I guess, yeah.

    Volume 2 Chapter 12

    The Next Day

    ~Side Ryouma~

    I went to the store early in the morning today. Today will be the store¡¯s first day so I thought I¡¯d get a head start. But more than that, it¡¯s also because Karma-san and Ka-san will also being.

    After the gathering yesterday, Karma and Ka went, ¡°We can even open the store for business tomorrow!¡± Or so the two twins vigorously pushed on to me. And so, I¡¯m opening the store today... I wonder if it was too fast. I could have done things a bit more... nah, vigor is also important, right? I¡¯m the kind who tends to drag things after all...

    While I was thinking that, the twins came to the store.

    ¡°Good morning, boss!¡± [Karma & Ka]

    ¡°Good morning, Karma-san, Ka-san. Please take care of me from today on.¡± [Ryouma]

    After the twins came, we ran some checks and prepared the store for opening... or so I¡¯d like to say, but really, all we did was allow the cleaner slimes to enter the room and prepare some small change.

    Speaking of which, the twins purchased and brought over a lot bags from Serge this morning. Apparently, before going home yesterday, they ordered some from Serge-san. They really helped me out there.

    ¡°Well then... I¡¯ll be going.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Take care.¡± [Karma & Kyle]

    I¡¯m going to the adventurer¡¯s guild to do some jobs.

    Since the first day, I¡¯ve had a problem with leaving things to other people. But because I wasn¡¯t able to make an announcement because of the leaflets and the advertisements, I made the decision to make an announcement while taking a job from the guild. Serge-san really prepared some people who I can leave everything to... putting it bluntly, I wonder if that means I¡¯m not needed anymore. Then again though, that¡¯s the reason why I hired them in the first ce. .

    While I was thinking that, I went over to my neighbors before going to the guild. I need to let Poline-san know about the store¡¯s opening after all.

    ¡°Excuse me, is anyone here?¡± [Ryouma]

    The store seems to be open, but there doesn¡¯t seem to be anyone inside. So I raised my voice, and Poline-san went out from one of the rooms inside.

    ¡°I¡¯ming, I¡¯ming. Oh! If it isn¡¯t Ryouma-kun. Did you drop by to buy some seeds again?¡± [Poline]

    ¡°Actually, I came today to let you know that my store, Laundry Agency Bamboo Forest, is open for business.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Oh my! It¡¯s already open? That¡¯s really quick.¡± [Poline]

    ¡°Yes, thanks to everyone. Also I gave the bags for free some time ago, so by all means, please do try out my store¡¯s services. And also please let Mary-san and Chiara-san know as well. I¡¯ve already informed the two clerks.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You hired some people?¡± [Poline]

    ¡°They were introduced to me by a merchant I knew. So I decided to leave things to them while I worked as an adventurer. Also, I need to pay their sries with my ie as an adventurer until the store gets going.¡± [Ryouma]

    Even if you tell me that you don¡¯t need to be paid as long as you¡¯re able to work, it¡¯s only natural that I¡¯d feel guilty if I actually took that offer... But really, I honestly do not understand why they want to work for me that much.

    In fact, rather than working at my ce, I think working over at Serge-san¡¯s would be far more beneficial... and the sry should also be bigger.... But, it does help me out a lot, so I guess I don¡¯t really have any problems with it.

    ¡°Considering your store¡¯s size, I guess it was needed, huh? In any case, do, do your best. After all, I¡¯m supporting you. In fact, I¡¯ll go there today myself to try out your store.¡± [Poline]

    ¡°Thank you very much. Then, I¡¯ll be heading off to work.¡± [Ryouma]

    As Ryouma said goodbye, he left the store and went to the guild. When he got there, someone immediately called out to him.

    ¡°Ryouma, will yourundromat be opening soon?¡± [Adventurer]

    ¡°When will it be opening?¡± [Adventurer]

    ¡°It would be nice if it opened up soon~¡± [Adventurer]

    These are people that Ryouma got to know in the carriage from the abandoned mine monster subjugation request. Ever since then, the people Ryouma talked to outside of Jeff¡¯s group had increased. It would appear that these guys are also waiting for Ryouma¡¯sundromat to open.

    ¡°Actually, Laundry Agency Bamboo Forest is already open starting today.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Really!?¡± [Adventurer]

    ¡°Yes. There¡¯s also a service targeted towards adventurers that will clean armor and weapons, so please, do try it out.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Alright! When I go home today, I¡¯m definitely going!¡± [Adventurer]

    In order to announce it, I purposely spoke about the store being opened as well as its location in a loud voice. After this I¡¯ll be going to the abandoned mine to make some rounds. So with that in mind, I also epted an herb collection request. Like this, I¡¯ll be able to collect the herbs while I go around the abandoned mine.

    Honestly, even if you tell me to leave the store in your hands, it is the store¡¯s first day, so I¡¯d like to get my rounds over with quickly and go back.

    When I got back to the store, what waited for me there was a huge crowd. Even though it¡¯s the store¡¯s first day, there¡¯re already likee 20 people waiting outside!?

    I hurriedly went inside the store.

    ¡°We¨C ... ah, boss!¡± [Ka]

    ¡°Ka-san, how¡¯re things?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I¡¯m so happy I could scream!¡± [Ka]

    ¡°Boss! Even the neighboring aunties came over to have their clothes washed!¡± [Karma]

    Said Karma-san who came out while he was carryingundries. At any rate, we have to somehow get rid of this crowd!

    ¡°I¡¯ll also help out. You two deal with the reception, I¡¯ll take care of carrying theundry!¡± [Ryouma]

    After I said that, I did nothing else but carry theundry and serve the customers.

    But even though I kept doing that, people still kepting. What¡¯s going on!?

    In the end, the endless human wave only ended after 3 o¡¯clock in the afternoon. While you can¡¯t call this ¡®many¡¯ anymore, I still needed to exin to them how things work ed one by one, and so it still took time.

    Anyway, it would seem that this store¡¯s pricing is really too cheap. Because of that I was asked things like, ¡°Will you really wash our clothes at this price?¡± or ¡°You aren¡¯t going to suddenly demand more money from us after, right?¡± It was quite troublesome, because there were people that just couldn¡¯t understand. At some point, because of all the people gathered, even the town¡¯s guards who were on patrol stopped by.

    However, the guards stopping by was unexpectedly a godsend. When they stopped by the store, the guard¡¯s leader heard about it. Because of that he actually went, to get the group option for 35 people and even bought 2 bags with him.

    It seems that they were hiring someone to wash theirundry for them, but because of the public office¡¯s cost cutting, they became unable to do that anymore.

    Then, while he said that it would have been fine if only the sry wasn¡¯t cut, he let out a little more of hisints towards the public office and then said that he¡¯lle again. Am I alreadynding big contracts on the store¡¯s first day?

    But the store opens from 8 o¡¯clock in the morning, so we spent around 3 minutes per person, right? Also, I don¡¯t know at what point in time people started toe, but the twins probably worked without having lunch until 7 o¡¯clock.

    ... Isn¡¯t this really bad? I may be fine, but these 2 are... If I leave it like this, I¡¯ll be exploiting my employees! I need to avoid that no matter what!! I swear to my previous life!

    ¡°Good work today, Karma-san, Ka-san.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Thanks for today, boss.¡± [Ka]

    ¡°There were so many people today.¡± [Karma]

    ¡°Right, though I do wonder if it¡¯s ok for there to be a sudden influx of customers.¡± [Ka]

    ¡°I believe it¡¯ll be better for the customers to increase quickly. But in order to be able to alternately take rest, we need four to six people. Even though we also had to exin to the customers how the store worked today, by looking at the reactions of the customers, it can be said that even if we were to focus solely on the work without the exnations, the number of people would be still be insufficient.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°The customers seemed like they were satisfied with the speed and the result, so the customers will probably increase again tomorrow. By taking applications at the guild, it should be possible to get some help quickly.¡±[Ka]

    ¡°I see... when employing, how much should I put the sry at?¡¯ [Ryouma]

    ¡°120~150 suits in a day should be enough. With that much it¡¯ll be enough for one to live on normally, moreover it should also be possible to save up. And because this is exceptional for a starting sry, we should also be able to gather people quickly.¡± [Ka]

    ¡°Then in that case, I¡¯ll be going to the guild now. The faster the better.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Please take care!¡± [Karma & Ka]

    I quickly went out the store. When I got out, there were four people nearby who had plenty of luggage with them. They¡¯re from the neighboring house and everyone seems to be hugging a huge bag.

    ¡°Oh, Ryouma-kun¡± [Poline]

    ¡°Poline-san, Reni, Rick, and even Zeke. What is that you¡¯re carrying?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°We thought of having these washed. You see, our house is a butcher, so we have quite a number of clothes that have been stained with blood.¡± [Zeke]

    The one who said that was Zeke, Poline-san¡¯s husband. Zeke has a butcher just right next to Poline-san¡¯s flower shop. The meat I bought for the celebration of the store also came from Zeke¡¯s store.

    When you think of a butcher for a husband, in anime, you¡¯d normally imagine a big muscr man. But this guy is the exact opposite. His height isn¡¯t bad, but his body is thin. Extremely thin. He looks like an unhealthy guy who¡¯d topple down if the wind were to blow against him.

    ¡°I heard from the adventurers that if I bring these clothes to your store we¡¯d be able to get rid of the blood.¡± [Zeke]

    ¡°So we decided to bring out the clothes that we were nning to just buy recements for.¡± [Poline]

    ¡°Thank you very much. I¡¯m sorry for this abrupt question, but do you have employees hired by any chance?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°If you include me, there¡¯s 10 of us.¡± [Zeke]

    ¡°In that case, there¡¯s a special option for 7 people above, so I highly rmend you take advantage of it. A bag for 14 people¡¯s worth of clothes will cost you only 1 medium copper coin and 8 small copper coins, much cheaper than the individual bags.¡±

    ¡°Really!? That¡¯s a pretty good deal.¡± [Poline]

    ¡°Then in that case we¡¯ll take that.¡± [Zeke]

    While I was doing some sales talk, Rick talked to me.

    ¡°Hey, Ryouma. What are you doing? Skipping on work?¡± [Rick]

    ¡°Ha ha ha, I guess it can¡¯t be helped if it looks like that. But, I¡¯m not. I¡¯m heading to the merchant guild.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Really?¡± [Reni]

    The one who asked that was Reni.

    ¡°The store became a lot more popr than I¡¯d expected, and so if we were to continue like this, we wouldn¡¯t have enough people.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°No way!? It¡¯s the first day, you know!?¡± [Reni]

    ¡°Well I did do some advertising, but I honestly still didn¡¯t expect this much toe. So I¡¯m going to the guild now to get some extra helping hands quick.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I¡¯m shocked. That many people actually came?¡± [Poline]

    ¡°Yes, in fact the two people I¡¯ve hired have been working the entire day for 7 hours without rest.¡± [Ryouma]

    After I talked with those four, I left them and went to visit the merchant guild. When I got there, I was brought to the reception room again, and the guild master came to meet me.

    ¡°Today¡¯s the store¡¯s opening, but... is there some sort of problem?¡± [Gris]

    ¡°Yes, it was a lot more popr than expected. Thanks to that I need to hire some more people.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°On the first day? Well I¡¯m beat, even I couldn¡¯t have anticipated this... So you came here to get some helping hands, huh? In that case, I¡¯ll go gather some guys who can immediately work starting tomorrow. Once I do, you choose who you want.¡± [Gris]

    After that, until the people have been gathered in the guild¡¯s meeting room, I was told to wait at the reception room. When the people have finally been gathered, they contacted me, and I went to the meeting room. When I got there, there were 30 people. Some were old, some female, and some male, there were all sorts.

    They looked at me and appraised me as an employer. Then after a while, they made a face as if they had seemingly lost interest, and turned their gaze away from me.

    Well it can¡¯t be helped because I¡¯m in an 11 year old kid¡¯s body after all... There are definitely people who wouldn¡¯t want to work under me, right? Well, there¡¯s nothing that I don¡¯t understand here.

    ¡°Everyone here can do basic calction. Any one of these guys are able to work at your store immediately.¡± [Gris]

    ¡°Got it. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you all, I am the manager of the store, Laundry Agency Bamboo Forest, Ryouma Takebayashi. Thank you for gathering here today, despite your tight schedules.¡± [Ryouma]

    When I said that, the people around made amotion. After listening to their whispering voices, it would appear that they didn¡¯t think I would be their employer and had just assumed I was apdog or something.

    Turns out, they actually weren¡¯t evaluating me a while ago.

    After my greeting, the tension in the room had clearly gone down. I ignored that and asked a question.

    ¡°Umm... Then I¡¯d like to ask a question first. Amongst the people in this room, is there anyone who has something against working at my store?¡± [Ryouma]

    At that question, several objections were raised. They were mainly the younger ones, though.

    Even though I¡¯m shorthanded, I have no interest in picking up people who don¡¯t want an 11 year old kid as their boss, or people who will work unwillingly. Because of this, it¡¯s better for me to talk about the sry,st. I¡¯d be troubled if people just crowded over me just because the sry was high. There¡¯s also a lot of them, so I guess I might as well reduce them.

    The people who weren¡¯t satisfied left. I told those kind of people that I won¡¯t pressure them if they don¡¯t want to work, and then had them leave the room.

    24 out of the 30 people here, ended up leaving the room. The remaining ones were just 6. Well it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t understand why those guys left... in any case I first give my thanks to the people who¡¯ve decided to stay here.

    ¡°Then, to the six remaining here, I¡¯ll have you talk as someone who is interested in working at my store. But before that, for telling me that you don¡¯t mind working even for a child like me, I give you all my sincerest thanks.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that, I bowed my head once. Then I began to talk.

    ¡°Going to the main point. My store, Bamboo Forest, is currently hiring people who can serve customers and carry some things. But even though I say ¡®carry¡¯, it really only involves just clothes, so even girls can do it. However, there is one point that you need to take note of. I am not only a shopkeeper, but also a ve magic user. Because of that, there are slimes in my shop, which I am using as helping hands.¡± [Ryouma]

    At those words, the remaining 6 were surprised. Hearing about being a ve magic user seemed to be normal to them, but it would appear that hadn¡¯t thought of slimes being used to help out.

    ¡°As such, people who are afraid of slimes, or people who do not like slimes will find it difficult to work in my store. Hence, I would like to know if there is any among you who would find this to be a problem.¡± [Ryouma]

    When I said that, one girl raised her hand up.

    ¡°What is it?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Are you using that slime because youck people? Or will you be using that slime even after you have enough people?¡± [Girl]

    ¡°I will still use it, even with sufficient hands. If I say something like this, there are probably some of you who wouldn¡¯t like it, but I¡¯d like you all to treat the slimes as your coworkers.¡± [Ryouma]

    When I said that, the girl along with 3 others, refused to work with the slimes and left the room. With this, the only ones left in the room, are the middle aged man and the young woman.

    Eh? I¡¯m only going to be interviewing these two?

    They just simply gathered people who could immediately work, so it¡¯s not like they gathered people who would want to work at my store... but still, this is quite shocking! ... Well whatever, I wonder how these 2 remaining ones will go.

 Volume 2 - 13

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Volume 2 Chapter 13

    I spoke to thest two.

    ¡°Since the both of you have chosen to stay, then I guess you¡¯re both alright with slimes.¡± [Ryouma]

    The two responded by slightly nodding their heads.

    ¡°First, I¡¯d like you both to introduce yourselves. Also, if there are any kind of conditions you wish to have in your contract, then please, do mention it. Let¡¯s start with the man, first.¡± [Ryouma]

    I first called out to the guy on the right. I¡¯ll also have the girl talkter... but honestly there¡¯s something quite concerning about these two. First, their attire. The clothes they¡¯re wearing are quite different from what people generally wear. Those are the kind you¡¯d see in a Chinese movie. And on top of that, that cane the guy is holding, and that girl¡¯s hair ornament...

    While I was observing the two, the man spoke.

    ¡°My name is Fei. And this is my daughter, Li Ling. We¡¯d be d if you could hire the both of us.¡± [Fei]

    Wow! They even talk like the Chinese flicks! And to think that they¡¯re actually father and daughter...

    ¡°You guys are rtives?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°She doesn¡¯t look like me, right? It¡¯s because she takes after her mother. Also, there¡¯s something I need to tell you.¡± [Fei]

    As he said that, he showed me his right leg. On that right leg, there was a brace affixed to it.

    ¡°I¡¯m a merchant from a country called Gilmar. We ran away from the country because of the war. And ever since we got here, we¡¯ve had nothing but bad luck as we had our money stolen time and time again.

    Since we didn¡¯t have any money at the start, I thought of making even a little by mining. But then the cave copsed, and now my right leg¡¯s broken. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t have any money to get it healed with magic, so it¡¯s going to take time to heal. Can I still be hired even with this injury?¡± [Fei]

    A broken bone, huh? If I remember right, you can heal that with several casts of ¡®High Heal¡¯, or alternatively, one cast of a ¡®Mega Heal¡¯. I can¡¯t use either, but my slime can. Though then again, even if I don¡¯t heal him and have him work as a receptionist for the meantime, there won¡¯t be any problem.

    ¡°You can work as a receptionist for the mean time, so there won¡¯t be any problem in regards to your leg.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Really?¡± [Fei]

    ¡°Working as a receptionist is also something admirable. As long as you are able to interact well with the customers, there won¡¯t be any problems. As for the sry, is there anything you have in mind?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°None. As long as I can bepensated enough to live, then it¡¯s fine.¡± [Fei]

    ¡°I see. Then, next, is the young miss... Li Ling-san, right? Is there anything you¡¯re hoping for?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I¡¯m the same with my dad. The only thing I¡¯m hoping for is to be able to work alongside my dad, and make enough to live on. Also, if you could introduce us somewhere cheap to stay, then we¡¯d be grateful. The ce we¡¯re staying at right now is the guild¡¯s temporary lodging. Once we find a job, we won¡¯t be able to stay there anymore.¡± [Li Ling]

    ¡°Since I can¡¯t get any job because of my leg, my daughter is doing some odd jobs to get us by. But with only that, we¡¯re only able to barely hang on. Actually, we barely have anything left. So as long as it¡¯s a ce we can live at cheaply, then we won¡¯t have anyints.¡± [Fei]

    Live-in, huh? Well the employee lodging house I made is free anyway. As for the sry, they did say it¡¯s fine even if it¡¯s cheap, so I guess the sry range I had already decided before will do just fine.

    Besides, everyone else aside from these two had already left. And also, I do need some extra helping hands immediately, and the job at my store isn¡¯t difficult either. I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll have any problems with the job.

    Moreover, although these two seem to be hiding it, they¡¯re actually quite strong. With that much strength, I can even have them work as guards for the store.

    ¡°In that case, there¡¯re rooms for employees to stay at, at the second floor of the store. Would you be fine staying over there?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Really!?¡± [Fei]

    There¡¯s still one more thing left though. Something I need to know no matter what.

    Because I believe these two aren¡¯t the type to make an honest living.

    In this world there¡¯s nothing unusual about being hired as a guard and killing a few. In fact, I myself have killed 30 bandits. But in these people¡¯s case, the number isn¡¯t something like that. It¡¯s my first time feeling something like this. Is this what they mean when they say something reeks of blood? Forget Japan, ever sinceing into this world, I¡¯ve never felt anything like this.

    ... In the unlikely case where we end up fighting. If it¡¯s just me, I might still be fine. But if I have to protect the guild master while fighting, then things might get a bit rough.

    ¡°There¡¯s onest thing I want to know, but.... Before that, guild master.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°What?¡± [Gris]

    ¡°My deepest apologies, but may I ask the guild master to leave the room for a moment? There¡¯s something I need to discuss regarding the store.¡± [Ryouma]

    I said it lightly, but honestly speaking, I want her to leave. I think I was able to get the message across, but...

    ¡°Why are you chasing me out? If there¡¯s something up, then just say it.¡± [Gris]

    Looks like she ended up doing the opposite, and asked me about my motive instead.

    ¡°It concerns the store¡¯s secret.¡± [Ryouma]

    While not arousing suspicion from Fei and Li Ling, I try to get the guild master out.

    But when I tried to do that, I noticed Fei-san move. I guess he noticed... I¡¯m bad at talking secretly, so it would have been great if it worked. But, it¡¯s not like I expected anything anyway... I guess it can¡¯t be helped.

    The tension in the room got worse.

    ¡°Guild master. It¡¯s fine. It would appear the shopkeeper¡¯s already noticed.¡± [Fei]

    When he said that, I felt that something was off. What¡¯s going on?

    ¡°Shopkeeper, exactly who are you? We may be former killers, but we have no ill will against you or the guild master.¡± [Fei]

    It¡¯s true that I didn¡¯t feel any intent to fight... but did the guild master know about them?

    ¡°Guild master, you knew?¡± [Ryouma]

    When I said that, the guild master breathed out a sigh, then said this.

    ¡°Of course I knew. I don¡¯t know about others, but before I introduce someone to a job, especially those from other countries, I make sure to properly check them. After all, it¡¯d be bad if I introduced a spy, right?

    Don¡¯t worry, these two really did desperately run away from their country. Still though, you did pretty well figuring them out.¡± [Gris]

    ¡°We even went so far as to disguise ourselves as normal people...¡± [Li Ling]

    ¡°The only ones who¡¯ve managed to figure us out until now are you two. Since you were able to figure us out, you¡¯re definitely not normal. It¡¯s quite curious.¡± [Fei]

    ¡°I don¡¯t have the same insight the guild master possesses, but I¡¯ve been studying martial arts for a long time. Because of that I can tell whether someone is strong or weak. Also...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Also?¡± [Fei]

    ¡°I was quite concerned about the hidden weapons you have with you.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Fei! Li Ling! You two actually brought something like that!?¡± [Gris]

    ¡°Aiya... you noticed even that?¡± [Li Ling]

    ¡°It¡¯s because a long time ago, things regarding hidden weapons were driven into me, plenty. In this world the scariest living things are humans. They use their heads, trick people, and make others let their guard down. And the instrument used to follow that through are hidden weapons. So in order to protect myself, I studied them.¡± [Ryouma]

    This is something rted to my father. But now that I think about it, it is something nostalgic.

    ¡°I was hit by those plenty. During a disagreement in the house for one, or during my day-to-day life for another.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Exactly how have you been living until now?¡± [Gris]

    ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be someone like us though. You¡¯re aura is different.¡± [Li Ling]

    ¡°You¡¯re close, but you¡¯re not. Your aura is like that of someone who only learned the techniques without using them.¡± [Fei]

    They can actually understand my aura to that extent? They¡¯re amazing... these guys.

    ¡°True, I did learn a lot of techniques meant for actualbat from my master. However, I was only taught how to use it, and was forbidden from actually using it. I¡¯ve only started using my abilities 3 years ago. And my opponents were nothing but bandits.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s the difference in age. We killed bandits who disobeyed thew and traitors back in our country. There was plenty of fighting back in our country and the public order was bad. If we didn¡¯t kill, we wouldn¡¯t have been able to protect ourselves. What we told you a while ago wasn¡¯t a lie. We¡¯re your usual hardworking merchants.¡± [Fei]

    ¡°The master we were serving lost in the war, and our country as well as our work lost its meaning. And then, we came to this country. We haven¡¯t done any job worth boasting. But even then, will you still employ us?¡± [Li Ling]

    ¡°The guild master acknowledges you guys, so it¡¯s fine as long as you guys work normally.¡± [Ryouma]

    I won¡¯t lose out on anything as long as they work. And besides, I don¡¯t have any intention of pursing matters of the past.

    ¡°Really? I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d actually hire us even after finding out.¡± [Fei]

    ¡°We even prepared to run away.¡± [Li Ling]

    ¡°Please don¡¯t, if you do, it¡¯ll be troublesome. I¡¯m in need of hands right now... and besides, what¡¯s important is the ¡®now¡¯, so I don¡¯t have any problem with your past. Please doe and work for me at my store. Also, would it be alright if I also ask you to work as bodyguards when needed?¡± [Ryouma]

    I doubt there¡¯d be any problem when even the guild master left them alone, despite knowing their situation. After all, the guild master¡¯s insight is greater than mine.

    In fact, I feel like she can actually see through the fact that I¡¯m actually a 40 year old uncle... I do hope it¡¯s just my imagination.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll work properly¡± [Fei]

    ¡°Just leave the bodyguard duty to me.¡± [Li Ling]

    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll officially hire you two. It¡¯ll be a pleasure working with you two from now on.¡± [Ryouma]

    We all bowed our heads. Afterwards, the guild master spoke.

    ¡°You done? If so, then go. I¡¯ve already had a carriage prepared.¡± [Gris]

    ¡°Thank you very much, guild master.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, don¡¯t¡¯ mind something like this. Fei, Li Ling, do a good job, ok? After all, this kid¡¯s store has a bright future ahead of it. And next time, don¡¯t bring hidden weapons with you!¡± [Gris]

    ¡°If I don¡¯t bring them with me, I won¡¯t be able to calm down.¡± [Fei & Li Ling]

    ¡°How long are you nning to act like assassins!? Aren¡¯t you guys, merchants right now!? ... Although they¡¯re like this, they¡¯re not bad people. They won¡¯tmit any crimes. Please take care of them.¡± [Gris]

    ¡°Understood.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Take this with you too. It¡¯s their resume. Show it to those two from Serge¡¯s, ok?¡± [Gris]

    ¡°Right... wait a moment, shouldn¡¯t you have given this to me right from the start?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Hee hee hee, I wanted to see how good your eyes were. Everyone else pretty much left, but these two are the prized catch. They can get the job done. Also your insight isn¡¯t bad. It¡¯s not a merchant¡¯s insight though. Well, do your best, ok?¡± [Gris]

    ¡®Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    I left the guild with Fei-san and Li Ling-san, and rode back to the store, on the carriage the guild master had prepared.

    When we got back to the store, we were greeted by a huge crowd of customers and two busy twins.

    ¡°Wee home, boss!¡± [Karma & Ka]

    ¡°There¡¯s so many...¡± [Li Ling]

    ¡°This is your store? It¡¯s quite popr, huh?¡± [Fei]

    ¡°I¡¯m going. Karma-san, Ka-san, please receive the customers.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Boss, I¡¯ll work too. If it¡¯s carrying stuff, I can do it.¡± [Li Ling]

    ¡°Me too, if it¡¯sundry then I can also carry some.¡± [Fei]

    They offered to help, themselves, so I didn¡¯t hold back and took their offer. Fei-san appears to specialize at reception, but it seems he can also work to some extent.

    At any rate, like this, we¡¯ll be able to get through the evening rush.

    ... After a long struggle, we finally managed to reach the store¡¯s closing hour. We put up a note saying we¡¯re closed, and then closed the door.

    ¡°Fuu... Good job today, everyone!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Thank you for your efforts!¡± [Everyone else]

    ¡°Ryouma-sama, these two are the new hires, right?¡± [Ka]

    ¡°Yes, the man is Fei-san, and the woman is Li Ling.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I¡¯m Fei. My pleasure to work with you.¡± [Fei]

    ¡°Li Ling, nice to meet you.¡± [Li Ling]

    ¡°I am Karma Norad.¡± [Karma]

    ¡°I am Ka Norad. It¡¯s our pleasure as well.¡± [Ka]

    ¡°I actually nned to have them start tomorrow, but they somehow ended up working today.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°But of course. After all, you¡¯re allowing us to work here as live-ins.¡± [Fei]

    ¡°It¡¯s only a given for us to help out when it¡¯s busy, right? But that aside, there¡¯s something I wanted to ask.¡± [Li Ling]

    ¡°What is it?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°We¡¯ve been carryingundry, but when does it get washed? We just take theundry, then toss it into the next room. Afterwards, we just get it back from the slimes.¡± [Li Ling]

    ¡°Now that you mention it, I haven¡¯t exined to you how the store works, have I?¡± [Ryouma]

    I took out a cleaner slime and a goblin¡¯s loin cloth, and presented my usual exnation. When I did so, the two understood the reason why the guild master mentioned that my store had a good future. And after I finally told them, that today was the store¡¯s first day, they were shocked.

    For so many people toe on the first day... in my previous life, this much would be on the level of a pachinko parlor, huh? Anyway, it seems that in this world, a store being this popr on the first day is extremely rare. Is it because they don¡¯t advertise?

    Well whatever, I¡¯ve finallypleted the first stage of the store. I guess, I¡®ll go heal Fei-san¡¯s leg now.

    I called Fei-san and Li Ling-san over to the employee lounge. I had them sit there, and told them to wait, while I went out to get the heal slimes. When I came back I had two heal slimes with me.

    When I told them that the heal slimes were going to use ¡®High Heal¡¯ to heal Fei-san, they were shocked. But nevertheless they gave their thanks for being able to receive treatment.

    After the heal slimes healed Fei-san, his leg was fully healed. It took 6 times all in all, with each slime healing 3 times because it was a bone fracture, but the slimes still managed to heal him with ¡®High Heal¡¯.

    ¡°You saved me. I am truly grateful.¡± [Fei]

    ¡°It costs a lot of money to be healed by magic, you know? Is it really ok to receive it for free?¡± [Li Ling]

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. After all, it¡¯s the boss¡¯ responsibility to make sure that his employees are able to workfortably. Also, the slimes did it, so it didn¡¯t cost me anything. Like this, I think it¡¯s fine to give it for free.¡± [Ryouma]

    Looks like there¡¯s someone in the town who can heal with healing magic, but because of the skill and magic power required, the cost is quite high.

    So since it would have been expensive to receive healing magic, Fei-san decided to work at the guild, doing odd jobs, while waiting for his body to heal without relying on magic.

    ¡°It would have been great if we were able to bring more money with us, but when we were running away, we ended up using our money as bribe to cross the border.¡± [Fei]

    ¡°Is that why you have no money?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°The guards of our country are greedy. It doesn¡¯t matter whether its crime or running away. As long as you bring out money, they¡¯ll look the other way like it¡¯s perfectly normal. But if you don¡¯t have any, they¡¯ll catch you and bring you back to get some reward.

    That¡¯s why we couldn¡¯t afford to be stingy. If we did, and the reward for us was higher. Then they¡¯ll just arrest us instead.¡± [Fei]

    ¡°The jobs we did were for the country... so if our identities were leaked out, the reward for us would end up higher than normal people. But there are also doubtful people who catch normal people and interrogate them. The people running away from our country usually use up their money there. After all, there¡¯s no point in being stingy when ites to your life.¡± [Li Ling]

    That ¡®Gilmar¡¯ country sounds dangerous... And she also mentioned that there¡¯s plenty of fighting. Is the country crumbling?

    After we talked a bit, I assigned Fei-san and Li Ling-san their own rooms. Then, I had them put their belongings in order.

    After that I went to check today¡¯s profit from Karm-san. Today we got a total of 791 copper coin and 8 small copper coins, totaling to 7918 suits. The 18 suits came from Poline-san, who went for the option targeted at groups with more than 7 people. But as for the others, they came here to try out the store and had only bought the individual bags. They looked happy after trying out the store, so I guess they¡¯ll end up bing regr customers.

    As for Karma-san and Ka-san, they too were surprised by the store¡¯s poprity and were shocked to see the profit for the day. After I asked them about it, it turns out that amongst stores without nobles for its customers, a medium sized store would make 4000 suits in a day.

    Even if you deduct the expenses from the profit, the earning for today¡¯s opening day still trumps it. Seeing that, they couldn¡¯t help but be shocked.

    ¡°This is amazing!¡± [Karma]

    ¡°If it¡¯s like this, then very soon, the store will be able to make profitsparable to arge store without noble customers!¡± [Ka]

    ¡°How much does that kind of store make?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°20,000 suits. As a rule, anything more than that won¡¯t be mentioned. If one has nobles as a customer, then one¡¯s profit will greatly increase. Although it¡¯s quite expensive, if one is able to sell luxurious goods, then it¡¯s possible to make a lot.¡± [Ka]

    ¡°Well in my case, I¡¯ve got nothing to do with nobles, but if I¡¯m able to make 2.5 times today¡¯s ie, then it should be possible to be on the same level as arge store.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°We made this much today, so it should be possible to reach that goal within a month. We also still haven¡¯t received the portion from the guild. If we include them, our customers will greatly increase.¡± [Ka]

    ¡°Perhaps, there might even be a day where our profit for a day will reach 1 medium gold coin.¡± [Karma]

    ¡°Ha ha ha, no way.¡± [Ryouma]

    When you say 1 medium gold coin, that¡¯s 50,000 suits. There¡¯s no way that could possibly happen.

    ¡°It¡¯s possible.¡± [Karma & Ka]

    Eh, really?

    ¡°This town is a mining town. Because of that, there are plenty of miners and people who deal with iron. Although, the number has decreased substantially because of a big mine being abandoned, there¡¯re still at least 10,000 people, you know?¡± [Karma]

    ¡°Moreover, people won¡¯te and buy just one bag. While I think it may be difficult to continuously go over a medium gold coin, it should be possible in cases where the adventurer¡¯s guild has just finished a big request.¡± [Ka]

    ¡°I see...¡± [Ryouma]

    It might be possible once.

    ¡°Also, if Ryouma-sama were to create another branch in a different town, it wouldn¡¯t be hard to go beyond a medium gold coin every day.¡± [Karma]

    ¡°We¡¯re already talking about branch stores? That¡¯s quick.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That may be so, but it¡¯s not wrong to think ahead.¡± [Karma]

    ¡°As long as you have some able and trustworthy hands, then you should consider it.¡± [Ka]

    Certainly, even though today¡¯s the first day, we made quite a profit. I¡¯ll take note of it. But for now I think I should look at the present.

    ¡°Ah, I forgot about it, but here. It¡¯s the resume of the two I¡¯d just hired.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°We¡¯ll examine it.¡± [Karma & Ka]

    The twins began to read the resume I handed to them.

    ¡°Although they said that they¡¯re ok with a low sry, please pay them 150 suits daily.¡± [Ryouma]

    I did also ask them to double as bodyguards. So it should be fine to give them the highest pay of my anticipated price range.

    ¡°Understood.¡± [Karma & Ka]

    After that, I bid goodbye to the four, and then went back to the lodging.

    When I got back, I reported the earnings for the first day to Rheinhart-san and the others. When I did so, they were shocked.

 Volume 2 - 14

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Volume 2 Chapter 14

    TL Note: Might want to get some snacks before reading...

    Volume 2 Chapter 14

    The next day.

    I also went to the store today, early in the morning. After preparing the store, I went out to buy some ingredients to wee the new hires.

    When I got back to the store, quite a number of people had already starteding.

    ¡°This many, already?¡¯ [Ryouma]

    I opened the store at 8 o¡¯clock. After which I went out to buy some ingredients for about an hour. So right now the time is 9 o¡¯clock... It¡¯ll probably be a good idea to conduct a study on what the peak time is for the store.

    While I was thinking about that, I entered the store through the employee entrance.

    I also took a nce at the store¡¯s state, but there didn¡¯t seem to be any problems. Ka-san and Fei-san dealt with the reception, while Karma-san and Li Ling-san carried theundries.

    After I confirmed that everything was going fine, I went to the kitchen to prepare. The menu for today is pizza.

    I knead the dough, form it into a disk, and then spread meat sauce over it.

    By the way, this meat sauce I¡¯m using right now is the leftover meat sauce from the celebration 2 days ago. I had a refrigerator with me, so I was able to preserve it for at least 2 days. But just to be safe, I also checked the sauce with ¡®Identify¡¯. If Serge-san catches wind of my refrigerator, he¡¯ll probably make a fuss again. Or will Pioro-san make an even biggermotion, I wonder. Well, he did say he dealt with foodmodities...

    I put cheese and onions on top of the meat sauce covered dough, sprinkle some herbs here and there, and then I put the dough with its toppings into the kiln to bake it.

    While it was baking, I prepared some fruit juice and water, and a bunch of other stuff. When the pizza was done, I took it out from the kiln. I took my portion and ate it while I checked the taste. Yep, it¡¯s done.

    It¡¯s almost noon. It¡¯s probably better to have them eat early. So with that thought in mind, I leave the kitchen.

    ¡°Karma-san, Ka-san, lunch is ready. I¡¯ll help out, so please alternately take your lunch.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Thank you very much¡± [Karma & Ka]

    After that, I substituted with Li Ling-san and Ka-san, and they took their lunch. When they came back, Fei-san and Karma-san went to have their meal. Like this, everyone was somehow able to have their lunch and get some rest.

    We were able to get through the day, but if this keeps on, then I won¡¯t be able to work as an adventurer.

    Today¡¯s workload is betterpared to yesterday. But then again, yesterday¡¯s workload was at the point where someone could faint from overwork. So even though I say it got better, it really only got to the point where the workers can work normally. And if I left these guys, they¡¯ll probably find it difficult.

    Moreover, these guys don¡¯t have the luxury to cook their meal.

    ¡°Good job today!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Thank you for today!¡± [Karma, Ka, Fei, Li Ling]

    ¡°A lot of customer came again today. I wonder how our profits went this time.¡± {Ryouma}

    ¡°From my calctions, our earnings for today total to 11,877 suits.¡± [Karma]

    1.5 times yesterday¡¯s, huh? Not bad.

    ¡°Today¡¯s profit is quite good.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Rather than ¡®quite¡¯, I¡¯d say it¡¯s a huge sess.¡± [Fei]

    ¡°At the rate it¡¯s going, the customers will probably still increase.¡± [Li Ling]

    ¡°Yeah... it would probably be a good idea to get more hands If someone were to catch a cold or get injured right now, then then burden ced on everyone else will increase several folds.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°True, it would definitely be better to get more hands.¡± [Karma]

    ¡°When the customers increase, and in the instance where one of us bes unable to work, then there¡¯s a possibility that the store won¡¯t be able to maintain itself. So let¡¯s get some more people quickly. We just got some new ones yesterday, but it would help out a lot if you could get more from the guild again.¡± [Ka]

    ¡°Alright. Also, I was thinking of getting a cook for you guys. Can I get that from the guild as well?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°A cook? You could definitely hire one from the guild, but why would you want to hire a cook?¡± [Ka]

    ¡°Well since everyone has their hands full with work, there¡¯s no one who can go and make the meal. So I thought I¡¯d hire a cook to leave the cooking duty to.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That¡¯s certainly true, but that kind of stuff is something a servant does, you know?¡± [Ka]

    ¡°That may be true. But since you¡¯re eating anyway, wouldn¡¯t it be better to eat good food? That¡¯s what employee benefits are about, you know?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I agree, however, what¡¯s an employee benefit?¡± [Ka]

    ¡°Ah... it¡¯s a kind of philosophy that pursues the idea of having employees work happily in one¡¯s store.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I see. Certainly, Ryouma-sama does think a lot about our welfare.¡± [Ka]

    ¡°Not only did you give us a ce to stay, you even gave us a high sry. There¡¯s no other store that treats their employees this well, you know?¡± [Fei]

    ¡°The sry¡¯s good, the room is warm, and even the lunch was delicious. We already don¡¯t have any intentions of going to another store.¡± [Li Ling]

    ¡°I¡¯m happy to hear that. Well then, I¡¯ll leave everything to you guys, ok? I¡¯ll go to the guild to get some more hands now.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Take care!¡± [Karma, Ka, Fei, Li Ling]

    The four sent me off, as I left the store.

    When I got to the guild, I was again brought to the reception room. There, I told the guild master that I wanted to hire more people again. Hearing that, the guild master whispered an ¡°Oh?¡± as she began to observe me. Then she asked me about the profits for today and yesterday.

    When I told her about the store¡¯s profits, the guild masterughed grinningly. She called someone over and told him to gather some people. Naturally, the people today were different from yesterday¡¯s group. When I was asked how many I wanted to hire. I replied with 2 or 3 for now, plus a cook. Hearing about wanting a cook, naturally, the guild master couldn¡¯t help but be curious.

    After I exined, she understood. In this world, employee benefits aren¡¯t somethingmonly practiced. Because of that, what I¡¯m doing is a bit strange. Well, it¡¯s not bad though, right? Or at least that¡¯s what the guild master says.

    I got 4 people today. The three young girls who came from a poor vige to make money, Jeanne, Maria, and Fina. And Celma, who stopped being able to work as a cook after the owner of the inn closed the store Celma-san was working at, because of old age.

    These girls were rmended to me by the guild master, and after I confirmed their intentions, I employed them. Because of that, I was able to finish everything in less than 10 minutes. They all wanted to work as live-ins as well, so we had a carriage prepared, and then we went back to the store.

    Before leaving the guild, the guild master left me some words.

    ¡°Ryouma, at the rate you¡¯re going, you should think of starting up a branch or two in a different town. It¡¯s fine even if you do it immediately. But when you do, discuss it with me.¡± [Gris]

    I was taken aback when she said the same thing Karma-san and the others told me. At that, she lightly hit my back with her cane and yelled, ¡°Pull yourself together!¡± to encourage me.

    After that, when I got to the store with the new hires, Karma-san and the others were still at the store.

    ¡°Wee home, boss! [Karma & Ka]

    When they saw me, that¡¯s what they said. I told them that the four I had brought with me, also wanted to work as live-ins, so I brought them with me. Afterwards, I introduced them.

    Four dayster.

    Since I hired 4 new people, 4 days had passed. Nowadays, even if I don¡¯t work, the shop won¡¯t have any problems.

    The three girls worked hard, and Celma-san¡¯s cooking was good. The day after I hired them, I went to take a look, but everything seemed to be going well.

    The day before yesterday, I took some time to clean the wall outside, and trim thewn. And yesterday, I did my rounds around the abandoned mine.

    The store¡¯s only been open for around a week, but the days where the store¡¯s ie go over 10,000 suits continue. It¡¯s 100 times a normal person¡¯s daily expense. This is more than enough, right?

    Everyone also continues to do their job withoutining. Looks like I¡¯vepletely be unneeded. With this, I think I can back to working as an adventurer. But while I was thinking that, Serge-san told me toe over today.

    ¡°I¡¯ve made you wait.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ryouma-sama, thank you foring. Please, over here.¡± [Serge]

    ¡°Excuse me.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I¡¯m very sorry to have called you all of the sudden.¡± [Serge]

    ¡°No, please don¡¯t worry about it. After all, the store¡¯s been able to function with just my employees now. The people you sent over are also doing their best.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I see. I¡¯m relieved to know that they¡¯re working well.¡± [Serge]

    ¡°It seems I¡¯m always being taken care of by Serge-san.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s the same for me. Thanks to you, buying a lot of bags and daily necessities, I¡¯ve made quite a profit, myself.¡± [Serge]

    ¡°I¡¯m also grateful. Thanks to you I¡¯ve been able to continuously make over 15000 suits in these past 3 days. The store¡¯s doing quite well now.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I¡¯m quite surprised to hear that you¡¯re able to make that much of a profit. If that continues, the stores in that area won¡¯t be able to match you. Or rather, I guess they already can¡¯t match you.¡± [Serge]

    And then Serge-san took a breath, and then said this.

    ¡°On top of all that, I actually still have something profitable I wish to speak with you. This is really surprising.¡± [Serge]

    When I heard that, I tilted my head. Then Serge-san said this.

    ¡°Ryouma-sama, it¡¯s about the waterproof cloths.¡± [Serge]

    ¡°Oh...¡± [Ryouma]

    I¡¯vepletely forgotten about that...

    ¡°Are you aware that it¡¯s almost time for the Grell Frog Outbreak?¡¯ [Serge]

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve heard of it.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°The mud that causes that outbreak, releases a horrible smell. But because the Grell Frog¡¯s leather can be turned into armor, and its guts are good ingredients for medicines. There are plenty of adventurers who would go there to hunt them and sell the spoils for a high price. And so, I thought it would be a good opportunity to start selling the so called ¡®waders¡¯ you came up with along with the other water proof products... In line with that, I wanted to inquire regarding the production rate of the waterproof cloth.¡± [Serge]

    Umm... right now, I have 907 sticky slimes... but it also depends on the cloth.

    ¡°How long is one sheet of cloth before treating it?¡±

    ¡°The one we have prepared here, is 70m long per sheet.¡± If I take a contract for an amount I can¡¯t produce, we¡¯ll both end up troubled afterwords... If I give myself some margin for error, 10 slimes should be able to get a sheet finished in a day. Even if it is 20 slimes per sheet, 45 sheets should be possible..

    ¡°Then in that case, after having prepared the production, it should be possible to get 45~90 sheets finished in a day. But because it takes time to dry, it might be less.¡± [Ryouma]

    When I said that, Serge-san¡¯s countenance brightened.

    ¡°Actually, it would already have been enough to make 10 in a day. To be able to do more than that, I¡¯m very grateful. If that cloth is turned into rain gear, then it should sell quickly. When we run out of cloths at that time, the price will skyrocket.

    As long as the increase in price isn¡¯t too big, then it¡¯s all good. But if the price bes too high, problems can also ur. So, let¡¯s store up on waterproof cloths and store them in my storage and in your ¡®Dimension Home¡¯.¡±

    ¡°I understand. Should I start making it now?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes, please¡± [Serge]

    ¡°Then in that case, I¡¯d like to buy some cloth materials.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I¡¯ll prepare it for free. When youe with the waterproof cloth, I¡¯ll hand over the payment for the treatment. How much will the treatment be?¡± [Serge]

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to you. Please put a fair price for the waterproof treatment.¡± [Ryouma]

    When I said that, Serge-san chuckled.

    ¡°As a merchant you¡¯d normally try to get price that¡¯s beneficial for you. This way is very good for me, but now the discussion¡¯s turned an unexpected corner. Where will you be treating the cloths? If it¡¯s found out that you¡¯re the producer, things might getplicated. Do you know of a safe ce to treat the cloths? Otherwise, I can prepare one.¡± [Serge]

    ¡°I n to do it in the abandoned mine.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Certainly, people won¡¯t go there. But is it alright?¡± [Serge]

    ¡°Yes. I can make a workshop there with my earth magic, people also won¡¯te, and because I can loiter there under the pretext of being the person responsible for it, I won¡¯t appear suspicious either.¡± [Ryouma]

    Like this, the discussion ended. And I received all of the cloths, 50 sheets all in all, that Serge-san has prepared in his store room. Afterwards, I leave the town and by using ¡®Warp¡¯ repetitively I headed towards the abandoned mine. After that, except for the cleaner slimes in the store, I had all my slimes do the rounds for the mine.

    After that, I entered the highest tunnel of the mine. In the deepest part of the tunnel, I used ¡®Create Block¡¯ and ¡°¡¯Pavement¡¯ to create a sturdy and wide room, as well as a hole for venttion. Moreover, I use the bricks the ¡®Create Block¡¯ produced and made several workbenches.

    The structure of the workbench is simple. I piled up bricks to support one end of the cloth and another for the other end. And on the highest brick, I used ¡®Break Rock¡¯ to dig a gutter.

    On that gutter, I fit a rod made out of stone with ¡®Rock¡¯ and ¡®Earth Needle¡¯. And then, after spreading the sticky slime¡¯s sticky liquid on the end of that rod, I finished my preparations.

    Next, I ordered the sticky slimes to cover the affixed cloth with sticky liquid. And just in case a bug or a cave bat were toe, I put up a barrier and told the slimes to be on guard.

    Today, I made 30 of those workbenches.

    Come to think of it, the slimes managed to learn staff techniques and spear techniques. When I remembered that, I cut a tree and dried it with alchemy. Using ¡®Circle Saw¡¯ and ¡®Polish¡¯, I created several rods that have been treated and padded spears. With this, I can begin the training for staff and spear techniques.

    After that, I practiced with the slimes.

    When practice ended, I had nothing left to do and was quite bored.

    Being bored with nothing to do, I decided to take a look at my status board.

    Oh? Looks like my Magic Power Recovery Rate UP levelled up from 1 to 3. Is it because I used a lot of magic power when I made the store? Moreover my ve Magic, Alchemy, Wind Magic, and Electric Magic, all levelled up by 1 as well. It¡¯s probably because I used it quite a lot. Speaking of which, Elia did say she wanted to see a doll I made. Should I make it now? But what should I make?

    I then killed time by making an inoffensive doll out of quicklime, and then coloring it with the art materials I got from Sebasu-san.

    But halfway through, I ended up a bit too caught up into it. And I almost kept going till it became dark. I immediately put a stop to what I¡¯m doing before I lose track of time. Even under normal situations, I¡¯m the type that easily forgets the time. All the more now that I¡¯m here in a ce where I can¡¯t tell the time of day.

    I quickly take the 30 sheets of water cloth and the doll. Then with ¡®Warp¡¯ I go back to the town.

    Before going back to the lodging, I stop by Serge-san¡¯s store, and drop off the 30 sheets of waterproof cloth I just finished.

    When I got back to the lodging, I immediately went over to Elia¡¯s room. Araune-san went out from inside and let me in.

    ¡°Wee, Ryouma-san.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°It¡¯s unusual for Ryouma-kun toe by himself to our room. Did something happen?¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°Nothing particrly big, but first there is something I want to talk regarding business. Today, I seeded in making 30 sheets of water proof cloth, and have already delivered them to Serge¡¯s store. I still have some more allowance, so the production rate will gradually increase from tomorrow onwards. As for how far I can go, I¡¯ll have to test it.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I see. That¡¯s good. There doesn¡¯t seem to be any problems with the production rate of the waterproof cloths. And the other thing you wanted to talk about?¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°That doll that Elia wanted to see. I finished making it while waiting for the cloths to dry.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Really? Please show me!¡± [Elia]

    As she said that, I took out several dolls from my ¡®Item Box¡¯.

    ¡°It¡¯s this.¡± [Ryouma]

    The thing I brought out had the difference between rock and wood, but it¡¯s definitely the world famous woodcraft bear. I added my own touch to it though, and reced the bear with the ck bear from the Forest of Gana in order to pass it off as something of this world.

    ¡°Oh? It¡¯s a ck bear ornament. There¡¯s this feeling that feels like it¡¯s catching fish.¡± [Rheinbach]

    Next, I brought out a few things I made on top of a pedestal I made while imaging the figure of a bottle cap. They were colored figurines of monsters like the cave bat, the cave mantis, and the small rat.

    ¡°Amazing... They¡¯re small, but it¡¯s as if they¡¯re the real thing!¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Last is this. The best dolls I made.¡± [Ryouma]

    What I brought out next were several normal human figurines. Only, the model of these figurines are the four members of the duke¡¯s household, Sebasu-san, and the two maids.

    ¡°This is me, right?¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°And this is me.¡± [Madam]

    ¡°I also have one!¡± [Elia]

    ¡°There¡¯s also one for me, Sebasu, Araune and Lilian.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°These are some truly borate dolls... I knew about Ryouma-sama¡¯s skill from seeing the god¡¯s statues, but as expected, Ryouma-sama¡¯s skill is truly amazing.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°I made them without having any models, so if you find them to your liking, then it¡¯s my honor.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ryouma-san, can I take this?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Of course. If you¡¯re pleased with them, then please.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Thank you!¡± [Elia]

    If she¡¯s this happy, then I guess it was worth it to make them. I wonder what I should make next...

    ¡°If there¡¯s another opportunity, I¡¯ll make you another one.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Thank you, Ryouma-san.¡± [Elia]

    After that, I chatted a bit with Rheinhart-san, then I went back to my room. When I got back, Sebasu-san said he¡¯d pay me 10 medium gold coins aspensation for the dolls, but because it was too much, I refused him once.

    To begin with, I used them to pass the time. Plus the materials were cheap. And more than anything, I can¡¯t ept 10 medium gold coins for something like this! In the end, it was decided that I¡¯ll take 2 medium gold coins, but is that really ok?

    As I was thinking that, Sebasu-san said this.

    ¡°There are plenty of nobles who want to have their own statue made and ced in the town or in their residence. Compared to when those people give out a request to make a statue, this amount of money can be considered loose change. If it¡¯s someone with Ryouma-sama¡¯s skill, then the client would naturally have noints.¡± [Sebasu]

    Seriously!?

    After that, I went back to my room and wondered what kind of statute I will make next while making the waterproof cloths tomorrow. While I was thinking that, I fell asleep.

 Volume 2 - 15

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Volume 2 Chapter 15

    TL Note: The part with Japanese characters, is basically just Ryouma saying one word in borrowed English, and another in Japanese.

    Volume 2 Chapter 15

    The next day.

    The first thing I did in the morning was to go the store. After I had confirmed that there were no problems in the store, I went to the abandoned mine.

    I started the production of the waterproof cloth again when I got to the abandoned mine, but thanks to that I¡¯m bored again. While I was thinking about what to do while waiting for the cloths to finishst night, I ended up falling asleep. Thanks to that I wasn¡¯t able toe up with anything. In my previous life, I¡¯d just read light novels or y some games. But there¡¯s nothing like that here.

    I have already finished treating all of the cloths I received. I finished 30 yesterday, so all that was left for today was 20. With that, I finished faster than yesterday... Now what...? I¡¯ve also already finished training the slimes...

    Because of that, I thought of turning the scavenger slimes into a King Scavenger Slime and try fighting it 1 on 1.

    This are the current skills of the Scavenger Slime:

    Skills:

    Disease Resist Lv7

    Poison Resist Lv7

    Eat Filth Lv8

    Cleaning Lv8

    Deodorization Lv8

    Deodorization Liquid Lv6

    Release Stench Lv8

    Return Nutrients Lv7

    Physical Attack Resistance Lv5

    Erge Lv5

    Compress Lv6

    Jump Lv3

    Overeating Lv4

    Taijutsu Lv2

    I wonder if it¡¯s because the scavenger slime also learned the physical attack resistance, that the king scavenger slime¡¯s physical attack resistance rose by a level. The Taijutsu of the scavenger slime is also only level 1. But after bing a king scavenger slime, it¡¯s be level 2.

    When youpare the king scavenger slime to an individual scavenger slime, the level of skills seem to increase wholly. While I don¡¯t have any proof for it, I guess something is added to the slimes¡¯ individual experience, causing the level to rise.

    By the way, I fought with the king scavenger slime, bare-handed. But because the effects of the physical attack resistance level 5 was quite high, my attacks barely had any effect. The entire body is stic, so when you hit it, the impact just slides off. So while its techniques are still amateurish, defense-wise, it¡¯s quite excellent.

    When I put some serious effort in the power I use, I was able to get a hit in. My power, ording to the status board, is B. It¡¯s at the level of a first-rate adventurer. So the slime¡¯s pretty good. Since, if I have to force my way in like this every time, it bes quite exhausting.

    Its weakness though, lies in itsck of offensive power. With ¡®Erge¡¯, the slime can increase its mass and pin down its opponents, but what about its physical strength? In regards to that, it has next to nothing. Putting it bluntly, its attacks have no power behind it at all.

    With only this, it can¡¯t be helped. So I taught it things like, stretching its body into a tentacle and using it as a whip to attack. Or using that tentacle to wrap around the opponents arm when the opponentes attacking and using ¡®Erge¡¯ to stick itself to the enemy. Or using its sticity while taking advantage of the opponent¡¯s energy to throw the opponent. And a bunch of other stuff.

    I also taught it a basic fighting tactic, where the King Scavenger Slime protects its body by parrying the attacks with its body. Then after using the opponent¡¯s strength to throw them off, pinning them down with its body after using erge.

    Doing all this took quite a bit of time, and yet the cloths are still not done, drying. It would be a good idea to try doing something else, but if I get overzealous, I¡¯ll lose track of time again. So I took a walk with my slimes instead.

    As I was about to go out after I had thought that. All of the sudden, one of my slimes started acting weird. I can understand to some extent the status of the slimes because of the contract, but I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on right now.

    What is going on?

    I quickly go over to the strange slime. The slime that had gotten weird, was the slime I caught for the metal slime evolution experiment! Its body continued to shiver, but it didn¡¯t seem like it was sick or anything. Then, in that case...

    ¡°No way. Could it actually be evolving?¡± [Ryouma]

    It¡¯s still far too early for its evolution, but aside from that, I can¡¯t think of any other reason for its behavior.

    I ended up shouting, ¡°It¡¯s evolving faster than I expected!¡± And at that moment, the slime suddenly stopped moving. And although it was miniscule, I felt the presence of magic power. The slime sucked in the magic power that leaked out. And then again, and again. It continued this behavior for dozens of times, and as it did so, its color changed. In the end, its color changed to a silvery-white color.

    Did it sessfully evolve? It seems to be fine and there are no abnormalities. Only, this isn¡¯t the color of a metal slime. The color of a metal slime is dark grey, yet this slime¡¯s color is like that of a lustrous silver. Realizing something was off, I quickly use ¡®Monster Identify¡¯ and look at its status. What I saw was...

    Iron Slime

    Skills

    Harden Lv3

    Physical Attack Resistance Lv2

    Jump Lv1

    Digestion Lv3

    Absorption Lv3

    Split Lv2

    ording to the information, its name is Iron Slime. The skillset is simr to that of the metal slime¡¯s, but its ¡®Harden¡¯ skill level is one level higher. Iron... huh? Is it because I fed it iron that it became like this?

    ¡°But the metal slime also eats iron, right?¡±

    They eat the same thing, so why did it turn out different?

    ¡°Iron(âŸ) is iron(¥¢¥¤¥¢¥ó)... then, metal(¥á¥¿¥ë) is... metal(½ðÊô)...!!¡± [Ryouma]

    As realization hit me, I promptly took out the stone I used as feed, and used ¡®Identify¡¯ on it.

    Building Stone (Red Soil)

    A lump of the soil thrown in the mines, and hardened with earth magic. Includes the following metal: Iron Oxide, Aluminum Oxide

    ¡°As expected. I had forgotten about it, but while the red soil may include iron oxide, some of it also includes aluminum oxide.¡± [Ryouma]

    A former kouhai of mine, from my construction job, told me about this before. That guy seemed like the young master of a good family, but for some reason he worked part-time at a construction job. Did his father make him work as a form of education?

    That¡¯s probably it. That guy was forced to work part-time, so since he wanted to y hooky, he stalled for time during breaktime by talking about various stuff. I thought he was just a hindrance to work, so I just generally ignored most of his mumbling... But who would¡¯ve thought that his knowledge would actually be useful here?

    ¡°Metal slimes didn¡¯t only eat iron, they also ate aluminum. In fact other metals may have also been mixed up with their food.¡± [Ryouma]

    I immediately extract the aluminum and iron from the brick, with my alchemy. And then, I called over the metal slime and the iron slime.

    What happened next, was that the iron slime only ate the iron. But the metal slime was able to eat both the iron and the aluminum.

    I call over the metal slime, and caress it.

    ¡°You were actually omnivorous when it came to metals? Iron slimes are iron, but I wonder what¡¯s going to happen to you. Will you turn to alloy, since youbined both iron and alloy? Hmm... I don¡¯t know much about it, but...¡± [Ryouma]

    I tried asking the metal slime, but naturally, it didn¡¯t answer.

    ¡°Well, in any case, I¡®vee to understand the evolution conditions. Oh, and speaking of which, it¡¯s my first time seeing a slime evolve, huh?¡± [Ryouma]

    Actually, this is my first time, seeing a slime evolve. I don¡¯t know why, but for some reason they all evolved while I was asleep. It may be true that as long as I give them enough food, they¡¯ll evolve within half a year. But I don¡¯t actually know the exact date of their evolution. And it¡¯s not like I could actually watch them all the time.

    But still, to think that they actually evolved by releasing and absorbing magic power... this... ah, no good, no good. If I start thinking about this now, I¡¯ll end up forgetting the time again. I have to do something else...

    ¡°Come to think of it, I wonder if I¡¯vee to understand more about ¡®Identify¡¯.¡±

    I don¡¯t know how the neutral magic, ¡®Identify¡¯, worked, but it felt kind of simr to how you¡¯d get information by searching on the web. When I ask, ¡°What is this?¡± vaguely, all it does is give out the name. Even if I ask for something more detailed, all it gives is a bunch of basic information.

    But, during the time when I was cleaning thetrine pits. When I used ¡®Identify¡¯ back then, the word ¡®sterilization¡¯ came out. And when I used ¡®Identify¡¯, the word ¡®pathogen¡¯ came out.

    That kind of knowledge doesn¡¯t exist in this world. So does that mean that the information that wille out, will change depending on the user¡¯s knowledge?

    When I tried it out several times. I came to understand that it showed me more detailed information, when I better visualized the specific things I wanted to know ording to my knowledge.

    For example, the weight of this stone, the percentage of its contents and their weight.

    Building Stone 503.9g (Red Soil)

    A lump of the soil thrown in the mines, and hardened with earth magic. Includes the following metal: Iron Oxide 4.2% 21.1638g, Aluminum Oxide 5.1% 25.6989g

    Look, it became this specific. By visualizing it, I was able to make it more specific. I can use this! ... Right?

    Although it¡¯s good that I¡¯m able to get more specific information now, it¡¯s not like I need it for something now... Or, I guess could gather the iron ingots I bring to Serge-san by grams.

    Or I could get the iron ingots that are circting in the market of this world, use ¡®Identify¡¯ on it, and then pattern my own iron ingots ording to it. Since I don¡¯t want my own iron ingots to get attention, there¡¯s some value in doing that. But there¡¯s really not a whole lot of application for this new ¡®Identify¡¯ right now... Besides, everything¡¯s been fine so far.

    After thatb while waiting for the waterproof cloths to finish drying, I made a bunch of 500g 80% ingots and aluminum ingots.

    And as soon as the cloths finished drying, I took everything and dropped them off at Serge¡¯s.

    After that, I took 300 sheets of cloth, and went back to the lodging. It was at an odd time when I got there, so Elia and the others were not yet home.

    So I decided to go the store. After all, it¡¯s already toote to get requests, so I thought I¡¯d take a look at the store.

    When I got to the store, there were plenty of people as usual. Actually, doesn¡¯t there seem to be more people than usual?

    I entered the store through the employee door, and then went to the lounge... but no one was there. Could it be, that there¡¯s so many people, that unless they all work, they can¡¯t make it?

    When I thought that, I went to the store, opening the doors one after another, as I briskly walked. When I got there, one of the three girls, Fina, was there.

    ¡°Boss, you came?¡± [Fina]

    ¡°Good work, today. I went to the employee lounge, but no one was there, so I thought you guys had your hands full.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°While we¡¯re not free, we¡¯re not that busy either. To say the least, there is quite a number of people. We¡¯ve started to understand when the peak time is, so in order to match that, we¡¯re all dealing with it.¡± [Fina]

    Looks like they¡¯ve gottenpletely used to the job while I wasn¡¯t here. I was worried, but it looks like I¡¯m not needed.

    While I was thinking that, I noticed.

    ¡°Ah...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± [Fina]

    ¡°Looks like the cleaner slimes are ready to split.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Eh?¡¯

    To the cleaner slimes, this job is basically eating. And since, they¡¯ve been eating a lot for a few days now, they¡¯ve reached a point where they can split again.

    ¡°The slimes doing theundry are going to increase. Since the preparations for that have already beenpleted, they¡¯ll increase a bit, and the efficiency of theundromat will rise.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Really!? That¡¯s amazing!¡± [Fina]

    ¡°Yep, slimes are amazing, you know? Well, don¡¯t mind me.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ok!¡± [Fina]

    As Fina-san said that, she took a nearbyundry and ran along.

    Let¡¯s do this!

    After that, I had the slimes split and contracted with them. Because of that, the cleaner slimes now total to 54. Even though cleaner slimes don¡¯t split much, there were 10 of them that split twice.

    As expected, by eating so much every day in a store like this, they¡¯re able to split quickly. Moreover, once I let the cleaner slimes split, their numbers will increase, and their work will be even faster, increasing the store¡¯s efficiency rate by folds. This rise in efficiency won¡¯t be put to waste.

    I¡¯m here too, so I decided to have the people that can receive the customers, receive them. Because of that, the ones who ended up working as receptionists are, Karma-san, Ka-san, Fei-san, Li Ling-san, Maria-san and Fina-san. While me and Jeanne-san carried theundries.

    Because of the rise in efficiency, and the increased number of receptionists, the transactions were able to flow smoother.

    After a while, the peak time subsided, and the employees were able to get some rest by alternating. In the meantime, I went around performing some maintenance on the store¡¯s surrounding.

    After that, we were able to safely close the store again.

 Volume 2 - 16

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Volume 2 Chapter 16

    TL Note: Here¡¯s your extra chapter guys. Special thanks to the anons for donating and making this chapter possible.

    Slight mistrantion at the end of thest chapter. Ryouma hasn¡¯t left the store yet.

    The new line for thest line in thest chapter, now reads as: ¡°After that, we were able to safely close the store again.¡±

    Volume 2 Chapter 16

    After closing the shop.

    After we closed the shop, I had the cleaner slimes do a simple sweep of the store, then had them drink water. Afterwards, Ka-san came to me to report the profit for the day. For some reason, the atmosphere feels different from the usual report...

    ¡°Boss, it¡¯s about today¡¯s earnings.¡± [Ka]

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are we in the red?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°No, we¡¯re not in a deficit. We¡¯re good.¡± [Ka]

    ¡°So I guess, we were able to make quite profit today as well, then.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s different from yesterday, Ryouma-sama. With just today alone, we were able to make 26,036 suits.¡± [Ka]

    26,036 suits!?

    ¡°Wait a moment, yesterday and the day before yesterday should have only been 16,000 suits, right? How did we suddenly add another 10,000 to that?¡± {Ryouma}

    ¡°This morning, when you left, we managed tond a big contract. Apparently, the ck smiths, and the boss of the carpenters heard about this store by word of mouth. The workers of the ironworks, too. In total, they bought 50 and 35 people¡¯s portion of bags. But that¡¯s not all, because word of the store has been spread, even the customers who are going for the small group option, has increased. And even the people whoe only for themselves have also increased. Lastly, the bags are also still being continually sold.¡± [Ka]

    ¡°Could you count the number of tes? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m doubting you or anything, I just want to confirm with my own eyes.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Of course. Please wait at the office, I¡¯ll bring it now.¡± [Ka]

    Being told that, I went to the office, took a chair, and waited there.

    ... Come to think of it, this is my first time using this room, huh? Well, I was always either serving customers, or in the employee lounge...

    While I was thinking that, Ka-san came with a piece of paper in her hands.

    ¡°This is the number of tes for the day.¡± [Ka-san]

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    I took the paper Ka-san brought, and looked at it.

    Umm...

    Service for individuals 10 suits/te; 998 tes; 9,980 suits

    Service for 14 people 18 suits/te; 152 tes; 2,736 suits

    Service for 35 people 40 suits/te; 55 tes; 2,200 suits

    Single¡¯s bag 20 suits/te; 159 tes; 3,180 suits

    Bag for 14 25 suits/te; 68 tes; 1,700 suits

    Bag for 35 30 suits/te; 50 tes; 1,500 suits

    Armor Laundry Service 15 suits/te; 316 tes; 4,740 suits

    Total 26,036 suits

    ¡°Certainly, it is 26,036 suits. I¡¯m speechless, to think that it would actually make this much... I¡¯m really shocked.¡± [Ryouma]

    Even if you deduct the sales of the bags, it¡¯s still around 20,000 suits. This too, is thanks to the cleaner slimes and to everyone.

    ¡°Speaking of which, what about the others?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°They¡¯re gathered at the employee lounge, and are confirming the earnings.¡± [Ka]

    ¡°Confirming the earnings?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Because the earnings for today have medium copper coins, and small copper coins mixed up, they are currently segregating those while calcting and confirming that the amount is correct.¡± [Ka]

    ¡°So it¡¯s something like that? In that case, let¡¯s go help out.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Please don¡¯t, that¡¯s servant work...¡± [Ka]

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine. Even if it¡¯s only in name, I am the boss of this store. I¡¯m also everyone¡¯srade when ites to this job. So I¡¯ll help out.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I understand. However, Ryouma-sama, you are not a manager by name, alone. You are the real boss of this store.¡± [Ka]

    Together with Ka-san, I headed towards the employee lounge... is what I¡¯d like to say, but really, the room is right next to us.

    ¡°Thanks for you hard work.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Boss, thanks for today.¡± [Karma]

    ¡°Thanks for today.¡± [Fina, Jeanne, Maria, Li Ling, Fei]

    When I entered, Karma-san was the first to greet me. Afterwards, the other five followed. There is a huge amount of copper coins lying on top of the big table. Looks like they¡¯re counting by hand, one at a time.

    ¡°Thank you very much for all your hard work, everyone. It¡¯s really a huge help to me, that I¡¯m able to leave all the work to you guys.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°There¡¯s no such thing, you know? After all, this store is treating us really well~¡± [Jeanne]

    ¡°Exactly, Ryouma-sama. Being able to do this much, is only a given, since we were hired as workers after all.¡± [Karma]

    At Karma-san¡¯s words, everyone in the room nodded. Ka-san, who was behind me, also nodded.

    ¡°I see. Thank you for that. Then, shall we continue? You were counting these coins, right?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes. However, just with us, alone, it should be fine...¡± [Karma]

    ¡°The more hands, the better. Besides, this is a huge amount.¡± [Ryouma]

    Today¡¯s earning is 26,036 suits. And all of that is in small and medium copper coins. In other words, 1 suit, and 10 suits. That¡¯s why it¡¯s only natural, that there¡¯d be so many copper coins.

    ¡°Then in that case, please, over here...¡± [Karma]

    ¡°There¡¯s a spot beside me, Ryouma-sama.¡± [Fei]

    ¡°Excuse me.¡± [Ryouma]

    I sit beside Fei-san, and begin counting the copper coins. Still, this is taking quite a bit of time... If you include me, with all 8 of us, the work should go faster, but...

    And then, after around a minute of working like that, something hit me. Or rather, I remembered. There was that thing that could be found in a bank, wasn¡¯t it?

    I quickly take out a bag of quicklime. As I did that, the other seven looked at me. Without minding them, I used ¡®Identify¡¯ on a small copper coin. What is the diameter and the thickness of this coin?

    Small Copper Coin; 1 Suit

    The smallest coin; made out of copper. Diameter: 0.9cm; Thickness: 2mm

    Alright! I¡¯ve changed my opinion. I might actually be able to use this new ¡®Identify¡¯.

    ¡°Boss? What are you doing? Using ¡®Identify¡¯ on the coin... are you actually checking for counterfeit money?¡± [Fei]

    ¡°No, I just thought I¡¯d make a tool.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Tool?¡± [Fei]

    ¡°Please look. ¡®Create Block¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    Using ¡®Create Block¡¯ I transform the quicklime, into an oblong building stone. But I made the insides of the building stone, hollow, turning it into some sort of box. I remove one end of the box with ¡®Break Rock¡¯, with this, if you incline it, then the object inside will fall.

    Furthermore, I use earth magic on the part that has be hollow, and cause a 5x10 square, with each grid extending 1 cm in all directions, to swell and make lines. The height of the swollen part is 2mm. With this, one copper coin can enter one grid.

    When I used ¡®Identify¡¯, this is what happened.

    Building Stone (Quicklime) Length: 14cm Width: 7cm Height: 1cm

    Quicklime that has been hardened with earth magic. The shape has been warped ording to its maker¡¯s will.

    Good, it¡¯s a sess!

    ¡°Boss, what is that?¡¯ [Karma]

    ¡°You use this, like this.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that, I put the two copper coins I was holding, inside the building stone. I pin down the end, and shake it, left and right. The coins made a jingling sound, and when all the coins fitted into the grids, I let go of the part I was holding, and the coins that couldn¡¯t fit into a grid, went back to the mountain of copper coins. After that, I had Fei-san count the copper coins that managed to fit into the grids of the building stone.

    ¡°Fei-san, can you count these copper coins?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll count them.¡± [Fei]

    And so, Fei-san began to count. When Fei-san got close to finishing, his eyes gave a piercing gaze.

    ¡°50 pieces. Exactly 50 pieces. Boss, you made another convenient tool, huh?¡± [Fei]

    As Fei-san said that, Karma-san, Ka-san, and Li Ling-san all noticed the advantage of using this building stone. The 3 girls didn¡¯t seem to notice, though. So I had them count, next. I quickly put in, the copper coins, shake it, and then distribute the remaining copper coins to the three.

    ¡°Umm... it¡¯s 50.¡± [Jeanne]

    ¡°50.¡± [Maria]

    ¡°It¡¯s 50 here, too. Howe?¡¯ [Fina]

    ¡°Currencies are generally decided by their thickness and size. So exactly 50 pieces are able to fit in the grid, within the building stone. In other words, if you put small copper coins into this, it will be exactly 50 pieces.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Amazing!¡± [Fina]

    ¡°Ryouma-sama, could you also make that for us?¡± [Karma]

    ¡°Of course.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Eh? Eh??¡± [Jeanne]

    Looks like one of the 3 girls, Jeanne, still couldn¡¯t get it. These guys are clearly hardworking people, but it would appear that they¡¯re bad at thinking. Well, it looks like I was at least able to make Fina-san and Maria-san understand the benefits of this. And so, the two began exining to Jeanne about the building stone.

    I went back to the bag of quicklime, and used ¡®Create Block¡¯ to make several building blocks, and then distributed it to the others. After that, I also used ¡®Identify¡¯ on the medium copper coin, and then made several building blocks that can fit a hundred medium copper coin, and then distributed them as well.

    The result of that, was that we were able to proceed smoothly. And without even taking 10 minutes, we managed to count everything.

    When we finished counting, I noticed that it was mostly small copper coins. I thought there would be more medium copper coins, but as it turns out, there¡¯re more customers that pay with the small copper coin.

    After that, I asked about the state of the store. Like, if there¡¯s anything troubling them or something.

    ¡°Something troubling?¡± [Maria]

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing in particr, right guys? ~¡± [Jeanne]

    ¡°This store treats us well, so naturally, we won¡¯t have anyints.¡± [Fina]

    ¡°Anyone who would have the galls toin while working in a store like this, is just too spoiled.¡± [Fei]

    ¡°Really? Isn¡¯t the sry too chea¨C!!¡± [Ryouma]

    Not good. I forgot to give them a rest day! What employee benefits!? I actually made them work without letting them rest!

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, boss? Your face suddenly became pale.¡± [Fei]

    ¡°... I forgot about giving you guys a rest day.¡± [Ryouma]

    When everyone heard my words, they doubted their ears. And then, Jeanne-san yelled.

    ¡°Boss! You couldn¡¯t possibly be thinking of going so far as to even give us a rest day!?¡± [Jeanne]

    Eh, what¡¯s with this reaction... isn¡¯t that a given? Well, it¡¯s not really something I should say after I forgot about it, but...

    As I take a better look, everyone seemed to be same, and was giving me looks of surprise.

    ¡°I think it would be better if you guys had at least one rest day in a week. Have a fixed holiday, once every week, and then by alternating with someone...¡± [Ryouma]

    When I said that, the three girls suddenly became really happy. I was a bit confused at that reaction, and so Ka-san exined it to me.

    ¡°Boss, amongst those who leave their homes to work, there aren¡¯t many who are able to get rest. In the case where they don¡¯t possess a certain ability, they get exploited, and are even paid poorly. But, in this store, it¡¯spletely different. Not only are they treated well, they are even given a high sry. With these kind of conditions, it¡¯s only normal to assume that they won¡¯t be given any rest days.¡± [Ka]

    ¡°Moreover, not having a rest day is not only limited to workers that came from somewhere far. Even small stores and groceries, don¡¯t have any rest day except for special events. After all, if they were to give out rest days, then the management will have a harder time. So it isn¡¯t strange at all for there to no rest days.¡± [Karma]

    In other words, stores that can barely get by, huh? Well, there are those kind of stores, too.

    ¡°When we went out of our vige, our parents apologized to us a lot, you know? ¡°Sorry for pushing this painful job to you,¡± they said.¡± [Jeanne]

    ¡°I heard that if we were to be hired by someone bad, then forget about being paid dirt cheap and being exploited, even our chastity would be in danger.¡± [Maria]

    This world handles their employees pretty bad, huh? As I thought that, I looked over to Ka-san...

    ¡°Employers that pursue a physical rtionship do go against thew, but unfortunately, there are employers that do such things. There¡¯s not that many of them, but still, as an employee, it¡¯s something that one needs to watch out for.¡± [Ka]

    Well, there was also sexual harassment in the previous world. So I guess this is one thing that won¡¯t change, regardless of whether you change worlds or not.

    ¡°My store treasures its employees, and aims for a healthy management. So everyone, please rest assured.¡± [Ryouma]

    When I said that, everyone broke into smiles, and said, ¡°Please take care of us.¡±

    Regarding the rest day, they said that it¡¯s a waste to make it now, since we can¡¯t interrupt the flow of customers right now. So it was instead decided, that they would take a holiday in shifts, one day at a time.

    While we were having that discussion, I noticed that the time was approaching 9 o¡¯clock, so I bid everyone goodbye, and went back to the lodging. I ended up outte again, so I might get scolded.

    When I got to the lodging, Elia and the others had already gotten home.

    I leave my belongings in my room, and went to Elia¡¯s room.

    There, I heard from Sebasu-san and Rheinbach-sama, that they were weed by the public office, today. Several scandalous things had happened, so from the looks of things, it seems that they were trying to curry favor.

    Naturally though, such a thing wouldn¡¯t have any effect. And in the end, it turned into Rheinbach-sama giving a sermon to the people in charge.

    Several of the top brasses of the public office had already been arrested and fired. And as for the others, they had their pay reduced. But on top of all that, people were hired to manage the members of the public office, including the new heads. Looks like, from here on, the public office will be strictly managed by those guys.

    When I asked whether those guys were from the vige.

    ¡°Well, the town obviouslycks people to manage the town, so...¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°Unless, we more or less beat the guts of a decent person into them, and train them, we won¡¯t be able to supplement the town with enough usable man power. After all, there¡¯s a limit to the number of people that we can really trust.¡± [Rheinbach]

    Is how he replied. Makes sense...

    By the way, because Elia was apparently given wine, she is already sound asleep. Even during my store¡¯s opening party, despite having only drank one ss, her face became flushed. It seems she isn¡¯t very good with alcohol.

    Rheinhart-san and the Madam also seem to be asleep already, so I decided not to overstay and cause them trouble, so I left.

 Volume 2 - 17

    TL Note: Here¡¯s your first chapter for the day. In other news, I just found out how to customize the URL today. (£þ©`£þ)????

    Volume 2 Chapter 17

    The Next Day

    ¡°Ugh, ughh... my, my head... It, hurts...¡± [Rheinhart]

    I couldn¡¯t see Elia and the others yesterday, so when I woke up today, I went over to their room to check up on them. There, I saw Rheinhart-san, suffering from a hangover.

    ¡°Ara, good morning, Ryouma-kun.¡± [Madam]

    ¡°Good morning, everyone.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ryouma-kun...¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°Looks painful. Should I make you some medicine?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Mind if I ask you to...?¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°No problem.¡± [Ryouma]

    Using warp, I went over to different stores to buy the things I need. First, I dropped by at the chemist to buy the ingredients. Then I went to the grocery to look for a fruit. When I found it, I bought it and went back to the lodging. As soon as I got back, I immediately concocted the medicine, and a fruit juice that can be drank with it.

    ¡°Here, please drink this. Then afterwards, please drink some water.¡± [Ryouma]

    It would¡¯ve been great if I was able to buy some Japanese persimmons, or some of the ms used for miso soup though. There were plenty of otherworlders in this world, so there should probably be some somewhere, right? I guess I¡¯ll go looking for it next time.

    ¡°Th... thanks...I¡¯ll drink it...¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°I think it would be better if you don¡¯t drink alcohol too much, Rheinhart-san.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I¡¯m ashamed... yesterday was... ugh... it hurts...¡± [Rheinhart]

    From what I¡¯d gathered after listening to the groaning Rheinhart-san. It would appear that in order to curry favor, some of the people in charge continued to give them liquor and extravagant food, one after another.

    The madam may have been fine, but Elia was a different story. Elia had only just recently be able to drink alcohol legally, and was still not used to it. Because of this, she was not able to pace herself.

    That¡¯s why there were also people who tried to stop them from making her drink too much, but because some were just too persistent, Rheinhart-san ended up drinking a lot in her ce.

    When I heard that, I became worried. Elia, are you alright with that kind of stuff? When you grow up, won¡¯t that kind of stuff increase? I¡¯m alright, since I won¡¯t get hangovers or end up dead drunk because of Tekun-sama¡¯s divine protection. And while I don¡¯t know how much alcohol my body can take, I still have my experience from my previous life.

    Speaking of which, should I test how much I can drink with this body?

    While I was thinking that, I saw Rheinhart-san drink the medicine and the juice. Seeing that, I left the lodging.

    It¡¯s a bitte, but I¡¯ll go to store. And then, after checking the store a bit, I left.

    Afterwards, I decided to also go to the abandoned mine, since there¡¯s something I wanted to try out. And along the way, also catch some slimes.

    But before going, I thought I¡¯d to the guild to get an herb collection quest, since it¡¯s pretty convenient to collect the herbs along the way.

    ¡°Hello, Meilin-san.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ara, Ryouma-kun. Are you here to take a request?¡± [Meilin]

    ¡°Yes, since the employees have already be capable enough to take care of the shop on their own.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°To think that you¡¯re actually already able to have your own store and hire people at your age, you¡¯re quite the sessful little boy, aren¡¯t you?¡± [Meilin]

    ¡°It¡¯s because my luck is good.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Really? Ah, while this isn¡¯t a request, I think it might be good for you to hear this.¡± [Meilin]

    Not a request?

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Actually, there¡¯s a party of five adventurers that came from a different vige. But the thing is that party actually came here to bring a rare slime they caught.¡± [Meilin]

    What!?

    ¡°Can I hear more regarding that?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Catching a rare beast, or providing information regarding the locations frequented by rare beasts, will normally get one, a sizeable reward from the tamer guild. And so, that party went to the tamer guild with a rare slime they¡¯d caught, and they tried to sell it. But let alone bepensated poorly for the rare slime, their hopes for a transaction weren¡¯t even entertained.

    Because they¡¯re still young, it would appear that they weren¡¯t privy to the fact that despite being rare, almost all types of slime aren¡¯t purchased. Your heal slimes are a different story though. Anyway, in the end, that party, having spent a lot of money toe here, looks to be at aplete loss on what to do.¡± [Meilin]

    ¡°In other words, you want me to buy that slime from them?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Exactly. Well, what do you think? Want it?¡± [Meilin]

    ¡°Yes, very much. Could you tell me where that group is staying at?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°They¡¯re staying at a cheap inn over at the east district, called Badger Inn. And the name of their group is, ¡®Bridge of Scheme¡¯.¡± [Meilin]

    ¡°Thank you very much. I¡¯ll go now.¡± [Ryouma]

    I immediately left the guild, and hurriedly went towards the Badger Inn.

    I was able to easily find the Badger Inn, but... from looking outside, it looks really worn out. What is this supposed to be? An abandoned building? Anyway, for the meantime, let¡¯s try to enter...

    When I entered the inn, the man at the counter bluntly said this.

    ¡°Wee. You a customer?¡± [Man]

    ¡°I have business with the ¡®Bridge of Scheme¡¯ that¡¯s supposed to be staying here. Are they here?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°They are.¡± [Man]

    As he said that, he pointed towards the door to the right.

    ¡°They¡¯re eating over there at the bar that doubles as a cafeteria. One of them has been drinking since daytime whileining, so watch yourself.¡± [Man]

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    A bit blunt, but he¡¯s a nice guy. I open the door, and enter the cafeteria. When I got inside, there were only five customers. Seeing that, I immediately understood that they¡¯re the party Meilin was talking about. All of them looked to be around thetter half of their tens.

    ¡°Excuse me, are you the members of the party known as, ¡®Bridge of Scheme¡¯?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Mn? And you are?¡± [Adventurer]

    ¡°Please excuse thete introduction, my name is Ryouma Takebayashi. I am a ve magic user and an adventurer.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Hah! You? A brat like you is an adventurer?¡± [Adventurer]

    ¡°Stop it, Thayne. Sorry, this guy¡¯s mood is a bit bad...¡± [Adventurer 2]

    ¡°I heard that you brought a rare slime with you, and failed when you tried to sell it to the guild.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yeah, and what...¡± [Adventurer 2]

    ¡°Hahhh!!? Then what, bitch? You came here to pick a fight!?¡± [Thayne]

    The guy called Thayne, stood up, and walked towards me. But his party members stopped him.

    ¡°No, I didn¡¯te here to pick a fight.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°What? Then I guess you came here to make fun of us, huh!? For even a brat like this... fuck this shit!! Yeah, that¡¯s right! We¡¯re morons! We thought we¡¯d make a killing by selling a rare magical beast, and we even went so far as to spend a lot of money just to get here. And in the end we couldn¡¯t even sell it and made a huge loss instead!! But why do we have to be made fun of by a bitch like you!!?¡± [Thayne]

    As Thayne said that, he broke down crying. Looks like he¡¯spletely drunk. A bad case of persecutionplex to go with it too.

    ¡°Thayne¡± [Adventurer 2]

    ¡°Calm down¡± [Adventurer 3]

    ¡°I¡¯ll take Thayne to the room. He can¡¯t talk like this after all.¡± [Adventure 4]

    ¡°I¡¯ll go too.¡± [Adventurer 5]

    The two men, who I¡¯m unacquainted with, took Thayne to their room.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do this again. We are the ¡®Bridge of Scheme¡¯, and I¡¯m their leader, Shin.¡± [Adventurer 2]

    ¡°And I¡¯m Gai. Sorry about Thayne.¡± [Adventurer 3]

    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Thanks. Then, what business do you have with us?¡± [Shin]

    Oh, right. That¡¯s what¡¯s important! Who cares about whether there¡¯s a drunk or not!

    ¡°Just as I¡¯ve mentioned a while ago, I would like to purchase the slime.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That slime?¡± [Shin]

    ¡°I¡¯m happy that you want to buy the slime, but why? We wereughed at a lot by the tamer guild, you know?¡± [Gai]

    ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯m gathering slimes and researching them. Because of that, I want to acquire rare slimes.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You¡¯re gathering slimes? That¡¯s quite odd. But just as Gai had mentioned, we¡¯d be grateful if you took it off our hands.¡± [Shin]

    ¡°So you¡¯ll let me purchase it, then? How much will it be?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Right... how about you decide. After all, we were told by the tamer guild that a price can¡¯t be attached to it, so it¡¯s quite difficult for us to name a price.¡± [Shin]

    ¡°As long as you can pay it, anything¡¯s fine. After all, we¡¯re leaving tomorrow anyway.¡± [Gai]

    ¡°Is that so? Then, could you show me that slime? If it¡¯s one of the slimes I¡¯m already raising, then I¡¯ll buy it cheaply. But if it¡¯s not, then I¡¯ll pay plenty for it.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s fine.¡± [Shin]

    ¡°Give me a sec, I¡¯ll bring it out now.¡± [Gai]

    As Gai said that, he stood up from his seat, and came back with a box after 3 seconds.

    ¡°There¡¯s a slime inside this. Carefully take a look.¡± [Gai]

    ¡°Excuse me.¡± [Ryouma]

    I open the lid while being careful, and took a look at the slime in there.

    That slime was dark red. Andpared to normal slimes, its body was a lot more muddy and closer to liquid. After I¡¯d confirmed that, I closed the lid.

    ¡°How is it?¡± [Shin]

    ¡°It¡¯s not one of the slimes I¡¯m raising, so I¡¯ll put a high price on it... Excuse me for asking, but may I know how much you¡¯ve spent until now?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Around 5,000 suits. We cut as much as we could on our expenses, but we couldn¡¯t cut it any further than this.¡± [Shin]

    Hearing that, I took out a small gold coin from my ¡®Item Box¡¯.

    ¡°Then in that case, I¡¯ll pay double of that for 10,000 suits.¡± [Ryouma]

    When they heard that, the two couldn¡¯t help but be flustered.

    ¡°Seriously!?¡± [Gai]

    ¡°Is it really ok to buy a slime for 1 small gold coin?¡± [Shin]

    ¡°Of course. After all, it¡¯s thanks to everyone that I¡¯ll be able to acquire a new slime.¡± [Ryouma]

    There¡¯s nothing regrettable about getting a new slime for 1 small gold coin!

    ¡°I, I see... we don¡¯t have anyints here either.¡± [Shin]

    ¡°Then in that case, please take this.¡± [Ryouma]

    I hand over the small gold coin to Shin-san.

    ¡°Certainly.¡± [Shin]

    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll be taking this slime. Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°The one who should be thanking is us.¡± [Gai]

    ¡°With this, our concerns regarding money will be gone. I guess Thayne should calm down too.¡± [Shin]

    Well, it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t understand how that guy feels... after all, there was also a time where I didn¡¯t have any money, and was extremely worried.

    Speaking of which, isn¡¯t there a lucrative request that should being out soon?

    ¡°By the way, if you want to make some money, then I think it¡¯ll be better if you stay in the town for a bit longer. From what I hear, there¡¯s an outbreak of a certain monster that will ur in a nearby swamp. And apparently. that monster can be sold as ingredients for a high price. As long as you¡¯re able to ignore the stench, then it should reap you plenty of profits.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Really?¡± [Shin]

    ¡°Yes, please confirm it at the guild. And while I¡¯m not privy to the exact date of the outbreak, it should be soon.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You¡¯ve saved us!¡± [Gai]

    ¡°Thanks for the information. Isn¡¯t there anyway we can repay you?¡± [Shin]

    I don¡¯t really need any thanks though. Oh right. Since it¡¯s like this, I could try advertising.

    ¡°Then in that case, pleasee over to my store. As a sideline, I opened up aundry agency... though it turn out to be way bigger than a sideline.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Laundry agency?¡± [Shin]

    ¡°Yes. You can get whatever clothes that fit into a bag, bought from the store for 1 medium copper coin, washed. Moreover, there¡¯s a special option for adventurers that will clean armor and equipment, for only 1 medium coper coin and 5 small copper coins.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°There was such a store?¡± [Gai]

    ¡°Alright. It¡¯s cheap too, so we¡¯ll give it a shot.¡± [Shin]

    ¡°Thank you very much. The store is located at the east district, before the residential area. There¡¯s also a lot of adventurers thate, so if you¡¯re lost, just ask someone and you should find the way.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°We¡¯ll definitely go.¡± [Gai]

    ¡°Thanks for everything.¡± [Shin]

    I took the stone box, left the Badger Inn, and then headed towards the abandoned mine. After all, that¡¯s the best ce to perform slime research. I also won¡¯t have to pay attention to my surroundings.

    The first thing I did when I got to the abandoned mine, was to start the production of the waterproof cloth. Today¡¯s quota is 50 sheets.

    I¡¯m here anyway, so if I don¡¯t do it now, it¡¯ll be my loss.

    After I finished that, I went to taming the slime. I gently open the lid of the stone box, gazed at the slime, and then contracted it. Afterwards, I used ¡®Monster Identify¡¯ on it. At which, this came out.

    Bloody Slime

    Skills

    Bloodsucking Lv4

    Deodorization Lv3

    Disease Resistance Lv3

    Poison Resistance Lv1

    Act Dead Lv10

    Digestion Lv2

    Absorption Lv4

    Split Lv1

    Bloody Slime, huh? It also possesses a ¡®Bloodsucking¡¯ skill, so its meal is definitely blood. On top of that, ¡®Deodorization¡¯ and ¡®Disease Resistance¡¯, and while its level is low, it also possesses ¡®Poison Resistance¡¯. And then, what is this ¡®Act Dead¡¯ skill? ¡®Act Dead¡¯, as in... it fakes being dead? ... Well, it¡¯s a skill, so it¡¯s not like I have anyints.

    The problem is its feed. Since its feed is blood, I wonder what I should do.

    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll hunt a suitable magical beast.¡± [Ryouma]

    I order the slimes to y by themselves without going too far, then I take the bloody slime with me to go hunting.

    When the slimes got my orders, there were dozens of slimes who took out some staff and spears for practice purposes, and started practicing.

    ... Looks like there were some zealous slimes...

    Several slimes assembled and started practicing the staff techniques, spear techniques, and Taijutsu I had taught them. The slimes performed the techniques I thought them, form after form, learning by rote. And then, there were also slimes that sparred against each other. It feels like their movements are gradually bing better.

    While I was thinking that, I went off with the bloody slime to find some prey. And after some time, I found a horn rabbit.

    I took out a bow and arrow from my ¡®Item Box¡¯, then with one hit, I felled the horn rabbit. Afterwards, I went over to the corpse of the horn rabbit, then I let the bloody slime eat. When the bloody slime got my order, it slid closer to the horn rabbit¡¯s corpse, and then it began to suck the blooding from the wound.

    Bloodsucking, huh? Well, there¡¯re also living beings that sucked blood back in Earth. Like, mosquitoes or fleas... Come to think of it, there was also a bird that drank blood, right? I guess it feels something like that...!?

    While I was observing the bloody slime, I tried to form a conjecture regarding its ecology. But while I was doing that, the bloody slime, whose body was already closer to liquid than other slimes, made its body even more like liquid, then it entered the horn rabbit¡¯s body.

    ¡°It entered the body through the wound?¡± [Ryouma]

    Unexpected...

    To start off with, the bloody slime¡¯s body was already not sticky, making it different from the other slimes. But now it started to be even less muddy as it became silky like liquid. And like that, it entered the blood vessels of the horned rabbit, and stuck itself to the blood as it sucked it.

    ¡°This nature is again quite different as opposed as to the other slimes. There was actually a slime like this.¡± [Ryouma]

    While I was being shocked by the bloody slime¡¯s behavior, the bloody slime went out from inside the horn rabbit¡¯s body... Its color was dark red, as if someone had just blown out blood or something. It¡¯s a little ghastly.

    After I confirmed that the bloody slime had fully gotten out, I used ¡®Identify¡¯ on the corpse of the horn rabbit.

    How is it?

    Corpse of the horn rabbit.

    It is possible to extract the horn, the meat, and the pelt.

    Because it was felled in one shot by the nock of an arrow, the horn and the pelt have received little damage, and are thus, considered a high qualitymodity.

    It has also had its blood drained as soon as it was killed, causing the foul smell to decrease. Because of this, the meat is considered to be a high qualitymodity.

    I get the horn and the pelt, but what¡¯s up with the meat? Drain? Is it referring to the bloody slime¡¯s ¡®Bloodsucking¡¯? It¡¯s that, right? I can¡¯t think of anything else aside from that. But while it¡¯s good that it¡¯s a high ssmodity, it doesn¡¯t have any diseases, right?

    As I thought that, I used ¡®Identify¡¯ another time to look for diseases. Seeing that there were none, I was relieved.

    As an adventurer and as a hunter, I think this ability is really convenient.

    When I got back to the mine, I took apart the horn rabbit¡¯s body. When I tried cooking and eating it, I found out that its stench had really gone down, and has be really delicious. The stench disappearing might also have something to do with its ¡®Deodorization¡¯ skill.

    ... Does this mean that in order to make a slime evolve into a bloody slime, I¡¯ll have to make it drink blood?

    ¡°Then I guess, I¡¯ll have to gather some blood... but how? It¡¯s not like I could go harvest a huge amount of beasts and magical beasts from around here...¡± [Ryouma]

    If I mobilize the slimes, then I should be able to gather a significant amount. But then, the ecosystem here might be affected. And I¡¯ll also end up ruining other adventurer¡¯s jobs.

    ¡°Oh, I got it! I should try talking to Zeke-san.¡± [Ryouma]

    Zeke-san is a butcher. Since it seems he also buys meat from adventurers, it might be possible to have him drain and put aside some blood for me. I should talk to him when I get back.

    After that, I went back to the abandoned mine. At which, I suddenly remembered that I had forgotten to capture some slimes.

    So I went around looking for some slimes. And in the end, I was able to catch 3 from the tunnels.

    After I had tamed them, the cloths still weren¡¯t finished drying. So I decided to try out an experiment.

 Volume 2 - 18

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Volume 2 Chapter 18

    TL Note: Second chapter for the day. Made possible by one of the two anons who donated and filled the queue by themselves. Much thanks, anon.

    Volume 2 Chapter 18

    I steady my breath, then I release magic power towards the three slimes before me.

    That magic power caused the slimes to shake and jump. Because it can¡¯t be seen, if someone were to see this, they¡¯d just assume that the slimes were shaking.

    But because I have the ¡®Magic Perception¡¯ skill, I know what¡¯s happening. The slimes are reacting to the magic power, and are absorbing it little by little.

    ¡°As expected...¡± [Ryouma]

    I thought of this when I saw the slime¡¯s evolution yesterday. That time, the slime released magic power, and then it absorbed it. And because the heal slimes were able to use healing magic, I knew that the slimes definitely possessed magic power.

    I think the reason the slime can evolve to heal slime, is because of healing magic. Following that train of thought, if I used fire magic and ice magic, then I should also be able to make a slime ording to that, right? Or so I thought before, and at that time I failed, but... what about now?

    That time, I used magic several times to no effect. And with offensive magic, the slimes would only end up hurt, so I stopped. But what about this?

    I release magic a second time. This time I release it while visualizing the magic power as if it¡¯s burning up, just like when I use fire magic. The image onees up with is different from person to person, but by doing this, one who possesses neutral magic power will be able to change that magic power into that of the fire element. Whether one is able to do this or not depends on the person, but it also depends on the attribute one possesses.

    Normally, when I change the attribute of my magic power, I¡¯ll end up firing off magic at the same time, but just right before that, I stop myself and release it as only magic power.

    ¡°Doing this is more sensitive than using magic normally.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I kept releasing magic like that towards the slimes, the slimes slowly began to absorb magic power, slower.

    When I tried changing the attributes after that, I understood that two out of three of the slimes, liked earth attribute. And one of them preferred dark attribute.

    After that, while waiting for the cloths to dry, I continued to give the three slimes magic power until I almost ran out. It would be great if I could make the slimes evolve like this... anyway, there¡¯s no harm to the slimes, so I guess I¡¯ll keep this up.

    After that, I took a break, and when the cloths finished drying, I went back to the town, and headed towards Zeke¡¯s store.

    When I got there, a boy around 14 or 15, greeted me.

    ¡°Wee! May I know what kind of meat you¡¯re looking for?¡± [Boy]

    ¡°Excuse me, I have business with your boss.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I see. Boss! There¡¯s a customer who¡¯s looking for you!¡± [Boy]

    At those words, Zeke-san, who was covered in blood, came out.

    Pale skin, and thin to the point where he looks sick. On top of that, blood-stained clothes... Looking at this person, he¡¯s quite scary, although in a different way from Wogan.

    ¡°Well, if it isn¡¯t Ryouma-kun. What business do you have?¡± [Zeke]

    ¡°Actually...¡± [Ryouma]

    I exined the situation.

    ¡°There was a slime like that? Alright, then in that case you can take as much blood as you want from my store. Since, I won¡¯t be using them anyway.¡± [Zeke]

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Do you need it now? I have a lot right now, since some young adventurers brought a lot of spoils with them.¡± [Zeke]

    ¡°I¡¯ll take it then. Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    I entered Zeke-san¡¯s workce. In there, five men were working. Alongside the wall, there was a joist with many hooks attached to it. On those, several beasts hang by a cord, as it was drained of its blood.

    ¡°Over here.¡± [Zeke]

    I was brought to two big containers that were right underneath the beasts. Inside those were all of the beast¡¯s blood. That container was nearly as long as the room, itself.

    ¡°Thank you very much. Is it ok if let the slime drink this?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Go ahead.¡± [Zeke]

    After getting permission, I let the bloody slime go inside the container. In the blink of an eye, the bloody slime sucked in all of the blood.

    The men who were working also told me, that it was convenient for them. Apparently, they need to get rid of all these blood when it gets full, but doing that is a hassle. And even if it¡¯s not full, they still have to wash it thoroughly. So it¡¯s quite convenient for them to have it cleaned like this, since on top of being big, it¡¯s quite heavy.

    ¡°When a big gamees, just like today, it take a lot of effort just to drain all of the blood.¡± [Zeke]

    ¡°I see.¡± [Ryouma]

    After that, Zeke-san told me toe whenever I need blood. On top of that, I also got some spoiled meats and bones. It would have just been thrown away, so Zeke-san generously gave these to me. With this, I¡¯ve managed to secure some feed for the scavenger slimes and the acid slimes.

    Thank you, Zeke-san.

    After that, I left Zeke-san¡¯s store...

    ¡°Walk briskly!¡± [Man]

    ¡°It hurts!¡± [Man 2]

    ¡°What are ya bitches looking at, huh!?¡± [Man]

    ¡°This ain¡¯t a show!¡± [Man 3]

    ¡°Shut up and walk!! [Man]

    From my store, I saw some ill-bred men leave as they were escorted by the guards. Did something happen!?

    I hurriedly enter my store, and when I got there, the employees were gathered.

    ¡°Is everyone ok!?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ah, Boss!¡± [Karma]

    ¡°I happened to pass by chance, and I notice some guys were being escorted by the guards. Is everyone alright?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°We¡¯re alright~, and no one was injured either. ~¡± [Jeanne]

    ¡°Fei-san stopped them, all by himself!¡± [Maria]

    ¡°Really? Thank you very much, Fei-san.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind. This is also a part of my job.¡± [Fei]

    ¡°Fei-san and Li Ling-san were the guards of this store, huh? We didn¡¯t know that at all.¡± [Fina]

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s because there was no need to talk about it.¡± [Fei]

    ¡°You really saved us today. Fei-san and Li Ling were, of course, a great help. And because Ryouma-sama employed the two of you, the store, the employees, and all the customers were unharmed.¡± [Ka]

    ¡°Oh, no, no. I didn¡¯t do anything at all.¡± [Ryouma]

    After all, I got there when everything had already ended.

    As I was thinking that, Li Ling-san said this.

    ¡°Boss, I have something I need to talk about with you. It¡¯s about a countermeasure that will be necessary from here on out.¡± [Li Ling]

    Being told that, I went with her inside the store, along with Karma-san and Ka-san, while the store was left to Fei-san and the three girls.

    When we got to the office, she began to talk.

    ¡°Although I say it¡¯s a countermeasure, there¡¯s nothing particrly wrong with the way things are now. As long as my dad is around, there won¡¯t be any problems. If it¡¯s just something along the likes of ill-bred ruffians, then my dad can handle it all by himself. But there¡¯s something I want to ask Boss. Boss, do you remember anyone holding a grudge against you?¡± [Li Ling]

    ¡°Someone who hates me?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It seems that those ruffians were hired by someone. While waiting for the guards to arrive, we used some truth serum to make them spill the beans, so it¡¯s definitely correct.¡± [Li Ling]

    Hearing that, I tried thinking about it, and...

    ¡°I once had a dispute with an adventurer group of 40 people, and I beat them up... And then, there¡¯s that guild master from the tamer guild who seems to hate me.¡± [Ryouma]

    I guess it¡¯s possible that they hold a grudge. And then there¡¯s Matthew. But while I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any reason for him to hate me...

    ¡°Then in that case, I think the suspicious one is the guild master. The ruffians did say that they were paid quite a bit. The amount they were paid wasn¡¯t something you¡¯d pay to a ruffian, even if there were a few of them. There might be someone who would pay that much, even at the cost of being able to live. But then, the number of people who would do such a thing is exceedingly small.¡± [Li Ling]

    ¡°The ruffians today, quarreled with the customers, and started ranting with a loud voice.¡± [Karma]

    ¡°Fei-san, being cautious of that, subdued them, but...¡± [Ka]

    Certainly, that isn¡¯t the kind of act you¡¯d pay someone at the cost of your own lifestyle. After all, if such a person hated me that much, he¡¯d personallye to hurt me, right?

    ¡°Then in that case, it¡¯s Matthew, huh?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Is that the name of the guild master of the tamer guild?¡± [Karma]

    ¡°Yes. He looked down on the fact, that I haven¡¯t tamed any monster aside from slimes. And because I have a rtionship with the duke, he¡¯s quite envious of me.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Well, that kind of person can be found anywhere... While we haven¡¯t confirmed whether that man is the culprit or not, we should take some precautions.¡± [Ka]

    ¡°It¡¯s good that the ruffians knew, but it looks like the other side¡¯s also being careful not to be found out.¡± [Li Ling]

    ¡°If our profits were to get out, then this kind of thing will more or less happen. There¡¯s nothing else to it, aside from preparing, and dealing with it each time it happens.¡± [Ryouma]

    The discussion proceeded like this. First, Ka-san and Karma-san will go to the merchant guild, and inform the guild master about today¡¯s incident. As for me, I¡¯ll let the duke know of what happened today.

    And then, from today onwards, Fei-san and Li Ling-san will be in charge of the security during the day. During the night, I¡¯ll release the slimes to patrol the premises and the store. Like this, we were able to finalize our course of action.

    When I got back to the lodging, I talked to Rheinhart-san. But because he wanted me to hire some guards using his influence, it almost became a serious matter.

    The ones he wanted me to hire immediately, were all either former soldiers or knights. They were all apparently veterans who had retired after suffering a wound, but unfortunately, those are not the kind of people that my store would hire. Incidentally, one of the people he wanted to introduce to me, was a former leader of the knights. Apparently, he was Rheinbach-sama¡¯srade in arms... you think I can hire someone like that!!?

    We took some time negotiating, and after a while, it was decided that it¡¯ll be under observation for now.

    Come to think of it, I inadvertently ignored it, but Li Ling-san actually even had truth serum with her... Well, she¡¯s dependable, so whatever.

    I guess I¡¯ll retire for the day.

 Volume 2 - 19

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Volume 2 Chapter 19

    TL Note: Here¡¯s your third andst chapter of the day. Brought to you by, the other anon who donated and filled up a queue by himself. A round of apuse for anon, everyone.

    Volume 2 Chapter 19

    The Next Day

    ¡°Ryouma-san, are you awake?¡± [Elia]

    Early in the morning, Elia came over to visit me in my room. Sebasu-san was also with her.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I¡¯m going to be instructed by my father regarding ve magic. Would you like toe as well?¡± [Elia]

    ve magic, huh? ... Come to think of it, the only things I can use in regards to ve magic, are the contract and the ¡®Monster Identify¡¯. And then, there¡¯s the ¡®Contract Release¡¯... are there any other magic aside from these? Well, I have time, so why don¡¯t I go and see?

    But then, there¡¯s also that incident with the ruffians yesterday...

    While I was thinking that, Sebasu-san came over and whispered to my ear.

    ¡°It¡¯s a bit sudden, but I heard Ryouma-sama has been able to get some free timetely. Since there¡¯s some time, won¡¯t Ryouma-sama please consider going out with the Ojousama? After all, it¡¯s been decided that she will be separating from Ryouma-sama soon. So I want to create as much time as possible for the two of you. I¡¯ve also already arranged for someone to watch over your employees today.¡± [Sebasu]

    Ah~... Now that he mentions it, it¡¯s certainly true that ever since I¡¯d decided to go independent, I¡¯ve been spending my time with matters regarding the store, and because of that, I haven¡¯t been able to make any time for Elia... She¡¯s also concerned about her colossal magic power, so she¡¯s probably quite happy to have been able to make a friend. I guess I did something bad...

    ¡°I understand. Then, shall we go learn together?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Really!?¡± [Elia]

    As Elia said that, she gave off a dazzling smile.

    For some reason, I feel guilty. Or rather, since I didn¡¯t notice that I was wrong until I was told, I guess I am at fault...

    After that, I went to the store once, to let the employees know about this. With a smile they replied, ¡°Leave it to us!¡± even though something like that happened yesterday, they haven¡¯t uttered a word ofint. Really, what a nice bunch. I¡¯m d to have hired them.

    After that, we went to the abandoned mine. From the looks of things, our training area will be here, in the abandoned mine.

    And right now, standing before me and Elia, is the Madam, who is holding a bird cage.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s begin the training for ve magic. First, what is a ve magic user? Elia?¡± [Madam]

    ¡°A ve magic user is someone who contracts with a magical beast, and uses magic to borrow the power of the magical beast. When performing the ve monster contract, a connection is formed between the magical beast and the practitioner via magic power. Because of that, it is possible toe to understand each other.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Precisely. And what we¡¯re going to be teaching you two today, is a magic that takes advantage of that connection. This magic is known as ¡®Sensory Link¡¯. Just as the name implies, this is magic that allows the practitioner and the magical beast to share senses, and in this way acquire information. This magic is mainly used to warn the magical beast that the practitioner is in danger.¡± [Madam]

    ¡°This is something that conjuration can¡¯t aplish. So it¡¯s something unique to ve magic users.¡± [Rheinhart]

    Really?

    ¡°Why can¡¯t conjurers use this ability/¡¯ [Ryouma]

    ¡°In general, the conjuration contract forcibly makes the magical beast submit through the use of magic. Even if there¡¯s a connection, it¡¯s one sided.¡± [Rheinhart]

    So that¡¯s how it is... I don¡¯t know much about matters concerning conjuration.

    ¡°I see. So that¡¯s how it is.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°There¡¯s a need to get used to ¡®Sensory Link¡¯. The longer you¡¯ve been helping each other, and the deeper your understanding is with your ve monster, then the clearer the connection will be. Today, we prepared a magical beast inside this bird cage for you two. Contract with it, then we¡¯ll have you guys practice.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Why go all the way to get a new magical beast? Isn¡¯t it possible with a slime?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°True, it¡¯s definitely possible to use ¡®Sensory Link¡¯ with the slimes. However, the effect is hard to grasp, and there¡¯s no meaning to it.¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°Since slimes don¡¯t have nose, ears, and eyes, even if you use ¡®Sensory Link¡¯, you won¡¯t be able to understand sight, hearing, smell, and even taste. And I also don¡¯t know how you¡¯re supposed to understand your surroundings with that.¡±

    Certainly, that would definitely make it hard to understand the effect.

    ¡°I understand.¡± [Elia]

    And so, me and Elia went over to the bird cage and contracted with the magical beast inside, called Crew Bird. Oh, speaking of which, this is my first time contracting with a magical beast other than a slime!

    When I noticed that, I became a little nervous. But without anything going wrong, the contract ended safely.

    ¡°Looks like you were able to contract them. Then next, be aware of the connection you have between you and your magical beast. Once you¡¯ve done that, strongly visualize an image where you¡¯re looking through the eyes of your magical beast. If you can do that, then even without any incantations, you¡¯ll be able to use, ¡®Sensory Link¡¯.¡± [Madam]

    Being told that, I used a camera connected to a TV as my image. When I did so, an image flowed through the back of my head... but...

    ¡°Somehow, it feels kind of unpleasant...¡± [Ryouma]

    The sensation of having both my own field of vision, and the magical beast¡¯s field of vision, go inside my head at the same time is difficult to describe. But it¡¯s kind of like being forced to watch two TV screens at the same time, while having to understand it. It isn¡¯t something that feels very pleasant.

    ¡°Ara, Ryouma-kun, you¡¯ve already seeded?¡± [Madam]

    ¡°As expected of you. This is actually a difficult magic, because there are many people who find it difficult to grasp the image.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°It¡¯s difficult so I wanted to teach it early, so you can take your time practicing it. But it looks like you¡¯ve already managed to learn it. That unpleasant sensation after having just seeded at ¡®Sensory Link¡¯, is something that every ve magic user has to go through. You¡¯ll manage as long as you practice, so do your best and get used to it. I suggest you start by closing your eyes, and focusing only on your ve monster¡¯s field of vision.¡± [Rheinhart]

    So I need to get used to it, huh? ... Just like I was told, I close my eyes, and focus only on the field of vision of the magical beast. Yeah, this way is better than a while ago. The crew bird I¡¯d just contracted with, is currently standing on the ground, so the field of vision I¡¯m seeing is extremely low. Because of that, it feels kind of out of ce. But that¡¯s it. Aside from that, there¡¯s no other problem.

    After that, I continued to practice for 2 hours. In the end, I was also able to order the crew bird to fly, while using ¡®Sensory Link¡¯ to see through the magical beast while it¡¯s in the sky. This ability is quite useful for scanning the surroundings.

    While I was thinking that, it would appear that Elia had also seeded at using ¡®Sensory Link¡¯.

    ¡°This is... a rather unusual feeling.¡± [Elia]

    Looks like Elia is also feeling that sense of being out of ce.

    I thought this just now, but Elia is quite amazing, huh? I used my experience in Earth to grasp the image, but Elia actually had to start from scratch. Yet, she was able to learn it within the day. Amazing.

    After Elia had seeded once, we decided to take a short break, and Araune-san prepared us some tea.

    ¡°Still, you two did pretty well to be able to actually learn it this fast.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Elia carries with her the lineage of Jamil, so I thought it¡¯d be fast. But who would¡¯ve thought that it would actually be to this extent. I also thought Ryouma-kun would have a hard time with it, but...¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it fine? Like this, they were able to learn it easily without any problems. Now, all that¡¯s left is to train.¡± [Madam]

    ¡°So that feeling is going to continue, huh?¡± [Elia]

    Looks like, even with her eyes closed, Elia still finds it difficult to get used to that feeling.

    Well, you are suddenly having your vision changed and mixed, after all... It¡¯s still fine for me who thinks it¡¯s like watching television, but Elia is seeing things as if it¡¯s actually her own field of vision... Even if I teach her, she doesn¡¯t know about TVs, so she won¡¯t understand. I can¡¯t teach her. Do your best, Elia.

    As we continued to discuss like that, the madam asked me this.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, how¡¯s your first time contracting with a magical beast other than a slime? Does anything feel off?¡± [Madam]

    ¡°There isn¡¯t anything in particr.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Then in that case, Ryouma might also have an aptitude for bird type magical beasts.¡± [Madam]

    Aptitude? What¡¯s she talking about?

    ¡°What¡¯s an aptitude?¡± [Ryouma]

    The one who answered that question was Rheinhart-san.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t know? ve magic users, and conjurers, all have their own respective aptitudes. What kind of magical beast one should tame, depends on the individual. And whether he should contract a lot of magical beasts or not. Then there¡¯re also those who can¡¯t contract with a lot of magical beasts, but are able to contract with several very powerful magical beasts. Ryouma-kun¡¯s aptitude with slimes is probably quite high. Otherwise, I don¡¯t think you¡¯d be able to contract that many magical beasts.¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°After you find out what your aptitude is, it¡¯s important to make sure what kind of magical beast you¡¯re suited for. Aptitude isn¡¯t strictly decided, it¡¯s something you have to vaguely understand by probing within yourself. For example, I have good aptitude with magical beasts that have scales. And while I can¡¯t contract with a lot of magical beasts, my magical beasts are individually strong.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°As for me, I have an aptitude for magical beasts that walk on four legs. On the other hand, I have absolutely zero aptitude for magical beasts of the bird type. And so, I can¡¯t contract with those.¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°My aptitude is...¡± [Madam]

    As the Madam said that, she suddenly chanted an incantation. As she did so, light began to radiate from her side, and all of the sudden, a wolf with silver fur appeared. I was slightly taken aback by that, but the Madamughed and said that it was alright.

    ¡°Sorry for scaring you. This child is Rogue. My little fenrir, ve monster.¡± [Madam]

    Fenrir...? Isn¡¯t that, that thing thates out in legends!?

    ¡°Ara, did you perhaps think that the Fenrir and a little fenrir were the same?¡± [Madam]

    ¡°Are they different?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°They are. Fenrir is a divine beast, but a little fenrir is a magical beast. Little fenrirs are wolf type magical beasts that can use a little bit of ice magic. But it¡¯s true that they¡¯re quite strong.¡± [Madam]

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is...¡± [Ryouma]

    Little fenrirs are amazing... and the madam too, for being able to actually win it over. Right now that amazing little fenrir is being caressed by the madam. And as if the Madam¡¯s foot felt good, it began to turn over to its side.

    ¡°This child is the boss of its pack. I have 20 more little fenrirs. And then, I still have around 100 other wolf type magical beasts. I can do this since my aptitude with wolf type magical beasts is good.¡± [Madam]

    20 more beasts like this little fenrir!?

    While it can¡¯tpare to the number of slimes I have, its quality is too different. And it¡¯s at a different leaguepared to the ck bear¡¯s intimidating aura.

    ¡°It¡¯s because Elize is really skillful as a ve magic user. You normally can¡¯t make a little fenrir obey you just like that, you know? In fact, when I first met Elize in the past, I actually suffered from an inferiorityplex.¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°Ara, is that really true? Weren¡¯t you going around saying, ¡°I have my sword!¡± and without minding it, zealously tempered your sword arm? Also, I don¡¯t recall you having such ack of talent for ve magic.¡± [Madam]

    ¡°... If youpare me to you or to my father, I end up gettingpletely overshadowed.¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°Even then, you don¡¯t really need to mind it that much. To begin with, as a kid you always neglected your training as a ve magic user, and was always fussing over your sword training instead. So tell me, are you still going to imply that it¡¯s my fault?¡± [Rheinbach]

    Afterwards, Rheinbach-sama kept finding fault after fault with Rheinhart-san as he gave him a sermon. While listening to that, I looked at that little fenrir called Rogue as I thought to myself.

    The Madam can make 20 and 100 of these wolf type magical beasts submit. For Rheinbach-sama to be considered at the same level as her, isn¡¯t that amazing? No, it¡¯s definitely amazing.

    While I was thinking that, Elia called out to me.

    ¡°Ryouma-san, what are you thinking about?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°I just thought that Rheinbach-sama was pretty amazing, considering he¡¯s actually on the same level as the Madam.¡± [Ryouma]

    When Elia heard that, she smiled. I wonder if it¡¯s because her family was praised. But when the Madam beside me heard my words, she denied it.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, you¡¯re a little off there. Father-inw and I are not of the same level. Father-inw is in fact, on a level higher than me.¡± [Madam]

    ¡°Really?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I may have more ve monsters, but father-inw¡¯s ve monsters are on a different level. He may not even have 20 of them, but if the adventurer¡¯s guild were to put up a subjugation request for those, each one of those magical beasts would be ssified as an A rank magical beast. In fact, half of his ve monsters are dragons.¡± [Madam]

    ¡°Dragons!?¡± [Ryouma]

    I may have never seen a dragon, but I know that having close to 10 dragons, is something dangerous!! Moreover, all of them possess the power of a magical beast that¡¯s A Rank, up. And for one person to actually possess all that, that¡¯s overkill!! ... Isn¡¯t Rheinbach-sama an even bigger cheat than I am?

    ¡°... What¡¯s the matter with dragons?¡± [Rheinbach]

    Asked Rheinbach-sama, when he heard my voice.

    ¡°I heard about Rheinbach-sama¡¯s ve monsters just now. Amazing. To think that Rheinbach-sama would be able to tame several dragons.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°In my case, I was just lucky. I may have also had the aptitude for it, but starting out with a dragon was really strong. I collected those kind of dragons and I made them my ve monsters. As allies they¡¯re quite reassuring, but I can¡¯t call them out for petty things, otherwise it would cause a hugemotion.¡± [Rheinbach]

    Well that¡¯s true...

    ¡°Moreover, I¡¯m nothingpared to the founder of ve magic, Shiho Jamil-sama. From what I¡¯d heard, the founder didn¡¯t have any restrictions on the number of contracts that could be possessed. Moreover, the founder had an aptitude for all magical beasts, and was able to contract any kind of beast, regardless of how strong, or how hard they were to tame. And ording to the records, the number of ve monsters the founder had couldn¡¯t be counted.¡± [Rheinbach]

    By founder, he¡¯s referring to an otherworlder, right? Then in that case, isn¡¯t the reason she was able to do that, because of her cheats? Although, from what I¡¯d heard from Gayn and the others, she seemed to be a nice person.

    For someone like me who understands that, I¡¯m more interested in what Rheinbach-sama¡¯s dragons normally do, rather than any story about the founder.

    ¡°That Shiho-sama seems to be an amazing person, huh? ... By the way, what do Rheinbach-sama¡¯s ve monsters normally do?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°They¡¯re staying in a mountain within my territory. It¡¯s a dangerous mountain because the magical beasts there are too strong. With no oneing there, I had them stay there while preventing the monsters from going down to human settlements.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°I see.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°ve magic users that possess powerful magical beasts have an inclination to have a problem with finding a ce for those beasts to stay. So in the future, when you tame a powerful magical beast, and find it difficult to find a home for it, just let us know, ok?¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    When I run out of space in my space magic, I¡¯ll talk to them about it.

 Volume 2 - 20

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Volume 2 Chapter 20

    TL Note: For the early birds, I had to repost this several times because of an error, so my apologies if a nk page greeted you a while ago.

    Here¡¯s your first chapter for the day. I¡¯ll try to get the extra chapter out, but if you don¡¯t see it within the next four hours, then it¡¯s noting today.

    Also, the founder of ve magic is a woman. I forgot about it, and thest chapter didn¡¯t have any pronouns, so I just went with the default pronouns. I¡¯ll change the wordings to reflect that.

    Volume 2 Chapter 20

    Our break ended, and we resumed the training... or so I thought we would, but apparently, our training for the day is already over.

    ¡°It¡¯s because you two have already learned how to use ¡®Sensory Link¡¯, so all that¡¯s left is for you two to practice on your own time. That¡¯s why, Ryouma-kun, right now you should just leisurely spend your time while you listen to Elia¡¯s performance. You might think that it¡¯s just because we¡¯re doting parents, but Elia¡¯s performance is actually really good.¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°Performance? Why, all of the sudden?¡± [Ryouma]

    What¡¯s going on?

    ¡°Do you remember the discussion we had regarding the rimel birds?¡± [Madam]

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s the objective of everyone whoes here, right?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That¡¯s right. After all, rimel birds are agile and have the ability to use wind magic. But because of that, it¡¯s difficult to catch one without hurting it. As a result, it¡¯s very rare to see one. But the rimel birds are a magical beast after all, so it can be tamed!¡± [Madam]

    I see. Since it¡¯s possible, it makes one want to tame it... But then, what does that have to do with Elia¡¯s performance?

    ¡°Then, does the performance have anything to do with that?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It has plenty do with it. If you want to tame a rimel bird, then music is a must.¡± [Madam]

    ¡°Really?¡± I thought, at which Sebasu-san exined.

    ¡°A rimel bird possesses a sizeable amount of magic power inside its body, and at the same time it is highly intelligent. Because of that, if you try to tame it normally, it will simply resist, and you won¡¯t be able to contract it.

    However, a rimel bird is very sensitive to sound, and is able to differentiate its friends with a beautiful cry. Taking advantage of that behavior, one can y some music before contracting it, and if ites to like you, then you¡¯ll be able to make a contract with it. This is the most epted theory when ites to taming a rimel bird.¡± [Sebasu]

    As expected of a different world, to actually have a method which goes beyondmon sense! Seriously, you actually have to y music to tame it?

    ¡°To think that you could actually tame a magical beast that way. I didn¡¯t know about that at all.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Well, the probability of sess is extremely low. So because of that, there are many who think this method is fake. However, aside from this, there are no other ways to contract a rimel bird. So technically, this is the method with the highest chance of sess.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°With that in mind, Elia will also be performing for the rimel bird to try to tame it. That¡¯s what the training this afternoon is for.¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°Ryouma-san, please listen to my performance. But don¡¯t worry, even if you fall asleep, or even if you don¡¯t listen, I won¡¯t mind. But please don¡¯t go back home.¡± [Elia]

    What¡¯s going on? If she asked me to listen, then it would have been fine. But she¡¯s actually telling me that it¡¯s fine even if I don¡¯t listen as long as I don¡¯t go home?

    Then all of the sudden, Sebasu-san and the othersughed as they looked at me.

    ............... Ah! You mean to tell me!!

    ¡°Looks like you noticed.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯ve been working too hard without rest these past few days. So we thought we¡¯d have you rest for a bit.¡± [Madam]

    ¡°Do you remember when you came to our room, when the store was about to bepleted? We¡¯ve been thinking about it a little since then. Ryouma-kun, you made a store right afterpleting a subjugation request. Then while hiring some employees for your store, you took some requests from the adventurer¡¯s guild. Then, on top of all that, I heard that you¡¯ve actually been patrolling the abandoned mine and creating water proof cloths. You haven¡¯t been able to properly rest, right? There was even that incident yesterday. You¡¯ll most likely be even busier from now on in order to deal with that. So we thought we¡¯d have you rest today under the pretext of training your ve magic.¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°When we told your employees to let you take rest, they cheerfully agreed.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°When did you...?¡± [Ryouma]

    I didn¡¯t notice at all.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be properly watching you today. And we definitely won¡¯t let you work, Ryouma-kun.¡± [Madam]

    ¡°You may not be able to rest your mind like this, but even if it¡¯s by force, if you don¡¯t rest your body, you might break it. So from now on, even if it¡¯s by force, as long as you work like this, I¡¯ll be taking you to my house.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Sorry for making you worry.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You may not be overworking yourself, but if a normal person were to continue with the kind of workload you¡¯re putting on yourself, they would surely break. You also just might not be aware that you¡¯re pushing yourself, so be careful.¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°So with that in mind, we¡¯ll be having Ryouma-san rest today. Then, I¡¯ll start my performance now.¡± [Elia]

    Elia¡¯s being unusually pushy today... or maybe she actually normally like this? ... But then again, I guess you could also say that she¡¯s just innocent.

    While I was thinking that, Elia took a violin from Sebasu-san, and started ying. Looks like there¡¯s also a violin in this world. Though it¡¯s also possible that an otherworlder brought it here.

    As Elia began to y, I listened.

    Elia¡¯s performance was good. And because it was such a calm tune, I was able to rx.

    When Elia finished ying, she asked me what I thought of it..

    ¡°Ryouma-san, how was it?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°It was good. Very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    This isn¡¯t ttery. I also used to y a guitar back in my previous life, but I don¡¯t think I was able to y it as well she did her violin. Then again, we can¡¯t really bepared, since the instrument is different. But even though I¡¯m not that acquainted with music, I think her performance was great.

    I only gave her my simple impressions, but Elia looks happy. And so, like that, Elia continued to y, while I enjoyed the amiablepany of Rogue and the slimes, caressing them, as we passed the time.

    While I was caressing the three slimes I¡¯d just recently caught, I let them absorb a little bit of my magic power. While I was doing that, one of them reacted. Seeing that I couldn¡¯t help but exim. Because of that, Elia stopped ying and walked over to me. The others too.

    ¡°Ah!? It came!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°What did!?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, what is it all of the sudden?¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°The slime is evolving!¡± [Ryouma]

    At those words, everyone gathered around the slime I was caressing. That slime was shaking just like that time with the iron slime. Then it stopped, and then it began to release and absorb magic power.

    When the slime¡¯s body began to change color, everyone held their breaths as they curiously stared at the slime.

    When the slime¡¯s body turned light brown, the evolution ended. When I checked the slime with ¡®Monster Identify¡¯.

    Earth Slime

    Skills

    Earth Magic Lv2

    Earth Attribute Resistance Lv8

    Earth Magic Absorption Lv1

    Jump Lv1

    Digestion Lv3

    Absorption Lv3

    Split Lv1

    The slime became an earth magician! Experiment, sess!

    ¡°Ryouma-san, what did it turn into?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°It became an Earth Slime. A slime that can use Earth Magic.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Oh? That¡¯s a rare slime.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, the earth slime is a rare slime. Exactly how were you able to make it evolve like that?¡± [Rheinhart]

    Since they asked me like that, I told them. When they heard how to, Elia and the madam tried it out, but they couldn¡¯t do it.

    They weren¡¯t able to release magic power while changing its attribute. Whenever they tried to, they ended up casting magic.

    From the looks of things, in order to release magic power with a different attribute, you need to have the ability to delicately manipte magic. My ¡®Magic Maniption¡¯ skill is at Lv4 so it was possible for me, but it wasn¡¯t for the Madam and the Ojousama.

    Elia, seemingly mortified, stopped practicing her music, and began practicing her control of magic.

    Looks like after she learns the ¡®Magic Maniption¡¯ skill, she¡¯ll try again.

    During that time, I fed the other two slimes with magic power, and they also evolved.

    With this, I have two earth slimes, while the other slime evolved into a dark slime.

    Dark Slime

    Skills

    Dark Magic Lv2

    Dark Attribute Resistance Lv8

    Dark Magic Absorption Lv1

    Jump Lv1

    Digestion Lv3

    Absorption Lv3

    Split Lv1

    After that, I started caressing the slimes again when I neared my magic power¡¯s limit.

    It was at such a time that for some reason, the crew bird flew and found a herd of horn rabbits. Seeing that, I decided to hunt the horn rabbits and bring them back as thanks to the people from the shop.

    Rheinhart-san, Elia, and the others also came to help me.

    I started off by taking out my bow, and shooting them. Then I drove them towards where the slimes, Rheinhart-san, and the rest were waiting. Like this, we were able to easily end the hunt.

    After that, I had the bloody slime drain its blood, then I asked Elia to freeze it with her ice magic. Next, I put up a barrier and an anti-barrier on a box that Rheinbach-sama had made with earth magic. We put the spoils in there, then I hid it in my ¡®Item Box¡¯. Speaking of which, I wonder if I should change the name ¡®Anti-Cold Barrier¡¯ into ¡®Cold-Retention Barrier¡¯. After all, since improving the magic it¡¯s already be quite different from before.

    While I was thinking that, I went back to Elia¡¯s group, returned the crew bird into the bird cage, and released the contract.

    The madam told me that it was fine for me to take it with me, but I politely refused her. It¡¯s true that it¡¯s convenient, but it¡¯s not a problem for me even if I can¡¯t see things from the sky. If it does be necessary, I could just catch one myself.

    After that, it was almost time to go home. But because I used up too much magic power, I ended up falling asleep while on the carriage. When we got back to the lodging, I opened my eyes, but... I wonder if it¡¯s because I ran out of magic power. Or maybe I just hadn¡¯t noticed it and the fatigue had actually been piling up. In any case, I went back to my room, and like that, I retired for the day.

 Volume 2 - 21

    TL Note: Here¡¯s your second andst chapter of the day. This chapter was made possible by all the anons that have donated. Thank you anons.

    Karma -> Carm

    Volume 2 Chapter 21

    The next day.

    I went to the store before opening time.

    ¡°Good morning, everyone.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Good morning, Boss!¡± [Carm & Ka]

    ¡°Good morning!¡± [Everyone else]

    ¡°Thank you for yesterday. Thanks to you guys, I was able to rest well.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± [Marie]

    ¡°Overworking is bad for your health, so please take care of yourself.¡± [Ka]

    ¡°Boss, you¡¯re working too hard, you know? When we heard how much you¡¯ve been working, we were shocked.¡± [Li Ling]

    ¡°You actually built this store in 10 days. That¡¯s just crazy. If you keep up that pace, you¡¯ll die early, you know?¡± [Fei]

    ¡°I¡¯ll be careful.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Please do so.¡± [Ka]

    ¡°Even if the Boss acts like an adult, he¡¯s still a kid after all.¡± [Jeanne]

    ¡°Even if you¡¯re an adult, it¡¯s not good to push yourself.¡± [Fina]

    Looks like I caused my employees to worry. But actually, thanks to them being here, I didn¡¯t push myself that much. Still, I¡¯m grateful that they were worried over me.

    Because of that, I was quite happy. And so, I gave them my thanks, then I headed to the kitchen.

    ¡°Celma-san, are you here?¡±

    ¡°Is there anything you need, Boss?¡± [Celma]

    When I got to the kitchen, the only cook of this store, Celma, was there. Our cook seems to be making some kind of soup. Seeing me, Celma-san stopped stirring, and walked towards me.

    ¡°Yesterday, I rested and I went out of the town for a bit. During that time, I managed to hunt some game, and so I thought I¡¯d bring those back as souvenirs. I drained its blood right after killing it, then I froze it, so its quality should be good.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that, I took out the meat from my ¡®Item Box¡¯.

    ¡°My, my, thank you very much. This is... horn rabbit, right? Please put this in the fridge for now, I¡¯ll serve it to everyone during lunch.¡± [Celma]

    ¡°Thank you.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that, I went to put all of the meat in the fridge.

    ¡°Ara, ara, there¡¯s quite a lot, huh?¡± [Celma]

    ¡°It¡¯s because I was able to spot a herd of them.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I¡¯m really d that we have this refrigerator. It¡¯s really convenient.¡± [Celma]

    ¡°Really? I mean, it certainly is convenient, but...¡± [Ryouma]

    I have to put up the barrier once every day, so it¡¯s actually quite annoying. If I became better at barrier magic, then the duration of the barrier would also increase, but... well, it is better now that when I¡¯d first using it, where each barrier onlysted for an hour.

    ¡°It is! It¡¯s really convenient! Normally, when there¡¯s an ingredient that I won¡¯t be able to use immediately, I¡¯d be left with no option other than to just throw it away! Vegetables are one thing, but as for meat, I really have to throw them away immediately! It¡¯s easy for it to go bad during hot days, and summer, but then, there¡¯s also the fact that it¡¯s to get sick from it. But with this refrigerator, even if I have plenty of ingredients, even if its meat, I can put them away, and use them for tomorrow. Like this, not only will I not waste food, we can also save money!¡± [Celma]

    ¡°Ah, now that you mention it... When I was in the forest, I hunted when I needed to eat, and before the excess meat went bad, I gave them to the slimes. So I guess I forgot about that.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°The slimes are also quite convenient. They eat the trash and the bones for me. They¡¯ve really helped me a lot.¡± [Celma]

    We chatted like that for a bit, then I put up the barrier for the fridge again. After which, I left the kitchen.

    When I got out, Ka-san seemed to have some business with me, as she called me.

    ¡°You want to increase the number of employees?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°The current number is enough for now, but when our branches start to increase we¡¯ll have a problem if we only start raising new employees then. At the very least, couldn¡¯t we start raising up a manager, or someone who will be a key yer in the store?¡± [Ka]

    ¡°That¡¯s true... I don¡¯t have any objections regarding that. In the end, I¡¯ll have to leave it to Carm-san and the others to raise new employees. But the thing is, in our store the biggest problem is the ve magic user. To our store, cleaner slimes are indispensable, which means ve magic users are also needed. So the problem is, how are we going to hire a trustworthy ve magic user, who won¡¯t run off with the slimes or smuggle them?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Normally you¡¯d go to the tamer guild for that, but... Right now, the tamer guild is a suspect, so...¡± [Ka]

    ¡°Right... regarding that, there hasn¡¯t been any problem, has there?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°None. No one hase since then. But I don¡¯t think they¡¯re going to give up after just one failure.¡± [Ka]

    ¡°... For the meantime, let¡¯s be careful. I¡¯ll try thinking about the ve magic user. As for your side, I don¡¯t mind if you add some people you appraise highly.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± [Ka]

    After that, I left the store, and decided to go to the abandoned mine. On the way, I met Jeff-san. Today, he isn¡¯t wearing any armor, and he also doesn¡¯t have his spear with him. He walked over to where I am, while he stuffed his cheeks with skewered meat. Is it his day off?

    ¡°Oomph! Mmm... *gulp, isn¡¯t that Ryouma?¡± [Jeff]

    ¡°Good morning, Jeff-san. Is it your day off today?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I¡¯m just tired because I¡¯ve been fighting every day. Are you working today?¡± [Jeff]

    ¡°I¡¯m going to the abandoned mine to run my rounds.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°By abandoned mine, you mean the ce where we hunted?¡± [Jeff]

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve be the manager of that ce. So I have to patrol it at fixed intervals, and make sure that no magical beasts are making a nest out of it.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You were doing a job like that? You¡¯re an adventurer, aundromat, and a manager, aren¡¯t you busy?¡± [Jeff]

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve already left theundromat to my employees, so I don¡¯t have anything to do right now. I can also rest freely as an adventurer. And it¡¯s not like I actually have to act as a manager for the mine every day. So until the store expands, I won¡¯t be busy.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Then I guess it¡¯s fine, but... Oh, right. Want some? I¡¯ll treat you.¡± [Jeff]

    As Jeff-san said that, he took out his bag of skewered meat.

    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll take one stick... Mn!¡± [Ryouma]

    When I took a bite, what I tasted wasn¡¯t herb or salt, but rather the stinging taste of seasoned meat. In this world, things like sugar and spices are expensive. Because of that, salt is generally the only ingredient used to make food taste better. But... this is delicious! It feels like it¡¯scking in some parts, but... nevertheless, this is good!

    ¡°It¡¯s delicious!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Right? I bought it from that cart over there. They used a little bit of spice, so it¡¯s a little expensive, but it¡¯s delicious. There¡¯s a za over there, so go take a seat and try tasting some.¡± [Jeff]

    I followed Jeff-san, and entered a side street. The ce we went to, was a za with a bench and a well. I took a seat on the bench as I observed the area. It¡¯s kind of like a park.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you just start a new store? And now, you¡¯re already thinking of starting another one?¡± [Jeff]

    ¡°It¡¯s because the guild master of the merchant guild and my employees told me to think about it. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m nning to start one right away... besides, there¡¯re some problems.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°What? Is there something bothering you?¡± [Jeff]

    ¡°The new shop is going to be at a different town, because of that I¡¯ll end up having to travel frequently. But in order to make my store, it¡¯s important for there to be someone who can manage the slimes.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That¡¯s not something you should worry about. Just go the tamer guild.¡± [Jeff]

    ¡°Well the guild master of the tamer guild seems to be hostile to me, so he might do something strange. In fact, there were some thugs who were paid to make a mess in my store... The guard I employed, managed to stop them, but we think the one who hired those thugs is the guild master of the tamer guild.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You, did you do something bad?¡± [Jeff]

    ¡°Nothing in particr. I just went to register with the duke family¡¯s youngdy... and so from the looks of things, he dislikes me for having a close rtionship with the duke¡¯s household, despite me being like this.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ahh... so it¡¯s that kind of guy. Those kinds who brandish their position and connections are such a pain.¡± [Jeff]

    ¡°Indeed. Moreover, he¡¯s the kind of guy who doesn¡¯t care about people below him. Putting it bluntly, he¡¯s not someone who can be trusted. There¡¯s no way I¡¯d hire someone from the guild of a man like that.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that, I bit into my skewered meat. Jeff-san finished his own set, and as he brought out a second set, he said this.

    ¡°Then in that case, I have a suggestion.¡± [Jeff]

    ¡°Really?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yeah! I¡¯m not good at stuff that involves one¡¯s head, as I can¡¯t do anything else aside from fighting. Because of that, I can¡¯t help you out when ites to business and stuff, but when ites to people, then that¡¯s a different story. If you don¡¯t want to hire someone from the tamer guild, then how about hiring someone from the slums?¡± [Jeff]

    ¡°Someone from the slums, huh?¡¯ [Ryouma]

    ¡°That¡¯s right. The people from the slums are poor, but it¡¯s not like they can¡¯t do anything. I¡¯m also someone who used to be from the slums, but I¡¯m living as an adventurer now, right? In the same way, I know many people who can use ve magic.

    There are all sorts in the slums. There are people who are useless, and then, there are also those who are too skilled, was conspired against, and ended up in the slums. Isn¡¯t it fine if you hire those kind of guys?

    This town is a mining town, so there¡¯re more jobs herepared to other towns. So, while it¡¯s not possible to livefortable, people aren¡¯t being driven into a corner either. Because of that, there aren¡¯t many who wouldmit a crime. And there are actually plenty who can be considered decent people. And more than anything, these people have a strong sense of camaraderie with those who¡¯ve alsoe from the slums. Unless you do what the public office did, and try to drive down the sry, I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll betray you.

    The people of the slum also want a stable life. That¡¯s why, if you want to hire, then you can hire immediately. As for whether you can form a trusting rtionship, well that depends on you.¡± [Jeff]

    Is this what you call, having the scales fall from your eyes? Now that he mentions it, the guild is more of something like an agency. As long as you have an intermediary, then it doesn¡¯t matter. I can look for people by myself, and put them through the merchant guild instead.

    ¡°Try thinking about it. Once you¡¯ve made up your mind, I¡¯ll act as your middleman. Even till now, my face is still useful around the slums, you know?¡± [Jeff]

    ¡°Thank you very much. I¡¯ll think about it.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that, I finished eating my skewered meat. I give my thanks to Jeff-san, and head towards the abandoned mine. On the way, I thought about the discussion we just had.

    It¡¯s not bad, right? Rheinbach-sama also employed the slum people to clean thetrine pits. So at the very least, they¡¯re not unhireable, and there¡¯s also the possibility that there might be someone trustworthy there.

    While I was thinking that, I reached the abandoned mine. I immediately set off to start the production of waterproof cloths. I didn¡¯t have any problem even with 50, so I guess I can do 70 today.

    I fix the cloth on the workbench, then I leave it to the sticky slimes.

    When that ended, I started the training. The sticky slimes, poison slimes, acid slimes, and scavenger slimes are all fine, but... it doesn¡¯t seem like the bloody slime is made forbat. Because its body is closer to liquid than the others, its attacks have absolutely no power behind it. It doesn¡¯t have any abilities for fighting either... and because its movements are so slippery, its first movement is fast, so it looks like it can at least run, but... is this something to be happy about? For the meantime, I guess I¡¯ll spend some time observing it.¡± [Ryouma]

    Then, there¡¯s the metal slime and the iron slime. They¡¯re both hard, but because I¡¯ve only just recently tamed them, they¡¯re still not able to move their bodies well. Turning their body into a tentacle also seems to be impossible for them... If they were able to, then I could¡¯ve made them harden along with it and do all sorts of things, but... yeah, I guess I¡¯ll also have to spend some time with these guys.

    As for the earth slimes and the dark slime, they¡¯re all able to use magic.

    The earth slimes can use ¡®Rock¡¯, ¡®Break Rock¡¯ and a currently still weak ¡®Earth Needle¡¯.

    As for the dark slime, it can cause its surrounding to be darker with ¡®Darkness¡¯, and it can also shoot out a ball of darkness with ¡®Dark Ball¡¯. It¡¯s something I rarely use, but it¡¯s a kind of magic that sucks out one¡¯s life force. Even if you say ¡®suck¡¯ though, it won¡¯t replenish your life. The magic that can aplish that, is a mid-level magic called ¡®Drain¡¯.

    These guys also move like normal slimes. So I¡¯ll have them train their magic, then I¡¯ll have them train their movements a bit, afterwards, I guess I could let them take the role of a gunner?

    It¡¯s also essential to have some livebat experience when using attack magic, so yeah... these guys will also take some time.

    I¡¯ve already confirmed that the earth slimes can use ¡®Rock¡¯ and ¡®Break Rock¡¯, so I guess I¡¯ll try teaching them ¡®Create Block¡¯.

    As I tried to teach them that, they were able to do it after several tries. I was a bit surprised at their learning speed, but I think it¡¯s good that they learn fast.

    As for the dark slime... I guess I¡¯ll have it practice the ¡®Dark ball¡¯? I¡¯m also not that well-versed at dark magic, so... I guess I¡¯ll train alongside it.

    After that, while letting the cloths dry, I trained with the earth slimes, and at the same time, we also made some building stones. I had the newly made building stones be carried into a tunnel for safekeeping. I¡¯ll use them when I make a house next time.

    And then, just like usual, when the cloths finished drying, I retrieved it, and left. When I got back to the lodging, I visited the duke¡¯s room.

    ¡°Wee. Ryouma-san.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°You came.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Is there something?¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°There was something I wanted to discuss for a bit.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Oh? What is it?¡± [Rheinbach]

    I talked about what I¡¯d discussed today with Jeff-san. Hearing that, they seemed to think it wasn¡¯t a bad idea.

    I don¡¯t mind if you hire the slum people. That is, if you can trust them. But then, you do have an intermediary, so as long as that guy is trustworthy, then I don¡¯t think there¡¯ll be any problem.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Even if it¡¯s a little, like this, the slum¡¯s job prospects will also increase, so I¡¯m a little happy. Only, I think it¡¯s better if you stick with the guild. It may not be illegal, but because of how money you¡¯re making, it wouldn¡¯t be strange for people to try to find some dirt on you. At that time, the less holes you have, the better.¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°That¡¯s certainly true. But, could I pass it through the merchant guild, instead of the tamer guild?¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that, pondering, the madam smiled at me and said this.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s fine. After all, even though you¡¯re also registered as a ve magic user, you¡¯re also registered as a merchant, right? Moreover, this might be poor of me to say, but the people of the slum are most likely people who wouldn¡¯t ept jobs from the tamer guild.

    Just like Ryouma-kun, they too, only have weak ve monsters. Even if they try to tame a stronger magical beast, they can¡¯t. Otherwise, they¡¯d be able to get jobs from the tamer guild, and that would allow their lifestyle to improve.

    It¡¯s also normal for them to look for jobs that aren¡¯t rted to ve magic, so there shouldn¡¯t be any room for criticism.¡± [Madam]

    ¡°Precisely. Still, I think it¡¯s better if you talk with the guild master of the merchant guild first. That way, everything can proceed without a hitch.¡± [Rheinbach]

    That¡¯s true. Alright!

    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll go to the merchant guild tomorrow.¡± [Ryouma]

    With that, we came to a conclusion. After that, I drank some ck tea for a while, while I asked them about the tamer guild¡¯s criterion, then afterwards, I left the room.

    Apparently, the current tamer guild considers the power of the magic beast that the ve magic user has contracted to be a representation of that magician¡¯s skill.

    So it doesn¡¯t seem like they¡¯re actually looking at actual abilities. All they¡¯re looking at is the division of the magical beasts¡¯ strength by referencing something that somewhat resembles an illustration book. Moreover, regardless of how many you contract, as long as it¡¯s something weak like a slime, then they won¡¯t value it. That is to say, 0 is 0 no matter how many times you multiply it.

    All in all, what this means is that, as long as you¡¯re able to contract with a strong beast, then you¡¯re an expert at ve magic. If you can¡¯t do that, then you¡¯re bad at ve magic.

    Of course, I also understand that there are people like the duke¡¯s household, who don¡¯t only judge a ve magic user¡¯s ability on that, alone. But then, there¡¯s also the fact that it takes time to train and figure out a way to use your ve monster, whereas if you¡¯d just tamed a powerful ve monster instead, then even if you don¡¯t train much, you¡¯ll be able to easily gain strength. It would appear that, that kind of thinking has be popr in recent years.

    Matthew is a typical man who thinks like that. And after gaining some influence, it would appear that he¡¯s be rather wicked.

    Before I went back to my room, they emphasized to me the need to be careful of Matthew. If they only had some proof of his wrongdoings, then they¡¯d be able to do something, but without any evidence, it bes really difficult.

    Really, these guys are always saving me. I¡¯m really grateful.

 Volume 2 - 22

    TL Note: Karma -> Carm; I misread it, sorry, haha.

    Speaking of which, I wonder if #fuckmatthew is going to be a thing now.

    Volume 2 Chapter 22

    The Next Day

    I went to the store and talked to Carm-san and Ka-san regarding the discussion yesterday. After that, I headed to the merchant guild, and was again brought to the reception room. It happens every time, so I¡¯ve already gotten used to it...

    ¡°You need more people again?¡± [Gris]

    ¡°Yes. But there¡¯s also something I wanted to consult to you about.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Hmm? What is it?¡± [Gris]

    I exined the situation.

    ¡°So the dimwit has his eye on you, has he?¡± [Gris]

    ¡°You know Matthew?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°But of course. He is, after all, the guild master of this town¡¯s tamer guild. So it can¡¯t be helped that I sometimes have to meet him, not that I enjoy seeing him, mind you.

    That guy¡¯s someone who got drunk on his own power, and can¡¯t do anything else except suck up to influential people. Aside from that, the only other things he¡¯s good at are working his subordinates, and making excuses.

    That guy believes in money and power. Seeing you with the duke, he probably sees you as someone who is trying to curry favor. Like that, if you go hire some people from the tamer guild, it won¡¯t do you any good.¡± [Gris]

    ¡°So it really is as I¡¯d expected.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°No question about it. Hiring people from the slum is a good idea. That guy treats the ve magic users from the slum as a bunch of no good, so even if he wants to, he won¡¯t be able to stop them. Even if they¡¯re affiliated with the guild, they should be being treated poorly. If it¡¯s people like that, then at the very least they won¡¯t try to help Matthew, right? ... If you find someone you think is trustworthy, take them with you. You won¡¯t have any problems with the legal process. Besides it¡¯s not really a crime or anything.¡± [Gris]

    ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll do as you¡¯ve suggested. Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yeah, do your best.¡± [Gris]

    As I stood up from the sofa and was about to leave, she said this.

    ¡°Ryouma, go take your seat again, I forgot to tell you something.¡± [Gris]

    ¡°What is it?¡± [Ryouma]

    I said, as I sat again.

    ¡°I investigated a bit about the thugs who came to your store. I was able to find out that they were hired by someone, but unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t find out who. There¡¯s the possibility that the dark guild is involved, so be careful.¡± [Gris]

    ¡°Dark guild...¡±

    In other words, a criminal group, right?

    ¡°Is the dark guild a gathering of assassins and thieves?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes. The dark guild takes dirty requests, and give them to their members. The contents of their job are illegal, so naturally, they¡¯re an illegal organization. But they don¡¯t justmit crimes, they also provide the tools. Because they¡¯ll do anything, there¡¯re quite a lot who give them requests. They¡¯re a group that specializes in killing, so be careful.¡± [Gris]

    ¡°I understand, thank you for warning me.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind it.¡± [Gris]

    As the guild master said that, she sent me off, and I left the guild. I was nning to go to the mine next, but then, I happened by someone I didn¡¯t want to meet. That guy was standing by the side of a luxurious carriage when he saw me. Seeming irritated, he called out to me in a strained voice.

    ¡°Bastard, what are you doing here?¡± [Matthew]

    ¡°This is the main street. Isn¡¯t it normal for people to pass by here? Branch Head, Matthew.¡± [Ryouma]

    Who would¡¯ve thought that we¡¯d end up meeting here in the road like this? I see he¡¯s still as annoying as ever, though. But this is different from before. Last time I was with the duke, so he hid it. But now that I¡¯m all alone, he¡¯s openly showing his aggression.

    ¡°Hmph! A dimwit like you shouldn¡¯t be calling me so familiarly... By the way, I heard you started a strange store.¡± [Matthew]

    He knows about the store? ... Is it him? Did he really send the thugs?

    ¡°It seems you¡¯re using slimes, but a talentless dimwit like you who has only been able tame slimes, despite being a ve magic user for 3 years, isn¡¯t fit to be called a ve magic user. Moreover, your slimes are a new race? And they eat dirt? Hmph! Not only do you have a bunch of useless beasts, the only things those things are capable of is making themselves dirtier!¡± [Matthew]

    As he kept insulting me like that, I ended up remembering the time when I registered. Because of that, I became even more annoyed.

    It doesn¡¯t matter what I say to a guy like this. It¡¯d just fall on deaf ears. Seriously, what a pain in the ass. Still though, for some reason, I just can¡¯t find myself getting angry at this guy. I¡¯m slightly pissed off, but... I¡¯m able to remain calm...

    ¡°Good grief, you¡¯re such an eyesore. Even though you¡¯re social standing is like that, you actually dare to cajole the duke? Last time, the youngdy of the duke and his missus defended you, so I had no choice but to let you register. But I can never ept that you¡¯re actually a member of my tamer guild! I will absolutely never ept it! Even if youe to the guild, I won¡¯t give you a job! To begin with, a dimwit like you who can¡¯t tame anything but a slime, can¡¯t do anything! ... Ah, you¡¯re here. Come!¡± [Matthew]

    Matthew said the things he wanted to say to me until a young woman wearing a gaudy outfit came. He let her ride his carriage, then he immediately set off.

    Seriously, what a horrible person to be with... However, he mentioned that slimes and scavenger slimes are useless and unable to do anything else except be dirtier. Does that mean he hasn¡¯t noticed their value at all?

    Wasn¡¯t he the one who sent the thugs?

    Well, whatever. I¡¯ve changed my mind. I originally wasn¡¯t nning to make a fuss regarding the profits, but as revenge for today, I¡¯ll go make a killing with those slimes he called worthless.

    I want to have the issue with the ve magic users solved anyway, so I might as well ask Jeff-san now.

    I decided not to go to the mine, and instead, I decided to head towards the adventurer¡¯s guild.

    When I got to the guild, I asked where Jeff-san was. Apparently, he should be going home soon, so I waited by the guild.

    After 1 hour of waiting, Jeff-san arrived. After I saw him finish reporting his request¡¯s sess, I called out to him.

    ¡°Jeff-san¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Hey, if it isn¡¯t Ryouma. What¡¯s up?¡± [Jeff]

    ¡°I wanted to ask for your help regarding our discussion some time ago.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s fast. I thought you¡¯d take more time to make up your mind. Well, if you¡¯ve decided, then we can go now.¡± [Jeff]

    ¡°Is it ok?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. Besides, I was nning to go to the slums today anyway. My house is also close by, so let¡¯s go.¡± [Jeff]

    ¡°Then, please take care of me.¡± [Ryouma]

    And so, we went to the slums. On the way, we bought some food ingredients. Apparently, these are refreshments for the slum people. Because of the public office, the slum people¡¯s ie has suffered, and so the people who used to live in the slums are giving those in the slums assistance little by little.

    After we finished shopping, we carried everything as we walked. Gradually, the presence of people vanished. The kind of building we saw became seedier and seedier. And even the children we saw from time to time, wore shabby clothes.

    When they saw Jeff-san they waved their hands and called out, and Jeff-san also responded to them.

    After that, I just followed them.

    After a while, we arrived at an old but well-built building that¡¯s slightly bigger than the others.

    ¡°Is grandpa here?¡± [Jeff]

    Said Jeff as he lightly knocked on the door. The door opened by itself. I felt some magic power just now... so it¡¯s probably the work of magic.

    ¡°Looks like he¡¯s here, let¡¯s go in.¡± [Jeff]

    When we entered, there was an old man, around 60 year old, with white hair, sitting on arge chair while facing a in table. The man calmly spoke.

    ¡°You came again, Jeff. Thank you for always helping us. However, I¡¯m not at an age where you can call me ¡®grandpa¡¯, you know?¡± [Grandpa]

    ¡°You¡¯re plenty old in my opinion.¡± [Jeff]

    ¡°My legs and loins are still fine, so I¡¯m not an old man. But that aside, who¡¯s this kid? Did you bring another one you want me to watch over?¡± [Grandpa]

    ¡°Even if he¡¯s like this, he¡¯s an excellent adventurer. Enough to make his own living. He came here to discuss something with you. Something that¡¯s also beneficial to the slum.¡± [Jeff]

    ¡°Oh?¡± [Grandpa]

    At those words, the man looked at me.

    ¡°A pleasure to meet you, my name is Ryouma Takebayashi.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You don¡¯t need those manners here. I¡¯m Ribble, the boss of Gimuru¡¯s slum. Jeff introduced you, so you¡¯re probably trustworthy, but I¡¯ll warn you just in case. You can¡¯t just do whatever you want here. And if we can maintain a good rtionship, then we¡¯ll also be grateful to you.¡±

    The moment he said those words, he gave off a strong aura of intimidation. I guess it¡¯s just what you¡¯d expect from a boss.

    ¡°Of course. I also don¡¯t want any unnecessary hostility.¡± [Ryouma]

    When I said that, Ribble-san snorted andughed while broadly grinning.

    ¡°Looks like you didn¡¯t get scared... Good guts, kid.¡± [Ribble]

    ¡°Ain¡¯t that obvious? He¡¯s someone I acknowledge, you know?¡± [Jeff]

    ¡°I see. Well, what is that beneficial discussion of yours?¡± [Ribble]

    ¡°I¡¯ll exin.¡± [Ryouma]

    It¡¯s my store, so the one who should talk is me, right? As I thought that, I exined.

    ¡°I see. You don¡¯t want the tamer guild to butt in, so you want to hire some people from the slums. That¡¯s certainly beneficial. Since you¡¯re going to be providing a ce of work, and moreover, sry high enough to make a living, then I don¡¯t have any problems. As long as you pay them properly, you can take whoever you want. As for us, it¡¯s enough for us to have another person allocating materials and food.¡± [Ribble]

    Well, this discussion wrapped up unexpectedly fast. I thought he¡¯d take a referral fee too, but... I guess Jeff-san¡¯s introduction had an effect? In any case, what¡¯s important now is to find a trustworthy ve magic user that I can hire.

    After that, we left Ribble-san¡¯s home, and went over to an acquaintance of Jeff-san who knows how to use ve magic. On the way, Jeff-san called over two kids and asked them to call someone over.

    After a while, we arrived at a house. Jeff-san walked over to its door, and violently knocked.

    ¡°Hey! Old Caulkins! You¡¯re here, right!? Come out!¡± [Jeff]

    Right now, Jeff-san looks like a debt collector... As I thought that, the door mmed open, and a thin man middle-aged man, who looks like his withering, came out. He feels like a sry man who just went through hispany¡¯s restructuring.

    ¡°Shut up Jeff! Even if you don¡¯t bang on door that much, I can hear you!¡± [Caulkins]

    ¡°There¡¯ve been to many times when I called you, and you didn¡¯te out!¡± [Jeff]

    ¡°It¡¯s your fault, since you had toe while I was in the middle of my research!¡± [Caulkins]

    ¡°Like hell it is!¡± [Jeff]

    ¡°What could someone like you who has never researched understand? Researching is like diving into a deep sea of thought, and just like bubbles, you have to pursue the ideas before they disappear. There¡¯s no way I¡¯d have the free time to deal with other things, during that!¡± [Caulkins]

    ¡°It¡¯s because you don¡¯t think about other things like that, that you ended up bankrupt because of your fruitless research!¡± [Jeff]

    ¡°Ugu... There¡¯s nothing I can say to that... forget it, what¡¯s your business?¡± [Caulkins¡±

    ¡°I came here to bring you a job offer as a ve magic user.¡± [Jeff]

    When the man named Caulkins heard that, his eyes twinkled.

    ¡°A job? Me? A job as a ve magic user?¡± [Caulkins]

    ¡°Yeah, the boss is Ryouma over here.¡± [Jeff]

    At those words, Caulkins finally noticed me.

    ¡°A pleasure to meet you, my name is Ryouma Takebayashi.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Excuse me, I showed you something unsightly. Are you the client? Moreover, the client who wants me as a ve magic user...?¡± [Caulkins]

    ¡°For the meantime, let us inside, old man.¡± [Jeff]

    At Jeff-san¡¯s words, Caulkins scratched his head as realization hit him. Entering the house, the atmosphere became gloomy. The house had one room, with one magic stone for light, and one cloth at a corner which is probably used as an alternative to a proper futon.

    Without even a chair, we had to talk while sitting on the ground.

    ¡°And? What kind of work do you want me to do? It¡¯s sad, but unfortunately, I can¡¯t really call myself exceptional as a ve magic user. And since I can¡¯t tame strong magical beasts, I didn¡¯t have a choice but leave that line of work and be a researcher instead. In other words, I¡¯m just a guy obsessed with his research. I really don¡¯t know if I can meet your expectations, since it seems you want me as a ve magic user. I think I could do something if it¡¯s research though.¡± [Caulkins]

    ¡°Research? What kind of research?¡¯ [Ryouma]

    When I said that, he replied like this in a self-depreciating manner.

    ¡°It¡¯s the theme of thest research I was given at the ce I worked at a long time ago... it has to do with slimes.¡± [Caulkins]

    Slime!?

    ¡°Really!?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yeah, but without any results, I ended up getting fired. Although more than 10 years had already passed, I still have some lingering affection for it and am still..................... Why are your eyes sparkling?¡± [Caulkins]

    While Caulkins was feeling worthless, he couldn¡¯t help but ask that, when he saw my expression.

    ¡°You know, when people hear that I¡¯m researching slimes, I normally get thought of as an idiot, you know? Even in theb, you get treated as someone who isn¡¯t doing anything. In fact, it¡¯s the kind of job the higher-ups give you, when they want to get rid of you. It was like that for me. So why is it that your eyes are sparkling?¡± [Caulkins]

    ¡°Because I¡¯m also a researcher. And I research slimes.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°What!?¡± [Caulkins]

    After that, we were speechless for a moment as we stared into each other¡¯s eyes............ then eventually, we grasped each other¡¯s hands, and exchanged a hard handshake.

    ¡°Comrade!¡± [Caulkins]

    ¡°Senpai!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°What just happened in those few seconds!?¡± [Jeff]

    ¡°Eh, just now, something, like this...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°An outsider wouldn¡¯t understand. It¡¯s the kind of happiness that researchers feel when they meet another researcher who is researching the same topic that they are.¡± [Caulkins]

    ¡°True, I definitely don¡¯t get it.¡± [Jeff]

    At this point, we suddenly heard a knock.

    ¡°There¡¯s another customer? Today¡¯s pretty noisy, huh?¡± [Caulkins]

    Caulkins stood up, and went to the door to open it. When he did so, there were two people, a man and a woman, standing there.

    ¡°Caulkins-san? We heard that if we went here we would be able to get a job. Is it true?¡± [Woman]

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think a job as a ve magic user would actuallye, so I quickly came!¡± [Man]

    ¡°Robelia, Tony, so you were also informed? That¡¯s right, a client who¡¯s looking for ve magic users came. Moreover, he¡¯s arade of ours!¡± [Caulkins]

    ¡°Comrade?¡± [Robelia]

    ¡°You mean to say...¡± [Tony]

    ¡°For the meantime,e in!¡± [Caulkins]

    As Caulkins-san said that, he pulled the two inside, then closed the door.

    After that, I greeted the two, and introduced myself to them.

    First, the man amongst the two is currently 23 years old. Apparently, he is an exceptional ve magic user, but because of jealousy, his boss and his colleagues took advantage of his honest nature, and pushed the scandal and failure of an experiment to him. With him taking responsibility, he ended up demoted. He was then ordered to research slimes, and after not being able to bring results, he was fired.

    I asked him why he¡¯s not taking other jobs when he¡¯s so exceptional, but it turns out, he¡¯s also being watched by Matthew, and is being kept from taking jobs. Matthew used the tamer guild¡¯swork, and destroyed his reputation as a ve magic user by telling others of his ipetence. Because of that, he wouldn¡¯t able to get a job as a ve magic user even if he went to another town. He is currently a dayborer at a mine.

    As for the woman, her name is Robelia, and she¡¯s 25 years old. She became a researcher for the same reason Caulkins-san became one. But then, she was sexually harassed by a superior. And because she had solely been pursuing research, she was not ustomed to men, causing her to identally spur her ve monsters. Her ve monsters weren¡¯t strong, so at most they were just threatening. Only, they ended up cutting her superior. That superior yed innocent and demoted Robelia, where she was then made to research slimes. After some time she was fired. Currently she works at a brothel, three times a week.

    After that, I introduced myself and talked about the details of the job. When they heard that, their eyes sparkled. By the way, while I was exining to them, I brought a cleaner slime from my ¡®Dimension Home¡¯ to show them.

    Actually, in order to keep myself clean, I always keep a cleaner slime with me in my ¡®Dimension Home¡¯. I first showed them the cleaner slime¡¯s shower. Then, having shown them that it¡¯s safe, I let them try it out next.

    ¡°Who would have thought that there would be a slime like this? This kind of slime really suits aundromat. By the way, do you mind if I research during my free time?¡± [Caulkins]

    ¡°We¡¯ll make those guys who look down on slime research take back their words!¡± [Robelia]

    ¡°Matthew still hasn¡¯t realized the value of this, right? To have this opportunity to be able to shock that Matthew... let me do it, no, please let me do it!¡± [Tony]

    ¡°Please let us work for you!!¡± [All three of them]

    Having been told that with enough vigor to make me back of a bit... these guys will definitely not turn on me for Matthew. If it¡¯s like this, I think I can trust them. Although, now, I¡¯m kind of hesitant to hire them for a different reason, but... whatever. To begin with, I really shouldn¡¯t speak for others, and besides, they won¡¯t betray me, so isn¡¯t it fine?

    Also, they kind of have the same objective as me, who wants the views of those who look down on slimes. But, the only ones I can fully trust right now are Ka-san and the others. Should I have them watch over these guys? Hmm... but rather than that...

    ¡°Is it alright with your jobs?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any job right now. I already finished my contract a few days ago, and I don¡¯t know when the next job ising, so I¡¯m actually a bit troubled.¡± [Caulkins]

    ¡°As for me, I¡¯m originally a dayborer, so I don¡¯t have any problems.¡± [Tony]

    ¡°Regarding my work at the brothel, all it takes for me to end it is a few words. And even though I call it a brothel, all I¡¯m really doing is borrowing the ce, and paying them a part of my ie. There¡¯s no other contract.¡± [Robelia]

    ¡°Then, can you threepute?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Of course we can do it!!¡± [All three of them]

    ¡°Then in that case, pleasee work for me at my store. The location of the second store hasn¡¯t been decided yet, so for the moment, please work to learn the ropes. What should we do for your lodging? Are you guys going to live here, or would you like to live at the store?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Live at your store!¡± [All three of them]

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll do that... I have something I want to talk to you guys regarding the store... Jeff-san, is there a clothes shop somewhere around here?¡± [Ryouma]

    These guys¡¯ clothes are too shabby. Even if I have the cleaner slimes clean them, the holes won¡¯t be fixed. If they work like this I¡¯ll be troubled. And in this world, uniforms aren¡¯t used except for high ss stores. Most stores just generally use civilian clothes. My store is the same.

    So because of that, I had Jeff-san and Robelia-san go to a nearby clothes shop to buy several clothes. For Robelia, while it wasn¡¯t anything extravagant, she did have some clothes that could be used for work. However, because it wasn¡¯t the kind of attire that you¡¯d wear in aundromat, I still had her go buy some. No one else was privy to women¡¯s work clothes, so we had to let her choose for herself.

    During that time, I went to the town, and let Carm-san know that I¡¯d already decided on the new hires.

 Volume 2 - 23

    Aftering back from the store, I met up with Caulkins-san and the others who have already changed their clothes.

    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll be going now.¡± [Jeff]

    ¡°Thank you very much, Jeff-san!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I told you, don¡¯t mind it. I¡¯ll see you around!¡± [Jeff]

    Seeing that I¡¯d arrived, Jeff-san left since his job was alreadypleted.

    I give my thanks to Jeff-san and bow my head.

    Then I take Caulkins-san and the others with me to the merchant guild.

    When we got there, as expected, we were brought to the reception room where the guild master received us.

    ¡°These guys are your new hires?¡±[Gris]

    ¡°Yes, they were introduced to me by an acquaintance of mine.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°As usual, you really work fast. Didn¡¯t you only discuss this with me yesterday? Well, that kind of thing is good for a merchant. So, you guys are nning to work at this kid¡¯s store, right?¡± [Gris]

    ¡°Yes!¡± [Caulkins, Robelia, Tony]

    The guild master looked at the three of them when she heard their reply. I have a feeling she was somewhat taken aback.

    ¡°Ho ho........ Ryouma, what trick did you pull? I can feel some kind of strange ambition from them. With that, I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll be turning on you. Rather, they¡¯re more likely to work hard for you. In any case, it doesn¡¯t feel like you¡¯d just met today.¡± [Gris]

    Well, yeah...

    After all, all three of them were former slime researchers. And with them understanding the value of the cleaner slimes, they value me quite highly despite my age.

    At the same time, they also have their grudge. So not only are they happy because of having the possibility of clearing that grudge, but the sry they will be receiving will allow them to live a stable life. So although we haven¡¯t known each for long, it would appear that they¡¯ve already taken quite a liking to me. Especially Tony, who like me, is being watched by Matthew.

    The reasons aside, since there¡¯s no problem, I was able to receive the guild master¡¯s permission, and was able to register the three.

    Afterwards, I properly made a contract that left the cleaner slimes in their care, but prohibited them from handing it over to others. They used a special kind of paper, normally only used for big deals, to create the contract.

    While it isn¡¯t not something special that uses magic, it is strictly monitored by the guild, so it¡¯s not possible to make forgeries or to transfer ownership. In cases where someone is found guilty, the punishment is harsher than normal.

    An exception to this is in the instance where I have a new store. As long as they have my permission, then they will be able to assign another to be in charge of that store as a ve magic user. After all, if I don¡¯t do this, then I won¡¯t be able to increase my branch stores.

    I finish the rest of the legal process, then I leave the guild with the three as I give my thanks to the guild master.

    When we got to the store, I introduced them to Carm-san and the others. And then, I immediately had them start working a little.

    ording to what I¡¯ve heard along the way, apparently Caulkins-san is a former noble. Because of that he had a somewhat arrogant tone when speaking. I decided to have him carry theundries.

    I had Tony do the same, since he had a strong physique from his work as a dayborer in the mine.

    Robelia-san has experience interacting with people directly because of her job, so I had her work as a receptionist just like she did in her previous job. It was quite sudden, but she seemed to do just fine. Or rather, aren¡¯t the adventurers that¡¯reing being bewitched? Her attire isn¡¯t particrly revealing, so... I guess it¡¯s not rted to that. But then, I guess what you see isn¡¯t everything.

    Anyway, from the looks of things, those bewitched adventurers will probably be regrs soon.

    Which reminds me, the girls I¡¯ve hired are all pretty... then again the level of the people in this world might just generally be higher when ites to appearance. After all, I haven¡¯t met someone ugly yet, and even the older ones have aged well.

    While I was thinking that, I suddenly heard a loud voice. This voice, Raypin-san?

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it Caulkins!? Why are you here, de aru!?¡± [Raypin]

    ¡°That manner of talking, Raypin!?¡± [Caulkins]

    Eh? Raypin-san and Caulkins-san were acquaintances?

    ¡°You two are acquaintances?¡± [Ryouma]

    I was in the process of carrying someundry, so I asked that question while carrying some with me.

    ¡°Y¨Cyes. Raypin-san was a former colleague of mine.¡± [Caulkins]

    ¡°We¡¯re coworkers who joined our magical beast researchb on the same year. I stopped working after a few years, but who would have thought that we¡¯d end up meeting here. Caulkins, when did youe to this town?¡± [Raypin]

    ¡°That¡¯s...¡±

    It looked like it¡¯s going to be a bitplicated, so I took them to the store¡¯s reception room.

    After Caulkins-san exined the situation, Raypin-san sighed deeply.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that you¡¯d actually been living in this town before me, de aru. I thought for sure that you¡¯d just arrived.¡± [Raypin]

    ¡°... I also didn¡¯t think that you¡¯d be in this town. I thought that you¡¯d be bustling about different towns now, chasing after all kinds of magical beasts.¡± [Caulkins]

    ¡°Even if I did go around towns, I¡¯d still need to have a town I could consider my base. Still, to meet like this, this is really an amazing coincidence.¡± [Raypin]

    ¡°I also thought that we¡¯d never meet again. I¡¯ve always thought that it would¡¯ve been better if I epted your proposition to leave the researchb.¡± [Caulkins]

    ¡°I did tell you, de aru. That even if the two of us can do research, we don¡¯t suit researchbs.¡± [Raypin]

    ¡°I¡¯m different from you, I don¡¯t have any talent for magic. Moreover, I also don¡¯t have any talent in taming magical beasts. So I thought that it¡¯d be too dangerous for me to take adventurer jobs, and so I refused you. Even until now, I don¡¯t think that was the wrong choice.

    But I think it would have been better if I gave up research earlier. That way I wouldn¡¯t have ended bankrupt.

    But in the end, I did end up finding a job here today, so it may not have been all that bad. We decided that if it¡¯s here, we¡¯d be able to make those guys whoughed at us, take back their words. And while it¡¯s only been a few hours, after finding out about the cleaner slimes, I realized that there¡¯s some benefit in continuing slime research after all. I¡¯m really grateful to the Boss.¡± [Caulkins]

    ¡°I¡¯ll rely on you from now on, so please do your best.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Of course.¡± [Caulkins]

    ¡°It seems a lot has happened, but in any case, I¡¯m d that you¡¯ll be able to live safely, de aru. And with Ryouma¡¯s store, you¡¯ll definitely have a peace of mind when ites to your livelihood.¡± [Raypin]

    Looks like they¡¯re done talking. Oh,e to think of it, didn¡¯t Raypine for something? It doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯s forundry... or did he put theundry inside his ¡®Item Box¡¯?

    ¡°By the way, Raypin-san. Did youe here today to have yourundries washed?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Oh right! I didn¡¯te here today for aundry request. I already had a lot of clothes washed yesterday, so I¡¯m fine on that front, de aru.¡± [Raypin]

    I see. So he came when I wasn¡¯t around.

    ¡°Today, I came here to inform you about something that I think you should know, de aru. Do you know about Grell Frogs?¡± [Raypin]

    ¡°Grell Frogs? Those are the magical beasts that will have an outbreak in a swamp near this town, right? Its hide is used to make armor, and its internal organs are used to make medicines.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Since you know about them, then this¡¯ll be quick. The outbreak is starting, de aru.¡± [Raypin]

    ¡°Really!?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°The signs have juste out, so the peak will be after 3 or 4 days. The request regarding the grell frogs will be posted in the guild, starting tomorrow, de aru. The grell frogs sell for a high price as an ingredient for medicine, so it¡¯s a good time to make money. Moreover, they can also be used as feed for the rimel birds, so they¡¯re quite popr amongst ve magic users and nobles.

    It¡¯s quite prestigious for a ve magic user to be able to tame a rimel bird, so if you were to catch that, then the guild¡¯s view of you will change. But from what I¡¯ve heard from Caulkins regarding the details of his employment, it probably wouldn¡¯t have any effect, de aru.¡± [Raypin]

    True, in fact it would probably have the opposite effect, and Matthew would be even more hostile. Speaking of which, I heard that rimel birds are able to fly fast, and so they¡¯re probably useful formunicating.

    ¡®Thank you for the information. I think I¡¯ll give taming the rimel birds a shot, since It¡¯ll be good to have a way to quicklymunicate with the other branch stores once I set them up.¡± [Ryouma]

    All of the sudden, someone knocked at the door. I think it might be Carm-san from the voice. But because his voice is simr to Ka-san¡¯s, it¡¯s quite hard to tell which.

    ¡°Boss, the adventurer, Asagi-sama, and four others are here. They said they had something they wanted to talk to you about.¡± [Carm]

    What? For the meantime, Raypin-san and Caulkins-san gave me an understanding nce, and then I replied.

    ¡°Please have theme here.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I understand.¡± [Carm]

    As he said that, Carm-san took his leave. After that, Caulkins-san also left the room. It seems that because he can meet Raypin-san from now on, he went back to his work.

    And then,ing from a different entrance from Caulkins-san, Asagi-san, Miya-san, Wereanna-san, Mizelia-san, and Syria-san came.

    ¡°Wee, everyone. What¡¯s the matter?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Sorry for the sudden visit, nya. Raypin-san is also here, nya?¡± [Miya]

    ¡°I came here to tell Ryouma about the grell frog outbreak, de aru.¡± [Raypin]

    ¡°Oh, so you too? We came here to talk about something rted to that, de gozaru.¡± [Asagi]

    ¡°It¡¯s quite sudden, but Ryouma, can you tell us where you bought those work clothes you used before?¡± [Wereanna]

    ¡°While we can leave ourundry here, going back is quite hard. Especially to us, beastmen and dragon newts. That¡¯s why we want to get some clothes that won¡¯t get dirty easily. [Mizelia]

    Ahh, I see, so that¡¯s why... then in that case, they have good timing. I¡¯ll introduce them to Serge-san¡¯s store. I¡¯ve already been delivering the water proof cloths, so I guess I should get started with making them.

    ¡°You can get them from the Morgan Firm of this town. It¡¯s not yet popr, so the demand is still quite low. Because of that, I don¡¯t know how many they have in stock. There might be the possibility of running out of stock, but since you have already met him in my store¡¯s opening party, and with my introduction, I think you should be able to get some advice.¡± [Ryouma]

    At the very least you won¡¯t be turned down.

    ¡°Really!? Thank you very much!¡± [Syria]

    ¡°Please don¡¯t mind it.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°No, really. You¡¯ve really saved us, since our nose work way better than humans.¡± [Mizelia]

    ¡°Even with just fragrances, it¡¯s quite tough.¡± [Wereanna]

    Is it really that tough?

    ¡°Thank you. Then, we¡¯ll be taking our leave. When we go to the Morgan Firm, we¡¯ll be troubling you.¡± [Asagi]

    As he said that, Asagi-san hurriedly went back.

    What? That¡¯s kinda strange.¡± [Wereanna]

    ¡°True, I thought Asagi would apologize a bit more for suddenly intruding.¡± [Mizelia]

    ¡°Aah!?¡± [Syria]

    ¡°What, nya!?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Syria-san?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°The work clothes Ryouma-san had with him might be running out of stock!¡± [Syria]

    ¡°!!¡± [Miya, Mizelia, Wereanna]

    ¡°So that¡¯s it!¡± [Wereanna]

    ¡°Asagi, so you made sure to quickly buy one for yourself!¡± [Mizelia]

    ¡°We have to hurry, nya! Ryouma-kun, thank you, nya!¡± [Miya]

    As they said that, Miya-san and the others also quickly left. Is it that bad? I wonder exactly how effective their noses are.

    ¡°What a noisy bunch, huh?¡± [Raypin]

    ¡°Raypin-san, you¡¯re not going?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I¡¯m already used to foul odors and dirty thing things. It¡¯s an indispensable part of being a researcher, de aru. Moreover, I¡¯m going to be catching grell frogs with my magic, so I won¡¯t be getting that dirty, de aru.¡± [Raypin]

    ¡°I see.¡± [Ryouma]

    After that, I talked a little bit more with Raypin-san about magical beasts.

    While talking, I learned that when the guild buys grell frogs, they pay a medium silver coin for each. This is apparently because of the many effects that the medicines made from grell frogs¡¯ inner organs have.

    When I heard that, I thought about the medical knowledge that I received when I came into this world, and there were over 50 kinds that used grell frog as an ingredient. Moreover, there were a lot of analeptics and vitality boosters amongst those medicines, making them popr amongst nobles and men.

    But the most important part is the processing. If it¡¯s done by someone unskilled, then the quality will immediately drop. If one still attempts it, then not only is there a possibility of the medicine being of poor quality, it¡¯s also possible that the medicine won¡¯t be created. That¡¯s why the guild warns against making the medicine by one¡¯s self when they post the request.

    The most important part of the process is draining the blood. As much as possible one needs to drain the blood thoroughly. If this isn¡¯t done properly, then the quality will be bad... eh? Wait a moment. Couldn¡¯t I pull this off perfectly with the bloody slime?

    They mentioned internal organs, so I thought it¡¯d be necessary to deal with them and use them quickly, but apparently that¡¯s not the case. As you could just dry them and then preserve it. Normally, during this process, you¡¯d have to nimbly use wind magic. Moreover, the quality will change depending on the speed of drying... So I guess I could just use alchemy for this part, right?

    With alchemy, not only is the process simple, but there¡¯re a lot of benefits, and it¡¯s even possible to preserve it.

    And regarding the request, if I don¡¯t take it, the only thing that will happen is that I won¡¯t be able to find a ce to sell it, and the price will be easy to drive down. Getting the ingredients without taking the request is apparently fine, so I guess I could work this like an herb collection request, and just go grab some ingredients without taking the request.

    As we talked like that, quite a bit of time had passed, and now it was about time for Raypin-san to go home. I sent him off, and then I went to check the store¡¯s ie for the day before closing. Afterwards, I left.

 Volume 2 - 24

    TL Note: Little help with this one please: °³¤È¤·¤Á¤ã¤¿¤Þ¤Ë¤ß¤Æ¤Ã¤«¤é³õ¤á¤Æ¤Ã¤ÆšÝ¤Ï¤·¤Í¤§¤Ê¤¡¡£

    Volume 2 Chapter 24

    When I got back to the lodging, I went to Elia¡¯s room. There, Araune let me in as usual, and served me ck tea.

    ¡°Wee, so did you manage to settle your discussion with the merchant guild?¡± [Madam]

    ¡°Yes, moreover, I¡¯ve also already hired three new ve magic users today.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You¡¯ve already hired them? Aren¡¯t you hurrying too much?¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°That may be so, but it¡¯s because I found some good people. The guild master also mentioned that it¡¯s fine, and I got her permission.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ho... then I can guess it¡¯s fine.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Also, they¡¯re all people who were demoted and were made to research slimes, so it seems they¡¯re quite eager to work. Like, ¡°We¡¯re gonna show them!¡± or something.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I see, so it¡¯s like that.¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°Those kind might actually be more reliable than someone who¡¯d try to put in reason, then try to keep up an appearance.¡± [Madam]

    After we finished talking about the store, Rheinhart-san began to talk about the grell frog outbreak. Looks like we¡¯ll be going to catch the grell frog, and tame the rimel bird, the day after tomorrow.

    The next day.

    I show my face at the shop in the morning, and talk to them about tomorrow. There, Caulkins-san gave me some warning regarding the rimel birds. Apparently, Caulkins-san attempted to hunt it every year, so I couldn¡¯t¡¯ help but ask him if he wasn¡¯t going to try this year.

    ¡°It¡¯s already been decided that I¡¯ll be working at this shop, so it doesn¡¯t matter anymore.¡± [Caulkins]

    Said Caulkins-san as he showed me a cheerful face.

    After that, I went to Serge-san¡¯s store to deliver the 70 sheets of cloth I made the day before yesterday.

    ¡°Wee, Ryouma-sama.¡± [Serge]

    ¡°Good morning, Serge-san. I came here to deliver the waterproof cloths.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Thank you very much. By the way, five people came here yesterday ording to your referral. Also, there¡¯ve also been others who woulde from time to time, and buy your waders when they noticed it. Looks like it¡¯ll sell better than expected, especially to the adventurers.¡± [Serge]

    Come to think of it, I did walk in the town with that. Is it because of that?

    ¡°When I took a request to clean thetrine pits before, I walked around the town in those for days. I guess it must¡¯ve caught on because I stood out.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That¡¯s most likely it. Everyone who came here to purchase it already knew about it, and I didn¡¯t have to exin it to them. With this, the demand might increase faster than nned.¡± [Serge]

    ¡°I brought 70 sheets with me today, but I still have some headroom, so I¡¯ll try to see if I can increase the production rate. I should be able to increase it by expanding the workce.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Thank you very much, but please do take care not to push yourself too much.¡± [Serge]

    Ah, so Serge-san¡¯s also heard about me overworking.

    ¡°Please rest assured, my store¡¯s already able to function by itself, and the longest part of the waterproof cloth¡¯s production is waiting for it to dry.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Then I guess it¡¯s fine, but...¡± [Serge]

    As he said that, Serge-san looked at me doubtingly. Ignoring that, I brought out the waterproof cloths, and after confirming them, he paid me for the manufacturing cost. After I¡¯d received the payment and the new untreated cloths, I went to the abandoned mine.

    As soon as I got to the abandoned mine, I set the cloths, and immediately start the treatment for 70 of them.

    During that, I went to a different level with the 2 earth slimes and the scavenger slimes, and I began constructing a new work ce while I trained the earth slimes.

    I had the earth slimes use ¡®Create Block¡¯ to dig a hole, while I had the scavenger slime¡¯s carry them. Then I used ¡®Pavement¡¯ to reinforce the walls. After preparing the tunnel, we made the room.

    After that, I took the sticky slimes that treated the cloths, and began to work on a new set.

    Today, I managed to do double ofst time¡¯s 70 at 140 sheets. The sticky slimes looked like they could still do more, but I stopped it around 150. It¡¯s not good to push them too hard.

    I had the slimes work hard, so I decided not to train them today. Afterwards, I filled a vessel of stone I made with earth magic with water from my water magic, and then I gave it to the slimes. Ahh, it¡¯s slow, but they swarmed over me.

    At that time, a thought popped up in my mind. Will slimes other than the earth slimes and the dark slime also absorb magic?

    As I thought that, I began to release neutral magic power. In response to that, the other slimes also began to absorb it. However, it¡¯s different from the vigor the dark slime and the earth slimes show when absorbing.

    As I changed the attribute of the magic power I released, I found out that the acid slimes, the sticky slimes, and the bloody slime, all had a preference for neutral magic. The poison slime had a preference for poison magic power, while the metal slimes and the iron slimes had a preference for earth magic power.

    But what was surprising to me, is that the cleaner slimes and the scavenger slimes had a preference for two attributes. The cleaner slimes, water and light. While the scavenger slimes liked earth and dark magic power. It seems it¡¯s possible for some slimes to like more than one attribute.

    As for the healer slimes, they also had a preference for the three attributes, neutral, water, and light. But it would appear that they liked healing magic the most. I wonder why these are the only ones who prefer magic over magic power. ¡°Well, I guess it¡¯s fine since it¡¯ll also be practice for my healing magic,¡± is what I was thinking. But then, all of the sudden, the heal slimes became ready for a split! So magic power can also serve as nourishment? I¡¯ll have to verify thister.

    For the meantime, I had them split, and then I contracted them.

    Like this, the 2 heal slimes became 4.

    After that, in order to prepare for the rimel bird tomorrow, I took out the guitar I made during the time I lived in the forest. I tightened its strings, and then I practiced a bit.

    It¡¯s been a while, but I can still y to some extent. It would be great if I could tame it with this, but... well, whatever will be will be, right? If it doesn¡¯t go well, then I could just go look for a different bird-type.

    After that, I killed time until the cloths finished drying. Then I took the finished cloths, went back to the town, and delivered them as usual to Serge¡¯s shop. With this, I¡¯ve apparently finished popting the inventory for the waterproof cloth for the time being. Serge-san said that it will also take time to create the products, so for the meantime there won¡¯t be a need for me to deliver new ones.

    As expected though, I think he¡¯s being anxious and is trying not to push me too much. Even though it¡¯s the slimes who do all the work...

    I¡¯ll just store up the remaining cloths after finishing them then.

    After I stepped out of Serge-san¡¯s store, I looked up at the sky and thought.

    ¡°... I finished the job at a tricky time again, huh?¡± [Ryouma]

    Even if I went back home now, there¡¯s nothing to do. And there¡¯s also no time left to go back to the mine and train... At times like this, I guess it¡¯s best to go to the church.

    This time when I got to the church, the one at the gate was the woman from when I had my status board made.

    ¡°Ara, aren¡¯t you the one from...¡± [Woman]

    ¡°Thank you for before.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Wee, what business do you have here today?¡± [Woman]

    ¡°Today, I came here to pray.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I see, then in that case, please follow me.¡± [Woman]

    I was again brought to the chapel with plenty of chairs. And just like before, I grabbed a chair, put my hands together, and prayed....................................Hmm?

    Huh? I thought I¡¯d be sent to the god¡¯s world again as usual, but nothing happened. Then again, I guess it¡¯s stranger if I were to go there all the time.

    As I thought that, in the next instant, my surrounding became white.

    ¡°!? This is...? So I guess I did end uping here today as well. But still, there was a rather weird pause, huh?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°My bad, my bad, I normally don¡¯t use my power, so it looks like it took some time.¡± [God]

    To my mutterings, a voice came from behind me.

    When I turned my head, I saw a thick haired man with a small stature standing there with a wine barrel on his right shoulder as he drank from a bottle with his left. It¡¯s the God of Wine!

    ¡°The God of Wine, Tekun-sama?¡± [Ryouma]

    After he separated his lips form his wine bottle, he answered.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m Tekun. You don¡¯t need to be formal with me. After all, I am a god, I can see your heart, so there¡¯s no point in keeping up that courtesy. Besides, it¡¯s a pain, so you can also just call me Tekun. Anyway, take a seat.¡± [Tekun]

    Now that he mentions it, there¡¯s certainly no point when the person you¡¯re talking to is a god who can read your mind.

    I continue just like Tekun told me to, and I sat in that ce.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll proceed as usual... Nice to meet you, I¡¯m Ryouma Takebayashi. Thank you for divine protection.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to mind the divine protection, I just give it from time to time when I find someone interesting. It just so happens that it¡¯s you.¡± [Tekun]

    As Tekun said that, he drank some liquor from his bottle.

    ¡°Are you the only one here today?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yeah, everyone else is passing the time by doing whatever they want. The God of War, the God of Magic, and the God of Land all can¡¯t be seen aside from thispletely white ce, but they all have their ownfortable spaces. There they created, what you would called in human terms, a house, and are living in it.¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°I see, I didn¡¯t know that. Or rather, is this your house?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Nah, I don¡¯t have a house. I am the God of Wine and Craftsmen, and amongst wines and craftsmen there are several kinds of ces, so I just wander there.¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°You wander there?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°This may be the divine realm, but it is still connected to the world you live in...... I can¡¯t exin it well though, so you should have someone else exin it to you. But that aside, drink.¡± [Tekun]

    Tekun took a cup full of liquor from the air and gave it to me. Rather than calling it a cup though, I guess calling it a goblet is more appropriate. The goblet is silver in color, and it has several silver and small precious stones decorating it here and there.

    ¡°Cheers!!¡±

    ¡°Cheers!¡±

    After toasting vigorously, I drank. There, my mouth was filled with the sweetness of an extremely delicious liquor.

    ¡°This is delicious.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°This is fruit wine made from the mixture of the fruit and honey of the flowers raised in and that¡¯s received the god ofnd¡¯s divine protection. Naturally, it¡¯s delicious.¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°Ho... Could I get some to take back with me? And would it be possible to also get and with that kind of divine protection?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°What, did you think you wouldn¡¯t be able to get this wine because it was dedicated to god? As for divine protections, I can¡¯t give divine protections to anything except people, but the God of Land can give divine protections tonds. Also, the Gayn you know used to give divine protection to everything in this world, you know? After all, that guy¡¯s the God of Creation.¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°Well, nowadays though, after the living things of this world had grown and changed, the ces were Gayn could give divine protection have be less and less. The same is true for me, but there are also times when I take away the divine protection. For example, when a passionate cksmith does his best and Ie to like him and give him my divine protection. But then he suddenly beszy. At a time like that, I¡¯ll want to take his divine protection away.¡± [Tekun]

    As Tekun said that, he took another sip from his bottle.

    ¡°By the way, would you happen to know where Gayn and the others have been going totely?¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°Where they¡¯re going?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yeah, I haven¡¯t seen them a lottely, and there are plenty of times when they just suddenly disappear. It¡¯s not like there¡¯s a lot to do, so it¡¯s fine, but I¡¯m concerned.¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°Even if you tell me that... I can¡¯te here unless they call me, and even when we...¡± [Ryouma]

    There, I suddenly thought of thest time I came here and chatted with Kufo.

    ¡°It¡¯s possible that they might havee to my previous world.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yours? What was it? Earth?¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°Yes, yes, that¡¯s right. Kufo said it when I came herest. Apparently Gayn and the others are going sightseeing in Earth.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Haa!? Sightseeing in another world!? What on earth are those guys doing!?¡± [Tekun]

    Tekun couldn¡¯t help but yell as he was surprised.

    ¡°Is it strange?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It is. Normally, gods won¡¯t meddle with worlds other than the world they¡¯re affiliated with. People with your case are a very special exception. So there¡¯s no way we can go there for something as mundane as sightseeing.¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°But that¡¯s what Kufo said thest time we met, so I don¡¯t think I¡¯m mistaken. Apparently, Gayn took a liking to the Japanese idols, and Rurutia¡¯s going around eating sweets. As for Kufo he¡¯s going around the secluded regions of the.¡± [Ryouma]

    When Tekun heard that, he began to think.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? You¡¯re telling the truth, right? I don¡¯t know much about idols, but...¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not lying.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°While it¡¯s not like it¡¯s impossible to go there, but... normally the god on the other side will get mad. To begin with, nothing like this has happened until you got here, you know? ... Unless!!?¡± [Tekun]

    All of the sudden, Tekun made an angry expression as he stood up.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong!?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Those bastards... they wouldn¡¯t have actually made a deal with the god on the other side to sightsee just because they had too much free time, would they? The ones that have nothing to do aren¡¯t only them, and yet... they¡¯re the only ones having fun!?¡± [Tekun]

    As Tekun trembled all over, he quickly took the wine on the ground and carried it, and then screamed.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t the time for this! I¡¯m definitely gonna find those guys!¡± [Tekun]

    As he said that he began to run, so in a panic I called out to him.

    ¡°W-Wait! What about me!?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ah¨Csorry... just past the time like that, eventually you¡¯ll go back. It¡¯s fine even if you take some with you. As long as you pour magic power into that goblet it will produce wine, so don¡¯t worry about running out. Sorry, but I¡¯m in a hurry right now, see ya!¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°W¨C eh? Fast!?¡± [Ryouma]

    Tekun ran so fast he couldn¡¯t be seen. Or rather, the pace doesn¡¯t really match with the short distance. Ahh, I already can¡¯t see him... I really was left behind, huh?

    ¡°Then, what should I do with this? Being left alone here... I guess I¡¯ll drink some for the meantime.¡± [Ryouma]

    I take a sip.

    ¡°Yep, it¡¯s definitely delicious. Still, I kind of want some snack to go with this too.¡± [Ryouma]

    Unfortunately, there¡¯s only a liquor and a goblet in this ce. He told me that if I put magic power into this thing, liquor wille out, but even then what¡¯s the point if snacks don¡¯te out too? Hmm? But if I can use magic power, then I guess I can also use magic.

    As I thought that, I tried opening my ¡®Item Box¡¯.

    ¡° ¡®Item Box¡¯ ¡°

    A ck orifice opened in the air. Looks like I can use ¡®Item Box¡¯.

    ¡°I was able to use it... So I guess it doesn¡¯t have anything to do with the ce? Well, whatever. Let me see if I can get something I can use as snack... there¡¯s nothing else aside from food ingredients and fruits, huh? Recently, I¡¯ve started to put everything in the refrigerator in the store... sigh.¡± [Ryouma]

    I take out my things from the ¡®Item Box¡¯ but I couldn¡¯t find any food.

    While I was doing that, the time to go home came as light started to illuminate.

    Not good! If I don¡¯t clean up now!!

    I drink the liquor in gulp, and put everything away in a hurry. In any case, I need to put everything back as fast as I can!

    After I finish putting everything back, the light became stronger as soon as I closed my ¡®Item Box¡¯. Next thing I knew, I was back in my world.

    ¡°A¨CAh... Is it a safe?¡± [Ryouma]

    I quickly check my ¡®Item Box¡¯, and as I checked my things one by one, I was relieved...

    For the meantime, I guess I¡¯ll go out. Afterwards, I gave some donation, then I left the church.

    ... Come to think of it, I drank thatst cup in one gulp, huh? Uwaah, I did something really wasteful... It would have been better if I just drank it slowly without looking for snack...

    That liquor was really delicious. Because of that, I felt a bit regretful.

    And so, as I went back home while feeling a little down.

 Volume 2 - 25

    TL Note: Emotional Resistance can also be read as Mental Resistance.

    Edit: 2015/07/30 Fixed some naming errors.

    Edit: 2015/08/01 Fixed a minor mistranted line.

    Volume 2 Chapter 25

    The next day.

    The time to catch the grell frogs and tame the rimel birds has finallye. And because of that, me and the four members of the duke¡¯s family, along with Sebasu-san, Jill-san, Zeff-san, Camil-san, and Hyuzu-san, are all walking towards the mine.

    Elia and the others are all wearing armor just like the time when Elia went to the mine to train. As for me, I¡¯m wearing a jumpsuit. Because of that, it kind of feels out of ce, since I¡¯m the only one wearing something different.

    We¡¯re not using the carriage today as another part of Elia¡¯s training, but, unexpectedly, Elia might actually have more endurance than I thought. Although we¡¯re taking a break right now, she hasn¡¯t said a word ofint until now.

    ¡°Fuu... Ryouma-san, are you ok?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°I¡¯m alright.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ryouma-san has plenty of stamina, huh?¡± [Elia]

    Elia began to feel down. Honestly, it¡¯s not like I mind the fact that you¡¯re tired, you know? After all, we¡¯re walking up a mountain, and because there¡¯s no pavement, it¡¯s quite difficult to walk. The fact that you¡¯re notining is already more than good enough.

    Apparently Camil-san thought the same thing, because he went to encourage her.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Ojousama. Compared to other children, Ojousama can already walk very well.¡± [Camil]

    ¡°That¡¯s right, Ojousama. Don¡¯tpare yourself to Ryouma. After all, this guy¡¯s a little bit abnormal. Normally, it wouldn¡¯t be weird to have beenpletely exhausted since way back. Seriously, Ryouma, you should at least try to sweat or something.¡± [Jill]

    ¡°Even if you tell me to sweat...¡± [Ryouma]

    It¡¯s a physiological phenomenon, so...

    ¡°Young master, a normal kid would usually perspire without being told, you know?¡± [£Ú£å£æ£æ]

    ¡°You¡¯re matching the Ojousama¡¯s pace, so it¡¯s not that fast. So I can kind of understand when you¡¯ve also been trained like us, but... What kind of training did you do?¡± [Camil]

    ¡°If I were to put it simply, I trained to my limits. When I copsed, I¡¯d rest. It¡¯s not weird to get wounds either, as I was beat up continuously to drive the techniques into me. And I was only given two choices, either to suffer, or to keep on training. Anyway, I kept this up every day, and in the end this is how I ended up.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Is your master a demon or something!?¡± [£Ê£é£ì£ì]

    ¡°Yeah, that might be it.¡± [Ryouma]

    My dad was really quite scary when I was a kid... so much so, that when he was around I couldn¡¯t breathe because of the pressure.

    While I was thinking that, Rheinbach-sama mentioned that it¡¯s time to depart.

    ¡°It¡¯s almost time for break to end. We need to start walking again before Eliapletely cools down.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°It¡¯s just a little bit more, so do your best, Elia.¡± [Rheinhart]

    We began walking again. And after 30 minutes of walking, the road led us to a forest and we pushed our way through. After another 30 minutes, a foul odor wafted to our noses. So this is the smell of the swamp.

    As I thought that, we went even further, and eventually a reddish brown swamp came to view. It was around the boundary of the forest and the mine. And although we¡¯re inside a forest, the number of trees are few, and it feels like the swamp was made from the debris of the cave after it had copse because of the rain or something. As we got closer, the foul smell became stronger. To this, Elia covered her nose with her hand, and tried to endure.

    ¡°So this is the rumored swamp. It would appear that the smell ising from the fallen leaves and the rotting corpses of the creatures that live in the swamp.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°What a horrible smell...¡± [Elia]

    ¡°The smell here is certainly bad, however, you also need to learn how to get used to this kind of environment. Since the towns outside of the Jamil¡¯s territory have it worse.¡± [Madam]

    Come to think of it, Rheinbach-sama did take care of the Jamil Household¡¯s territory¡¯s environment, so it¡¯s quite better than others... wait, does that mean that all the other territory aside from here are... let¡¯s pray that¡¯s not the case.

    ¡°Fumu, looks like there still aren¡¯t any grell frogs and rimel birds around here. Well, there¡¯re several swamps, so let¡¯s go around and look for others.¡± [Rheinbach]

    At Rheinbach-sama¡¯s words, we began to move again. And after 10 minutes of walking, we found a swamp, 3 times bigger than thest. Over there were 30 adventurers and ve magic users, and over 200 blue birds.

    ¡°They¡¯re here! Those are rimel birds!¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°That¡¯s...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°They¡¯re beautiful...¡± [Elia]

    Its appearance is close to a long-tailed cock without a cockb. And its body is blue, while its tail and head are adorned with beautiful green feathers. I have to agree, it¡¯s definitely the popr type. Along with the reddish brown swamp, it¡¯s mysteriously pretty.

    It¡¯s really beautiful, but because of that, I think the adventurers around here will get in the way.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go there!¡± [Adventurer1]

    ¡°Hurry, catch it!¡± [Adventurer2]

    ¡°Ah!?¡± [Adventurer3]

    ¡°Hurry! Before it gets eaten!¡± [Adventurer4]

    The adventurers entered the swamp, and they struggled with the rimel birds for the grell frogs.

    While the rough men were being bathed in mud, I saw the sight of obscured frogs with the same reddish color as the swamp, be caught by men with a barehanded... and it felt extremely sweltering to watch.

    At a time like that, two young men prepared some musical instruments by the side of the swamp.

    ¡°You two watch carefully, those guys are about to try taming a rimel bird.¡± [Rheinhart]

    One of the two men began to y a flute. His instrument looked like a recorder. But, unfortunately, he isn¡¯t that good.

    As soon as the music ended, the rimel birds all simultaneously sang. The noise the birds made were as if they wereughing and mocking the humans.

    ording to the information I received from Caulkins-san, when the rimel birds do not acknowledge your performance, they¡¯ll release a warning sound. And that warning sound is extremely unpleasant.

    So it¡¯s like this, huh? Certainly, it¡¯s not something pleasant to hear... But I guess this is something that happens often, since the adventurers who are trying to catch the grell frogs aren¡¯t minding it.

    ¡°I think you two already understand, but yes, this is a failure. Like this, he won¡¯t be able to tame one. You can try again as many times as you want, but if you try too many times, they¡¯ll end up attacking you, so it¡¯s better to just do it once. And at most, twice.¡± [Rheinhart]

    While Rheinhart-san was exining, the other man began to y the flute. This one¡¯s worse than the other one... This time, before he even finished ying, the rimel birds already startedughing.

    I guess he got mad when he heard that, because he took out a short sword that looks to be for self-defense.

    As the man entered the swamp, he moved towards a rimel bird.

    ¡°Not good... don¡¯t let your guard down.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Ha!¡± [The four guards.]

    At Rheinbach-sama¡¯s words, the four guards stepped forward. Even Sebasu-san and Rheinhart-san was vignt. And the madam went near me and Elia.

    ¡°Gua! Hi, Hii!!¡± [Man]

    I wonder if it¡¯s because it felt danger to the man who drew close to it that it fired off the wind magic ¡®Wind Cutter¡¯. In any case, that attack only lightly grazed the shoulder of the man, but the other rimel birds also looked at the man. At that point, the man¡¯s anger from a while ago vanished, and was instead changed to fear and panic. The man quickly began to run with all his strength. And the people around him also began to run.

    Behind the man, several rimel birds fired off ¡®Wind Cutter¡¯ at his back. Their uracy apparently wasn¡¯t that good, and they missed. But the man became desperate as he ran.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that guy. The rimel birds are gentle, but they¡¯re not weak. If you do something like that, you¡¯ll be hated, and they¡¯ll attack you.¡± [Madam]

    Said the madam as she warned me and Elia

    ... That guy ising over here... that¡¯s not good!

    When the man got to the edge of the swamp, he rxed for a bit, causing him to stop moving for a moment. There, a rimel bird fired off its ¡®Wind Cutter¡¯. That attack grazed the man¡¯s leg, causing him to be unable to run. When we saw that, Camil and I both casted our magic at the same time.

    ¡° ¡®Earth Wall¡¯ !! ¡° [Camil & Ryouma]

    A wall made out of earth was erected between the man and the rimel bird. But in order to chase after the man, the rimel birds fired off several dozens of ¡®Wind Cutter¡¯. The surface of the wall was scraped off, but it was able to stop the attack.

    At that, they stopped firing off the ¡®Wind Cutter¡¯, but in the next moment, they all began to chirp.

    ¡°Kuke! Kuke!! Kuke!!! Kuke!!!!¡±

    ¡°Kyaaa!¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Gu!?¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°This is!?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Everyone, be careful!!¡± [Rheinhart]

    Everyone suddenly began to hurt. And once Elia began to shake, the Madam and Sebasu-san hurriedly went to support her.

    What¡¯s going on!?

    Looking at my surrounding, I saw that the adventurers were also in pain even though they shouldn¡¯t be able to hear this sound well. Some of them even began to crouch and scream as if they¡¯d lost their minds.

    I can also feel some magic power apanying the voice, so I guess the cause must be this cry.

    When I searched for the location of the magic power and the sound, I immediately managed to find the culprit. Looks like it¡¯s somewhat simr to my wind magic, ¡®Big Voice¡¯, in that it also maniptes the air to make the sound louder in the surroundings.

    Then in that case, all I need to do is stop the oscition of the air.

    ¡° ¡®Silent¡¯ !¡± [Ryouma]

    Aiming at the source, I fired off my magic. At that moment, the sound stopped, and Rheinhart-san and the others stopped hurting.

    Effective... but painful.

    The other side was causing the oscitions to increase with magic, while I did the opposite with my own magic. We¡¯re both doing opposite things, so the victor will be decided by the one who has more control. If I lose focus, the sound wille out again.

    Our control is equal...? No, it¡¯s gradual, but I¡¯m being pushed! Then in that case, I have no choice but to push through with my magic power! I chant the same magic again, but this time with more magic power.

    ¡° ¡®Silent¡¯ !¡± [Ryouma]

    It tried to resist for a bit more, but the rimel bird quickly left after it realized it was at a disadvantage. The other rimel birds also left.

    Is it over?

    ¡°Camil! Heal that man! Jill, Zeff, Hyuzu! Bring the fainted adventurers to the edge of the swamp! Sebasu, how is Elia?¡± [Rheinhart]

    Rheinhart-san gave orders, then he asked Sebasu-san about Elia¡¯s status. But before Sebasu-san could talk, Elia replied.

    ¡°I¡¯m... fine.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Elia, are you ok? You don¡¯t feel hurt anywhere?¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°Yes... I was just scared all of the sudden... but that¡¯s all. I¡¯ve already calmed down.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°I see. Then, that¡¯s good... Ryouma-kun, thank you. That was you a while ago, right?¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°The rimel bird was the cause, right? I certainly stopped it, but what was going on?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Huh?¡± [Madam and Elia]

    Elia¡¯s and Madam¡¯s voice leaked out.

    ¡°Ryouma-san, didn¡¯t you feel anything?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Nothing in particr... I did think that it was noisy, though. But that aside, I was quite shocked when all of the sudden everyone around started to faint and hurt. I felt strong magic powering from that one rimel bird, so I figured that was the culprit, but I honestly have no idea what just happened.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Noisy? That¡¯s all?¡± [Madam]

    ¡°Yes.¡± [Ryouma]

    Hearing my response, the madam cocked her head in puzzlement. At that, Rheinbach-sama and Sebasu-san exined it to me.

    ¡°The rimel bird that Ryouma-kun stopped wasn¡¯t just a rimel bird. That was a higher type known as, Nightmare Rimel Bird. These type of rimel birds can use dark magic on top of their wind magic. And their most prominent special feature is that their crying voice is apanied by a mental attack as a byproduct of the dark element.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°When one hears a nightmare rimel bird¡¯s cry, one will be afflicted with fear, confusion, and insanity. Moreover, there are also people who will see an illusion and end up fainting, just like those guys.¡± [Sebasu]

    As Sebasu-san said that, he pointed at the people Jill-san and the others were carrying.

    Half of them were seated, while there were those who were unconscious, and then those who were crouching while shivering in fear.

    ¡°Seeing them like this, this is quite cruel...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That just goes to show how strong a mental attack it is. Physical strength and mental strength are different, so it¡¯s possible even for veteran adventurers to lose consciousness. And in their case, they¡¯re beginners, so it¡¯s a given that they¡¯d end up like that.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°No matter how much you train, what¡¯s painful is still painful. Well, you¡¯ll be able to resist though.¡± [Rheinbach]

    Come to think of it, I possess the ¡®Mental Resist¡¯ skill at level 9. So I guess it must be that.

    ¡°I have the ¡®Mental Resist¡¯ skill so it might be because of that.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that, the puzzled madam suddenly went, ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± and was suddenly in full understanding.

    So it¡¯s really the effect of my skill. Apparently, my skill level¡¯s so high, I didn¡¯t feel anything.

    Still, I have to be careful... mental attacks can¡¯t be seen by the eyes after all. And while I didn¡¯t suffer any of the effects, it¡¯s not like I have any countermeasure for it.

    And while it¡¯s good that there wasn¡¯t effect on me, it¡¯s also not good that it was to the extent where I didn¡¯t feel it all, and ended up not even knowing that I was under attack.

    After a while, Jill-san and the others came back. Looks like they¡¯re finished helping those people.

    ¡°What¡¯s their status?¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°The only one injured is the one who started all this. Moreover, he¡¯s already received treatment, so there won¡¯t be any problem, and he¡¯ll be able toe back to the town.¡± [Jill]

    ¡°Still, what should we do? All of the rimel birds ran away because of all themotion.¡± [Zeff]

    ¡°Look for their nest?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That¡¯s difficult, young master. After all, the rimel birds ride on wind magic when they fly in the air. So the speed and altitude they fly at is at a different levelpared to other magical beasts. Like this, the area¡¯s too wide, and it won¡¯t be easy to find them.¡± [Zeff]

    ¡°That¡¯s why people who want to tame them wait here. I don¡¯t know if they¡¯lle again today, so... are we going to wait?¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°We¡¯ll wait. We came all the way out here after all. So I¡¯d at least like to try taming them once.¡± [Elia]

    At Elia¡¯s words, we decided to wait here for a bit more. While we waited, the adventurers at the edge of the swamp slowly recovered, and even the people who had lost their consciousness had woken up.

    I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because they don¡¯t feel like hunting anymore, or because the duke¡¯s household and its guards are here, but before we knew it, we ended up all alone.

    We created some stone chairs at a ce that¡¯s slightly distant from the swamp, sat there, and chatted.

    During that, I found out that while the nightmare rimel bird¡¯s mental attack is strong, the reason it¡¯s really strong is because in order to stop it you¡¯d have to attack with magic, or use a weapon. But then if you did that, the other rimel birds will attack you, at which point it¡¯ll turn into a desperate situation. In order to avoid that, the only way is to resist, or try to run.

    My magic wasn¡¯t an attack, and it only stopped the sound, so it¡¯s ok. It¡¯s really good that I was able to hear from the duke¡¯s family and Caulkins-san not to hurt the rimel birds.

    Also, the rimel bird¡¯s higher type is apparently a really rare magical beast. And in fact, it wasst seen 10 years ago. It seems like my luck¡¯s quite good, since it was thanks to my mental resistance that I was able to see the bird clearly and was able to properly use my magic.

    That rimel bird¡¯s body was slightly darker than the others. But although I say dark, it¡¯s more like a strong color... like deep blue and green. It feels kind of high ss.

    And then, while we were passing the time while chatting, all of the sudden the atmosphere became dreary.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to leave Ryouma-san soon, huh?¡± [Elia]

    Elia and the others came here to see the rimel bird, and try taming it. That¡¯s why it could be said that they had already mostlypleted their purpose foring to this town. All that¡¯s left is to go home. And Elia¡¯s concerned about that.

    ... What should I say? I mean, it¡¯s true that I¡¯ll also be lonely, but...

    If I said, ¡°Right...,¡± then that¡¯s ust too unfeeling. But then if I went, ¡°Don¡¯t go!¡± then she¡¯ll just be like, ¡°It¡¯s disgusting to be told that by a 40 year old uncle!!¡± I mean it might be alright from how I look on the outside, but mentally speaking it¡¯s really not. How about, ¡°We¡¯ll meet again.¡±? Yeah, this¡¯ll do. I¡¯d really like to say something more effective, but unfortunately...

    As I thought that, the madam said this.

    ¡°Elia, It¡¯s not like you won¡¯t meet again. Right, Ryouma-kun?¡± [Madam]

    While I was thinking, the madam said it before I was able to.

    ¡°Of course.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°If you send letters to each other, then you¡¯ll be able to find out how each other¡¯s doing.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Right! We can still meet again! Ryouma-san, please write to me, and I¡¯ll also write to you!¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Then, let¡¯s do that.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Idiot! If you¡¯re a man, then you should at least hug her!¡± [Hyuzu]

    As Hyuzu-san said that, he hit my back with full strength. Because of that, I almost fell off my chair.

    ¡°Uwaah! What are you doing? Or rather, what are you thinking!? Aren¡¯t you the bodyguard!? Normally you¡¯d be stopping me! Not encouraging!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Huh? I¡¯m obviously doing this because it¡¯s interesting!¡± [Hyuzu]

    As he said that, he gave me a thumbs up along with a smile.

    ¡°Guo!? Y-You...¡± [Ryouma]

    Somehow I felt a little irritated, so I hit him a bit. After that, I turned around, and my eyes met with Elia. Elia¡¯s face was slightly red... You know it¡¯s a bit troubling if you give me that kind of reaction... I thought the Madam would save us, but when I took a look at her, she was just watching over us. Or rather, she looks like she¡¯s enjoying this...

    ¡°Hey... what... are you... gufu... ¡° [Hyuzu]

    Asked, Hyuzu-san as he held his stomach while crouching because of the pain.

    ¡°Ah... I¡¯m just hiding my embarrassment.¡± [Ryouma]

    This is crossing the line, even if I do say so myself... and although it was a spur of the moment, isn¡¯t this a bit cruel?

    ¡°Don¡¯t hit me just because you¡¯re shy! ... Ow, ow, ow... why does it hurt so much when you hit me while I was wearing armor. It hurts...¡± [Hyuzu]

    ¡°It¡¯s that kind of skill is why.¡± [Ryouma]

    It¡¯s a technique that allows the force to pass through inside for the special case where one needs to fight with an opponent who is wearing an armor. Naturally, it¡¯d hurt.

    ... No good, my tension¡¯s also gotten weird... Calm down, me!

    In the meanwhile, the atmosphere became delicate.

    ¡°......¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°......¡± [Elia]

    ¡°......¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°......¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Pirorororororo!!¡± [Something]

    ¡°What!?¡¯ [Ryouma]

    ¡°Fue!?¡± [Elia]

    That delicate atmosphere was cut apart with a whistling sound.

    When we looked over where the sound wasing from, we saw a group of rimel birds headed here.

 Volume 2 - 26

    TL Note: The extra chapter won¡¯t be posted tonight. I¡¯ll post it sometime this week. Anyways, here¡¯s your chapter. Enjoy!

    Volume 2 Chapter 26

    I was speechless when I saw the flock of rimel birds flying. The sight of the rimel birds spreading their wings and fluttering their tails, with the mine as their back drop, as they descended down to the swamp, was so beautiful that I even forgot to breathe.

    As they descended, each one of them went after the grell frogs to feed on. It feels like there¡¯s a bit more of thempared to before, but it doesn¡¯t feel like they came here for revenge.

    For the meantime it doesn¡¯t feel like there¡¯s any danger, however, one of the birds within that flock has been staring at me this entire time. It¡¯s the nightmare variant from before. That bird¡¯s been staring at me all this time without eating anything. It hasn¡¯t even moved its gaze from me once. I wonder if it¡¯s cautious because of what happened before.

    I noticed from behind me that Elia had already taken her musical instrument from Sebasu-san. Hmm... I might actually get in the way if I stay here.

    ¡°Rheinhart-san¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°What is it?¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°I¡¯ll take my leave for a moment. That higher variant from before has been looking at me all this time, so I might get in Elia¡¯s way if I¡¯m...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind.¡± [Elia]

    As I was talking, Elia interjected.

    ¡°One must tame a magical beast while facing it. For me to actually me my failure just because Ryouma-san is here... what an absurd excuse. I won¡¯t say something like that.¡± [Elia]

    Different from her normal aura, right now Elia was emanating an aura full of dignity.

    ¡°Moreover, I would like Ryouma-san to watch me while I tame. So please stay there. It¡¯s really reassuring to have you here, Ryouma-san.¡± [Elia]

    Said Elia as she showed me her usual smile.

    ... Well if you tell me something like that, then there¡¯s no way I¡¯d be able to leave.

    ¡°I understand. Do your best.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I will!¡± [Elia]

    After words of encouragement naturally left my lips, I went behind Elia.

    Elia took a deep breath several times, then she began her performance.

    Just like before, Elia yed a calm andfortable melody. Her piece started quietly, and then gradually it became stronger and stronger. The notes she yed changed like the ever changing size of the sea¡¯s waves.

    But whether it was strong or soft, the notes echoed clearly throughout the marsnd without pause.

    The rimel birds began to sway from left to right as they matched the song. Their behavior a far cry from their reaction to the two men before.

    Elia¡¯s music continued like that, and eventually it ended calmly.

    ¡°...¡± [Elia]

    Elia nervously looked at the rimel birds. But the next instant, all of the rimel birds simultaneously started chirping.

    This sound was different from their mocking chirps from before. Right now, their voices resounded like pianos and harps. It wasn¡¯t noise, no. Far from that, their echoing voices were like a musical performance.

    That performance continued for a minute, and eventually a beautiful rimel bird flew towards Elia, with 8 more following from behind.

    When Elia saw that, she was petrified.

    ¡°Elia! The contract! Contract them!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Right!¡± [Elia]

    Elia, having seemingly forgotten, began to contract the rimel birds one after another at my words. From the looks of things, it looks like she was able to sessfully tame them.

    As Elia finished, she began to contract thest rimel bird, the most beautiful of them all. When she seeded, she shouted cheers of happiness.

    ¡°I did it!¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Good job!¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°You did well.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°That¡¯s great, Elia.¡± [Madam]

    ¡°Congrattions.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Congrattions, Ojousama.¡± [Sebasu]

    Elia was able to tame 9 rimel birds in total. Just taming one should¡¯ve been difficult, and yet... Who could¡¯ve thought that she would actually be able to tame so many?

    ¡°Please look at all these pretty children I¡¯ve tamed!¡± [Elia]

    Surrounded by the rimel birds, Elia was in high spirits as she caressed the rimel birds while she crouched. The rimel birds also seemed to have be emotionally attached as you can even see some standing on her knees and on her shoulders.

    It¡¯s sad that when I saw that, I was reminded of the scene of opening a bag of bird feeds, and all the birds crowding over it. Really, why am I remembering something so useless, when I¡¯m seeing such a touching scene like this?

    In fact, this scene is so touching you could paint it, and name it, ¡°The Frolicking Beauty and the Flock of Birds.¡±

    I guess it¡¯s only natural to think that though. Well then, should I try to ride on this flow, and try it for myself?

    As I brought out my guitar from my ¡®Item Box¡¯, Elia looked at me, as if she had just suddenly been woken up.

    ¡°Ryouma-san, is that a musical instrument? You¡¯re also going to tame?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°I¡¯m not as good as you, but I thought I¡¯d try just like you did.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Please do your best!¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Do your best, Ryouma-kun¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°We¡¯re expecting good news.¡± [Rheinbach]

    As everyone encouraged me, I did my preparations. And just like Elia, I took a deep breath.

    To tell you the truth, I haven¡¯t really properly learned the guitar. I just happened to receive an instructional book and a guitar from a neighbor when he decided to move. Apparently, he didn¡¯t need it anymore. So I yed the guitar from time to time to pass the time, while I learned the chords from the book. I just yed it because I felt like it, that¡¯s all.

    And although I may not beparable to Elia¡¯s skill, I¡¯ll do my best.

    And so, the sound of the guitar echoed throughout the marsnd. My choice of piece is something I heard from the TV in my previous world. I didn¡¯t buy the sheets or anything, I just learned it by intuition and practice. In fact, it¡¯s probably alreadypletely different from the original piece.

    But even then, I don¡¯t mind.

    My music isn¡¯t that good, but it¡¯s not that bad either. And while I¡¯m not really all that confident about this, I still think it¡¯s better for me to y it cheerfully.

    And so, just like with Elia¡¯s, the rimel birds also began to sway.

    Did theye to like it? It¡¯s kind of interesting seeing them like this.

    When the piece ended, the rimel birds quietly stood, unmoving, for a few seconds. And then, just like before, they began chirping as if they were singing.

    Afterwards, six rimel birds flew over. But what was surprising was that one of them was the higher variant from before. Wasn¡¯t it cautious of me?

    ¡°Ryouma-san, contract them!¡± [Elia]

    Oops, I also got stupefied there for a bit.

    I quickly tamed them all, one after another. And without any hitch, I was able to seed.

    ¡°Fuu... Sess.¡± [Ryouma]

    At my words, apuse and congrattions erupted from the people around me.

    ¡°Congrattions, Ryouma-san!¡± [Elia]

    ¡°It¡¯s good that you were both able to seed.¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°Congrattions, Ryouma-sama.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°You did it, young master.¡± [Zeff]

    ¡°Even though taming rimel birds is supposed to be very difficult, you two did really well to manage taming several of them!¡± [Madam]

    As the madam said that, everyone¡¯s eyes moved towards the rimel birds we had caught. The nightmare rimel bird I had and Elia¡¯s prettiest bird seemed to get along, as they flew through the sky and jumped on the earth.

    That rimel bird is really pretty. The six I¡¯d caught are also pretty, but that one is even prettier as some parts of its color feels like it¡¯s shining.

    Sebasu-san, seeming to have realized something, said this.

    ¡°... Ojousama, Ryouma-sama, how about calling those two over and using ¡®Monster Identify¡¯ on them?¡± [Sebasu]

    Elia was a bit puzzled, but she immediately called hers over and used ¡®Monster Identify¡¯ on it. When she called hers back, mine also came back, but it parked itself on my head. Why my head? Oh well, it¡¯s not like its heavy so whatever.

    ¡°Eh!?¡± [Elia]

    While I was minding the bird on my head, Elia let out a shocked voice.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°This child isn¡¯t a rimel bird! It¡¯s a higher ss!¡± [Elia]

    What!? Wasn¡¯t the higher variant of the rimel bird only seen once in 10 years!?

    ¡°Really!? Its color is different from mine, but...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s not a nightmare rimel bird. This rimel bird is called, Phantom Rimel Bird. And it doesn¡¯t use dark magic, but light magic instead.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°There was something like that?¡± [Ryouma]

    I just thought it was strange, but Sebasu-san and the others were speechless because of shock. After they came back to their sense, they seemed so happy that they looked like they¡¯d toss Elia into the air as they showered her with praise.

    After they had all calmed down, they exined. Apparently, the phantom rimel bird is also a higher variant of the rimel bird, but it¡¯s even rarer than the nightmare bird as it¡¯s only been seen once in 50 years.

    Seriously!?

    After that, we went to the swamp to catch some grell frogs as per Elia¡¯s training, however, everyone¡¯s attention was at the rimel birds. Honestly, it¡¯s more like everyone¡¯s already forgotten that we came here for Elia¡¯s training.

    The grell frogs are actually quite easy to catch as long as you don¡¯t mind the smell. It¡¯s so easy it feels like they¡¯re losing on purpose. But because of that, we ended up catching a lot. It¡¯s also easy because there¡¯s no one else here aside from us. Otherwise, the struggle for the grell frogs would be harder.

    After we finished catching the grell frogs, we all went out of the swamp. And then with the help of the cleaner slimes, we all cleaned ourselves... Umm, I wonder if this is ok for training. Didn¡¯t wee here with the purpose of getting used to filth? Well Elia¡¯s slime will also eventually turn into a cleaner slime, so I guess it¡¯s fine?

    Actually, I don¡¯t know, but no one¡¯s stopping it, so whatever.

    Having finished our work, we were about to go home, but before we did, we rested for a bit.

    The madam and Elia were both surrounded by our rimel birds. Rheinhart-san enviously looked on at that scene from a slightly distant ce. I had heard that he didn¡¯t get along with bird-type magical beasts, but who would¡¯ve thought that just by being near them they would threaten him.

    Rheinbach-sama ordered Sebasu-san to use ¡®Warp¡¯ in order to go back to the town quickly, so he could have Araune-san and the others prepare a feast.

    Because of that, when our break ended, and we went back to our lodging, a sumptuous, feast with plenty of spicesplemented by high ss wine was waiting for us.

    Naturally, it ended up bing a banquet with me and Elia being its leading actors. And Rheinbach-san and the others praised us plenty while we ate.

    As soon as Elia said she was full, she became engrossed in talking with everyone. As for me, I couldn¡¯t help but eat everything in front of me because of my frugal spirit. I thought it¡¯d be a waste if the food and liquor just ended up thrown away, so in the end, I ended up eating and drinking too much.

    It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯d eaten like this... Still, it¡¯s kind of different from my previous life.

    There were also times when I drank while being surrounded like this, but it wasn¡¯t this fun. The food from my previous life should be more delicious, but today, it feels as if the food here is more delicious. The wine too.

    ...Come to think of it, Tekun-sama did say that I didn¡¯t enjoy drinking in my previous life. I guess this is what he means by enjoying drinking. Anyway, I guess I¡¯ll pray to Tekun today.

    After the banquet ended, I asked for some of the remaining high ss wine to use as an offering, and then I went back to my room.

    It¡¯s my second party sinceing back to this world, but unlike my previous world, the parties here are fun. Thank you. This is something I received, but please let me use this as an offering.

    ... Something like this? Anyway, I face the statue and bow my head, and then I decided to sleep.

    I¡¯m feeling good today, so I think I¡¯ll be able to sleep well.

 Volume 2 - Volume 2 END

    Also, regarding the trantions, there are three terms that are introduced in this story that are closely rted in meaning, but are not the same. I just want to rify that I¡¯m not just using synonyms to describe the same thing.

    The three terms are: Magic Gem, Magic Stone, and Magic Jewel. In Japanese they are Ä§±¦Ê¯(mahouseki), Ä§·¨Ê¯(mahouseki), and, Ä§Ê¯(maseki), respectively. These terms do not refer to the same thing. It¡¯ll be made clear in the story, but I just wanted to point it out to make it clear that they are not the same thing.

    Also, take note of the fact that the first two terms are homophones. I¡¯ve put the kanjis in parentheses to show when the characters are misunderstanding.

    Volume 2 END

    The next day.

    As I visited Elia¡¯s room first thing in the morning, what greeted me there was a number of groaning adults.

    ¡°Ugh... sorry, Ryouma-kun... but could you... get me some medicine... again?¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°Me too. I ended up drinking too much despite my age.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Me too please...¡± [Madam]

    They were in high spirits yesterday, so they ended up drinking too much. And taking a closer look, I could see that even Araune-san¡¯s and Lilian-san¡¯s countenance were slightly unpleasant. They drank a little since everyone was in a festive mood, but despite having drank so little, they¡¯re already like this. They¡¯re probably not good with liquor.

    But Sebasu-san is different. He drank so much, and yet he isn¡¯t any different from usual. As for Elia, she wasn¡¯t allowed to drink more than one ss, so she¡¯s not suffering from any hangover.

    I use ¡®Warp¡¯ and go to the pharmacy and the green grocer to buy some ingredients. Then afterwards, I went back to the lodging, made the medicine, and prescribed it to the groaning adults.

    After they had drunk the medicine, they said this.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, sorry about this, but could you take care of Elia today?¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°No matter how you look at it. With us being like this, there¡¯s no way we can look after her today.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°So won¡¯t you please take care of her, Ryouma-kun?¡± [Madam]

    ... So in other words, they¡¯re telling me to go make some memories since we won¡¯t be able to meet for a while, right? Yeah, that¡¯s probably it, so there¡¯s no way I can refuse.

    ¡°No problem, please leave it to me.¡± [Ryouma]

    After that, the three members of the Jamil Household went back to bed. From the looks of things, the part about them suffering from hangover seems to be true.

    I sent them off, and then I asked Elia.

    ¡°Then, what should we do today?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Don¡¯t you have work to do today? Aren¡¯t you busy?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°The shop¡¯s already being taken care of by others, so all I need to do is show my face in the morning and in the evening.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°...Then in that case, could I see what Ryouma normally does?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind, but...¡± [Ryouma]

    Is it fine with just something like that?

    ¡°Then, let¡¯s go!¡± [Elia]

    Like this, it was decided that Elia will be apanying me. And Sebasu-san, too, who will being as Elia¡¯s bodyguard. We went to the store first, then after that, we went to the abandoned mine.

    Upon arriving at the mine, I let the rimel bird from my ¡®Dimension Home¡¯ out, and then began the treatment of the cloths. During that time, I had Elia help me out with setting the cloth on the workbenches.

    And then after finishing that, we were left with nothing to do as per the usual pattern of my work. I think it would be a good time to start building my house here, but there¡¯s no way I could leave Elia alone. As I thought that, Elia asked me a question.

    ¡°What should we do next?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Nothing in particr, actually. After I give the order to the sticky slimes to treat the cloths, all that¡¯s left is to wait for the cloths to dry. This period is quite long, so it can be considered as free time from here on out. Usually, I¡¯d just train and make dolls to pass the time.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Really? I thought for sure Ryouma would normally keep working.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve been quite free ever since the store became autonomous.¡± [Ryouma]

    Did I really look like I overworked that much?

    ¡°Did I really look that busy?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯re always working from morning till dusk.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°I see, however, I don¡¯t actually work that much. There¡¯re also times when I¡¯m just dazing off, or looking for ways to kill time. And then, there are also times when I¡¯m making building stones to use for the construction of my houseter.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°So Ryouma-san really does n to live here.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Yes. After all, I have to do rounds around the mine here, and I want a ce where I can train magic without being a nuisance to others. So with that in mind, I believe this is the best ce.¡±

    ¡°When will you begin the construction? At this rate you won¡¯t be able to live in the mine, right?¡± [Elia]

    Right...

    ¡°For the meantime, I could just create a small shed, or dig a cave, and live there while I gradually build the house.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Then in that case, do you mind if we talk for a bit?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Of course, what is it?¡± [Ryouma]

    We left the workshop and went somewhere where the sunlight reached. There, I made some chairs, and we talked while sitting.

    ¡°Elia, you¡¯ll be going to school this year, right?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes. All young nobledies must attend the school at the royal capital upon reaching 12. Not attending will hurt one¡¯s reputation amongst nobles.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°I see.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°... The truth is that I don¡¯t want to go either, but unfortunately, I have to.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Eh? Really?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes. In fact, my parents and even my grandfather told me that if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that it was tradition to go, then they wouldn¡¯t even let me go.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Why?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°The school of the royal capital is also open tomoners, and every year a lot of them are epted. And although there isn¡¯t any difference in the treatment of students based on their social standing, there are quite a bit of people that cause issues.¡± [Elia]

    Ahh... it¡¯s that clich¨¦ thing you¡¯d expect from this kind of setting.

    ¡°Moreover, the things taught at school can be learned at home as long as we call for a tutor. In fact, I was told that it¡¯s even more beneficial for me to learn from a tutor than from the school. After all, the school is...¡± [Elia]

    For some reason, Elia was a bit hesitant to say something.

    ¡°The school is what?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°... The chance of finding things that one should be studying there is low.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°But it¡¯s a school, right? What¡¯s going on?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I also don¡¯t know. It¡¯s just that father and the others told me to take care not to be influenced by the school¡¯s atmosphere. They also told me that it¡¯s fine to have bad grades in school, so I should practice the things that they¡¯d taught me back at home.¡± [Elia]

    Eh? They¡¯re going that far?

    ¡°That¡¯s why father didn¡¯t invite you.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Oh,e to think of it...¡± [Ryouma]

    He definitely didn¡¯t tell me anything about the school.

    ¡°There¡¯s no way he would ask you. After all, if you were enrolled, then you would definitely be an excellent student, and the other nobles will have their eyes on you.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°I see, that does make sense.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m really not that excited in going. If it wasn¡¯t a tradition, then I¡¯d rather train with you.¡± [Elia]

    ... Well since I didn¡¯t think school was fun either, I don¡¯t really have the right to say anything here... But in any case, Elia is the daughter of a duke, so she shouldn¡¯t be subject to bullying there.

    ¡°What I¡¯m trying to say is, please don¡¯t¡¯ forget your promise to meet with me after 3 years. Because of my social standing and my power, there are very few people who would talk to me normally, and be my friends.¡± [Elia]

    As she said that, her countenance became somewhat gloomy.

    ¡°I won¡¯t forget.¡± [Ryouma]

    When I said that, Elia let out a chuckle, and then said this.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have you prove that after 3 years. If you fall into a daze with your job again, then I¡¯ll have you remember by hammering you with the magic I¡¯d trained for three years.¡± [Elia]

    Scary!

    ¡°Please spare me that... Really though, where did you learn to talk like that?¡± [Ryouma]

    It feels kind of different from Elia¡¯s usual image.

    ¡°In the past, my mother had apparently used a simr method to make my father remember a promise he had forgotten.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°I¨CI see...¡± [Ryouma]

    Rheinhart-san, it¡¯s good that you¡¯re safe... While I was thinking that, Elia seemed to have suddenly thought of something.

    ¡°I have a good idea, Sebasu!¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Yes, Ojousama. How may I be of service?¡± [Sebasu]

    Elia suddenly called Sebasu-san over, and whispered something. After Elia finished, Sebasu-san nodded, and opened his ¡®Item Box¡¯. From it he took out a small box. Elia took that box and presented it to me.

    ¡°Ryouma-san, please ept this.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°It¡¯s a ne I received from my mother on my 10th birthday.¡± [Elia]

    As Elia opened the box, whaty inside was a golden ne with chains of gold, and a ruby the size of a small pinky embedded on its golden pedestal. It¡¯s simple, but luxurious. Moreover, this ruby is¨C...

    ¡°Magic power?¡± [Ryouma]

    For some reason, I can feel magic power emanating from this ruby.

    ¡°Ara, did you notice? As expected of you, Ryouma-san. Actually, the ruby of this ne is a magic gem (Ä§±¦Ê¯).¡± [Elia]

    ¡°By magic gem (Ä§·¨Ê¯), you mean the same as those used formps?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°No, that¡¯s incorrect. The ones used formps are called magic stones. Putting it simply, those are magic tools. Ryouma-san, do you know of magic jewels?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Magic jewels... From what I know, there¡¯re plenty of those in ces where the concentration of magic power in the air is strong. In other words, those are stones that have magic power in them, right?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Precisely. Magic jewels have magic power within them, and that magic power can be pulled out when using magic to use as assistance for magic control. And amongst magic jewels, there are those that are not just any ordinary stones, but gems. These gems that contain magic power came to be called as magic gems. In the same vein, if it were an ore, it would then be called a magic ore.

    Magic jewels are used to aid in the assistance of magic, while magic ores are used to increase the efficiency of magic tools.

    And as for magic gems, these can be used for anything. Whether it be to aid one¡¯s magic, or to increase the performance of a magic tool, or even as a simple gem. On top of that, its effect is also stronger than a normal magic jewel. However, these gems are precious as their production rate is low, so these things are quite special.¡± [Elia]

    After exining that in one breath, she rested for a bit.

    ¡°... So what you mean to say is that this is a really valuable item.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes, exactly.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°There¡¯s no way I could take something so precious, you know?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I want you to take it!¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Like I said, this thing is too expensive...¡± [Ryouma]

    Like I could possible take this!

    As I firmly refused, Elia firmly proposed. There, Sebasu-san interjected.

    ¡°Please calm down you two. Ryouma-sama, although the Ojousama wants you to ept this, she isn¡¯t actually giving this to you. She only wants you to keep it until you meet again.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°Keep it? Why?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ryouma-sama, you may not be aware of it, but there is a belief where letting your friend keep something precious before going somewhere far, will increase your chances of meeting again. It isn¡¯t known who spread this belief, but it¡¯s a story from long ago, and it¡¯s being practiced even till today as a bringer of luck.¡± [Serge]

    Ahh, so it¡¯s something like that.

    ¡°And so, because of that, you want me to take the ne.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Exactly.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°... Isn¡¯t this something important to you? Is it really ok?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t, then I wouldn¡¯t have told you so in the first ce. I believe you, so please give it back in 3 years.¡± [Elia]

    Mu... to actually be trusted to this degree... Moreover, for it to be because of a promise to meet again...

    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll take care of it until we meet again.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Really!?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°In exchange, I¡¯ll definitely give it back.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Of course.¡± [Elia]

    And so, I epted the box, and put it inside my ¡®Item Box¡¯. If it¡¯s here, then I definitely won¡¯t lose it.

    ¡°Next is...¡± [Elia]

    I thought that I should also give Elia something, and so, I thought of what I could give.

    ... What¡¯s my most treasured item? Money? Wait, I couldn¡¯t give something like that. It¡¯d be too bulky to carry... Then in that case, pelt? But that¡¯s not particrly important.... How about building stones? Ingots? Waterproof cloths? ... Erm, I don¡¯t seem to have anything satisfactory...

    Then it hit me.

    ¡° ¡®Dimension Home¡¯ ¡°

    I take out a heal slime and a scavenger slime from my ¡®Dimension Home¡¯ and present them to Elia.

    ¡°Ryouma-san, these two are?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t think of anything precious I could give you, and the only thing I could really think of as precious are my slimes, so... I think these two slimes could be useful to you, so please take them.¡± [Ryouma]

    Elia was taken aback when she heard that, and barely keeping herself together, she covered her mouth with her hand as she tried not tough.

    So it¡¯s weird after all, huh? Or rather, why did I pick slimes as my mementos? Well, it¡¯s actually because I didn¡¯t have anything else that¡¯s suitable, but... No, in the first ce, it¡¯s a bit questionable to use slimes as a memento, but... isn¡¯t there anything else?

    ¡°Fufu... I¡¯m sorry, Ryouma-san. I just thought it was just like you to think of something like that... thank you, I¡¯ll take care of them.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Really? Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°No, the pleasure is mine. Thank you for lending me your most precious ve monsters.¡± [Elia]

    I let down the heal slime and scavenger slime in my arms, and then cancelled the contract. And then, Elia contracted those two.

    ¡°I¡¯ve sessfully contracted them. I¡¯ll take care of them well.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    After that, we talked about slimes, magic, and I even showed her some of my alchemy.

    Like that, time passed, and eventually dusk was before us. We used space magic, and went back to the town.

    Upon arrival, we went to check the store for a bit, and when we got there, we saw the store bustling with adventurers and doctors. The adventurers who went to the swamp, and the doctors who processed the grell frogs, were all covered in blood and mud. Because of them, the store was bustling with customers, and the business, flourishing.

    After that short stop, we went back to the lodging. Rheinhart-san and the others seemed to have already recovered from their hangover.

    ¡°Wee back, Ryouma-kun.¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°Thanks for taking care of Elia today.¡± [Madam]

    ¡°Please don¡¯t mind it. It was fun for me too.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ryouma-san taught me a lot of magic. And while I still can¡¯t use it well, I¡¯ll do my best to learn them!¡± [Elia]

    From the flow of the conversation, Elia learned thebination of the ice magic ¡®Freeze¡¯, which freezes things a little, and the wind magic ¡®Breeze¡¯, which creates air, known as, ¡®Cooler¡¯. There¡¯s also the ice magic ¡®Ice Cube¡¯, and a bunch of other things that I taught her. Although it would appear that she still can¡¯t use anything else aside from ¡®Ice Cube¡¯.

    Incidentally, since Sebasu-san was also with us, I taught him the magic, ¡®Mist Wash¡¯, and ¡®Water Gun¡¯. And just as you¡¯d expect from Sebasu-san, despite me having only given him a simple exnation ofpressing and shooting, he quickly learned how to use the magic after only five tries. And was even able to cut the rock I made with earth magic as a target into two.

    Going back to the story.

    ¡°That¡¯s great, Elia.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Yes! Also, Ryouma-san lent me his heal slime and scavenger slime.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Ara, really? Take care of them well, Elia.¡± [Madam]

    ¡°Of course.¡± [Elia]

    And so, after that, we continued to talk about the day we met, and all sorts of other things until midnight.

    The day of separation.

    The duke¡¯s household and the guards rode the carriage at the ce behind the lodging where the carriages where. And one after another, they called out to me from the window of the carriage.

    ¡°Take care of your body.¡± [Rheinhart]

    ¡°Don¡¯t push yourself, ok?¡± [Madam]

    ¡°You should rest from time to time.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°If somethinges up, be sure to contact us.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°If you have some free time,e over to our ce. [Jill]

    ¡°Do your best, young master.¡± [Zeff]

    ¡°Be well.¡± [Camil]

    ¡°Keep yourself together.¡± [Hyuzu]

    ¡°I¡¯ll pray for your good health and fortune.¡± [Araune]

    The members of the duke¡¯s household, Araune, and Jill-san and co. all called out to me.

    ¡°Everyone, as well, please take care. Thank you for everything until now.¡± [Ryouam]

    As I said that, I bowed my head. I hate the fact that I¡¯m not good at talking about various things for extended periods... I wish I could get my feelings across better...

    ¡°Ryouma-san, until the day we meet again, I¡¯ll be doing my best to improve my skills!¡± [Elia]

    Dered Elia from the top of the carriage.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be doing the same too.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Do your best!¡± [Elia & Ryouma]

    As my words ovepped with Elia¡¯s, weughed. With the time of departure here, the escorts were the first to start moving as they led the convoy from the front.

    Elia and the others waved towards me from the window as they left. And I too waved to the fleeting carriage as I sent them off, the carriage eventually turning into a silhouette, until finally I could see it no more. With the carriage gone, I too walked away, showed my face at the shop, and then headed to the mine.

    From today on I won¡¯t be living in the lodging but here, in the mine! Because of that I have to get started with the construction of my house!

    ¡°.................Fuu.......¡±

    Suddenly, I stop, and I look at the sky. I don¡¯t have time to be sentimental. I know that. And yet, I can¡¯t help but feel lonely. No, I¡¯m not regretting my choice, but... at times like this, there¡¯s nothing else to it except to work until I forget.

    ......Ahh, but then if I did that, then when I send my letter, it won¡¯t have anything in it but work. She¡¯ll probably get mad at me if I did that.

    As I thought that, it would appear that I somehow lightened up as I could feel my face make a broad grin.

    Somehow, I feel better. Well then, let¡¯s continue like this.

    ¡°Fuu... Let me say that again, I¡¯ll do my best!¡± [Ryouma]

    I walk towards the mine again. But this time, with a cheerful mood, just like always. And so, like usual, my day also begins.

 Volume 3 - Idle Talk 1

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Idle Talk 1

    TL Note:

    Edit: 2015/08/02 Fixed a few things here and there.

    Idle Talk 1

    A god in the form of a thin man was standing by himself in the divine realm when the three main gods appeared.

    ¡°Ah~... I¡¯m tired...¡± [Rurutia]

    ¡°We finally got back.¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°Oh, if it isn¡¯t Fer Noevir.¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°It¡¯s quite rare for you toe out of your ce.¡± [Rurutia]

    The one who was standing was the god of magic, Fer Noevir. As well as the three gods, Gayn, Kufo, and Rurutia.

    ¡°Well, I was forcefully brought here, but I am also a little concerned.¡± [Fer Noevir]

    ¡°Forcefully?¡± [Gayn, Kufo, Rurutia]

    Suddenly, 4 gods came out of nowhere, and Gayn¡¯s group was surrounded.

    ¡°Eh? Wait, what¡¯s with this situation?¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°Why are we being surrounded?¡± [Rurutia]

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to exin yourselves?¡± [Gayn]

    One god stepped out. It was Tekun.

    ¡°You dare ask with your hands in your chest? I won¡¯t let you say you don¡¯t know, Gayn.¡±

    ¡°Why are you suddenly mad?¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°Now, now, calm down for a bit, Tekun-san. If you push them like that, we won¡¯t be able to talk.¡± [Willieris]

    ¡°Exactly. You should calm down, and drink some alcohol or something.¡± [Grimp]

    The two gods who remonstrated Tekun are the goddess ofnd and harvest, Willieris, and the god of farming and livestock, Grimp. These two are particrly gentle amongst the different gods. The Goddess of Land and Harvest looked like a refined, middle-aged woman. While the God of Farming and Livestock was a middle-aged man with a hoe on his shoulder. These two gods are husband and wife.

    Although Tekun wasn¡¯t in a good mood after being remonstrated, he kept quiet, and drank wine while he settled down. With Grimp by her side, Willieris exined.

    ¡°The reason we¡¯re acting like this is because we heard that you three went off to a different world to y. The first one who heard this was Tekun, and since he also wanted to waste some time, he got mad.¡± [Willieris]

    Fer Noevir interjected.

    ¡°In order to find you three, Tekun eve£î called out to Willieris and Grimp to get me to use my power.¡± [Fer Noevir]

    ¡°Come to think of it, you even used your power to prevent Tekun from going into your ce, right?¡± [Rurutia]

    ¡°His craft aside, he¡¯s rough and irresponsible. He does nothing but drink wine and make noise. He¡¯s a nuisance.¡± [Fer Noevir]

    ¡°Hey! You bastards! I can hear you, you know!?¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°£Ét¡¯s not like you have any business at my ce. And it¡¯s not like you¡¯re the only one not permitted to enter either. Anyway, enough of that. What were you thinking going to a different world just to y?¡± [Fer Noevir]

    ¡°Wait a moment, who told you that?¡± [Rurutia]

    Tekun answered Rurutia¡¯s question.

    ¡°Drop the act, I heard it from Ryouma. Didn¡¯t Kufo tell him so? I thought he was lying at the time so I read his mind, but apparently he wasn¡¯t.¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°Oops¨C... I told him not to tell other humans, but I forgot to mention that he shouldn¡¯t tell it to the other gods too...¡± whispered Kufo as he pped his forehead. After that, chairs, arranged in a circle, appeared out of nowhere and the three gods decided to talk about it while they all sat.

    ¡°Now, can you start talking? Or rather, you should have taken me with you!¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°That you went there for fun aside, we really can¡¯t ignore the fact that you¡¯ve been going to another world frequently.¡± [Willieris]

    ¡°Mind exining yourselves?¡± [Grimp]

    ¡°Right, actually... We came there to check up on the God of Earth.¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°We talked about it before remember? That thing about Ryouma¡¯s supposed happiness being stolen by the God of Earth.¡± [Rurutia]

    ¡°Right, I do remember being surprised that a god would actually do something forbidden like that.¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°So because of that, we decided to go check.¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°Eh? You didn¡¯t go there to y?¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°We haven¡¯t told Ryouma about the fact that the God of Earth stole his happiness, so I gave him an excuse.¡± [Kufo]

    When Tekun heard that, his anger quickly simmered down.

    ¡°Oh... so that¡¯s what it was.¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°Tekun, you don¡¯t get mad except for things regarding fun, huh?¡¯ [Fer Noevir]

    ¡°It¡¯s still plenty a problem to be frequently going to a different world, you know?¡± [Willieris]

    Fer Noevir and Willieris was shocked at Tekun¡¯s reaction.But Fer Noevir, quickly regaining hisposure, asked Gayn¡¯s group a question.

    ¡°Won¡¯t there be a problem if you keep on doing that?¡± [Fer Noevir]

    ¡°There won¡¯t be a problem but...¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°It¡¯s quite difficult to go there without getting caught.¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°We haven¡¯t been seen so far, but the god on the other side is acting strange... While it¡¯s not the same as with Ryouma¡¯s, even until now, that god has been taking other people¡¯s happiness. But the really strange thing is that he doesn¡¯t seem to be using it for anything.¡± [Rurutia]

    ¡°At first we thought he was giving something to his believers, but that didn¡¯t seem to be the case at all. He¡¯s just stealing as he pleases without giving it to anyone.¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°The management of the world is also sloppy. The people there may no longer have much to develop in terms of technology, but... even though we went through all the trouble of sneaking in because of the rule of not getting involved in other worlds, anticlimactically, we were able to get in really easily. We looked so stupid for trying not to get caught.¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°We even thought there might be a trap, but in the end, there was nothing. With that kind of management, he wouldn¡¯t even be able to respond if a demon king from a different world were to attack.¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°He¡¯s that sloppy? If that¡¯s so, then he¡¯s no longer doing his job as a god, is he?¡± [Fer Noevir]

    ¡°That might actually be the case...¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°To begin with, what on earth is he nning to do with all that happiness he¡¯s stealing? That kind of thing is useless to us, gods.¡± [Grimp]

    ¡°Well it¡¯s also possible to use it to preserve our strength when the people lose faith in us... but if the world is safe, then a god¡¯s power shouldn¡¯t go below the minimum power needed. So what is he doing with it?¡± [Willieris]

    ¡°It¡¯s certainly true that the Japanese of that world has less faith than the people of this world, but the humans of the other countries of that world have strong faith. Hence, there still shouldn¡¯t be any problem. There¡¯s also the issue with that world¡¯s environment and the nature there is getting rough, but there¡¯s still no reason to run out of power. And it¡¯s precisely because of that, that we¡¯re sending magic power here from that world.¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°That¡¯s certainly true. I made a foolish question. But if that¡¯s the case, then there really isn¡¯t any reason for him to steal happiness. Exactly what is that god using it for?¡± [Fei Noevir]

    All of the sudden, the god that hadn¡¯t said a word until now opened her mouth.

    ¡°... Does the reason really matter? We don¡¯t do things like stealing people¡¯s happiness, so we may not know, but because of that isn¡¯t it possible that there actually is a way to use it? Isn¡¯t that enough? Then, all that¡¯s left is for us to beat that god if hees here picking a fight.¡± [God]

    ¡°Kirilel, you¡¯re saying that kind of simple thing again... You¡¯re a muscle-brain as usual I see. Really, a woman like you...¡± [Fer Noevir]

    With a forged body, an armor, and a sheathed sword at her waist, the one who proimed that was the God of War, Kirilel. Her body is well trained, but there are also parts that are supple. Her manner of talking is like that of a man, but she is a full-fledged goddess.

    ¡°Who is a muscle-brain!? Even I can use my head!¡± [Kirilel]

    ¡°The only thing you use your head for is for fighting techniques!¡± [Fer Noevir]

    ¡°Exactly! But even then, it doesn¡¯t change the fact that I¡¯m using my head! In fact, isn¡¯t this way healthier than someone like you, who does nothing but iste himself in his ce?¡± [Kirilel]

    ¡°What does health have to do with a god, when our bodies are indestructible?¡± [Fer Noevir]

    These two gods have opposing personalities, so whenever they meet, things usually end up like this. Before things got worse, Gayn interjected and asked Kirilel a question.

    ¡°Let¡¯s put that discussion aside for now, Kirilel why are you here? You weren¡¯t called by Tekun, right?¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°What are you talking about, gramps? I am the God of War, you know? Where there is conflict there is war. And where there is war, so am I! I came here because I felt Tekun¡¯s anger, and after listening to his story, I found out that gramps and the others went to y in the other world. So I¡¯ve been waiting here quietly because I thought we¡¯d be giving an execution.¡± [Kirilel]

    ¡°There¡¯s no need!¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°That¡¯s not something to joke about!¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°You¡¯re a god, so you can normally kill us, right!?¡± [Rurutia]

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry. I won¡¯t do anything this time. I understand that the God of Earth is acting weird. And because of him, something strange happened with the soul of that guy, Ryouma. Ryouma isn¡¯t someone who¡¯d thoughtlessly wreak havoc, so it¡¯s fine. But if he was someone dangerous, then the situation would have be terrible.

    From now on there¡¯s a possibility that the souls we bring here might be abnormal. You understand why we need to be wary of that, right? But of course, I won¡¯t do anything either as long as the God of Earth doesn¡¯t attack the world here.¡± [Kirilel]

    The God of War, Kirilel, is the strongest amongst the gods when ites to fighting. Because of this, she is the god who brings harm to the people of the world, and is also the god who protects the world from its enemies. Hence, she is also known as the God of Judgment.

    She rarely has any work to do as the God of Judgment. But if the humans were to do something that would bring great harm to the world, the one to bestow judgment will mostly be her.

    And while strange, it would appear that she also became the judge for the sins of the three gods. Gayn and the others do not specialize in fighting, so winning against her is impossible. Moreover, despite both being gods, if she went full force she would also be able to destroy all three of them.

    But of course, they wouldn¡¯t disappear. But they would still end up quite hurt. So because of that they were quite relieved when they heard Kirilel¡¯s words.

    ¡°This is bad for the heart...¡± [Rurutia]

    ¡°I think my lifespans just shortened...¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°Please don¡¯t scare old people too much...¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°Gods don¡¯t need to worry about hearts and lifespans though. Well, in any case, it doesn¡¯t seem like I¡¯m needed here, so I¡¯ll be taking my leave. There are still some people who are continuing to fight, so I¡¯m quite busypared to you guys.¡± [Kirilel]

    ¡°Right, sorry.¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°It¡¯s not like you called me here, I just came on my own. Also, Gayn, Kufo, Rurutia, keep it moderate, ok? You guys going to the other world.¡± [Kirilel]

    ¡°Right...¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°Let¡¯s alternate from now on.¡± [Rurutia]

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to stop?¡± [Kirilel]

    ¡°But I still haven¡¯t...¡± [Rurutia]

    Halfway through her speech, Tekun interjected.

    ¡°Still haven¡¯t? What is that, ¡®still haven¡¯t¡¯?¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°Oh, nothing in particr.¡± [Rurutia]

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to understand the god on the other side.¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°Right, right.¡± [Gayn]

    Gayn¡¯s group acted unconcerned, but then Willieris asked a question.

    ¡°Are you guys still hiding something?¡± [Willieris]

    At those words, Tekun once more emanated a dangerous aura.

    ¡°Did you bastards really go there to investigate the God of Earth?¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± [Rurutia]

    ¡°But of course.¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°We investigated the god on the other side, you know?¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°Even now he¡¯s still stealing happiness from his people, so that¡¯s not a lie. Then in that case, I¡¯ll change the question. Did you do anything else aside from investigating?¡± [Tekun]

    The three gods stiffened.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Kufo, didn¡¯t you tell Ryouma that you went sightseeing in Earth?¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s because we were looking for the people who had their happiness taken away. Because of that we ended up seeing some ces. Calling something like that, ¡®sightseeing¡¯, is a misunderstanding, you know?¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°In other words, you thought that you could go sightseeing.¡± [Fer Noevir]

    At Fer Noevir¡¯s words, Kufo was surprised and his body shook.

    ¡°Wait a moment, isn¡¯t that a leading question!?¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°Kufo, you know if you say something like that, then you¡¯re basically admitting that you took the opportunity to sightsee while looking for people.¡± [Grimp]

    At Kufo¡¯s words, Grimp whispered that. And once again, Tekun¡¯s aura became dangerous as he asked Gayn.

    ¡°Gayn, I don¡¯t understand it well, but I heard that you got hooked to something called, ¡®idol¡¯.¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°In Earth, idols are experts who dance and sing. You can see them often from the boxes that show reflections on Earth called TV. You can also see them downtown if you have the chance to meet them. But, don¡¯t misunderstand, ok? It¡¯s not like I went out of my way to see them.¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°Song and dance, huh? Then in that case, this world also has it. It¡¯s not really something...¡± [Tekun]

    While Tekun quickly calmed down when he heard the words ¡®song¡¯ and ¡¯dance¡¯, this time Gayn¡¯s eyes sharpened, and he red up at Tekun.

    ¡°Don¡¯t group idols with the things from this world!! The idols of Earth are cute and diligent!! Whenever I see them, I can¡¯t help but want to cheer them on!!¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°Ah, ahh?¡± [Tekun]

    Tekun couldn¡¯t help but falter before that menacing look. But at that moment, Gayn noticed his mistake, and it showed on his face. Seeing that Willieris said this.

    ¡°Seeing you this serious about those so called idols, I think I understand perfectly well what¡¯s going on now.¡± [Willieris]

    Tekun¡¯s gaze moved towards Rurutia. Having realized that the ruse is up, Rurutia answered before Tekun could even ask her.

    ¡°As for me I just ate some sweet things during break time while we were moving on Earth, you know?¡± [Rurutia]

    At that, Tekun¡¯s anger and the Gayn trio¡¯s shriek roared throughout the divine realm.

 Volume 3 - 1

    TL Note: Gai -> Kai; sorry, misread again. Tee hee :P

    Also, Bridge of Scheme -> Pier of Scheme; after reading this chapter, I think this trantion is more fitting.

    Range -> Microwave

    Volume 3 Chapter 1

    Right after I sent the Jamil Household off, I ran towards the mine as training.

    On the way, I noticed the crowd of adventurers. Then I remembered that a lot of people came to hunt the grell frogs.

    It was along the way so I took a look, but... I wonder if I should also catch a few more.

    Thinking that, I took out my waders from my ¡®Item Box¡¯, and headed towards the swamp.

    ¡°There sure are plenty of people...¡± [Ryouma]

    There¡¯s probably over 100 people around here. There are also other people going to a different swamp, so I guess there¡¯s just that many people...

    As I thought that while I looked, I noticed that there were people wearing waders and jumpsuits here and there. Unexpectedly, it would appear it sold quite a bit.

    Then my eyes stopped on one group. A group with five members, and all of them wearing waders and jumpsuits. I remember those faces. If I recall correctly, they are the ones who sold me the bloody slime, the Pier of Scheme.

    I¡¯m here after all, so I guess I might as well go and say hi.

    Thinking that, I went closer, but... did something happen? From what I saw, Kai-san, looking slightly down, was patting the backs of the people around him as he encouraged them saying it can¡¯t be helped.

    ¡°Hello.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Huh? You are... from that time. Ryouma-kun, right? Thanks forst time.¡± [Kai]

    ¡°No, not at all. After all, I also managed to get a good slime.¡± [Ryouma]

    Then, Thayne, the man who was drunkst time, stepped forward.

    ¡°Are you the guy who bought the slimest time?¡± [Thayne]

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I see. Sorry aboutst time. I¡¯m Thayne. I drank a bit too much that time and was quite drunk, so I don¡¯t remember much, but... You really saved us by buying that slime. On top of that, you even told us a way to make a profit, so thank you. [Thayne]

    ¡°Please don¡¯t mind it. That aside, did something happen? You looked like you were making a difficult face.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s not exactly a problem, just a little. Before that, let me introduce these guys.¡± [Kai]

    As he said that, Kai¡¯s line of sight moved over to the two men who took Thayne awayst time. Kai-san put his hand on the shoulder of the slightly shorter guy, and then said this.

    ¡°This one¡¯s Kei, my little brother.¡± [Kai]

    ¡°A pleasure to meet you.¡± [Kei]

    ¡°A pleasure to meet you too.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°And next, is this one.¡± [Kai]

    ¡°Payron, nice to meet you.¡± [Payron]

    ¡°A pleasure to meet you.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°We five together are the Pier of Scheme, but you knew that, right?¡± [Kai]

    ¡°Yes.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Actually, I used to be a fisherman.¡± [Kai]

    Fisherman? ¡°That¡¯s fine, but why all of the sudden?¡± I thought. Then Shin-san continued.

    ¡°Sorry, but Kai¡¯s bad at exining, so I¡¯ll exin.¡± [Shin]

    From what he told me, the Town of Scheme is a vige situated by the edge of the biggestke in this country, and is the biggest fishing vige in the entire country.

    It was there that all five of them, the Pier of Scheme, was born and raised. It¡¯s because of that, that they¡¯re used to handlings, so although there is quite a difference between mud and water, they were still faster than most of the other adventurers. And like that, they were able to catch plenty of grell frogs.

    Looks like they made quite the killing in the past few days. And today they¡¯ve already managed to catch over 20 grell frogs, but when they left the basket unattended for just a moment, someone apparently switched their basket. Unfortunately, that was something lent by the guild, so quite a lot of people have it. With that in mind, it¡¯s impossible to find out who the culprit is just by looking for the basket.

    ¡°So your catch was stolen.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Is that really it?¡± [Shin]

    As I thought, ¡°What¡¯s with that response?¡± Kei-san showed me the basket. Inside were 20 grell frogs. However, each and every one of them was weak. A few of those were even at death¡¯s door.

    ¡°If it¡¯s just the number, then it¡¯s just a switch. But with the quality in mind... ¡± [Shin]

    ¡°Apparently, someone sucked at catching and failed. Because of his technique the grell frogs are so weak. Weakened grell frogs go for less, and if they die, then they¡¯ll go for even lesser. Even if we went to the town now, these little critters will still die on the way.¡± [Kai]

    ¡°That¡¯s why somebody decided to switch this basket with ours.¡± [Thayne]

    ¡°It¡¯d be fine if we just went and caught more, but it still stings. But that¡¯s all.¡± [Shin]

    I see... oh, that¡¯s right!

    ¡°Do you know how much this would be if you sold all of them?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°This bunch will be really weak once they get to the guild, so 200 suits at most. If they die, then it¡¯ll go as low as 50. We learned our mistake from the previous case, so this time we did our assignments properly.¡± [Shin]

    ¡°So if the conditions are good, they¡¯ll go for 1000 suits per frog, right?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Right. But what about it?¡± [Shin]

    ¡°Then in that case, will you sell these to me for 300 suits per frog?¡± [Ryouma]

    Shin-san titled his head in puzzlement when he heard what I¡¯d just said.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind, but is that ok?¡± [Shin]

    ¡°The price is higher than the guild, so it¡¯s good for us, but...¡± [Kai]

    ¡°You¡¯ll be at a loss, you know?¡± [Thayne]

    ¡°That may be so if I were selling them to the guild. However, I am using these for myself, so there won¡¯t be a problem.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°For yourself? Are you going to make medicine?¡± [Shin]

    ¡°Yes. I can use these to make antidotes, so I came here with the intention of preparing some household medicines.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I see. The price is higher than the guild would offer to us, so we¡¯re grateful.¡± [Shin]

    ¡°We¡¯re going to catch more to sell to the guild, so go ahead and buy everything.¡± [Kai]

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    Like this I purchased 25 grell frogs from them for 7,500 suits.

    ¡°You¡¯re... amazing.¡± [Shin]

    ¡°I also thought it back then, when you brought out that small gold coin. But you really do bring out money generously.¡± [Kai]

    ¡°It makes sense after seeing just how popr your store is though.¡± [Thayne]

    Ah, looks like they came to my store.

    ¡°Oh, did you make use of my store¡¯s services?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Actually, we were only nning to try it out once, but then, not only is it cheap, it also cleans better than washing by hand. So we ended up using it a lot.¡± [Shin]

    ¡°Andtely, because of all these mud, we¡¯ve been going there every day.¡± [Kai]

    ¡°We were surprised at first, but it looks like the slimes can be useful too. I guess if you try it can turn out to be something good too.¡± [Thayne]

    Ho, ho. Looks like I got myself some good regrs.

    ¡°Laundry¡¯s gonna be a pain once we get back to our vige. How about setting up a branch there? If you want, I can even introduce you a good ce to negotiate with the fishing union.¡± [Kai]

    ¡°Talks about branch stores havee up from time to time, but I¡¯m not nning to set up a branch as of yet.¡± [Ryouma]

    Since I¡¯d just recently hired Caulkins-san and the others...

    ¡°Well that¡¯s true, it¡¯s certainly not something you can easily set up. But if you do decide to set one up in our town, then contact me. I can help you out with looking for a good spot for your store.¡± [Kai]

    ¡°After all, if you use our connection with the fishing union, you should be able to get an even better ce than what the merchant guild can get you.¡± [Thayne]

    Using amunity based organization rather than the guild...Right. That might be a good idea.

    ¡°Thank you very much. When that timees, I¡¯ll be relying on you.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that, I left them and headed towards the abandoned mine.

    The first thing I did when I got to the mine was to bring out the slimes and rimel birds from the ¡®Dimension Home¡¯. Then we dug a hole in the tunnel and created a ce for me to live in, and an alchemy room. All the furniture, including the shelf, were made out of stone. Yeah, this should be good enough for the time being.

    Afterwards, I let everyone else do as they please except for the bloody slime and cleaner slimes. Then I processed the grell frogs at the alchemy room that I¡¯d just made, since I needed to process the weak ones quickly, and I also haven¡¯t process the ones I caught the other day.

    By the way, if you¡¯re wondering, I put the grell frogs I caught the other day in a water tank made out of stone inside my ¡®Dimension Home¡¯. Provided they were caught skillfully, then they shouldn¡¯t have any problem living for around a week. With that much time, a normal doctor would be able to process it well.

    However, in my case, I have the bloody slime. I don¡¯t need that much time.

    First, I drew a magic formation of separation on a corner of the floor of the alchemy room. Then with earth magic I made out a vessel of stone. Next, I took out the grell frogs from the ¡°Dimension Home¡¯, and then put it into a cage I prepared, by the corner of the alchemy room. These are the ones I just bought today.

    After that, I randomly took out one of them, and killed it with a knife as it tried to run. At that, I ordered the bloody slime to enter it through its wound.

    After the bloody slime finishes draining its blood, what came next was disassembly. Following my ¡®Pharmacy¡¯ skill¡¯s knowledge, I uninterestedly separated the important parts. Not even a drop of blood came out during this. The bloody slime¡¯s draining was perfect.

    After this the next process is to remove the refuse and the mucus, wash the separated parts, and wash off the dirt that stuck to the grell frog¡¯s exterior during the disassembly and the refuse removal.

    If these refuses aren¡¯t properly removed, then the quality will greatly drop. Unfortunately, removing these mucus is extremely difficult. Moreover, if this process is done roughly, then its internal organs will suffer, causing the quality to drop again. That¡¯s why it¡¯s imperative that this process be done carefully and thoroughly. This process is extremely delicate... If you do it normally that is.

    I ordered a cleaner slime to clean off the filth. Responding to that, the cleaner slime put the parts inside it, and began to wash off the mucus. Shortly after, the cleaner slime finished without either leaving a wound or taking much time. Its work was perfect.

    Next, I take the parts that have been processed, put it on top of the magic formation, and dry it by separating it from its water contents.

    Fire and wind magic would normally be used in this process as it¡¯s no good with just one or the other. It¡¯s hard for the wind to get rid of the water content by itself, and if you keep it up for too long, the inner organs will start to suffer. With fire the drying is fast, but a little error would alter the ingredient¡¯s effect. And if poorly done, it¡¯s also possible to burn it, rendering it useless.

    But I¡¯m not using fire, so there won¡¯t be any alterations. There also won¡¯t be any damage.

    After processing the internal organs of the grell frog in this way, I used ¡®Identify¡¯ on it. The result of the skill showed that all the parts have been processed perfectly. Naturally, that goes to mean that all the parts are of the highest quality.

    After that, I continued to quietly process the grell frogs. In the end, out of the 25, I managed to get everything else except for 19 to the level of highest quality.

    And although the 19¡¯s quality were lower, they were still considered to be high-quality ingredients. With this, the ingredients are more than useable.

    As for the reason regarding why the quality dropped, it would appear that the inner organs were damaged since the grell frogs became weak, causing the flow of blood to be bad. It was probably treated roughly while being captured. It¡¯s really important to be careful while catching these grell frogs.

    Incidentally, after I had disassembled the grell frogs, I served the leftover skin and meat to the rimel birds. I brought it to them as I thought to myself, ¡°Will they eat it? I mean they eat grell frogs, so... right?¡± Much to my relief, they did in fact eat it. Happily too. From what I¡¯d heard these rimel birds like to eat meat, fishes, fruits, vegetables, and grains. But for the meantime, I guess I¡¯ll focus on feeding them meat. After all, I can get those from Zeke-san¡¯s store.

    As I passed the day like that, eventually it became dark outside. Just to be safe, I had the slimes and rimel birds gather in the mine to make sure that they¡¯re safe. It¡¯s true that the slimes have gotten stronger, but it¡¯s still dangerous in the night. Then I blocked the entrance with building stones, only allowing enough of a gap to let air pass.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve had a night like this... This reminds me of the time I just came into this world.¡± [Ryouma]

    That time, I read Gayn¡¯s letter, made that house, found that cliff, learned earth magic and dug a cave with it. At the start I could only shave the rocks at my fingertips a bit with ¡®Break Rock¡¯, but after repeating it a bit, I was eventually able to dig a hole. Then I just blocked the entrance with a wall of rock I made with ¡®Rock¡¯... After that, I gradually improved the environment. After I¡¯d gotten used to the forest, I also started to hunt and train in the evening, but...

    ¡°I¡¯m not really in the mood right now... Besides, I have some ingredients with me, so should I go ahead and make some medicines?¡± [Ryouma]

    I aimlessly entered the alchemy room where I processed the grell frogs, and took out all the gathered herbs that were preserved by drying from my ¡®Item Box¡¯ and put them on the shelves. I want a medicine cab to put these ingredients in. I¡¯ll make it one day.

    The medicine I can make from these ingredients is an.............. antidote. I have just enough grell frog livers to make it too.

    The ingredients I need for it are a grell frog¡¯s liver, a poisonous nt called Kasuri, which by weakening the poison of the Kasuri Herb, it¡¯s possible to use it as medicine. And then there¡¯s the fruit of Kunashi, the invigorating flower of Josh, and the Ufer herb that causes diuresis.

    First I use earth magic and create a pot of rock and two spats. Then I make a mortar and pestle. Next time, maybe I should just buy the tools from around instead... I¡¯ve done everything so far with just my magic, but it¡¯s definitely better to get some proper tools, right?

    While I was thinking that, I used water magic and filled the pot, and put the cut Kasuri herb and fruit of Kunashi inside. With the electric magic ¡®Microwave¡¯, I made the water go faster, causing its temperature to rise and mix at the same time. Some materials are weak to heat, so I don¡¯t use this method much, but the Kasuri Herb and the fruit of Kunashi aren¡¯t affected much by heat. Even if I boil these, they¡¯ll be fine, so it¡¯s all cool.

    Like that, I boiled the ingredients, and the color of the ingredients began to dissolve, changing into a purple liquid. Looking at its outer appearance it looks very poisonous.

    By deciding based on the appearance of the color of the liquid, I stopped ¡®Microwave¡¯. While I waited for the medicine to cool down naturally, I thoroughly grinded the grell frog livers that had already been dried. Then I touched the liquid. When I thought that the temperature was good enough, I threw the grinded livers into it, and stirred.

    But this really is convenient. This ¡®Pharmacy¡¯ skill that is. I should¡¯ve been out of my expertise when ites to the herbs of this world, but because of this skill I can even learn to figure out the timing just from the color and by feeling the temperature.

    While I was thinking that, the liquid in the pot cooled down greatly. I guess it¡¯s time.

    I prepared the flower of Josh and the Ufer herb, threw just the right size into the pot, and lightly stirred the pot. I left it alone for a while, and waited for the effects of the ingredients to seep in.

    ¡°What should I do until then?¡± [Ryouma]

    At that time, I randomly left the alchemy room, and noticed the rimel birds. There, I decided to take out my guitar from the ¡®Item Box¡¯, and I yed two national anime ending songs, because I saw the moon through the hole I made for venttion.

    When I finished ying...

    ¡°¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D !¡± [Rimel birds]

    An iprehensible sound echoed within the cave.

    ¡°What!? It hurts... can¡¯t you guys shut up for a moment?¡± [Ryouma]

    The source of the sound were the rimel birds. It looks like they were chirping beautifully like a musical performance this time around too, but because we were inside a cave, it echoed, and the sound became too loud.

    I took more damage than I expected, but it seems the rimel birds are perfectly fine. What kind of ears do these birds have...?

    Incidentally, the slimes don¡¯t have ears, so they don¡¯t have any problems either.

    Afterwards, I passed the time by listening to the rimel bird¡¯s calmer singing voice, and by eating dinner.

    When I got back to the alchemy room, the flower of Josh and the Ufer herb¡¯s effect had already been extracted, so I figured it should be done soon.

    As I used ¡®Identify¡¯ on the pot¡¯s contents.

    Iplete Antidote (High Quality)

    An antidote for poison made out of grell frog liver.

    Because of the grell frog¡¯s liver, the poison will be disassembled. And because of the other ingredients, one will be reenergized and the poison will be ejected. There are plenty of effects, but this antidote is mostly effective against paralysis. It¡¯s rmended to drink plenty of water while using this antidote.

    ¡°Good, looks like it¡¯s a sess so far. Next is...¡± [Ryouma]

    I take out a huge cloth form my ¡®Item Box¡¯, and had the cleaner slimes clean it. This is one of the belongings of the bandits I defeated back at the forest. The stitches are thin, so it can be useful for straining the medicine.

    I put a cleaner slime inside an empty pot, then after having the pot cleaned, I affixed the cloth on that pot by wrapping the string of the sticky slime around the pot.

    I slowly poured the liquid from the other pot into the pot with a cloth attached to it. Like that, the liquid poured into that empty pot, and was filtered.

    After I finished pouring everything, I took the cloth and wringed it onest time.

    And then after stirring the medicine with a beautiful spat, I used ¡®Identify¡¯ on it. The part about it being iplete had disappeared, and the high-quality became highest quality. That high-quality was before I used the filter, of course it would change.

    ... Making the medicine went well, but what should I do with this now?

    ¡°If I preserve this, then I could use this as a pill instead of as oral medicine... Or no, the ingredients aren¡¯t sufficient, so I guess I won¡¯t be able to use it one way or the other.¡± [Ryouma]

    Thinking about it a bit more, to begin with, I possess the poison resist skill, so half-assed poison won¡¯t work against me. Right, in other words there¡¯s no opportunity for me to use this. It¡¯s a good idea prepare things like this just in case, but even then I don¡¯t need an entire pot of medicine......

    For the meantime, let¡¯s make a funnel and a dipper with earth magic. And so, I prepared 20 bottles, and distributed the medicine one by one. After I finished filling up the 20 bottles, I put away 19 of it into my ¡®Item Box¡¯. And then I left the alchemy room while ying with the remaining bottle as I went towards the dwelling space.

    ¡°What should I do? ... Should I sell these over at Serge¡¯s? Or should I hand these over to Jeff-san¡¯s?¡± [Ryouma]

    As I was thinking that, I dropped the medicine bottle while I was ying with it.

    ¡°Oh no¨C...¡± [Ryouma]

    The bottle fell to the ground, and because I was ying with it, the cap wasn¡¯t sealed tightly and so, the contents spilled to the floor.

    ¡°Somehow I¡¯m kind of not into it today... I wonder if it¡¯s because of that thing about mental regression that Kufo mentioned... Right now I¡¯m 11 years old, but mentally speaking I¡¯m already over 40. So is that the reason why I¡¯m feeling lonely from being separated with the others? ... Even though I was perfectly fine in my previous life during times like these...¡± [Ryouma]

    There were plenty of times when I or my colleagues resigned. Either because of overwork, or because the work was too hard.

    ... Of course I¡¯m not really lonely enough to go crying, but somehow I¡¯m feeling down.

    I thought that for 10 seconds.

    ¡°... Whatever, I¡¯ll just go sleep.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Right, I¡¯ll go to sleep after having used up my energy,¡± I thought to myself. So before I went to sleep I decided to clean up the spilled medicine. But when I nced at the ce where the medicine fell, the bottle was still there, but the contents were gone. It was clean.

    ¡°Huh? Where did the medicine go?¡± [Ryouma]

    There were several slimes loitering in the room. And amongst them were the cleaner slimes, so I guess they just cleaned it by themselves? Well, whatever. It¡¯s not bad to have my work done for me. So I¡¯ll just leave it at that.

    As I thought that, I decided to sleep.

 Volume 3 - 2

    TL Note: Special thanks to Cody, and to all the anons that donated to make this extra chapter possible.

    Volume 3 Chapter 2

    The next day.

    I went out as soon as I opened my eyes only to notice that it was still dark.

    ¡°Did I sleep too early yesterday? It¡¯s too early to go to the town.¡± [Ryouma]

    So instead, I decided to expand the tunnel by making a storehouse and a kitchen. Then I also decided to arrange the things in my ¡®Item Box¡¯. I¡¯ve already put everything rted to medicinal herbs on the shelves of the alchemy room, but there are still things that haven¡¯t been dealt with like the unsold pelts.

    Pelt, pelt, pelt, pelt, pelt, ck tea... ck tea should be put in the kitchen.

    Pelt, pelt, pelt, pelt, pelt, pelt, money... ah, these are from the bandits... weapon, armor, armor, weapon, weapon, weapon............ Come to think of it, I¡¯ve forgotten about that Melzen¡¯s spear. I should try it out next time. Next is... pelt.

    ¡°More pelt? There¡¯re too many pelts! Why did I take everything so diligently!?¡± [Ryouma]

    And so I arranged things for a while like that when I suddenly found something strange.

    ¡°What is this?¡±

    What was in my hand right now was a goblet. All of my utensils are made with earth magic, so pretty much all of them are made out of stone, or shaped out of wood... But this goblet is silver. Moreover, there are decorations of gold here and there, and it even had gems embedded into it.

    Why do I have something so luxurious in my ¡®Item Box¡¯? This shouldn¡¯t be something that belongs to the bandits. I confirmed everything before leaving the forest, and I didn¡¯t have anything this amazing. Still... I feel like I¡¯ve seen this before.

    Thinking that, I used ¡®Identify¡¯.

    Sacred Treasure; The goblet of the God of Wine, Tekun.

    This sacred treasure was created by the God of Wine, Tekun.

    This sacred treasure has been enchanted with the power of the God of Wine, and can bring forth limitless wine in exchange for magic power.

    Owner: Ryouma Takebayashi

    !?!?!? Wait a moment, what is this! Why do I have something so exaggerated like a sacred treasure!

    ............!!!

    ¡°I remember! This is something I got when I met Tekun! Wait! I brought it with me!?¡± [Ryouma]

    Now that I think about it, I was quite panicked that time, so I just put everything into my ¡®Item Box¡¯... Did I identally put it in?

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that rather clumsy? Well in any case, let¡¯s go to the church!¡± [Ryouma]

    I gently put the goblet into my ¡®Item Box¡¯, and have the slimes enter into the ¡®Dimension Home¡¯, and then I quickly rush to the town. Actually, I¡¯m already going at full speed.

    As soon as I got to the town, I headed straight to the church. And when I got to the church, the door of the church opened. The one standing there was the girl who greeted me when I met Kufost time.

    ¡°Ara, are you here to worship?¡± [Girl]

    ¡°Yes, would it be alright to go now?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes, go ahead. Still, it¡¯s certainly quite strange to have someonee this early.¡± [Girl]

    I don¡¯t really have much time to chat, but...

    ¡°I¡¯m quite busytely, so I don¡¯t really have time toe except around this time.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Oh, really?¡± [Girl]

    I was also brought to the chapel today. Actually, I already know the way, so there¡¯s actually no need, and I could have just refused and ran. But of course, I have to keep up appearances. I give my thanks to the girl, sit at a chair, and pray.

    Tekun! Take me to the divine realm!! As I asked that, a few seconds passed, and the world was filled with light. My prayer reached him!

    As the light stopped, I turned my head. There, I saw Tekun. As I confirmed Tekun¡¯s appearance, I breathed a sigh of relief.

    ¡°Ryouma, you called? Actually, how did you manage to call me? I clearly heard your voice just now.¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°I prayed at the church.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Oi, oi, you shouldn¡¯t be able to call me with just that, you know? If we could be called with just something like that, then we¡¯d always be getting calls.¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°Even if you tell me that... But anyway, rather than that, I have something to talk to you about.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°What is it? Did something happen?¡± [Tekun]

    I used my ¡®Item Box¡¯, and took the goblet out. When Tekun saw that, his eyes opened wide as if he were shocked, and he alternately looked at the goblet and the hole from the ¡®Item Box¡¯.

    ¡°Last time we met, you just left this with me and left, right?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Y¨Cyeah.¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°That time, I tried to look for some snacks in my ¡®Item Box¡¯ to eat while drinking, but then I ran out of time... So I quickly cleaned up, but in the process I identally took your goblet with me. I only noticed it this morning while I was arranging things from my ¡®Item Box¡¯... So... I¡¯m sorry that I took it without asking you.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You know, I don¡¯t actually mind it. But that aside, you were able to take it with you?¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°I identally put it in my ¡®Item Box¡¯ so I guess that¡¯s why. I was also able to properly take it out over there on the other side.¡± [Ryouma]

    When Tekun heard that, he scratched his head, and then said this.

    ¡°Can you show me that for a bit?¡± [Tekun]

    I gave him the goblet as he said that while pointing at it. Then Tekun looked at the goblet as he caressed it.

    ¡°... Ryouma, I don¡¯t mind if you take this. Sacred treasures might be something that the humans revere, but I can make something like this anytime. Moreover, this has already be your possession.¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°Mine? Now that you mention it, when I used ¡®Identify¡¯ it said, ¡°Owner: Ryouma Takebayashi.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That¡¯s it. From the looks of things, ever since I passed that to you and left, it had apparently already been considered as me granting you a sacred treasure. So this is alreadypletely yours. Anyway, drink.¡± [Tekun]

    As Tekun said that, a bottle of liquor appeared out of nowhere, and he poured that into the goblet.

    ¡°Is it alright? To give it that simply. Also, it¡¯s still morning...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind it. Right now you¡¯re only a soul. Your body won¡¯t get drunk. And more than anything, a drinkes before talking, right? As for the goblet, I already mentioned it, but I can make something like that anytime. So don¡¯t mind it. Besides, there¡¯ve also been humans who received our sacred treasures in the past. The otherworlders had all sorts of request you know? Abilities were also popr but the mostmon one was receiving a sacred treasure. And as for receiving sacred treasure, there¡¯s no problem with that at all. So enough of that, liquor¡¯s more important.¡± [Tekun]

    Is it fine to be that irresponsible!?

    ¡°Well if someone finds out that you have a sacred treasure, it will certainly cause amotion, so you better make sure to hide it. It¡¯s fine as long as you use it drink by yourself, right?¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°I see... alright. For the meantime, it¡¯s good that there¡¯s no problem. While I didn¡¯t do it on purpose, I was still really scared when I found out I took something from the divine realm.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that, I drank the wine in the goblet. The liquor is delicious as always, but the alcohol feels weaker today than before. Is Tekun being considerate?

    ¡°Gahaha, rather than it be problematic for you to just take ¨C although it¡¯s also kind of clumsy ¨C but since that kind of thing is being managed thoroughly, rather than just being able to take this kind of thing carelessly, most shouldn¡¯t even have been able to see this. So don¡¯t mind it.

    Besides, that goblet just brings out wine, you know? Compare that to a sacred treasure that allows its wielder to be stronger, and depending on their strength, cut castle walls like paper, this is way safer. That aside, I¡¯m more concerned about how you were able to take a sacred treasure with you, but... eh, whatever.¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°Is that alright? Or rather, was I not supposed to be able to bring it with me?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Of course you shouldn¡¯t have been able to! To take something carelessly from the divine realm? Under normal circumstances, there¡¯s no way that should be possible! To begin with, a humaning here is already plenty weird!¡± [Tekun]

    Oh yeah...

    ¡°I¡¯ve gone here so many times I forgot.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Well,ing is one thing, but humans shouldn¡¯t be able to invocate space magic here, you know? I don¡¯t understand magic theories, so I don¡¯t understand it well, but... It¡¯s probably because Gayn¡¯s trio called you here from your world, and that had some kind of effect.¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°Actually I¡¯ve been told that often. Is that ok?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Beats me... I¡¯m the God of Wine and Craft. No way I can answer a question like that. That¡¯s something you should ask Fer Noevir. If it¡¯s him, then he might know something.¡± [Tekun]

    Fer Noevir? It¡¯s a name I¡¯ve never heard of before.

    ¡°Who¡¯s that Fer Noevir?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t know? It¡¯s the magic god, Fer Noevir. That guy istes himself in his own ce. And while I don¡¯t know what he¡¯s doing, he¡¯s the most informed when ites to things rted to magic and all sorts of stuff. Only, it¡¯s very rare to meet him even as a god myself. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ll ever have the chance to meet him.¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°I see. Well there¡¯s no problem normally anyway, and Gayn¡¯s group did tell me that it¡¯s not a bad influence. I just wanted to know the reason is all.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Well I guess it¡¯s normal to think that, since the strange things are happening to you.¡± [Tekun]

    As Tekun said that, my surroundings began to illuminate. Isn¡¯t it earlier than normal?

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s time.¡± [Ryouma]

    I quickly drink up the wine, and put back the goblet in my ¡®Item Box¡¯.

    ¡°Ho, so this is what it¡¯s like when you¡¯re going back.¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°Oh, now that you mention it, you weren¡¯t herest time so you didn¡¯t see, huh? By the way, did you meet up with Gayn¡¯s group after that?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yeah, I caught them while they were going back. They really did go to your world. Next time, I¡¯ll have them let me go to the other world!¡± [Tekun]

    Said Tekun as he began to heartilyugh.

    ¡°I see, then please drink moder... ah, what am I saying. There¡¯s no way the God of Wine would get drunk.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Of course! I could drink enough to bathe!¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°Speaking of which, what would happen to the liquor in the world when you do something like that? Will it suddenly disappear?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That won¡¯t happen. Whether it¡¯s there or here, the things of that world and the things made by god can also be eaten or drunk. Your goblet is the same. As long as you pour magic power into it, liquor wille out. No matter how much you drink, the drinks of other people won¡¯t disappear.¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°I see, then I¡¯ll use it without holding back.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that, Tekunughed and said this.

    ¡°Exactly. Just enjoy it! Wine¡¯s something to be enjoyed after all!¡± [Tekun]

    I tried to reply, but lightpletely filled the ce, and before I knew it I was back at the chapel.

    ¡°... Guess I didn¡¯t make it. If I pray here, will it reach?¡± [Ryouma]

    Thank you, I¡¯ll enjoy myself plenty with your wine here. And I hope you enjoy drinking there as well.

    I prayed that prayer, then I left the church after donating.

    Now, I guess I¡¯ll go to the store. It¡¯s a bitte though... After all, it¡¯s already past the store¡¯s opening time.

    As I walked towards the store. I heard theughter of many people near the store

    Somehow I can hear peopleughing. Where are their voicesing from......... my store?

    It turns out the voices areing from my shop. Looking at the crowd gathered outside, I noticed that the people were allughing. What¡¯s going on?

    Thinking that, I peeked inside the store. There, I saw Li Ling-san knock two men out. What are they doing?

    ¡°Good morning, Li Ling-san.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ah, boss. Good morning. I¡¯ll just tie these two up, so please wait a moment.¡± [Li Ling]

    Li Ling-san quickly tied the two up. During that time, I asked Carm-san who was tending to the store.

    ¡°What happened?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s been quite a while since thest, but those two came here as thugs.¡± [Carm]

    ¡°Eh? Then what¡¯s up with the peopleughing? I¡¯d understand it if they were screaming, but why are theyughing?¡¯ [Ryouma]

    ¡°Actually...¡±

    Apparently these two guys stained their clothes with something really hard to wash of so they couldin. After all, if the store can¡¯t wash it properly, then the store¡¯s reputation would drop.

    If it was a normalundromat, then washing it off would certainly have been a problem. However, with the cleaner slimes being able to wash even the filth of a goblin¡¯s loincloth, such things are meaningless. But they didn¡¯t know that, so the ruffians shouted in a loud voice in front of the curious onlookers. ¡°Look! They can¡¯t take the dirt off my clothes!¡± At the same time, the perfectly cleanundry were spread before them.

    Seeing such foolishness, the onlookers couldn¡¯t help but begin tough. One after another, they began tough. And as if it were infectious, before anyone knew it, the entire crowd had already burst into a greatughter. Infuriated, the ruffians tried to act violently, but they were quickly put down by Li Ling-san, and arrested. Right after that is when I entered the store.

    Furthermore, those ruffians were handed to the guards for disturbing the shop¡¯s operation. The guards apparently passed by the store by chance because they heard the voices of the customers, so like that they were able to take the ruffians away.

    Going deep into the store, I called Ka-san and Fei-san to discuss, but in the end we arrived at the same conclusion of just continuing to be on guard. And after deciding to hold a meeting again after we find something else we can do, we ended our discussion.

    Oh, I know. Just in case, I should leave the antidotes I made yesterday here.

    ¡°These are antidotes which I¡¯d just made yesterday. In the unlikely case where you happen to need it, I¡¯ll leave it here.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Understood.¡± [Ka]

    As I said that, I handed 11 bottles of medicine to Ka-san and Fei-san.

    Now, what should I do next? ...Isn¡¯t there something that I can do to protect the store? Come to think of it, this store¡¯s window isn¡¯t that robust, huh? ...Then, if I were to use that!

    In order to put into practice my idea, I went to the abandoned mine.

    When I got back to the abandoned mine, I went over to a slightly bigger tunnel and drew 3 magical formations on a big box of stone. After Ipleted that, I had the sticky slimes spit hardening liquid inside the box.

    After finishing that, one of the magic formations was a magic formation of separation. Using that I separated half the water content of the liquid from it. I drained that excess water, and then I had the sticky slimes spit out more hardening liquid into the box that has less volume. Next, with the magic formation of mixing, Ibined the two liquids. Then I separated the new liquid from its water contents again, put in even more hardening liquid, mixed it, and then separated its water contents. I repeated this process several more times.

    If you¡¯re wondering what I¡¯m doing, well I¡¯m making the sticky slime¡¯s hardening liquid more concentrated.

    When I used alchemy to separate the sticky slime¡¯s liquid from its water content and dried it, only a lump of that liquid was left. From the looks of things, that material was the ingredient that gave the sticky liquid or the hardening liquid its properties. When I saw that, I wondered to myself what would happen if I were to concentrate it.

    The results were that the hardening liquid became even harder than normal. Normally, if you dried the hardening liquid, with just a little bit of strength it would already start making noises as if it were about to break. But the concentrated material has strengthparable to something strengthened with magic.

    I drew two circles with a square inside the magic formation, and shifted it 45 degrees to make it match. This is the magic formation of transformation. Inside that, I ced the lump of concentrated hardening liquid that couldn¡¯t be destroyed easily even if I tried to at full power.

    If I turn this into a nk, I¡¯ll be able to use this as a window ss.

    ¡°I wonder why I couldn¡¯t think of this until now.¡± [Ryouma]

    This concentrated liquid has high transparency. While it¡¯s not colorless, it¡¯s only slightly tinged with yellow. In fact, you wouldn¡¯t even notice it unless you were told. So as long as I turn this into a nk shaped object, I¡¯ll be able to use this as ss for the windows.

    By the way, the windows of this world are normally made with wood. There¡¯re are also window sses but they¡¯re absurdly expensive. Bottles and other wares made with ss are normally created by craftsmen so they¡¯re cheap, but the ss used for windows are manufactured with magic, so they¡¯re expensive.

    While it¡¯s also possible to make window sses with hand-blown ss, it might be because of quality check, but only a handful of skilled craftsmen can make it, making it scarce.

    Because the windows are made out of wood, in order to get light to go in, there¡¯s no choice but to keep it open. But because of this, it gets quite troublesome when it gets cold and the wind enters. This is somethingmon in the stores of this world.

    When I thought I wouldn¡¯t be able to acquire window sses, I checked my ¡®Architecture¡¯ skill, and it turns out it¡¯s possible to get one with 1 middle gold coin. But, of course, I wasn¡¯t able to pay that amount.

    That¡¯s why I gave up on it, and made the window with wood just like the other stores.

    However, with this concentrated hardening liquid, it¡¯ll be possible to use it as a substitute! Moreover, its hardness can prevent crime, and it has extremely strong properties against fire and heat.

    And although I¡¯m digressing, the hardness and strength of the concentrated sticky liquid are both fragile. Moreover, on top of not having a muddy color and not being transparent, it burns easily. While the normal dried sticky liquid doesn¡¯t burn as much as cloths do, the lump of concentrated sticky liquid burns easily and vigorously. I was surprised to find out that the two liquids were basically opposite each other in properties.

    The concentrated hardening liquids were too hard, and the concentrated sticky liquids were brittle, and because I had fire magic, I had no need for fuels, so I left it alone too. Who would¡¯ve thought that I would be able to use the concentrated hardening liquid like this!

    ¡°It might be because I just used my barriers to keep the cold out that I wasn¡¯t able to think this up at all.¡± [Ryouma]

    Like this, I continued the process while I whispered to myself from time to time. By evening, I was able to make 50 windows of concentrated hardening liquid nks.

 Volume 3 - 3

    TL Note: Sorry, a bit busy right now. Extra chapter won¡¯t being this week. Also, I haven¡¯t edited this yet, I¡¯ll edit this sometime this week.

    Edit: 2015/08/10 Fixed a pronoun and changed staff arts -> spear arts.

    Volume 3 Chapter 3

    The next day.

    I woke up in the morning, did my preparations, and then gathered the slimes. But then I noticed something amiss. What is this slime?

    Whaty before my eyes was a slime I¡¯d never seen before. However, I knew for sure that I was contracted with it, so I quickly used ¡®Monster Identify¡¯.

    Medicine Slime

    Skills

    Generate Liquid Medicine Lv3

    Poison Resistance Lv3

    Disease Resistance Lv5

    Physical Attack Resistance Lv1

    Jump Lv3

    Digestion Lv3

    Absorption Lv3

    Split Lv3

    Spear Arts Lv1

    Medicine slime? I don¡¯t remember taming a slime like this. In that case, did it evolve!?

    ¡°But I shouldn¡¯t have any more normal slimes left. Moreover, it has the ¡®Spear Arts¡¯ skill... I know!¡± [Ryouma]

    When you think about it, medicine can be poison depending on how you use it. The reverse is also true. Then in that case, it must¡¯ve evolved from the poison slime!

    ¡°No slimes have evolved a second time after evolving until now, so I thought they could only evolve once. But to think that they would actually have a second evolution. But why all of the sudden? Did I fulfill the evolution conditions somewhere?¡± [Ryouma]

    The evolution of a slime is decided by the food they eat. So the medicine slime¡¯s evolution condition must be medicine? Something like that, when did I? ...Now that I think about it,st night, the spilled medicine was cleaned up by someone right? I thought the cleaner slimes were the ones who cleaned it up, but was it this slime?

    In order to confirm my suspicions, I gathered the poison slimes, and poured out a bottle of antidote into a vessel of stone I made before. Right then and there five poison slimes gathered and began to drink.

    ¡°Ahh, they¡¯re drinking. So it really was the poison slime...¡± [Ryouma]

    The poison slime from before evolved after drinking a bottle. In that case, a simple calction should mean that five slimes would need five bottles. Having thought that, I gave the poison slimes 4 more bottles.

    And while they were drinking, I made several vessels, and then I gave an order to the medicine slime.

    ¡°Show me what kind of medicine you can make.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that, I presented to it the vessels. The medicine slime then proceeded to spit out liquid one after another into the vessels. From silky smooth to sticky, there were all sorts.

    I confirmed those one after another and...

    Potion

    Styptic

    Antidote

    Poison (Immediate Effect)

    Poison (Slow Effect)

    Paralysis Poison (Immediate Effect)

    Paralysis Poison (Slow Effect)

    Antibacterial Medicine

    ¡°Oh... it¡¯s quite varied. And as expected it can release both medicine and poison. But what¡¯s up with this antibacterial medicine?¡± [Ryouma]

    When I used ¡®Identify¡¯ on it, this came out:

    Antibacterial Medicine

    A liquid generated by the medicine slime that possesses powerful antibacterial properties. When applied, the viruses and bacteria in the area will be sterilized. Unless applied in an airtight container, the water content will immediately evaporate. This liquid is harmless to humans.

    Isn¡¯t this an antiseptic?! This is perfect! Especially since I was quite worried about going to other regions aside from the Jamil Region hygiene wise.

    ... I feel like quite a bit of time had passed while I was doing this. I better go to the store now.

    I headed towards the town after I gathered the slime in a panic. However, the store was already open by the time I got there. I entered the store through the employee¡¯s door, and met up with Carm-san.

    ¡°Good morning, Boss.¡± [Carm]

    ¡°Good morning, Carm-san.¡± {Ryouma}

    ¡°Boss, has something been happeningtely?¡± [Carm]

    ¡°Eh? What do you mean?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Until now you¡¯ve beening to the store before opening, but yesterday and today, you came herete. So I was wondering if something was happening.¡± [Carm]

    ¡°Ahh... there¡¯s no problem. I¡¯ve just been caught up in my own things is all.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Really? If so, then that¡¯s fine. But if something were up, then please don¡¯t hesitate to discuss it with us.¡± [Carm]

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Also, since you¡¯re here and all, I¡¯d like to ask you to be here at this time from now on.¡± [Carm]

    At this time?

    ¡°Why is that?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°If youe here early, you¡¯ll definitely do the store¡¯s preparations yourself, causing the people below to have no work left. It¡¯s practice for the neers, so please get used to leaving the work to other people.¡± {Carm}

    So I was stealing their work?

    ¡°I see, then in that case it can¡¯t be helped.¡± [Ryouma]

    I understand the reason given, but thanks to this I¡¯ll have even less work to do... Ah, speaking of which, I need to talk about the windows.

    ¡°Carm-san, are Fei-san and Li Ling-san free right now?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Fei-san is tending to the store right now, but Li Ling-san should be in the break room. Is there something you need from them?¡± [Carm]

    ¡°It¡¯s about the store¡¯s crime prevention. I thought of something, so I wanted to hear their opinion.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡±I see. Then please wait at the office, I¡¯ll call her now.¡± [Carm]

    Right after I got to the office, Carm-san and Li Ling-san also came. They were at the door right next, so of course they¡¯de that fast. Or rather, it would have been fine if I just went there myself instead.

    ¡°Good morning, boss. I heard you had business with me.¡± [Li Ling]

    ¡°Good morning, Li Ling-san. Regarding the windows of the store, they¡¯re quite easy to break into, right?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes. As long as one brought a hammer or an axe, it¡¯s easy enough for anyone to break in. We¡¯d already thought of that, so we¡¯re keeping an eye on it too.¡± [Li Ling]

    ¡°Thanks as always. In any case, I figured if the windows were indestructible it¡¯d make life easier for you guys.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s true. But how?¡± [Li Ling]

    I took out one of the concentrated sticky liquid nks I¡¯d made the previous day from my ¡®Dimension Home¡¯. When Carm-san saw that, his gaze changed.

    ¡°Is that a window ss?¡± [Carm]

    ¡°It¡¯s a little different.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°But that shape and that transparency... I really can¡¯t see it as anything else. No, even if it¡¯s not a window ss, we can definitely use this as an alternative! Boss, did you make this?¡± [Carm]

    He¡¯s enthusiastic about that, huh? Well it¡¯s true that I n to use these nks as an alternative for window sses, but I don¡¯t have any intention to sell these right now.

    ¡°Sorry to disappoint you, but I¡¯m not nning to sell these right now. Besides, the production rate is also insufficient.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I see... sorry.¡± [Carm]

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind it. Besides, just like you said, I¡¯m certainly nning to use these nks as an alternative to window sses. And while it looks simr to a ss, it¡¯s resilience is on a different level.¡± [Ryouma]

    I hit the ss with my hand to prove to them its resilience.

    When Li Ling-san saw that her eyes narrowed.

    ¡°Boss, do you mind if I try that too?¡± [Li Ling]

    ¡°No problem, here. I have some spare, so it¡¯s fine even if you break it.¡± [Ryouma]

    Li Ling-san hit the nk with her fist several times. But despite that, the nk remained unperturbed. Afterwards, she used strengthening magic, but at most, all she was able to do was crack it a bit.

    ¡°... It¡¯s tough alright. If we install this on the first floor, the assants will definitely have a hard time breaking in. But in the case we were to be cornered, we also won¡¯t be able to break the windows and escape. Because of that we¡¯ll also have to be careful.¡± [Li Ling]

    So it had that kind of demerit!

    ¡°That¡¯s true...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s certainly a good idea to have these installed to defend against assants. Moreover, if all the windows of the store were to be reced by these, then we¡¯ll be able to focus on the lodging even during the night where there¡¯s no people.¡± [Li Ling]

    ¡°I see. Then it¡¯s fine if I rece all of the windows with these, right?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes, thank you very much.¡± [Li Ling]

    Like this, I began the recement of the windows of the store from wood to these concentrated hardening liquid nks.

    I¡¯ll start from behind the store where there¡¯re no customers. Then, from there I¡¯ll work my way towards the side facing the neighboring stores, then to the side facing the road, until finally, the front of the store that¡¯s facing the residential district... Is what I was thinking, when all of the sudden I heard an angry voice.

    ¡°What did you do to myundry!? Does this store tear its customers¡¯ clothes?¡± [Someone]

    I quickly hurried to the store¡¯s entrance. When I got there, I saw an ill-bred man quarreling with Fina-san as Fei-san interjected.

    On top of the countery a shirt, torn from its cor all the way down. However, the cleaner slimes can¡¯t tear clothes apart from using too much power like you¡¯d get when washing by hand.

    Even though it¡¯s a false usation it still doesn¡¯t feel good. And even though this is better than a legit im, I still won¡¯t allow this nder.

    If I recall correctly, the most important part in order to handle these kind of situations ording to my previous life is to have a firm attitude. Of course, there¡¯s a difference between the real thing and theory.

    Still, I guess I¡¯ll show them some proof... I am after all the boss of this store, so there¡¯s no way I could just stand here and watch.

    I called out to the moring man.

    ¡°May I know what the problem is?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Boss?¡± [Fei]

    Fei-san was the first to react. I gave a fleeting nce at the man to let Fei-san know that I¡¯ll handle this one today. Seeming to have understood, he let me go while keeping an eye out on the man.

    ¡°Haaah!? What¡¯s with the brat!? Get lost!¡± [Man]

    ¡°That¡¯s not possible, since I¡¯m the boss of this store. Is there something unsatisfactory with our store¡¯s service?¡± [Ryouma]

    The man¡¯s eyebrow twitched when he heard that, and this time he quarreled with me.

    ¡°Oh? Well your fucking store screwed me over! Look! My only good suit¡¯s been torn apart! Your shit store betterpensate me for this!¡± [Man]

    "If you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯d like to take a look at that.¡± [Ryouma]

    I took the cloth, and examined it. It¡¯s important that I put on a good show of properly listening to the im, otherwise, it¡¯ll be bad for the store¡¯s image. Although I don¡¯t care about what this rascal thinks, there are some onlookers watching, so I need to make a good impression.

    Hmm... looks like this torn shirt¡¯s been cut with a knife, and then torn from there. If it was washed by hand, then it might have been torn, but that¡¯s not possible with the cleaner slimes. This is clearly a false usation.

    It¡¯s impossible for my cleaner slimes to cause this tear. Even if it is a false usation, isn¡¯t this toocking? I clearly exined that the slimes were the ones washing the clothes on the store¡¯s opening day! If you¡¯re going to falsely use my store, then you should¡¯ve at least brought a shirt, iming it melted!

    ¡°I¡¯ll be troubled if you bring this kind of false usation, customer.¡± [Ryouma]

    I said as I looked at the man head-on.

    ¡°Haah!? False usation!? Me? Wasn¡¯t it your store that tore this up!? And instead of apologizing you¡¯re actually using me!? What a store! This fucking corrupt merchant!!¡± [Man]

    Yelled the man in a loud voice to let the onlookers surrounding us hear. In response to that, I said this.

    ¡°Then, shall I show you proof?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Aah?¡± [Man]

    ¡°Please wait a moment. I will show everyone here how the store washes itsundry. After everyone sees it, you should alle to understand that this kind of thing is impossible.¡± [Ryouma]

    I left that ce to Fei-san for a moment as I went to get a cleaner slime.

    ¡°Now, I did say that I will be exhibiting the store¡¯s method on washing clothes, but for that I¡¯ll need something to wash. Is there anyone amongst you who would volunteer to lend me hisundry? In exchange I will wash it for free.¡± [Ryouma]

    At those words, voices rose here and there.

    ¡°Then, to the person over there, thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    One of the male customers lent me his bag ofundry, and I took out its contents and put it over the counter. A bloodstained pair of pants and shirt. They were normal clothes, but considering that the man was also built tough, he¡¯s probably an adventurer.

    ¡°Please observe.¡± [Ryouma]

    I ordered the cleaner slime to wash it. The cleaner slime washed it as usual, and even the bloodstain was removed, making the clothes good as new. Seeing that, the onlookers couldn¡¯t help but let out voices of surprise. The clothes were fully washed in only 10 seconds.

    ¡°What do you think? This is how we wash your clothes. And naturally, because of this there also isn¡¯t any way for there to be a situation like yours.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°T-That¡¯s...¡± [Man]

    ¡°If you want to say it¡¯s a fluke, then I¡¯ll entertain you as much as you want, and show it to you again.¡± {Ryouma}

    After that, I washed 20 more people¡¯s worth of clothes, and the man was no longer able to say anything.

    ¡°To begin with, do you think that a slime could cause this kind of tear? The slimes don¡¯t have nails or fangs to cut a cloth like this. Moreover, they don¡¯t have the strength. And by the way, the slimes of this store eat only the filth sticking to the clothes. So there¡¯s no way for them to make the kind of mistake you might see in a normalundromat. And so, there¡¯s no way for them to tear your shirt.

    In fact, I¡¯ve already been using this method to have myundry washed, and not once have I had my clothes torn. That¡¯s why I have full confidence that there¡¯s no way the store could have caused this kind of tear.¡± [Ryouma]

    When the people around me heard this, everyone but the ruffian was convinced. On top of me not having any clumsiness, it was also important to give the customers a good impression. And now that everyone was already convinced, there¡¯s no longer any need for me to mind the ruffian.

    ¡°Now, since you¡¯re going to be quite a nuisance to the store¡¯ operation, I¡¯ll have to hand you over to the guards. Could you please behave yourself as I hand you over to them?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Tch!! Don¡¯t fuck with me!¡± [Man]

    The man came rushing at me as he said that. But in response, I twisted his body, took his arm, and threw him. Naturally, I threw him to a ce where the other onlookers won¡¯t get caught up. As the man fell, a sharp noise echoed.

    Then, I rushed over to the fallen man and stomped on his throat.

    ¡°Goha! Kahi! Gek... ha!¡± [Man]

    Having been thrown and stomped on, the man felt not only pain, but also found difficulty in breathing.

    ¡°It¡¯s only self-defense. There¡¯s no injury too, only pain, so there¡¯s no problem.¡± [Ryouma]

    With so many eyes here, there¡¯s no way I could beat this ruffian too much, so I¡¯ll leave it here. After the man was subdued, we called the guards over and handed him to them. With that, this case was concluded.

    ¡°Boss, Fei-san, thank you very much.¡± [Fina]

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything this time, you know? The one who did all the work was the boss.¡± [Fei]

    ¡°Well I am the boss after all, I have to act properly when a guy like thates while I¡¯m here.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Boss you¡¯re also quite strong, huh~¡± [Jeanne]

    ¡°But boss, was it ok to wash those clothes for free?¡± [Fei]

    ¡°This much isn¡¯t a problem. Besides, what¡¯s important is that I was able to properly let the onlookers know that the ruffian¡¯s im was nothing but false usation. Otherwise, they would¡¯ve thought that we were the ones wrong, and our profits would take a hit.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I see. That¡¯s certainly true.¡± [Ka]

    Agreed Ka-san.

    ¡°But still, please tell us beforehand if you¡¯re going to do something like that. I was so nervous, you know?¡± [Ka]

    ¡°After all, we hadn¡¯t any idea that you were so strong.¡± [Carm]

    Oh, I forgot about it, but from the outside I¡¯m an 11 year old kid... I tend to forgot this kind of stuff from time to time.

    They knew that I could use magic, but since I couldn¡¯t really use offensive magic much while in the town or in the store, they were worried. And I also haven¡¯t had the opportunity to show them my strength.

    ¡°Sorry, I forgot to tell you.¡± [Ryouma]

    Reporting, contacting, and consultation! These things are important!

    Although this kind of stuff happened, I was able to finish recing all the windows with my concentrated hardening liquid nk safely.

    Just a little bit before dusk, I went over to Serge-san¡¯s. There¡¯s also the medicine slime, but it¡¯s mostly since I had to buy some bottles for the medicine and some tools.

    ¡°Wee, Ryouma-sama.¡± [Serge]

    ¡°Hello, Serge-san. I came here today to buy things for myself.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°What are you looking for?¡± [Serge]

    ¡°I¡¯d like to purchase arge number of bottles to put medicine in.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I understand. However, arge number?¡± [Serge]

    ¡°Yes. Actually, I studied medicine under my grandmother, and now that I have some time, I¡¯d like to practice it. After all, adventurer work is quite dangerous, so it¡¯s also to prepare for it.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I see, but still... If you¡¯re going to purchase arge amount of medicine bottles, then you should register as a pharmacy to the merchant guild. Moreover, if you purchase through them, you¡¯ll be able to get the bottles cheaper.¡± [Serge]

    Now that he mentions it...

    In the end, I wasn¡¯t able to buy a medicine bottle from Serge¡¯s. And since I had some spare time, I told him I¡¯d treat some extra cloths instead.

    After that I went to the merchant guild, and the guild master greeted me at the guest room.

    ¡°What do you need? More people again?¡± [Gris]

    ¡°No, today¡¯s for something else.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that, I exined.

    ¡°I see, so you want to buy some bottles for your medicine... Exactly, how skilled are you?¡± [Gris]

    Having been asked that, I took out the antidote I made the day before yesterday. The guild master took the bottle, used ¡®Identify¡¯, and then she burst into aughter.

    ¡°Not bad, not bad. This is more than good enough to be sold. With this you could even open up a pharmacy. So, how about it?¡± [Gris]

    ¡°I don¡¯t n to right now.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°After all, it¡¯s more than enough if you start your branch store like this. It¡¯s also important for you to have a craft just in case something happens. And in the case your money is insufficient to start a branch store, won¡¯t it be a good idea to have a sideline? Or if you want, I could buy these from you.¡± [Gris]

    ¡°Is that ok?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, after all I¡¯m expecting all sorts from you. Moreover, I specialized in medicine before I reached this position, you know? The quality of this medicine is good, so as long as I use my connections, I¡¯ll be able to sell as much as I want.¡± [Gris]

    Eh? So the guild master was a medicinal specialist?

    ¡°Thank you very much. I¡¯ll be counting on you then, when the opportunityes.¡± [Ryouma]

    I gave my thanks to the guild master, and purchased arge number of medicinal bottles, along with pots, funnels, and other medical tools. And since I was already here in town, I decided to buy some food too before heading towards the abandoned mine.

    Afterwards, I went back home without using magic and just running, since the sun was still up. Along the way, I passed by several other adventurers. I guess they¡¯re going back from grell frog hunting.

    As I ran while thinking that, the stench of the mud of the swamp wafted to my nose, and I thought of something. Back when I cleaned thetrine pits, didn¡¯t I use a cloth treated with the deodorization liquid to deal with the stench? In that case, wouldn¡¯t deodorization liquid sell quite a bit? After all, there were deodorants back in my world. Yeah, I¡¯ll discuss it with Carm-san and the others tomorrow.

    When I got to the mine, I made some supper quick, ate, and then passed the night examining the medicine slime¡¯s antibacterial liquid.

    I got a bit too into it, and I lost track of the time again. Thanks to that I¡¯ll be sleepingte, but that aside, I was able to confirm that the five poison slimes who drank the antidotes this morning had also turned into medicine slimes. Since it¡¯s like this, does this mean that the other slimes also have another evolution? ... The slimes¡¯ possibilities seem to go on endlessly.

    After I calmed myself from confirming that the slimes had evolved, I drank from the goblet I got from Tekun. Then I thought of something.

    ¡°I know I shouldn¡¯t beining since I got this from someone else, but still... Isn¡¯t this a bit too inefficient?¡± [Ryouma]

    Wine came out of the goblet just as Tekun had mentioned, but... I only drank once, and yet, I¡¯d already consumed nearly 30,000 points of magic power. I confirmed it with my status board, so there¡¯s no mistake. Even if I used up all of my magic power, I still wouldn¡¯t be able to drink more than 6 times... Or wait, maybe 6 is quite a lot since for an evening drink. How should it normally be anyway? Hmm... then again, since I¡¯m making something out of nothing, it might be a given that the magic power consumption is high. And the amount is also dependent on what I want.

    ... I don¡¯t really know much about the proper amount though, since I haven¡¯t been able to get a lot of opportunity to drink other than the socializing I had to do in my previous life. In any case, I¡¯ll drink two sses, then I¡¯ll call it a day.

    So I drank from the goblet, and then I went to sleep. The wine was delicious today as well, but it was disappointing that I forgot to prepare some snacks again too. I¡¯ll make sure not to forget it next time.

 Volume 3 - 4

    It¡¯s been a month since I parted with the Jamil Household.

    In the past month I¡¯ve finished building my house, I¡¯ve furnished the tunnels with other facilities on top of the storage room and the alchemy room, and I¡¯ve also made a 2 story house that will serve as a guest room along with a reception room in front of the tunnel. I also created a garden and a field of medicinal nts using wood magic along with soil from the forest and the scavenger slime¡¯s fertilizer. Finally, it¡¯s starting to look like a house.

    In my free time, I was also finally able to spare some time to investigate Melzen¡¯s spear. A magic weapon is able to invocate magic whenever magic power is poured into it. Melzen¡¯s spear is able to use the two spells, ¡°Ignition¡±, and ¡°Fire Ball¡±. When I brought the spear to Tigger¡¯s Armory before, I found out that there were two kinds of magic weapons. The basic one could use only one, but the ones that could invocate several magic can only be created by a skilled artisan. In other words, Melzen¡¯s Spear is the work of a skilled artisan.

    I also found out after testing the weapon, that putting more magic power into the spear doesn¡¯t affect its damage output. The strength of the magic seems to have been set. Moreover, while it¡¯s possible to pour any attribute of magic power into the spear, using a simr attribute to the magic being invoked will cost less magic power.

    The most efficient attribute for Melzen¡¯s Spear is fire. Next is neutral. Aside from those two, everything else is mostly the same, but they¡¯re all inefficient.

    ... Honestly speaking though, this isn¡¯t really all that interesting... Like alchemy, I could just use ¡®me¡¯ or ¡®Fire Ball¡¯ by willing magic power and using the spells, so it¡¯s not particrly useful for someone like me who can use fire magic.

    It¡¯s convenient when fighting against ghosts and magical beasts that are weak to fire, but aside from that it¡¯s just a spear that can shoot out fire. It¡¯s the kind of weapon fit for someone who can¡¯t use fire magic.

    The spear also seems to have been made with an expensive material called, me Ore. It¡¯s probably because it shoots out fire. A normal iron wouldn¡¯tst, so the craftsman must¡¯ve used this to keep that from happening. And because of this, it¡¯s a first-ss spear. So even though the fire magic isn¡¯t that useful, I can still use it. Still though, it¡¯s kind of hard toe to grips with the fact that its enchantment is just an added value.

    As for the store, the ruffians have starteding nearly every day since a few days ago, but since dealing with them is easy, the store is doing quite well. Especially since my proposal to sell the cleaner slime¡¯s deodorizing liquid has had a bigger effect than I expected, and was a big hit amongst the beastmen and the dragon newts. Nowadays it has spread even amongst the normal customers, and you can see arge number of peopleing to the store every day to buy some.

    I do wonder if the supply will match the demand once it starts to rise though. So I discussed with Caulkins-san and the others whether I should get the scavenger slimes to help as well. But in the end we decided that the cleaner slimes alone are enough.

    Speaking of which, the cleaner slimes now number a hundred and twenty-three. They¡¯ve been washing clothes every day, so after their split, they ended up this many. With this many cleaner slimes as long as there¡¯s food and water for them, there shouldn¡¯t be any problem spitting out more deodorizing liquid. In other words as long as they have enoughundry water to drink, then they¡¯ll be able to produce deodorizing liquid. They use some of their nutrients in order to make the deodorizing liquid, so their splits have be slowerpared to before. But even then, it¡¯s still a level faster than back in the forest, so there¡¯s no problem in particr.

    The cleaner slimes also seem to have be better at handling their deodorizing liquid, and they can now produce over twice the amount of diluted deodorizing liquid in their bodies. Right now, they have three ratios of concentration that can be used.

    First, there¡¯s the normal liquid, which is good enough to deal with the bad odor from sweat or other things that one would normally get in one¡¯s day-to-day life. Then there¡¯s the super liquid that can deal with the things that the normal liquid can¡¯t deal with like the armor of the adventurers that have be stuffy because of sweat, or the smell of blood or beasts. And if that¡¯s not good enough, then there¡¯s the hyper or undiluted liquid.

    If that¡¯s not good enough, then there¡¯s no choice but to give up. I¡¯ve never seen it fail yet, though.

    The cleaner slimes were doing just fine, but I still wanted to reduce their burden, so I researched on whether or not it was possible to make a dilution with Caulkins-san. Unfortunately, we couldn¡¯t find a method to create one by ourselves. We tried mixing the deodorizing liquid with water, but for some reason it lost its effect. The slimes, themselves, are diluting the liquid inside their body with the water they drink, and yet... I wonder what it is that we¡¯re doing different.

    I also found something interesting. When I used ¡®Sensory Link¡¯ on the cleaner slimes as I made them work, I found out that they neither became mentally or physically tired. So as long as they had enough food and water, they will apparently be able to make as many deodorizing liquid as I ask them to. And when I checked the other slimes, they too didn¡¯t suffer from fatigue.

    But I still think it¡¯s too much to make them work the entire day every day, so I limited their production to mornings and afternoons every day. This much is more than enough to respond to the demand anyway, so it¡¯s fine. And I better continue the research regarding the deodorizing liquid. At any rate, after we got the deodorizing liquid from the slimes, we bottled and stocked them in the store¡¯s cer before selling them.

    I don¡¯t understand the slime¡¯s mind and body very well, but there¡¯s no other way to describe it other than amazing. And although they¡¯re more resilient than me or anyone else, they¡¯re notpletely immune to it. Really, I wonder what¡¯s going in a slime¡¯s body... I guess I¡¯ll ask Caulkins-san and the others about itter.

    ¡°Good work today, everyone.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Thanks for today, boss!¡± [Everyone else]

    We managed toplete today¡¯s work without any trouble again. Although I haven¡¯t been able toe here to close the store, because I¡¯ve been living at the abandoned mine, I¡¯m here today. Why? Because from now on I¡¯m going to get chummy with the new hires! Putting it bluntly, I just want to talk about the slimes, but they¡¯re interested in it anyway, so isn¡¯t it fine?

    I went to the break room along with Caulkins-san, Tony-san, and Robelia-san, while everyone else went back to their own rooms.

    ¡°Well it¡¯s already been a month since I¡¯ve hired you three. How is it?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°This is the best ce I¡¯ve ever worked at.¡± [Tony]

    ¡°We¡¯re treated well, and at the same time we¡¯re able to do a job that¡¯s worth doing.¡± [Robelia]

    ¡°And more than anything, it¡¯s a wonderful thing to see slimes raking in profit!¡± [Caulkins]

    The other 2 nodded at Caulkins-san¡¯s word.

    ¡°It¡¯s a kind of happiness that I didn¡¯t get to taste back when I was at the researchb.¡± [Tony]

    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped though, after all, the slime researchb back then was a ce with no future and reeked of despair.¡± [Robelia]

    ¡°Despair, huh?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Boss, you might think it¡¯s too much, but that¡¯s because you haven¡¯t seen the misery of the researchers that have been made to work at the slime researchb. Although slime researchers have a somewhat better lifestyle than those from the slimes, they¡¯re treated worse than ves.¡± [Caulkins]

    ¡°Really!?¡± [Ryouma]

    Seriously!? It¡¯s a researchb, so I thought they would at least... No, that¡¯s wrong. There are definitely ces that treat people cruelly. Even in my previous world that had thebor standards act, there were stillpanies that abused their employees. It¡¯s because ofpanies like those that the term ¡®ve¡¯ became widespread.

    ¡°When it¡¯s been decided that a researcher will be sent to slime research, half the time the researchers will instead choose to retire and leave.¡± [Caulkins]

    ¡°Slime research has be a ce where people are sent to in order to be driven out of thepany. So it¡¯s only a given that the treatment would be poor. Even the master of a ve would have some sort of duty to ensure that their ves would be able to live to some extent, but slime researchers are just paid their sries without any assurance on how they will be living.¡± [Robelia]

    ¡°And while it¡¯s true that you¡¯ll get paid, it¡¯s cheap, so it¡¯s not possible to live luxuriously. Moreover, they¡¯ll cut your sry for the pettiest things, making your life a living hell.¡± [Tony]

    So the ves of this world has some kind of assurance for their lifestyle... Unexpectedly, it would appear that the ves of this world and the corporate ves of my world find little difference in whether they have a cor attached or not.

    ¡°What kind of petty things?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°The mostmon one is not being able to bring out results.¡± [Robelia]

    ¡°The goals of slime research are the slime¡¯s ecology and the method of taming a big slime, but that¡¯s something that hasn¡¯t been answered for over 300 years already.¡± [Caulkins]

    ¡°It¡¯s precisely because it¡¯s that kind of research that they¡¯re using it to demote people.¡± [Tony]

    ... I figured it out by myself, but... could it be that I¡¯ve actually done something amazing?

    ¡°Why couldn¡¯t you figure out the slime¡¯s ecology?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Well first of all, the slime¡¯s living grounds are too vast, and the number of variations the slimes have are far too many. The ce they¡¯re living, the environment, and their strength. Building a hypothesis from all these is important, but because there¡¯s too variations, there¡¯s definitely one of them that¡¯ll be an exception.¡± [Caulkins]

    ¡°Moreover, the information is just not sufficient to make a hypothesis. When researching other magical beasts, we dissect them in order to understand more. For example, just from seeing the shape of teeth it¡¯s possible to make a conjecture on whether it¡¯s a herbivore or a carnivore. But when slime¡¯s die, the only thing they leave behind is their nucleus, so we can¡¯t dissect them. And there¡¯s also no point in dissecting their body since they¡¯re transparent to begin with. As for the nucleus it¡¯s brittle, so although it might have some sort of function as an organ, we don¡¯t know. In the end we don¡¯t know anything about their mode of life.¡± [Robelia]

    Come to think of it, slimes do disappear when they die... Before I started taming them, I killed a lot of slimes, and each time they¡¯d only leave behind their nucleus while the rest of their body disappeared. At the start I thought that was just how this world worked. Things would die, and without leaving a trace, just leave behind their loot. But then the other magical beasts didn¡¯t disappear after dying... Then again, if you can¡¯t take apart the beasts after killing them, then it won¡¯t be possible to get meat or other ingredients. I did think it was strange, but I was too caught up in the evolutions, so I just let it pass

    ¡°When we were researching the slimes, there were plenty of times when they evolved into a different slime, but we couldn¡¯t figure out the evolution conditions.¡± [Tony]

    Eh? The slimes evolved, but you couldn¡¯t figure out the conditions?

    ¡°What kind of slime did they evolve into?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°There were all sorts. The slimes evolved into a different one nearly every day.¡± [Robelia]

    Said Robelia-san as she held her head and let out a breath of sigh. I wonder if something happened... Well I guess I¡¯ll let it be. That aside, what¡¯s going on? What were they feeding the slimes?

    ¡°What did you feed the slimes?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Feed? Well we just fed it whatever we could get our hands on... right?¡± [Robelia]

    Said Robelia-san as she asked the other two for confirmation. Tony and Caulkins-san nodded.

    ¡°We barely had any funding for our slime research, so we couldn¡¯t feed the slimes anything special. So instead we just fed it the leftover feeds that other researchers fed their magical beasts. We didn¡¯t really have much of a choice, since even our sries were only barely enough to let us live. So we just fed the slimes with whatever was avable.

    There were also researchers who would steal the feed of the slimes when it was meat, so there were very few researchers who would pay out of their own pocket to get the slimes good feed.¡± [Robelia]

    ¡°The slimes would eat whatever you gave it, so we took that as proof that it was fine to feed it anything. After all, slimes are magical beasts that can even live off the food inpletely different environments. Such an adaptable magical beast would definitely be fine eating anything.¡± [Tony]

    I couldn¡¯t keep my jaw from falling when I heard Robelia-san¡¯s and Tony-san¡¯s exnation.

    You¡¯re kidding, right? It¡¯s true that slimes can eat anything if you order it to... but still... Then again, it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t understand the reason. But at the same time, it¡¯s precisely because you fed it randomly that the slimes evolved randomly. And because of that you couldn¡¯t figure out the importance of feeds to slimes, and you even failed to grasp the evolution conditions as a result. Man, assumptions are scary.

    As I thought that, I couldn¡¯t help but unconsciously hold my head. When I brought my head up, the other three were looking at me.

    ¡°Boss, what¡¯s the matter all of the sudden?¡± [Rbelia]

    ¡°No, it¡¯s just...¡± [Ryouma]

    Well, alright... Now what? Should I just drop the bomb at their face?

    ¡°Actually, the evolution condition for the slimes lie in the feed.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Eh?¡± [Robelia]

    ¡°......¡± [Tony]

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± [Caulkins]

    ¡°I said the slimes evolve depending on what you feed them.¡± [Ryouma]

    I exined to them my findings from back in the forest, and all the evolution conditions of the slimes I have with me now. The three were dumbfounded.

    ¡°N-No way...¡± [Robelia]

    ¡°To think that our theory was actually wrong... And to think that very thing was actually the evolution condition...¡± [Tony]

    As Robelia-san and Tony-san muttered that, they held their heads in depression. Huh? Caulkins-san is actually being quiet...!?

    Caulkins-san!?¡± [Ryouma]

    Caulkins-san stood their quietly with his head hung in shame. Then all of the sudden, he started crying without letting out his voice! What¡¯s going!?

    ¡°Boss...¡± [Caulkins]

    ¡°Y-Yes?¡± [Ryouma]

    Caulkins-san suddenly began to quietly speak.

    ¡°You¡¯re exnation, I get it. Actually, when I was working at theb, my research was about how to evolve a slime into a big slime. Big slimes in general lived in ces with strong magical beasts, so my hypothesis was that if I fed a slime the meat of strong magical beasts, then it would eventually turn into a big slime. No one else was able to bring results, so I focused my attention on something different.¡± [Caulkins]

    So they thought big slime was a slime evolution. It¡¯s unfortunate that Caulkins-san wasn¡¯t able to see the importance of feed, but he still got quite close.

    ¡°Just as Robelia had mentioned a while ago, the researchers themselves already have their hands full just trying to feed themselves, so it wasn¡¯t possible to feed the slimes with the meat of strong magical beasts. But I had some leeway since I was a noble.¡±

    A slime that¡¯s eaten nothing but the meat of strong magical beasts? I wonder what kind of slime it¡¯ll be.

    ¡°After a while the slime evolved. But it didn¡¯t turn into a big slime, instead it turned into a meat slime.¡± [Caulkins]

    ¡°Meat Slime? Eh? You mean... meat as in meat?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Right, but...¡± [Caulkins]

    Caulkins suddenly stopped talking, and he bit his lips.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t only the feeds that were meat, even the slime¡¯s body was meat.¡± [Caulkins]

    ¡°Even the body?¡± [Ryouma]

    What¡¯s that supposed to mean?

    ¡°The slime turned into something that looked like a wriggling lump of raw meat..¡± [Caulkins]

    ¡°Wriggling raw meat...¡± [Ryouma]

    Uwaah... That sounds disgusting...

    ¡°I think you might have figured it out already, but it was ludicrously eerie... I was fired right after that. I¡¯dpletely used up all my fortune by the time I was fired, and I¡¯ve even had my properties seized, so I wasn¡¯t able to run any more tests. If your evolution conditions are correct, then that would exin why my slime turned into a meat slime. That¡¯s why I understand... Saying it now might not make a difference, but I wish I had known earlier. If only I had continued that research! It¡¯s so vexing to know that I was so close!¡± [Caulkins]

    Caulkins-san began to tear up again as he said that.

    That¡¯s certainly frustrating. If only he was able to continue researching a bit more, then he might have been able to uncover one of the slime¡¯s mode of life... Come to think of it, when I met him for the first time, Jeff-san told me that he spent all his fortune in his research. So this is the reason, huh? When he¡¯s in charge of a store, I¡¯ll definitely have someone else who can manage money work with him.

    ¡°I-Isn¡¯t it fine, Caulkins-san!? After all, we¡¯re already working at this store!¡± [Robelia]

    ¡°That¡¯s right! From now on we¡¯ll be able to work under the boss, and make other people understand how useful slimes are!¡± [Tony]

    ¡°You¡¯re right... you¡¯re exactly right! I don¡¯t have time to regret! I¡¯ll use this to make myself work even harder!¡± [Caulkins]

    Looks like Robelia-san and Tony-san were able to help Caulkins-san get back up. It¡¯s good that he¡¯s even more fired up than before... and more than anything, it¡¯s good that he¡¯s not the type to be sour. Only, I do know how to make the slime into a big slime. But if I tell him now, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be depressed again...

    I don¡¯t have the skills to tell him about it without causing him to be depressed, so I better just keep it to myself for now.

    ¡°Oh yeah, what were we talking about again?¡± [Caulkins]

    ¡°We were exining to the boss about how theb treated us poorly.¡± [Robelia]

    ¡°And then from there we got to the evolution conditions. Boss, do you still have any other questions?¡± [Tony]

    Questions? In that case, the slime variations.

    ¡°What kind of slimes were there in the researchb?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°In my researchb, the type of slime I¡¯ve seen is the same type as the boss is raising, a sticky slime. Myb¡¯s hypothesis believes that slimes will evolve into a big slime when they be stronger, so we caught a bunch of slimes and made them fight other magical beasts. The slimes kept dying, so it was very rare for them to evolve.¡± [Tony]

    Well yeah, they won¡¯t evolve like that.

    ¡°As for me, the slimes we were raising evolved into a slime called, Tree Slime.¡± [Robelia]

    Oh! A new slime!

    ¡°What kind of slime was that?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It was the same as a normal slime at the start, but as time passed, a tree sprouted from its nucleus.¡± [Robelia]

    A tree grew from its nucleus? Is the nucleus of a tree slime a seed?

    ¡°And then?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That¡¯s it.¡± [Robelia]

    ¡°Eh?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°The tree grew bigger and bigger, and eventually it rooted itself on the ground. At that point, it just became a normal tree. There¡¯s a nucleus inside the tree, so it seems to be alive, but it¡¯s bepletely unable to move.¡± [Robelia]

    ¡°Isn¡¯t there some sort of practical application for it?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Nothing in parti... Well I guess you could say it¡¯s quite strong, so as lumber, perhaps.¡± [Robelia]

    Lumber, huh?

    ¡°You know, Boss. It¡¯s actually quite rare to find slimes that are as useful in day-to-day life like yours. At most there¡¯s the sticky slime, whose sticky liquid is used as glue.¡± [Tony]

    ¡°But since it¡¯s fine to use a normal glue or paste, there¡¯s not a whole lot of demand for the sticky slime¡¯s adhesive.¡± [Robelia]

    ¡°Evolved slimes aren¡¯t really a target of research at theb, so they¡¯re being treated as failures.¡± [Tony]

    Doesn¡¯t seem like there¡¯s any passion or love amongst researchers regarding slimes. I guess they don¡¯t feel like researching much, since they¡¯re treated poorly, and it doesn¡¯t look like there¡¯s any future in slimes. But I still think it¡¯s a bit too cruel... Then, should I seriously start to poprize the slime¡¯s usefulness? Yeah, I¡¯ll consider this as one of my goals in this world.

    After that, the three told me all about the slimes they had confirmed until now, the variations, the features, and the poption distribution of the slimes.

    Incidentally, I also asked them at thest moment about the importance of my research. Apparently, it would depend on how much information I release.

    If I publicize the information on the slimes¡¯ evolution conditions, then research on it might progress. But with just that, the only ones who¡¯ll find it interesting are the slime researchers.

    But if I were to mix that along with the cleaner slimes¡¯ and the scavenger slimes¡¯ ability, then it might make a hugemotion when people start to realize the value of the slimes. But that situation might cause the current slime researchers to be at a disadvantage.

    The slime researchers today are all generally people who have been demoted. Once people understand the value of slime, there¡¯s no way they¡¯ll be allowed to continue to work on it. Instead they¡¯ll probably be fired or be demoted to do something else. Or so anticipated the three.

    ... Eh? Could it be that I was on the verge of causing massyoffs? I should keep this moment in mind. It¡¯s probably not going to happen anytime soon, but in the unlikely case, I could pick up some unemployed people. Provided they¡¯re trustworthy, I¡¯ll be able to secure more manpower too.

    I ended up thinking about all sorts of things, today.

 Volume 3 - 5

    TL Note: This counts as the regr chapter for this week.

    Volume 3 Chapter 5

    It¡¯s been two months since I¡¯ve parted with the Jamil Household.

    Around the time when the sun had set, and the sky darkened, the screams and angry voices of men can be hearding from a corner of the Town of Gimuru. Those voices came from the men who attacked Ryouma, but was quickly subdued by Ryouma¡¯s counterattack.

    ¡°Run! We can¡¯t win!¡± [Ruffian Boss]

    ¡°This brat ¨C gyaaa!!!¡± [Lackey 1]

    ¡°Guga!?¡± [Lackey 2]

    ¡°Ku...¡± [Lackey 3]

    ¡°Morons! Didn¡¯t I tell you to run?!¡± [Ruffian Boss]

    One of the assants, sensing they couldn¡¯t win, told the other three men to run. However, the three men, whose leader had not yet fallen, ignored their leader¡¯s order in their rage, and they went after Ryouma. As a result, their arms were broken, their legs crushed, their chins smashed, and their consciousness taken.

    ¡°W-Wait! We surrender! We won¡¯t get in your way anymore!¡± [Ruffian Boss]

    ¡°I am truly sorry, however, I no longer have any intentions of listening to such excuses. People like you have recently increased, so if I let you off with an apology, my troubles will never end.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°No... Gek...¡± [Ruffian Boss]

    In a sh, Ryouma had knocked the man out.

    ¡°And case closed.¡± [Ryouma]

    As Ryouma looked around him, it could be seen that there were already 13 men lying around him, groaning. Their limbs crushed.

    ¡°Seriously, how long is this going to continue for?¡± [Ryouma]

    A few seconds after Ryouma had whispered that, four men ran towards him from a distance. These four men are all guards of the Town of Gimuru.

    ¡°What¡¯s with all themotion!? ¨C Is what I¡¯d normally ask, but as expected, it¡¯s you, huh, Ryouma? I won¡¯t ask anymore, are these today¡¯s criminals?¡± [Guard 1]

    ¡°Yes. Thank you as always.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yeah. Tie up the ones who aren¡¯t injured much! As for the injured ones... are you going to do it today as well?¡± [Guard 1]

    ¡°Yes.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Then do it quickly.¡± [Guard 1]

    Ryouma took out a heal slime, and together with it, he used ¡®High Heal¡¯ on the limbs of the ruffians. Under the power of healing magic, the broken bones were quickly healed. As soon as the healingpleted, Ryouma handed over the criminals to the guards.

    ¡°7 people... adding them up, that totals to 12 bones... It¡¯ll be quite costly again.¡± [Guard 1]

    ¡°A ¡®High Heal¡¯ goes for 1,000 suits per cast. It takes 6 casts to heal a bone, so with 12 bones, that will total to 72,000 suits. As service, I¡¯ll shave it a bit, and settle for 70,000 suits.¡± [Ryouma]

    The man¡¯s face stiffened.

    ¡°I know it¡¯s needed, but it¡¯s still terrifying.¡± [Guard 1]

    ¡°The ruffians have decreased quite a bit since I¡¯ve started doing this, but there¡¯s still quite a fewing... If these sorts weren¡¯t around, I wouldn¡¯t want to do this either...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°At any rate, I¡¯ll have youe to the guardhouse first. After all, we need to pay you.¡± [Guard 1]

    ¡°Alright.¡± [Ryouma]

    Recently, Ryouma has been the target of some ruffians. It was as if they were waiting for the Jamil Household to leave. And the day right after the Jamil Household had managed to return home, the ruffians¡¯ activities suddenly started to increase tremendously. Ruffians like these ones have beening quite frequently since a month ago.

    When the ruffians came to realize how difficult it was to find fault with the store, they started fabricating and spreading ill rumors. However, with the store¡¯s steadily built-up reputation, along with the help of Gris and Serge, the rumors were quickly put to rest. Having realized that not even their fabricated rumors had taken effect, the ruffians finally decided to do things directly.

    Since then, a lot of ruffians attacked the store at night, while others tried to ambush Ryouma. But with the slimes, Fei, Li Ling, and Ryouma all working together, the ruffians were unable to win. As for the damages ¨C such as when the ruffians tried to forcefully push their way into the store ¨C it was only on the level that could easily be fixed with some materials and magic.

    Of course, those expenses were more or less covered by the guards after the criminals were caught. Moreover, since right from the start Ryouma had used magic to build the store, the damages were fixed at little to no cost, causing thepensation to be a part of the day¡¯s profit instead.

    Speaking of which, the ruffians who broke the buildings were made to pay the repair expenses. When they didn¡¯t have enough money to cover the bill, the guards covered it for them in advance. Of course, this isn¡¯t free, but an advance. So the guards made the ruffians work as punishment until they were able to pay it back.

    A lot of the ruffians have been caught since they started attacking, but they still didn¡¯t give up despite having no other choice left but violence. Because of that, Ryouma has been the target of their attacks nearly every day. In response to this, Gris, Serge, and even Wogan huddled together to discuss the issue. They then decided that all the assants who have been injured or poisoned by the poison slime will have to receive treatment from the heal slime or an antidote, causing them to have a long list of medical expenses. With this, the risks will be higher, and the assants will now have to think twice before attacking. This is something they decided after taking into ount Ryouma¡¯s strength and the store¡¯s defense.

    In this world, it¡¯s legal to injure your assants provided that it¡¯s under the pretext of self-defense. That¡¯s why the ruffians can¡¯tin. In fact no one wouldin even if they were left alone after being injured. But if you do heal them, then you¡¯ll have the right to demand payment from them for the medical bill afterwards. Beating someone up, and then charging them medical bills? No matter how you look at it, this is clearly extortion. However, since it¡¯s self-defense, it¡¯s still barely legal ording to thews of this world.

    Ryouma wasn¡¯t happy with this kind of method, but while the current situation wasn¡¯t a problem for Ryouma, at the rate it was going it would eventually be dangerous for the employees except for Li Ling and Fei, so Ryouma had no choice but to agree.

    As a result, Ryouma has been plucking apart the ruffians who have either attacked him or the store. And right after incapacitating them, Ryouma would then heal the ruffians, and then push a huge medical bill on to them. Thanks to this, a rumor started to circte amongst the ruffians that a legal but ludicrously high medical bill was being pushed on to them, causing the number of assants to greatly decrease.

    ¡°Here¡¯s the payment for today. 70,000 suits all in all, please confirm.¡± [Guard 1]

    ¡°The amount¡¯s correct, thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma gave his thanks after he received the payment for the medical bill at the guardhouse.

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind it. It¡¯s not like it¡¯s hurting our pockets or anything. All we¡¯re doing is just shouldering the debt momentarily. We¡¯ll have those guys properly pay upter. Besides, this is also beneficial to us. All the ruffians have been going to you, sotely, they haven¡¯t been bothering other people much. Moreover, there are also those who have started to reform while under forcedbor, so this really isn¡¯t a bad thing.¡± [Guard 1]

    ¡°Hearing that makes me relieved. Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma gave his thanks one more time, and then he left the guardhouse.

    ¡°Good work.¡± [Guards]

    ¡°Thanks for today.¡± [Guards]

    It¡¯s be a routine for Ryouma to be attacked while on the way home, and have to go to the guardhouse. As a result, the guards at the guardhouse and the northern gate have somewhat be acquainted with Ryouma. Like this the guards would wave and call Ryouma, while Ryouma would do the same back as he went on his way home.

    Around the same time, at a different ce, inside a room.

    Within the dimly lit room were two figures. Those figures were the guild master of the tamer guild, Matthew, and a suspicious masked man.

    ¡°It seems that boy¡¯s store is still in business... What¡¯s going on? I believe I ordered you to crush his store, but...¡± [Matthew]

    Said Matthew as he sent a re at the mask man. The masked man bowed deeply.

    ¡°My apologies. I did not expect this result as I hired skilled bouncers, but that boy was stronger than I had anticipated...¡± [Masked Man]

    ¡°Ipetent fool! It¡¯s only a brat! What the heck have you been doing!? I¡¯ve been giving you money after money, and yet you have no results to show!?¡± [Matthew]

    The man bit his lips. This man was an expert who would take dirty jobs, put up a n ording to the client¡¯s wish, and execute it. People who work at this field will do anything for money, but there are also those who had a sense of aesthetics or pride. This man was that type. He had took pride in his work. But right now, that pride is being trampled on, causing him relentless throes of vexation.

    The man has been taking jobs from Matthew for a long time. This time was also the same. He received a payment, and as soon as the Jamil Household got home, he hired some men and went after Ryouma¡¯s store. However, he hasn¡¯t been able to bring out a single result.

    At the start he may have simply been adopting a wait-and-see strategy as he randomly chose people, but right now is different. He has been calling skilled people from other towns, paying them, and ordering them to attack. A regr store would have long folded by now.

    But until now he hasn¡¯t been sessful. There are three reasons behind this. One, Ryouma is protected by several influential people making it difficult for his men to move. Second, Ryouma himself was simply far too strong. Andstly, in order to hire people it¡¯s needed to pay up the appropriate amount, but Matthew hasn¡¯t been paying.

    ¡°If we don¡¯t hire an expert now, then...¡± [Masked Man]

    ¡°That again!!? I believe I¡¯ve informed you that I will NOT be releasing more money than that! Any more than this won¡¯t be appropriate for a little kid like that! If you think you can exploit money from me like this, give it up!¡± [Matthew]

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any other methods aside from this.¡± [Masked Man]

    ¡°This useless bastard... To begin with, why is that boy¡¯s store still open? Even though he¡¯s been using such a low-ss magical beast like a slime... Oi, could it be? Is that boy¡¯s store actually profitable? You could investigate at least this much, right?¡± [Matthew]

    When the masked man heard that, he couldn¡¯t help but wince back at Matthew¡¯s ipetence.

    This masked man and Matthew may not have a deep rtionship, but they have been working together for a long time. Because of that, he had a good grasp on Matthew¡¯s jealousy. And he couldn¡¯t help but wonder, why? Why is it that Matthew won¡¯t even bother to investigate the matters surrounding the people he wants hurt?

    ¡°Are you not aware? And here I thought you wanted him hurt because of his store¡¯s profits.¡± [Masked Man]

    Of course, that was not the masked man¡¯s true feelings. He¡¯s already fully aware that this man, Matthew, is doing this out of jealousy, and had said that as sarcasm.

    Until now it was the masked man who had been responsible for putting together all the ns, and Matthew has not done a single thing till now except give approval. The masked man knew that as well, but he asked that only to put a stop to the conversation.

    If one were to give an easy analogy for the man called Matthew, then he¡¯s like a kid who received a toy called authority. He desired authority, then upon receiving it, he wanted to use it. And Matthew would use those two toys of his, authority and money, to eliminate anyone he didn¡¯t like. He was that kind of man. That¡¯s why, perhaps... it¡¯s useless to think of a reason.

    Matthew may not be a person who could be said to be above others when ites to ability, but he was able to umte money and build connections through his position and authority. Matthew used those tools to slither his way to the good graces of those above him. And through bribery, he was able to ascend to an even higher position. It was through repeating this sort of unscrupulous method that Matthew was able to take the seat of a guild master at a tamer guild¡¯s branch. Moreover, there were also plenty of times when Matthew would use the masked man to deal with future rivals.

    ¡°Hmph! Why must I be concerned about a brat like that? Besides, I do know something! Even if it¡¯s just a rumor I hear from time to time, I do know that he washes clothes cheaply, and a lot of customerse to his shop. In fact, he¡¯s even hired people. So I know that there¡¯s no way he could make a profit. Even if he does, it¡¯s probably aughable amount.¡± [Matthew]

    At such a response, what else could the masked man do? Nothing. There was nothing else but disgust.

    ¡°It¡¯s certainly a miniscule amount from Matthew-sama¡¯s perspective.¡± [Masked Man]

    When Matthew heard that, he couldn¡¯t help but twist his face in delight. However the next words, were like a downpour of cold rain.

    ¡°But to small creatures like me, a store with enough profit to make a branch store can¡¯t be called small.¡± [Masked Man]

    Those words were clearly sarcastic. He might lose a good customer because of this as Matthew was a high-paying customer who would bring out money at the pettiest things. However, he¡¯s too stupid.

    So far the masked man has had no problems with the people he has arranged. Each time, the men he has hired was always able to aplish the job given. However, Ryouma was not a normal boy. Therefore, a normal method which worked for normal people couldn¡¯t work on him. So the masked man offered a change of ns, but Matthew wouldn¡¯t have any of it. That was the biggest reason they failed. And that failure hurt the masked man¡¯s pride.

    If someone with the ability were to investigate Ryouma¡¯s background, then one would find out that he is someone who possesses connections to several influential people. The guild master of the adventurer¡¯s guild, the guild master of the merchant guild, the president of a leading firm in the country, and even the duke¡¯s household. For someone toy his hand on a person like that, he must either be uninformed, or someone who possesses unyielding confidence. Matthew is the former, and the masked man is thetter.

    Even if he were to go against the duke¡¯s household itself, the masked man is confident that they won¡¯t be able to catch him, but Matthew can only get in the way. If the masked man were to continue to associate himself with someone like Matthew, then he might just trip. At this rate, the risks won¡¯t match the reward. If Matthew were to do something like this again, then... it might be better for him to resign.

    ¡°Branch store!? What¡¯s the meaning of this!? I was told that hisundry services were cheap! There¡¯s no way he could make a profit with that!¡± [Matthew]

    ¡°It¡¯s true that¡¯s he¡¯s making a lot. In fact, the branch store seems to be a story from way back. And while it¡¯s true that he charges at a low price, a lot of customerse every day, you know? A single person might only pay 10 suits, but with a 1000? Then that¡¯s 10,000 suits. And because it¡¯s cheap, there are plenty of people who be regrs. Moreover, as long as people live, there will beundries every day. In other words, he¡¯ll never run out of business. It¡¯s a really well-thought-out business n.¡± [Masked Man]

    ¡°True, true... that¡¯s definitely true. However! There shouldn¡¯t be any way for him to deal with that manyundry! Otherwise his employee expenses would pile up!¡± [Matthew]

    The masked man tantly sighed.

    ¡°That store can wash over a thousandundries every day. Who, no, what do you think is washing those?¡± [Masked Man]

    ¡°Huh? It¡¯s a person of course! That¡¯s why I¡¯m telling you it¡¯s not possible, because his expenses will pile up!¡± [Matthew]

    ¡°True, if it was a human, then his expenses would definitely pile up. However, what¡¯s washing theundry is not a human, but a slime.¡± [Masked Man]

    ¡°Slime... you say? You, what are you saying?¡± [Matthew]

    ¡°It¡¯s exactly as I have said. That slime you¡¯ve been making fun of is what¡¯s washing theundries, so there¡¯s no problem with expenses. That¡¯s all. I have nothing else to say to you.¡± [Masked Man]

    As the masked man said that, he took out a bag, and tossed it to Matthew.

    ¡°Huh? Money?¡± [Matthew]

    ¡°It¡¯s my portion of the money you have entrusted to me until now. I¡¯m withdrawing from this request.¡± [Masked Man]

    ¡°What!? Wait! Now you¡¯re telling me that YOU¡¯RE withdrawing!?¡± [Matthew]

    Without paying attention to Matthew¡¯s panicked, angry voice, the masked man admonished Matthew with a voice that carried a tinge of disgust.

    ¡°I¡¯ve returned the money I¡¯ve been entrusted with. You should quickly stray your hand from the boy called Ryouma. That is not an opponent that you can manage. If you listened to me, then it might have still been possible, but...¡± [Masked Man]

    As the masked man finished saying that, he quickly used space magic without even giving Matthew the time to stop him. The masked man vanished from the room, Matthew was left all alone. A few seconds passed, and a vein bulged from Matthew¡¯s forehead. In his rage, Matthew kicked a nearby chair, and briskly strode out of the room. In his eyes glimmered hate and jealousy far more intense than before.

 Volume 3 - 6

    TL Note:Here¡¯s the extra chapter! It¡¯s veryte, so as I¡¯ve mentioned I¡¯ll be posting another extra chapter for free - not today though - to make up for it. And of course, a huge thanks to all the anons that donated then for this chapter.

    Also, if you¡¯re nning to donate, please note that the extra chapters are closed for the time being, and won¡¯t be opened till December. Please check the donation page for more info. CLICK HERE FOR LINK

    Terms:

    Scheme -> Skoom; consequently, Pier of Scheme -> Pier of Skoom.

    Gimel -> Gimuru; since it¡¯s apparently too confusing to change it now.

    Suggestions Please:

    First, thanks to all the suggestionsst chapter. I¡¯ve decided to use guardhouse for now as its closer to the definition of the original word.

    Also, any ideas on how to better word Renafu in English? It¡¯s the name of a town. As usual please post your suggestions in thements, thank you.

    Mistrantionst chapter:

    The lesser form of Warp is actually Teleport. Thest line in thest chapter just meant to say that the masked man was using space magic to leave the area.

    Also, regarding umami:

    CLICK HERE FOR INFO ABOUT UMAMI

    Volume 3 Chapter 6

    The next day.

    I went to the store in the morning. When I got there, I noticed that Ka-san was at the reception desk.

    ¡°Good morning, Ka-san. How wasst night?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Good morning, Boss. We weren¡¯t attackedst night, how about you?¡± [Ka]

    ¡°13 people came to attack me, you know? Anyway, here¡¯s the money I got. Please store it in the store¡¯s treasury.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Understood. By the way, there¡¯s something I¡¯d like to discuss regarding the branch store.¡± [Ka]

    ¡°What is it?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Honestly speaking, we have more than enough funds from our sales and the medical bills now, so how about starting the branch soon?¡± [Ka]

    ¡°Already!? Shouldn¡¯t it still take more time for the others to learn about managing a store?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That¡¯s true, however, Caulkins-san and the others were all former researchers, so they didn¡¯t have any problems with things like literature or arithmetic. Normally, it would also be necessary to learn how to bargain with the customers, and with other stores, as well as for stocking up. However, this store neither has anypetitors, nor bargaining customers. So Carm-san and I prioritized teaching them how to deal with problems. Moreover, they¡¯ve already finished learning how to use the ount book, so all that¡¯s left now is to pile up some experience.¡± [Ka]

    Ahh, so it¡¯s like that...

    ¡°So in other words, the branch store isn¡¯t only there to make more profits, but also as a training school.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Exactly. But of course, either I or Carm will work at the store, to give them guidance. Afterwards, we¡¯ll decide when they¡¯re good enough to take care of the store by themselves.¡± [Ka]

    ¡°I see...¡± [Ryouma]

    We¡¯ve been able to get by just fine before Caulkins-san and the others came... and the others should have also gotten used to their work by now... So while I can¡¯t leave the store to them right off the bat, it¡¯s something like an internship, so I guess it¡¯s fine?

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a bad idea. Let¡¯s do it. Then next is the location of the branch, the plot ofnd to build it on, and thenstly the store, right?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes, please take care of it.¡± [Ka]

    ¡°I understand, then I¡¯ll leave the employees of the new store to you. I¡¯ll go to the guild now and see what I can find out about the store.¡± [Ryouma]

    And so Ryouma went out of the store, and headed towards the merchant guild. There he was brought to the reception room, where the guild master received him.

    ¡°You came.¡± [Gris]

    ¡°Sorry for troubling you all the time. Getting straight to the point, I came here today to inquire about setting up a second store.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°So you finally feel like setting up a branch store, huh? I¡¯ve already prepared a list of rmendations regarding the towns you could set up your next store in. They are Delma, Azul, Skoom, Jillman, Lufes, and others.¡± [Gris]

    To think she would actually prepare that for me, I¡¯m grateful. It¡¯s my first branch store, so a ce that¡¯s nearby and easy to get to from Gimuru will be good...

    ¡°It¡¯s better to have one near here, right? I¡¯ve also prepared those.¡± [Gris]

    This manner of reading minds... Frankly, I¡¯ve somewhat gotten used to it by now.

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°For the meantime, the towns near here that I rmend are Shuchiro, Harken, and Renafu. The town closest is Renafu.¡± [Gris]

    ¡°Can I buynd in that town?¡± [Ryouma]

    When the guild master heard that, she grinned.

    ¡°Preparing it¡¯s no problem, but there¡¯s nothing as big as your store right now.¡± [Gris]

    Thend she rmended to me was around half the size of my currentnd with a building already built on it. I asked her about it while I looked at the rough sketch, and I found out that it was originally a general store. It already has a storage as well, so with just a little renovation it should be good to go.

    ¡°This store is diagonally opposite Pioro¡¯s. He¡¯s also already checked the building, and it¡¯s well built. You won¡¯t have any problems with this. You do have to deal with the documents at the guild over there though.¡± [Gris]

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is. Thank you very much. I¡¯ll go with this.¡± [Ryouma]

    Like this I decided on my new store. Discussions really go fast when it¡¯s someone you trust, and all the more so when it¡¯s a specialist. Really, she¡¯s been such a big help.

    When I went back to the store, I told Ka-san and Carm-san about the guild master¡¯s rmendation. After that I talked with Caulkins-san and the others about the branch store, and had them promise again not to hand the cleaner slimes to others. This is in the contract, but just in case. The three promised without any hesitation.

    After that I left the store early. But before I headed back home, I stopped by Serge¡¯s store. There I told him about the second store, and the fact that I¡¯ll be going to Renafu in order to prepare for its opening. Afterwards I took a lot of cloth, and went back home. I have to start preparing for the trip from tomorrow onwards, but in the meantime I should treat as many cloths as I could. With this many I shouldn¡¯t run out any time soon.

    ording to Serge-san, the products made from the waterproof cloths had be quite popr, and are now selling really well. Especially amongst the adventurers and the merchants. It¡¯s not too strange though, after all, adventurers want to bring as few things as possible with them in order to be able to move easily. So it¡¯s only normal they¡¯d want to be lighter.

    As for the merchants, the ones who were buying were mainly those who didn¡¯t have carriages with roofs, and were using them as rain protection. It¡¯s true that there are leather covers for the carriages in this world, however, using those as a roof to shelter from the rain will make the carriage heavier and take up space. Meaning, not only will it increase the burden on the horses, but it will also cause the number of cargo the merchants can take with them to decrease.

    If they do try to forcefully overload the carriage, then in the instance where they happen to run into magical beasts or bandits, they won¡¯t be able to run. Moreover, that much burden on the horses will significantly decrease its lifespan, causing them to have to buy a new one faster. Like this their profits will again greatly decrease. But that¡¯s not all, there¡¯s an unspoken rule amongst merchants regarding horses. A horse is considered to be a merchant¡¯s partner, so a merchant who fails to take care of their horse is considered to be a failure. A merchant that treats his own horse poorly will be given the cold shoulder by his fellow merchants. Contrary to all these demerits, a cover made from waterproof cloth does not take up space, is light, and is extremely effective. Because of this there are many merchants who have started to adopt it.

    With that in mind I should feed the sticky slimes a lot and have them split faster. The demand will probably increase from now on, so it could be bad if I don¡¯t decrease the burden on the sticky slimes soon.

    I went back home as I thought those things.

    And then 4 days passed.

    In these past few days I informed those who have helped me until now about my trip and settled the necessary preparations. More specifically, I told the guild master of the adventurer¡¯s guild, Wogan, who is one of my first acquaintances, that I¡¯ll be leaving for a bit. I¡¯ve also changed some of the store¡¯s policies.

    The first change is the store¡¯s logo. Since there¡¯s a branch store now, I decided to put a logo on all our bags. The logo has the image of a slime, a bamboo, and the words ¡®Bamboo Forest¡¯ on it. I made a deal with Serge-san¡¯s store to get a craftsman to make and imprint the logo for our new bags. I n to have the new store use these new bags right from the start. As for the customers in the Town of Gimuru, we¡¯ll exchange their bags with the new one.

    The second thing that will change are the employees¡¯ day offs. Until now everyone¡¯s been taking turns to get a day off, so the employees haven¡¯t been able to go out together at all. So I figured I should change way the day offs work.

    I need to let everyone know of these changes, so I better put up a sign letting people know that the changes will be implemented in approximately a month. The bags will also be changed within that time.

    The third thing that¡¯ll change is the slime¡¯s management. Caulkins-san and the rest will be going to the branch store, so there won¡¯t be any ve magicians left back here in the main store. Normally, that would mean I won¡¯t be able to leave the store unattended for an extended period anymore, but that¡¯s not actually the case.

    In these past two months, one of the three girls who are working away from their home, Maria-san, has been studying ve magic. Apparently her grandmother is a magician. So if it was just a question of magic power, then she should have more than enough. Unfortunately though, her grandmother died while she was still young, so she wasn¡¯t able to learn any magic. But since she got along well with Robelia-san, she¡¯s been practicing ve magic in her off days, and now she¡¯s able to make a contract with slimes. So I decided that from now on the management of the slimes will be left to Maria-san and Caulkins¡¯ trio. My job from now on will only be to retrieve the extra slimes when there are too many for them to contract.

    ... Be that as it may, I do wonder if I myself have a limit. From what I¡¯d heard before, the founder of ve magic, who is an otherworlder, had no limits... I got mine from Gayn¡¯s trio as well, so does that mean I don¡¯t have any limits? ...I haven¡¯t reached any limits yet too, so I guess I¡¯ll ask them about itter.

    I finished my preparations in this way. And now is the day I set off.

    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll be going.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Take care!¡± [Everyone in the store]

    Everyone from the store sent me off, and I left the town.

    As I stepped out the town¡¯s gates, what greeted me was the sun¡¯s dazzling rays, the clear blue sky, and the road seemingly stretching endlessly. Then I ran. It¡¯s finally here! My first adventure ¨C that¡¯s all by myself ¨C sinceing to this world!!

    Renafu is a town you get to by passing through four small towns. And it takes three days all in all to get there. Also, while it may not be as big as Gimuru, it¡¯s also quite big in its own right. Now, getting there in 3 days would normally be considered fast, but since I¡¯m using space magic along with qigong, that time is significantly shortened.

    Qigong is used in the same way in this world as you would back in Earth, however, the effects arepletely different. Back in Earth you could see plenty of performances being shown on TV where practitioners would hang their throat on a spear. With a little bit of practice anyone could do that, and as a matter of fact, I¡¯ve actually managed to do just that. However, in this world, qigong isn¡¯t something like that. In this world, Qigong is able to strengthen and harden the human body in the same way magic is able to. In fact, it¡¯s able to do it even more efficiently.

    By circting the Ki through the internal organs and the skin. And by circting it throughout the entire body, inside and out, qigong is able to greatly strengthen the body. Thereby greatly increasing the strength of one¡¯s muscles, and endurance against shock. And with the effects of the Ki instilled in the body, not even de or arrow can prate it. Moreover, it does not require an incantation, so with enough practice, it¡¯s faster than magic.

    I heard that using qigong is exhausting, but since the body is strengthened by using it, it bes easier to move, and it also bes harder to be tired. When I used it, it felt like the stamina consumption just got cancelled off by the ease of movement qigong provides. But what¡¯s more is that with enough mastery over qigong, the body will be less susceptible to disease and will heal faster, making qigong more convenient for fighters that prefer to get up close and personal than magic.

    As for the cons, you could say that there¡¯s a downside of having to go through harsh training for a long time before being able to use it... Putting it bluntly, if you can use qigong, then there¡¯s no point in using strengthening magic. But in my case, I¡¯m more interested in magic so I¡¯ve been using it more, but... Well, whatever. There¡¯s nothing wrong with being able to use both anyway. In any case I should get moving now.

    I¡¯ve been using the space magic ¡®Warp¡¯ to move in this trip, but I figured I should leave some magic power just in case, so I strengthened my body and started running. By allowing my magic power to recover as I run, I¡¯m able to proceed at a pace that normal people can¡¯t imitate.

    I¡¯ve also considered going slowly and hunting some magical beasts, but the magical beasts here are so weak I don¡¯t¡¯ even need to use my qigong and magic. This is something I¡¯vee to understand in these two of months of going back and forth my house to the store, going on my errands, and going as far as I can while doing so.

    It does seem like a slightly stronger magical beast has been appearing near the Town of Renafu though, so if I go quickly, then I might get the chance to fight with it. It would be nice if I could get to it before it gets hunted by someone else.

    Also, since I¡¯m going anyway, I¡¯ve been entrusted by the guild master of the merchant guild with a parcel for Pioro-san. I took it since I¡¯m going to pay him a visit anyway, but I should still make sure I finish this job quickly. And so because of that, I decided to hurry to the Town of Renafu.

    I proceeded quickly using my magic power and my stamina. As I left the forest, I crossed the meadows, and then I passed through the small towns. It has only started to get the dark by the time I reached the fourth town, but I guess I¡¯ll stop here for the day...

    I went off the road a bit, and used my ¡®Dimension Home¡¯. I opened the ¡®Item Box¡¯ inside and I took out a cup and various meals for travelling that I bought before leaving. There were all sort of delicious stuff back in my world, so I can¡¯t help but wonder how the food here are...

    First is a square-shaped, thin sheet that looks like a biscuit.

    ¡°... It¡¯s crispy, but it¡¯s mostly flour... not delicious.¡± [Ryouma]

    I poured some water in my cup with water magic, and drank it. Next is this tawny, dice-shaped lump.

    ¡°Hmm... it¡¯s hard... but I can still bite through it... Tastes like cracker. It¡¯s probably this hard because it¡¯s so thick.¡± [Ryouma]

    Next is the jerky.

    ¡°Salty... yep, that¡¯s pretty much it, salty. A little bite and salt erupts... There¡¯s no umami either, just salt. Yeah, I should stop eating this now. It¡¯s not good for the body.¡± [Ryouma]

    Last is this green bread.

    ¡°This also seems to be hard... I can tell just by touching it.¡± [Ryouma]

    After psyching myself, I took a chomp.

    ¡°Ouch!? It¡¯s hard... what is this? It¡¯s way too hard.¡± [Ryouma]

    My teeth literally couldn¡¯t bite it. Sigh... There¡¯s no helping it, so I reinforced my jaw with qigong. I took another chomp, but this time I was able to bite it. ¡°Hmm... this doesn¡¯t seem to have a taste...¡± or so I thought as I munched, when...

    ¡°Ek... glurgh! This tastes horrible!!!¡± [Ryouma]

    I disconcertedly drank water, but it wasn¡¯t enough, so I poured another, and drank more.

    ¡°Ahhh... Alright, I¡¯ve calmed down... but still, what the hell is this!!?¡± [Ryouma]

    What was that? Grass? Medicinal nts? There were all sorts mixed together so I can¡¯t tell, but... It blended with my saliva just as hard as I bit it! And some sort of grassy odor invaded me followed by the budding taste of something astringent, bitter, and harsh! It tastes horrible!! I¡¯ll never buy these kind of travel foods out of curiosity again! Actually, I don¡¯t care much about the other food, but I will absolutely, never, ever, buy that green thing again!!

    After I carved that decision into my mind, I took a fruit out of my ¡®Item Box¡¯ to wash away the taste, and sunk my teeth into it.

    After supper ended, I entered the ¡®Dimension Home¡¯ and went to sleep. Normally, it¡¯d be necessary to pay attention to one¡¯s surrounding when going out, but with the ¡®Dimension Home¡¯ that¡¯s not the case. Really, what a convenient spell.

 Volume 3 - 7

    TL Note: Here¡¯s the chapter for this week.

    Just to let you guys know, I¡¯ve taken away the anons¡¯ right toment, both in the chat and in thements, because some anons have been abusing it.

    CLICK HERE FOR EXAMPLE

    Reminder:

    Regarding the schedule, it¡¯lle out every week and be posted on a random day. I¡¯ve made a post about it before, you can check the announcements page for it.

    Also, we¡¯re right on schedule when ites to the chapter releases. I haven¡¯t missed a chapter..

    Japanese Terms:

    You¡¯ll see a word, boke, used in this chapter. It¡¯s a Japanese term from a kind of Japanese stand-upedy called Manzai. In there is a funny man, called a boke, and a straight man, called a tsukkomi.

    More Info: CLICK HERE

    Shinkansen = Train in Japan

    More Info: CLICK HERE

    Suggestion:

    Thanks for all the suggestions. I decided to go with Kureyn¡¯s suggestion, Renauph.

    Also, the characters talking a lil¡¯ strange are using Kansai dialect. If you think some of the sentences are strange, just write your suggestions below on how to better phrase some of the sentences. I¡¯ll fix it next time around, and use that as a reference too for the next time I have to write something like that.

    Volume 3 Chapter 7

    The next day.

    I passed the night safely inside the ¡®Dimension Home¡¯, and then I started moving again. It was a little past noon when the walls of Renauph came to sight.

    For the meantime I¡¯ll head over to Pioro¡¯s store, but before that, I better wash myself with the cleaner slimes inside the ¡®Dimension Home¡¯. It¡¯s not really appropriate to visit someone while being this sweaty and dirty.

    After the cleaner slime shower ended, I went out of the ¡®Dimension Home¡¯ and walked towards the town¡¯s gate. Showing the guard my guild card from the adventurer¡¯s guild, I was able to pass by easily. Incidentally, I took the chance and asked the guard about the location of the Saionji Firm. The guard told me to walk straight until I reach a dead end, and then turn right, after which I should see the firm.

    I thanked the man, and then went as he taught me. Walking through the wide road, a building surrounded by robust walls eventually came to sight. There was a great number of people carrying things in and out of that building. I don¡¯t know what this building is, but this is probably the end of the street.

    Going right from there, I found sign with the words ¡®Saionji Firm¡¯ written on it.

    ¡°It¡¯s big...¡± [Ryouma]

    Lined up were an astounding number of stores, selling different things. There were meat, fishes, dried greens, preserved food, seasonings, and more. There was even a small store in a corner selling side dishes. It seems that all of these together make up the Saionji firm.

    ¡°I wonder where I should enter...¡± [Ryouma]

    For the meantime let¡¯s try entering the spice store, and ask someone there. Why the spice store? Well, I figured it¡¯d be best to go to a store where there aren¡¯t a lot of customers, so as not to get in the way. And spices are expensive, so there won¡¯t be a lot of people. In fact, there isn¡¯t even a single customer.

    ¡°Ex¨C¡° [Ryouma]

    ¡°Wee.¡± [Somebody]

    When I entered the store, a voice called out to me. While I was wondering where the voice came from, a girl came out from behind the counter. She¡¯s most likely around mine and Elia¡¯s age. The girl had flowing, blonde hair, a fairplexion, and... fox ears?

    The girl appears to have been working on something as her hair was disheveled, and she was lightly fixing herself, when she came out of the counter.

    ¡°What business do you have with us today?¡± [Girl]

    ¡°My apologies, however I¡¯m not a customer. I¡¯ve been entrusted with a parcel from the merchant guild of Gimuru for Pioro Saionji-sama.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Oh? So ya came with a parcel for dad? Thanks a lot.¡± [Girl]

    Dad? This girl... she¡¯s Pioro-san¡¯s daughter!?

    ¡°Excuse me, but would you happen to be Pioro-san¡¯s daughter?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You know my dad?¡± [Girl]

    ¡°Yes. We¡¯ve been acquainted recently.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Oh, I see. Sorry for thete introduction, I¡¯m the daughter of Pioro Saionji, Miyabi Saionji. A pleasure to meet ya.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Ryouma Takebayashi, a pleasure to meet you as well.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ryouma... Where have I heard that name before? In any case,e inside.¡± [Miyabi]

    Being guided by Miyabi-san, we passed through the deeper corridors of the store into the reception room. Then after a minute, Miyabi-san came back with Pioro-san. Fast! She told me to wait a bit when she went out, but... I didn¡¯t have to wait at all!

    ¡°Ryouma, it¡¯s been two months! Looks like you¡¯ve finally dropped by Renauph.¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°Long time no see, Pioro-san. I just arrived actually. And I came here to set up a branch store.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re putting up a branch store here? Then in that case, lemme give ya a tour of this town¡¯s merchant guild.¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°But before that, the parcel...¡± [Ryouma]

    I opened my ¡®Item Box¡¯, took out the parcel I¡¯ve been entrusted with, and handed it to Pioro-san.

    ¡°Oh right, what¡¯s this?¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°I haven¡¯t been told of its contents.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Oh?¡± [Pioro]

    Said Pioro-san as he opened the parcel. Inside was a letter. After Pioro-san finished reading it, he said

    ¡°Ryouma, it¡¯s been tough on you recently, huh?¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°Oh, was it about my situation?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Just about the recent stuff. The letter¡¯s Granny Gri asking me to help ya out. I would¡¯ve even without being asked to though.¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine. Oh right, lemme introduce you. This one¡¯s my daughter. She¡¯s a year older than you, but if ya ever need anything, ask her for help, k?¡± [Pioro]

    Since the conversation¡¯s turned to her, Miyabi-san, who was keeping from interjecting all this time, spoke.

    ¡°Dad, what do ya mean, ¡°this one¡±? I have a name ya know, it¡¯s Miyabi. You should at least use my proper name when introducing. ¡®Sides, I¡¯ve at least already properly introduced myself.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Eh, really? Then what about this? Miyabi¡¯s actually the daughter of the founder, so I named her after the ancestor.¡±

    ¡°What cha talking ¡®bout all of tha sudden? I¡¯ve never heard of that!¡± [Miyabi]

    Eh, what? Is this a two-personedy? Whatever the case, I can¡¯t just not react.

    ¡°Did your ancestor achieve some kind of amazing exploit?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Haven¡¯t heard of anythin¡¯ in particr. As far¡¯s I know, she was just a pretty poster girl, who got married and lived in bliss while being taken care of by her family.¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°I see, so you wanted your daughter to live a happy life just like she...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Wait, wait! That ancestor, Miyabi¡¯s, dad is the founder, ya know? And right now, I¡¯m Miyabi¡¯s dad. So in other words, it¡¯s as if I¡¯m the founder!¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°Are you the one who¡¯s being named after!?¡± [Ryouma]

    Oops! I ended up throwing a tsukkomi!

    ¡°Excuse me.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine. It was a pretty good tsukkomi. A little weak though. Lately, my daughter hasn¡¯t been throwin¡¯ her tsukkomis, so it¡¯s not bad.¡± [Pioro]

    Whew, that¡¯s a relief. Wait, tsukkomi exists in this world? This is the fault of an otherworlder, definitely.

    Tsukkomi, huh? In my previous life I had a boss from Kansai that would snap at people for letting a boke pass. I guess it¡¯s be a reflex? It was really annoying having to deal with a boke while being busy with work... But then letting it pass would¡¯ve wasted even more time, so there were times when I couldn¡¯t help but throw a tsukkomi. But there were also plenty of times were I unconsciously ignored it, so I got unreasonably scolded a lot.

    As I was thinking that, I shrugged the thought off, and went to the merchant guild with Pioro-san. Pioro-san led the way, and now we¡¯re standing right before the building with high walls that was right before the Saionji Firm. It¡¯s my second time seeing it, but as expected, it¡¯s really big. In fact even if these walls were castles walls, they¡¯d probably still be considered good quality.

    I thought that to myself as I followed Pioro-san. When we got inside, I couldn¡¯t help but be amazed at how even its interior was like a castle. After walking for a while, we got to the reception room, and Pioro-san spoke.

    ¡°How¡¯s it? Amazing, right?¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°Yes. I thought the outer walls were like that of a castle¡¯s.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°But of course. After all, this building used to be a fortress, ya know?¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°A fortress?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡° ¡®xactly. A long, long time ago, during wartime, this ce was apparently used as the frontline base. And this town was built at the site of that fortress. So they built this guild, that¡¯s at the center of the town, with the fortress as reference.¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°I see.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°But there¡¯s one more reason why the building was built like this. Take a look outside this window.¡± [Pioro]

    The window Pioro-san pointed out was made with ss and was easy to look out of. When I tried looking through it...

    ¡°Amazing... It¡¯s my first time seeing so manyrge-type magical beasts.¡± [Ryouma]

    Outside the window were many magical beasts. From medium-type torge-type, and even the bird-type, Wyverns, which are thought to be of the dragon race were present. A saddle could be seen affixed to the Wyvern¡¯s neck, and a number of people riding on them could be seen. This scene that felt like it was proiming, ¡°This is a fantasy,¡± spread before my eyes.

    ¡°These magical beasts ¡®ave all been gathered ¡®ere all for tha sake of transporting goods.¡± [Pioor]

    ¡°All of it!?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡° ¡®xactly. Flying magical beasts can transport things quickly, but several facilities are needed for them to work. Such as a ce for them to wait, a ce to load and unload the goods, and a terminal for them tond. So they referred to a fortress to build a ce like that.¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°I see.¡± [Ryouma]

    Magical beasts would definitely need a ce to stay at. All the more so withrge-types.

    ¡°With the structure having been designed specifically to transport goods using magical beasts, the founder of the Saionji Firm who ordered the construction of this town and made this all a reality, called it an ¡°Airport¡±. What do ya think? It¡¯s good taste, yeah?¡± [Pioro]

    No, because that person didn¡¯te up with that name at all! But I can¡¯t say that! Ah, in the future otherworld might think the same of my store, huh? Where they¡¯ll see it and go, ¡°That guy didn¡¯te up with this at all!¡± or something. Just like Pioro-san¡¯s Manzai-like routine with his daughter, there seems to be traces of the otherworlders¡¯ tone and casual actions.

    ¡°Airport, huh? It¡¯s probably because a port city gathers a lot of things.¡± [Ryouam]

    ¡°So you understand!¡± [Pioro]

    Pioro-san, being in a good mood, hit my back as a female employee of the guild entered. Talking business, the one who said I¡¯d buy a store wasn¡¯t Pioro-san but me. She was slightly surprised at the start, but after that everything went smoothly and we were able to finish the procedures. From the looks of things, since Pioro-san was able to see the state of the store I¡¯d bought before, the store seems to have been prepared beforehand, and we were able to smoothly finish the deal after deciding on the purchase.

    After that, I left the guild and went to the store I¡¯d just bought.

    The store I¡¯d bought was 2 stories tall. The first story had space for the storage room and the store itself, while the second story was for the reception room and the office. Moreover, behind this store is the house used by the previous owner. That was also included with the purchase I made. Excluding the living room, that house had five rooms in total. It doesn¡¯t seem feasible to give the employees individual rooms, but it seems to be normal to share a room with a few others, so there shouldn¡¯t be any problems using it as lodging for them.

    ¡°Any problems?¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°None. It seems I¡¯ll be able to make use of this store as soon as I make the furniture and the shelves. I¡¯ll contact Gimuru immediately, so at the fastest, it¡¯ll take three days, and at the slowest it¡¯ll take 5 days at most before the employeese.¡± [Ryouma]

    When Pioro-san heard my words, he inclined his head.

    ¡°Really? It should take three days just sending a letter from here.¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°There¡¯s no problem on that front, because I have a superfast way to contact them.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that, I opened my ¡®Dimension Home¡¯ and took out the Rimel Bird. I normally let them do as they want in the abandoned mine, but I took just one with me as a way to contact the others.

    The name of this rimel bird is Drei. From what I¡¯d heard before, it¡¯s three in the Germannguage. It kind of sounds cool, no? By the way the Nightmare Rimel Bird¡¯s named Eins, meaning one. The other birds are Zwei, Vier, Funf, and Sechs respectively.

    If you¡¯re wondering why I suddenly named the Rimel Birds, well it¡¯s because Elia sent me a letter saying she named hers. Apparently she used musical terms to name them. Because of the contract it¡¯s possible to distinguish between different beats of the same type, so there¡¯s no need to name them, but I figured I¡¯d try naming them too.

    While I was thinking that, Pioro-san fixedly stared at the Rimel Bird.

    ¡°Ha~, certainly, if you have a rimel bird you¡¯ll be able to contact them quickly.¡± [Pioro]

    The Rimel Bird can fly at 200kph to 300kph. When I used ¡®Sensory Link¡¯ and looked at the world through its eyes, the scenery felt like when I ride on the Shinkansen, so it¡¯s probably around the same speed. Regardless, it¡¯s definitely fast.

    The Rimel Bird already flies fast normally, but when they used wind magic and ride on its tail wind, their speed goes up even more, and they¡¯re able to fly even further. If I ask the Rimel Bird, what would take a carriage three days would only take them until morning by tomorrow, if fast, then it could even get there by the end of the day.

    Taking a pen and ink out of my ¡®Item Box¡¯, I wrote a letter. Then I took out a small pipe and a metal fitting with a red cloth attached to it. I inserted the letter into the pipe, and attached it to Drei¡¯s leg. Lastly, I rolled the red cloth onto Drei¡¯s neck, and affixed it with the metal fixing. With this the preparations areplete.

    That cloth I putst is the sign that it¡¯s a magical beast used formunication. If I don¡¯t attach something that stands out, it might cause amotion when it enters the town, and get shot by the guardsmen.

    So with this, all the preparations arepleted, and I went out of the store to send Drei off.

    ¡°I¡¯m relying on you.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Piroro!¡± [Drei]

    Drei chirped as if replying to me, then he pped his wings, and flew into the skies. It revolved in the sky once, going faster and faster, and then it headed over to the direction of the Town of Gimuru, until I could no longer see it.

    ¡°Good.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°All that¡¯s left is waiting then.¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°Yes.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ryouma, didja book a hotel already?¡± [Pioro]

    Ah, not good. I forgot!

    ¡°I forgot.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Then, how ¡®bout stayin¡¯ over at my ce then?¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°Is it alright?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Of course, no need ta be reserved.¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll take you up on your offer.¡± [Ryouma]

    Like this I decided to ept Pioro-san¡¯s offer and stay at his house.

 Volume 3 - 8

    TL Note: I¡¯m watching something, so I haven¡¯t really edited this. Haha. In fact, I was actually nning on just posting tomorrow, but eh... I stopped watching for a bit, and rushed this out. Haha. The weird spellings are on purpose though, in case any of you guys are wondering. Still, if you see anything wrong, don¡¯t hesitate toment.

    Now that aside, I wonder what¡¯ll happen if an otherworlder purposely tried to spread Klingonnguage. :D

    Suggestions: Better idea for artisan guild? As the name suggests, it¡¯s a guild of craftsmen.

    Volume 3 Chapter 8

    With me staying at Pioro-san¡¯s ce having been decided, Pioro-san brought me, and we entered the spice store of the Saionji Firm. Apparently, this store is connected to Pioro-san¡¯s house. When we got inside, just like this afternoon, Miyabi-san was tending to the store.

    ¡°Wee. Eh? What the, if it ain¡¯t dad.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°It¡¯s not ¡°what the¡±. and I¡¯m not alone, Ryouma¡¯s with me, ya know?¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°Sorry for the trouble.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ryouma-san, tha guest room¡¯s been prepared, so don¡¯t hold back and go ahead n make ya self at home, k?¡± [Miyabi]

    Did she already know that I¡¯m saying over? But we¡¯d only just decided it a while ago...

    ¡°I thought you¡¯d be staying over, did I get it wrong?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°No, thank you, I¡¯ll be in your care then. It¡¯s just that it so happens that we decided me straying over just a while ago, so it was a little surprising.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°The guest room¡¯s always in good condition, since we don¡¯t really know when a guest might decide ta drop by.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°I see, thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind it, don¡¯t mind. Oh, right! Want me ta bring ya ta tha room?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Please, thank you.¡± [Ryouma]

    And so, Miyabi-san brought me to the guest room. As for Pioro-san, it looks like he went back to work.

    ¡°Here¡¯s the guest room, please think it as if it¡¯s your own house.¡± [Miyabi]

    The room I was brought to was too big for only a single person, and was furnished with good furniture. It had a warm atmosphere to it.

    ¡°As for supper, I¡¯ll bring ya some nice food that won¡¯t bring shame ta tha Saionji name, so look forward ta it!¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Thank you very much. I¡¯ll look forward to it.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that, Miyabi-san appeared to be satisfied with my response as she nodded her head.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be going then. Enjoy yourself till supper, k?¡± [Miyabi]

    Miyabi-san quietly left the room.

    ¡°I wonder what supper will be.¡± [Ryouma]

    Well, whatever¡¯s the case, it won¡¯t be like the preserved food I atest night. Maybe it¡¯ll be meat. Or maybe fish? There¡¯s not a lot of fishes here in this country, so... Well of course, it¡¯s not like there¡¯s none at all, but it¡¯s the ind area so there¡¯re no waters to get fish from. Although there are plenty of river fishes and dried fishes, it¡¯s difficult to acquire fresh marine products. An exception would be the few towns with ake nearby where the fish industry is going strong, like the Town of Skoom for one.

    Regarding marine products, as expected, it should be Japanese cuisine. I haven¡¯t eaten any Japanese cuisine since I got here. There¡¯re plenty of otherworlders, so I thought there¡¯d be plenty of different cuisines, but I haven¡¯t seen any Japanese cuisines at all. Should I ask Pioro-san if they have any miso or soy sauce? If they¡¯re handling food products, then I might be able to get something that¡¯s simr.

    Afterwards I rested in the room for a bit and mediated, then a male servant came and told me that supper was ready. The male servant brought me to a room with a dining table.

    ¡°You came, Ryouma. Take a seat.¡± [Pioro]

    At the center of the room, Pioro-san, Miyabi-san, and another beastmen fox tribe woman were already seated. The woman looked simr to Miyabi-san, so she¡¯s probably Pioro-san¡¯s wife. She¡¯s beautiful.

    I took my seat as I thought that. Sitting at one side of the table, in front of me was Pioro-san, by my right was Miyabi-san, and by my left was Pioro-san¡¯s wife.

    ¡°Excuse me.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You don¡¯t haf ta be that stiff, ya know? I think you¡¯ve already noticed it too, but this here is Miyabi¡¯s mother, my wife, Kurana.¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°Kurana Saionji, a pleasure ta meet you.¡± [Kurana]

    ¡°Ryouma Takebayashi, it¡¯s my pleasure as well.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard of tha rumors. It seems that you¡¯re quite tha promising youngd.¡± [Kurana]

    ¡°Oh not at all, my luck just happens to be good. And it¡¯s also because of the help of the people around me that I¡¯ve been blessed with. All I¡¯ve really done is employ and rely on them.¡± [Ryouma]

    No, really. The store and the employees were mostly taken care of by Serge-san and the guild master, Carm-san and Ka-san advised me on the store¡¯s management, and Fei-san and Li Ling-san protect the store. The other employees are helping me out with the rest of the work, so if everyone wasn¡¯t around, then forget about getting a branch store out, it¡¯d be strange if I even got a store.

    All of my sess is thanks to the people I¡¯ve met and their help.

    ¡°If you¡¯re able ta say such things from the bottom of your heart, then you¡¯re plenty amazing.¡± [Kurana]

    ¡°¡¯xactly, when young people seed quickly, they lose sight of everythin¡¯ around them and start thinkin¡¯ that they can do anythin¡¯.¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°Shops are around precisely because there are customers and servants. If a merchant forgets ta thank those around them and make light of their efforts, then it¡¯s the end for that merchant. In that situation, regardless of how much talent one has, you won¡¯t be able to get by unless ya y dirty. Being able to understand that, you¡¯re already plenty amazing, Ryouma-han.¡± [Kurana]

    Something like that, huh?

    ¡°A merchant¡¯s conduct is something that will naturally be learned in the distant future. So it¡¯s plenty amazing if ya can at least talk like one now. I mean look at Miyabi, she ain¡¯t one bit polite is she?¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°Dad! Why am I being used as an example!?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Eh, it can¡¯t be helped, after all your already around so it¡¯s easy to use ya as an example.¡± [Piroro]

    ¡°Miyabi, it¡¯s better not to push yourself, and just talk normally.¡± [Kurana]

    Ahh, so she really was pushing herself, huh?

    ¡°Ryouma¡¯s also noticed too, ya know? That you¡¯re pushing yourself to talk differently.¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°A little, actually. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s weird to change your manner of speech when talking towards customers, but I don¡¯t think you¡¯re that used to it, so please don¡¯t mind it so much.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°See? Even Ryouma-han whom you¡¯d just met even noticed that you¡¯re only putting up a front.¡± [Kurana]

    ¡°How frustrating...¡± [Miyabi]

    Ahh, looks like she¡¯s started to be depressed... is it really something to be bitter about though?

    ¡°Sorry ¡®bout this, please ignore this kid.¡± [Kurana]

    ¡°Miyabi¡¯s been imitatin¡¯ me ever since she became interested in merchant work and started helping me out. I¡¯m happy, but whenever she shows an opening while negotiating with a customer, she bes quite stubborn. In fact, just recently, a customer told her that she wasn¡¯t like a woman.¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I want to be seen as a woman that I¡¯m trying to improve. It¡¯s just that...¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Just that?¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°I hate the old man that told me I¡¯m not feminine! So I won¡¯t be able ta get rid of this sense of defeat unless I be graceful!¡± [Miyabi]

    That¡¯s what you¡¯re bothered about!? Well, I guess it¡¯s better than being bothered by something weird.

    ¡°In other words, my daughter hates losing. You don¡¯t need to mind it, Ryouma-han.¡± [Kurana]

    ¡°Enough of that, right now¡¯s time for meal, ya know? Today, we prepared a rare meal.¡± [Pioro]

    As Pioro-san said that, he signaled with his hand to the servant standing at a corner.

    ¡°Rare?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Ryouma¡¯s good at cooking, so it¡¯s difficult ta surprise ya unless we prepare somethin¡¯. So in the end I figured we¡¯d make ya something queer.¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°It¡¯d be great if it was to Ryouma-han¡¯s taste though.¡± [Kurana]

    When the smell of the dish reached my nose... this is!

    ¡°This smell is... miso soup?¡± [Ryouma]

    When I muttered that, Pioro-san opened his eyes wide in disappointment, while Kurana-sanughed amused.

    ¡°What, so ya knew about miso soup, Ryouma? ~Sigh, and here I thought I¡¯d be able to surprise ya.¡± [Pioro]

    Not at all, in fact, it¡¯s a huge sess! I¡¯m really, really surprised!

    ¡°N-no, I¡¯m more than surprised enough. Pioro-san, you can get miso soup?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yeah, I can. Few sell it, so we don¡¯t have plenty of stock, but... do you want some?¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°Yes! Please!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s not that expensive anyway, so I¡¯ll get ya some. If youe ta like it, feel free ta stop by and buy some.¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°Yes, thank you very much!?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine. Ah, by the way, if ya know ¡®bout miso soup, then d¡¯ya also now ¡®bout soy sauce?¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°You also have soy sauce!?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yep.¡± [Pioro]

    Like this, while the servant was bringing us food, it¡¯s been decided that I¡¯ll be getting some miso soup, soy sauce, vinegar, and mirin.

    To think there would actually be these kind of seasonings in this world! ording to Pioro-san, these sort of stuff are being manufactured in an ind where dragon newts lived. Unfortunately, because most people don¡¯t know how to use it, it¡¯s not very popr. What a waste.

    ¡°Let¡¯s eat first. We¡¯ll talk while we eat.¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. Then, itadakimasu!¡± [Ryouma]

    I took the dish and the chopsticks, and first brought the rice to my mouth. Delicious! This is my first rice in three years!! Bread¡¯s staple here in this country, so I haven¡¯t gotten any rice at all. Now it¡¯s not like I hate bread or anything, but rice just happens to have that nostalgic taste. Next, is the fish in soy sauce, and the miso soup... ah delicious... it¡¯s exactly how it was back in Earth...

    ¡°How nostalgic...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Oh? Ryouma-han, did use ta live in a dragon newt vige?¡± [Kurana]

    ¡°Eh? Ah, no.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Really? Ya looked like a dragon newt that hasn¡¯t gone back home in a long time though.¡± [Kurana]

    ¡°Is that so?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That¡¯s right, and what¡¯s more is that Ryouma¡¯s really good at using chopsticks. Those are really just furnishings, so it would¡¯ve been fine if ya just left them alone. It¡¯s really rare ta see a customer that¡¯s not dragon newt use chopsticks well.¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°Ryoum-han, where did yae from?¡± [Kurana]

    During times like these, I bring out my grandparents card!

    ¡°Ie from a small vige. My grandmother used to make me lots of miso soup in the past. It was also from her that I learned how to use chopsticks. My grandparents are former adventurers, so apparently they¡¯ve travelled the world a lot. They probably came to know of these sort of things during their travels.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Oh, is that how it is?¡± [Pioro]

    Did I manage to deceive them?

    ¡°By tha way, what are ya gonna do starting tomorrow? Tha employees of the store your store won¡¯t being till three dayster, right?¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°I n to create furniture, practice, and do some adventurer work during that time.¡± [Ryouma]

    It was there that Kurana asked me a question.

    ¡°Ara, Ryouma-han, you¡¯re an adventurer?¡± [Kurana]

    ¡°Yes. Right now, I¡¯m not really sure whether my main job is adventurer work or my store though.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°What¡¯s your rank now?¡± [Kurana]

    ¡°Right now, I¡¯m rank E.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°E? You¡¯re younger by a year than our daughter, right?¡± [Kurana]

    ¡°I just became E rank two months ago.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°At that age, E rank¡¯s more than enough. You also have experience with subjugation requests, right?¡± [Kurana]

    After that, I talked about the subjugation request at the mine, and then I asked them about this town.

    Apparently, this town was made by the otherworlder founder of the Saionji Firm for the sake of business. It might be because of that, that the shopkeepers and servants of the stores here go way back. There also seem to be a lot of people who use the Kansai dialect amongst the people who grew up here. Incidentally, Kurana-san was born in this town.

    I don¡¯t think the otherworlder purposely tried to spread the Kansai dialect, but when I think about how the otherworlder unconsciously left something behind, a feeling I can¡¯t describe swells up inside me. Will I also leave something behind in the future? ...Well, there¡¯s no point thinking about this right now.

    I also asked about the guild. From what I hear, there are four guilds, including the merchant guild, being gathered within those walls.

    ¡°There¡¯re entrances from all directions, but inside that are the merchant guild, adventurer¡¯s guild, artisan guild, and the dragoon guild.¡± [Pioro]

    Dragoon guild? That¡¯s new. When I asked about it, Miyabi-san exined it to me.

    ¡°What¡¯s the dragoon guild?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s a gathering of former tamer guild members who use ve magic to carry things with their flying magical beasts. When the airport was built, they went independent, so I guess you could say it¡¯s a guild engaged in the air transportation industry. The tamer guild seems ta do any job, but tha dragoon guild specializes in exporting people and goods, as well as actin¡¯ as bodyguards for those.

    It¡¯s quite difficult to have magical beasts carry people and fly in the sky, so the dragoon guild makes their magical beasts undergo special training. And although they¡¯re independent now, they still seem ta have some connection ta tha tamer¡¯s guild, ya know? It¡¯s said that tha first ve magic user who could tame a flying magical beast that could carry people, also took a course from the dragoon guild once.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°To think that there¡¯s actually a guild like that...¡± [Ryouma]

    It¡¯s obvious, but it looks I really still have a lot to learn.

    ¡°Tha gatherin¡¯ of ingredients and resources are taken care of by tha adventurer¡¯s guild. Then tha artisan guild deals with tha raw material, while tha merchant guild sells tha products and resources. And finally, tha dragoon guild¡¯s responsible for exporting tha goods ta towns far away. And of course, all this is thanks ta our ancestor-sama¡¯s efforts.¡± [Miyabi]

    Said Miyabi-san as she puffed her chest. Pioro-san appeared to also share her sentiment. Apparently, they take great pride in this town, it¡¯s airport, and their otherworld ancestor.

    As I listened to their stories about the town, I gobbled up more of the nostalgic Japanese cuisine. After that, I went back to my room, used the cleaner slime shower, and quickly went to rest.

    I wonder what I should do tomorrow. As I thought that, a wave of drowsiness attacked me because of abination of being full and the pent up fatigue. I can endure it, but there¡¯s no point in doing so right now anyway, so I guess I¡¯ll just go to sleep now... I¡¯ll think about what to do tomorrow, tomorrow... I have time anyway...

 Volume 3 - 9

    TL Note: Sorryte chapter, bunch of things happened ¨C pc dying, inte going on and off (no the wasn¡¯t always like this), and I got a bit too into goblin kingdom... haha, ended up until the end of the raws ¨C so yeah,te chapter.

    Volume 3 Chapter 9

    The next day.

    Waking up early in the morning, I quickly readied myself, and left the room. Just as I got out of the room, Miyabi-san was there.

    ¡°Ryouma-han, g¡¯morning!¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Good morning, Miyabi-san.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I thought I¡¯d wake ya up, but ¡®t looks like your awake ¡®lready. You¡¯re quite the early bird, huh?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Really?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°We wake up pretty early since we¡¯re merchants, so for Ryouma-han ta wake up the same time as us is plenty early, ya know? But of course, the servants preparing the meal wake up even earlier.¡± [Miyabi]

    I see.

    ¡°Ah, no good. Ryouma-han, Food¡¯s already ready so feel free ta stuff yourself.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    And so, just like yesterday, I was brought to the dining room, and we had our meal. Speaking of which, everyone eats quite fast... Well, I do eat around the same pace myself too though.

    After the meal Pioro-san and Kurana-san went to their jobs.

    ¡°Aight, then I¡¯ll leave it to you, Miyabi.¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°Do a good job.¡± [Kurana]

    ¡°Leave it ta me!¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Huh? What are they talking about?¡± Is what I was thinking when Miyabi-san came over and talked to me.

    ¡°Ryouma-han, do ya have any ns for today? Have ya gotten used ta the town already? Lemme show ya around.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°I¡¯d be grateful, but what about your work?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°No prob, no prob, Ya know, I might be the president¡¯s daughter, but I¡¯m still only 12. It¡¯s pretty normal not ta do anything. Me watching over the store ¡®s just practice for the future.¡± [Miyabi]

    Now that she mentions it that does make sense.

    ¡°Rather than myself, I¡¯d say you¡¯re plenty strange, being only 11, yet already having a store, but... that¡¯s definitely an exception, right?¡± [Miyabi]

    Well yeah... In any case since she¡¯s going to show me around, I could leave my adventurer work forter, and go make those furniture first.

    ¡°Then, today, I want to create some furniture for my store, so could you bring me to a store I could buy some lumber from?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°No prob, no prob, I¡¯ll bring Ryouma-han ta a good store.¡± [Miyabi]

    Said Miyabi-san as she puffed her chest. As the two left the store, Drei, who has been tasked with a message to Gimuru since yesterday, arrived.

    ¡°Ah.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°What¡¯s... kya!?¡± [Miyabi]

    Drei perched over my shoulder. But because he went in between me and Miyabi-san, Miyabi-san was taken by surprise, and she jumped back. Oh! Her tail¡¯s moving vigorously! ... In my past life, I heard that foxes normally don¡¯t show their emotion through their tails much, but I guess beastmen fox tribes are different. But then again, she hasn¡¯t moved her tail much till now, so maybe it¡¯s just because she¡¯s surprised. A reflex in other words... well in any case, I better apologize for having frightened her.

    ¡°Sorry, I ended up frightening you, this one here is my ve monster.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°ve monster? Oh, right... It¡¯s quite unique though. I¡¯ve never seen such a pretty magical beast before.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°It¡¯s called Rimel Bird. It flies really fast, so I had it bring a letter to the Town of Gimuru.¡± [Ryouma]

    I then took the letter from the cylinder attached to its leg, and read it. It¡¯s the reply from the others.

    Looks like Drei managed to arrivest night and was able to get a reply. ording to this, everyone ns to make a trip here, and they¡¯ll be leaving today, so their arrival will be three days from now. Well, the expected time of arrival anyway.

    I informed Miyabi about the contents of the letter, and then we started walking again. Miyabi-san brought me to a lumber manufacturer from which I bought some lumber. I then stored it into my ¡®Dimension Home¡¯, and then went back to the store.

    I selected a store house in the work area, after which I had the acid slimes make someponents, while the sticky slimes along with me put together theponents with nail and sticky liquid. Like this we were able to slowly make furniture of all sorts, like chairs, tables, and shelves.

    Miyabi-san watched us work quietly, but it doesn¡¯t look like she¡¯s just watching. And after a while, Miyabi-san asked me a question.

    ¡°Ryouma-han, what are these?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°They¡¯re slimes?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°No, no, no, no, no way, absolutely no way! I¡¯ve never seen slimes likes these! Why are slimes able to use tools!?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°It¡¯s because I taught them. And not only tools, but also weapons likes spears and staffs. In fact the slimes can also use Taijutsu, you know?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Really!?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Yes.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that, I shaved off the wood waste of a wooden rod with ¡®Polish Wheel¡¯, handed it over to a sticky slime, and made it show off some of its staff techniques.

    ¡°... It¡¯s seriously doing it.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Right?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Were slimes always this skillful?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°At the start they were normal slimes, but after training a lot, they became like this.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is, didn¡¯t know that was possible at all.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°A lot of people don¡¯t. In fact, everyone who sees it is shocked at first.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°If you announce your finding, it¡¯ll be a huge find, ya know?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°You think so? Slimes are thought of lowly, both by researchers and the tamer guild, so they won¡¯t think much of it. And besides, I don¡¯t have any intention of publicizing my research findings yet.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that, Miyabi-san muttered under her breath, ¡°What a waste¡± as she stared at the slimes. The silence continued for a few minutes like that until Miyabi-san suddenly asked me this.

    ¡°... Ryouma-han, what will ya be doing next year?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°What I¡¯ll be doing?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ryouma-han, you¡¯re 11 right now, right? You¡¯ll be turning 12 next year, so aren¡¯t ya entering the imperial capital¡¯s academy? Ryouma-han, you¡¯re store¡¯s making plenty from the looks of things, so it¡¯s not like ya can¡¯t pay the tuition fee, right? Won¡¯t ya go to the academy?¡± [Miyabi]

    Academy, huh?

    ¡°I don¡¯t really feel like going. I¡¯d rather train myself, and work as an adventurer freely. And from what I hear, the rtionship of the people in the school are troublesome, and there¡¯s not a lot of things to study.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that, Miyabi-san sighed deeply.

    ¡°Haa~, so ya knew, huh?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Oh, did you also know about it?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Naturally, I have ta go this year after all. So it¡¯s a given that I¡¯d at least gather some information about the ce. That and dad also told me all sorts about it.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°I see... and then? Why did you want me to enter too?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Well tat¡¯s cuz, Ryouma-han¡¯s personality is nice, and if there were someone I knew there, my life would be easier. People there are really stiff, ya know? And more than anything, I specialize at magic. Once I go there, a bunch of annoying nobles will have their eyes on me.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°If it¡¯s so bad, why go?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s cuz I need ta make contacts as a merchant. That academy makes a point of not discriminating between nobles andmoners, so it¡¯s easier ta get close ta the nobles therepared ta other ces. Well, even then, it¡¯s not like there¡¯s really no discrimination... but at least we can talk casually. Speaking of which, Ryouma-han, you also specialize at magic, right? How reassuring.¡± [Miyabi]

    For her to be this determined at this age... merchants are scary. But it seems the number of students who enroll with this sort of objective isn¡¯t few. Well that aside, is Miyabi-san so good at magic for others to envy her?

    ¡°So magic is your specialty?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That¡¯s right, but not as good as Ryouma-han. I am at the level where I can use a mid-level magic, but for students this is plenty good.¡± [Miyabi]

    Apparently, ording to Miyabi-san, there are plenty amongst the students who can¡¯t even use low-level magic after enrolling, and have to learn the foundations there in the school. So with that crowd in mind, someone who could use a mid-level magic is more than good enough to shock them, right?

    Speaking of which, beastmen fox tribe people seem to have a lot of magic power despite being beastmen. If I¡¯m correct I heard this from someone at the guild... anyway, I wonder if it¡¯s because of this that Miyabi-san is good at magic.

    In this world there are little to no persecution or discrimination towards other races, so there are no problems even if someone is a half. So she shouldn¡¯t have anything to worry about regarding that. In fact if you use race as an excuse to discriminate against someone, you¡¯ll instead get frowned upon. Apparently there was plenty of discrimination in the past, but the otherworlders that came before me worked hard to get rid of it. Well there are still some jealousy and envy when ites to the strengths of the other races though.

    ¡°I see.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Well, if ya can¡¯t go, then it can¡¯t be helped. It¡¯s not good if I force ya to go too, and besides, it¡¯s not like I really expected anything. I just intended to introduce ya ta some good nobles if ya were going, so that ya don¡¯t find yourself caught up with some annoying nobles.¡± [Miyabi]

    Ahh, so she was thinking of helping me out. Miyabi-san¡¯s not a bad kid at all. It seems like it¡¯ll be difficult from now on, but do your best, I¡¯ll support you.

    After that, I continued to make furniture. I got help from Miyabi-san with the easier parts, and like this we was able to finish making the furniture and the tools.

    After finishing making the furniture, I told Miyabi-san that I¡¯m going to the adventurer¡¯s guild, so she should go back to the store. But then she told me this.

    ¡°Ryouma-han, there aren¡¯t really a lot of jobs in the adventurer guild of this town, ya know? It¡¯s mostly just chores in the town, gathering herbal nts in the fields, or hunting small animals.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Eh, really? But I heard that there was a strong magical beast that appeared near here.¡± [Ryouma]

    Could it have already been hunted?

    ¡°Ah~, so ya heard about that? It¡¯s because of that, that only E Rank up are able ta go north.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Is it that strong?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Nah, actually a D Rank party is more than enough. But there really ain¡¯t a lot of adventurers in this town that¡¯s above E Rank.¡± [Miyabi]

    Apparently, because this town has the dragon guild, wyverns and otherrge-type magical beasts appear frequently, causing many of the magical beasts in the area to flee. With an unprofitable town like this, it¡¯s only a given that the adventurers wouldn¡¯t stay here.

    And the guards just stay at the garrison and watch over the gate, so it¡¯s quite problematic during times like these... Well whatever, in any case, it¡¯s because of that, that only E Rank adventurers up can go north. Whew, it¡¯s good that it¡¯s not requiring D Rank up.

    ¡°So as long as you¡¯re E Rank, you can go right?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That¡¯s right, you¡¯ll be able ta at least grab some herbs there in the northern woods... oh right, Ryouma-han, you¡¯re E Rank, right? I won¡¯t tell ya not ta go, but be careful. If ya see that magical beast, ya better run immediately, alright?¡± [Miyabi]

    After that, I gave my thanks to Miyabi-san, and headed towards the guild. Naturally, it¡¯s quite difficult for a girl who¡¯s not an adventurer to go the adventurer¡¯s guild, so she didn¡¯t bring me there this time.

    When I got to the guild, I headed towards the reception desk, and gathered some information. I got my information from a male employee. He looked to be the type who does his job without much care. When I showed him my E Rank guild card, he, without checking my age or appearance, quickly went and brought back only the jobs for E Rank up. I also ended up getting information on the magical beast. Apparently, it¡¯s a strong magical beasts that¡¯s known as Smash Boar.

    If I recall correctly, a smash boar is a short horned pig. Its body is big, and it¡¯s plenty tough, its skin is also thick, so you can¡¯t deal a fatal damage to it if your strength is superficial.

    If you¡¯re wondering why I know this before even being told about it, well it¡¯s because it was written there in the letter I got from Gayn and the others when I first came to this world. Along with the information of my lineage in this world and my grandparents, was to fight a smash boar once if I have the chance before going to my grandparent¡¯s vige.

    And apparently, the smash boar in this town is exactly the same as the smash boar I¡¯m thinking about. It wasn¡¯t possible to ept the subjugation request for the smash boar, so I got an herb collection request near the ce where the smash boar appears instead. Then afterwards, I went back to Pioro-san¡¯s store. Along the way, I recalled the contents of the letter...

    The name of the vige your grandparents lived in is Cormi Vige. That vige lies within the thick forest known as The Great Forest of Shurus.

    The Great Forest of Shurus is a treasure house of medicinal nts. And you can find precious stones with good quality inside the caves of the great forest.

    It was in order to acquire those things that many viges were built around and inside that thick forest, serving as a stopping point. The Cormi Vige is one of those, and it was because of that, that your grandparents lived there.

    But The Great Forest of Shurus is also a nest of monsters, making it a perilous forest. Even in the shallow parts of the forest, the weaker monsters are all D Rank up. Moreover, the adventurers who went there to collect herbal nts or mine precious stones that were killed, have had their remains turned into undead, and are loitering around the forest as zombies, skeletons, or ghosts.

    That¡¯s why, along with the will of your grandparents for you to inherit their belongings as well as for you to continue your grandmother¡¯s research, is a warning that you must train in magic and get used to your body before going to the vige.

    It¡¯s not impossible for me to go the vige right from the start with only the martial arts and Qi Gong that I had with me when I got here into this world. However, if I were to have happened upon a ghost, who is immune to physical attacks, then it¡¯s not guaranteed that I would have been able toe back alive. That¡¯s why I began training myself in the Forest of Gana... During that time, I got caught up in my hobbies, and passed three years... I¡¯ve been thinking of going since I got out of the forest. But before that, I need to prepare.

    I went back to Pioro¡¯s store while thinking that. When I got back, I had supper there as well today.

    During mealtime I talked to Pioro-san about my ns to go the north tomorrow, at which Pioro-san replied, ¡°Going north? So you¡¯re finally going ta hunt the smash boar then?¡± Right after Pioro-san said that, Miyabi-san hit him with a tsukkomi, while his wife, Kurana-san, rebuked him with a frightening smile.

    The smash boar is nothing but practice for me, but for Pioro-san, it¡¯s an obstacle for his business, and at the same time a good product. Apparently, the smash boar¡¯s meat is not only odorless, but also soft, and delicious.

    In case I end up hunting the smash boar, I should take it to this store. It¡¯s true that I didn¡¯t take the subjugation request, but just because I didn¡¯t take it doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t fight it. After all, it can¡¯t be helped if while gathering herbal nts I end up fighting with it. No one wants to be killed without fighting back after all, so there¡¯s no need to hold back if I happen upon the smash boar by chance. It¡¯s not like anyone wouldin if I identally end up meeting the smash boar and end up killing it, right? ...Hmm? Was my personality always like this? I wonder if I¡¯ll end up rustling the ruffians around here... I better take care...

    After supper ended, I went back to my room, and prepared for tomorrow.

 Volume 3 - 10

    Volume 3 Chapter 10

    The next day.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± [Miyabi]

    Miyabi sent me off, and I headed towards the north gate. I leisurely walked, taking my time to enjoy the scenery of the lively town, but as soon as I got close to the gate, I braced myself.

    They¡¯re restricting ess, so people aren¡¯t being allowed to pass through the gate. But there won¡¯t be any problems so long as one is able to provide proof of being an E Rank adventurer. From here I should go to a ce with plenty of nts that¡¯s near the smash boar¡¯sst known sightings, and begin gathering herbs there.

    I have a bow and knife equipped. I¡¯ve also prepared a spear in my ¡®Item Box¡¯, but I¡¯m not nning to use it. Spears andrge swords are supposedly effective against smash boars, but I¡¯m fighting it under the pretense of having identally stumbled onto it, right? Then in order to keep up that pretense, I can¡¯t be using a weapon tailored for fighting against it now, can I? Otherwise, I¡¯ll get suspicious.

    And so I went on my way to gather herbs... however, I can¡¯t seem to find the smash boar at all.

    I know that just because it¡¯s a magical beast whose whereabouts are generally easy to find, doesn¡¯t mean that it¡¯s going to stay in ces where there are plenty of herbs all the time, still... this has to be first time I¡¯ve had to deal with a prey that¡¯s so hard to find. I¡¯ve even used search magic, but I can¡¯t find it at all. Or rather, even the other magical beasts are missing. It¡¯s exactly just as Miyabi-san had mentioned, there¡¯re almost no magical beasts around here.

    After that I went to gather some more herbs in other areas while I continued to look for the smash boar. After some time I finally managed to gather enough. The deadline for this request is still the day after tomorrow, so it¡¯s not like there¡¯s really any need to finish it today. But, well... apparently because of the rank restriction on the northern gate, the supply of these herbs has been dwindling, and because it¡¯s not easy to get these kind of herbs anymore, apparently they¡¯ll be purchasing all the herbs I can get. I figured that since there wasn¡¯t any harm in getting more herbs I could go get more , but right as I thought that, I heard a small voice.

    ¡°¨C¨C¨C Uwaaah.¡± [Someone]

    A person¡¯s voice? It¡¯s a bit far though? Or am I just imagining things?

    ¡°¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C Help me ¨C¨C¨C¡° [Someone]

    ... There it goes again! It¡¯s not just my imagination, someone¡¯s asking for help!

    I grabbed my bow, heightened my senses as I minimized my own presence, and headed towards the direction of the voice. There I saw two adventurers being chased by the smash boar.

    But... rather than a boar, isn¡¯t this a pig? It does have some fangs, but they¡¯re quite small, and it¡¯s not even sharp either. The only thing this pig has going for it is that it¡¯s a little bigger than I thought. Hmm, I guess it¡¯s about the size of a cow.

    Wait a moment... this isn¡¯t the time to be thinking about this!

    Carefully timing my shot, I nocked my arrow and let one fly between the trees. The arrow flew sharply, slipping through the woods, smashing the thinner trees, and as the smash boar passed by, the arrow pierced its right eye. Immediately, the smash boar went into a rampage as its death throes resounded throughout the area.

    Noticing the smash boar¡¯s behavior, the two adventurers stopped moving and looked back.

    What are these two doing!?

    ¡°Don¡¯t stop! Keep on running!¡± [Ryouma]

    When the two heard me, they looked my way and were flustered. I tried calling out to them again, but it was no good. And the smash boar, after getting back up to its feet, already had its gaze locked onto my direction.

    It¡¯s a bit different from what I nned, but...

    I put the bow onto my back. And as I stared at the smash boar, I let the Ki move throughout my body.

    The smash boar was like a pig with short, dull fangs protruding from both sides of its lower jaw. The fangs aren¡¯t venomous, but the strength of those fangs from a head-on collision still isn¡¯t something to be scoffed at.

    The main problem is its constitution. It might be a pig, but its size is around 1.5 times that of a cow... probably. Anyway, the point is that it¡¯s covered by thick meat all over. Its body is full of cuts, so those two adventurer¡¯s must¡¯ve cut it a lot, but... Forget the inner organs, I don¡¯t think those cuts have even managed to reach the muscles.

    Since attacking the body seems useless, then... the aim should be where the meat is the least! The head!

    ¡°Buoooooooo!¡± [Smash Boar]

    The smash boar bellowed out a war cry as it charged towards me. It moved at a speed that made the trees look like nothing but nuisances. In response, I moved to my right and dodged its charge. The smash boar was caught off-guard by my sudden movement, and ended up crashing into the tree immediately behind me. That powerful charge easily mowed down that tree, and the smash boar began to charge towards me again.

    This time I moved to the left, and as the smash boar passed by me, I hit its temple with Ki strengthened palm strike.

    ¡°Piggy!!?¡±

    The smash boar whimpered as it came to a halt. I know from hitting it just how thin the meat was in that area, no wonder it was so effective.

    Next, it shook its head, and tried to impale me with its fangs, but I easily dodged that with a single step, leaving its left temple wide open. I threw a kick at that opening, and the smash boar whimpered again.

    ¡°Pi, ggy...¡± [Smash Boar]

    Looks like it was more effective this time as the smash boar broke its right foreleg, and is now lying on the ground. Not giving it time to rest, I began my counterattack.

    With an uppercut from my left, I sent the smash boar¡¯s head flying. While still in mid-air from the impact, I grabbed its fangs with the same hand, brought it down, made it spin counter-clockwise, and finished it off with a right elbow strike.

    As my elbow sunk into the smash boar, I felt and heard the bones being crushed. The smash boar¡¯s feet shook for a moment, and afterwards it immediately fell over, unmoving.

    Whew... Did I kill it...? Well, from the looks of things, that seems to be the case.

    After I confirmed that I¡¯d killed the smash boar, the two people from a while ago called me as they walked towards me. I didn¡¯t notice it a while ago because of the distance and the armor, but apparently one of the adventurers was a woman..

    ¡°U-Umm!¡± [Adventurer 1]

    ¡°Thank you very much for saving us!¡± [Adventurer 1]

    ¡°Eh, ahh... you¡¯re wee. Are you hurt anywhere?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°No, we¡¯re fine, thanks to you.¡± [Adventurer 2]

    ¡°But one of our friends is still injured, and is over there. We haven¡¯t been able to thank you yet for saving us, but please let us go help our friend first.¡± [Adventurer 1]

    Well if someone¡¯s injured we can¡¯t just leave them alone.

    ¡°Of course, and if you don¡¯t mind, could Ie along as well? After all, I can use healing magic.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Really!?¡± [Adventurer 1]

    ¡°Thank you very much! Please!¡± [Adventurer 2]

    ¡°Ah, but we can¡¯t leave the smash boar here by itself alone, huh?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°By the way, you are?¡± [Adventurer 2]

    ¡°Please pardon my dyed introduction, I am Ryouma Takebayashi.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, right? Then Ryouma-kun, please stay here. We¡¯ll go and bring our friend here ourselves.¡± [Adventurer 2]

    ¡°There are some malicious adventurers around here, so please be careful.¡± [Adventurer 1]

    Said the two as they left. Malicious adventurers? Isn¡¯t that a g?

    While I thought of that, I drained the blood from the smash boar while they weren¡¯t around. Of course, I used the bloody slime. After the blood was fully drained, I put back the bloody slime into the ¡®Dimension Home¡¯, and brought out two heal slimes in its ce.

    In the end, no malicious adventurer came, and the two adventurers from before carried back an injured female swordsman. She was in pain, covered in cold sweat. At least her internal organs seem to be safe. Together with the heal slimes, we casted ¡®High Heal¡¯ on her many times over.

    ¡° ¡®High Heal¡¯ ¡®High Heal¡¯ ¡®High Heal¡¯ ¡®High Heal¡¯ ...¡± [Ryouma]

    And after a short time passed, the female swordsman¡¯s treatment was over. Apparently she took the smash boar¡¯s charge head-on and was sent flying into a tree. As a result the bones of her feet and shoulder were broken. Fortunately, her internal organs were safe. After the treatment ended, her countenance changed for the better, and she was able to get up.

    ¡°Really, thank you very much!¡± [Adventurer 1]

    ¡°Thank you, thanks to you I was saved...¡± [Adventurer 3]

    ¡°You¡¯re wee, but your lost strength won¡¯t be back for a while, so please don¡¯t push yourself.¡± [Ryouma]

    The wounded female swordsman was named Philly, the two being chased by the smash boar were Ken and Lurie for the male and female adventurers respectively. The three haven¡¯t officially made a party or anything, but since they all lived in Renauph, they were all well-acquainted with each other, and they decided to do their jobs together.

    ¡°Something like this is nothing. Thanks to you and your heal slimes.¡± [Philly]

    ¡°You¡¯ve helped us so much, and yet there¡¯s nothing we can repay you with.¡± [Lurie]

    ¡°For the meantime please take this. I know it¡¯s not enough, so we¡¯ll pay the rest aftering back to the town.¡± [Ken]

    Said Ken-san as he handed over a small bag with money inside. I don¡¯t really need it since I don¡¯t have any problems with money, but these three are E rank adventurers, and they shouldn¡¯t have a lot of disposable ie... so for the meantime, I better just ept this and end it with this.

    ¡°Thank you, but you don¡¯t need to pay any more than this. In exchange, how about just telling me about those malicious adventurers you were talking about a while ago?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Is that really alright?¡± [Ken]

    ¡°I don¡¯t think just this is enough to repay you for everything, but... alright. Normally we do jobs as a three-man team, but today there were two others.¡¹

    Listening to the their story, they apparently met a pair of C Rank adventurers from another town at the bar, they got along well, and the C Rank adventurers asked them to be their guide for them to find the smash boar.

    In exchange, they were to help them be better fighters, help them pile up some experience, and give them a small part of the reward.

    ¡°We had them show us their guild cards, and it was definitely C Rank. Just in case something went wrong, we recorded and checked their guild cards. But nothing was written on the records, so we figured nothing bad would happen.¡± [Lurie]

    ¡°Thepensation and the money were just right after all.¡± [Ken]

    ¡°But then they made us fight using ¡°piling up some experience¡± as an excuse. And when things turned for the worst, they used us as decoys and ran away by themselves. I was sent flying, and ended up unable to move, so in order to protect me, these two caught the smash boar¡¯s attention and ran away. The rest is as you know.¡± [Philly]

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is.¡± [Ryouma]

    Were they tricked? Well, an adventurer using someone as a decoy and running away by himself is definitely not a good adventurer. At the very least, I don¡¯t think these three are lying. Besides, these two were being chased by the smash boar, and the other one¡¯s seriously injured to the point of being unable to move... No matter how you look at it, this¡¯s just too much effort for a lie.

    ¡°Umm, is it really ok with just this? You definitely need some cash as¨C¡° [Lurie]

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine. Besides, I¡¯m the one who proposed to use healing magic. Just consider this as service, ok?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°But...¡± [Lurie]

    ¡°Lurie, I know you feel sorry, but it¡¯s just as rude to force the issue. Let¡¯s just ept Ryouma-san¡¯s offer here.¡± [Philly]

    While listening to Philly-san, it suddenly hit me.

    ¡°Ah, right. If you don¡¯t mind, could you guys help me carry this smash boar back to the town?¡± [Ryouma]

    It is a hassle to carry it all the way alone after all. I mean, it¡¯s gotten way lighter now that it¡¯s been drained of blood, so I can carry it as long as I strengthen my body with magic or use Qigong, but my body is still quite small, so no matter what I¡¯ll end up dragging it. Even if I did put it inside the ¡®Dimension Home¡¯, I¡¯ll still end up dragging it.

    ¡°Something like that¡¯s no problem.¡± [Ken]

    ¡°We¡¯ll help!¡± [Lurie]

    ¡°Thank you.¡± [Philly]

    Like this, I received their help, and we carried the smash boar all the way to the town. The people at the gate were quite shocked, but I gave them a simple exnation, and we were able to pass through. And so, we walked like that until Pioro-san¡¯s store.

    A lot of people obviously stared at us along the way, but we managed to arrive at the store safely in the end. But then the customers at the store saw what we were carrying, and they made a fuss. Because of that even the store¡¯s employees went out, and amongst them were Pioro-san and the others.

    ¡°Ryouma-han!? What¡¯s that big thing you haf there!?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Ah, Miyabi-san, thanks for all your effort today. This is a smash boar by the way.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I can figure that out b¡¯myself, ya know!? What I¡¯m askin¡¯ ya is why there¡¯s a smash boar here! I told ya it¡¯d be dangerous, and yet ya still fought it!?¡¯ [Miyabi]

    It was Pioro-san who calmed down the overexcited Miyabi-san, and Ken-san and the others were the one who exined to them what had happened.

    ¡°So in other words, it¡¯s our fault that he fought the smash boar.¡± [Ken]

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what would¡¯ve happened if he hadn¡¯te to save us.¡± [Philly]

    ¡°Please don¡¯t me him too much!¡± [Lurie]

    Said the three with their heads bowed. Seeing that, Miyabi couldn¡¯t help but sigh.

    ¡°So ya saved some people, did ya? *Sigh, I guess it can¡¯t be helped then.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem like Ryouma fought recklessly too, so just let him go, alright?¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°Sorry for worrying you.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Seriously, *sigh... anyway let¡¯s leave it at this. That aside, dad! If we don¡¯t do somethin¡¯ ¡®bout this meat soon it¡¯ll go bad!¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Oh right! We can¡¯t leave it here, hurry! Bring it inside!¡± [Pioro]

    Following his words, we brought the smash boar to the butcher that Pioro-san led us to. As the butchers began to cut the smash boar, Kurana-san came to tell us to wait for a bit. Someone from the adventurer¡¯s guild apparently came.

    ¡°What did theye for? Couldn¡¯t ya have them wait for a bit? We¡¯re busy right now, ya know?¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°They said that they want to investigate that smash boar. They just want to confirm that the smash boar rampaging in the north¡¯s been subjugated.¡± [Kurana]

    Come to think of it, I did mention that I¡¯m going to sell it at the Saionji Firm... I guess the guards must¡¯ve informed the guild then.

    After that, a short while passed, and the male employee I met yesterday entered the store.

    ¡°Wee.¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°My apologies for intruding on you while you¡¯re busy. I¡¯ve onlye here to confirm that the smash boar¡¯s been subjugated, and will be leaving immediately afterwards.¡± [Adventurer Guild Staff]

    As the male employee said that, he went around the smash boar, inspecting it, and after breathing out a sigh of relief, he said this.

    ¡°This is definitely the smash boar. Thank you for your cooperation. With this, we¡¯ll be able to lift the entry restriction on the north gate.¡± [Adventurer Guild Staff]

    Continuing, the male employee turned our way, bowed, and said this.

    ¡°Please ept my deepest gratitude for subjugating the smash boar. Now, the north gate will be back to normal again.¡± [Adventurer Guild Staff]

    The three adventurers quickly exined what happened to the male employee. The male employee having understood the situation, nned to deal with the issue.

    ¡°So that¡¯s what happened... I¡¯ll need a written evidence, so could the three of youe with me? And Takebayashi-sama, you may alsoe to the guild at any time with a part of the smash boar¡¯s body to receive the payment for subjugating the smash boar.¡± [Adventurer Guild Staff]

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    The three adventurers gave their thanks one more time, and then they left with the male employee.

    After sending them off, we went back to the butcher. There, the butchers were waiting, already ready to butcher the smash boar.

    ¡°We had a bit of intermission there for a bit, but now we¡¯re good to go, begin!¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°Yes!¡± [Butchers]

    ¡°Ryouma, is it ok ta sell all these to our store?¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t know any other store to sell it to anyway. Ah, but would it be alright to keep a portion for myself? I¡¯ll sell everything else though.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Of course, somethin like that ¡®s no problem at all, right everyone?¡± [Pioro]

    At those words, all the butchers in the room nodded. But as the butchers began to work, they suddenly raised their voices in disbelief.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°This boar... no blood ising out of it.¡± [Butcher]

    ¡°What did ya say? Did tha blood coagte? But if that were the case, then a drop of blood should at least be drippin¡¯, right?¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°No, not even a drop is dripping out.¡± [Butcher]

    When he said that, Pioro-san went to check the meat, and he wringed its neck.

    Ah! Oh yeah, I forgot! I¡¯d already drained its blood with the bloody slime...

    ¡°Umm... actually that¡¯s because I drained its blood.¡± [Ryouma]

    When I said that, immediately, all of them stared at me.

    ¡°Ya drained its blood? With these few wounds? And ya even managed ta do it while keeping it this clean?¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°I have a special method you see. By any chance, would you happen to know of the slime called bloody slime?¡± [Ryouma]

    When I mentioned that, one of the butchers raised his voice.

    ¡°That¡¯s a slime that maniptes blood, right? I remember one being found in the forest when I was a kid.¡± [Butcher]

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s exactly it.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ta think there was actually a slime that dealt with blood... Ryouma, did ya have that slime suck the smash boar¡¯s blood out?¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°Yes, I always do so for all the preys I hunt. The smash boar was a bit big though, so it took quite a bit of time. The meat doesn¡¯t seem to have any problems, but could it be that it¡¯s no longer purchasable because of that?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°The meat¡¯s definitely fine. I¡¯ve also used identify on it meself. And problems you say? Forget problems, this meat here is one helluva of a high quality meat. In fact, it¡¯s enough ta make me want that slime of yours.¡± [Pioro]

    After that I spoke with Pioro-san more about the details surrounding the bloody slime. But I only have one with me right now, and they also didn¡¯t have any ve demon magic users to contract with the beast, leaving them no choice but to leave the bloody slimes that has split off alone by itself, uncontracted. And amongst all others, not having a ve demon magic user around leaves a huge chance for problem to arise, so in the end we decided it¡¯d be best for me not to give them a bloody slime for now.

    Well, in the future, once the bloody slime splits, and Pioro-san manages to find a trustworthy ve demon magic user, then I won¡¯t mind handing them one. It¡¯s also necessary in order to spread the value of slimes, and besides, it¡¯s Pioro-san¡¯s store, I can definitely rest assured leaving it here. The bloody slime is also different from the cleaner slime and the scavenger slime in that there¡¯s a possibility that they can be found elsewhere. So there¡¯s not a whole lot of reason to monitor these guys.

    While I was thinking that, the butchers finished butchering the smash boar. I got my portion, and sold off the rest of the meat. I got a middle gold coin from the exchange, and at the same time, I also retrieved the proof of subjugating the smash boar, its fangs.

    Today was quite exhausting, so I¡¯ll leave handing in the gathered herbs to the guild tomorrow.

 Volume 3 - 11

    TL Note:

    Tonjiru/Butajiru = Pork Soup

    Butashabu = shabu-shabu using pork (buta = pig)

    Butadon = Pork and veggies on rice

    Dashi = Japanese soup stock

    Kombu = Kelp eaten in Japan and other East Asian countries

    Changes in terms:

    Side Dish Store -> Fine Dish Store (or would you guys prefer Delicatessen?)

    Fictional Ingredients:

    Jija = Ginger

    Ramon = Lemon (I think; if someone could double check it, that¡¯d be great.)

    Regarding the Queue:

    I¡¯m aware I still have that free extra chapter I mentioned for this series. I¡¯ll post it when I have the time, school¡¯s a bit busy right now, so I might post it sometime nearing November or something.

    P.S. I kept typoing Kurana as Kurama this chapter. haha

    Edit:

    2015/10/04: fixed a name error pointed out by Inuzuka

    2015/10/04: fixed a duplicate word pointed out by Mantius

    Volume 3 Chapter 11

    The next day.

    Pioro-san gave me some miso and soy sauce in the morning. Afterwards I thanked him, and I threw the lot into my ¡®Item Box¡¯.

    Then I went to the guild to submit the fang of the smash boar and the herbs I gathered yesterday. And immediately, I was able to receive thepensation for both. Looks like the male employee had properly informed them just as he said he would.

    I went out of the way to make it look like a coincidence, even going as far as to equip the wrong equipment, but apparently it wasn¡¯t necessary... Then again, I¡¯m just saying that because of how things turned out. Normally it wouldn¡¯t have been strange if they pursued the matter a bit, but I did save Ken-san and the others, so let¡¯s just consider it a good thing that they¡¯re not pursuing the issue.

    While I was thinking that, the employee in charge came back with thepensation, and along with it, a word of gratitude. Apparently he¡¯s a friend of those three yesterday. Taking the opportunity, I asked about what happened to the two adventurers, and apparently they¡¯ve already been caught.

    From what I¡¯m told they were overheard at the bar by some guild employees who were there drinking after work. Those employees informed the guild, and the two adventurers were quickly apprehended. After that, the investigation found out that they were in fact guilty, and that their guild cards were masked. Being guilty of other crimes, the guild decided to emunicate them. And havingmitted the crime of masking their guild card, they will be serving over five years of forcedbor in the mines, or work indefinitely as a ve.

    When I heard about masking the guild card, I asked about whether something like that was really possible. And apparently it is possible to remove the punishments and information written on one¡¯s card, however it takes a special magic tool to do it, so a normal adventurer can¡¯t do it. Of course, the employee couldn¡¯t talk about how to aquire the means to mask one¡¯s card, so I wasn¡¯t able to get any more information other than that. Not that I want to mask my guild card or anything, but I should be careful.

    After I thanked the employee for the reward, I left the guild. Now, what should I do? I¡¯ve already finished everything that I needed to do here.

    While I thought what to do from here on out, I walked to Pioro-san¡¯s store. There, I was informed that Pioro-san was looking for me, and was brought to Pioro-san¡¯s office. At Pioro-san¡¯s office, I drank the tea I was served while I listened to Pioro-san.

    ¡°Ryouma, would ya happen ta know any good dish with the smash boar¡¯s meat, miso and soy sauce as ingredients?¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°Dish, you say?¡± [Ryouma]

    If you¡¯re talking about Japanese cuisine, then there¡¯s Tonjiru, Butashabu, Butadon, and pork fried with ginger.

    ¡°Well... I do know a few.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Could I have ya teach me? I mean don¡¯t get me wrong, fried fish and miso soup¡¯s plenty delicious, but it gets pretty tiring after a while, ya know? So I¡¯ve always been thinkin¡¯ that I could sell miso and soy sauce more if there were more way ta use it.¡± [Pioro]

    So that¡¯s what it was. Well, it¡¯ll be convenient for me too if I could get Japanese food easier, so I guess I could teach him.

    ¡°Then how about some Por- I mean, how about some Smash Boar Fried with Jija?¡± [Ryouma]

    There¡¯s pork, there¡¯s soy sauce, and there¡¯s even mirin. And I can get the ginger from a chemist! With this I won¡¯t be making the ginger-tasting meat I¡¯ve been eating this past three years... but the real, unadulterated, one true pork fried with ginger dish!

    ¡°Ah, if ya don¡¯t mind, could I have ya cook this fried jija of yours? Ya can use as much of our ingredients as ya want.¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°Is that ok?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Of course, of course... after all, we¡¯re benefitting a lot from ya teaching us a new dish.¡± [Pioro]

    Like this it was decided that I¡¯ll be cooking lunch. But what surprised me was that Kurana-san and Miyabi-san will apparently also be cooking alongside me. ¡°I thought I¡¯d be teaching some servants,¡± I said, to which to theyughed and said this,

    ¡°From time ta time, mom would drill in ta me how cooking is a woman¡¯s taste. So yeah... and besides it¡¯s not like I hate cooking or anythin¡¯, and it¡¯s not cool for the daughter of apany that sells food ta suck at cookin¡¯ either.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°I¡¯m looking forward ta Ryouma-han¡¯s skill and that new dish of yours.¡± [Kurana]

    Under the scrutiny of the two, I took the tools and ingredients that were prepared beforehand, and I began to cook.

    First,es grinding the rice and cooking it. Though, to be honest, I¡¯ve never really gotten the opportunity to do this with a kilt back in my previous life.

    To be eaten with the pork fried with ginger is Tonjiru, so I need to make that too to serve as aplement for the main dish. Thenes the dashi which I made from seaweed that¡¯s simr to Kombu and small fish. And for garnish are onions, great burdocks, mushrooms, and other various vegetables on smash boar meat. Ever since entering the towns, I¡¯vee to realize just how many vegetables being sold are simr to the ones in Earth, both in name and taste. It¡¯s highly possible that this too is a result of the otherworlders¡¯ influence.

    While making the Tonjiru, Miyabi-san took charge of watching over the rice. And after I finished making the Tonjiru, I got a pot from my ¡®Item Box¡¯ and filled it with the excess Dashi. Then I added soy sauce, mirin, and vinegar into it. When Kurana-san saw that, she walked over and asked me a question.

    ¡°Ryouma-han, what is that?¡± [Kurana]

    ¡°It¡¯s seasoning made from soy sauce, mirin, dashi, and vinegar. If you leave it for a few days, the sour taste will mellow out, and it¡¯ll be quite delicious. And if you add the juice of Ramon to it, it¡¯ll be even more delicious. It can be used as dressing for sds, as well as seasoning for meat or fish.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ta think was somethin¡¯ like that...¡± [Kurana]

    Said Kurana-san as she looked into the pot. Not long after though, she immediately went back to the Tonjiru

    After a while, the Tonjiru was almost ready... so I guess I should start working on the pork fried with ginger now.

    I cut the smash boar¡¯s meat into thin slices, and then fried it on a frying pan. During that time, I grated some jija, and mixed it with an appropriate amount of soy sauce and mirin, mixing it into a sauce.

    Adding that to the fried pork, and after a little mixing, the fired pork with ginger was done! It¡¯s simple and easy to make, but it¡¯s definitely delicious.

    The pork fried with ginger can be made in many ways like marinating it with the sauce instead of doing what I did, but this is the method I prefer the most. After all, fast and delicious is the way to go.

    Then for garnish, I cut some cabbage into thin strips, and then cut a tomato with a strange size that¡¯s bigger than a cherry tomato but smaller than a normal one into four pieces. Good. Next is the rice which should be finished around now...

    As I was about to go over to the rice, I noticed a man with ck hair at the corner of my eyes.

    ¡°Pioro-san? Since when have you been there?¡± [Ryouma]

    Pioro-san came out from the shadow of the kitchen¡¯s entrance. It was quite awkward.

    ¡°Ah~, well the thing is, something delicious found its way ta my nose, and before I knew it I found myself here.¡± [Pioro]

    Ahh, of course. I mean with the rice¡¯s scent and the pork fried with ginger being cooked, anyone¡¯s appetite would be whetted, right?

    ¡°Dad, that¡¯s bad manners, ya know? If ya wanna watch, then just go in.¡± [Miyabi]

    I gave a sidelong nce to the dad that was being rebuked by his own daughter, and prepared the dishes for us four to eat.

    ¡°It¡¯s done.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Oh? Really? Then let¡¯s eat already.¡± [Pioro]

    The servants brought the food into the dining room, and we took our seats.

    ¡°Please, enjoy the Smash Boar Fried with Jija Set Meal.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It really looks good. Itadakimasu.¡± [Miyabi]

    Said Miyabi-san as she nimbly used the chopsticks and quickly put the pork fried with ginger in her mouth. Then in the next moment, her ears tensed, and with her eyes wide open, she said,

    ¡°Delicious! This is really, really, delicious!¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Oh wow, it¡¯s true. I thought it¡¯d be delicious watching you make it, but looks like the real thing¡¯s even more delicious.¡± [Kurana]

    ¡°This fried jija is also good, but what was this soup called? Tonjiru? Well, it¡¯s also delicious. And not only is it good, but since it has so much vegetables, it¡¯s also good for the body. If this kind of dish were to be widespread, then soy sauce and miso will definitely start to sell!¡± [Pioro]

    Looks like they like it. Well, I¡¯m happy they¡¯re enjoying it. I know Pioro-san¡¯s also somewhat thinking from a merchant¡¯s standpoint, but it looks like he¡¯s really enjoying it.

    I tasted the dish I made while I exined it to them. And after eating, Pioro-san announced that the pork fried with ginger that he likes so much, will be added to the Fine Foods Store from evening onwards. And just as he had announced, the pork fried with ginger was there, rmended in one corner of the Fine Foods Store. He sure works fast...

    The next day.

    After having breakfast, I was about to go to my store, when a carriage stopped in front of the Saionji Firm.

    Hmm? The things loaded on its roof rack are...

    ¡°Ka-san!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Eh... Boss!¡± [Ka]

    The one who responded to my voice was Ka-san. Apparently, because she had her back turned and was ordering other people, she wasn¡¯t able to notice me.

    ¡°So you¡¯ve arrived. Well done, you must be tired from your journey.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Sorry for making you wait, boss. By the way, where¡¯s the store?¡± [Ka]

    ¡°It¡¯s that building over there that¡¯s separated by the road.¡± [Ryouma]

    I said, pointing to the store¡¯s location. In response, Ka-san gave orders to some people I don¡¯t know, and made them go to the store. Those guys are probably new employees. Afterwards, I brought Ka-san, Caulkins-san and the others with me, and dropped by Pioro-san¡¯s ce to say hi. Finally, the store¡¯s getting started.

    Four days after.

    It took us two days to settle the details regarding the store, and after reviewing the work to be done, we opened on the third day. Interestingly enough, the work actually went smooth for a first day. But apparently, it¡¯s because they had given the new employees a crash course while travelling.

    This new store has five new employees. One is exclusively for cooking, and the other four are clerks and at the same time bouncers. These four are apparently C Rank adventurers. When I asked why they decided to join the store, they said it¡¯s because they¡¯ve started to see their limits as adventurers. Moreover, when they happened to meet a magical beast outside, they even lost two of their friends.

    During that time, they just ran away and were only able to survive because of luck and because their two friends who died frantically tried to get the magical beast¡¯s attention when they realized they wouldn¡¯t make it anymore.

    Having been able to survive, they ran to the guild, submitted information about that beast, and had it subjugated. And as luck would have it, there was an A Rank party in that town, allowing the quick subjugation of the magical beast. In order to settle their feelings, they went to take a look at the ce where the killer of their friends had died. But then they found out at the guild there that it was apparently a B Rank magical beast.

    A magical beast that they couldn¡¯t fight against at all was only one rank above them. Moreover, it was easily hunted by a party of adventurers. After finding that out, they just gave up on bing B Rank adventurers up. To begin with, even C Rank requests alone are already sufficient enough to make money. So they just did those while saving money. And at the same time, they looked for a workce they could settle down with. It was then that they heard about my store.

    Although these guys can¡¯t fight B Rank monsters, their strength is more than enough for handling ruffians. So there shouldn¡¯t be any problem with them working as bouncers.

    Moreover, they also asked whether I was an adventurer or not. And then when they found out that I was, they told me of their experiences, and warned me to prioritize my safety above all else. They¡¯re good people. So I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll get along just fine with other employees.

    Incidentally, just a few days ago when the store had just opened, Ken-san and his group came over. There were barely any customers at the time, so taking the opportunity, I serviced them to get them as regr customers. I also exined to them how the store works, and also introduced to them the employees. But somehow they ended up talking about the case a few days ago regarding the smash boars, and Ken-san¡¯s story tugged at the heartstrings of the four employees, leading to them talking about various things, and the four giving advice to ken-san and his group. Actually, that talk about the employees being retired adventurers is something I only found out when I introduced them to Ken-san.

    In any case, with nothing left for me to do, I left the branch store in Renauph to Ka-san, and went back to the town of Gimel.

    Right now, Pioro-san and Ka-san along with the others are sending me off at the gate.

    ¡°Ryouma, do your best, ok? Because from now on¡¯s a match! A match of whoever can multiply his store the fastest!¡± [Pioro]

    ¡°Please take care.¡± [Kurana]

    ¡°Boss, please rest assured and leave all the work here to us.¡± [Robelia]

    ¡°We¡¯ll learn how to manage a store as soon as possible, boss!¡± [Tony]

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, and just leave things to us. Wasting money like what had happened before won¡¯t happen anymore, and I¡¯ll definitely show you a prospering store!!¡± [Caulkins]

    ¡°Boss, please take care of your body.¡± [Ka]

    ¡°You too, take care of yourself, alright?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ryouma-han, it¡¯s no good to push yourself too hard, ya know? I don¡¯t know when we¡¯ll get ta meet again, but don¡¯t die, ok?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Of course, I won¡¯t die just yet.¡± [Ryouma]

    After all, I still have my grandparents¡¯ inheritance, their research, the matter regarding the slimes, and my promise with Elia. Oh, speaking of which, Miyabi-san¡¯s going to the Imperial Capital¡¯s Academy in half a year, right? Then in that case she might meet up with Elia.

    Elia did say she didn¡¯t have friends, and Miyabi-san is going there to meet with nobles, so...

    ¡°Oh right, Miyabi-san.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yeah?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°You¡¯ll be going to the academy at the Imperial Capital this year, right?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yep, what about it?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Then in that case, I have a request.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°What is it? If it¡¯s something I can do, then go ahead.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°There¡¯s a girl who will be enrolling this year named Elialia. If you could, please be good friends with her. She¡¯s a good kid, and she¡¯s also a noble. And also please tell her, ¡°Do your best!¡± for me.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Well we can¡¯t have such a nice kid getcaught up with some no good bunch now, can we?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Thank you very much. Miyabi-san, please do your best.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Of course. You do your best to, ok?¡± [Miyabi]

    I bowed my head to everyone who came to see me off, and I went on my way back to Gimuru.

 Volume 3 - 12

    TL Note:

    Reserved for edits.

    Volume 3 Chapter 12

    One month since returning from Renauph.

    When I woke up, I went out to the storefront where the morning¡¯s brisk, blue sky greeted me. It¡¯s been quite hottely, so this is a nice change of pace. It¡¯s also that time of the year where adventurers who use ice magic make the most. So if ever you happen to drop by the guild, you¡¯ll spot quite a few excited adventurers.

    A good weather like today shouldn¡¯t be spent inside the mines. And since I¡¯ve been doing nothing but treating those waterproof cloths since I came back from Renauph, I¡¯ll be taking the day off.

    With that, I dressed myself, and I went to the town.

    I thought of dropping by the store, but the door was closed. Then I remembered that starting from this month, the store will be having regr holidays.

    Oh well, I guess it can¡¯t be helped. Like that I walked aimlessly around the town. When all of the sudden, a neighbor called out to me.

    ¡°Well if it isn¡¯t Ryouma? What cha doing?¡± [Poline]

    ¡°Ah, Poline-san. Good morning. The store is closed for the day, so I¡¯ve decided to spend the day walking around the town. After all, it¡¯d be a waste to spend such a nice morning cooped up indoors.¡± [Ryouma]

    Said I, as I walked towards her. At which, Poline-san chuckled.

    ¡°Certainly. A weather like this shouldn¡¯t be wasted cooped up indoors. By the way, since you¡¯re free today, why don¡¯t you drop by my husband¡¯s store? He¡¯ll have some feed for your slimes.¡± [Poline]

    ¡°Thank you as always.¡± [Ryouma]

    Following Poline-san, I received some blood, bones, and meat from Zeke-san. There¡¯re quite a bit this time around, so I¡¯m guessing it must be because of the hot weather.

    They¡¯ve been a real huge help to me, so maybe I should give them a refrigerator as thanks. But on second thought, let¡¯s not. That so-called refrigerator stops being a refrigerator when I¡¯m not around after all, so if I gave them one it¡¯d just be a hassle for me. While I was thinking that, someone suddenly shouted in the store.

    ¡°Mom!¡± [Rick]

    ¡°I can hear you just fine without the shouting!¡± [Poline]

    The owner of that voice was Poline-san¡¯s mischievous child, Rick.

    ¡°Oh, you were here, Ryouma?¡± [Rick]

    ¡°Good morning, Rick.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°At least greet properly!¡± [Poline]

    Poline-san poked Rick. And Rick rubbed the ce he was poked.

    ¡°So, what did you want?¡± [Poline]

    ¡°Oh, right! Toll¡¯s arrived, so I¡¯ll be going now!¡± [Rick]

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s that time already?¡± [Poline]

    Hmm? Rick¡¯s going somewhere?

    ¡°Where¡¯s Rick headed to?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ryouma, you didn¡¯t know? Today¡¯s the cleaning day for the church.¡± [Rick]

    ¡°Once every two months, the children of this town have to clean the church and do some misceneous jobs.¡± [Poline]

    ¡°We do it as thanks to god!¡± [Rick]

    Somunity service in other words... When I think of it like that, I¡¯m somewhat impressed by Rick, but Poline-san just smiled wryly and said this.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be fooled. My kid¡¯s not so benevolent as to do something with that in mind. He¡¯s just spouting some stuff he heard from somewhere. He¡¯s real aim is the giveaway candy.¡± [Poline]

    Rick looked the other way.

    ¡°That aside, are you going too, Ryouma?¡± [Poline]

    ¡°Well... I just heard of it today.¡± [Ryouma]

    Should I join? I mean, I don¡¯t exactly have anything nned so....

    ¡°Would it be ok if I went as well?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind.¡± [Rick]

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll go too.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Alright! Come with me then!¡± [Rick]

    Said rick as he happily raised his right hand as he walked. After I said goodbye to Poline-san, I went after Rick.

    ¡°Ryouma! You¡¯re slow!¡± [Rick]

    ¡°Yes, yes. I¡¯ming.¡± [Ryouma]

    Rick talks cheeky, but he still waited for me. He might actually unexpectedly be a good brother figure who¡¯s able to take care of others.

    Like this, I followed behind Rick, and met up with Reni and Toll in front of the church. Going in, the girl in nun clothing told us to go to the chapel by following the signs.

    Just as she said, there were signs inside the church here and there. And inside the chapel was a huge crowd of children, and one woman who was in-charge of them. There are around sixty children in total. They seem to have attended out of their own will, but I wonder whether if this is supposed to be many or few for this town.

    In any case, we¡¯ll have to sit and wait till the sweeping starts. So I sat with Toll and the others in the chapel, when suddenly light appeared before my eyes... light!?

    ¡°W-Where am I?¡± [Ryouma]

    That¡¯s strange, even though I didn¡¯t pray, the light leading to the divine realm still came. And what¡¯s more is that this isn¡¯t the usual empty, white room.

    ¡°This is a library, right?¡± [Ryouma]

    Surrounding me were numerous wooden bookshelves full of books. But the bookshelves stood not only on the ground, but also in the air. I had thought it to be only a normal library at first, but now that I¡¯ve taken a better look, I suppose it¡¯s not...

    ¡°Oh? So it worked.¡±

    Looking for the unfamiliar voice, I looked up. And there, a thin, young man was floating downwards to where I stood. Well, I should greet him first before anything else.

    ¡°A pleasure to meet you, I am...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard of you. You are the new otherworlder, correct? Rumors of the otherworlder being quite interesting have been going around, you see.¡± [Someone]

    He knows that I¡¯m an otherworlder. As expected, he is a god.

    ¡°I am the god of magic, Fer Noevir. And this space here is mine. It would appear that you are quite surprised at how different this world ispared to the time you met with the other gods. However, you do not need to be alert. It is the same divine realm you are used to. When time passes, you will return. Until then, why don¡¯t we enjoy ourselves?¡± [Fer Noevir]

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    So this is the god of magic, Fer Noevir. ording to Tekun, opportunities of meeting with this god is extremely rare.

    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. Something to this effect is only a matter of fact. I¡¯ve heard of the four gods you¡¯ve met before calling the soul and consciousness of the living to this realm, and so I thought to take the opportunity to try it out myself. Naturally, I wouldn¡¯t do something crude such as being impolite to someone I called out on my whim.¡± [Fer Noevir]

    From our conversation, I found out that he was in the middle of investigating why I¡¯m able toe here. And by chance, I happened to be at the church, so he decided to take the opportunity and called me. In other words, an experiment.

    ¡°I¡¯d be quite pleased if you¡¯d answer some of my questions... do you mind?¡± [Fer Noevir]

    I don¡¯t really have any reason to refuse. Or rather, since I can¡¯t refuse, I just replied by listening. The questions of the magic god started out from my lifestyle, both in my previous world and in this world, to silly questions such as my favorite food, to questions such as what I thought when I was first called here to the divine realm. And my opinions on matters regarding things such as very and war. All sorts.

    For a while now I¡¯ve just been listening, but I can¡¯t seem to find a pattern to his questions... Until finally, thest question came.

    ¡°Thank you for you cooperation. It¡¯s thest question but... what do you think of this world?¡±

    What I think..? Since the questions are so vague, I¡¯m not really sure how to answer. But I think it¡¯s a good world. Of course, I haven¡¯t gone around the world, and my information on it is also scarce. However, the people I¡¯ve met so far have mostly been good people. And I¡¯ve even made friends. Magic and slimes are also interesting, and my life¡¯s been prospering, so I don¡¯t have anyints. With all that in mind, I think it was a good thing that I came to this world.

    ¡°I see... I understand now.¡± [Fer Noevir]

    ¡°Huh? Did I... speak out just now?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You didn¡¯t, I just read your mind.¡± [Fer Noevir]

    Read my mind!? ...I didn¡¯t realize it at all...

    ¡°Sorry about that. I wanted to be on the safe side, so I read your mind.¡± [Fer Noevir]

    ¡°Safe side?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Unfortunately, not all of the otherworlders were like you.¡± [Fer Noevir]

    Apparently, there are those among otherworlders who drowned in the power they¡¯ve been given, andmitted all sorts of heinous acts. There were also those who, despite not having any malicious intent, ended up using their powers incorrectly and caused many tragedies. So it seems he¡¯s observing me. Well, I can understand where he¡¯sing from. It really is dangerous after all to carelessly go on a rampage after having been given cheats.

    ¡°Exactly. As much as possible I don¡¯t want to bring people with dangerous thoughts into this world. The same goes for people who lose themselves to their power. Moreover, we can¡¯t really interfere with the otherworlders normally. The most we can do is have them stop with an oracle, and try to persuade them to make up for their sins. We can interfere in situations where the world¡¯s about to be destroyed, but those kind of situations are rare. Besides, it¡¯s already toote once the situation turns that grim... Anyway, I¡¯m d that you understand.¡± [Fer Noevir]

    He read my mind again.

    After Fer Noevir exined to me while slightlyining, he seemed to calm down.

    ¡°From now on, I¡¯ll be doing a lot of things, but I¡¯ll take care not to drown in power... My apologies for not being able to say outright that I¡¯ll absolutely not do so though...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I can¡¯t trust someone who says something like ¡®absolutely¡¯ so carelessly. It¡¯s more than enough for you to think of keeping my advice to the best of your abilities.¡± [Fer Noevir]

    ¡°Thank you very much. I¡¯ll continue to do my best from now on.¡± [Ryouma]

    After hearing those words, the usual light began to shine.

    ¡°Looks like the time¡¯se. I¡¯ll give you onest advice. There is an abnormality awakening in your body... but it¡¯s not really something that rare. It¡¯s limited to otherworlders from earth, but more or less there is an inclination simr to yours.¡± [Fer Noevir]

    By abnormality, he¡¯s referring to how I went into this realm and went off with a divine tool, right?

    ¡°Is that true?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I haven¡¯t identified the cause, but there are also people in the past who were able to do things that should normally be impossible. It just so happens that you happen to have a simr inclination for some reason. It¡¯s precisely because Gayn and the others have a precedent that we know there¡¯s nothing wrong with your body or your mind. There were also other people who had that inclination, but there weren¡¯t any one who suddenly died or went mad.¡± [Fer Noevir]

    Come to think of it, Kufo mentioned of a saint dying and removing all diseases from this world. That¡¯s definitely not something that a person should normally be able to do.

    ...I haven¡¯t really been minding it, but I wonder if I was actually concerned? Since I¡¯m actually quite relieved now that I¡¯ve heard of these words that were spoken just now.

    ¡°Thank you for telling me that.¡± [Ryouma]

    At the same time I gave my thanks, the light wrapped around me, and I was brought back to the chapel.

    I wonder if my voice reached him. I don¡¯t know the timing for leaving so I¡¯m quite anxious.

    What I was thinking might havee out on my face since Toll and the others told me, ¡°You¡¯re making a strange face you know. Is something the matter?¡± To be honest, Ipletely forgot about these three...

    After that, I tricked the three, and after waiting for a while, the woman who was in charge of the kids, thanked me along with the rest of the kids for participating. Looks like there¡¯s no debut for my magic and scavenger guys here. It¡¯d be faster if I used those guys, but the kids are doing their best to clean up, so I can¡¯t just bring out the slimes just because they¡¯re more efficient. So I just brought out the normal tools, and swept like a normal person along with everyone else.

    The sweeping took until afternoon. After we cleaned the church, we had sandwich for lunch. After that was time for the candies that Rick was looking forward to. We were given a pouch with a ribbon tied to it. Inside were four pieces of cookie. All the kids ate here, so I tried eating it too. The baked sweet smelled good and had just the right sweetness. It also had the strong fruit smell of something like jam added onto it. It was delicious.

    After we finished eating the sandwich and the cookies, all the kids formed groups and started ying in the garden. At the same time there are those who seemed to be looking at the entrance of the church, waiting for something.

    I get the kids who are ying, but what about the kids who are waiting for something? So I tried asking Rick and the others what they were doing.

    ¡°What are you guys doing?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°We¡¯re waiting for uncle!¡± [Rick]

    The one who answered first was Rick. But that answer only told me that you¡¯re waiting for someone.

    ¡°After sweeping, there¡¯s an uncle whoes every time. That uncle teaches us swordsmanship and how to fight.¡± [Toll]

    ¡°How to fight?¡± [Ryouma]

    Hearing Toll¡¯s exnation, apparently there¡¯s a former adventurer who drops by after the kids finish sweeping. That person doesn¡¯t just donate to the church, but also hopes for the orphans who live in the church to be independent when they grow up and have to leave, so he teaches them how to fight free of charge. In other words, a volunteer. And because it¡¯s possible to learn how to fight for free, there¡¯re also kids who admire warriors who join the sweeping on the day of the church¡¯s cleaning.

    Even if you say it¡¯s practice, taking into consideration the age, it¡¯s not at a level where it can be considered much. At least looking at from mine or any adventurer¡¯s perspective, but that can¡¯t be helped.

    ¡°I get Rick, but why do you two want to train?¡± [Ryouma]

    Rick¡¯s a naughty boy so it doesn¡¯t feel weird when he wants to join the training. But as for Toll... well he doesn¡¯t strike me as that sort of person. Is it just because he¡¯s a young boy that he admires adventurers?

    ¡°It¡¯s not bad for girls to fight too, you know? I might get involved with some strange guy in the future, and I need to look after Rick too.¡± [Reni]

    ¡°As for me, my mom told me to train my body a bit... I never intended to cken that much though.¡± [Toll]

    ¡°It¡¯s because your personality¡¯s so girly! If you train then you can be manlier!¡± [Rick]

    ¡°Y-Yeah...¡± [Toll]

    I see... Or rather, Toll, aren¡¯t you just being pushed around?

    As I thought that, the surrounding children grew noisy.

    ¡°He¡¯s here!¡± [Kids]

    ¡°Uncle!¡± [Kids]

    ¡°The scary uncle came!¡± [Kids]

    Hearing that, I looked towards the entrance. And just as they¡¯d mentioned, a man with a scary face was there, heading over here.

    ¡°Oi! Who said my face¡¯s scary!? That was uncalled for!¡± [Scary Uncle]

    Shouted the man as he walked over our direction. It was the guild master of the adventurer guild, Wogan. Apparently by uncle they meant Wogan-san. The surrounding children seem to have already gotten used to Wogan and they didn¡¯t flinch at Wogan¡¯s loud voice. Rather, there were even some kids who clung to him.

    While he was wrapped up with children like those, our eyes suddenly met.

    ¡°Oh? Ryouma. What¡¯re you doing here?¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°The store¡¯s closed today, so I thought I¡¯d walk around the town to spend the day, but then I heard about the church¡¯s cleaning day, so I figured I¡¯d participate. I thought an opportunity like this where I could be a part of themunity and mingle with the others was a good thing.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Well that¡¯s certainly a good thing... Oh, right. Since there¡¯s still some time, how about you go and help me for a bit.¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°Help?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yeah,e on, lend me your ear for a bit...¡± [Wogan]

    After a while, I found out that he apparently wants me to help out with the training.

    In the open area where children are gathered and separated ording to ranking as they practiced their foundations, I took out from my ¡®Dimension Home¡¯ twenty scavenger slimes.

    ¡°Good! Today we¡¯ll do something more practical for your training! Ryouma!¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°Right.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Everyone! Today you¡¯ll have these slimes as your opponents!¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°The wounds will be treated with healing magic, so please don¡¯t hesitate, and go all out.¡± [Ryouma]

    I think the ones who¡¯ll be injured are the kids though. After all, I¡¯ve been training the slimes until now, and they¡¯ve also learned the Taijutsu and physical attack resist skills. Plus their opponents are just using wooden swords. With a child¡¯s strength to boot too. Yep, the slimes probably won¡¯t get hurt at all.

    In any case, I had the slimes focus on dodging, and ordered them to only use their body m for their attack, so the children should be safe. Body ms will only be able to trip people over at most after all.

    ¡°Ryouma, is it ok!?¡± [Rick]

    As Rick asked that, I replied with a, ¡°No problem.¡± At which Rick expressed that he wants to go first. That wasn¡¯t a problem, so Wogan let him.

    Rick wielded the wooden sword that children used. But his eyes were a lot more seriouspared to the other children.

    The scavenger slime didn¡¯t attack and instead waited for Rick to attack first. Rick looked on at the unmoving scavenger slime, and ascertained his aim. And then he swung his sword downwards. But because he¡¯s mostly only studied the form, his swing was wide open, and he had plenty of openings. But above all else, he was slow. He¡¯s a kid though so I guess it can¡¯t be helped... And as expected, the scavenger slime was able to dodge it.

    Frustrated, Rick continued to attack at the slime. And in his frustration, his form gradually fell apart, until hepletely forgot it and started just swinging his sword wildly. That went on for a while until Rick started tire. And when he brought his sword up, the slime took that opportunity and rammed its body into him perfectly. He¡¯s not hurt, but because he was lightly pushed away, Rick fell on his tushy.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough! Rick, your body¡¯s still too small, and you also haven¡¯t done proper training yet, so it can¡¯t be helped that you lost. But you shouldn¡¯t let the blood go to your head just because your sword missed. Just now, except for the first one, everything was a mess and you were full of openings. Next time, you should focus on making each movement as clean as possible.¡± [Wogan]

    Rick looked frustrated but he nodded his head, and went back to the observing children. After that, everyone took turns fighting the slime, and received Wogan¡¯s guidance. After that, Wogan divided the area and had them all battle with the slimes simultaneously.

    During that time I took charge of healing with my healing magic. While Wogan-san patrolled and taught the children individually.

    When it was almost dusk, the training ended.

    After we sent the children off, Wogan-san and I were finally able to rest.

    ¡°Good work today.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yeah, you too. Thanks for your help.¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°Same here, actually. I took the day off, but I didn¡¯t really know what to do, so this turn of events was quite convenient. Also, regarding that matter... I¡¯ll leave it to you.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Information about the magical beast, right? No problem, leave it to me.¡± [Wogan]

    Aspensation for my participation in today¡¯s training, I will be receiving information on various magical beasts in the future. I want to gather as much information as I can on the magical beasts in The Great Forest of Shurus before going. And also, although I¡¯ve already be D Rank I want to be C Rank first before going, since that way I¡¯ll have an easier time entering the forest.

    ¡°It¡¯s payment for your service today, so I can have it ready by tomorrow. The information will depend on the subjugation request¡¯s contents though. Still... don¡¯t push yourself, ok? ...Though since it¡¯s you, I think you¡¯ll do just fine ande back safely, but still... you shouldn¡¯t let your guard down. Also, if you don¡¯t mind,e help me train the kids again. Your slimes make for really good training partners after all. epting the training missions for new guild recruits from the adventurer guild¡¯s also fine.¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to refrain. I¡¯m bad at holding back.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That so?¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°Yes. When I started training the slimes at first I ended up killing quite a few of them too.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°... Oi, isn¡¯t that because you were fighting with slimes?¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°Eh?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Slimes can be defeated even by kids as long as they have a weapon you know? If you can hold back enough not to kill that, then that¡¯s more than enough for a human. Or rather, if you hold back that much, then it won¡¯t be training. Besides, haven¡¯t you been capturing the people attacking you all this time?¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°...¡± [Ryouma]

    Now that he mentions it!

    ¡°You realized it just now!?¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°Yes.¡± [Ryouma]

    Looks like, after training with the slimes, I¡¯ve actually ended up being able to hold back without realizing it. I wonder why I haven¡¯t noticed it until now? ... Maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯ve hurt others before?

    While we were talking, the nun brought us some drinks us thanks. And I gratefully epted it. By the way, the woman who made my status board¡¯s apparently named Riera. And the young girl¡¯s named Bel apparently. Also this church¡¯s apparently being managed by only these two.

    When I asked her if they didn¡¯tck manpower, she said although it¡¯s not easy, she¡¯s being helped out by the orphans and the people in the town so there¡¯s no problem.

    Moreover, she also asked me some questions. They wanted to raise some slimes in the church, so she wanted to know whether learning ve magic¡¯s difficult or not. Whether it¡¯s hard to raise slimes or not. And a bunch of other questions rting to slimes. I started off by answering her questions one at a time, until I finally couldn¡¯t take it and just asked outright, ¡°Why do you want to raise slimes?¡±

    ¡°Because after today, I¡¯vee to realize just how cute slimes are.¡± [Bell]

    ¡°And if I can safely secure them by ve magic, then it¡¯ll also be good as education for the kids.¡± [Riera]

    Is that alright!? To use slimes as education... back in my previous world the most we had were rabbits. Or rather, this world actually had the custom of using animals as a form of education? For the meantime, it¡¯s not like she¡¯s already decided, and they just mentioned that they might do soter.

    While we were talking it became dark. Now, I should go back and have supper at home. Drink some, and then sleep. Then tomorrow, I¡¯ll do my best again.

 Volume 3 - 13

    TL Note: For those of you who don¡¯t know, you can follow me @NeoTrantions on twitter or visit the non-mobile version of this site to see the chat, and check if the chapter¡¯s going to bete.

    Also, chapters get released once a week. Usually Sunday for this one. With that in mind, I¡¯m notte at all, am I? (The goblins were technicallyte though) Haha. Anyways, here¡¯s your chapter guys, enjoy!

    Author¡¯s Note: This time, I¡¯m writing from the perspective of the protagonist¡¯s employee.

    Volume 3 Chapter 13

    Waking up on her assigned bed...

    ¡°Fina, wake up!¡± [Jeanne]

    ¡°Mn... Jeanne...?¡± [Fina]

    ¡°Good grief! Even though you¡¯re fine normally, why are you so bad at waking up?¡± [Jeanne]

    ... Ah... no good, I want to sleep again. Normally, it¡¯s no good to go back to sleep, but it¡¯s our off today, so...

    ¡°Have you already forgotten that everyone¡¯s going out to town today?¡± [Jeanne]

    ¡°Oh right!¡± [Fina]

    From this month onwards, everyone will get a day off together once a week. So we decided to go out to town to y!

    ¡°I¡¯ll get dressed immediately, wait for me!¡± [Fina]

    I hurriedly dressed myself, and went towards the employee¡¯s dorm lobby. There, Maria and Jeanne, two girls who left the same vige I did for money, and our dormmate, Li Ling-san, were waiting.

    ¡°I¡¯m ready! Sorry, I¡¯mte.¡± [Fina]

    ¡°Morning~¡± [Maria]

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind it.¡± [Li Ling]

    ¡°It¡¯s the same as always anyway.¡± [Jeanne]

    I wanted to say something back, but it¡¯s true, so I can¡¯t deny it. Sigh... why am I so bad at waking up?

    ¡°Then, let¡¯s go!¡± [Jeanne]

    As Jeanne said that, she took the lead, and we went out to town. Li Ling-san and Mariaforted me as we followed.

    I started feeling better when we got out, and the four of us enjoyed ourselves in town.

    For breakfast we bought food from the stall selling to the bachelorborers. That store¡¯s main customers were manualborers, so the serving was a little more than a meal for both me and Maria.

    After eating, we went shopping for our daily necessities until noon, at which we looked around for clothes.

    Who would¡¯ve thought that we¡¯d be able to live like this after leaving our homes? We¡¯re truly fortunate. Everyone who left said so, so I thought we¡¯d end up working from morning untilte in the evening every day and still end up without enough money.

    Jeanne and Maria¡¯s probably thought of the same thing. But what actually happened ispletely different. We were given individual rooms, Celma-san makes us delicious food, and our sry¡¯s high. Even after doubling the money I send back home, and despite eating out once a week and shopping, I still have enough left over to save.

    From time to time, Maria has a tendency to be distracted, and once upon a time, she fell over and got hurt. But she was healed with healing magic. And ording to Li Ling-san, even Fei-san¡¯s broken leg was healed. But what¡¯s more is that in both of these cases, they were healed free of charge.

    Healing magic¡¯s normally not something used that freely. But in our store, we can receive that free of charge anytime. Ever since trouble¡¯s been around the store, the boss left the heal slime there permanently to help us.

    In the past, the boss himself was the one managing. But when Robelia-san and the others were around, they were the ones managing. And after Robelia-san¡¯s group left to manage the new branch store, Maria¡¯s been left in charge of the heal slimes. Robelia-san said that it¡¯s an important slime, so I wonder if it was really ok to hand it over that easily. Still... it¡¯s certainly assuring to know that healing magic can be used anytime.

    The ce I work at is really good. When my parents sent me a letter asking and worrying about my workce and my boss, I wrote them back not to worry.

    ¡°Fina, what are you dazing off for? Are you sleeping again?¡± [Jeanne]

    ¡°Sheesh, I¡¯m plenty awake. How long are you going to keep pestering me about that?¡± [Fina]

    ¡°For the meantime, let¡¯s go to ¡®that¡¯ store.¡± [Jeanne]

    By ¡®that store¡¯ we mean the coffee shop that¡¯s recently been popr here in Gimuru. Their confections are rtively cheap, but more than anything, they¡¯re delicious. Maria and Jeanne wanted to go as soon as they heard the rumors, but we decided to go after shopping instead.

    We took the seats by the window. And a female employee came to get our orders. During that time, Jeanne asked me,

    ¡°So... What were you thinking about a while ago?¡± [Jeanne]

    ¡°Nothing in particr, just how lucky we are is all.¡± [Fina]

    ¡°Oh, so it¡¯s that. But yeah... a normally definitely wouldn¡¯t let us live this luxuriously.¡± [Jeanne]

    ¡°We get to send lots of cash back home~, we get to rest~, what a great ce to work at~¡± [Maria]

    ¡°Come to think of it, you three came from the same vige, huh?¡± [Li Ling]

    ¡°That¡¯s right~¡± [Maria]

    ¡°But with no strong magical beasts, no special products, and and that¡¯s not particrly healthy... it¡¯s just a poor vige.¡± [Fina]

    ¡°Since you¡¯re working away for your families, are you guys nning to leave this work eventually?¡± [Li Ling]

    It¡¯s true that there¡¯re those who work away from home and eventuallye back, but we have no ns of doing so.

    ¡°As long as the boss¡¯s fine with it, then we¡¯ll work forever~¡± [Maria]

    ¡°This job allows us to send more money than anything else, and more than anything, we don¡¯t know if we¡¯ll be hired again after retiring once.¡± [Fina]

    ¡°After all, if the boss opens up recruitment, then form the looks of things there¡¯ll be a flood of applicants. Speaking of which, how about you and Fei-san? I heard you were peddlers in the past, but...¡± [Jeanne]

    ¡°Our country¡¯s very dangerous. Me and my dad, we don¡¯t n on going back.¡± [Li Ling]

    What kind of country¡¯s Gilmar anyway? It¡¯s big but really far, so its name¡¯s about all I know about it. While living in the vige, I thought it¡¯d be a good idea to familiarize myself with the name of this country and the surrounding towns, so unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t get time to gather more information regarding the farther countries.

    And from the looks of things, just like me, Maria and Jeanne also couldn¡¯t understand. I mean, I get that it¡¯s dangerous, but exactly how is it dangerous? Realizing that, Li Ling-san exined.

    ¡°For a long long time now, Gilman¡¯s been at war. Not with other countries, but inside. The different nobles inside have been warring on endlessly. Apparently, it¡¯s a scramble for the founder king¡¯s equipment. When the king died, the nobles immediately fought each other in hopes to gain it.¡± [Li Ling]

    ¡°A war to steal a weapon?¡± [Jeanne]

    ¡°Not just a weapon, but also an armor and a helmet. Apparently, the all of the king¡¯s equipment have an amazing power concealed within it. And once one gathers all of those, then that person will receive power and be the strongest, gaining the right to rule the country... or so the story goes. But that story should be fake.¡± [Li Ling]

    ¡°Even until now?¡± [Jeanne]

    ¡°Right now they¡¯re fighting for vengeance. After one seeds, the other will start fighting for vengeance. Like this the cycle just repeats itself. And it¡¯s because of this that the country¡¯s a mess, and there¡¯re plenty of bandits. I don¡¯t have any rtives left in Gilmar, so In to live in this peaceful country.¡± [Li Ling]

    ¡°Then, let¡¯s do our best from now on together ~¡± [Maria]

    ¡°I look forward to working with you as well.¡± [Fina]

    As I was saying that, the tea and sweets came.

    ¡°Sorry for making you wait, here¡¯re your ck tea and seasonal fruits pie.¡± [Waitress]

    Jeanne¡¯s and Maria¡¯s eyes sparkled when they saw the pie the waitress brought with her.

    ¡°It¡¯s here! It¡¯s here! I¡¯ve wanted to eat this!¡± [Jeanne]

    ¡°Itadakima~su.¡± [Maria]

    Following after the two, I and Li Ling-san eat as well. And as soon as that pie entered my mouth, the indescribable sweetness and freshness of various fruits mixing spread inside my mouth. Delicious!

    ¡°Yep, just as rumored, this is good.¡± [Jeanne]

    ¡°I¡¯m in bliss~¡± [Maria]

    Jeanne and Maria praised the food, and Li Ling-san agreed with them. After that, we continued to talk over tea and pie. And after finishing the conversation on clothes, Jeanne suddenly cut in.

    ¡°By the way, what do you guys think of our boss?¡± [Jeanne]

    ¡°What¡¯s this all of the sudden~?¡± [Maria]

    ¡°A letter came from the vige, right?¡± [Jeanne]

    True, a letter dide. A letter from our worrying parents arrived just a few days ago.

    ¡°In my letter, various things like, ¡°Are your senior employees and boss treating you badly? Are they harassing you?¡± You know, various things pressing for my rtionships in work.¡± [Jeanne]

    Well those kind of bosses do exist, so I guess it¡¯s only normal for even Jeanne¡¯s parents to be worried. My letter¡¯s also nonchntly asking about those things.

    ¡°Of course, I wrote back that it¡¯s a good store, and that there¡¯re no men trying to use their position to woo me. But as for the boss, I don¡¯t really know much~¡± [Maria]

    ¡°Really?¡± [Jeanne]

    ¡°Well yeah, after all, I barely anything about him aside from being a good kid. All I know is that he has a lot of slimes, and that he lives in the mine inside a house he built.¡± [Maria]

    Now that she mentions it, that¡¯s certainly the case. Whenever we talk to the boss, it¡¯s mostly about the store¡¯s equipment, the customers¡¯ reception, and the sry of the employees. We barely talk of anything outside that.

    And so, we all started to think for a bit after that. But in the end, we could onlye up with, ¡°He¡¯s a good kid.¡± And we ended the conversation there. I should get to know the boss better, little by little. Li Ling-san and I don¡¯t n on encroaching too much, but Jeanne and Maria look way too eager about this. I should probably take care not to be a bother.

    As I was thinking that, we finished the tea and the sweets. Without noticing it, we¡¯ve overstayed at the store, so we left. After that, we walked around the town for a bit, then we went back to the dorm.

    My wallet got a bit lighter today, but something like this¡¯s no problem. Once I save up a bit, I¡¯ll go with the others to that store again.

 Volume 3 - 14

    TL Note: The chemist referred to in this chapter is the chemist (ËaŽŸ) from final fantasy V. It¡¯s a pretty specific term.

    If you¡¯re curious, then here¡¯s a link: CLICK HERE FOR LINK

    Volume 3 Chapter 14

    Three monthster... (Half a year since parting with the duke and his family)

    It¡¯s been so peacefultely~...

    The ruffians have mostly stopped attacking. Most likely, it¡¯s because more and more of their employers are being arrested. Without anyone to hire them, the ruffians won¡¯t have a reason toe.

    Speaking of which, some of the arrested employers happen to be merchants. Apparently, because I¡¯m a neer, some of them wanted to destroy my store to threaten me, and get me to join them so as to gain the secret behind my business. But because of that, the merchant guild found a reason to investigate their stores. As it turns out, they¡¯ve apparently done the same thing to many other stores. Moreover, there are those amongst them who apparently have a connection with the dark guild. That news really shook Gimuru, and even caused unrest for some time. You might not think so, but severalpanies actually ended up being closed. So now, the guild¡¯s started to investigate even the branches and the main stores in the other towns. This case has really turned into a big one.

    Fortunately though, the merchant guild covered for the affected stores and the people who¡¯ve contracted with them, preventing anything too big from urring.

    To give an example, amongst those who¡¯ve sent a thug to my store is the owner of a pharmacy who wanted to know how I made my deodorizing liquid. That storeowner seems to have been getting his medicine from an exclusively contracted chemist. But because of the recent case, that storeowner¡¯s been arrested and his store, closed, causing the chemists to be unable to conduct their wholesaling business. And now, they¡¯re jobless. But the guild master gave them some appropriate positions such as the ones in a wholesale store, and like that they managed to find a new job.

    Amongst those workces that the guild provided is Serge-san¡¯s Morgan Firm. After all, Serge-san¡¯s store also sells medicine, so they had some room to hire some new employees.

    Incidentally, the Morgan Firm was mixed up in the confusion of this case¡¯s uproar, and the firm managed to take the customers of the now closed store, greatly increasing their profits. After all, one of the stores that were closed were one of the rival stores of the Morgan Firm. The guild master said so herself, so there¡¯s definitely no mistaking it.

    Going back to the main topic...

    There hasn¡¯t been any problemstely, but in exchange, the number of cleaning stores that have opened recently in an attempt to imitate me has increased. Unfortunately for them though, their rate of mixing up theundry and tearing it up is quite high. They¡¯re not able to wash away the dirt from theundry that well either, so in the end they couldn¡¯t get a lot of customers. And even when the stores do manage to do a good job, because they¡¯re using human employees, they are unable to keep up with the sry, resulting in them barely making any profits. As a result, the branches tend to close quite frequently. But that¡¯s not my store¡¯s fault, so no problems came out of it.

    The disturbances in the store have mostly stopped in this regard, but in a ce I don¡¯t know, I¡¯ve apparently begun to stir new trouble.

    This is actually something I heard about sinceing back from Renauph, but apparently Matthew stormed the merchant guild and demanded that the tamer guild be responsible for my store.

    At the start, Matthew wasn¡¯t shouting or yelling, but because the guild master told him to cut his exnation short, he got mad at the guild master, and the few words he yelled was condensed.

    Matthew¡¯s few words were hard to understand, so when he asked for a detailed exnation from the guild master, he was only given the main points.

    There are other merchants like me in the merchant guild who use ve magic. Such people often transport goods bynd or peddle to dangerous ces. People like those and myself are somewhat in-between being a ve magic user and a merchant, but because we¡¯re doing business, we should still be under the jurisdiction of the merchant guild. And normally, the tamer guild shouldn¡¯t try to interject in such cases.

    But of course there are exceptions, such as when the ve magic user¡¯s ve monsters go out of control or on a rampage. It¡¯s dangerous when magical beasts aren¡¯t handled properly, so disciplinary actions in regards to second hand offenses and recurring problems need to be handled swiftly, but those cases are rare. Moreover those cases are limited to when ve magic users are the cause of the problem or when the merchant guild itself is the one who requested the tamer guild¡¯s help.

    But then in that case, I haven¡¯t even caused any problems once, and I haven¡¯t failed any jobs from the tamer guild either. Although to begin with, I haven¡¯t actually taken any jobs from the tamer guild. With no scandals to use, Matthew tried to force the issue by using my young age and my supposedly half-baked knowledge regarding ve magic, since it was only learned from my grandmother, as a reason to get me under the jurisdiction of the tamer guild. At the same time, he pestered the guild master with some shameless lie about how they need to take the future of young ve magic users into consideration or something.

    ¡°It¡¯s imperative that talented, young ve magic users receive appropriate guidance.¡± [Matthew]

    ¡°Regardless how excellent a child is, there¡¯re bound to be problems with his management of magical beasts. And that¡¯s precisely why our tamer guild should guide them.¡± [Matthew]

    Or something like that.

    Of course, the guild master just rejected that. But Matthew wouldn¡¯t give up, and he tried everything he could to try to butter up to the guild master as he proposed the same thing over and over.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t this mean that Matthew¡¯s somehow involved with the disturbances?¡± is what I thought. But then it doesn¡¯t seem to make sense for him to talk directly to the guild master like this... Moreover, I don¡¯t really have any evidence that he employed the ruffians, but it is true that he¡¯s been somewhat troublesome. Still though, why is he being this direct? Doesn¡¯t he know that the guild master is my ally? Or is he really unrted to the ruffians?

    No matter how much I thought about it, I just couldn¡¯t seem to grasp what Matthew¡¯ was thinking, so I figured I¡¯d just leave this to the guild master.

    The guild master said that as long as she kept rejecting the requests, eventually Matthew will give up. But when she said that, a terrifying smile surfaced on her face. Most likely since Matthew¡¯s charade isn¡¯t hurting her in anyway, she ns to stay like this until he makes his move. But then at that time she¡¯ll be dealing with him thoroughly.

    In any case, because of that I don¡¯t have any problems right now. And I¡¯ve been spending my days training andpleting some adventurer requests. There might be a storm brewing in a ce I don¡¯t know of, but from where I am, everything¡¯s peaceful, and not a hint of typhoon can be seen.

    But then all of the sudden, on such a fine day like that, I was suddenly called by the guild master of the adventurer¡¯s guild, Wogan-san, and was brought to his office.

    ¡°Ryouma, it looks like you¡¯ve been doing welltely. There was a time when I thought you¡¯d just work as a merchant, but it seems that¡¯s not the case.¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°It just ended up bing bigger than expected, so I just couldn¡¯t get my hands off of it. Being the owner, I can¡¯t really just leave problems lying around.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Well... that¡¯s true. Once you take a position that has authority over others, it doesn¡¯t matter whether you¡¯re suited for it or not, you have to take responsibility... Going to the main point though, are you free a week from now for two weeks?¡± [Wogan]

    I don¡¯t have anything nned in particr. I¡¯ve already stocked up on the cloth treatments too.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m free.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I see, then in that case I have a request. It¡¯s only a harvesting request, but because of the amount, space magic will be necessary. So can you take on the request as a transporter? The magical beasts you want to fight so much will also be appearing in the gathering points, so... Anyway, I¡¯ll give a more detailed exnation tomorrow after I gather people, soe tomorrow afternoon to the guild. If you feel like participating after hearing the details, then I¡¯ll register your name.¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°I understand, I¡¯ll definitelye. By the way, what¡¯s the monster that¡¯s going to appear in that request?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Treant.¡± [Wogan]

    A treant is a nt type magical beast that looks like a tree. They like to hide themselves amongst the trees, and prey on people and other magical beasts. There should be a lot of them living in the Great Forest of Shurus. There¡¯s a constant threat of surprise attacks from these magical beasts, so they¡¯re considered to be very dangerous.

    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll see you tomorrow afternoon then.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yeah, take care.¡±

    I left the guild and went to the abandoned mine. And then some time after passing the northern gate, I opened my ¡®Dimension Home¡¯ and took out my iron slimes and my metal slimes. I¡¯ve been running with these guystely whenever I went back home or left the house.

    At first, I thought these two¡¯s weakness was their slow mobility, but after some time had passed since taming them, their movements have gotten smoother to the point that there are now way more opportunities when I can take them along with me. I¡¯m honestly quite surprised about that.

    As for the impetus that changed them, well... at first I just had them try to change their body through training, but then they would just fall down from the slope of the mines all the time. But then, I suddenly realized something.

    In those days, they weren¡¯t as flexible as the other slimes and were limited in their transformations, but it was still possible to make slight changes. At the same time, their bodies were also harder than the other slimes who were soft all over. Using those features of theirs that made them quite different from the others, I concocted a n to make them more mobile.

    With my new idea in mind, I ordered them to change their bodies into a ball. It¡¯s not really that much different form their original bodies, so they seeded without a hitch, and the two of them turned into two balls that were slightly smaller than normal. Using this shape, the two slimes were able to move at a speed faster than the other slimes by relying on the slope. This was the beginning of their growth.

    After that, one week of rolling down and crawling back up the hill passed. Then a change began to ur. Previously, the two slimes could only roll on the slope, but now for some reason, the slimes have be able to roll even on level surfaces.

    When I investigated it a bit, the secret was apparently in their nucleus. Transforming is hard, that¡¯s a given. But moving the nucleus inside the body isn¡¯t. So with that in mind, the slimes apparently started transforming into a ball, and then while still in that form, they would move the nucleus inside their body to shift their center of gravity, which would then allow them to move even on level surfaces!

    After that, a few weeks passed again. When they started out, they could only roll slowly. But gradually, they¡¯ve started to transform a part of their body to kick the ground to elerate themselves. Because of that, they¡¯ve be able to move at a simr speed on level ground as they do on downward slopes. It was then that they sessfully learned the ¡®High Speed Movement¡¯ skill.

    Later, they became even more used to transforming a part of their body to elerate that they¡¯ve started to do those small transformations nearly instantly. Turning a part of their body into tentacles is a given, but whenever I see them move, I couldn¡¯t help but be reminded of the tires of the bicycles back in my previous world. Seeing that uncanny resemnce, I thought of having them transform into tires.

    At first, they couldn¡¯t quite get their bnce down properly, and they kept falling. But after a bit of training, they¡¯ve started to slowly change from that ball form, to a fat tire with a small diameter. And then that fat tire gradually turned into a thinner one with a bigger diameter, until eventually they seeded into a tire that looks just like the bicycles¡¯ back in my previous world. Because of this, the two slimes¡¯ speed became even faster.

    The tire form can go fast on straight lines, but unfortunately it¡¯s quite difficult for it to move on sharp curves and tight turns. The ball form can¡¯t go as fast as the tire form, but they can do sudden stops from max speed, allowing them to easily change direction, thereby making turns easy. So the slimes are normally in ball form. But when they need the extra speed, they can transform to tire form to go faster.

    Also, after I fed those two slimes iron and aluminum inrge amounts and made them split, I got a big metal slime and a big iron slime. I was wondering whether they could be a bicycle or not, but apparently it doesn¡¯t work. No matter how many times I tried making a part to ride on, their center of gravity just kept braking, and they couldn¡¯t move at all using the nucleus trick.

    I thought of making something like a chain to pedal with, but unfortunately that didn¡¯t work either. As a unicycle it¡¯s possible, but it¡¯s too slow, so there¡¯s no meaning to it. There¡¯s no way to tell when a magical beast mighte when one is outside the town, so in that regard, the safeness of the unicycle is an out. With that, I postponed the idea.

    Oh, and by the way, the big metal slime and the big iron slime both require around 100 slimes to transform, but because I fed them too much, I now have 200 of them.

    As I thought those things, I ran. When we got closer to the abandoned mine, I called out to the slimes. Actually, I don¡¯t really need to, but I feel like it, so yeah.

    ¡°Just a little bit more! This is thest one!¡± [Ryouma]

    At those words, the slimes transformed into tire form, and elerated. In order not to lose, I also sprinted.

    Not long after, we arrived at my house by the entrance of the mine. I opened my ¡®Dimension Home¡¯ and I let loose the slimes, letting them do as they please. Recently, this has been our routine.

    ¡°Recently, these guys have started developing an individuality...¡± [Ryouma]

    Lately, whenever I let the slimes out, most of them have been performing self-practice. Most of them would practice with their staffs or their spears, while the metal and iron slimes would mostly practice running around the mine. They tend to run a bit too fast, so there were some idents in the past. So in order to keep that from happening, I created a race track for them.

    The idents happened because they sped up too much, and since their bodies were hard, they ended up flying. In other words, they didn¡¯t have much grip. It¡¯s only a given they¡¯d get into an ident though, after all, they ran like the tires of those four-wheel drive cars that go off road in television back in my previous world. Jumping about, bumping into the mountain, and falling off a cliff... if it wasn¡¯t for their hardness and physical attack resist skills, they would have already died long ago.

    Recently those slimes have also started to moderately soften their skin, allowing them to absorb the shocks better. Also, from the looks of things, they¡¯ve properly learned to grip the surface, and the instances of jumping about has be very rare. The ground of the race track is also pavement, so there¡¯s really been little to no identstely.

    ... But still aren¡¯t these guys growing up too fast? It¡¯s not a bad thing, buttely I¡¯ve been getting surprised so many times, it¡¯s starting to be a little troublesome. If I try to rx and focus on my research, I¡¯ll end up forgetting about the other things, so I have to be careful.

    Incidentally there¡¯s something I don¡¯t understand. Lately, there have been slimes that do nothing but jump in circles nonstop in the same ce. Are they bunny-hopping?

    That aside,tely I¡¯ve also been training the magic of the earth slimes and the dark slime. The other slimes can grow as long as I give them their training menu, but I enjoy studying with these slimes that can use elemental magic.

    The number of slimes that can use elemental magic has also increasedpared to before. Since the slimes managed to evolve into earth slimes and dark slimes, then I figured that they should also be able to turn into slimes of other elements. The result is that I got the wind slime and the light slime... But then a question came up. Why is it that the slimes I catch generally favor earth element and dark element magic power the most?

    The slimes I caught number 10. The number of slimes that like the wind element is only 1. I couldn¡¯t find any slimes who liked the elements: fire, water, ice, lighting, wood, poison, light, or space magic. And no matter how much I fed the slimes that liked neutral magic power, they wouldn¡¯t evolve.

    The wind slime evolved within 3 days, but the light slime who didn¡¯t like the light element took 3 months to evolve. The remaining eight slimes haven¡¯t evolved yet. But as expected, it¡¯s best to feed them their preferred magic power as that¡¯s the fastest way for them to evolve.

    Also, although the wind slime and the light slime have different elements from the dark slimes and earth slime, their statuses are mostly the same.

    Wind Slime

    Skills:

    Wind Magic Lv2

    Wind Attribute Resistance Lv8

    Wind Magic Absorption Lv1

    Jump Lv1

    Digestion Lv3

    Absorption Lv3

    Split Lv1

    Light Slime

    Skills

    Light Magic Lv2

    Light Attribute resistance Lv8

    Light Magic Absorption Lv1

    Jump Lv1

    Digestion Lv3

    Absorption Lv3

    Split Lv1

    When this magic absorption is hit with an attack magic, then provided it¡¯s the same element as itself, its magic power will be sucked, and the force of the attack will weaken. It seems to be a skill used to nourish one¡¯s self. With this skill along with the resistance skill, the damage received from the same element will be mostly negated.

    Also, the magic the wind slime can use are ¡®Breeze¡¯ and ¡®Wind Cutter¡¯. The light slime can use ¡®Light¡¯ which lights up the surrounding area, and the low level light element attack magic, ¡®Light Ball¡¯. Its abilities seem to have an effect on skeleton and other undead ss type monsters, but there¡¯re no other effects aside from that. Right now, I¡¯m receiving some lighting from it inside the mine. Overall, it¡¯s an undead specialist slime.

    ¡°Well then, it¡¯s time for training.¡±

    As I began the day¡¯s training, I thought to myself, ¡°Should I keep the training light in preparation for tomorrow?¡±

 Volume 3 - 15

    TL Note: Sorry for the dys, here¡¯s the chapter forst sunday. Yes, that means there¡¯ll still be a chapter for this sunday.

    Volume 3 Chapter 15

    The next day...

    As promised, I went to the guild. There, I saw Miya-san in the room I was brought to. I spent the time idly chatting with her as we waited for the others, at which Wereanna-san¡¯s group, Raypin-san, and Asagi-san came one after another. Thest one to arrive was Wogan-san. At his arrival, he immediately began to exin the details of the request.

    With Wogan¡¯s exnation finished, I found out that the request is about securing lumber by hunting treants and carrying them back home. Our goal, at the very minimum is to have at least around 300 treants. But of course, if there¡¯s more, then the reward will also increase.

    I don¡¯t know exactly how much 300 treants will end up being, but I do know that will be an amazing amount. And that¡¯s most likely the reason why they called someone like me who can use space magic.

    I don¡¯t have any problems with it in particr, so I decided to participate. The others did too from the looks of things.

    But then, after everyone finished epting the request, Wereanna-san asked,

    ¡°Considering how much treant wood we¡¯re gathering... Is there something going on?¡± [Wereanna]

    ¡°Yeah... You know about the poption decline of this town, right?¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°Well yeah. After all, one of the mines did get abandoned. It might have only been one mine, but there are still quite a few guys who lost their job.¡± [Wereanna]

    ¡°Right, and that¡¯s the reason why. The things is, although this story¡¯s old news by now, a section of the public office once tried to think of a way to increase the town¡¯s profits, but unfortunately the head back then wasn¡¯t that passionate about it, so nothing came out of it. But the new head of the public office knew about that event, and this time, he thought of asking for their opinion. The result? They decided to gather people who can make some specialty products, but unfortunately... this town doesn¡¯t have anything noteworthy aside from the mines and iron.¡± [Wogan]

    How about being a tourist spot for the Rimel Birds?

    ¡°Can¡¯t the rimel birds be considered a specialty of the town?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Well that idea was proposed too, but the thing is that the season that the rimel birds appear in is also the time when the grell frogs are being hunted, so it¡¯s not possible to make them a tourist attraction. We can¡¯t stop the hunts either. And besides, something like that is temporary. What the public office wants is something that¡¯s avable all year round.¡± [Wogan]

    Eh¨C...I suppose town development isn¡¯t that simple, huh? But while I don¡¯t really get it, isn¡¯t it good enough as long as there¡¯s something that sells well? So wouldn¡¯t it be better not to be so picky, and just make the most out of something already known to be profitable? Like that one or maybe even a festival.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it fine even if it¡¯s temporary? You could do it as something like ¡®the vor of the season¡¯ or something...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That¡¯s not a bad idea, but this is a mining town, remember? If the mine runs out in the future, then the town will only be able to make a profit during that season. So with that in mind, it¡¯s imperative that the town find something that can be profited off of for the whole year.¡± [Wogan]

    Ahh, now that he mentions it...

    ¡°Well it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re trying to say. In fact, I¡¯ve actually also thought that it¡¯d be fine to make some profit gradually. But... Well in any case, the discussion this time around went that way, and in the end it was decided for an arena to be made beyond the southern gate of the town to attract tourists. There, those who wish to participate in a bout will be able to, and at the same time, spectators who want to watch will have lodging avable for them to stay at. As well as other facilities that might be of service to them. Moreover we also n to make some profit out of the spectating fees and the betting. It¡¯ll take a lot of money to have everything ready, but in exchange, the profits will also be equally big.¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°Fighting and gambling, huh? The profits will definitely be big, but in exchange, the public order will probably greatly decline, de gozaru.¡± [Asagi]

    Yeah I imagine a number of ruffians and thugs will probablye.

    ¡°And that¡¯s exactly why it¡¯s basically a new town. All of the facilities, including the lodging for both the guests and the participants, will be built in the new town. As for this town, it will remain a mining town, and nothing will change. It¡¯d be better if you just consider that town and this town to only happen to be managed by the same people, but arepletely different from each other.

    Moreover, we¡¯ll also raise the budge on security, and hire more guards in order to keep the public order safe. The gambling will also be managed by the town. With that kind of thorough management, nothing should go wrong, right?

    And to answer Wereanna¡¯s question, the design and construction of the arena is being handled by Perle Bekentein.¡± [Wogan]

    At those words, everyone besides me was shocked. Is that person famous?

    ¡°Umm... What kind of man is that person?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t know, Ryouma? He is the second son of Viscount Bekentein. He was originally supposed to help manage the region under his brother, but then he left his family, and went on to be an architect, de aru.¡± [Raypin]

    ¡°As an architect, he¡¯s an unparalleled genius, but at the same time, he¡¯s famous for being an entric.¡± [Miya]

    A rather deep person... in more ways than one. Not that I know anything about him.

    ¡°Well... that¡¯s how it is. After sounding it out, he quickly took the job, apparently thinking it¡¯d be good for his image. But when he did, he gave us a condition. ¡®I want to use treant wood for the arena, so unless it¡¯s treant wood, I refuse to work on it!¡¯ he said. And that¡¯s how we ended up in the current situation, where we¡¯re starting to gradually stock up on those treant wood.¡± [Wogan]

    The fastidiousness of an artist? Treant wood being used for architecture is definitely not unheard of, however, it¡¯s something generally used for magical contraptions, so it¡¯s not usually used as construction material. Considering that this architect is asking for something rather unreasonable, I suppose his skill must be equally considerable. Then again he is known to be an unparalleled genius.

    I mused to myself like that for a bit. After which, the meeting ended, and we were dismissed.

    The Day of Departure

    I¡¯ve had to do quite a number of preparations for today actually. First, I had to put away all the unneeded belongings from my ¡®Dimension Home¡¯ to the storage room in the mine. Then in order to keep thieves froming in and stealing from me, I blocked the entrance with earth magic.

    After I finished storing my belongings and ensuring that it¡¯s safe, I then went on to train to increase the space of my ¡®Dimension Home¡¯ spell that I¡¯ve learned from Sebasu-san. When I first tried expanding it, I felt the burden on me increase. But leaving it to the abundance of my magic power, I was able to repeat the expansion several times as I tempered myself at the same time. In the end, I managed to create a space equivalent to the size of the first floor of my store in Gimuru. Now I¡¯m not exactly privy to the treants¡¯ sizes, but I reckon a space this size would be able to fit in a considerable amount of lumber.

    Currently, I¡¯m at the south gate of Gimuru, standing here by myself as I wait for the others.

    ¡°Are they noting yet?¡± [Ryouma]

    I¡¯m standing here, looking around me, but not one of them is in sight. At that, I couldn¡¯t help but wonder whether they¡¯reing or not. But then as I thought that, I saw, from a considerable distance away, the figures of Raypin-san and Asagi-san, walking towards me.

    ¡°Good morning, Raypin-san, Asagi-san!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Good morning, de aru.¡± [Raypin]

    ¡°Good morning, Ryouma. How are you, de gozaru?¡± [Asagi]

    ¡°I¡¯m alright.¡± [Ryouma]

    After that, we rendezvoused with Miya-san and the rest. Then we got on the carriage with two horses that was prepared by the guild master. Soon as we got our food allowance, we set off. Incidentally, the carriage we were lent, was freight-ss, driven by Mizelia-san.

    We continued like this for some time until we finally reached a in with trees growing here and there. It was a tranquil and heartwarming scenery. And within that was the object of the request we epted. Oh and by the way, the leader this time around happens to be Asagi-san.

    ¡°Then Miya and I along with Wereanna¡¯s group will be responsible for defeating the treants. Raypin and Ryouma will be in charge of transporting the defeated treants. At the same time, Raypin will also be in charge of looking for treants and watching our perimeters. Lastly, Ryouma, you won¡¯t mind escorting Raypin, right, de gozaru?¡± [Asagi]

    Hearing that, I responded with a nod, indicating that I don¡¯t have any problems with it. Although that¡¯s how the n basically is, it¡¯s not like I won¡¯t be fighting at all. After all, everyone¡¯s already aware that the reason I participated in this request is because I wanted to umte experience in regards to fighting treants. So it¡¯s a given that I¡¯ll also be getting some fighting experience.

    After that, we talked a bit about what to watch out for regarding the treants and their weaknesses.

    The treants attack by whipping their branches from above, and their weak point is the lump that looks like a human¡¯s face on their body. Hitting that or around it will greatly damage it, but if you cut it off or break it from below its face, you can kill it. Since our objective this time is to gather lumber, it¡¯s important to minimize the damage on the treants as much as possible.

    While there¡¯s no need to fuss too much about not damaging it, it¡¯s important to keep it in mind.

    And should the case where a higher variation, an elder treant, appears, then it¡¯s all the more important to take caution. Elder treants move extremely slow, but the branches they move are far thicker than the normal treants, causing it to have just that much more power behind each attack. But more than anything, the elder treants are able to use earth magic. So with that and its ability to stop movement with its branches and vines, it¡¯s the natural enemy for vanguards.

    After that, distinguishing between treants and other trees can only be done by spotting its face. So if the face is located in a blind spot, then distinguishing bes very difficult. But fortunately, the treants possess a significant amount of magic power. So with the ¡®Magic Perception¡¯ skill, it¡¯s possible to tell them apart by figuring out which tree is emitting magic power.

    Lastly, although I¡¯m digressing here, the treants are apparently able to move. They¡¯re slower than slimes, but they can uproot themselves and creep about slowly.

    After the discussion ended, I went to ask Raypin-san about magical beasts. And from what I hear, magical beasts are flora, fauna, and natural objects of the world that change and propagate ording to magic power. Using treants as an example, treants are normal trees that became magical beasts with magic power. Since mutation urs with magic power, then trees bing a magical beast isn¡¯t that strange.

    When I heard that, I couldn¡¯t help but ask whether people would be affected or not. And apparently, although it¡¯s possible to get intoxicated from too much magic power, causing the body to crumble. The human body will naturally release the excess magic power, preventing something like mutation from urring.

    Since we were on the topic, I took the opportunity and asked about magic power intoxication, and it would appear that people with naturally high magic power are rarely affected. And even for normal people, it only really happens when they use too much magic jewels or eat too much magical beast meat. But since most of the magical power are concentrated in the blood of the magical beasts, as long as one refrains from blood, there shouldn¡¯t be any problem eating meat. So overall it¡¯s not a particrly serious illness, and catching it from eating meat is so rare, that you can only really me your luck if that were to be the case.

    While talking, we leisurely rode our carriage as we paid careful attention to our surroundings. Raypin told me that because it¡¯s obvious when a magical beast is attacking here, it¡¯s easy to dodge weak foes. Moreover, there¡¯re few magical beasts that would actually dare attack seven adventurers here in Gimuru. And justas he said, not a single attack came at us since our departure from the vige.

    Along the way, I talked a lot with Raypin-san about magical beasts and slimes. When Mizelia-san asked me about the ces I¡¯ve travelled to so far, as soon as I mentioned miso and soy sauce, Asagi-san started to talk enthusiastically.

    ¡°Miso soup, that¡¯s so nostalgic, de gozaru... Who would¡¯ve thought that Renauph would actually manage to get their hands on miso and soy sauce? Thank you for sharing this information with me, de gozaru.¡± [Asagi]

    ¡°If you¡¯d like, I could create miso soup for tonight¡¯s supper. I have the ingredients for it after all.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Is that true!? Then by all means, de gozaru!¡± [Asagi]

    Apparently, Asagi-san was born and raised in a dragonewt ind where they used miso and soy sauce.

    When nightfall came, I took charge of the day¡¯s supper. And inside Raypin-san¡¯s ¡®Dimension Home¡¯ I took out miso soup, meat and potato stew, andstly, rice.

    The food was well-received by everyone, but Asagi-san shed tears at the nostalgia of miso soup.

    ¡°Hey Asagi, could it be that you haven¡¯t been able to visit your hometown for a long time now?¡± [Wereanna]

    ¡°Yes, my home town is in an ind far away, so visiting isn¡¯t something I can casually do, de gozaru. But more than anything, the teaching in the dojo I studied at, dictated that those who havepleted their training to some extent must go and be adventurers. So once one reaches that level, they will be driven out of the ind and be forced to go on a journey. And until one is able to be S Rank in the guild or at least 50 years pass, then that student may not return home.¡± [Asagi]

    ¡°50 years? Isn¡¯t that a bit much?¡± [Wereanna]

    ¡°It¡¯s apparently the number of years that the founder of the dojo went around the world. During that time, one must either spend his time training his sword or spend his time learning from the things he sees and hears in his travel. Surviving in the outside world is both a training and a trial. After all, there are powerful magical beasts here and all sorts of people that can¡¯t be found in the ind, de gozaru.¡± [Asagi]

    ¡°But what about protecting your vige? Won¡¯t it be a problem since the strong people of your vige leave and can¡¯te back for 50 years?¡± [Wereanna]

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry. The only ones who leave the ind are those who wish to master the sword. Those who study the sword to protect others, those who work as guards for the vige, those who are still training at the dojo, the masters of the dojo, and the ones who are still in the vige are all capable of defending the vige. Moreover, there¡¯s also a number of them, so there shouldn¡¯t be any need for anxiety, de gozaru.¡± [Raypin]

    We talked like this over supper, and when we finished, we all slept in our respective sleeping bags. Still... I¡¯m honestly quite surprised at how wide this ce is.

    Even Raypin-san, in the past, couldn¡¯t go back home to Gimuru for a long time because of his research. And he spent a long time expanding his ¡®Dimension Home¡¯ in order to fit in all of his belongings, research materials, and specimens. ording to him, it was faster to just increase the space of his ¡®Dimension Home¡¯ rather than clean up, so he did that instead.

    But nowadays, he¡¯s rarely away from Gimuru, so he would often just leave his belongings at home. Moreover, he needed to get as much space as he could for transporting the lumber, so he had to remove as much objects from his ¡®Dimension Home¡¯ as possible. Because of that it feels rather excessively big. Then again, its size is around twice that of my ¡®Dimension Home¡¯. Right, I should do my best too.

    There wasn¡¯t anything left to do after we finished whatever preparations were needed, so we just went to sleep.

    Sleep early, and tomorrow, we¡¯ll set off at sunrise.

 Volume 3 - 16

    TL Note:

    Changed one of the lines to the "your back..." as suggested in one of thements.

    Volume 3 Chapter 16

    While Ryouma was leisurely riding the carriage, a ss was being held at the Imperial Capital¡¯s Academy.

    ¡°Let¡¯s begin the ss. First¨C¡± [Teacher]

    The teacher uninterestedly read the textbook out loud, and began a dull ss with no appeal. The students listened to that quietly. Amongst that group of students was a girl. It was Elia.

    She straightened her posture, and listened carefully to the instructor. But that was only a front, as deep inside she was actually doing her best to endure the tediousness of the ss.

    When the morning ss ended, she left her seat, and she went to a corner of the school building where magic training is to take ce. The magic training area was opened to allow students to use it to train their magic in their own time. And because it¡¯s rarely used for anything else aside from magic training, it¡¯s not a popr spot.

    Elia sat herself on a bench at a corner of the area, and she began to eat her lunch. Afterwards, she trained her magic until the end of lunch break. Then she went to her afternoon ss, and when that ended, she went back to her room in her dormitory.

    It¡¯s already been a month since she¡¯s enrolled in this school. And ever since, this has been her daily pattern.

    ¡°Fuu...¡± [Elia]

    Elia let out a sigh as she stopped releasing her magic.

    ¡°It¡¯s only been a month, and yet I¡¯m already at the end of my patience... Who would¡¯ve thought that the sses here would be this boring?¡± [Elia]

    From the first year until the third year, students of this school must study the foundation and culture of various things. From the fourth year until the sixth, one must study specialized knowledge and skills. After graduating, depending on what path one took in school, he or she will enter into further studies or apprenticeship.

    Elia who has just enrolled is currently studying the basics of the basics. The basic history of the country, geometry, arithmetic, magic, and with stamina building in mind, swordsmanship. But those are all things that all nobles, not just Elia, have already studied.

    Such sses were simply too easy for Elia. Even if her grades are good as a result, there¡¯s no sense of achievement.

    Moreover, there wasn¡¯t even a single person from her ss of 40 that attempted to talk to her. Of course, this wasn¡¯t because they were bullying her or ignoring her. Rather it¡¯s because of her title as the daughter of the duke coupled with her frightening magic power that they were unable to talk to her. As much as possible they didn¡¯t want to get involved with her.

    Because Elia knew that she was being avoided, she didn¡¯t bother waiting for anyone toe and talk to her. Even excluding the people she naturally can¡¯t get along with, forcefully trying to mingle with others will only cause them to put up a fake act,pletely unable to refuse because of fear. And of course, Elia hated that sort of rtionship.

    As a result, despite having been enrolled for over a month already, Elia¡¯s friend number was zero. Like this, Elialia spent her days in the school enduring the boredom and the loneliness.

    ¡°Even though I already knew about it before enrolling... haa...¡± [Elia]

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, miss?¡± [Somebody]

    ¡°Eh!?¡± [Elia]

    Without knowing when someone had neared her, Elia turned around to that voice.

    ¡°Oh... You¡¯re Earl Willdan¡¯s...¡± [Elia]

    When Elia turned around, shock visibly showed on the face of the person who had called her. And she quickly introduced herself as she bowed her head.

    ¡°Please pardon my rudeness. My name is Michelle, the first daughter of Earl Willdan. I was unable to distinguish thedy as the daughter of Duke Jamil from behind, please excuse myck of manners.¡± [Michelle]

    She is Michelle Willdan. Although the daughter of an earl, she is an udylike female student. Her short hair that¡¯s too short to reach her shoulders has been cut without much thought. Her clothes are a mix of a man¡¯s pants and a woman¡¯s shirt. Her belongings look to ce greater emphasis on practicality rather than on looks as she carried with her a big, in, ck bag. And her androgynous face made her appear to be a boy merely disguising as a girl.

    ¡°Rude? The differences in social ssses don¡¯t apply to this ce, you know? Besides I¡¯m not particr about it either myself.¡± [Elia]

    This school makes all of its students wear uniforms regardless of whether one is a noble or amoner under the pretense of having no distinction between social sses. However, they don¡¯t regte essories. Because of that the noble students purposely wear gaudy hair pins made out of gold or jeweled rings in order to show off their status.

    Elia, however, isn¡¯t wearing any of those gaudy essories. And although she might be wearing the proper school attire, because of theck of essories, Michelle mistook her for amoner female student.

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± [Michelle]

    As Michelle said that, sheughed. Unlike the others, Elia couldn¡¯t feel any sense of wanting to avoid her from Michelle. Because of that Elia decided to try talking to her.

    ¡°Would it be fine to call you Michelle-san?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Of course, mdy.¡±

    ¡°Please call me Elia. I¡¯ve said it before just now too. Social status has no relevance in this ce.¡± [Elia]

    Hearing that, Michelle smiled and said,

    ¡°... Fufu, then I¡¯ll be calling you Elia. Also, I¡¯d like to keep our speech less formal if you don¡¯t mind, it¡¯s exhausting after all.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Very well then. I prefer it that way myself actually.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°I see. By the way, I asked the same thing a while ago, but... is anything the matter?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°No, there aren¡¯t any problems in particr. It¡¯s just that this school¡¯s sses are rather...¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Ahh... I know exactly what you mean. I¡¯m also only pretending to be taking the sses, and during break times, I avoid talking to people in order not to be caught in some weird clique.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Oh, is that how it is? I was under the impression that you were popr?¡± [Elia]

    Michelleughed.

    ¡°Haha, well certainly at first. The girls mistook me for a guy and got quite attached ¨C oh by the way I¡¯m wearing this cause it¡¯sfortable ¨C anyway as soon as they found out that I¡¯m a girl, they distanced themselves from me. Well it¡¯s not that much of a problem though, after all I¡¯m not really that sociable. Besides it was troublesome, so I was actually gradually avoiding it.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°I see. Then why are you here today?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Today¡¯s different. Because today I specifically came here to experiment with this.¡± [Michelle]

    As she said that, she took a piece of paper from her bag. On that paper was a magic formation drawn by pencil. Seeing that, Elia said,

    ¡°Magic formation... Michelle-san are you an alchemist?¡± [Elia]

    At those words, Michelle¡¯s eyes opened wide for a moment, but immediately after her face turned into a smile bigger than any of the smiles she¡¯s showed so far.

    ¡°Unfortunately, I¡¯m not an alchemist. I¡¯m only studying magic formations.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Magic formations, was it?¡± [Elia]

    Magic formation is an extremely minor branch of study in this world. It stems from the phenomenon where magic power is able to pass through to alchemy¡¯s magic formation, causing it to shine bright. The study of magic formation is all about answering the question why the formation is able to do that.

    As she said that, Elia looked deeply at the piece of paper with a magic formation drawn on it with pencil.

    ¡°So there was that kind of study.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°It¡¯s a study that branches from alchemy, but because of theck of results, it¡¯s gradually declined. I came here to this school because I heard that there was a teacher who teaches it here... But unfortunately, the teacher has apparently retiredst year, so now I have no choice but to study it by myself. Well at least I have plenty of time.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°That¡¯s right. By the way, Elia.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°What is it?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°You seem to be quite familiar with how alchemy uses magic formation, huh? There¡¯re plenty of rumors going around regarding alchemy, saying a magic formation isn¡¯t needed, instead some sort of medicine or sacrifice is a requirement. Moreover, you don¡¯t seem to have any ill will towards alchemy either.¡± [Michelle]

    Hearing that, Elia couldn¡¯t help but think to herself, ¡°Oops.¡± At that moment, Michelle, sensing something was amiss, quickly revised her words in a panic.

    ¡°For the record, I¡¯m not prejudiced against alchemy or anything. In fact, if I had to say what I thought of it, then I¡¯d lean towards being interested in it.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Interest?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°It¡¯s because the study of magic formations originated from alchemy, so I have some interest in its roots as well. It¡¯s not really that strange, right? Although I do hate those alchemists who use alchemy as a way tomit fraud, I don¡¯t believe that all alchemists are like that. There are also alchemists in this world who like schrs of the field of magic formation continue in their research without bearing fruit. Or at the very least, I believe this to be the case.¡± [Michelle]

    Hearing that, Elia was a little relieved.

    ¡°I see.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°If possible, I¡¯d like you to teach me a bit about alchemy, but...¡± [Michelle]

    But even if she says that, Elia herself doesn¡¯t know any alchemy. Well she knows a little from Ryouma, but it¡¯s not at a level where she could teach it to other people. And more than anything, even if she does im to have no prejudice, Elia still can¡¯t help but feel hesitant to talk about Ryouma being an alchemist to other people. And Elia definitely won¡¯t tell anyone about the things he makes.

    ¡°Unfortunately, I¡¯ve only had the opportunity to meet with an alchemist, and I¡¯m not actually studying it.¡± [Elia]

    Elia refused as if it was a given. In response, Michelle didn¡¯t say anything more, and she meekly backed down. Then she began to prepare for her experiment.

    Michelle thenid the paper on the floor, and she opened it. After which she then took out some pink colored grains from her bag, and mixed it with ink.

    ¡°Michelle-san, what is that?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°This ink is just an ink. As for the grains, they¡¯re fire and neutral magic jewels that were pulverized and mixed together. Our magic formation differs from the magic formation of alchemists in that magic power can¡¯t pass through to the formation with the formation alone. Without mixing ink and powdered jewels, it¡¯s not possible to pass magic power to it. And in the end, what we aplish isn¡¯t the same magic formation the alchemist¡¯s use but our own version of the magic formation.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Then in that case, is there anything different?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°From what I currently know, the effect of the magic formation changes based on the attributes of the magic jewel powder that the ink was mixed into. While the ratio of the distribution of the magic jewel only adjusts its power.

    For example, if the ink is mixed with a fire attribute magic jewel, and from that a magic formation is drawn, then any magic power that passes through it will be fire attribute. As for the strength of the fire, the distribution of the ink will deal with that, and the formation will be responsible for managing the mes.

    The formation isn¡¯t just some scribbles either. First, one must draw a circle. Then inside that, a pattern should be drawn, but I don¡¯t understand that part much.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°What do you mean you don¡¯t understand much?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°The pattern drawn within the circle also affects the effect and efficiency of the formation. But unfortunately, I don¡¯t know what the most efficient pattern is. So I¡¯ve been trying out one formation after another in order to find out what¡¯s efficient. But because of that, I¡¯vee to need arge number of magic jewels. And as a result, I¡¯m always in need of money. Otherwise, I can¡¯t continue with my research.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is... By the way, why are you doing this research again?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°The reason I¡¯m researching? Well that¡¯s because it¡¯s interesting. It¡¯s an unpopr topic without much data or progress on it. Which is really just another way of saying that there¡¯s still plenty left to discover, right? So I want to unveil its secrets and see if I can make use of it.

    And besides, even if I look like this, I am still the daughter of an earl. And the Willdan family has been a family of researchers for generations. If someone amongst us wants to research, then the family will without question wish them good luck and provide them the funds.¡± [Michelle]

    When Michelle said that, Elia saw a slight resemnce to Ryouma in Michelle. As Michelle drew the magic formation with her ink, she said,

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what effect wille out of this, so back off a little.¡± [Michelle]

    Just as she was told, Elia took her distance. After confirming that Elia had distanced herself from the formation, Michelle allowed her magic power to flow into the formation. And the formation glowed bright red. When Michelle saw that reaction, she quickly distanced herself from it. And after five seconds, a small ball of fire flew out of the formation as the explosive sound like that of firecrackers resounded.

    ¡°Kyaa!?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Kyaa!?¡± [Somebody]

    ¡°Oh, oh... to think this kind of reaction... hmm?¡± [Michelle]

    Although Michelle was preupied with the reaction of the magic formation, she still noticed that there weren¡¯t just one, but two surprised voices that cried out behind her. At that, she turned, and just like her, Elia did so as well. There, Miyabi, a female fox girl student, was apparently just about to enter the training area. Seeing that, Michelle called out to her.

    ¡°Looks like I scared you. My apologies.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°This is the training area, so it¡¯s only a given that loud sounds would boom out around here. If anything, the one in the way is me, for that please excuse me.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Oh, no, no. Please don¡¯t mind it. Rather than that, you are Miyabi-san, correct?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°She¡¯s in the same ss, right?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°It¡¯s an honor to be remembered not only in face but in name as well by the daughters of the Willdan Household and the Jamil Household.¡± [Miyabi]

    Replied Miyabi in a fashion meant for interacting with nobles.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to talk so politely. Miyabi-san, are you going to practice now?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°No, actually, mdy. There is something that I would like to pass on to you.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°To me?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve been entrusted with a message from someone thedy knows. Which is why I¡¯vee here today.¡± [Miyabi]

    If Miyabi just outright dered that it was a man who had entrusted her that, and someone managed to hear it, then it might catch fire and be a topic for gossips. So in order to prevent that, Miyabi¡¯s been looking for an opportunity to talk to her privately. And after a month, she saw Elia enter the training area alone as usual.

    But unfortunately, this time, Michelle was around, causing her to panic. But of course, she was calm enough to be able to answer when asked.

    In order to plot this meeting, Miyabi¡¯s been getting information from other people regarding Elia¡¯s and the personality of the other nobles. From that she found out that Elia and Michelle don¡¯t ce much emphasis on the differences between social statuses. A normal response won¡¯t cause any problems. Knowing that lessened the mental burden on her. But other than that, she also had the message from Ryouma as an excuse for calling out to her.

    ¡°A message for me?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Yes. Would thedy happen to know the name, Ryouma?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°From Ryouma-san!?¡± [Elia]

    Ryouma thought of creating an impetus for Elia to make friends, but he wasn¡¯t sure whether they would actually be friends or not. After all, whether they get along or not is something that the two of them will have to decide for themselves. That¡¯s why he made his move in order to get Elia and Miyabi to meet, but he didn¡¯t say anything about Miyabi to Elia.

    What Ryouma didn¡¯t tell Elia was that they both shared amon acquaintance. He did this thinking that there¡¯s no need to since there are plenty of other topics to talk about. That and another reason was that Ryouma also held some mischievous thoughts, wanting to surprise Elia a bit.

    ¡°It would appear that thedy does in fact know him.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Yes, but why would Miyabi-san know Ryouma-san?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°I came to know him through my dad. And he told me to pass on a message to a girl named Elialia in the academy.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is...¡± [Elia]

    At that, Michelle spoke.

    ¡°That Ryouma is Elia¡¯s acquaintance?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Yes, he¡¯s a bit strange, but he¡¯s my friend.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Well he¡¯s certainly a bit strange...¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Oh...¡± [Michelle]

    Hearing Elia¡¯s words, Miyabi absent-mindedly said that. And hearing about how weird Ryouma is, Michelle became curious.

    ¡°And, what did Ryouma want you to pass to me?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°¡¯Do your best,¡¯ is all he said. It seems he¡¯s worried about you.¡± [Miyabi]

    Those words were enough for Elia to guess Ryouma¡¯s intentions. After all, she knew very well that there¡¯s no need to ask someone to say only a few words. Moreover, writing it by letter is more than enough.

    So the only reason then must be that Ryouma remembered what Elia had told him before parting at the town of Gimuru about how she had no friends. And so he tried to create an opportunity for Elia to make friends.

    ¡°Thank you very much. I¡¯ve properly received his message. And since we¡¯ve met like this anyway, it must be some sort of fate. If you don¡¯t mind, would you like to be friends with me?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Is that alright? Saying something like that to me is...¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°There are no differences between social statuses here. Besides, it¡¯s lonely having no friends in school.¡± [Elia]

    At those words, Miyabi smiled and she epted. Michelle also joined in.

    ¡°Then in that case sign me up as well. I don¡¯t have many friends either.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°But of course.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°I got your back!¡± [Miyabi]

    Like this, the three met, and as they shook each other¡¯s hands, lunch break ended. They went back to ss, and they passed through the boring afternoon sses.

    TL Note:

    If you¡¯re wondering why Miyabi doesn¡¯t have her speech pattern, it¡¯s because she tries to turn it off when she can. Remember her first meeting with Ryouma? It¡¯s something like that. Although actually her pattern dide out in herst sentence, but I¡¯m not really sure how to show something that slight in English.

    Willdan girl uses boku (male pronoun).

 Volume 3 - 17

    Volume 3 Chapter 17

    After school the three girls chatted at a corner of the school¡¯s courtyard. It was a good opportunity, so they decided to chat and get to know each other some more. But just as they were about to finish, Michelle suddenly said,

    "Hey, how about we form our own group?" [Michelle]

    In this school, there are assignments or practical work invovling magic or swordsmanship that needs to be done in groups. However these groups aren¡¯t decided by the instructors or by the school, rather they¡¯re decided by the students themselves.

    If the school tried to forcibly dictate the groups, then the nobles would get mad. Part of the reason is because ofpatibilitiy between the members, but there¡¯re also those who simply don¡¯t want to be in the same group asmoners.

    However, in cases where there are students leftover without any groups, then they need to be taken in by other groups that don¡¯t have enough members. Neither themoners nor the nobles have any say in this. But of course, it¡¯s not hard to imagine how ufortable of a situation that would be.

    Elia and Michelle may not have any problems regarding groups, but of course it¡¯s still best to make a group with people that you get along with ahead of time. And that¡¯s why Michelle suggested to make a group, while Elia and Miyabi immediately agreed.

    "But if we¡¯re making a group, then we¡¯ll have to gather two or three more members. We need five or six to make a group after all." [Elia]

    "Yeah, otherwise we¡¯ll end up with students we don¡¯t know." [Michelle]

    "Without considering social standing or anythin¡¯, can ya two think of anyone?" [Miyabi]

    "I can think of one." [Michelle]

    "Who?" [Elia]

    "Liera Clifford, the eldest daughter of the Baron Clifford." [Michelle]

    "Baron Clifford... From what I know, he used ta be a knight, but after pilin¡¯ up achievement after achievement, he became a baron. Nowadays, they¡¯re known for raisin¡¯ some oustandin¡¯ knights." [Miyabi]

    "Exactly. Her pride¡¯s a bit high, and she won¡¯t shut up when ites to rules, but she doesn¡¯t look down onmoners, and she honestly acknowledges anyone with skill. She treatsmoners as if they¡¯re equal too." [Michelle]

    "She¡¯s certainly qualified. Is she someone you know?" [Elia]

    "There was a point in time where we saw each other a lot. But because of my research and because of her training, we¡¯ve rarely had the chance totely." [Michelle]

    Like this, the three of them agreed to invite Liera Clifford. And immediately, they went to find her.

    The ce they went to was the training area for swordsmen. As soon as they got there, Michelle pointed at a corner and said,

    "She¡¯s over there, let¡¯s go." [Michelle]

    With Michelle leading, the three went over to a corner of the training area where a female student zealously praticed her sword as she gave off a frigid aura. With the girl¡¯s height tall for her age and a face that could easily pass as that of a beauty¡¯s, she stood out. Then from the group of male students that was watching her from a distance came Michelle¡¯s voice.

    "Liera, could youe with me for a bit?" [Michelle]

    "Michelle? What¡¯s the matter? And that person is..." [Liera]

    "Calm down first, then we¡¯ll talk." [Michelle]

    Michelle took Liera with her and left the training area. Following after her were Elia and Miyabi. They then sat at a resting area with few people. On the way, Michelle had already exined to Liera about their n.

    "I see, so you came to invite me... Alright, then in that case, I¡¯d be grateful if you added me into your group." [Liera]

    "Really?" [Elia]

    "That¡¯s great!" [Michelle]

    Elia and Michelle were both delighted, but Miyabi didn¡¯t look to be fazed at all as she asked Liera,

    "Ya sure you¡¯re okay with this? From what I¡¯ve heard, ya have the highest grades in swordsmanship, and many people have already tried ta get ya ta join them." [Miyabi]

    "It¡¯s true that I¡¯ve received plenty of invitations, but they¡¯re all from people I can¡¯t get along with. People who only see me as a tool to raise their grades, or people who don¡¯t even have the slightest decorum to hide their perverted gazes... And more than that, I can¡¯t agree with people who despisemoners. I don¡¯t want to be grouped up with people who mistake their haughtiness for pride." [Liera]

    Although still a student, Liera¡¯s soul was already that of a fine knight.

    It was in this way that Liera became their friend. And the four began to discuss who to ask next.

    "I can¡¯t think of anyone. To begin with, I don¡¯t have a lot of connections, so..." [Liera]

    "Liera¡¯s been obsessing over her sword ever since after all." [Michelle]

    "Well aren¡¯t you one to talk? Even though you¡¯re exactly the same when ites to your research." [Liera]

    "True, then in that case, I guess we¡¯ll have to rely on Miyabi. I mean you¡¯re a merchant, right Miyabi? I reckon you must have a lot of connections." [Michelle]

    "Even if ya tell me that, I don¡¯t have that many either... It¡¯s only been a month since enrolling, ya see? So... and besides the number of students that haven¡¯t been included in a group has also decreased a lot, ya know? And more than anything, don¡¯t ya all think it¡¯d be best if we got another girl as our member? After all, we¡¯re all girls here." [Miyabi]

    "If it¡¯s possible, then a girl would be best. Although as long as he won¡¯t look at us with a diforting gaze, then even a guy would be fine." [Liera]

    "It¡¯s because your style is so good." [Elia]

    "I know right? We were just around the same level in the past too... I wonder why the gap is so big now... Even the parts that should be tightened are tightened." [Michelle]

    "Where are you looking!?" [Liera]

    "Hmm... everywhere?" [Michelle]

    "Don¡¯t look!" [Liera]

    "Now, now, please calm down. Anyway, we can¡¯t seem ta think of anyone, huh?" [Miyabi]

    "It¡¯s not like there¡¯re none though." [Elia]

    "Well yeah, but the group¡¯s bnce will be affected. Right now, I can think of four people, but amongst those, three want ta be magicians. And even now, the only one who can fight in closebat amongst us is Liera. If we took two of the people I have in mind, then we¡¯ll end up with six magicians and one swordsman." [Miyabi]

    "True.... the bnce would definitely be quite bad in that case." [Elia]

    "It¡¯s not like I¡¯m fussing over the grades or anything, but there¡¯s also some danger in our assignments and training." [Miyabi]

    "It¡¯d be tough for me to defend five. Once we¡¯re surrounded, it¡¯s over. The teacher will also be watching and supporting over us during training, but it¡¯s not good to rely on that. If we could another swordsman more it would be great, but..." [Liera]

    "Unfortunately thest person I have in mind won¡¯t be a swordsman either. The people I have in mind can fight to some extent though. I mean one of them can do some covert ops and put up some traps. A person well inclined for scouting in other words. And...- Well speak of the devil, looks like she¡¯s actually here." [Miyabi]

    "*Sniff... I was rejected again..." [Girl]

    As Miyabi said that, Elia and the others looked at where Miyabi was looking. Some distance from where they were was a seemingly vigorous girl with dog ears and short hair sitting there with her head down.

    "Her?" [Michelle]

    "Her name is Kanan. Amoner. She¡¯s skilled with her hands and specialsizes in making small essories and other crafts. Ta keep the story short, she¡¯s an artisan. Apparently she wants ta take her sses ta that direction as soon as she finishes her basic sses." [Miyabi]

    "I see... so now what?" [Michelle]

    "As long as her personality¡¯s good, I have noints. Even if she can¡¯t fight, I¡¯ll do my best to protect her." [Liera]

    "Same here." [Elia]

    "Aight, I¡¯ll go ahead and call her over then." [Miyabi]

    As Miyabi said that, she called out to the girl whose head was drooped. When the girl heard Miyabi¡¯s voice, she raised her head and saw Miyabi.

    "Kanan-han, are you free right now?" [Miyabi]

    "Eh!? Ah, you¡¯re Miyabi-san, right? Do you need something from me?" [Kanan]

    "I¡¯m looking for members ta invite ta our group. And seeing ya here, I thought I¡¯d invite ya too." [Miyabi]

    "Really!?" [Kanan]

    Soon as she heard Miyabi¡¯s words, Kanan enthusiastically agreed. Kanan¡¯s overly vigorous agreement as she took Miyabi¡¯s hands, shocked Miyabi.

    "In any case, the other members are also here, so let¡¯s go meet with them." [Miyabi]

    "Yes, please!" [Kanan]

    Miyabi brought Kanan to where Elia and the others were, and with her sparkling eyes and her loud voice, Kanan greeted the others full of zeal.

    "My name is Kanan Shuza! It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you all!" [Kanan]

    Having noticed herst name, Michelle was the first to reply.

    "Nice to meet you too. By the way, by Shuza do you mean..." [Michelle]

    As soon as Michelle began to talk about herst name, Kanan¡¯s face grew cloudy, so Michelle bit her tongue and kept herself from asking any further. But because Kanan already knew what Michelle wanted to ask, she answered.

    "Yes. Ie from a reputable family of magic artisans. I am a daughter of the Shuza family. However, I am a dunce when ites to magic craftsmanship, so please don¡¯t expect anything from me in that regard." [Kanan]

    "A dunce?" [Michelle]

    "Actually, I am a specialist enchanter of the enchantment branch of magic." [Kanan]

    "I see..." [Michelle]

    "Sorry, but can you exin?" [Liera]

    Kanan, Michelle, and Miyabi seemed to understand the situation, but Liera and Elia didn¡¯t, so Kanan began to exin about enchantment magic.

    When one refers to enchantment magic, what they¡¯re actually referring to is the magic responsible for creating magic tools, weapons, and or armors. However, the only ones who can use that magic are the descendants of enchanters. Story says that a long itme ago, the first ones to use enchantment magic were a number of people who were born with a special constitution. And today, the only ones who can use that magic are those who carry the originals¡¯ blood in their veins.

    As their descendants have increased, there are people being born today who are able to use enchantment magic. Within those people, however, is sometimes born a special enchanter who possesses the same kind of constitution as those of the first ones. These people are unable to use any magic other than enchantment.

    "In enchantment magic, it¡¯s essential to be able to use both enchant magic and the magic you want to enchant into the object. But because I¡¯m only able to use one type of magic, I haven¡¯t been able to create a single magic tool for anyone." [Kanan]

    "So that¡¯s why... I asked you something sensitive, I¡¯m sorry." [Liera]

    "Not at all! You¡¯re recruiting me after all! So it¡¯s only a given for me to answer whatever questions you have!" [Kanan]

    As soon as Kanan said that out loud, the group made up their mind. Of course, it¡¯s a given that entering a group that will be undergoing perilous trials will require an interview of some sort regarding what one can and can¡¯t do. However, whether one can say his or her weaknesses out loud is another question. It might be important information, but that fact alone doesn¡¯t make it easy to say. There are those would try to say it, but make it vague. While there¡¯re those with worse personalities who wouldn¡¯t hesitate to lie through their teeth.

    The fact that Kanan was able to say something like that out loud goes to show that she¡¯s a trustworthy person. And the four girls understood that very well.

    "I have noints with her." [Liera]

    "I¡¯m also in agreement." [Michelle]

    "I¡¯d also like to have her as a part of our group." [Elia]

    "Then it¡¯s decided." [Miyabi]

    When those words entered Kanan¡¯s ears, her jaws dropped to the floor. And what came out of her mouth were these words,

    "Eh... you- would take me? Me? Even though I can¡¯t use magic? Even though I¡¯m mostly a beginner at swordsmanship?" [Kanan]

    "You don¡¯t have to worry over something like that." [Elia]

    "Abilityes second." [Michelle]

    "If you can¡¯t fight, then I¡¯ll protect you." [Liera]

    "So with that, we¡¯ll be weing you, Kanan-han. But of course, if you don¡¯t want to, then we won¡¯t force ya." [Miyabi]

    "Of course not!! Thank you very much!! I¡¯ve been refused so many times, I didn¡¯t know what to do anymroe!! I¡¯ll be in your care!![Kanan]

    Today, Kanan seeded at avoiding a disastrous school life. Although after this sheter found out that all of the three girls aside from Miyabi were all nobles. Moreover, two of them were daughters of a duke and an earl. This fact greatly shocked her, but that¡¯s not really important.

    What¡¯s important is that the five of them had managed to make friends that they¡¯re able to talk to easily. They might quarrel from time to time, but there¡¯s no doubt that their school life has be better than ever.

 Volume 3 - 18

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Volume 3 Chapter 18

    TL Note: Sorry about theck of chaptersst week. School has really ramped up as the sem¡¯s about to end. Projects and exams and stuff everywhere. And it really didn¡¯t help that I wasted too much time trying to align those sted walls, or that I spent too much time chasing after power armors, or romancing curie... Geralt didn¡¯t help either. (I didn¡¯t have a video card for a loooooong time).

    Anyway I¡¯ll release a chapter of GK tomorrow for this week, but there won¡¯t be a chapter for both series for the next two weeks. Yes, exams and projects for both weeks. On the bright side, after that, I¡¯ll speed up the releases during the break, and open the extra chapters up again.

    I¡¯ll try and see if I can get some chapters done during my studies, so there might be a multi-release on the 13th when I resume tranting. Anyway, that¡¯s all, enjoy.

    P.S. For anyone crashing with an R9 390 on win 10 on FO4, I solved my problems by restarting the game over and over and over. :D

    Volume 3 Chapter 18

    We spent five days in the carriage.

    During that time, I took care of the cooking duties and learned how to handle horses from Mizelia-san and Miya-san.

    I was tasked with the cooking because my cooking was the best in the group.

    In exchange, the other jobs were mostly taken care of by the others. For example, although we were attacked a lot by the goblins, I didn¡¯t have to go out and fight as Raypin-san would swiftly take care of them each and every time.

    Consequently, I ended up with plenty of time in my hands. I¡¯ve heard that horseback riding is quite useful, so I asked Miya-san and Mizelia-san if they could teach me, and they happilyplied.

    The thing though is that I didn¡¯t know how to ride horses back in my previous life either, so even until now, I¡¯m still learning how to ride them.

    ¡°You¡¯ve already got the basics down. All that¡¯s left is for you to practice and get used to it.¡± [Mizelia]

    ¡°Thank you. Mizelia-san.¡± [Ryouma]

    Mizelia-san may have given me her approval, but I haven¡¯t really gotten the basics down just yet. If I don¡¯t practice, I¡¯ll probably forget it immediately, so... should I buy a carriage? But there¡¯s not really a lot of opportunities to use it, so it¡¯s kind of a waste. It¡¯s not just buying a carriage either too as I¡¯ll need to buy a horse. Eh, I¡¯ll just think about itter.

    4 hours passed and we finally closed in to the vige that¡¯s closest to the forest. 20 more minutes passed, and the vige gates entered our sight.

    From hereon it¡¯s going to get crowded with people so I switched with Mizelia-san, and then gazed at the vige. This vige is a lot quieterpared to Gimuru, but it¡¯s bustling too in its own way.

    Along the way I noticed that the houses here were are all made out of wood. I guess their forests must be thriving.

    Caught up in my thoughts, before I knew it, we were already at the lodging¡¯s entrance. There were 3 men and 4 women in our group, so we took 2 rooms, and then we made way for the adventurer¡¯s guild. There, we gathered information about the ces that the treants frequented. Afterwards, we prepared for tomorrow.

    Tomorrow

    ¡°Is everyone ready, de gozaru?¡± [Asagi]

    At Asagi-san¡¯s question we all nodded, and then we entered the forest.

    Leading in front was Miya-san and Mizelia-san, followed by Syria-san and Wereanna-san, and then by Raypin-san, and finally Asagi-san.

    The forest is dimly lit and dense. If it were only that then it wouldn¡¯t be different form the Forest of Gana, but for some reason, the atmosphere in the forest was suffocating.

    ¡°Oh? We¡¯ve already found one. Miya, look. 20 meters ahead of us, there¡¯s a tree that¡¯s somewhat thicker than the others, de aru.¡± [Raypin]

    ¡°Is that it, nyaa?¡± [Miya]

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± [Raypin]

    At Raypin-san¡¯s words, Miya-san pointed towards the tree. The tree was a needle-leaved tree with a diameter of 30cm to 40cm. Its height was around 4 meters high. It looked almost exactly the same as the trees around it. It was slightly bigger than the others, but that¡¯s not really something that you¡¯d notice at a nce.

    After Raypin-san confirmed that the tree was a treant, and after we were sure that there were no other treants around it, Miya-san and Mizelia-san headed towards it with a one-handed axe in hand.

    When Miya-san and Mizelia-san neared the tree, its branches suddenly curved. And like a whip itshed with its branches from above towards the two. The two dodged it, but the treant¡¯s branches could curve surprisingly well as it attempted to wrap around Mizelia-san.

    Mizelia-san struck back with her axe, and at the same time ¨C although I couldn¡¯t really see her well as she appeared as nothing more than a shadow from where I was ¨C she bashed the treant with her axe.

    Immediately after, the branches began to droop, then the tree lurched. With the fight over, they waved at us, calling us over. When we got to where they were, Miya-san lodged her axe into the treant¡¯s face.

    ¡°If you dodge the branches and hit it like this, you can beat it in one hit, nyaa.¡± [Miya]

    ¡°The fight is fairly easy when it¡¯s 1 on 1, so if ever wee across another lone treant, Ryouma, you should try fighting it.¡± [Mizelia]

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    While Miya-san and Mizelia-san were giving me advice, I noticed Raypin-san making a difficult face.

    ¡°Raypin-san, is something the matter?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°We found one too fast. Treants generally prefer living in the inner part of the forest, so it¡¯s quite rare for one to be seen this close to the vige, de aru.¡± [Raypin]

    Come to think of it, the guild hadn¡¯t mentioned anything about treants appearing by the entrance either.

    ¡°If it¡¯s like this, then there might be quite a number of them deep in the forest, de aru.¡± [Raypin]

    ¡°There¡¯s also the possibility that a treant just got lost, but we still shouldn¡¯t be careless, de gozaru.¡± [Asagi]

    Those words reminded us to be cautious, so we immediately focused our senses. Then we cut the branches of the treant, and stored it into Raypin-san¡¯s ¡®Dimension Home¡¯. After which, we began to walk again.

    After walking for a while, we found another treant.

    ¡°Ryouma, how about trying this one, de aru?¡± [Raypin]

    ¡°Sure.¡± [Ryouma]

    I stepped forward and unsheathed my weapon. The weapon I have is shaped like a de, but it¡¯s actually a big iron slime. Incidentally, its sheath is a big metal slime.

    Thanks to the ¡®hardening¡¯ skill, the de is more than strong enough to be used as a weapon. Moreover, it¡¯s also sharp enough too. On top of that, in the unlikely instance where my sword gets bent, the slime can reform itself immediately, fixing my weapon in an instant.

    Using ¡®Magic Detection¡¯, I ascertain my target. Circting my ki, I d both my sword and body it in it as I wielded my sword, raising it right in front of me. The treant this time around is thinnerpared to thest. As soon as I entered its range, one of its branches came whipping at me from above.

    I dodged the whipping branch, and at the same time, I moved to the right and confirmed the location of the lump that is its weak point. Without any hesitation, I took my sword and shed at it, smoothly cutting the lump off.

    A voice that sounded like a throe resounded as the lump fell down to the ground where its roots were. Then just as the treant before it, its branches drooped, and it ceased to move. The battle had ended with a lone stroke from my de. With the battle over, the others walked over to help collect the treant, and then we made our way through the forest again to look for another.

    What¡¯s scary about treants is that they are able to blend themselves in with the surrounding trees, making their surprise attacks fairly formidable. However, that also goes to mean that if you could spot them before entering their attacking range, the treants lose their fangs. In any case, one on one doesn¡¯t seem to be a problem. How the fights will go when there¡¯s a forest of them however... we¡¯ll have to see.

    We continued our treant hunting in the forest until the afternoon, subjugating them, then storing the logs in the ¡®Dimension Home¡¯. Then around the time I was finally getting used to fighting them, we spotted a forest of treants. With everyone¡¯s help, we managed to annihte all of those too.

    But their numbers were still a staggering one-hundred and forty-seven. Even though the ce they were at was supposedly a ce often frequented by people as a resting ce, the only thing we could see was an ever extending forest. This wasn¡¯t in the information provided by the guild.

    ¡°We still have time, so there¡¯s no need to rush the acquisition of treant lumber. More than that, I believe it¡¯d be best to inform the guild about the treants¡¯ number, de gozaru.¡± [Asagi]

    True... There are far too many treants here in the forestpared to what the guild¡¯s information said. We have already gathered a total of 200 treant lumbers. While the minimum we had nned to gather was only 300. With more than half of that quota already met, I suppose it really might be for the best that we go back to the vige first.

    And so we left the forest and quickly went to the guild where we reported our findings. There, we spoke to the female receptionist at the reception desk. After we exined the situation, the receptionist said this with a docile face.

    ¡°Thank you very much. Actually, just a moment ago, a group of people who had seen the strange state of the forest just as your group has, dropped by. And so we were actually in the process of sending someone out to investigate.¡± [Female Receptionist]

    ¡°I see... Would you happen to have any ideas what could possibly be causing this outbreak of treants?¡± [Raypin]

    ¡°There¡¯s a possibility that there¡¯s an Elder Treant. To begin with there are plenty of treants deep in the forest near this town, and sightings of it has also been reported once some years ago. I don¡¯t know why, but it¡¯s said that when an elder treant is born, a great number of treants will spring forth around it.¡± [Female Receptionist]

    ¡°So it¡¯s as expected, de aru... Will you mind if we enter the forest? What are the rules regarding that?¡± [Raypin]

    ¡°Please do as you like. As long as you¡¯re A Rank or B Rank, then there won¡¯t be any problem.¡± [Female Receptionist]

    Actually, I¡¯m an E Rank, but I think I¡¯ll just keep quiet. Besides she doesn¡¯t look like she¡¯s nning on stopping just me from going into the forest too anyway. And since we¡¯re going into the forest either way, the female receptionist made us take a request to subjugate the treants.

    Adventurers can actually take on multiple requests at the same time. Especially when those requests happen to be close to each other, and when the adventurers have some leeway to work with. Since it¡¯s an easy way to make more ie, it¡¯s not really umon to do it.

    This time around for example, by taking both the request to subjugate the treants near this town, and while taking on the request to gather treant lumber, we¡¯ll be able to kill two birds with one stone, and receive the reward for both requests. It won¡¯t take us much extra effort too, since one request is to gather lumber, which of course requires subjugating treants anyway, so it¡¯s all pluses and no minuses.

    After gathering the necessary information and epting the treant subjugation request, we had nothing to do until tomorrow. So in order not to put that time to waste, I entered the hyperspace room, and began training with my slimes. Today the focus of the training are the poison slimes.

    While doing our usual practice, it suddenly urred to me what would happen if I handed Melzen¡¯s Spear to a poison slime. I think it might be a bit heavy, but I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll manage somehow, and sessfully use it as a spear. But then... Melzen¡¯s Spear is also a magic weapon, will it be able to use its magic properties too?

    Slimes do release magic power when they evolve. Moreover, I¡¯ve also confirmed that they absorb that magic power as theyplete their evolution. Is that magic power something thates out only when they evolve? Or are they able to use that magic power any time?

    My mind on fire, I called out one of the poison slimes, and made it release magic power. Surprisingly, it actually easily seeded at releasing it! If it¡¯s like this, then this might just work!

    Filled with anticipation, I took out Melzen¡¯s spear, and handed it over to the poison slime before me. As I ordered it to load the spear with magic power, a vigorous fire erupted from the tip of the spear.

    It worked!

    ¡°Can you swing the spear while releasing magic power?¡± [Ryouma]

    The poison slime began to swing the fire breathing spear. The spear¡¯s a bit heavy, so its movements are a bit duller than normal... but it seems it can at least use it. But then its movements began to grow duller and duller.

    ¡°Slimes are supposedly tireless. They shouldn¡¯t know the meaning of the word, fatigue, and yet... Could it be magic exhaustion?¡± [Ryouma]

    As I was about to order the slime to stop, the poison slime suddenly dropped the spear, and it became smaller.

    ¡°Why!?¡± [Ryouma]

    Panicked, I quickly rushed over to it, but fortunately, nothing else seems to be wrong. Only, it¡¯s a bit weak. Its body is around half that of a normal poison slime, and its movements have be slow. For the meantime, let¡¯s observe it while feeding it some poison attribute magic power.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like it¡¯s because of ¡®Compression¡¯ that it¡¯s body has shrunk. Besides, a mere poison slime shouldn¡¯t have the ¡®Compression¡¯ skill.¡± [Ryouma]

    I identified it with ¡®Monster Identify¡¯, and just as expected, it didn¡¯t have the ¡®Compression¡¯ skill. Then why? Why is it smaller? Is it because I made it use magic? I can¡¯t think of any other exnation other than that, But if that¡¯s the case, then why would magic power cause its body to shrink?

    ¡°Body... Magic power... Could it be, it¡¯s consuming it?¡± [Ryouma]

    I don¡¯t have any positive proof, but if a slime¡¯s body were to be made out of magic power, then it would make sense why it¡¯d grow weaker and smaller from using magic power. I can¡¯t think of any other reason; this has to be it.

    But then... magic power is not something that you could normally see with the human eye, and neither is it something that you could touch... but at the same time, it¡¯s true that slimes¡¯ bodies disappear when they die. So if the body of slimes were to be made out of magic power, it would make perfect sense why their bodies just vanish on death, but... if that¡¯s the case, then...

    ¡°... I should probably leave this at this for now. In any case, I¡¯ve managed toe up with the hypothesis that slimes¡¯ bodies are made out of magic power. I should talk to Raypin-san about thister, and ask for his opinion. Yeah, let¡¯s do that.¡± [Ryouma]

    After that I left the ¡®Dimension Home¡¯, and while having supper, I asked Raypin-san about the slimes, but apparently he didn¡¯t know either. To begin with, giving a high ss magic weapon to a slime is unheard of, and when he heard that slimes could release magic power, he was shocked.

    In the end, the conclusion we both came to is that there¡¯s a possibility to my hypothesis. Magical beasts do have more magical power in thempared to normal animals, and even those who can¡¯t use magic are not an exception. So it¡¯s not really that strange that slimes possess magic power.

    But for it to shrink after using magic power, even though the earth slimes and the heal slimes don¡¯t is something I just don¡¯t understand. It seems I need to research more...

    The next day.

    We entered the forest today too, and hunted treants to gather lumber. We already knew that there¡¯d be a lot of treants, but I still can¡¯t wrap my head around just how many there are... We¡¯ve been hunting since morning until noon, and so far with the previous day¡¯s spoils together, we¡¯ve already gathered 600 treant lumbers in total.

    ¡°Space is about to run out in the ¡®Dimension Home¡¯ so I believe we should end today¡¯s work here, de aru.¡± [Raypin]

    Since we¡¯ve alreadypleted our goal, and since we still have time left, everyone agreed, and we ended today¡¯s work here. But while walking back out of the forest, Raypin-san suddenly pointed, and eximed,

    ¡°Ryouma! Look at that, de aru!¡± [Raypin]

    In the direction Raypin-san was pointing, was a small, green sphere floating amidst the trees with arge fluff of dandelion attached above it.

    What is that?

    ¡°What is that?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s a slime!¡± [Raypin]

    ¡°Slime!?¡¯ [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s a fluff slime, a slime with the power to fly! I don¡¯t believe Ryouma¡¯s ever raised one though, de aru.¡± [Raypin]

    ¡°True, I¡¯ve definitely never raised one. In fact, I didn¡¯t even know about it. Would it be possible to catch it now?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°A simple task, de aru. ¡®Pick Up¡¯¡° [Raypin]

    Raypin-san stretched his hand out towards the flying slime, and chanted a spell. Then suddenly, the slime appeared right in front of Raypin-san¡¯s hand, floating in the airspace directly in front of it.

    ¡°What was that magic?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°¡¯Pick Up¡¯, a space magic that teleports the target near the caster¡¯s hand. It can only be used when the target can be seen. It¡¯s not an easy magic to aim, so there are few who use it. Depending on the target, it¡¯s possible to catch something without harming it, so it¡¯s quite useful. I¡¯ve been using this magic in order to gather magical beasts for my research, de aru. I used this to catch grell frogs too.¡± {Raypin}

    ¡°I see...¡± [Ryouma]

    Come to think of it, he did mention catching grell frogs with magic. I guess he must¡¯ve been referring to this magic then.

    ¡°Rather than that, hurry up and contract with it. We can¡¯t exactly be certain that we¡¯re safe here either, de aru.¡± [Raypin]

    ¡°Right.¡± [Ryouma]

    I hurriedly contracted with the fluff slime. Looking at it closely, it¡¯s about the size of a fist. A slime that could be carried in one¡¯s hands.

    After contracting with it, I stored it in the ¡®Dimension Home¡¯. I thanked everyone along with Raypin-san for keeping watch while I contracted with it, then we began walking again.

    After some time of walking, we got to the vige before the sun had fully set. I quickly went back to our lodging, and used ¡®Monster Identify¡¯ on the fluff slime.

    Fluff Slime

    Skills

    Flight Lv1

    Growth eleration Lv5

    Lighten Lv10

    Photosynthesis Lv3

    Absorption Lv1

    Split Lv8

    It has photosynthesis, so I guess it doesn¡¯t need digestion. As for absorption, that¡¯s for water. And this flight and growth eleration... it¡¯s my first time seeing these kind of skills. And then this split level... it¡¯s high! Then again something that looks like a dandelion fluff is attached to it, so I suppose it multiplies just like one too?

    For the meantime, in order to understand its skills better, I lifted the fluff slime up, and made it use ¡®Lighten¡¯. Immediately, the fluff slime became so light to the point it seemed like it wasn¡¯t even there. It was quite light to begin with, but even then it still had some weight. Yet now it was as if even that little weight had disappeared. It was really light.

    But it can only use the skill on itself. Then again, if it could use it on other things too, that¡¯d be just way too convenient for others not to notice. How to say this... it¡¯s so light, it feels like it¡¯s about to float.

    It¡¯s flight ability is probably because of this. A little sway from my arm seems to be more than enough to send it flying. But really, rather than flight, floating would be more apt. It seems it can fall to the ground by manipting its weight to some extent, but the speed and direction is all up to the wind, and it can¡¯t do anything about it.

    After observing the fluff slime, I asked Raypin-san a couple of things. And apparently, the fluff slime can go quite far by being dragged by the wind, so it could be seen almost anywhere. However, it doesn¡¯t reproduce much.

    Don¡¯t reproduce much? But why? Even though it¡¯s level in splitting is so high.

    When I asked that, apparently just as I had thought, the slime splits like a dandelion fluff would, but not all of the fluff would be a slime.

    Moreover, it¡¯s irritating to have so many fluff floating around, so a nearby vige would send people to exterminate it.

    After weplete this request and I get some free time, I should go and see what this fluff slime can do.

 Volume 3 - 19

    Volume 3 Chapter 19

    The next day.

    Today, we¡¯re hunting treants again. But because I¡¯ve gotten used to it already, the fighting¡¯s been going smootherpared to the first day.

    If everything goes as nned, we¡¯ll be finishing the hunt by tomorrow, and then we can go home to Gimuru. This morning we filled up Raypin-san¡¯s ¡¯Dimension Home¡¯, so we¡¯ve been using my ¡¯Dimension Home¡¯ to store the treant lumbers.

    "Ha!" [Ryouma]

    I swung my sword down, cutting a treant¡¯s face from its forehead down to its chin in one stroke. Then with another swing, I cut another treant¡¯s face that was on its right, diagonally up, cutting it into two parts. At that moment, a different treant¡¯s branch whipped towards me. Quickly, I dodged to the left, and then I lopped its face off from the side.

    No matter how many times I do this, I can¡¯t help but think of its face as a mask every time it falls off like this.

    While thinking of useless thoughts like that, I killed another three treants. Then after looking around me, I confirmed that there were no more treants left.

    "Looks like Ryouma¡¯s gotten used to fighting treants already." [Wereanna]

    "Ryouma has trained his body well in the way of the sword. That training also reflects in how fast he can learn new methods to defeat new opponents, de gozaru.¡± [Asagi]

    ¡°There are no wastes in your movements, nyaa.¡± [Miya]

    "Thank you very much. My martial techniques were thoroughly beaten into me by my grandfather. I¡¯m quite confident in it." [Ryouma]

    The area we¡¯re in right now might be a bit dangerous, but we at least have the luxury to talk like this. Of course, letting our guard down too much is bad, but being too tense is just as bad. Something on this level is just right.

    But then when we went deeper into the forest, the atmosphere suddenly changed. Using ¡¯Magic Detection¡¯, I detected a great number of treants, almost uncountable.

    "Raypin-san." [Ryouma]

    "I know. There¡¯s a lot of them... Unfortunately, it¡¯s not possible to know exactly how many, de aru. Asagi.¡± [Raypin]

    "There¡¯s most likely an elder treant ahead. Let¡¯s proceed while keeping our escape route open. In the worst case, we¡¯ll have to retreat and just return to the guild with the information we¡¯ve gathered, de gozaru." [Asagi]

    And so, we proceeded with our guards up.

    "Ha!¡± [Asagi & Ryouma]

    "Nyaa!" [Miya]

    "--!" [Mizelia]

    "Ei!" [Syria]

    "Wind Cutter!" [Raypin]

    Before us were the forests of treants. They creeped slowly, and they came whipping their branches at us. But with our effortsbined, we managed to subjugate them.

    The women attacked the treants¡¯ faces with their axes and hatchets. Asagi-san shed with his long sword, striking towards an area beneath the treants¡¯ faces, killing them. Raypin-san supported us with his magic, while I killed all those behind to keep them from surrounding us.

    We struggled like this, killing one treant after another, but the treants kept pouring in from deep the forest. Fortunately, the treants weren¡¯t that strong. Moreover, because the treants are walking and are uprooted, when we kill them, they just fall over, keeping our field of vision clear of obstruction.

    "We¡¯re killing them just fine, but there¡¯s no end to them!" [Syria]

    No one replied to Syria¡¯s remark, but deep inside, everyone agreed.

    "ording to ¡¯Magic Detection¡¯, all the trees here are treants! Cut them all, de aru!" [Raypin]

    "Don¡¯t push yourselves too much, alright? Remember, there¡¯s no shame in retreat!" [Asagi]

    "I know!" [Wereanna]

    "Life¡¯s more important!" [Mizelia]

    Although everyone was saying that, they weren¡¯t really serious. They were just saying it to remind everyone. And after that, they all went to wee the flooding forest of treants. As expected of A ranks and B ranks, something of this level can¡¯t even faze them.

    I should also focus on my work. The treants headed here have also increased.

    I put my sword away, and instead I ordered the sheath that was a big metal slime to separate. In the next moment, 100 metal slimes appeared at my feet. I took two from those, lifted them up, and ordered them to transform.

    What the two slimes transformed into were throwing axes. Then I strengthened my body with ki, and motioning my body in full, I threw the axes.

    "O..."

    "O... Oo..."

    The two axes flew through the air, drawing a beautiful arc in its trajectory. Two nearing treants tried to get me into their range, but the two axes flew into their foreheads, striking them dead. The two axes had sessfully shot down the two treants.

    After that I immediately took another metal slime, had it transform into an axe and threw it. Then i took another one, and another one, throwing the axes one after another towards the endless wave of treants.

    After fighting with the treants all this time, I¡¯ve finallye to understand that there¡¯s a deviation in the distribution of magic power within the treants¡¯ bodies. The distribution is generally equal, but there is one ce that has a greater concentration of magic powerpared to the rest of its body. And that ce is its weakness, its face.

    Apparently, within the physiology of treants, the face serves as an important cornerstone for the cirction of magic power. In terms of human physiology, it would be the heart as it gathers magic power for the treants. Hurting the treant¡¯s face, causes that gathered magic power to leak out, thereby causing its death. If one takes the face of a treant as the heart, and its magic power as blood, then it¡¯s really not that much different from humans.

    However, blood is still different from magic power. Because magic power can be located with ¡®Magic Detection¡¯. That¡¯s why as long as one knows how to use ¡®Magic Detection¡¯, it¡¯s easy to spot its weak point. And just like now, one would be able to easily kill the treants. And at times when the face isn¡¯t visible, using ¡®Magic Detention¡¯ to locate it would easily take care of it.

    That¡¯s why with all things considered, treants are easy to defeat. While I still think it¡¯s not good to let my guard down, the truth is that I¡¯m really not being pressured much in this battle.

    I¡¯m also not using magic power, so I won¡¯t suffer the symptoms of magic exhaustion. Moreover, I¡¯ve strengthened my body with Ki, making it hard for me to get tired. Now, if I was using normal throwing axes, then I wouldn¡¯t be able to attack once I run out of axes, but since I¡¯m using metal slimes for throwing axes, the slimes can juste back on their own after being thrown. Which goes to say that I will never run out of ammo. In fact, I don¡¯t even have to pick them up.

    On top of that, I know the position of their faces, so I can easily kill them in one throw. Moreover, when the slimese back, the treants try to attack them. But at that moment, because their slow legse to a halt, they be easy pickings. And I can then defeat them before they can get me into their attacking range. Honestly speaking, this is more work rather than actual fighting.

    By the way, all the metal slimes that were attacked are all fine. They are basically lumps of metals, so the treant¡¯s branches¡¯ attacks, which are of course wood, have no effect on them.

    Like this I one-sidedly subjugated all the treants that tried to surround us from behind. While the others, on the other hand,pletely trampled on the treants in front.

    In the blink of an eye, the treants¡¯ numbers had been greatly decreased, and the surrounding forest has been turned into nothing but a vast field of scattered fallen treants. The only thing left growing, were the few, normal trees.

    ¡°For the meantime, it looks like we¡¯ve mostly cut them all done... Still, though, it¡¯s quite weird, de aru.¡± [Raypin]

    ¡°What is?¡± [Ryouma]

    At Raypin-san¡¯s mutterings, I asked him why.

    ¡°First of all, there¡¯re way too many treants. In fact, I¡¯ve never seen this many treants yet. Second, although treants are trees that be magical beasts from the influence of magic power, it¡¯s my first time seeing such a wide scope of mutation into treants. Lastly, is that one.¡± [Raypin]

    To the direction Raypin-san had pointed in was nothing but a big tree from a distance. But as I could feel arge amount of magic power from that tree, it¡¯s most likely...

    ¡°Is that an elder treant?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I think so, but... It¡¯s my first time seeing such a big elder treant with that much magic power. But on top that, I¡¯m concerned why it¡¯s not attacking us, de aru.¡± [Raypin]

    Right after Raypin-san spoke, Miya-san came back at just the right time, and she asked Raypin-san a question.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it possible that it just hasn¡¯t noticed us yet, nyaa?¡± [Miya]

    ¡°We¡¯ve killed so much of its fellow treants, so no. It could also simply be afraid of us, thinking it can¡¯t win. But then in that case, it¡¯s strange that it¡¯s not running away, and is instead just remaining there.¡± [Raypin]

    Then in that case...

    ¡°I suppose there must be something there to exin why it¡¯s not moving.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That way of thinking is correct, de aru, but there¡¯s no precedent. At the very least, I¡¯ve never heard of a situation where an elder treant neither runs nor attacks.¡± [Raypin]

    ¡°It¡¯s a bit dangerous to leave it alone like this... So we should subjugate it, or if not, at least bring back information to the guild... Raypin, Ryouma, how¡¯s your magic power?¡± [Asagi]

    ¡°No problem, de aru.¡± [Raypin]

    ¡°Same here; I mean to begin with, I didn¡¯t even really use all that much magic power.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Now that you mention it, that certainly seems to be the case, de gozaru. Who would¡¯ve thought that slimes could actually be turned into axes and thrown... Well since that¡¯s how it is, let¡¯s keep our guards up, and rest for a bit before we go and hunt the elder treant, de gozaru.¡± [Asagi]

    With us hunting the elder treant having been decided, we confirmed the special characteristics of the magical beast again, and kept it in our minds to take care of its wood attribute magic. And then we took a short break.

    During break, everyone seemed to show interest with my slime axe throwing. Especially Syria-san, who generally uses the bow.

    But then just as our break was about to end and we were to head over to the elder treant, while still some ce away from it, the metal slime acted weird.

    ¡°Please wait a moment.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± [Asagi]

    ¡°The metal slime seems to be... afraid? ...It¡¯s started to panic.¡± [Ryouma]

    I can tell its status because of the contract¡¯s effect, but it¡¯s actually scared enough to want to run away at this very instant. This is the first time something like this has happened.

    ¡°Is it alright, nyaa?¡± [Miya]

    ¡°My apologies, but my metal slime won¡¯t be able to fight in this state.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I think it¡¯d be best not to force it, de aru.¡± [Raypin]

    So since the metal slimes weren¡¯t in any state to fight, I stored them inside my ¡®Dimension Home¡¯. But it¡¯s curious... the metal slimes have never been scared in this way before. For a moment, I thought their natural enemy might be around, but after looking around, there wasn¡¯t anything around here but a single elder treant. And I¡¯ve never heard of elder treants being the natural enemy of slimes.

    Moreover, the only ones afraid are the metal slimes. The iron slimes seemed to bepletely fine. So what exactly is wrong with the metal slimes? ... Well, in any case, I¡¯m happy that the iron slimes can fight. I do have some weapons I¡¯ve prepared in my ¡®Item Box¡¯, but the iron slimes¡¯ de is still better.

    After that, we walked nearer towards the elder treant while paying attention to our surroundings.

    ¡°The left tree!¡± [Raypin]

    ¡°Nyaa!¡± [Miya]

    We were heading towards the elder treant, and we walked over one of the trees from the sparsely scattered trees. ording to my ¡®Magic Detection¡¯, that tree was nothing but a normal tree.

    And Raypin-san most likely thought the same thing, but as soon as we stepped over that tree, the treant suddenly gained magic power, and attacked us. But then, Raypin-san quickly reacted, and Miya-san was able to kill it...

    ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of this?¡± [Raypin]

    ¡°Raypin?¡± [Asagi]

    ¡°This tree wasn¡¯t a treant just a moment ago, de aru. But just now, it suddenly became a treant. Something like this should be impossible, de aru.¡± [Raypin]

    While treants are magical beasts that be so after being influence by magic power, this is not something that happens instantaneously. It¡¯s something that normally happens only after some period of time.

    But while that may be so, I felt some of the trees around gain magic power again.

    ¡°Raypin-san.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°The treants are being born one after another.¡± [Raypin]

    ¡°Well this was unexpected...¡± [Wereanna]

    ¡°Being caught unprepared with a situation like this is really out of our hands.¡± [Asagi]

    Well it¡¯s less than a while ago, so it won¡¯t be a problem, but still... this strange phenomenon is quite concerning. While thinking that, I focused on my ¡®Magic Detection¡¯ in order to subjugate the treants. But while doing so, I suddenly felt the presence ofmagic power in the ground.

    At the end of that magic power¡¯s flow was the tree that had just turned into a treant. Seeing that, I focused once more, and this time, just as it did for the previous tree, I felt the flow creep in near my feet. Is this the source?

    ¡°There¡¯s something inside the soil! ¡®Break Rock¡¯ Breeze¡¯ !¡± [Ryouma]

    I used ¡®Break Rock¡¯ to tear down the area I felt magic power, and using the wind magic, ¡®Breeze¡¯, I used a strong wind to blow away the fallen earth, revealing roots from which I could feel magic power flowing within!

    Raypin-san, having noticed the same thing, yelled.

    ¡°It¡¯s the root of an elder treant! ...Could it be that the elder treant is using its roots to inject magic power into the trees, transforming them into treants, de aru? Come to think of it, it¡¯s said that treants greatly increase in numbers when an elder treant is spotted. This is a discovery worthy of surprise, de aru!¡± [Raypin]

    ¡°Subjugate first! Researchter!¡± [Syria]

    ¡°In any case, does this mean there¡¯s no other way to resolve this situation other than to subjugate the elder treant?¡± [Mizelia]

    ¡°The possibility for that is quite high, de aru. If we leave this one alone, the treants will most likely increase even more, de aru.¡± [Raypin]

    ¡°The elder treant is approximately 500m from here... I will close in to it in an instant, and finish it, de gozaru. Ryouma, please watch the back. We¡¯ll take care of the elder treant, so please stop all the treants from behind, de gozaru!¡± [Asagi]

    ¡°Understood!!¡± [Ryouma]

    At my response, we immediately moved. Wereanna-san, Miya-san, Mizelia-san, and Asagi all went forward, deforesting the forest of treants that flooded from in front. Following that was me, Raypin-san, and Syria-san as we all continued towards elder treant.

    Fortunately, the treants moved slowly, and we didn¡¯t receive any difficulty from the treants. But then the elder treant finally made its moved, and it started directly attacking.

    We¡¯re still too far to get hit by its branches, so it instead pulled its roots from under the ground, and attacked us. Moreover, it was able to use wood magic just as mentioned in the info. It¡¯s roots extended, and it tried to catch us with it.

    Raypin-san used ¡®Wind Cutter¡¯, and I along with everyone else used our weapons to cut the opponents down, but there¡¯s just too many of them, especially the onesing from my feet. Dodging this isn¡¯t easy... If it¡¯s going to be like this, then!

    ¡° ¡®Pavement¡¯ !¡± [Ryouma]

    Using the same ¡®Pavement¡¯ I did when creating my store, I pressed together the ground, and turned it into pavement. The treants¡¯ growth might be able to break through that, but I¡¯m just using it to buy time. And just as expected, I was able to stop the treants from attacking me at my feet.

    ¡°I¡¯ll cover you!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Thanks!¡± [Asagi]

    Like this we charged towards the elder treant.

 Volume 3 - 20

    Volume 3 Chapter 20

    As we swung against the elder treants¡¯ attacking roots, we closed in on it.

    The elder treant was swarthy with a girth of over 10 meters wide, and a height of over 20 meters. Bulges and crevices could be seen here and there on its trunk, exuding an eerie aura. The face attached on its trunk, near its roots, was bigger than the others, being twice the size of an adult¡¯s height.

    ¡°Ryouma, Raypin, stay away from the range of the branches, and support from the outside! Syria, protect Ryouma and Raypin!¡± [Asagi]

    I killed the slow treants one after another by casting pavement on the ground, and throwing iron slime axes against them, while Raypin-san supported with his magic and Syria-san protected us from the oing roots.

    The elder treant took on heavy damage from Asagi¡¯s group¡¯s continuous attacks, but it was unexpectedly tough.

    On top of the elder treant¡¯s size, the elder treant was able to use the wood magic, ¡®Grow¡¯, making it annoyingly tough. That magic normally shouldn¡¯t have a healing effect, but because the elder treant was a nt-type magical beast, the elder treant was able to restore its body by growing its own body. The speed of that healing was apparently also fasterpared to other elder treants. The advantage is currently in our favor, but we can¡¯t let our guard down.

    We continued fighting like that for some time until the elder treant suddenly let out an iprehensible scream.

    ¡°OoOOOO!¡± [Elder Treant]

    Then suddenly, the elder treant did something unexpected. And out of the elder treant¡¯s mouth appeared a dark sphere, which shot towards Wereanna-san.

    ¡°Tch! Now what!?¡± [Wereanna]

    Wereanna-san managed to dodge, but because of the pursuing branches, she had no choice but to stop attacking the elder treant.

    Just now, wasn¡¯t that the dark magic, ¡®Dark Ball¡¯?

    The elder treant may have stopped Wereanna-san with ¡®Dark Ball¡¯, but Miya-san is still... But just as I was thinking that, the elder treant suddenly spit out some sort of dark mist, forcing Miya-san to take a step back. Unfortunately, the hand that was holding her axe touched the mist, and in the blink of an eye, the axe became rusted.

    ¡°Nyaa!?¡± [Miya]

    ¡°Thatst one was dark ball! This elder treant can apparently use dark mage, de aru! And that effect... that¡¯s most likely also dark magic!¡± [Raypin]

    ...Hey, hey, no one said anything about this.

    ¡°There¡¯re too many unexpected things. Let¡¯s retreat first, and think up a n, de gozaru!¡± [Asagi]

    At Asagi¡¯s call, we all took a step back, and retreated.

    We took a break in a ce outside the treant¡¯s attack range, and discussed.

    ¡°Miya, how¡¯s your arm?¡± [Asagi]

    ¡°Nothing¡¯s wrong with my arm, but this thing¡¯s no good anymore, nyaa.¡± [Miya]

    As Miya said that, she showed everyone her axe. Her axe waspletely rusted, and the edge of its de could be seen crumbling.

    ¡°It turned into this after being touched by that ck mist, nyaa.¡± [Miya]

    ¡°That¡¯s rather severe.¡± [Asagi]

    ¡°We won¡¯t be able to fight if our weapon is rusted.¡± [Mizelia]

    ¡°Raypin, can¡¯t you think of something?¡± [Wereanna]

    ¡°I¡¯ve also never heard of an elder treant that could use magic other than wood magic, de aru. And neither have I heard of dark magic that could cause weapons to rust. As for dealing with dark magic, we could strike it with healing white magic as white magic has an exorcising effect against dark magic, but unfortunately it¡¯s not possible to do that continuously during battle, de aru.¡± [Raypin]

    So that magic can cause metal to rust? ...Could it be that the reason the metal slimes were afraid was because of that? But then, why...

    Wait,e to think of it...

    Hmm... it¡¯s only a hypothesis, but I should probably bring this up with the group.

    After exining my hypothesis to everyone, we decided to fight the elder treant one more time.

    The treant has a lot of surprises, but in terms of strength, it¡¯s not that much of a problem. Even if it does get dangerous, we can easily run away from it, so there¡¯s nothing wrong with trying out a thing or two.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± [Asagi]

    ¡°¡®Pavement¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    Casting pavement on the ground, I stopped the roots from attacking while we rushed towards it. As the elder treant came to notice our presence, it began to spit out ck mist again.

    ¡°It¡¯s here!¡± [Asagi]

    ¡°Let¡¯s try it! [Ryouma]

    As soon as I saw the mist, I threw one iron slime axe towards the face of the elder treant!

    The iron axe slime drew a parab in the air as it flew, piercing through the ck mist.

    ¡°OOOOO!¡± [Elder Treant]

    The iron slime axe spectacrly pierced into the center of the elder treant¡¯s forehead. And through the contract, I knew that the iron slime was safe.

    ¡°The iron slime is fine! As I thought, the iron slimes are immune to that magic!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s finish it, de gozaru!¡± [Asagi]

    As Asagi-san said that, he headed for the elder treant¡¯s face. Miya-san, Mizelia-san, Wereanna-san followed him from behind. At the rearmost was me, firing fire arrows while I cut away at the branches.

    What I proposed to everyone during the break was to use the transformed iron slimes as weapons and armors.

    I reminded them about the time the metal slimes shook in fear. then I suggested that the reason that they might have been afraid could be because they were metal, causing them to fear for their lives as they sensed the elder treants¡¯ ability.

    As soon as Raypin-san heard that, he understood where I was getting at.

    Continuing, I argued that since the iron slimes didn¡¯t feel fear, despite being also metal like the metal slimes were, then they must have some way to defend against that mist. There, I taught them something I learned from my previous life. Of course, I presented it as if I had learned it from my grandfather in this world.

    The purer the iron is, the harder it is to rust. The iron slimes I have contracted have been feeding all this time on iron that I made with alchemy, giving it a body with ultra-high purity iron.

    To add to that, we also wondered whether or not the elder treant could cause all metals to rust in the same way as it did before, so we decided to fight it one more time.

    Magic can make even impossible objectse to existence with magic power as long as one is able to imagine it. However, the same is not true for magic power. For magic power, one needs to follow to some extent the shape of nature.

    Although it¡¯s possible for magic with image to distort what is dictated by nature, the more the magic tries to do so, the greater the consumption of magic power. Moreover, there¡¯s also a limit to how much one can bend nature, which is why I knew that the magic wouldn¡¯t be able to cause a kind of metal that¡¯s difficult to rust, to rust.

    In a long battle, however, the slimes might be in danger. But ording to Raypin-san, we could throw one slime first, then look at its condition. If the experiment is a failure we could just take it and run away, while I heal it with the method Raypin-san told me. ording to him, as long as the nucleus isn¡¯t affected, then the slime will be fine as long as I provide it some nourishment. So even if the surface gets rusted, it doesn¡¯t matter. As long as I stop the corrosion before it gets to the nucleus, the slime should be safe.

    Putting together the information we had, we decided to aim for a quick battle.

    Also, to be safe, we¡¯ll heal the iron slime with white magic once the battle is over. And in the case where we can¡¯t defeat the elder treant, then we could just retreat again.

    Like that, we decided to challenge it once more.

    ¡°Ha!¡±

    This time around, I¡¯m also included in the vanguard.

    The elder treant is attacking. The first attack were the branches, which came whipping from above. The second, the dark ball. The third, it blocked our path with its roots, at the same time, it tried to catch me, but I just cut it, and I slipped through, leaving me right in front of the elder treant¡¯s face.

    I thought of shing at it a direct hit, but the elder treant wasn¡¯t going to let me as it fired off another ¡®Dark Ball¡¯ apanied by a whipping strike from above.

    Twisting my body, I swung my sword to meet the branches, drawing a circle, and cutting the branch off in a single stroke.

    Continuing, I dodged the iing ¡®Dark Ball¡¯ while closing the distance. Then underneath the elder treant¡¯s face, I cut what appeared to be its neck. With my de d in ki, it was extremely sharp, and I cut through its face with no resistance. Magic power then seeped out from the wound left on the elder treant¡¯s face.

    ¡°UoOO!¡± [Elder Treant]

    The elder treant panicked, and immediately tried to close the wound with its wood magic, but we weren¡¯t just going to stand by and watch.

    ¡° ¡®me Lance¡¯ !¡± [Raypin]

    Raypin-san¡¯s intermediate fire magic struck into the elder treant. And as one would expect from having fire magic driven into its body, the attack had a huge effect, causing the elder treant¡¯s healing to greatly slow.

    Miya-san and the rest weren¡¯t took advantage of that opening, and started releasing a barrage of attacks towards the treant and the branches around it.

    But as for me, I did not join in their barrage, and instead I prepared for my attack, ordering the big iron slime that was currently a de to transform again.

    I put it down, and 15 slimes split out of it. The big slime quickly used ¡®Erge¡¯, and using both of its hands, it formed a loop, turning into an iron ball big enough to have to be carried in both arms. Around that iron ball, sharp thorns and a semi-circle-shaped grip with a hole in its center was attached to it. The iron slimes that split off then each turned into a loop, and connected themselves to my right arm and to the iron ball¡¯s grip. With this the weapon has changed from a de to a chain and ball.

    Right now, the big iron slime can change freely at will into a number of weapons. It could, of course, change into the weapon I used before, the de and the throwing axes, but it can also change into a spear, a great sword, a hammer, into all sorts. One of those types is this iron ball. Moreover, if I feel like it, I could even have it change into a scythe, the same weapon the shinigamis use. So having it change into an iron ball is a piece of cake.

    Incidentally, this iron ball is something I saw in a weapon shop of this world. Using that as reference, I had the slimes transform into it. It¡¯s a kind of weapon that specializes in one-hit attacks meant forrge magical beasts. When using it, I have to first strengthen it with either magic or qi gong, so it takes some time to master. The skill to use this iron ball is apparently included in my Fundoujutsu (Weight) skill, so I¡¯m able to use it. It¡¯s use is mostly limited to fighting againstrge monsters though...

    The chains jingled as I pulled on them. The iron ball was heavy, but with qigong, my strengthened body was able to wield it.

    ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go!!¡± [Asagi]

    As soon as I said that, Asagi-san gave the signal. Everyone who was still barraging the elder treant with attacks nonstop immediately opened a path for me.

    With the elder treant¡¯s face as my target, I put all of my strength, and sent the iron ball flying towards the elder treant¡¯s nose!

    The instant the iron ball hit the elder treant, a crack appeared on the elder treant¡¯s face, and magic power gushed out. After having been hit all this time, its resistance was at its worst, leaving it unable to resist the force of the iron ball.

    I was originally nning to hit 4 or 5 times, but with this, the battle might already be over. And even the surrounding roots and branches have stopped moving. It¡¯s notpletely subjugated yet, but...

    ¡°Ryouma, finish it off.¡± [Asagi]

    ¡°After all, this victory is thanks to Ryouma.¡± [Syria]

    ¡°So you should be the one to put an end to this battle.¡± [Mizelia]

    So I pulled on the chains again, and struck at the elder treants forehead with all of my might.

    A booming thick sound exploded, then the sound of the elder treant¡¯s face copsing resounded. The gushing magic power grew fiercer, and in the next moment, no more magic could be felt from the elder treant.

    ¡°With this, it¡¯s down for real, right?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I can¡¯t feel any more magic power, so it should be fine, de aru.¡± [Raypin]

    After ensuring everything was ok, I went to heal the iron slimes with healing magic. Well, it doesn¡¯t seem like anything¡¯s wrong, but just in case. In any case, it¡¯s good that nothing bad happened.

    While I was shooting ¡®Light Ball¡¯ at the iron slimes, I spoke with Asagi-san and the others about our movement from here on out. And it¡¯s been decided that we will be going back to the vige first, report to the guild there, then get some help to transport all the logs.

    We weren¡¯t nning to hunt this much, but leaving it would be a waste, so we might as well make use of it. It won¡¯t all fit into mine and Raypin-san¡¯s ¡®Dimension Home¡¯, so this time around, we¡¯ll have to get some actual transport. As for the fees, the guild can apparently take care of it as long as we do the papers properly.

    Like this we went back to the vige, reported to the guild, and retrieved the lumbers the next day.

 Volume 3 - 21

    TL Note: Kanpai = ¡°cheers!¡± when drinking. I just left it in Japanese since I¡¯ve already included the name suffixes in this trantion. So I figured this would be the most appropriate for the trantion style so far.

    Volume 3 Chapter 21

    The next day.

    The guild lent us 15 men, and we took them with us to the ce where we fought the elder treant. Our n is to gather all the leftover lumber from the aftermath of our fight. However, the only lumbers we will be taking with us are those that can fit into Raypin-san¡¯s ¡®Dimension Home¡¯. Everything else will be stored in this town¡¯s and the guild¡¯s storehouses.

    When we got to the scene, the adventurers that came with us were shocked. They couldn¡¯t believe the number of treants that seven people had managed to subjugate.

    Then again, it probably can¡¯t be helped as the total number of treants we subjugated were over 2,000.

    The treants kepting one after another, so we had no choice but to kill them off. And since hitting them in the face would finish them in one hit, we were able to kill them quite quickly. As a result, we ended up subjugating over 2,000 treants all in all.

    Incidentally, I started to worry when I realized we had just killed so many treants that were originally trees of this forest. So I asked about it, and I found out that the trees of this forest were apparently of a variety known as Torigiri. The ces they grow in is limited, but in exchange, they are vigorous, and grow fast. And within half a year of being cut, they¡¯ll grow back. Even growing them from a seedling would only take a year before they could be cut as lumber. So there¡¯s really no problem since the trees that have been cut will be back by next year. Moreover, the town here will be benefitting too as they will be getting the trees. And besides, there aren¡¯t a lot of people who go this deep to get lumber anyway.

    Hearing that exnation reminded me that this world is a different world.

    If this were Earth, how many years would it take for a seed to grow into a tree? And yet here it won¡¯t even take a year. Right, I¡¯ve almost forgotten, but... this is definitely a different world. There are times when Earth¡¯smon sense won¡¯t apply to it.

    After that, we gathered lumber while taking care of any treants that we came across. Asagi-san and the others kept all the lumbers in one spot, while me and Raypin-san stored it in our ¡®Dimension Homes¡¯, carrying the lumbers to the town.

    Thanks to all the extra man power and the magic, we were mostly finished by 3PM. So we decided to inform the adventurer¡¯s guild in Gimuru that arge number of treant lumber will be transported via cart. So I brought out my nightmare rimel bird in order to contact them.

    With this, the treant lumber mission came to a close, and the rest of the helpers went back to the vige.

    But as for the seven us, we still have a job to do. That job is to disassemble and recover the elder treant.

    The request we got from Gimuru does not include the elder treant. Since we hunted it, we could do whatever we wanted with it, but if we were to ask the guild for help in harvesting it, we would have to pay them ordingly.

    The elder treant lumber is a first ss material for wands, so we didn¡¯t want to discard it. So instead, we decided to harvest it by ourselves. Only, because it¡¯s so big, it¡¯s going to take some time.

    Firstes cutting the branches. I could climb thedder I prepared beforehand, and cut its branches. But because the elder treant is so big, there are some branches that I can¡¯t reach even with thisdder.

    So I had everyone else use thedders to reach the ones that they could, while I opened my ¡®Item Box¡¯ and took out a rope made out of the sticky slimes¡¯ thread that¡¯s as strong as a wire. At the end of that rope, I attached a ring and knotted it. Then I had the metal slime cling to it and transform into a w. With this the rope has turned into a grappling hook.

    I swung the grappling hook, and carefully aiming at my target, I threw it.

    The grappling hook flew, and it wrapped around a thick branch. After confirming that it was safe, I climbed the rope. When I got near enough, I started using ¡®Wind Cutter¡¯ to cut the surrounding branches. When there was nothing left to cut, I moved to a different part, and did the same thing.

    At first I thought it was convenient that the branches would just fall to the ground, but then I remembered that they were also important ingredients. In fact, the branches were even more suited for wands than the trunk. And because we have to cut the branches first, there¡¯s a chance that they might break when they hit the ground. It¡¯s too bad, but it can¡¯t be helped.

    We silently continued to hack away like this, and somehow someway we were able to finish cutting off the branches within the day. But now I¡¯mpletely exhausted... If it was only once or twice of going up and down the tree, it wouldn¡¯t matter. But having to do it that much just really takes everything out of you.

    Come to think of it, I don¡¯t really use wands all that much, do I? So since there¡¯s material, maybe I should get one for myself?

    The next day.

    We¡¯re going to continue harvesting the elder treant today.

    We finished cutting off the branches yesterday, so today we¡¯re going to dig out its roots. And so we did, but just as we were working, something unexpected happened.

    As I dug out the area around the elder treant with the earth slimes using earth magic, I found old, crumbling wooden boxes and stone boxes beneath it.

    ¡°You guys! Look at this!¡± [Ryouma]

    Asagi-san and the others came over.

    ¡°Is something the matter?¡± [Asagi]

    ¡°Did something happen?¡± [Mizelia]

    ¡°There¡¯s something buried here. Look.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°This is... A wooden box?¡± [Mizelia]

    ¡°Why is something like this...¡± [Syria]

    ¡°For the meantime, we should unbury it and then take a look inside.¡± [Raypin]

    Following Raypin-san¡¯s suggestion, we retrieved the box, and took a look inside. Inside was a great number of muddy, white stones. Apparently, these stones are magic jewels that have already been used. Magic jewels are transparent before use, but afterwards, they turn into a muddy, whitish hue.

    We took a look at all the different boxes, and it turns out they were all full of used up magic jewels. But there were also some magic jewels that weren¡¯t fully used up yet. Amongst those were neutral magic jewels and dark magic jewels. After that, we continued searching for a while, and we came to realize just how many jewels there were.

    For the meantime, we thought we should inform the guild about this matter, so Raypin-san went back to the town, and brought back an investigator from the guild.

    When he came back, we continued our investigation until eventually we came across a number of dead human corpses. The corpses had already rotten away, but some of their belongings remained. Amongst their belongings was a ledger that belonged to a magic jewel merchant. From that we quickly found out that the merchant was a smuggler. And we concluded that all these magic jewels most likely belonged to him.

    We don¡¯t know if this ce was supposed to be his hidden stash or the ce where a deal was supposed to take ce, but regardless, we now know the reason why that elder treant turned out that way. The elder treant absorbed the energy from the magic jewels, causing it to grow faster and bigger. And because of the power of the magic jewels, it was able to summon a great forest of treants, even bing able to use dark magic itself. As for why it didn¡¯t move? We figured that was most likely because it couldn¡¯t after being weighed down by all of those boxes of magic jewels.

    After the investigation concluded, we toppled the elder treant sideways. Then usingrge saws made out of the iron slimes and metal slimes, we cut the elder treant for easy storage. And then we stored it in my ¡®Dimension Home¡¯.

    With this, we¡¯ve finished our business in this town, and will be going back to Gimuru tomorrow.

    But before that, we held a party inside the ¡®Dimension Home¡¯ to thank each other for all our efforts.

    ¡°There¡¯s still some way back home, but we¡¯ve finally sessfully gathered all the needed treant lumbers. So since we¡¯ve basicallypleted our task, let¡¯s drink our fill today! Kanpai!¡± [Asagi]

    ¡°Kanpai!¡± [Everyone else]

    At Asagi-san¡¯s lead, we all began to eat and drink.

    Today we¡¯re having tempura along with our drinks. Actually, I¡¯m partly the reason why. The thing is, there are a lot of edible wild nts in the forest, so all sorts were being sold by the town grocer. Then when I saw all the different nts, I ended up mumbling to myself, ¡°I wonder if those¡¯ll taste good when turned into tempura?¡± But then right at that moment, it just so happened that Asagi-san managed to hear me. And as soon as he caught wind of the word ¡®Tempura¡¯ he started talking zealously about it. The others heard about it too as a result, and after they said that they wanted to try it too, we ended up having tempura to go along with our liquor.

    The others didn¡¯t actually know anything about tempura. It just so happens that I talked about it from time to time during our travel, so they were quite interested in it.

    But you know what¡¯s surprising? I found out that this country actually doesn¡¯t have a lot of deep-fried food. Well Asagi-san¡¯s hometown has them, but apparently deep-fried food isn¡¯t really a thing here.

    And the reason behind that is because it takes up a lot of oil, making it luxurious. You can¡¯t keep the oil either, so you have no choice but to throw them away. On top of that, because of ack of culinary knowledge, deep-fried cooking is said to cause fires, making it a food that¡¯s generally difficult to ess for most families.

    As for me, I think it¡¯s a pity that people don¡¯t know the taste of deep-fried food. But at the same time, I do know that it¡¯s true that it costs a lot of oil. And you also can¡¯t keep the oil since it¡¯s bad for the body... Well, in my case, I could just use alchemy to remove the oxygen from the oxidized oil, making it possible for me to use it again as long as it¡¯s not dirty, but that¡¯s an exception.

    I¡¯ve actually been using alchemy in cooking like with juice or oil, but it does make me wonder from time to time. Am I using alchemy properly? But well... it¡¯s convenient so I don¡¯t really feel like stopping either way.

    ¡°Ryouma, your slimes really are strange, huh?¡± [Wereanna]

    ¡°Well it¡¯s not really strange for slimes to be omnivorous and drink liquor, but...¡± [Raypin]

    ¡°They¡¯re not just eating, they¡¯re actually carefully tasting the food and the wine.¡± [Mizelia]

    Right, actually, on top of the three guys and three girls, we also have a slime eating with us.

    I caught this slime with the intention of using it as a part of my magic experiment, but it still hasn¡¯t evolved yet. It likes dark magic, but as part of my experiment, I fed it wood magic instead. But then at some point in time, it started to drink with me whenever I would drink by myself.

    When I first poured it wine, it finished it in one gulp, so it didn¡¯t really feel like we would be drinking buddies. But then when I varnished the sticky slime¡¯s sticky liquid on a slime-purposed wine cup, it gradually began to properly drink with me. Andtely, it would pour alcohol for me whenever my cup would run dry, and it would even eat as it drank.

    As I was exining that to everyone, the slime suddenly began to shake.

    ¡°Hmm? Could it be¨C¡± [Raypin]

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, nyaa?¡± [Miya]

    ¡°The slime¡¯s evolving.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Eh!?¡± [Miya]

    There¡¯s no doubt about it, this slime is evolving. Everyone focused their eyes on the slime. And just like the other slimes, the slime began to release and absorb magic power until it finally evolved.

    Drunk Slime

    Skills:

    Create Alcohol (Ethyl) Lv4

    Disease Resistance Lv3

    Digestion Lv5

    Absorption Lv1

    Split Lv1

    Divine Protection:

    The God of Wine, Tekun

    ...Well it drinks wine, I guess drunk slime¡¯s perfect for it then. Same goes for its ¡®Create Alcohol (Ethyl)¡¯. And of course, it¡¯s a given that the cause is drinking alcohol. But why does it have Tekun¡¯s divine protection? I mean to begin with, you could actually grant slimes, divine protections?

    ...Well, I¡¯ll just ask Tekun about itter. For the meantime, let¡¯s take a look at what magic it likes... Is it darkness? Water? Wood? Which is it? It used to like darkness, and I gave it wood magic. As for water... well it did drink water regrly... is that the reason?

    Then while I was caught up in my thoughts, Raypin-san suddenly called out to me.

    ¡°Ryouma, is something the matter, de aru?¡± [Raypin]

    ¡°Ah, umm... well it turns out that the slime evolved into a drunk slime. And it has the skill, ¡®Create Alcohol (Ethyl)¡¯, which probably spits out alcohol.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Another strange slime, de aru?¡± [Raypin]

    I brought out a cup and showed them the ¡®Create Alcohol (Ethyl)¡¯ skill. As expected the drunk slime spit out liquid that reeked of alcohol. Using ¡®Identify¡¯ I found out that it had 40% concentration, and was harmless to humans, so I drank it.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s wine alright, but...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°But?¡± [Raypin]

    ¡°It has no taste.¡± [Ryouma]

    It didn¡¯t have any particr taste or smell. It wasn¡¯t delicious. This probably shouldn¡¯t be drunk like this. Maybe if I mixed it with fruit juice or something I could turn it into fruit wine. Yeah, I should research this.

    After I thought that to myself, we toasted one more time. This time to the slime¡¯s sessful evolution. Then after enjoying ourselves with the food and liquor, the day came to an end.

 Volume 3 - 22

    TL Note: Here¡¯s the chapter for the day. Queued chapter sometime this week.

    New Schedule: GK: M, W, F; The Man...: T, TH, SAT

    Queue has also been reopened. Every time the queue reaches 70$, an extra chapter will be added to the queue. Two of these for both series each week at least.

    When donating, make sure to mention which series you want the donation to be added to. If you don¡¯t, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll email you.

    As it is the holdays, do check my twitter @NeoTrantions for any news or announcements on dys. Most likely no chapters on the 25th and the 31st and 1st.

    Volume 3 Chapter 22

    Half a yearter... (A year since parting with the duke¡¯s family.)

    Half a year has passed since subjugating the elder treant. Since then the seasons have changed, and now, the weather has gotten warm.

    During this time, Gimuru has greatly changed, and has be more bustling than ever. This change was brought about by the opening of the previously mentioned new town and arena. As a result, workersing in from other cities have increased, and the various different guilds have been buzzing with work.

    But such things mattered little to me, and instead I¡¯ve been focusing on raising my rank and furthering my training.

    ¡°...Looks like another job done.¡± [Ryouma]

    I¡¯m currently a month¡¯s distance away from Gimuru in Mt. Surure, exterminating the nest of a magical beast known as karifu monkey. The karifu monkey has an inclination to mob and run away to trees when attacked, making it a troublesome opponent.

    But with this, my training has finally reached a ce where I only need to put in a little more effort before I can finally rest. As a part of that, I¡¯ve been promoted to D Rank, and after this request, I¡¯ll be a C Rank.

    I stored the corpses of the karifu monkeys into my ¡®Dimension Home¡¯. Then I cut off their right ears as trophy to serve as proof of the job¡¯s sess. As for the rest of the corpses, I fed it to my slimes.

    The slimes feasted on the karifu monkeys, and when the bloody slimes wanted to split, I let them, and then I contracted them. I¡¯ve been hunting a lottely, so the bloody slimes now number four.

    After that, I rested for a bit, and then I descended the mountain. There¡¯s a cliff until the foot of the mountain, but it¡¯d take too long to use a different route. So I climbed straight down the cliff instead.

    ¡° ¡®Rock Climbing¡¯ ¡° [Ryouma]

    I activated my original earth magic, ¡®Rock Climbing¡¯.

    Thanks to this past year of training my ¡®Magic Maniption¡¯, I¡¯m now able to wrap my limbs in magic power to use ¡®Create Block¡¯ to create footholds for my limbs, allowing me to climb up and down cliffs such as these.

    This technique of wrapping one¡¯s limbs in magic power to use techniques is known as magic battle technique. This battle technique was originally used with offensive magic, but it¡¯s now an obsolete ability.

    Magic battle technique requires a high level of ¡®Magic Maniption¡¯ to use. Moreover, with the invention of the magic weapons that allows its wielders to demonstrate a simr effect to that of battle techniques without any training, the people practicing the technique greatly fell. And eventually, people forgot about it.

    But it¡¯s not just that though, as there¡¯s also the danger in using it that caused it to be obsolete. Magic battle technique is an extremely delicate skill. Every practitioner must take care not to lose his focus. Otherwise, if a hole is perforated through the film of magic power due tock of concentration, then the practitioner will get hurt. If his limbs are d in fire magic, then he¡¯ll find himself burned. If electricity, then he¡¯ll get electrocuted.

    I thought up this skill when I remembered a light novel from my previous life. I tried that out during practice, and I was able to somehow form a shape. After practicing for a while, I managed to resurrect a forgotten technique.

    Eventually I¡¯d love to be able to pull this off alongside Qigong, but for now it¡¯s impossible. It¡¯s certainly difficult to fire off magic while controlling ki, but it¡¯s definitely not impossible. So for now, I¡¯ll make it my goal to be able to cast magic while using qigong.

    Magic battle techniques are really quite useful though. Not only can I wrap it around my limbs, but even around my weapons. And with this, I have more tools to deal with the undead than ever.

    I thought those things to myself as I descended Mt. Surure. When I reached the foot of the mountain, I went to the nearest town, and reported my sess to the guild there.

    ¡°I¡¯ve finished this request. Please confirm.¡± [Ryouma]

    I handed a sack full of karifu monkey ears to the guild counter.

    ¡°Understood......... I¡¯ve confirmed it. With this the request¡¯s conditions have been fulfilled. Amazing, to actually be able to kill off over 80 karifu monkeys by yourself. There¡¯s been a lot of themtely, so even D Rank parties couldn¡¯t subjugate them all. Thank you for taking care of it.

    Moreover, due to having fulfilled the promotion conditions for C Rank with thepletion of this request; Takebayashi-sama, from now on, you are a C Rank Adventurer.¡± [Guild Receptionist]

    After receiving my reward and C Rank guild card, I thanked the receptionist, and left the guild.

    Then I headed for the country¡¯s westernmost city, Teressa.

    I¡¯m feeling good afterpleting the karifu monkey request, and getting promoted, so I¡¯m just dropping by there to have a little bit of fun. But my main objective this time is to go the maze known as the Town of Departed Spirits. It¡¯s what you would call a dungeon.

    In this world, there are three kinds of dungeon. The man-made, the god-made, and the magic-made. Each of these dungeons have their own respective features.

    The man-made dungeons are, as the name implies, made by men. A relic of history. There are also those that were constructed by adventurers and soldiers for the sake of training. There are, however, few cases where people came out rich from these type of dungeons.

    The god-made dungeons are also simr in that as the name implies they are made by gods. There¡¯s nothing in this world that could threaten the destruction of the world, but when there is a threat that the humans can¡¯t contest or something that threatens humanity¡¯s extinction, Gayn would create a dungeon such as this to serve as man¡¯s relief. The people who step into this dungeon can find in it divine armaments or great power. Then with the help of that power, humanity can fight off the threat.

    But on top of that, the god-made dungeons only appear in dangerous situations. It also disappears after being explored once, so finding one is a rare privilege.

    Thest one, the magic-made dungeons. Unlike the other dungeons, these ones aren¡¯t made by any person in particr, but rather, are a natural urrence after magic power naturally umtes in one area. There are plenty of magical beasts within these dungeons. And although it is the most dangerous type, it is also the most profitablerge magic jewels and magic ores can be collected from here.

    The dungeon I will be going to this time around, the Town of Departed Spirits, is a naturally formed dungeon by magic. A magic-made dungeon so to speak. As the name implies, it¡¯s inhabited by zombies, skeletons, races with no actual body, and lots of undead-type magical beasts. It¡¯s supposedly the execution site of criminals in the past.

    Once I arrive, I¡¯m gonna go ahead and defeat a bunch of undead-type magical beasts. Then along the way, I¡¯m going to pick up an herb known as Evesting Darkness. This herb is needed in order to concoct an insect repent that could keep the leech and other pests living in the Great Forest of Shurus. After I concoct that insect repent, I¡¯ll havepleted my preparations to go into the forest.

    It sure feels great knowing that I¡¯m almost done with my preparations... In all sorts of ways... In all sorts...

    My training has progressed quite favorably, but there were also a lot of things that happened before mying fight. It might be because of those things that I started acquiring new skills. For example, from the time I started learning that magic battle technique I used a while ago, I¡¯ve learned ¡®Elixir Concoction¡¯, ¡®Construction Magic¡¯, ¡®Chantless Casting¡¯, ¡®Torture¡¯, ¡®Assassination¡¯, ¡®Cursed Song¡¯, ¡®The Power of Life or Death¡¯... As for why I learned skills like this, well...

    ¡®Elixir Concoction¡¯ is probably because I was mixing my potion making with my alchemy when I was making medicine for my medicine slimes.

    I investigated a bit after that, and I found out that there are times when either a new skill, a synthesized skill, or a transformed skill/magic could be made after fulfilling some conditions. When a synthesized skill has been made, it will show up in the status board.

    The construction magic is the magic that I used to build my store. The ¡®Create Block¡¯, ¡®Pavement¡¯, ¡®Circle Saw¡¯... etc. And ording to the magic god, Fer Noevir, the four magic types: architecture, molding, woodworking, and painting are included there.

    ¡®Chantless Casting¡¯ is, as the name implies, the ability to cast spell without chanting anything. I learned this thanks to the rimel birds and the wind slimes.

    The rimel birds can¡¯t talk, and the slimes don¡¯t even have vocal chords. So why are they able to use magic? When I thought that to myself, I started researching in order to find an answer. And from my research, I discovered that as long as one has the right image, attribute, and enough magic power, then it¡¯s possible to cast magic without any chants.

    When I tried it out at first, the magic casted was weaker than the ones casted with chants. But after continued practice with the rimel bird and wind slimes as a model, I eventually managed to cast low-level elementary magic without any decrease in its power.

    Now, about the ¡¯Torture¡¯ skill. Once upon a time, while I was walking by myself in the mountains, some bandits came out, and tried to kidnap me. They probably thought I¡¯d be easy pickings since I look eleven on the outside... Although I¡¯m actually already twelve.

    Anyway, I managed to beat them up, and one of the bandits let slip that they were nning to kidnap me. From that I deduced that they had already kidnapped some other children.

    So I went ahead and asked them where their hideout was, but they wouldn¡¯t talk. Because of that, I had no choice but to hurt them while using healing magic until I managed to make them T-A-L-K. It was then that I learned the ¡®Torture¡¯ skill.

    I headed to the hideout of the bandits afterwards, and after a bit of work, I learned ¡®Assassination¡¯. I went back to Gimuru, and I asked Fei-san and Li Ling-san about it, and apparently, the ¡®Assassination¡¯ skill is something that can be learned after having learned ¡®Covert Arts¡¯, ¡®Hidden Weapons¡¯, ¡®Short Sword Arts¡¯, ¡®Fundoujutsu¡¯, and ¡®Throwing Arts¡¯.

    But I already had those skills since way before, so why didn¡¯t it activate? Apparently I was missing thest piece of the puzzle, experience in assassinating a human. Of course, not just once or twice too.

    I¡¯ve dealt with magical beasts plenty of times, but I¡¯ve never had much experience with human opponents. But all that changed when I started travelling, and started beating up lots of bandits.

    And then during that time when I had to save the children, well it was important, so I let the slimes go wild outside the bandits¡¯ hideout, while I had the earth slimes dig a tunnel under the ground with earth magic. Then I sneaked through that tunnel, and rescued the kids. After which, I bumped into the bandit boss by chance, so I captured him, and got rid of his followers. That¡¯s probably the reason why I acquired this skill.

    Li Ling-san and Fei-san congratted me after I finished telling my story. ¡°Now, the boss is finally a first rate assassin,¡± they said. Apparently, getting experience as an assassin is proof of being a first rate assassin, and is something worth celebrating.

    As for the kids I saved, they were taken in by the nearest vige. The bandit boss fessed up where they were selling the children, so I spared his life, and handed him over to the guards of a big town along with the information. A few dayster, I heard that the guards managed to also catch the illegal ve merchant that was buying the ves.

    Next is the ¡®Cursed Song¡¯ skill. The ¡®Cursed Song¡¯ is the resulting skill from the synthetization of musical performance (instrument) and singing, brought about by dark magic and ¡®Chantless Casting¡¯. When I saw the nightmare rimel bird, Einz, attack mentally with its cries, I thought to try singing a gloomy song from my previous life while casting ¡®Depression¡¯, a powerful magic that causes fear and anxiety, without chanting.

    The bandits who heard my song were all affected. ¡®Depression¡¯ was originally supposed to be a target spell, unable to hit more than one target at the same time, yet somehow it affected everyone.

    So I investigated a bit, and I found out that I had lost the skills ¡®musical performance (instrument)¡¯ and ¡®singing¡¯, and had gained the skill ¡®Cursed Song¡¯.

    Next is ¡®The Power of Life or Death¡¯ skill. I have no idea why its name is so exaggerated, I just held back. That¡¯s all really. I just captured some bandits alive to get information from, and then during my free time, I went to the church in Gimuru and trained with the kids, and then all of the sudden I learned this skill.

    ¡°I¡¯m happy to see that I¡¯ve learned a new skill, so of course I¡¯m not mad. But couldn¡¯t it have been worded in a more peaceful manner?¡± [Ryouma]

    There are a lot of things to think about, but I¡¯ve definitely learned a lot within this past year. Don¡¯t misunderstand though, training wasn¡¯t the only thing I¡¯ve done.

    Just a few days ago, our branch stores increased by three. If you include the one in Renauph, there are now four branch stores. Ka-san left the three stores under the care of Caulkins-san, Tony-san, and Robelia-san.

    I talked to Ka-san about them, and surprisingly, it turned out that Caulkins-san was actually the best when it came to handling money. We were worried about him because we heard that he once lost all of his money, but from the looks of things, that failure has actually turned him for the better. And now, he¡¯s not only good at management, but also really devoted when ites to handling money.

    Now, as for thest store, I left it to a man I was introduced to by Serge-san. His name is Falzen. I¡¯ve met him several times before, but most likely because of his travels, his skin¡¯s tanned. And despite being Serge-san¡¯s age, he looks much older. He used to be a peddler, but because of his wounds he couldn¡¯t continue, and so he dropped by Serge¡¯s for help.

    As a ve magic practitioner, he had his ve demons pull his cart as he would travel to dangerous regions crawling with magical beasts with his group to sell his goods. But as bad luck would have it, his group was attacked by a herd of magical beasts. Then immediately after, they were attacked by a group of bandits. Falzen-san and his ve demons were greatly fatigued from the ceaseless fighting, yet somehow someway they managed to repel the bandits. At thest moment, however, one of the bandits nocked an arrow as revenge, and poor Falzen took an arrow to the knee.

    Reminds me of a certain guard, I thought. But I guess stuff like that ismon urrence in this world. And even the man himself said that he¡¯s lucky just to keep his life.

    With a long history of trade and ve magic under his belt, Falzen-san is no doubt one of the best employees I could ask for.

    Also, since he went out of business, a part of his guards that escorted his group also went out of business. And just like him, they dropped by the town in search of a new job. When I heard that, I quickly went out to look for them. And after much discussion, I was able to hire them too.

    During their series of unfortunate mishaps, the merchant group that Falzen-san traveled with, suffered a considerable amount of casualty, leading to a reduction in the carts within the group. With the number of people and carts to be escorted, reduced. The group decided to let go of some of the guards.

    I assigned half of the newly employed guards to Falzen-san¡¯s shop. The other half I sent over to Caulkins-san. When Iter got back to the Gimuru, I contacted the different branches to see how they were doing. And fortunately, they were all doing well.

    After that¡¯s just various stuff. In general, when I¡¯m in Gimuru, I¡¯m resting. When I¡¯m out, I¡¯m either working or training. During my travels I would focus in my training, and when I¡¯m in Gimuru, I would hang around the town, and talk with the people. I would also spend my days researching as my hobby.

    As a result, I started to take requests from Gimuru less and less... But some timeter, I realized that amongst the adventurers that I would meet in the town, there are some who would refer to me as ¡°Cleaner.¡± Moreover, they¡¯ve been increasing.

    After I asked about it, it turned out that it was the nickname of a peculiar adventurer with abilities that put him above the rest. News of such an aspiring neer has even made its way to the nearby towns.

    They got the name cleaner from that time when I cleaned thetrine pits. From that time when I cleaned up all those ruffians when I opened my store. From my recent actions when I would frequently deal with the bandits on the road, arresting them, and handing them to the guards. And from the fact that whenever I would hunt monsters, the only thing that would be left are the trophies (as evidence that I finished the mission) and the parts that can sell. But for everything else, nothing. Not even the bones would remain.

    I was a bit embarrassed when I first heard it, buttely, I¡¯ve gotten used to it. Well, like this, I feel like I can continue with my training smoothly. The slimes are doing great too. Yeah, let¡¯s keep going like this from now on.

    ... Alright, now let¡¯s speed up our pace so we can get to Teressa faster!

 Volume 3 - 23

    TL Note: Maze -> Labyrinth; sounds better in my opinion.

    Volume 3 Chapter 23

    I continued to walk through the mountain road while looking at the dreary surroundings. I¡¯m already sick from looking at this scenery, but then I saw the gates of the Town of Teressa.

    Today I¡¯m going to spend the night in this town, and then tomorrow I will be heading for thebyrinth. But what should I do for the inn? I have to make the meals by myself, but since I have my ¡®Dimension Home¡¯, it might be better to just stay there rather than to spend the night at a cheap inn. Well, let¡¯s take a look at the town first, shall we?

    Well the town doesn¡¯t seem bad at all, so depending on the state of the inn, it might be better to spend the night there instead. But it¡¯s almost afternoon, so I should probably go ahead and have lunch first.

    After walking around the town for a while, I saw an inn with a stable in which a carriage was parked.

    ¡°Mn? This is...¡± [Ryouma]

    The inn looked to be a bit too luxurious, so I was going to just walk pass it, but... Where did I see this carriage before? Hmm... Did I make a mistake?

    At the side of the carriage was a familiar coat-of-arms... When I thought about it, I remembered. It¡¯s the same carriage that I rode onst year from the Forest of Gana to the town of Gimuru.

    Why is it here!?

    As I was thinking that, I noticed someone sneaking in from behind. I turned toward her. When I did, I saw a brown-skinned beauty with silver hair extending until her shoulders, wearing sses. The distance between us was no more than 3m.

    She got so close, and yet I wasn¡¯t able to notice her at all... If she had a spear with her, I could have been hit... I need to be more careful.

    ¡°Oh my, looks like I¡¯ve been caught. Your instincts are pretty good, huh?¡± [Girl]

    ¡°Who are you?¡± [Ryouma]

    Because she went near me while hiding her presence, my guard was up, and was a little impolite.

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry, did I frighten you by any chance? I just wanted to startle you a bit. It¡¯s because you were staring at that carriage so intently, so I was wondering to myself what you were doing, and then I suddenly thought of ying a prank.¡± [Girl]

    True, she certainly doesn¡¯t seem to have any ill will...

    Suddenly a man¡¯s voice called out from behind the girl.

    ¡°Remiri-sama, so you were here? It¡¯s almost time for lunch, so... Oh? Could you possibly be... Ryouma-sama?¡± [Man]

    This voice...

    When I looked toward the direction of that familiar voice, what greeted me was that silver-haired man dressed in a butler¡¯s uniform.

    ¡°Sebasu-san!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Eh? Sebasu-chan, is he someone you know?¡± [Remiri]

    The person there was none other than the head butler of the duke¡¯s household, the person who taught me dimension magic, Sebasu-san. From the looks of things this girl is Sebasu-san¡¯s acquaintance. So I guess it¡¯s safe for now, right?

    ¡°Remiri-sama, he is our friend. However, I didn¡¯t expect that we¡¯d actually meet at a ace like this.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°Friend? By ¡®our¡¯, you don¡¯t just mean yours, but also Rheinbach-chan¡¯s as well, right? [Remiri]

    Just who is this girl? Even though she looks to be only 20 years old, or at the very least at thetter half of her 10s, and yet she actually affixes ¡®chan¡¯ to Sebasu-san and Rheinbach-sama¡¯s names? I have no idea who she is, but now that I look at her again, she is certainly quite the beauty.

    She looks young. And although she¡¯s still taller than me, for an adult woman she¡¯s on the smaller side. Also the front of the robe she¡¯s wearing is open, so I know she has good style.

    Her chest is also unusually biggerpared to her height, and her waist is thin. Her figure¡¯s like the ones that you could see in the gravure idol mags in Earth. Her body¡¯s healthy, but it doesn¡¯t look she trained her body for fighting. She probably doesn¡¯t fight with a weapon, though she does look to be quite nimble.

    ¡°Sorry for scaring you just a while ago, ok? My name is Remiri Cremis. I¡¯m a wizard.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°My name is Ryouma Takebayashi, sorry for the dyed introduction.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Well, since you two are done introducing yourselves. Let¡¯s move to a different ce, shall we?¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°Right. Do you mind, Ryouma?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Not at all.¡± [Ryouma]

    Sebasu-san¡¯sing too, so it should be fine. But really, what is Sebasu-san doing in a ce like this? Oh, but it seems Rheinbach-sama is here as well, so I guess he¡¯s apanying him.

    When I went with Sebasu-san, I was led to the inn in front of us. And then we kept walking until we reached a room. Sebasu-san was just about to knock, when suddenly Remiri opened the door and pulled me by hand inside.

    ¡°Rheinbach-chan, there¡¯s a customer¨C¡° [Remiri]

    ¡°Wai¨C Oh, umm... Long time no see.¡± [Ryouma]

    When I entered the room, the unchanged figure of Rheinbach-sama entered my vision, and I said hello. Inside the room, there was another man around Rheinbach-sama¡¯s age, seating on the couch. Looks like they were talking about something.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun? You¡¯ve grown quite a bit since the day we parted at Gimuru... But why are you here?¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°I just dropped here by coincidence during my training. And then as I was walking around the town, I saw the duke¡¯s carriage, and then...¡± [Ryouma]

    As I was saying that, I looked towards Remiri-san. Following my eyes, Rheinbach-sama and that other guy also looked at Remiri-san. With everyone staring at her, Remiri-san gave an extremely short and simple exnation.

    ¡°I brought him here because it looked like he knew Rheinbach-chan.¡± [Remiri]

    After that we each introduced ourselves, and then I was told what rtionship Rheinbach-sama had with her and the reason why Rheinbach-sama and the others were here.

    Apparently, Rheinbach-sama is currently in the midst of his travels with his friends. And Sebasu-san is as expected apanying him.

    Speaking of friends, the ones he¡¯s referring to are Remiri-san and the other man, whose name is Shiva Gardak. Well who would¡¯ve thought, it¡¯s the former knightmander that Rheinbach-sama wanted me to hire when I opened the store. Rheinbach-sama mentioned that he retired because of his age and has gotten weaker, but with that muscr body of his, it doesn¡¯t feel like that at all. But at the same time, I don¡¯t¡¯ feel intimidated by him. Then again it¡¯d be problematic as well if I actually felt intimidated in our first meeting. I thought a knightmander would have a more solemn atmosphere, but I¡¯m happy that¡¯s not that case.

    And about Remiri-san, apparently she¡¯s a former royal court magician. But what¡¯s surprising is that she¡¯s actually the oldest in this room. She¡¯s a dark elf, and because she doesn¡¯t look like she¡¯s aged at all, I couldn¡¯t tell at all.

    I don¡¯t know what her age is though, I couldn¡¯t ask. When I was wondering to myself whether to ask her or not, Shiva-san asked her with no hesitation, and Remiri-san just stared daggers at him with a frightening killing intent. So after that, I just decided not to speak a word about her age.

    Incidentally, Remiri-san hates being addressed with the sama suffix, and Shiva-san said that since he¡¯s no longer a knightmander he doesn¡¯t need the sama either. So with that it¡¯s been decided to just refer to them with a san.

    I know that they met in this town to meet each other, but...

    ¡°Why did you decide to meet in this town?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Since you¡¯re in training, I think you should know, but there¡¯s a nearby town here known as the Town of Departed Spirits¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Do you know of the herb, Evesting Darkness.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°It¡¯s an herbal ingredient that¡¯s mainly used for tranquilizers and sleeping potions. And depending on the amount and what it¡¯s mixed with, it can be turned into a poison that causes pain and confusion. As a result, it¡¯s an herb that¡¯s difficult to handle.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Oh, how knowledgeable. It¡¯s exactly as you said, but Eternal Darkness (herb) isn¡¯t only used in medicines.¡± [Remiri]

    As Remiri-san said that, she took out a ck wand.

    ¡°This wand is something I was gifted when I became an adult. I¡¯ve been taking good care of it all this time, but it¡¯s almost about to reach its limit.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°I see, so you want an Eternal Darkness (herb) in order to make a new wand.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Precisely.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°In my case, I had a lot of free time after retiring and after leaving the management of our territory to my son. So I thought it wouldn¡¯t be so bad to go along with Remiri from time to time. I didn¡¯t expect to meet you here though.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°For you to be training at such a young age... Do you have any goals?¡± [Shiva]

    Since Shiva-san asked, I exined the matter about recovering my grandparents¡¯ inheritance.

    ¡°Hmm... within the forest of the Great Forest of Shurus, huh?¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°True... If you¡¯re going there, you¡¯ll definitely need some protection against the undead.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°I can use light magic, but since I haven¡¯t had any experience with undead yet, I thought of getting some experience at the Town of Departed Spirits.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Oh? You can use light magic?¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Yes. I can use the elementary offense magic, ¡®Light Ball¡¯, and the anti-undead defensive magic, ¡°Holy Curtain¡¯. But only those two.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Considering your age, that¡¯s more than enough. Since you know those, I guess you¡¯re only worried about getting mobbed by undeads then. If you could at least use elementary light magic, you¡¯d be set.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Want me to teach you? Elementary light magic that is.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Is it ok?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Of course. You¡¯re a kid Rheinbach-chan¡¯s taken a liking to after all. And you even noticed me after I used ¡®Hide¡¯, so I think you¡¯re a really brilliant kid.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡®Hide¡¯? I¡¯ve never heard of that magic before, but could it be a magic to conceal yourself? ...She used it when we met?

    ¡°Is ¡®Hide¡¯ a magic?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yeah, but it¡¯s dark magic, so I suppose it¡¯s only natural that you don¡¯t know. It¡¯s an intermediate level that allows one to hid his presence.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Remiri-sama is an expert of dark magic and light magic, an aplished royal court magician. There are very few with abilities above her.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°Save for her personality, there¡¯re no questions when ites to her skill.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°How rude... My personality¡¯s perfectly fine.¡± [Remiri]

    Said Remiri-san as she threw a puzzled gaze toward Rheinbach-sama and Shiva-san. Sebasu-san on the other hand just stood at Rheinbach¡¯s side quietly as if saying, ¡®Nothing to do with me¡¯. In any case, I¡¯m happy to have someone teach me light magic, but I wonder if it¡¯ll turn out alright.

    ¡°Once you¡¯ve met her, she¡¯ll bring you trouble whether she teaches you or not. So Ryouma-kun, I think it¡¯d be a fine idea for you to just ept her offer.¡± [Shiva]

    What does that mean? Now I¡¯m a little worried, but at the same time, I don¡¯t want to waste this opportunity.

    ¡°Thank you, I¡¯m truly grateful to be able to learn light magic. Remiri-san, if you¡¯re alright with it, then please teach me light magic.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Then it¡¯s decided! It¡¯s only temporary, but I¡¯ll have you call me master during this time.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Master? Alr¨C¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Oneechan would do just fine too.¡± [Remiri]

    Just when I was about to agree, she suddenly suggested something unexpected. But that was embarrassing so I refused.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go with ¡®master¡¯.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Eh, but that will affect my motivation¨C¡° [Remiri]

    Remiri-san was clearly not satisfied with my answer. When the other three heard that, they couldn¡¯t help but remark.

    ¡°Even though you¡¯re the one who wanted to be called master.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°It must be tiring to have Remiri as your teacher, but there¡¯s nothing else to it than to endure or let it pass. Do your best, Ryouma-kun.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Ryouma-sama, there¡¯re no doubts about Remiri-sama¡¯s ability, so please don¡¯t worry.¡± [Sebasu]

    How to put it... Remiri-san feels like a very ¡®free¡¯ type of person.

    As I was thinking that, Rheinbach-sama suggested one more thing.

    ¡°Oh, right. Ryouma-kun, it¡¯s been awhile, so how about you show us how you fight?¡± [Rheinbach]

    I don¡¯t mind, but why all of the sudden?

    ¡°Then would it be fine if I apanied you guys to the Town of Departed Spirits.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That¡¯s fine too, but I¡¯d like you to spar once with Shiva over here.¡± [Rheinbach]

    Eh? Spar with a former knightmander? Wait, even Shiva-san¡¯s shocked!

    Before I could ask why, Shiva-san asked. And apparently Rheinbach-sama wants to see my abilities, but if he were to spar with me himself, his evaluation of me might be a bit too biased. So he decided it¡¯d be best if I sparred with Shiva-san who I¡¯d just met for the first time. On top of that, since he¡¯s a former knightmander, he¡¯d be able to give an urate evaluation of my abilities.

    This most likely isn¡¯t the first time Rheinbach-sama¡¯s thought of this though. As he seemed to have already been nning to test my abilities before my trip to the Great Forest of Shurus.

    When I spoke with the members of the duke¡¯s household before via letter regarding the Great Forest of Shurus, they suggested in our conversation to just let them send some people to pick it up for me, but I wouldn¡¯t agree. So they told me to contact them first before going. I¡¯m guessing they were nning to test my abilities then.

    After hearing this reason, Shiva-san agreed to test my abilities. Then again, he was only a little surprised after being told to spar all of the sudden, it¡¯s not like he was nning to refuse in the first ce.

    After that, Shiva-san said that it¡¯d be better for us to fight with no information on each other as that would reflect my actual abilities the best. Of course, preparing carefully beforehand is also good, but there¡¯re also times when one can get caught in a fight without being able to prepare. If one¡¯s abilities aren¡¯t up to par then, he wouldn¡¯t be able to survive. With that, it¡¯s been decided that we will be sparring before lunch.

    As a result, I will be taken to the area where we will be sparring, just outside the town, by Sebasu-san¡¯s dimension magic. Shiva-san¡¯s just started to travel after all, so he¡¯s different from me, and doesn¡¯t have his weapons with him. Because of that it¡¯s been decided that I¡¯ll go ahead, and he¡¯lle after grabbing his weapons.

    First we teleported to the gate of Teressa. We could¡¯ve teleported beyond just fine too, but, save for emergencies, it¡¯s illegal to go past the gate with dimension magic.

    After going past the gate, we teleported again, and this time we reached a rocky area. With this, we won¡¯t have to worry about our surroundings.

    Sebasu-san said that he¡¯ll bring Shiva-san and the others next, so I sent him off, and I began to do my own preparations. My opponent is a former knightmander. Obviously, he¡¯s going to be strong. Even if he has gotten older, his power should still be on apletely different levelpared to those bandits I¡¯ve been fighting. I can¡¯t let my guard down...

 Volume 3 - 24

    TL Note: Here¡¯s the extra queue guys. Merry Christmas btw. I ate so much today, so much...

    Terms: OMG, I¡¯m so sorry, I forgot.

    Waki-gamae - One of the five stances in kendo.

    CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO WIKIPEDIA

    Volume 3 Chapter 24

    After Sebasu took Ryouma to the appointed area, Rheinbach and the others talked about Ryouma. Before they could finish their discussion, Sebasu came back. When Shiva saw that, he quickly went to prepare.

    Quickly entering his room, he gazed deeply at the halberd he was using during his service, and the armor he bought after retiring. Then he said to himself,

    ¡°How strong is that boy I wonder... Judging from his movements alone, I know that he¡¯s skilled, but as to what extent, I don¡¯t know. From what Rheinbach said, he¡¯s not an opponent I could take lightly... How despicable, truly. That my body would age so.¡± [Shiva]

    When he resigned, he could still fully fulfill his duties. But although people tried to stop him from resigning, he was resolute in his decision.

    At the time, he had already begun to find his once favorite halberd that he swung with ease, gradually bing heavier. It was only through arduous training in qigong that he eventually learned how to swing it as he did before. His worsening skill was the painful mark of age.

    And in the end, he resigned as soon as he finished raising a sessor.

    After retiring, he did everything he could to keep himself from getting dull, and from getting older. He toiled against age, but no matter how hard he worked, he knew he couldn¡¯t ovee it. And he would spend the nights drinking away his feelings.

    Remiri who was listening while lying down said,

    ¡°The flow of time is like that. Everyone¡¯s the same, you, me, there¡¯s nothing else to it but to ept it. But the more prepared you are for it, the more epting you¡¯ll be. Shiva-chan, if you let your mind wander, you¡¯ll grow old quickly.¡± [Remiri]

    Said Remiri to Shiva. The sort of philosophy you¡¯d expect from a race with long life like the dark elves.

    Shiva smiled bitterly when he remembered those words.

    ¡°Seriously, Remiri... It¡¯s hard to tell your age with you being a dark elf, I wonder if you even actually age at all. I don¡¯t know exactly how old you are... But it¡¯s most likely close to double mine. Yet your body hasn¡¯t changed one bit since we first met. Your movements haven¡¯t slowed one bit either. Even if you tell me you¡¯re aging; I don¡¯t see it one bit.

    Swallowing my pride, I once asked her if she had a secret. And she just replied, ¡°Because my heart¡¯s young.¡± What¡¯s that supposed to mean? No, even if I talk about this now, nothing will change. Right now, I should just focus on my spar with Ryouma.¡± [Shiva]

    He cast away all his worldly thoughts, steeled himself for the uing spar, and finished his preparations. Then together with Remiri and Rheinbach, they teleported with Sebasu-san¡¯s dimension magic, passed through the gate, and teleported a second time. The rocky ce where the mock match would take ce appeared, but for some reason, a part of thend has been levelled. And a great number of slimes were there, surrounding Ryouma. Shiva and the others then went to take a closer look.

    ¡°Thank you for this opportunity, Shiva-san.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Same, let¡¯s have a good spar. By the way, what¡¯s up with the ground and these slimes?¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°The slimes are my ve demons. And the ground, I levelled with my magic for our spar. I figured it¡¯d be better to have an area that¡¯s closer to the ones in the training grounds.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Oh, thank you for that. Do you have enough magic power left?¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the slimes were the one who used earth magic to level the ground.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I see. Then as for the rules of this spar, the rules of the knight ceremony should be fine, right?¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°How does that work?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°We¡¯ll each be fighting with real weapons in a one on one. And either side can use magic up to the intermediate level. In other words, it¡¯s a real fight. You can use even magic weapons if you want; I don¡¯t mind. It¡¯d normally be dangerous without a healer, but fortunately, Remiri is here, so there¡¯s nothing to worry on that front.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°I can use healing magic all the way to the advanced level. Even if your limbs are cut off, as long as it¡¯s immediately, I can put it back. So don¡¯t worry, alright?¡± [Remiri]

    Ryouma was surprised when he heard that, but he quickly understood, and then asked a question regarding the rules.

    ¡°Regarding the weapons...¡± [Ryouma]

    As Ryouma said that, he had the weapon he was using split into slimes, and then back in to a single de again. Then he continued,

    ¡°The weapon I¡¯m using is like this, so... Is this still within the rules of one on one?¡± [Ryouma]

    Shiva thought a bit, then he said,

    ¡°It¡¯s my first time seeing someone use slimes as a weaopn, but... This is a match to see the extent of your abilities. If you¡¯re using that as a weapon, then there¡¯s no problem. But using the slimes themselves to attack is a breach of rules.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    With the rules decided, the two fighters gripped their weapons, and walked towards each other over the ring (levelled ground). In between the two of them was Sebasu-san, the referee. Then with Sebasu-san¡¯s ¡®Fight!¡¯ the match began.

    ¡°... Fight!¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°Fu!!¡± [Shivas]

    As the signal resounded, Shiva quickly thrusted his halberd to test Ryouma. But Ryouma dodged that, and he closed the distance between them. Shiva wasn¡¯t going to let him do that, so he lifted his halberd up, and attacked with its handle. But Ryouma dodged again, and this time, he fired a ¡®Fire Arrow¡¯ towards Shiva. Dodging that, the former knightmander, shot back with his own.

    The battlefield quickly turned into an exchange of fire arrows and nging metal, but the two fighters have yet to show their full might. They were still measuring each other up.

    If the people fighting were anyone else, Sebasu and the others would have a hard time believing the fight before them to be a mere warm up.

    Marks of the fighting could be seen in the ground around the two as fierce fighting continued at its center. The continuing sound of nging metal and crashing magic showed just how fierce the battle was. Not one bit of the fight resembled a mere warm up.

    In truth, the two were already fighting at a pace such that normal soldiers or adventurers would have a hard time seeing their crossing swords. The only ones who would think those shooting arrows of magic and thrusting halberd to be nothing but a warmup, were Shiva and Ryouma. If it was a normal soldier, he would have been pierced without even having the time to react. A normal soldier wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge and fight back. And likewise, a normal soldier wouldn¡¯t be able to stop Ryouma¡¯s counterattacks either. Such a thing is impossible for them. Shiva and Ryouma fought at a level so high, normal soldiers wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything but watch and wait.

    As that sort of battle continued, Shiva made his move.

    Raising his halberd, he swung down towards Ryouma¡¯s shoulder, and released magic power at the same time. Ryouma quickly reacted, and took a step back. But having sensed the flow of magic, he immediately jumped to the right.

    In the next instant, whirlwind blew from the halberd, showering the area Ryouma was standing at a while ago with countless attacks.

    Shiva¡¯s halberd is a magic weapon imbued with the powers of the elementary wind magic ¡®Wind Cutter¡¯ and the intermediate wind magic ¡®Tornado Cutter¡¯. Activating ¡®Tornado Cutter¡¯ summons a small vortex of wind des, cutting the foe into bits. Of course, Shiva held back in that attack just now, so Ryouma wouldn¡¯t have died. But if he hadn¡¯t dodged there, he would have incurred enough damage to be rendered incapable of fighting.

    ¡°You noticed.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°If I hadn¡¯t sensed the magic power flowing into your weapon, this spar would have ended right then and there.¡± [Ryouma]

    The ability to detect magic power. The decision that the magic power being released was to activate a magic weapon. And the decision to dodge. If Ryouma could not do even a single one of those, or if Ryouma was even a moment slower in making a decision, it would have been toote, and he would not have been able to dodge.

    But Ryouma spectacrly dodged unwounded. And Shiva could not help but praise Ryouma in his heart. At the same time however, he focused even harder.

    And the battle began once more.

    But this time, the both of them were going at it for real. And this time, Ryouma made his move.

    ¡° ¡®Fire Arrow¡¯ ¡° [Ryouma]

    Ryouma casted his magic, and shed with his de. It¡¯s the usual pattern, but right before Ryouma attacked with his de, he casted another magic. A chantless ¡®Earth Needle¡¯.

    ¡°Tch!¡± [Shiva]

    Shiva managed to dodge the chantless ¡®Earth Needle¡¯ that fired off from Ryouma¡¯s feet, but that sudden attacked opened a hole in Shiva¡¯s defense. In an instant, the distance between them was shortened, and Shiva was forced to receive Ryouma¡¯s de with the handle of his halberd d in ki.

    Immediately, Shiva began to fire off consecutive ¡®Fire Ball¡¯ at Ryouma, stopping him and letting Shiva take some distance. Then he fired off a ¡®Wind Cutter¡¯ from his own halberd.

    As he did so, a question popped up.

    (That¡¯s weird... This boy is blocking my attacks, but he refuses to attack immediately after. ...No, that¡¯s wrong. He is attacking, but there¡¯s some strain in his movements. His swordsmanship is certainly exceptional, and he can even use ¡®Chantless Casting¡¯. But... Compared to his skills, there is a strange hole in his fighting... I guess you could say there¡¯s some clumsiness in his movements.

    At first, I thought that he was feigning weakness on purpose, baiting me to attack, but... It¡¯s too blunt. Could this boy possibly...)

    As the two fighters continued to exchange blows, Shiva thought of testing his theory. And with a thrust, Shiva¡¯s hypothesis was proven true.

    (This boy most likely trained in swordsmanship and magic, and thenbined those two by himself... He¡¯s skilled with his sword, so I thought he wouldn¡¯t have much openings, but looks like he¡¯s stillcking in experience. That might be enough for your age, but it doesn¡¯t change the fact that you there¡¯s an opening!)

    From here on out, Ryouma started to lose out.

    If it was only with their martial arts, then it would have been a struggle for supremacy. But there¡¯s another factor in this battle, and that¡¯s magic.

    Ryouma came up with his own methods, but his opponent, Shiva, is someone originally from this world. Even if both of them can use magic from the start, because of Shiva¡¯s training as a knight, his skill was more polished, and he is able to cast magic right after attacking with his halberd. He can even cover for his openings with magic after making a bold move. Shiva¡¯s movements were just much smoother than Ryouma¡¯s.

    Until now, it didn¡¯t matter whether Ryouma¡¯s movements were clumsy or not because of the absurd difference between his own abilities and his opponents¡¯. But Shiva is someone with abilities that could rival Ryouma¡¯s. An opponent like that wouldn¡¯t fail to make use of an opening. And that small opening is the reason why the battle has turned to Shiva¡¯s favor.

    The battle continued like that with Ryouma losing out for a while. Then Ryouma suddenly d his own body with ki, and he moved at a level faster than before.

    Dodging Shiva¡¯s magic, Ryouma went for Shiva¡¯s chest. Shiva dodged that attack, and counterattacked. But now the small advantage he had was gone.

    When Ryouma began to lose, he realized that he was losing out in magic, and at the same time he realized that he had forgotten his own specialty.

    It¡¯smon sense in this world to use magic to fight against magic, but there¡¯s no magic in Earth.

    So Ryouma decided to stop thinking of forciblybining magic with the Kenjutsu he learned from earth. To begin with, that forcedbination could be said to be nothing but a crude attempt, so it can¡¯t be helped if it there are a few holes in it.

    But then following that thought, as long as he doesn¡¯t use that forcedbination, he should be able to solve the problem. And so he instead devoted everything into the Kenjutsu that he has been practicing for a long time.

    As Ryouma came to understand that, the battle became even fiercer.

    Shiva swung his halberd from the upper left to the lower right, aiming for Ryouma¡¯s head.

    Even if Ryouma blocked the oing halberd with his sword, he would still get hit with his own de from the impact, so he aimed for the de instead. Ryouma took a waki-gamae stance with his de on the right, then he moved his right foot diagonally forward, taking a half step. Then sinking his body, he swung his de in a circle, parrying the attack of the halberd. And then immediately after, he instantly took arge step with his left leg, closing the distance as he went to cut Shiva¡¯s left leg.

    Shiva twisted his body back to dodge the de, and aimed his halberd towards Ryouma¡¯s leg to stop him. As Ryouma dodged that, Shiva casted ¡®Wind Cutter¡¯. And then having calcted where Ryouma would run to, he activated his magic weapon¡¯s ¡®Tornado Cutter¡¯.

    The flurry of spells bore through the earth, and a cloud of dust blew as the force of the wind carried dusts and stones with it. But Ryouma¡¯s heightened speed from his ki allowed him to dodge. Then he swept the clouds of dust away, and he rushed towards Shiva again.

    The two exchanged blows like that, pushing their own techniques to the limits. In the midst of that fierce battle with little room for wandering thoughts, Shiva finally remembered that sense of fulfillment that he once had.

    The power he believed he had lost had returned. The abilities he thought to have dulled were sharpened to the point offort. Shiva swung his halberd freely, and fired magic continuously.

    But such a battle wouldn¡¯tst forever. In the midst of that fierce fighting, the two fighters suddenly took a step away from each other. As they each calmed their heavy breathing, they red at each other with great pressure.

    They did not arrange this. They did not n for this. But they thought of the same thing. The next move would be thest.

    ¡°HA!¡± [Ryouma & Shiva]

    At the height of tension, the shriek of fighting spirit echoed, and the curtain was drawn on thest exchange.

    Ryouma pointed the tip of his sword to Shiva, and wielded it tightly. Then focusing all of the ki within his body to his legs, he rocketed off in an explosive speed that made the once visible distance between the two appear as nothing more than an illusion.

    Shiva filled his halberd with magic power to meet Ryouma¡¯s abnormal speed. Then he chantlessly casted ¡®Tornado Cutter¡¯. With Shiva using the same magic as his magic weapon, the resulting force doubled. As his halberd struck out, thebined force of the two whirlwinds exploded.

    Ryouma dodged the halberd, but the whirlwind of wind des cut his cheek, his shoulders, and even the left half of his body, leaving cuts and bleeding wounds. But Ryouma ignored the damage, and stepped in even further. He took back the ki he had allocated to his lower body, transferring it to the entirety of his body. And then with all of his strength, he thrusted his sword.

    Shiva tried to twist his body as hard as he could to dodge that thrust that could kill him instantly, but the de still reached his left nk, and a shallow, bleeding wound was cut.

    Because of the force from the thrust, Ryouma¡¯s body kept going. But strengthening his legs with his ki, he stepped hard into the ground, forcefully stopped his body, and turned. Then he raised his sword high, reaching to his back. And using the load in his legs and knees like a spring, he jumped as if he were bouncing towards Shiva, and shed.

    At the same moment, Shiva brought back his halberd, and met Ryouma¡¯s attack.

    In the next instant, blood sprayed into the air.

 Volume 3 - 25

    Volume 3 Chapter 25

    ¡°That¡¯s enough!!¡± [Sebasu]

    As blood spurted into the air, the butler whose uniform had been dirtied from the clouds of dust, called the fight.

    ¡°Looks like... I lost...¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°...Ah? Wasn¡¯t it my? ¨COw...¡± [Ryouma]

    The two fighters whispered that as they grimaced in pain.

    Wounded and bleeding, the two were only enduring.

    The armor covering Shiva¡¯s left shoulder was cut, bleeding. His neck¡¯s scruff, pierced by the tip of Ryouma¡¯s de. On the other side, Ryouma¡¯s shoulder was pierced from above by the de of the halberd with a shortened handle that Shiva was using. And his abdomen was suffering from arge wound incurred from the ¡®Wind Cutter¡¯ spell that Shiva fired off.

    The ¡®Wind Cutter¡¯ spell is an elementary wind magic, and is often considered to be the first step in one¡¯s study of the element. Because of this its consumption of magic power is low, and its power is also proportionally weak. But in Shiva¡¯s case, he trained this elementary spell, and although he can¡¯t fire it consecutively, he became able to cast it chantlessly while possessing great power. On top of that, he could shoot it from a number of angles, turning it into a quick and powerful shot.

    Although simple, the ¡®Wind Cutter¡¯ spell is effective in any situation. Combine that with Shiva¡¯s ability and experience, it¡¯s a frightening weapon. All the more so for humans that don¡¯t have a natural armor like carapace, scale, or flesh like some magical beasts.

    It was by that magic that Ryouma was hit in his armor¡¯s seam. The attack didn¡¯t cause an instant death, but if left alone, Ryouma could bleed to death. In fact, if it weren¡¯t for Ryouma¡¯s physical pain resistance skill Lv 8, he¡¯d be writhing in pain at this very moment.

    ¡°I thought I had stopped him with my spear, but to think he would actually retaliate like that...¡± [Shiva]

    Their attacks came mostly at the same time, but Ryouma¡¯s was slightly faster. And the moment Ryouma¡¯s attack sliced Shiva¡¯s armor apart, wounding him. Shiva¡¯s halberd pierced Ryouma¡¯s right shoulder that was thrusted towards him from thest attack, and in the next instance, he fired off his ¡®Wind Cutter¡¯.

    Shiva thought Ryouma¡¯s sword had finallye to a halt there, but then Ryouma pulled out his sword from Shiva¡¯s shoulder and armor. Because he was unable to move his right hand because of the halberd, he let go of his sword. And as ast resort, he focused his ki into his left arm, and thrusted into the scruff of Shiva¡¯s neck.

    Then Sebasu who was acting as the referee said,

    ¡°If Ryouma-sama had fully swung his sword, then that attack would have definitely lopped Shiva-sama¡¯s head off. At the same time, Ryouma-sama would have also suffered a life-threatening wound. So as the referee, I decided to put a stop to the match here. Now please sheathe your weapons, and quickly get yourselves healed. Especially you, Ryouma-sama.¡± [Sebasu]

    At Sebasu¡¯s calm deration, the two warriors sheathed their weapons. Immediately after, Shiva fell to the ground into a sitting position, while Ryouma fell down. And as Sebasu-san held Ryouma up, and gently made him lie down on the ground, more blood flowed out of Ryouma¡¯s wounds.

    ¡°Remiri-Sama!¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°Yeah, yeah, I¡¯m healing him! ¡®Mega Heal¡¯! Sheesh, what kind of match was that supposed to be anyway?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°One mistake, and either of you could¡¯ve died.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°My apologies, as a referee¨C¡± [Sebasu]

    Sebasu tried to apologize, but Rheinbach stopped him.

    Although Sebasu-san was the referee, and although he should ¡®ve stopped the match earlier. The battle was just too fierce right from the start, and he couldn¡¯t enter the fray. Nevertheless, he did his best as the referee, went as close as he could, and tried to see the fierce fighting to the end while not getting in the two fighters¡¯ way. His dirtied clothes were proof of that.

    Because of that Rheinbach stopped Sebasu from apologizing, and while Remiri healed the two fighters, he said,

    ¡°Sebasu, you¡¯re not at fault. I couldn¡¯t get in between these two either.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡° ¡®Mega Heal¡¯ ¡®Mega heal¡¯ Exactly, so don¡¯t beat yourself up over it, Sebasu-chan. ¡®Mega Heal¡¯ After all, even I couldn¡¯t keep up with their movements at the end.¡± [Remiri]

    Said Remiri as she healed the two warrior¡¯s wounds with advanced healing magic that made it look like she was turning back time, leaving not even a scar to be seen. As a result, Ryouma was too shocked at the efficacy of advanced healing magic to hear what the adults were saying.

    ¡°Sorry, but he wasn¡¯t an opponent I could hold back against. In order to measure him up properly, I needed to go at full strength.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°I know that but...¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Well they¡¯re both fine in the end, so isn¡¯t it fine? Neither lost their life, and neither got any scars.¡± [Rheinbach]

    Then Rheinbach asked,

    ¡°With this he should be more than good enough to enter the Great Forest of Shurus. And I don¡¯t have anyints either, so I suppose we can send him off without worrying, right, Sebasu?¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Yes. With that much ability, he should be fine even without any escorts.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°Right. Although for him to actually manage to force Shiva to go at full strength, ande out on equal footing... the power of the godchilds are truly frightening.¡± [Rheinbach]

    Just as Ryouma finished checking his wounds, he was finally able to shake himself from his amazement, and the word ¡®godchild¡¯ entered his ears, causing him to tilt his head. Judging from the context, he knew that they¡¯re talking about him, but he¡¯s never heard of the word ¡®godchild¡¯ before.

    ¡°Godchild? What is that?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Oh, you didn¡¯t know? Well, I guess it¡¯s not thatmon of a word... Godchilds are people who appear once every several hundred years, possessing power, abilities, and knowledge that far surpasses other people.¡± [Rheinbach]

    That ¡®godchild¡¯ Rheinbach was talking about, thates once every several years, are most likely earthlings just like himself, thought Ryouma. At the same time, Ryouma started to wonder whether they knew that he was an otherworlder, but after hearing from Rheinbach, he finally understood the situation.

    The otherworlders whoe into this world all leave behind some sort of mark in history. And there are even some who inherit the ideas of those otherworlders. Amongst the otherworlders are people who inherit important positions, people who discover a number of things, saving lives until today. And even those who imed to others that they were called here to this world by the gods.

    The people of this world couldn¡¯t ascertain the authenticity of having been called here by the gods. But there was no denying that these people did exist, and they possessed knowledge and abilities that transcended others¡¯. So the people of this world honored them, and were grateful. And with fear, they came to call these people that possessed transcendent knowledge and abilities as ¡®godchild¡¯ or ¡®the apostles of god¡¯.

    ¡°So I¡¯m the same as those so-called ¡®godchilds¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Well yes, there shouldn¡¯t be any mistake. Actually, on top of Shiva¡¯s level 7 halberd arts and his position as a former knightmander, he is also the nations¡¯ strongest knight. For a 12-year-old child such as yourself to fight him on equal footing, that is something that far surpasses the territory of ¡®genius¡¯. On top of that, you even have talent in various magic and knowledge in various areas. So just thinking about it a little, it¡¯s not really a hard conclusion to arrive to.¡± [Rheinbach]

    Said Rheinbach with a bright smile, to which Ryouma then asked with conviction,

    ¡°Not hard, then... Could it be that you knew from the start?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ever since you stayed with us at the Town of Gimuru actually. I told you before, right? You are too skilled, so you should be careful of bad people, or something, right? And besides, godchilds all possess high skill levels and special skills since a young age. And they all also appear as orphans or people with no rtives.¡± [Rheinbach]

    He noticed that quickly, thought Ryouma to himself, shocked. But that was almost right after we had just met when we went to the church to get my status board made.

    As Ryouma was thinking to himself, Sebasu said in a calming voice.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t be concerned. Regardless of whether Ryouma-sama is a godchild or not, we will neither put you in harm¡¯s way, nor try to bind you.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°Our rtionship won¡¯t change. All the more so if you truly are a child of god.¡± [Rheinbach]

    Ryouma trusted the Jamil Household, so he wasn¡¯t worried about being treated badly by them in particr. But he was curious when he heard Sebasu mention something about being ¡®bound¡¯, so he asked about it. The one who answered however, was neither Rheinbach nor Sebasu, but Remiri.

    ¡°The godchilds all possess great talent and great power, so getting them as one¡¯s subordinates would reap great profits. But you know, it¡¯s also because they possess great power that should they be offended, they could cause great damage. Such cmities have urred many times in the past.

    That¡¯s why all the nobles in the country have wordlessly agreed to honor the will of the godchilds. How each one honors or dishonors this tacit agreement is up to each individual, but should they anger a godchild, the nobles will ostracize them, seize their properties, and/or even execute them.¡± [Remiri]

    Ryouma¡¯s eyes opened wide in shock.

    ¡°No way... why would a country do so much for an individual...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s not an exaggeration at all.¡± [Remiri]

    Remiri then brought up a previous case.

    Once upon a time in this country, the Rifo-ru Kingdom, appeared a child of god. That godchild was a man who rode upon an iron horse that knew no rest, and would ride across the country at a frightening speed. Moreover, being skilled in dimension magic, he would carry with him a great number ofmodities as he travelled around the country.

    That man¡¯s abilities caught the eye of the king. And so the king ordered him to enter the army. But the man wished for freedom, and he obstinately refused the king¡¯s orders time and time again. He was the sort of man that would absolutely never yield, so in the end, the king decided to threaten to take away his freedom, forcibly binding him as his servant. But the man rebelled, and he mowed down all those who tried to catch him. Riding on his iron horse, no one could catch him.

    After that, the man would raid the residences and carriages of the nobles, piging their money and their goods. And no matter how many tried to catch him, not one man could catch his iron horse. Gradually, the man gainedrades, and he became a problem that even the country¡¯s army couldn¡¯t handle.

    With his newrades, hisrceny reached a new height, and he stretched his hands even on the nobles of the other countries. It was a disaster. On top of that, when the man would run away, he would announce that he came from Rifo-ru, and that the king of Rifo-ru tried to take his job and freedom away, so he¡¯s doing these things as a form of protest.

    Gradually, criticism towards the country that caused the disaster began to propagate both in the country and outside. Soon a conspiracy theory about how the thieves were actually a special force disguised as a thief, sent by the country to pige other countries¡¯ treasure.

    As a result, the rtionship with the other countries worsened, and the power of the king fell. In the end, his younger brother stole his position, and as punishment, the king was executed.

    ¡°The other countries calmed down a bit after the execution of the former king that was the cause of the disaster, but the rtionship was still strained. It would have been fine if the godchild was also arrested, but in the end no one could catch him, and the stolen treasures were never recovered.¡± [Remiri]

    Hearing that, Ryouma remembered what the magic God, Fer Noevir, had told him, and he understood.

    Ryouma never had any intentions ofmitting any atrocities with his powers, but ever since hearing about how the otherworlders abused theirs, he¡¯s been making sure to keep his abilities in check. But that was only something personal. Ryouma never had any perspective as the assant or as the victim.

    A victim would obviously try to prevent a disaster from happening. Especially, if there¡¯s a high chance of it urring.

    ¡°I see...¡± [Ryouma]

    As Ryouma mumbled that, Shiva, who¡¯s been quiet until now, asked,

    ¡°Since you understand, I¡¯d like to ask, now that you know the truth, what are you going to do?¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Even if you ask me that... I¡¯ll still continue my training all the same, get my grandparents¡¯ inheritance, and continue my life as a researcher and as an adventurer. I don¡¯t really have anything I want aside from living a leisurely life.¡± [Ryouma]

    Shiva heaved a sigh of relief at Ryouma¡¯s response, and said,

    ¡°Exactly as Rheinbach had said, huh?¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Eh?¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma alternately looked between Shiva and Rheinbach, then Shiva exined.

    Actually, when Ryouma left the inn, Rheinbach talked about the possibility of Ryouma being a godchild and his personality. There he mentioned that Ryouma was an unselfish person with no interest in money or honor, and would rather spend his days fixating over his hobbies without living in luxury.

    And while that wasn¡¯t exactly correct, it wasn¡¯t wrong either.

    While Ryouma was working hard back in Earth, there were also times when he thought to live a morefortable life. But of course, that doesn¡¯t mean to say that he wanted to live luxuriously.

    Cheap, delicious food was more than enough. Clothes that wouldn¡¯t get himughed at was sufficient. And a warm, strong house that wouldn¡¯t break during storms, and stay warm even during the winter was all that he wanted.

    Ryouma isn¡¯tpletely free of desires, but he is more than content just having the necessities of life.

    On top of that, this world could be said to be the embodiment of Ryouma¡¯s hobbies. That¡¯s why Ryouma is more than satisfied just living his life here normally, working as an adventurer. As a result, he really doesn¡¯t really have much more he could ask for.

    He¡¯s also not the type to show off his abilities ostentatiously, and neither is he the type for needless violence. Although he might not seem to act as young as his 12-year-old self would suggest, he¡¯s definitely a good boy.

    That along with Ryouma¡¯s response just now and the air about him showed how little intention he had of harming the kingdom, bringing Shiva great relief.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s nothing.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°I see.¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma didn¡¯t pursue the meaning behind those words any further. Shiva was the former knightmander so he figured it wouldn¡¯t be strange at all for him to be thinking about something. What¡¯s important is that he seemed to be relieved, thought Ryouma to himself.

    After that, the atmosphere became silent for a bit. The one to break that silence was Remiri.

    ¡°Hey~ Ryouma-chan.¡± [Remir]

    ¡°What is it?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, could you show us your status board?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°My status board?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yep, your status board. We think you¡¯re a godchild, but if you could show us your status board, we could find out if you really are one or not.¡± [Remiri]

    Ryouma was surprised again when he heard those words. Ryouma¡¯s only heard about the term ¡®godchild¡¯ today, so of course he didn¡¯t know that you could find something like that out just from looking at the status board.

    Ryouma wondered whether he should show his status board or not, but thinking to himself, ¡°What¡¯s the point in hiding it after everything?¡± He showed his status board.

    ¡°There¡¯s a column for titles in the status board, right? Is there a ¡°Favorite Child of the Gods¡± title there?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°...Ah, there is.¡± [Ryouma]

    Looking at his status board, Ryouma saw that there was in fact such a title. So he made the column of titles visible for others to see, and he handed the status board to Remiri.

    ¡°He really is a child of god, huh? Even though I¡¯m a dark elf, I never really thought I¡¯d get a chance to meet one.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Same. Magic aside, I don¡¯t think I could get him to go all out in martial arts.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°So you left it to Shiva-chan?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Yes. Although I think today¡¯s meeting was actually by the gods¡¯ wills. I¡¯ve always been nning of having Ryouma meet Shiva to measure his abilities, but I didn¡¯t think we¡¯d end up meeting today. Remiri, if you hadn¡¯t seen Ryouma staring at the carriage we were riding on... No, if we had gone here either by my ve demons or by Sebasu¡¯s dimension magic, then we probably wouldn¡¯t have met Ryouma, right?¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s true. If Remiri hadn¡¯t suggested to travel via carriage since we hadn¡¯t met in such a long time, then we would have already gotten an Eternal Darkness (herb) and be on the way home now.¡± [Shiva]

    As Shiva agreed with Rheinbach, he looked at Ryouma¡¯s status board. Then suddenly, his eyes opened wide.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, this title is...?¡± [Shiva]

    As Shiva said that, he pointed towards the two titles beneath the title, ¡°Favorite Child of the Gods,¡± toward the ¡°Disciple of the Sage¡± and the ¡°Disciple of the Martial God¡±. Ryouma replied,

    ¡°Ah, those are my grandparents who raised me. They are the ones who trained me in the foundations of magic and martial arts.¡± [Ryouma]

    It was Ryouma¡¯s prepared reply.

    Silence flowed for a few minutes, then they asked for the names and race of Ryouma¡¯s grandparents. Immediately, the four adults were shocked, and they finally understood why Ryouma was so strong.

    ¡°Unbelievable, to think that Ryouma would actually be the disciple of the martial god and the sage...¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°In all these years I¡¯ve lived as a dark elf, this must be the most surprising thing I¡¯ve ever heard.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°So a godchild could show that much power after receiving guidance from those two.¡± [Shiva]

    When Ryouma heard Shiva¡¯s words, he couldn¡¯t help but ask,

    ¡°Shiva-san, do you know my grandparents? You said ¡®those two¡¯ just now, right?¡± [Ryouma]

    Shiva vaguely nodded, and then said,

    ¡°I only really got to exchange some words with them a few times. When we were still mere soldiers, they were invited by the country, but they refused that invitation and in exchange they taught martial arts and magic to select individuals for some time.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Of course one of those soldiers that were selected was me. Moreover, being just mere soldiers at the time, they weren¡¯t someone we could freely call out to.¡± [Rheinbach]

    After that, they decided to continue their conversation while eating, so they went back to town.

    While eating, Shiva and Rheinbach spoke heartily. After that, Ryouma asked for advice inbining his magic with his sword, and he was told that he should at least find a way to cast his magic faster.

    The group then discussed their ns the next day. Starting tomorrow, Ryouma will be learning from Remiri, and will be undergoing magic training while they search around the Town of Departed Spirits.

    After their discussions ended, they went on their own ways, and Ryouma rested in a room that was prepared for him. There he was visited by Rheinbach and Sebasu.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, do you have some time?¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Yes, please enter.¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma weed them. And when Rheinbach entered the room he said this,

    ¡°Actually, I wanted to thank you. Thank you for having a match with Shiva. There hasn¡¯t been anyone whom he could fight with in these past few years equally, and on top of being made to do a lot of paperwork during his time as a knightmander, he became anxious over his age.

    But thanks to you today, he was able to go all out, and has been feeling better since. And now it looks like that dominating spirit he once had is back. He¡¯s tired, so he¡¯s sleeping now, but it¡¯s really been a long time since I saw him make such a satisfied face.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°I¡¯m happy I could help. I¡¯ve alsoe to understand the ces I¡¯mcking, so I¡¯m also grateful to Shiva-san.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I see. I¡¯m d to hear that it was mutual.¡± [Rheinbach]

    Rheinbachughed as he said that, then taking Sebasu with him, he left the room after telling Ryouma to enjoy himself, but to make sure to get some good night¡¯s rest as they¡¯ll be leaving early tomorrow.

    After sending them off, Ryouma meditated until supper time, yed with the slimes, and then he slept right after supper.

 Volume 3 - 26

    TL Note: Just wanted to rify the portion about the physical strength in the status; I keep forgetting to mention this since the status hasn¡¯te up in a while, so I¡¯ll just mention it now.

    That strength can also be tranted as HP. The same goes for magic power in that it can be tranted as MP. But I didn¡¯t trante them like that, because the author never referred to them like we would normally refer to HP and MP. Also the magical strength in the prologue is just magical power.

    For example: this character does X damage, and this one only has X HP, so he¡¯ll probably die if he doesn¡¯t dodge the attack.

    Anyway, after checking the inte for a bit, I found out that the way to interpret HP in these settings is to treat the HP like this:

    A character with high HP would receive an otherwise fatal attack, and live by barely dodging it.

    But a character with low HP would just take it and die.

    In other words it¡¯s just a rough indicator of how long a character mightst in a fight, nothing specific. Magic power on the otherhand is now clearly being treated as MP. But we¡¯ve been going at it as magic power all this time, so let¡¯s just keep that. And as for strength, I¡¯ll just trante that as health, so it pairs up nicely with magic power.

    In any case, apologies for the confusion, I¡¯m reading along with you guys, so there are times when I don¡¯t really know what the author is intending, and I term things wrong.

    Also, regarding maze andbyrinth. The town of departed spirits is abyrinth, and the maze referred to in this chapter is definitely a maze. At least ording to the words used in the RAW anyway.

    TLDR: In status: Strength -> Health; Magical Strength = Magic Power;

    Town of Departed Spirits is abyrinth; the maze referred to in this story is a maze.

    Volume 3 Chapter 26

    The next day.

    I woke up early, and left the town with the others, passing through a canyon known as Troll Canyon.

    The Troll Canyon is arge canyon located west of the country. It¡¯s a maze that has naturally formed after many years.

    The roads narrowed as we entered the canyon, and tall cliffs could be seen at every direction.

    As this canyon is at the border of the country, there is a fortress watching over the border west of Teressa at this canyon. The Town of Departed Spirits that we will be going to however, is located north-west.

    It¡¯s about a 2-day walk from Teressa. We can¡¯t ride on horse to go there because of all the cliffs, so we¡¯ll have to go on foot with a rope in hand.

    I have to say though; this is quite a valley. I just can¡¯t help but look around at everything.

    Then having noticed me, Remiri-san asked,

    ¡°Is it your first time seeing this kind of scenery?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s amazing. I wonder how much time it actually took for such a ce to form naturally.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°This one took around 1,500 years.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    1500 years? Only?

    ¡°Can something like this be made in such a short period?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°True, it¡¯s definitely a short time to create a valley. But that only holds true for natural valleys.¡± [Remiri]

    This isn¡¯t natural?

    ¡°Was this valley made by humans?¡± [Ryouma]

    Remiri-san looked a bit worried for a moment, then she said,

    ¡°Mn............ Well it¡¯s definitely influenced by man. But it¡¯s also wrong to say that it was intentionally made by man. Actually, this ce used to be the training grounds of a godchild. And because of the influence of his magic, the ground changed.¡± [Remiri]

    Interjecting, Sebasu-san continued,

    ¡°Our country was at war when this canyon was created. Just as the country was about to be destroyed, a child of god, carrying great magical power appeared. Records speak of his absurd and powerful magic.

    At the godchild¡¯s training, mountains would be born, the earth would be split, broken, and washed away in heavy rain and waves. Because of that, this canyon and the surrounding mountain district were born.¡± [Sebasu]

    Haa!? An otherworlder created a canyon with his magic!? No way... Ah, wait... This might be that peerless magician that Gayn and the others were talking about. He was also supposedly around during wartime too...

    How crazy was his magic though, I wonder.

    ¡°Can you do it too?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°No way!¡± [Ryouma]

    No way I could! Don¡¯t put me together with that guy! Wait, actually, since there was a guy who could do something like that, I guess it¡¯s only a given that they would be cautious with other godchilds... If anything, I suppose I should consider myself lucky for not being persecuted.

    As I thought that to myself, I felt like I remembered something. But right before I could remember that something fully, a magical beast attacked us, so I focused on that instead.

    The beast that attacked was a harris crow, a bird-type magical beast. There were 20 of them. It¡¯s an E Rank magical beast, so they¡¯re not that strong. But with the ce being so narrow, it¡¯d be better to attack them with magic instead of weapons. But just as I was thinking to do just that, Shiva-san had already gone ahead to use a weak tornado with little killing power to drive them away.

    ¡°That sort of weak opponent; you can just scare them away with a little bit of power. There¡¯s no reason to actually waste magic power fighting them.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°I see, thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind it. Something like this, I can do as many times as needed. After all, you made me realize that I¡¯m still more than capable! Ha Ha Ha!¡± [Shiva]

    ... Somehow, Shiva-san¡¯s a bit differentpared to yesterday. Rather than cheerful, I guess you could say he¡¯s more lively now.

    We walked through the canyon with Shiva-san in the lead. From time to time, we would cross rivers, climb cliffs, fight magical beasts. It was in this way that we proceeded until the sun began to set. We looked for a ce that was a road¡¯s width wide, big enough for us to make camp. There we decided to rest.

    Being at the bottom of the valley, there was little moonlight, and as soon as the sun had fully set, the whole area was submerged in darkness.

    Remiri-san then began to use magic.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, this is a good opportunity, so I¡¯ll teach you a light attribute magic now.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Thank you very much, please do, master.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°... You don¡¯t feel like calling me oneechan?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Please teach me, master.¡± [Ryouma]

    I called her master a second time, and Remiri-san made a sulking face.

    ¡°Fine. Until you decide to call me oneechan, I¡¯ll be strict on you! I¡¯m not going to hold back at all because I¡¯m not as nice as Elize-chan.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Yes! By the way, why did you suddenly mention the madam¡¯s name?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Oh, didn¡¯t I mention it? I used to be Elize-chan¡¯s teacher on magic.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Really? I didn¡¯t know.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That¡¯s right. And not just magic, I thought her all sorts of things too. Because of that, I¡¯ve actually also met with her daughter many times, but Elize-chan has a bad tendency of being overprotective.¡± [Remiri]

    Ahh... I can somewhat understand.

    ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s start. First, I¡¯ll show you how to do it, so pay attention. ¡®Holy Space¡¯¡± [Remiri]

    Remiri-san released light and magic power as she chanted that. Using not only my senses, but also using my magic detection, I saw a cube of magic power appear with Remiri-san at its center. Its center was teeming with magic power. It was somewhat simr to barrier magic.

    ¡°This is an intermediate magic of the light attribute, ¡®Holy Space¡¯. With this magic, you can temporarily create an area where weak undead, like the zombies or the skeletons, won¡¯t be able to enter.

    The duration and the size of the barrier depends on your ability. Also, stronger undead will be able to enter the area affected by ¡®Holy Space¡¯ by force, so be careful. Now, how about you try it yourself. Creating a small space that¡¯s at least big enough for one person to sleep in will be good enough for your first try.¡± [Remiri]

    Just as Remiri-san said, I gave it a shot. Using light attribute magic power, with the same concept as that of barrier magic, I designated the area. And as I filled the designated area with light attribute magic power, I visualized the image and chanted the magic words.

    ¡°¡¯Holy Space¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    I invocated the magic ording to the image in my mind, but it¡¯s a lot more difficult to controlpared to barrier magic. How to put it... A normal barrier magic is like a wall, with the magic power as water inside it, but this one is closer to that of a cloth. Water can¡¯t pass through the wall, so it just stays inside, but with a cloth, the water seeps out. If I let my concentration up for even a moment, the magic power within the designated area spills.

    Well, in any case, I seem to have sessfully casted the magic, so I asked Remiri-san to confirm that, saying,

    ¡°Remiri-san, how is it?¡± [Ryouma]

    To which Remiri-san replied with a hint of disappointment somewhere in her voice.

    ¡°It¡¯s a sess. You seeded at your first try. Congrattions in seeding at learning ¡®Holy Spell¡¯............... Even though it was supposed to be the hardest magic amongst the intermediate ss spells to control.¡± [Remiri]

    You know I can hear what you¡¯re mumbling there at the end of your sentence, right!? Asking for something so unreasonable, did you really want to be called oneechan that much?

    I thought that to myself as I looked at Remiri-san. Then noticing my gaze, Remiri-san brought up a new topic.

    ¡°Ah, umm... Well for the meantime, since you seeded with ¡®Holy Space¡¯, let¡¯s try to perfect it this time around.¡± [Remiri]

    If there¡¯s a ce that can be improve, then lets.

    ¡°Please take care of me.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Before that, can you show me your status board?¡± [Remiri]

    Status board? What for?

    Anyway, I brought it out just as she told me too. And then she told me that she wanted to see how much magic power I¡¯m using by looking at the value of my magic power before using and after using the magic.

    Incidentally, elementary magic costs around 50 to 999 magic power, intermediate magic from 1000 to 4999, and advanced magic from 5,000 up.

    ¡®Holy Space¡¯ being an intermediate magic, consumes somewhere around 4,000 to 4,900 points of magic power. But my previous sessful cast of ¡®Holy Space¡¯ apparently consumed too much power. When I went to check how much magic power I used after casting ¡®Holy Space¡¯ again, I found out that I had used over 10,000 points of magic power.

    The more the magic power, the longer the duration, but the 4,000 to 4,900 points of magic power are already supposedly more than enough tost a night. So naturally, using enough magic power tost several days for a ce you won¡¯t be staying in for more than a night is a waste, right? Or so said Remiri. It makes perfect sense though.

    Incidentally, a simr method is being used at the imperial capital¡¯s academy that Elia is studying at, but the standards are far lower. For example, if casting a fire ball would normally be considered efficient at 100 points of magic power per volley, and thus be considered a pass. In order to allow the nobles to have good grades, the school would let them pass even at a consumption rate of 500 points of magic power per volley.

    With that kind of standard, the students use enough power to cast five volleys, but can¡¯t even cast more than one volley. Something like that might not matter at the academy, but if they do something like that out in the real world, they¡¯ll run out of magic power quickly. Which then effectively makes their magic useless. So Remiri-san says that in order for me not to suffer a simr fate, I need to train properly.

    After that I practiced ¡®Holy Space¡¯ for a bit, adjusting it repeatedly. And eventually I managed to keep the duration up while keeping its consumption to only 4,900 points of magic power.

    Actually, I could lower the magic power even back when I first used it, but this magic takes a bit of skill. That so-called skill is the distribution of magic power. Without that, this magic won¡¯t work.

    When activating ¡®Holy Space¡¯, one needs to fill the designated space with magic power, while controlling that magic power with another force of magic power. If the magic power that controls the magic filling the space is too weak, then the magic power will leak out, causing the effect of the spell to weaken, fail, or consume more magic power.

    After practicing the spell for a bit, I started to change the image in my mind from that of barrier magic to that of a balloon. After which, it became much easier to cast.

    It¡¯s thanks to my huge reservoir of magic power that I was able to train up to this point. After all, I was already close to my limits by the time I managed to properly keep my magic consumption in check. If it was a normal magician, it would¡¯ve taken him at least several days.

    ording to Remiri-san, it¡¯s possible to be so efficient at one¡¯s control of magic, such that one would be able to cast magic with the same effect but at a lower cost. Right, I should continue to practice even more.

    By the time I finished training, we were able to have our supper immediately because Sebasu-san made supper early.

    After we finished eating, they talked about the godchild who created this canyon. They noticed how interested I was this morning, so since there was time to spare, they decided to talk about it.

    Come to think of it, didn¡¯t I remember something around that time? What was it again?

    Ah, well... whatever. Let¡¯s just hear their story first.

    ¡°Hmm... where should I start... The name of the godchild who created this canyon is Masaharu. That name has now be rather famous because of his tyranny though.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Tyranny?¡± [Ryouma]

    At that question, Shiva-san answered.

    ¡°Yes, tyranny. You know that he appeared when the country was in dire straits, right?¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve heard of it.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°At that time, the king was desperate to break through that situation, so he wished to gain the power of that godchild at all costs. So much so that he ceased to care about appearances.

    So the king spread a lie that the godchild was his illegitimate child, gave him a cordial wee, and then bound him to the country as part of his war chest.¡± [Shiva]

    So that otherworlder, Masaharu, became royalty, huh?

    ¡°There were three children before the king, so it was believed that there would be little chance of Masaharu bing the king. But then one of them was betrayed by his allies, while another went out to war to encourage the soldiers, only for himself to die. And thest one was killed by an assassin from an opposing country. Then the king himself after winning the war through the use of his adopted child that he turned into knightmander, and after making use of another godchild, died of illness right after the war.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°So, then... No way...¡± [Ryouma]

    Shiva-san silently nodded, then he continued,

    ¡°Masaharu inherited the throne.¡± [Shiva]

    Seriously? Didn¡¯t anyone protest?

    ¡°Of course, there were those who were against Masaharu bing the king. But after the war, he was hailed as a hero because of his achievements. And even themoners were aware that he was the king¡¯s illegitimate child, so rather than find some reason to take the position from him, it was decided that it would be best for him to be king instead.¡± [Shiva]

    Then Remiri-san interjected, adding,

    ¡°The nobles then thought to turn Masaharu into a puppet. After all, despite his power, he was a coward and an obedient man.¡± [Remiri]

    There¡¯s no doubt about it, that Masaharu is the peerless otherworlder magician. A hero, and at the same time, an otherworlder and a coward. It¡¯s exactly as what I¡¯d heard from Gayn¡¯s group.

    After that, I asked them how Masaharu acted, and apparently he did whatever he wanted. So I guess he really was a tyrant.

    But then again, although it wasn¡¯t implemented, he did try to enact a number of policies, such aspulsory education, free healthcare, and pension for those who can¡¯t work.

    That kind of thinking isn¡¯t strange at all for someone like me who lives in modern Japan. But as for whether this world can understand that way of thinking or not is another story. There were many who protested against him, and he met those with his two powers as a king and as a powerful magician, silencing any who stood against him.

    ¡°The nobles who plotted to turn Masaharu into a puppet, were left unable to do anything but find ways topromise with the king.¡± [Shiva]

    The man they were against was not only the man who saved the country, but also the man who could overturn the battlefield with his magic alone. Moreover, each time he would leave for war, he would say, ¡°I¡¯ve casted a self-destruct magic on myself. So if ever I should die, I¡¯ll be taking the opposing nations with me.¡± Whether that self-destruct magic of his could take the other nations with him is true or not, it was a fact that his magic was beyond the understanding of people, so no one tried to do anything foolish.

    The one exception was the other godchild who was referred to as a hero. His name was Shuu. He was a strong knight wholeheartedly trusted by Masaharu. And unlike the other nobles, he didn¡¯t fear Masaharu, and exchanged opinions with him.

    It was he who aided Masaharu and mediated between him and the nobles; an irreceable person that allowedpromises to be made.

    ¡°In the end, it wasn¡¯t until four yearster until Masaharu was to be seeded. During one of his trips, an assassin attacked him, and he died. The only thing that remained of him was a giant hole that¡¯s believed to be the effect of his self-destruct magic. Of course, neither the assassin or the servants, or the escort knights, or the horses and the carriages were left. Not a scar, nor trace could be seen. All of them had vanished.¡± [Shiva]

    An assassin, huh? ............ It¡¯s true that Masaharu might be a tyrant, but it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t understand his feelings... His methods might have been bad, but I can¡¯t deny him either without hearing his side first.

    An academy was built in the capital instead of thepulsory education. And the fact that anyone can enter as long as they pay the fees seems to be very much like him. So it¡¯s not like he didn¡¯t anything for the people at all.

    There are many good people who¡¯s helped me out, but for Masaharu, he might have had no one else but Shuu beside him. And even if he did be a part of the royal family by his own will, he was still only wanted for his power. After he became king by chance, the nobles tried to turn him into a puppet. If I was in his ce, I too would have relied on my powers alone, and tried to threaten others to protect myself.

    After I thought those things, I said,

    ¡°Rheinbach-sama, Sebasu-san, truly, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for everything.¡± [Ryouma]

    They were startled at my words, but continuing, I said,

    ¡°I just realized it now, but I¡¯m really d that the first people I met were members of the Jamil Household.¡± [Ryouma]

    Continuing, I told them that I imagined myself in a situation where I had no allies, surrounded only by people who wanted to take advantage of me. Hearing that, the two understood.

    ¡°There¡¯s really no reason for you to be grateful, you know? And besides, Elia¡¯s been much more cheerful since meeting you, Ryouma-kun.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Really? So Elia...!¡± [Ryouma]

    Oh, right! What I remembered this afternoon was Elia! Elia¡¯s ancestor is that peerless magician, meaning Masaharu should be her ancestor ording to Gayn. But wait a moment... If that¡¯s the case, then... madam is royal family? ...But then again, they are the household of a duke, so I suppose it¡¯s not that weird.

    ¡°Something the matter?¡± [Sebasu]

    Suddenly stopping mid-sentence, Sebasu-san became concerned, but I just told him that it was nothing.

    After that, the conversation shifted to Elia, and this time I was thanked. They were grateful for me bing Elia¡¯s friend, and helping her make friends.

    Elia possesses an enormous amount of magic power, making it difficult for her to control her magic, resulting in her causing a number of idents. Exaggerated rumors of her spreads causing many of the noble children to fear her. And eventually, even the children who were her friends started to evade her, staring at her with eyes full of fear. Not long after, Elia herself grew to fear herself.

    So that¡¯s why...

    ¡°So what happened then?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Around the time Elia learned how to sessfully use elementary magic, she learned how to control her powers, and the rumors petered out. But it¡¯s still not something that could be forgottenpletely. Making friends is another story, but if it¡¯s just acquaintances then there¡¯s no problem.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Ojousama had to endure being stared at with fear by her good friends, so she was hesitant to make friends herself. But after bing friends with Ryouma-sama, that fear has mostly faded.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°I didn¡¯t really do anything noteworthy though. And besides, we were only together for such a short while.¡± [Ryouma]

    Sebasu-san and Rheinbach-sama shook their heads at that response.

    Even though I just did whatever I wanted? It was only now that I came to understand the situation too...

    ¡°That you did not fear Ojousama, looked at her face-to-face, and epted her... That is more than enough.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Ryouma, you are the impetus that allowed Elia to take her first step. For her to ask you to be her friend on her own volition... Honestly, I was shocked at that time, but at the same time, I was relieved. Besides, I heard that you¡¯ve been helping her make friends recently as well.¡± [Rheinbach]

    Ahh, it¡¯s about Miyabi-san. She mentioned in her letter that they¡¯ve be friends, but it looks like she mentioned it to her family as well.

    ¡°Then in that case, you¡¯re wee. But you know... Elia couldn¡¯t have made friends unless she moved by herself.¡± [Ryouma]

    I¡¯ll take their thanks for the meantime, but Elia was definitely the one who worked hard.

    You were able to make friends because of me! Is not really something I feel like throwing my chest out for... If it was around seven or something, then maybe... but it wasn¡¯t really anything like that.

    I was thinking of all sorts of things like that, but since storytelling was mostly done now, I went ahead and slept.

    TL Note:

    King Ryouma and Queen Elia, anyone? :D

 Volume 3 - 27

    TL Note: Happy new year guys~

    Queue chapter tom btw, don¡¯t wait for more tonight.

    Volume 3 Chapter 27

    The next day.

    We ate breakfast, and then we walked through the narrow path of the canyon again.

    Shiva-san is leading without looking at a map, but if it was just me, I would definitely end up lost because of all the turns.

    From what I heard, it¡¯s because Shiva-san has used this same path plenty of times before as part of the training of fresh recruits. It¡¯s definitely not the most essible ce, but with all the cliffs that could be climbed, it just might be perfect for training.

    And speaking of geography, I noticed that the geography here in this area is sometimes weird. It¡¯s probably the effect of Masaharu¡¯s magic, but there are rock cliffs here that are actually perpendicr to the ground.

    If it at least had some slope I¡¯d understand, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s natural for terrain to be that perpendicr. Geological formations are things that form after the umtion of earth and sand after all. And then there are those ces that form from hardenedva.

    I¡¯ve also heard that jewels and gold were reported to have been spotted here. It wasn¡¯t a meagre amount either, and people would mine out the veins immediately after finding one, so there were quite a number of people searching for them here. But after most of them failed to find anything, they gave up. And the people who found some couldn¡¯t make enough of a profit to make it worth the effort either.

    We talked about things like that as we walked. And then Shiva-san said,

    ¡°We¡¯re near thebyrinth. Undead roam in the area near thebyrinth, so get ready.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Understood.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that, we walked. The path was at most just big enough for three people to walk side-by-side. There were plenty of ces before where the road was wider, but this area we¡¯re in right now feels eerily artificial.

    ¡°Well we¡¯ve made it this far, I guess we can take a rest for a bit. This path¡¯s connected to the execution grounds that became abyrinth, so it¡¯s being maintained.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°I see, although it doesn¡¯t seem to be a straight line.¡± [Ryouma]

    The road¡¯s being maintained, and yet it has so many turns.

    ¡°It¡¯s a precaution against escapees, something to buy time in the one-in-a-million chance that a convict for death row manages to escape. For a simr reason, the road before here isn¡¯t being maintained as it¡¯s not part of the main road, so it¡¯s quite hard to cross.¡± [Remiri]

    I see... that makes sense. But right after Remiri-san finished talking, the smell of rotting flesh wafted to my nose.

    ¡°This rotting stench, could it be?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yep, it¡¯s the undead. Most likely a zombie.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Good timing. I¡¯ll go ahead and teach you how to deal with them.¡± [Shiva]

    20 seconds passed, and a rotting corpse walking towards us entered our vision.

    ording to what I¡¯ve investigated beforehand, the undead of this world like ces with little or no sunlight, so they can usually be found is such ces. But that doesn¡¯t mean they can¡¯t function under sunlight.

    My impression of my first time seeing a zombie is that they¡¯re disgusting. Their flesh is rotting; they stink... But unexpectedly, they can move quite fast.

    I expected them to be disgusting, but I didn¡¯t expect them to move that fast. Oh, but while I say they¡¯re fast, they¡¯re only really faster than my expectations, and are walking around the pace of an adult man. So it¡¯s not like I¡¯m feeling threatened or anything.

    It¡¯s just a bit different from the image I had in mind is all. I expected a zombie groaning as it walked one step at a time, very slowly. So it¡¯s a bit unexpected that it¡¯s actually walking normally.

    ¡°Well then, before all else, let¡¯s go and confirm the property of the zombies. First¨C¨C¡° [Shiva]

    Shiva-san ran to the zombie, and swung his halberd diagonally from his shoulder, cutting the zombie in two halves in one swing. After cutting it two more times, Shiva-san came back.

    ¡°Just now, I cut it without using any magic, but my attacks had no effect at all. And the zombie just regenerate, and start walking again.¡± [Shiva]

    Exactly as Shiva-san had said, the cut zombie began to gather its remaining parts, and started putting itself back together.

    ¡°It¡¯s not just zombies either. Other undead-type magical beasts can also regenerate. So beating them with only weapons is extremely inefficient. If you really need to beat them with just weapons, then it would be better to use a blunt weapon rather than a sharp one. As that would allow you to crush their bodies thoroughly rather than just cutting them to pieces. Lastly, there are also magical beasts that can¡¯t be beaten with such methods, so it¡¯s imperative to exercise caution.¡± [Shiva]

    Around this time, the zombie finally finished regenerating, and has started walking towards again. Then suddenly, Shiva-san casted ¡®Wind Cutter¡¯ and cut off the Zombie from its waist. The zombie started to regenerate again, but it¡¯s far slower this time around.

    ¡°You might¡¯ve noticed it, but these magical beasts regenerate at a slower rate when attacked by magicpared to when they are attacked by weapons. This is said to be because of their dark attribute magic power being dispersed by the magic power of a different attribute. And the most effective magic are those under light attribute. Try hitting it with ¡®Light Ball¡¯ once it finishes regenerating.¡± [Shiva]

    After some time, the zombie finished regenerating. Just as I was told to, I casted ¡®Light Ball¡¯.

    ¡°¡¯Light Ball¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°a¡¯ ,aa¡¯ !¡± [Zombie]

    A ball of light appeared on my chest, and in the next moment, it flew towards the zombie in a straight line, piercing through its chest. The zombie groaned in pain as a giant hole could be visibly seen on its chest. The flesh and the bones near the affected area were thoroughly extinguished.

    ¡°As can be observed, light magic is extremely effective against the undead. Even the elementary magic, ¡®Light Ball¡¯, can pierce through its body, extinguish it, and greatly weaken it. However, a single shot from ¡®Light Ball¡¯ isn¡¯t sufficient. If you wish to kill it in one hit with only ¡®Light Ball¡¯, then you¡¯ll have to target its head or chest. Any other ce will require two or three shots.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°I understand. I¡¯m surprised to know though that ¡®Light Ball¡¯ could extinguish an undead¡¯s body... I¡¯ve heard that people who die be undead. If by chance I do die, my body won¡¯t disappear when hit by ¡®Light Ball¡¯ will it?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Right, your corpse won¡¯t disappear from being hit by ¡®Light Ball¡¯. Only, it¡¯s said that a change urs once a body changes into an undead, but it¡¯s not fully understood. Moreover, not all undeade from corpses. There are also those that just naturally appear.¡± [Shiva]

    As I received that exnation, another zombie came. As I was about to fire another shot of magic at it, Remiri-san stopped me.

    ¡°This time I¡¯ll show you how it¡¯s done with intermediate magic.¡± [Remiri]

    As she said that, she aimed her wand at the zombie, and chanted.

    ¡° ¡®Exorcism¡¯ !¡± [Remiri]

    A ball of light as big as a basketball appeared in front of her staff, and hit the zombie. But that ball didn¡¯t pierce the zombie. Instead it wrapped it in its light. It was as if it was extinguishing the zombie.

    ¡°With this magic, it won¡¯t matter where you hit. You¡¯ll be able to kill them in one hit no matter what. It costs around 1,500 points of magic power though, so it¡¯s a waste to use this kind of magic against zombies. If it¡¯s just zombies, ¡®Light Ball¡¯ will do. Just use this when you really have to, or alternatively, you could use fire magic instead of light magic as that¡¯s also effective.¡± [Remiri]

    Like this I was able to study how to fight undead-types. And I was also able to practice by shooting at the zombies and skeletons that were roaming on the road.

    As a result, I¡¯ve learned ¡®Exorcism¡¯, and am now even able to d my de in ¡®exorcism¡¯, which was quite effective as the undead could be extinguished with a sh.

    It¡¯s a waste though, as although I¡¯m able to kill three zombies with one cast, a single elementary magic, ¡®Light Ball¡¯, could kill a zombie in one hit... Ah,e to think of it, I wonder what would happen if I just used light attribute magic power instead of an actual magic?

    As I thought that, I d my sword in light attribute magic power, and shed at an undead. Oh, hey, it worked. It¡¯s not the same as ¡®Exorcism¡¯, but I think I can work with this.

    After I finished my experiment, Shiva-san and Remiri-san were shocked and went, ¡°What just happened!?¡± as they hurried over.

    As we got closer to thebyrinth, more and more undead have been appearing, causing our pace to greatly slow down.

    Also, thebyrinth that was once the execution grounds is apparently located at the center of an artificial bowl-shaped geographical formation. Right now, we¡¯re on top of a hill where we can see the entrance to the execution grounds.

    We can see a huge, ancient gate from afar that¡¯s connected to a tall wall. The door on the right side of the gate is copsed, so we can also see what¡¯s inside the gate. There, we could see some iron bar windows and some buildings made out of stone. As well as an uncountable number of undead.

    ¡°That many is a little annoying.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Couldn¡¯t you just make do somehow with consecutive casting of light magic?¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°I could also ask my slimes to help.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°We risk getting surrounded by entering through the gate, so let¡¯s lure them here to the hill instead. It¡¯ll also help once they clump up.¡± [Shiva]

    After our short meeting, we decided to lure our opponents. Everyone else aside from me will be casting advanced magic, while me and my slimes will be cleaning up the remaining undead.

    So I opened my ¡®Dimension Home¡¯, and called out my scavenger slimes, acid slimes, metal slimes, iron slims, and light slime. The slimes were itching to go.

    The scavenger slimes and acid ones in particr were very excited. Apparently the dark magic power and the rotting meat of the zombies have turned them into quite the delicacy in front of the scavenger slimes. In a simr fashion, the acid slimes were also quite taken by the bones of the undead. I¡¯m happy they¡¯re full of spirit, but I¡¯ll have to remind them to prioritize safety.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go! ¡®re Bomb¡¯!¡± [Rheinbach]

    Taking my slimes with me, I neared the gate. And when I was around 700 meters away from it, Rheinbach-sama fired an intermediate fire spell. A ball of fire the size of a basketball was summoned at his spell, and it flew right between me and the gate, causing an explosion. The undead reacted to that booming sound, and the undead began to climb up the hill.

    ¡°They¡¯reing, let¡¯s go! ¡®Beam¡¯ !!¡± [Remiri]

    Immediately after Remiri-san¡¯s chant, a beam of light fired towards the undead, extinguishing almost all in its path. Most were killed, but I couldn¡¯t count how many in all.

    But the undead wave doesn¡¯t end there, and more of them came after the ones Remiri-san extinguished.

    ¡°Next is my turn. ¡®Fire Storm¡¯!¡± [Rheinbach]

    At Rheinbach-sama¡¯s spell, a whirlpool of fire was summoned, swallowing the crowd of undead that neared. That zing whirlpool filled my vision, and I couldn¡¯t count how many undead died at Rheinbach-sama¡¯s magic.

    But more undead came, and they too climbed the hill. But once they gathered, Shiva-san made his move.

    ¡° ¡®Storm Cutter¡¯ ¡° [Shiva]

    At that moment, a powerful tempest was summoned, and the undead were blown away. After a while, the undead came falling down from the sky as scattered pieces. Again, I couldn¡¯t count how many were killed.

    As I was thinking such things to myself, the undead began to climb again. And this time, it was Sebasu-san¡¯s turn.

    ¡° ¡®Water Fall¡¯ ¡°

    Sebasu-san raised his hand as he chanted that, and in the next moment, a giant ball of water that looked as if it contained all the water within a swimming pool appeared in the sky, floating.

    In the next moment, that giant blob of water fell down to the cliff with a rumbling sound. The blob broke, and it washed away the zombies. The total number of zombies washed away... again: uncountable.

    Ah... on top of all the zombies, they even killed the left wall that was fine just a while ago.

    Aren¡¯t these people a bit too strong? And speaking of Shiva-san... if he had used that ¡®Storm Cutter¡¯ of his in our previous match, I would have definitely lost. Saved by the rules I guess.

    ¡°You guys are amazing...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ryouma-sama, you¡¯ll be able to do something like this in no time at all.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°Advanced magic packs a lot of heat, and can affect a huge area, but it also requires a lot of magic power and control. On top of that, it takes time to cast. It¡¯s not something that can be casted consecutively. Save for advantageous situations like just now, it¡¯s not something that could be easily cast.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°That aside, it¡¯s your and your slimes turn next, Ryouma-kun.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Do your best!¡± [Remiri]

    Oops, I almost forgot!

    ¡°I¡¯m going.¡± [Ryouma]

    I had the light slime ride on my head, while I went down the cliff with the rest of the slimes. Before me were the undead who appeared to have not learned their lesson as they continued to climb the hill. The skeletons were at the front.

    The iron slimes were the first to attack those skeletons.

    Using the slope of the hill, the iron slimes rolled towards the skeleton, and then jumped for their chest. The skeletons received a direct hit! Those iron slimes that were basically lumps of iron scattered the skeletons, causing them to copse. There were also other iron slimes that simply body mmed their foes, crushing bones and flesh alike.

    With just this the undead could still regenerate, but at the same time, they were now defenseless. The undead that was now in the middle of regenerating was left unable to fight, so the scavenger slimes feasted on zombies and skeletons alike without any reserve.

    But the slimes weren¡¯t numerous enough to take on all the fallen undead, so some of the undead would still be able to fight them. During that time, the slimes would fight with the techniques we¡¯ve trained, spitting their digestive liquids, melting the foes¡¯ limbs, taking away their ability to fight, and clinging to the arms that their enemies use against them, and feasting on them.

    Around that time, the metal slimes and the iron slimes neared the gate, and they started using the new fighting ability they have learned.

    Lately, the iron and metal slimes have be even better at transforming. And the iron slimes are now able to transform from their wheel form into something thinner that resembles the de of a katana almost immediately. Coupled with their weight and rotation, the sharpness of that form can cut its opponent apart.

    They probably learned it since I kept turning them into a de. From the outside, they look like a chakram when transformed. I tried it using against goblins once, and they were able to easily cut their necks and limbs off. It¡¯s quite terrifying honestly.

    As for the metal slimes, they rolled, and then they jumped. And having learned how to change even in mid-air, they transformed into a rod-shaped object with a sharp end. Following the force from their previous jump, they thrust themselves into their foes like a throwing spear.

    They pierced into the chests of the zombies and the undead, stopping their movements, and leaving them wide open for the scavenger and acid slimes to feast on.

    ...At first, I thought to watch them quietly from behind, only to interfere when they¡¯re in danger, but... I don¡¯t think either me or my light slime need to make a move. I just realized this, but... These guys are actually peerless when ites to zombies and skeletons! Well, that¡¯s the way it is, so I guess I¡¯ll just go to the front lines now.

    I neared the gate as I ignored the slimes that were trampling all over the undead. There are still a lot of slimes even in this area, so there¡¯s no danger of getting surrounded. At the same time though, there¡¯re also still a number of enemies.

    ¡°A¡¯ ¨C¡° [Zombie[

    ¡°U-¡° [Zombie]

    ¡°...¡± [Skeleton]

    ¡° ¡®Light Ball¡¯ ¡®Light Ball¡¯ ¡®Light Ball¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    First, I fired off light balls toward the two zombies and one skeleton, headshotting them, and killing them. With a light slime on top of my head like this, we can fire light balls together, killing any undead thates before us.

    Speaking of which, with the light slime on my head like this, I¡¯m able to feel it¡¯s magic power. As such I¡¯ve realized that although the magic casted has the same effect, the slime seems to use less magic power.

    Thinking about it again, the wind slimes that I learned chantless casting from might¡¯ve also been using less magic power... It¡¯s just a hunch, but the slimes might actually be able to use magic more efficiently than humans. Remiri-san did also mention that it¡¯s possible to be more efficient with magic through training, so it just might be possible.

    I continued to kill one undead after another as I thought that to myself. When we finally finished killing everyone, no more undead came to attack us near the gate anymore.

 Volume 3 - 28

    Volume 3 Chapter 28

    ¡°Good work~¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Oops!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Why did you dodge!?¡± [Remiri]

    As we finished subjugating the undead, Remiri-san called out. Realizing I was about to be hugged, I dodged, and Remiri-san started pouting.

    ¡°But you suddenly jumped at me, so...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Fine, then... Come on!¡± [Remiri]

    Said Remiri-san as she spread her arms wide open.

    ... She wants me to hug her?

    ¡°What are you doing? Come on!¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°No, it¡¯s note on!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°They¡¯re soft, you know?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Sof¨C!?¡± [Ryouma]

    Shocked and confused, I identally bit my tongue.

    ¡°Weren¡¯t you looking at my breasts when we first met~? I won¡¯t let you touch them, but it can¡¯t be helped if they touch you while I hug you, right~?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Lying¡¯s bad, you know? You can¡¯t trick oneesan.¡± [Remiri]

    What should I say? What should I do? Flustered, and caught in a dilemma, my head began to spin, when Sebasu-san intervened.

    ¡°Remiri-sama, please don¡¯t tease Ryouma-sama any more than this. We¡¯re currently near thebyrinth, so magical beasts coulde at any time.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°And Ryouma-kun, aside from magic, you shouldn¡¯t take what Remiri-san says so seriously.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Remiri, since when did you start thanking people for a job well done?¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Sheesh... But I can¡¯t help it, Ryouma-kun¡¯s normally so serious, so I thought it¡¯d be funny.¡± [Remiri]

    Saved, I thought. But at the same time, I couldn¡¯t help but feel some regret too. Remiri-san is a beauty after all. And I am a guy, so...

    Come to think of it, this is the first time I¡¯ve been teased like this sinceing to this world. Not that stuff like this happened a lot back in my previous world, but it did happen quite a bit when I would get an annoying job pushed to me... My head would also cool down quickly during those times.

    ¡°Sorry, Ryouma-kun. I ended up teasing you. It¡¯s normal for boys to want to see breasts, so don¡¯t mind it. I¡¯ll teach you magic, so forgive me, ok?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Ah, yes.¡± [Ryouma]

    Unintentionally, I gave a half-hearted reply. Let¡¯s change the topic.

    ¡°Anyway, it looks like we¡¯ve already defeated the undead in this area.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Looks like it. The undead tend to gather to where living beings are. And they have a number of ways to detect the living, but for the meantime, it should be safe.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°That was quite a lot of undead though. I guess we just caught some bad luck, and ran into a horde of them before they were whittled down by someone else.¡± [Shiva]

    This maze isn¡¯t really popr. The road is a mess, so fighting monsters is a pain. On top of that, there¡¯re less magic jewels herepared to other magic-madebyrinths, so the profit here is less.

    Because of that the undead rarely gets whittled down, and knights and clergymen need to be sent in order to get rid of the umting undead. It¡¯s a good opportunity, so they¡¯re apparently doing it both as training and as a job.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go and find a safe ce where we can rest first.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Yeah, I guess we should. If we just go in now, we¡¯ll have to deal with more undead, so let¡¯s just enter thebyrinth tomorrow.¡± [Remiri]

    When there are a lot of undead roaming outside thebyrinth from the afternoon onwards, there¡¯s a chance that the undead within thebyrinth are so numerous that they can¡¯t help but go outside. We can just go in, and defeat them. But the magic the others used a while ago can¡¯t be used consecutively, so defeating the undead will require a ton of effort.

    So with that, we decided to create a safe area with ¡®Holy Space¡¯ to camp in instead. And just whittle down the undeading out of thebyrinth until sunrise.

    With that, we started to prepare our camp.

    I used ¡®Holy Space¡¯. And inside that, I opened my ¡®Item Box¡¯ and brought out the special camping tools that I prepared beforehand. When Sebasu-san saw that, he asked,

    ¡°Ryouma-sama, what is that?¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°Camping tools.¡± [Ryouma]

    What was in my hands were four iron rods. On one end, was a sharpened tip like that of a stake. And on the other end, was a circle pedestal to which something could be affixed to.

    dding those rods in ki, I stabbed the sharp end of the iron rods into the north, west, south, and east borders of ¡®Holy Space¡¯ on the ground. And then I took out a spherical-shaped object from my ¡®Item Box¡¯, and ced it on top of a pedestal.

    The shape of that object was a bit weird, but any Japanese would recognize it at first nce. It was an alcoholmp.

    Half a year ago, around the time when I was fuzzing over the drunk slime¡¯s abilities, and was trying to create fruit wines with it, I concluded that the slime could mostly only be used for my personal amusement. As for why, it¡¯s because Serge-san told me that alcohol is a trickymodity to sell.

    Sugar is expensive in this world. And sugar being one of the main ingredients of fruit wine, would mean that I can¡¯t make any profit with liquor unless I sell it at a high price.

    Moreover, while there are magical beasts that are publicly epted as consumable meat (so I could technically sell the slimes¡¯ alcohol) but at the same time, there are also those that don¡¯t want to consume magical beasts depending on the species. Because of that, we concluded that there¡¯s a possibility of slime liquor not being popr. As such it¡¯s not something worth venturing into unless one is ready to suffer losses.

    With that, I decided that it¡¯s better to just use it for personal use. At the same time, I wondered whether there were some other ways I could use it, and using alchemy, I was able to create disinfectants, solvents, and fuel.

    Although metal content could be found in the alcohol (ethanol) on earth, both drinkable and undrinkable. I couldn¡¯t get any metals.

    But even then, plenty of soot woulde out, so I thought it was fine. But when I created an alcoholmp out of the sticky slime¡¯s concentrated hardened liquid, an idea hit me, and I thought of melting the concentrated sticky liquid. With that it went even better.

    Moreover, while the fire lit from just ethanol was pale blue, and was hard to see in bright ces. The fire from ethanol mixed with concentrated sticky liquid was bright enough to be useable as a torch. I created this alcoholmp to make use of that. The alcohol goes into this tube here, and itsts around an hour per cylinder without having to add more fuel, making it a pretty good tool in my opinion.

    There¡¯s nothing wrong with using light magic as light, but having options like this would mean being able to save up on magic power. It can also be used for kettles or cooking, so it¡¯s no waste either way.

    As I lit it, I taught Sebasu-san how to use the normal-sized alcoholmp I created for kettle use.

    ¡°I see. It¡¯s brighter than candles, and also quite hot. Like this it¡¯ll definitely be useful even for cooking outside. Ryouma-sama, if you don¡¯t mind, could I use this for a while?¡± [Sebasu]

    In response, I just gave Sebasu-san a few points to be wary of when using it, then I lent it to him. At that, Remiri-san called out to me.

    ¡°Hey, Ryouma-kun.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°What is it?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°What did you make this bedding out of? It¡¯s really light, and it feels really good.¡± [Remiri]

    Looks like she¡¯s interested in my sleeping bag. Although I say ¡®sleeping bag¡¯, it¡¯s not the type where Ipletely insert my body into. Rather I took a mattress, cut it into two, and sewed it up at the base. I made it that way so I could easily run away in case I need to. Well, I¡¯m always in my ¡®Dimension Home¡¯ though, so I¡¯ve never really had any situations where I needed to go outside immediately.

    Incidentally, the materials used in this sleeping bag are the fluffs of the fluff slime that I caught half a year ago. While I was researching the fluff slime, and was watching the fluffs fluttering about in the air, I thought to use it to create pillows and mattresses.

    When I first tried it out, I just filled a nearby jute bag with the fluffs, so the resulting product had a horrible texture. But I was at least able to prove that it¡¯s possible. So after that, I dropped by Serge-san¡¯s store, bought some sheets, and sewed them together. And like that, I was able to create a sack that had a nice texture, was soft, light, and warm, resulting in a product simr to that of a quilt.

    Then I went a step further, and even treated the sheets with waterproofing. I also made it so that the fluffs inside would be uniform and not randomly arranged. After that, I revised it a few more times by trying it out, until finally I was able toplete my sleeping bag.

    I also took the fluff slimes with me to the abandoned mine in Gimuru to observe it. As a result, I understood that the fluff slimes reproduce in the same way as the dandelions do.

    At the start, a majority of the nucleus wouldn¡¯t grow even without splitting, and died. Apparently, just like any other seed, the nucleus of the fluff slimes won¡¯t grow unless it receives the proper nutrients. So it needs to fall to the ground, and absorb the nutrients around it. If the nutrients in the soil are insufficient, then it won¡¯t grow either.

    As proof of that, they barely grew with normal soil, but a great number of slimes were born with the soil that¡¯s been cultivated with the scavenger slime¡¯s fertilizer. Soil isn¡¯t needed for its growthter on, but for a fluff slime to be a fluff slime from its fluff, it needs to have the proper nutrients.

    And because I¡¯ve been using the fertilizers of the scavenger slimes so much, I had to take on thetrine pits request. Then again I don¡¯t only use it for the fluff slimes, I also use it for ntations, and growing medicinal nts for my wood magic, so it¡¯s not really a waste.

    Because of the scavenger slime¡¯s deodorizing and cleaning abilities, it doesn¡¯t stink, so that¡¯s good. Also, I never realized this back in the forest because I would use up the fertilizers immediately, but apparently, I can use alchemy to dry the fertilizers, and turn them into powder form. Which in effect allows me to preserve them.

    Cleaning thetrine pits is also a request from the guild, so while it doesn¡¯t make a lot of money, it¡¯s still ie. The other adventures often ask me why I¡¯m still doing jobs like that, but it¡¯s actually a rtively good job for me.

    ¡°Ah, I have to make the scavenger slimes spit out fertilizers now...¡± [Ryouma]

    Immediately, I opened the ¡®Dimension Home¡¯ and brought out tworge wine barrels, and a staircase made out of stone. There I had all the scavenger slimes throw up fertilizer.

    They had a great banquet with the zombies just now, so if I don¡¯t let them throw up the extra nutrients, they¡¯ll end up reproducing again. Because I¡¯ve been having them do thetrine pit requests for the fluff slime¡¯s sake, they¡¯ve been gradually increasing. And now, they currently number 5,009.

    I don¡¯t mind them splitting a few at a time, but if they all split now, it¡¯ll take me more than a day to finish contracting with them. It¡¯s difficult managing slime reproduction with slimes that reproduce quickly.

    Moreover, ording to Caulkins-san and the others, there¡¯s a limit to how much the slimes can split. Once they go past this limit, the affected slimes will reproduce rapidly, causing a phenomenon known as ¡®Slime Stampede¡¯. The burden ced on the affected slimes are great, so after the phenomenon, the slimes will be weak.

    I¡¯m digressing, but the ones who discovered this was a slime researchb in the past that¡¯s still being treated coldly today. Their hypothesis was that big slimes would appear after feeding a slime continuously. As a result, the slimes blew up, and started splitting rapidly. Causing their numbers to overflow even into the other rooms of the facility. After that, because of the extermination of the slimes, and the weakened slimes trying to get whatever nutrients they could get, arge number of research materials and theses were lost, which in turn cased the slime researchers then to be greatly hated.

    Now, going back to the story.

    I gathered over 5,000 slimes, but I couldn¡¯t get any more slimes other than a king slime. I don¡¯t know whether this means that there¡¯s no more transformations, or that the number¡¯s only insufficient. I want to solve this question soon, but I can¡¯t have them reproduce now all at the same time.

    I continued to let the scavenger slimes throw up fertilizer. Whenever the scavenger slimes would fill up a barrel, I would use my alchemy, removing all the water content, and filling bags with the powder fertilizer. There¡¯s not much meaning in hiding anything from the others, so I¡¯m not even trying anymore.

    For a while, Remiri-san and Sebasu-san stared at me, wondering what I was doing. When they asked me, I exined to them, and they helped me out. Thanks to them, I was able to finish everything in no more than 20 minutes.

    Speaking of which, not even a single undead came out during that time.

    Taking the opportunity, Remiri-san also taught me the light magic, ¡®Beam¡¯. But the only thing I could cast was something that looked like light with no power at all behind it. The magic power consumption was also high, so I still can¡¯t use it in battle.

    If Remiri-san¡¯s ¡®Beam¡¯ was like the ones from the robots in manga and anime, my beam was nothing more than the light from the magnifying lens, amplifying the sun¡¯s light. Joking aside, I¡¯ll have to gradually work on it.

    TL Note: Remiri-san said ¡®Come on¡¯ in English. Written in katakana, but English nevertheless.

 Volume 3 - 29

    TL Note: Sorry that it¡¯s a few minuteste. I got a bit too into ÙtÕß¤ÎŒO (sage¡¯s grandchild). I don know if it¡¯s being tranted, but it¡¯s cool. Too bad there¡¯re only 92 chapters out. Anyway, here¡¯s TMPG, enjoy~

    Edit: Reis -> Wraiths

    Girls and boys at the age of seven shouldn¡¯t sit on the same chair.

    An old Chinese saying that means that girls and boys at the age of seven have already formed their own consciousness about their respective genders, and as such should start doing things separately.

    Emotional Resistance Skill/Mental Resistance Skill is the same. It just means defense against intangible painful stuff.

    Volume 3 Chapter 29

    The sun was beginning to set by the time we finished preparing our camp.

    ¡°Should be about time for the undead toe out.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Yeah... they should being any moment now.¡± [Remiri]

    Said Remiri-san as she caressed my sleeping bag. I guess she really likes it.

    ¡°Hmm... This is a really good mattress.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°I could make one for you if you want.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Really? Then please.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Sure.¡± [Ryouma]

    She¡¯s teaching me magic after all, so this could be as thanks. But just a mattress doesn¡¯t seem to be enough, I wonder if there¡¯s anything else I could do for her.

    As I thought that to myself, I entered my ¡®Dimension Home¡¯, and began making a new mattress.

    Carefully sewing the sheets together, I created a sack. Positioning and repositioning the sheets over and over, sewing even the ends, filling up the mattress with fluff equally, and taking measurements repeatedly. Doing all this by myself would take a lot of time, but I had the metal slimes¡¯ help, so I was able to finish quickly.

    While I was creating a new bedding in the past, the metal slimes suddenly learned the sewing skill.

    The metal slimes would extend their bodies, turning the extended portion into a needle. And after inserting a thread into that needle, they would pierce it into the cloth. The needle would exit, and then enters, delivering the thread. Exiting, and entering, the process would repeat itself over and over resembling a wave.

    Naturally, surprise took me when I first saw that scene, but brushing that shock away, I taught the slimes many things. And nowadays, the metal slimes can backstitch or even do a loop stitch. And through the help of such metal slimes, I was able to quicklyplete the fluff slime¡¯s fluff mattress.

    However, I found myself with too many fluffs, so I made some mattresses for the other as well. Unfortunately, the materials weren¡¯t enough for all four, so three was the most I could make.

    As soon as I finished, I left the ¡®Dimension Home¡¯. When I got out, I noticed that there were now undead outside the holy space.

    Looks like the undead have finally starteding out, I thought. But powerless, the undead could only stare at us as from a meter away, unable to enter the area of the holy space.

    Staring nkly at the undead, I heard Remiri-san call out to me, so I turned towards the voice. There, I saw them drinking tea peacefully.

    ¡°Ah, Ryouma-chan. Did you finish making the mattress?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Yes. I also had more materials than expected, and I was able to make two more on top of yours.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Two more?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°I thought to make one for everyone, but unfortunately, I didn¡¯t have enough materials.¡± [Ryouma]

    Although I was talking with Remiri-san, I couldn¡¯t help but look back to the surrounding undead.

    ¡°Are you worried about the undead?¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Yes, I haven¡¯t had much opportunities to drink tea with monsters nearby who aren¡¯t ve demons.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I guess it can¡¯t be helped then. But still... do try not to worry yourself too much. It won¡¯t be good for your health, you know?¡± [Rheinbach]

    After Rheinbach-sama said that, Remiri-san suddenly burst out loud, saying,

    ¡°Exactly!¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°What is it all of the sudden?¡± [Ryouma]

    When I asked that, Remiri-sanughed loudly as if she¡¯d just thought of something good. Then she puffed her chest out, and said,

    ¡°Since we¡¯recking a mattress, Ryouma-kun, you should share a mattress with me and sleep with me instead!¡± [Remiri]

    ...Haah!?

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You don¡¯t have enough mattresses for everyone, right? Well it¡¯s not very nice to leave one of our friends without thatfy mattress of yours, so in order for us all to have a good night¡¯s rest, Ryouma-kun and I should sleep together!¡± [Remiri]

    Wait, wait... That might be true, but...

    ¡°If I recall correctly, there¡¯s an old saying that goes, ¡®girls and boys at the age of seven shouldn¡¯t sit on the same chair¡¯ right?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°No problem!¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°What do you mean, no problem!?¡± [Ryouma]

    This isn¡¯t working... Someone please help me, I thought, sending a nce at the others as I did. But to my dismay, the other three only quietly shook their heads.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, Remiri sometimes acts like this, and it¡¯s a little difficult finding out whether she¡¯s serious or not... She seemed to be joking this afternoon, so I stopped her. But she looks to be serious this time around, so unfortunately, we won¡¯t be able to stop her... sorry.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Just sleeping together shouldn¡¯t be that embarrassing though, so isn¡¯t it fine?¡± [Shiva]

    But that puts me at a bad spot... In my past life, I had little interaction with women apart from my mother and the women in the office. There weren¡¯t any beauties on the level of Remiri-san either. It¡¯s not like I¡¯ve had zero interactions with the female workers in the office, but they didn¡¯t really like me either, so the most interaction I¡¯ve had with them was the absolute minimum when we had tomunicate for work.

    In my private life, the only contact I had was my mother. I¡¯ve never had any rtions with the women in my office either. So naturally, I¡¯ve never had any experience sleeping with women. And of course, that includes just sleeping together. I¡¯ve never even dated... Actually, forget dating, I haven¡¯t even so much as held a girl¡¯s hand. Ah, actually I think there were one or two times back in elementary school because of an event, but the girls hated it so much, I can still remember the look of unwillingness on their faces.

    While I was caught in my own thoughts, thinking of stuff like that, Remiri-san suddenly proposed this.

    ¡°No matter how much you dislike the idea my decision stands... But alright how about this then? More undead will being out of thebyrinth soon, so how about wepete in who kills more undead? And naturally, should I win, we sleep together. Alright?¡± [Remiri]

    Somehow the discussion¡¯s finally progressing... Although I¡¯m not really that against it. It¡¯s just that stimtion I¡¯m not used to will cause unnecessary burden on my mind, so... Sigh... I¡¯m supposed to have an emotional resistance skill, but it¡¯s not doing its job at all, is it? Even though this situation is something I would normally be happy about when thinking of...

    Wait! This isn¡¯t the time to be thinking of stuff like that! Aren¡¯t I the one in a disadvantage in a magic showdown!? Remiri-san can wipe out the undead in one shot!

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this duel too favorable for Remiri-san?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Then let¡¯s decide on a rule. How about we both only limit ourselves to using ¡®Light Ball¡¯ in this fight? This way there won¡¯t be that big of a difference between us.

    And then let¡¯s add a time limit as well. You have too much of an upper hand if we make it until we run out of magic power, and the opposite would be true if we limited the number of shots we could make as I have more experience than you. So a time limit would be the fairest, right?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°True, that¡¯s definitely the fairest.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Good. As for the referees, Sebasu-san and the others will be the ones to count how many undead we¡¯ve each killed.¡± [Remiri]

    Ah! Did I end up agreeing to her!?

    Like this, I was partly-forced to enter a match with Remiri-san.

    We needed to wait for the undead to gather first, so we sat there in the holy space, drinking tea peacefully. One hour passed, and Sebasu-san mentioned that there were enough undead.

    We will be fighting the undead from inside the holy space. Currently, there are zombies and skeletons in every direction, while souls and semi-transparent human-shaped bodies and mist-like bodies could be seen floating in the air.

    The balls of me floating are known as wisps, and the mist-like and human-like bodies are called wraiths. They¡¯re both weak to light magic, but the wraiths can attack mentally and haunt and possess humans.

    ¡°Are you ready?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m ready anytime.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°OK, let¡¯s go.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°The time limit is 10 minutes. Start!¡± [Sebasu]

    The operation to defeat undead began. This is going to be a war of attrition so I fired a ¡®Light Ball¡¯ to the skeleton right in front of me.

    ¡° ¡®Light Ball¡¯ ¡° [Ryouma]

    The ¡®Light Ball¡¯ I fired went straight for the head of the skeleton, extinguishing it. But the light ball didn¡¯t disperse there as it continued to fly in a straight line, piercing through a number of undead, and extinguishing them. The undead tend to crowd together, so it¡¯s not that weird. I ¡®ve also done it a number of times in the past.

    ¡°¡¯Light Ball¡¯ ¡®Light Ball¡¯¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°What is that!?¡± [Ryouma]

    Remiri-san, who was behind me, chanted only once, yet immediately 10 balls of light were summoned. And she shot those 10 balls of light with deadly uracy, destroying the heads of the undead.

    ¡°This is a technique called, Parallel Casting. Using a lot of magic power, and the right image, I can cast the same spell several times with one chant of ¡®Light Ball¡¯. But being able to do something like this takes a bit of practice.¡± [Remiri]

    Remiri-san continued to fire off her spells while exining, not even stopping once. And after finishing her exnation, she showed me a smile that seemed to say she¡¯s won.

    And it was then that I realized it. Could it be that the reason there¡¯s no limit in the shots taken... was for this!?

    Seeing my expression, Remiri-san spoke, saying,

    ¡°A bit toote to realize it now, ¡®Light ball¡¯.¡± [Remiri]

    I knew it! Now that it¡¯se to this, I don¡¯t have any choice but to use parallel casting as well. Remiri-san did teach me how to use it just now after all. Most likely because she thinks she¡¯s won already.

    ¡°¡¯Light Ball¡¯ ... ¡®Light Ball¡¯ ¡®Light Ball¡¯ ¡° [Ryouma]

    Or so I thought... But what is this? It¡¯s ridiculously difficult.

    The first time I tried it, I used a lot of magic, and I was able to cast the magic several times. But the most I was able to make were five balls. Anymore and I couldn¡¯t maintain the spell.

    The second time, I went ahead with just the five balls, but I couldn¡¯t move the balls in different direction, and they all attacked the same spot.

    The third time, I only made two balls, and I was able to move them in two different directions, but it was hard to aim. One failed to kill the undead, and the other actually missed. It¡¯s like writing with both hands at the same time. Remiri-san mentioned it herself too, but this really isn¡¯t something I can do right away.

    Since parallel casting won¡¯t work, there was nothing else I could do but just cast the normal light ball. I¡¯m able to kill the undead fairly fast with this method, but the difference in our scores just keep increasing.

    Remiri-san fires 10 shots in one chant, but the most I can do in that time is fire two or three shots... I know there¡¯s no point asking for it, but it would be great if I could sweep the surrounding area quickly... Isn¡¯t there any way?

    While thinking of that, I kept firing the light balls.

    There¡¯s no problem hitting with the light balls urately while deep in thought.

    After all, it¡¯s safe since the undead can¡¯t enter the holy space even if they tried. Then with my alertness lowered to the minimum, I ended up likening the situation to them time when I was ying in the arcades back in my previous life. And since the zombies aren¡¯t even attacking, it¡¯s as if we¡¯re ying super easy mode.

    What if I tried doing this like I was ying super easy mode? ...Nah, that would just end up like those target shooting in festivals.

    Ah... speaking of which, I haven¡¯t yed any games sinceing to this world, huh? I wonder what happened to that series.

    There was a point in time when I got into it quite a bit... But I didn¡¯t have any money, so I couldn¡¯t go to the arcade much. But there were some times when I really wanted to shoot at some zombies, so I would go there for just one round. If I recall correctly, it was important to choose the appropriate ammo for each area. I was bad at it, so I don¡¯t know that much about the game, but I¡¯m sure there was an explosive shell, a machine gun, and a shotgun...

    My thoughts were getting further and further, but it was here that I suddenly thought of it. And I thought to myself, why not improve the light ball spell and turn it into a bullet?

    Immediately I tried it out... I don¡¯t understand the explosive shells much, and the machine gun would drain my magic power quickly, so... I guess shotgun would be for the best? The shotgun¡¯s shells fires buckshot. Its small shell supposedly releases its contents in a scattered manner... So with that in mind, I visualized the image of the light ball into a small bullet that scatters itself...

    ¡° ¡®Light Ball¡¯ ¡° [Ryouma]

    The light ball scattered exactly as I had visualized it, but the damage was weak. The zombie in front of me was wounded, but it didn¡¯t die. Apparently, I spread the light ball too much, causing the damage of every individual shot to weaken.

    Since that¡¯s how it is, I put 10 times more magic power into light ball than normal, and fired it. The result? Not only were the zombies in fan-shaped spread in front of me killed, even the wraiths in the air died. Since it¡¯s not really needed for the light ball to spread even in the air, I guess 10 times is a bit too much.

    I have enough magic power, but this time I decided topact the area affected. As a result, the power required was reduced to half of thest shot, requiring only five times as much magic power as a normal shot. Then adding to that, I thought of how the shotgun shells also had different sizes for the shots inside it. Visualizing that, I visualized the essentials of holy space into each of those shots, distributing magic power at the same time... as a result, I was able to equally divided the five times of magic power into 50 different shots. Then I fired it.

    ¡° ¡®Light Ball¡¯ ... Ku¡± [Ryouma]

    Not good, the magic power is hard to control, I thought. And just as the fired light ball shot towards the target, it dispersed before even hitting it. As a result, only two zombies were killed. Focusing, I tried one more time.

    The match continued, as I continued to focus on my control, honing the new magic as I killed more and more zombies. Soon Remiri-san began to panic a little at my light ball¡¯s newfound power as she would throw nces at me from time to time, checking up on me.

    But then Sebasu-san¡¯s countdown began.

    ¡°10, 9, 8, 7, 6...¡± [Sebasu]

    It¡¯s almost over! Then in that case, I¡¯ll have to fire this new magic, ¡®Lightshot¡¯, now! Visualizing the image... I fired it! Fire!

    ¡°¡¯Lightshot¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    Thatst cast was the normal five times more magic power than normal, but all the zombies within 3m area in front were filled with holes, and exterminated. The power¡¯s much lower, but having decreased the consumption to half, it¡¯s not so bad.

    ¡°Stop casting!!¡± [Sebasu]

    At Sebasu-san¡¯s words, the match ended. And the result...

    I lost.

    I was able to take back the loss from the start of the match with the improved light ball, but, thest shot was a foul. I kept improving my light ball, and in the end, thatst shot that I made was good, but at that moment, I called it ¡®Lightshot¡¯...

    Rule 1: The use of magic other than ¡®Light Ball¡¯ is prohibited.

    I thought it was fine at first since I was just improving light ball, and actually, Sebasu-san thought so as well. But at thest moment I called it a different name, so in the end it became a foul.

    In other words, I lost because I lost myself in focusing too much in improving the new magic that I ended up forgetting the rules.

    ¡°I started to panic halfway through, but in the end, it¡¯s my win! I didn¡¯t expect you toe up with a new magic in this short time though.¡± [Remiri]

    Said Remiri-san with augh. After that, she asked me how I did it, and I exined it to her. Having aroused her curiosity, Remiri-san tried it herself, and she understood. Then with a serious face, she said this,

    ¡°Ryouma-san, this magic is amazing. 100 magic power for one cast of ¡®Light Ball¡¯ is 500 for ¡®Light Shot¡¯, but although it¡¯s only an elementary magic, it can actually affect a bigger area than the intermediate magic, ¡®Exorcism¡¯. It¡¯s an extremely useful magic when fighting undead. But I think it¡¯d be better if you don¡¯t teach this to other people so freely.¡± [Remiri]

    Why?

    ¡°Is there a problem? Like with the improvements I made?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Nope, this magic is well-made. The problem isn¡¯t the result, rather it¡¯s the fact that it¡¯s too difficult.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°You mean just like how there are few people who can use advanced light magic?¡± [Ryouma]

    After nodding once, Remiri-san exined. Light shot is a magic that requires high control of magic power. And because it¡¯s a spell that tries to bring out much power at the cost of little magic power, only those that can use light magic at an advanced level will truly be able to bring out its power.

    But because there are few people who can use light magic up to the advanced level, there are very few who would be able to learn the magic. And the people who can¡¯t learn the magic won¡¯t be satisfied with just epting their own ipetence.

    In other words, they will start ming me, saying that I¡¯m a bad teacher. They might also use me of hiding some secret that¡¯s causing them to be unable to use the magic correctly. Apparently, this is something thatmonly happens when trying to teach advanced magic to others.

    Hiding the secrets behind a spell I made myself isn¡¯t really something that would get me in trouble, but it¡¯s still better to just keep quiet, and not risk causing trouble, so Remiri-san asked me not to teach it so freely.

    At the same time, Sebasu-san, who was listening, also asked me to keep quiet about it.

    Apparently, Sebasu-san has also experienced something simr in the past, causing his words to be heavy with emotion, and he said that depending on the person he¡¯d rather not teach dimension magic. It¡¯s rare seeing Sebasu-san show such negative emotions... actually, it¡¯s my first time, so I couldn¡¯t help but be shocked.

    Anyway, let¡¯s keep their warning in mind.

    And then evening came.

    We decided to take turns sleeping. And so me and Remiri-san entered the mattress to sleep. And since I lost, naturally, I had to sleep with her.

    But... I can¡¯t sleep...

    The mattress is big enough so that there¡¯s room even if I turn around, but I ended up bing Remiri-san¡¯s pillow. And because of the height difference, there are two soft things on top of my head right now.

    Let me say it again. It¡¯s time to sleep, and yet... I can¡¯t sleep!

    Seeing me like that, Remiri-san called out to me.

    ¡°Can¡¯t sleep?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Y-Yeah...¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that, Remiri-san began to rub my head.

    ¡°What are you doing...?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Mn? I used to this a lot for my younger brother before when he couldn¡¯t sleep. And right after, he¡¯d fall asleep immediately.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°You had a younger brother?¡± [Ryouma]

    As I asked that, Remiri-san replied.

    Apparently, Remiri-san has a younger brother whose much younger than her. She hasn¡¯t met him since leaving the dark elf vige, but during that time, her younger brother¡¯s height was around mine. And apparently he was also good at magic. I resembled him a lot, she said.

    After that, I asked her what dark elf life was like.

    The dark elves are few in number, but they live in viges. Amongst the dark elves, there are also those who cultivatend, and those that live as nomads. And although the actual frequency differs from each vige, there are many viges that move every year.

    When I asked her why they won¡¯t settle down, she mentioned that cultivating and travelling are for the sake of teaching their children how to live. As for cultivating thend, it depends on the viges, but there are many reasons such as to make money or as trade in order to get something they need.

    In Remiri-san¡¯s vige, they¡¯re doing it both as training and a way to make money, but the vigers in her vige are entrics, and they find satisfaction in cultivatingnds that are difficult to cultivate. A vige full of cultivation enthusiasts in other words.

    Apparently, the dark elves are famous for cultivatingnds. Be it asking them to cultivate one, or for advice.

    Incidentally, the elves pass on theirnds in the forest for generations, protecting theirnd as they live on it. The opposite of the dark elves. But of course there are exceptions for both, and there are those that leave their respective viges to be adventurers, and those that choose a ce they like to settle down in.

    As for Remiri-san, she became an adventurer, and because of her achievements, she was asked by the previous king to work for the kingdom. As a result, she became a royal court magician, but now that her contract has ended, she¡¯s currently a frencer, and is at a loss whether to go back to adventurer work or go back to her family.

    As Remiri-san continued to talk like that, she fell asleep.

    But I still can¡¯t sleep. Why? Because the one thing keeping me from sleeping is still here.

    Even if I¡¯m like this, I¡¯m a guy. On top of that I¡¯m an old uncle, so this situation is quite difficult for me for various reasons.

    For the meantime, I closed my eyes, enduring the softness behind me, and the almost painful beating of my heart. Like this I quietly waited, without waking Remiri-san, for the time to switch with someone else.

    When the time to switch finally came, I killed lots of undead, and drove away all of my worldly desires. I managed to subjugate over half of the undeading out of thebyrinth, but in the end, I couldn¡¯t get a wink of sleep. I¡¯m used to all-nighters back in my previous life, and I have sleep resistance, so it¡¯s not really a problem, but if I were a normal child, I¡¯d be tottering by now.

    And then, dawn came. After breakfast, I took a peek at my status board, and I noticed that a new skill was there.

    Charm Resistance Lv1

    It¡¯s the proof that I overcamest night¡¯s trial.

 Volume 3 - 30

    Volume 3 Chapter 30

    As wepleted our preparations, the time to enter thebyrinth finally came.

    When speaking ofbyrinths, you might imagine something grand, some exaggerated image, but thisbyrinth isn¡¯t quite like that. Thisbyrinth does have a tinge of mncholy to it, but from the outside, it¡¯s really nothing more than ruins.

    With a light slime on my head, and a king scavenger slime following along, I entered thebyrinth along with everyone else.

    Thebyrinth is mostly rectangr in shape. Going deeper into thebyrinth from the entrance, one could see the lodging for the executioners and the convicts. And then, there¡¯s also a ce for waiting during work, and a reception center for the convicts. The execution grounds themselves are divided in an order, and no traps or treasures could be found in the area.

    The interior of thebyrinth was dark, having no light. But with a portable alcoholmp or light magic from either ours or the light slime, we had no difficulties finding our way.

    As we continued to walk, a wraith suddenly slipped through the walls. But with a single shot from my ¡®Light Shot¡¯, I made short work of it. The rest of the zombies and skeletons that were in the area were taken care of by the king scavenger slime who would swallow and melt them.

    Since the path was small, the king scavenger slime could easily fill the path with its ¡®Erge¡¯ skill, and with its ¡®Overeating¡¯ ability, it could freely feast on the undead, and protect us at the same time. The sight of us moving forward with the king scavenger slime in front like that looked much like a tsunami.

    Thanks to that, we had little burden on our end, and the only thing we had to do was dispose of the wraiths that would pass through the walls.

    ¡°And here I thought we¡¯d have to work our asses off since we didn¡¯t thin them out enough.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Indeed, we¡¯re barely lifting our fingers here.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°I did think the slimes would be a strong hand after seeing them fight yesterday... but I didn¡¯t expect that we¡¯d end up walking through thisbyrinth sofortably.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Ah, Sebasu-san, please give the slime some water.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Understood, ¡®Water¡¯¡± [Sebasu]

    Sebasu-san conjured some water with his water magic, and the king scavenger slime happily drank it. After 10 seconds, the king scavenger slime¡¯s body shook, indicating that it was full.

    ¡°Thank you very much, Sebasu-san. That¡¯s enough water now.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°If it¡¯s something like this, please feel free to ask me anytime.¡± [Sebasu]

    After that, we continued to walk a bit more.

    I don¡¯t know what it¡¯s like for the otherbyrinths, but thisbyrinth is quite spacious. But then again, perhaps it¡¯s only expected. After all, the ce needs to amodate the convicts on death row and the employees. Just the lodging alone would take a lot of space, but then they even have other facilities too.

    ¡°Shiva, the herbs (eternal darkness) are down at the basement right?¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Yes, they should be growing at the execution site in the basement. I¡¯ve gone there plenty of times to train the new recruits, and have seen those herbs a lot, so they should be there.¡± [Shiva]

    The eternal darkness (herb) that we¡¯re looking for is a kind of herb that grows gregariously in ces with no light like caves. When Shiva-san heard that, he mentioned that he had seen such herbs before by the execution site down the basement.

    Speaking of which, there are various methods by which execution is done in this facility, so the ce that the eternal darkness (herb) is growing in is one of those.

    That area is an execution site with nothing but an ever extending spiral staircase going deep down into the ground, a hole, and an apparatus for restraining the convicts. Also known as the execution grounds of starvation. As the name implies, the convict is left within the execution site with no food or water, leaving him there until he dies of starvation.

    The other execution sites also appear to be equally cruel, but they are not being used in present day.

    ¡°This is also something rted to the godchilds. They said that it was inhuman, and most of the godchilds, along with Masaharu and Shuu, protested against it in the past.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Punishment nowadays is mostly limited to fines or forcedbor. Intensity of which varies ording to the weight of one¡¯s crimes.

    For example, a mere fight in a town would only get one fined. Pickpocketing and theft on the other hand, would be forcedbor for the first time. The second time around would just increase the duration. But robbery and banditry would have one penalized to an indefinite period of forcedbor. The sentence can be reduced with some negotiation, so the exact period can¡¯t be defined.¡± [Shiva]

    Since we weren¡¯t having any trouble with the undead at all, I spent the time talking with Rheinbach-sama and Shiva-san about the execution grounds and its history. As a result, this entire trip has started to look more like a tour rather than a dungeon search.

    Halfway to the execution grounds of starvation, we entered the reception center for the convicts, and the path suddenly grew bigger.

    ¡°The path suddenly became wider.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°There used to be rooms for the convicts at both sides in this reception center, but after the entire facility was shut down, they took away everything that could be used.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°With all the cells gone, the path became bigger. And if you look closely, you¡¯ll notice that there are also unnatural holes both on the floor and on the ceiling.¡± [Rheinbach]

    Now that he mentions it, there are definitely holes on the ground and on the ceiling.

    Around that time, undead with a different atmosphere from the others suddenly came out.

    ¡°K...Kill...¡± [Undead]

    ¡°Money...Money...¡± [Undead]

    The zombies until now have only been groaning at most, but these ones were actually repeatingprehensible words!

    ¡°These are zombies with attachment to the world when they were alive. That attachment has just been passed on their zombified forms. They¡¯re not any stronger than their normal zombie counterparts, but to differentiate them from the others, we call them Intellizombies. This isn¡¯t an official name however.¡± [Remiri]

    After Remiri-san¡¯s exnation, we quickly exterminated the Intellizombies with the king scavenger slime¡¯s help. The king scavenger slime took care of the center, while Shiva-san and I disposed of the undead attacking us from the nks.

    And just as Remiri-san said, the intellizombies weren¡¯t any stronger than the normal zombies.

    After that we continued to walk again, and after some time, we left the reception center and reached a boundary leading to an execution site. Suddenly, the atmosphere changed. The atmosphere hasn¡¯t changed at all since we entered thebyrinth, so the sudden change gave me a bad feeling.

    ¡°This...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Come to think of it, it¡¯s your first time, right, Ryouma? The change in atmosphere is because we¡¯re near the center of the magicbyrinth.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°It feels different because it¡¯s the ce where the magic is gathered. Magicians in particr feel the change in atmosphere the strongest.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Because the magic power in the surrounding area is stronger normal, there¡¯s also a chance that a powerful magical beast might have been born, so be careful.¡± [Shiva]

    Like that we proceeded with careful attention to our surroundings. After a while, we entered a hallway with windows. From the window, a courtyard-like area with gallows could be seen along with a great number of undead prowling it vicinity.

    We continued to walk as we followed the hallway, and eventually the sound of metal entered our ears.

    ¡°This sound is most likely a roam weapon. It¡¯s getting nearer.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Then I guess it¡¯s my turn to shine.¡± [Remiri]

    A roam weapon is a weapon that floats and attacks living beings by itself. It¡¯s an undead-type magical beast.

    Weapons that have killed many men and beasts alike that have been left for a long time in ces with dense concentration of magic power have a tendency to be roam weapons.

    And the only way to defeat these roam weapons is by destroying them. Either with magic or by physical attack. However, being a weapon by nature, they are quite tough, and difficult to destroy with physical attacks. Because of that, magic is generally themon approach to subjugating them.

    ¡°It¡¯s here.¡± [Remiri]

    Suddenly, 2 maces, an axe, a spear, and two one-handed swords suddenly came flying at us at running speed.

    We were also ready to fight, but with the magic Remiri-san calmly invocated, there was no need for us to fight.

    ¡°¡¯Shadow Bind¡¯¡± [Remiri]

    The surrounding shadows in the ceiling and in the wall suddenly extended themselves as a number of ck ropes, binding the roam weapons. The bound roam weapons tried to break free, but with several shots of ¡®Light Ball¡¯, the roam weapons stopped moving, and as soon as they were unbound, they fell down to the ground.

    ¡°And it¡¯s ove~r.¡± [Remiri]

    After easily defeating the 6 roam weapons, Remiri-san threw us a huge smile. I congratted Remiri-san for a job well done, and then I asked her what that magic was just now.

    ¡°That just now was ¡®Shadow Bind¡¯. It¡¯s a magic resulting from the fusion of light and shadow. A magic that requires a super high level of control.¡± [Remiri]

    Remiri-san puffed her chest out as she said that. ording to her, there are actually few people that could use this magic. And her being able to use this magic is one of the biggest factors contributing to her being invited to be a royal court magician.

    After that, she showed me another spell known as ¡®Dispel¡¯, which was needed in order to recover the fallen roam weapons.

    While it¡¯s possible to just pick up the defeated roam weapons, and sell them. There are times when the remaining dark magic in the weapons curse its owners, inflicting mental and physical damage to them.

    ¡®Dispel¡¯ is needed in order to remove that curse. And after dispelling he roam weapons, the weapons will be safe to take back home.

    ¡°Curses can also be caused artificially, so you should learn dispel too as a precaution. I¡¯ll teach youter.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Thank you very much. I¡¯ll be in your care.¡± [Ryouma]

    After that, we continued to walk while defeating the undead that came our way, and after 10 minutes, we finally reached the execution grounds of starvation.

    ¡°We arrived a lot faster than expected.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s thanks to Shiva, who knew the ce well, and Ryouma¡¯s slime. Normally, it would have taken a lot more effort.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°True, I definitely don¡¯t remember having this much of an easy time when going here. But it¡¯s still going to get harder from here on.

    Zombies are born easily at the center of the execution grounds of starvation. Amongst the zombies are also the higher ranked variety, ghouls. The ghouls regenerate faster than the zombies, they move faster, and they have sharper ws. And while there are D Rank adventurers that can beat them alone, there are also a lot that can¡¯t.¡± [Shiva]

    After making sure to heed Shiva-san¡¯s warning, I asked the light slime to light up the area, and then I carefully entered the door.

    What greeted us on the other side were three zombies. With my sword wrapped in light attribute magic power, I made short work of the zombies.

    As we entered the execution grounds, the spiral staircase they spoke of came to sight. It was much bigger than I expected. Each step was 7m wide and 3m tall, extending downwards in a counter-clockwise spiral, while spaciousndings could be seen here and there.

    ¡°They¡¯re here again.¡± [Remiri]

    As if the zombies were reacting to the sound of the door opening, the zombies down below started to climb the stairs. I ordered the king scavenger slime to defeat the zombies, but three amongst that blob of zombies jumped over it.

    ¡°Ghouls! ¡®Light Shot¡¯!¡± [Remiri]

    Remiri-san immediately fired of a ¡®Light Shot¡¯, stopping two of the ghouls. Then with another shot, she subjugated them.

    The remaining ghoul was pierced by Shiva-san¡¯s halberd, and then cut to pieces by the following consecutive casts of ¡®Wind Cutter¡¯.

    The ghouls are less grotesquepared to the zombies. They look a lot more like humans. The king scavenger slime wasn¡¯t having any difficulties with the zombies, so I just left those to him, while I went ahead and fought the ghouls.

    The oing ghoul raised its ws, and shed against me.

    It¡¯s definitely faster than the zombies, but¨C¨C¨C

    ¡°You¡¯re still too slow.¡± [Ryouma]

    Before the ghoul¡¯s w could descend, I cut its torso, and then cut it down from its head down to its neck. The ghoul then fell down to its back, and never regenerated again.

    Good, it¡¯s working. It¡¯s true that they¡¯re fast, butpared to Shiva-san, they¡¯re still something I can handle. With the battle magic technique, I¡¯ll have no problems fighting them.

    ¡°We¡¯ll descend the stairs gradually like this, and then hit them back hard once we get to anding. Also, have the slimes eat the corpses. Fighting will get difficult once the corpses umte.¡± [Shiva]

    Following Shiva-san¡¯s orders, we descended the stair case as we defeated the attacking zombies.

    Once we got to anding, the ones to fight in front were me, Shiva-san, and the King Scavenger Slime.

    Rheinbach-sama, Sebasu-san and Remiri-san were to cast magic from up the stairs, whittling down the number of the undead that were climbing up.

    In order not to let the undead reach the three up the stairs, I made sure to put to practice the advice I got from Shiva-san a few days ago.

    After defeating the ghouls in front of me, a group of ghouls tried to jump over their corpses, but I quickly fired a ¡®Lightshot¡¯ towards them, causing them to fall down to the ground. More ghouls came to attack me in that window,ing from the right. So moving my de up from the right shoulder to my left nk, I cut the ghouls apart. The ghouls¡¯ ws came shing at me, but I dodged their ws, and at the same time, I wielded my sword at my left nk, fired a ¡®light shot¡¯ to the ghouls that fell before and were now trying to stand up, and then cut the ghoul that was in front of me from its waist.

    There are still holes in my swordy and magic, I thought.

    In the next moment, two zombies came attacking at me at almost the same time from both sides from diagonally in front. The one to the left was closer, so I dodged its attack first, and struck it with my de, and kicked it, making some distance. The one to the right came almost right after that, so I cut that one¡¯s arms, and then severed its body with a swing of my sword. But they weren¡¯t down for the count just yet.

    Then I faced toward a ghoul that entered from my left while I was fighting the other two. I wielded my de on my shoulder, casting ¡®Lightshot¡¯ from the tip of my de, extinguishing the ghoul behind me. The ghoul before me came shing at me with its ws, and with a flick of my magic and the swing of my de, I extinguished the ghoul to my right, and severed the ghoul to my left. And the ghouls did not stand up again.

    Was that good? Normally, it¡¯d be impossible to show my back to an opponent I couldn¡¯t cut, but with magic, I could kill my opponent, and wield my sword to face another at the same time.

    Like this, I fought the ghouls whilebining my magic and my marital arts, honing my abilities as I did. From time to time, I would also get advice from Shiva-san during the fight.

    After 20 minutes of continued fighting, we finally finished killing all of the undead.

 Volume 3 - 31

    Volume 3 Chapter 31

    With the ghouls and the zombies gone, we were able to freely go down the spiral staircase. We still did meet a few along the way, but there were mostly none.

    When we finally got down to the execution grounds of starvation, we were greeted by a wide, empty area. The only things in there were the mossy surfaces, the glossless ck grass growing directly in front above, and the Eternal Darkness that Remiri-san and I needed.

    ¡°There¡¯s a lot of Eternal Darkness growing here, huh?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Well, there¡¯s not a lot of people who woulde here to gather them.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°How¡¯s the quality?¡± [Rheinbach]

    I walked near the herbs, and checked the quality, and I found out that the quality was almost first-ss.

    ¡°It¡¯s pretty good. I can make use of this.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Same, but I do want to pick out the ones that haven¡¯t been stepped on by the undead.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°There¡¯re so many. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll find something as look as we look.¡± [Sebasu]

    Like that, we started looking for Eternal Darkness that hasn¡¯t been stepped on. But as we were looking for and gathering the herbs, I suddenly felt a strange sensation.

    ¡°Mn?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Ah, no... It¡¯s nothing. Must¡¯ve been my imagination.¡± [Ryouma]

    I wasn¡¯t sure what it was that I felt, and after a few moments, I started to doubt if I had even felt anything, so I didn¡¯t bother to mention it anymore.

    ¡°If there¡¯s really nothing, then it¡¯s fine, but say something when something is wrong, alright? [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Alright.¡± [Ryouma]

    After that, we continued gathering Eternal Darkness, but I didn¡¯t feel that strange sensation again. But then just as we were about to fill all five of the bags we prepared beforehand with Eternal Darkness, I felt that sensation again. This time though, it was much clearer.

    ¡°Guys...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Did something happen¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Something the matter?¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°Is something the matter? Wasn¡¯t there something worrying you just a while ago too?¡± [Rheinbach]

    Whispering, I said,

    ¡°I can¡¯t say for certain what it is, but didn¡¯t you guys feel something?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Something? That¡¯s a bit too vague, but no.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°There¡¯re no undead either...¡± [Rheinbach]

    No one else felt anything, but since they believed me, we searched the area anyway.

    In the end, although I still didn¡¯t know what that something was, I did find where it wasing from.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s somewhere around here. That weird sensation ising from the ground here. [Ryouma]

    ¡°Here?¡± [Shiva]

    Going over to a corner of the execution grounds, away from the spiral staircase, was apletely normal area. Absolutely nothing amiss. But it didn¡¯t change the fact that that strange feeling I¡¯ve been having since a while ago wasing from here.

    I¡¯m not sure either why I think so, but it feels really disgusting.

    ¡°I want to dig around here, is it ok?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s not illegal.¡± [Sebasu]

    I grabbed my iron slime sword, and ordered it to transform into a big shovel. Then dding it in the ¡®Break Rock¡¯ spell, I dug the ground.

    As I dug, the sensation grew stronger and stronger.

    What is this? It doesn¡¯t feel bad, but it doesn¡¯t feel good either. It¡¯s not the presence of a living being either. It¡¯s something unknown, something I can¡¯t understand. And it¡¯s getting stronger. And the stronger it got, the more I became sure of its position.

    After digging 4m down the ground, my body waspletely fitted into the hole.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, are you ok?¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°You¡¯ve dug a lot, but what exactly is going on?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°I¡¯m getting closer, I know i¨C¨C¨C Ah!?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong!?¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Ah, no, I think I came hit something.¡± [Ryouma]

    Shiva screamed out when I suddenly screamed. And so I told him that I was fine, and then I looked over to the area where I hit something.

    ¡°Could this be... A magic jewel?¡± [Ryouma]

    There, in front of me, was the same magic jewel that we saw underneath the elder treant before. A jewel as big as two of my fingers with the attribute of darkness. After using ¡®Identify¡¯ on it, I found out that my conjecture was correct.

    Apparently, the tip of my shove. hit this. And there are even more magic stones around the area I hit. dding my shovel in the ¡®Break Rock¡¯ spell, the ground broke, and more magical jewels fell. I even got one bigger than what I got just now. Is this what I sensed? In any case, I should report this.

    ¡°I found magic jewels! Dark attribute magic jewels!¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that, I passed to Sebasu-san a magic jewel. Sebasu-san used ¡®Identify¡¯, and with praise in his voice, he said,

    ¡°There¡¯s no doubt about it. This is definitely a first grade dark attribute magic jewel.¡± [Sebasu]

    The others made a fuss when they heard that. I didn¡¯t know it was first grade though. My ¡®Identify¡¯ couldn¡¯t tell me that much. Since it¡¯s first grade, the quality¡¯s probably good. But I wonder what the difference is.

    Curious, I asked them what the difference was, and I found out that magic jewels are divided into three sses. 1st ss, 2nd ss, and 3rd ss. And within those three sses are 6 different grades.

    The attributes within the 1st ss are: Light, Electricity, and Wood.

    For 2nd ss: Dark, Poison, Ice

    For 3rd ss: Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Neutral

    This division was decided based on the rarity of the magic jewels. Since the 1st ss stones are the rarest, they are the most expensive. And naturally, the 2nd and 3rd sses are cheaper. As for dimension magic, no magic jewel has ever been seen imbued with its attribute, so it wasn¡¯t included into the division.

    Also, the prices of the magic jewel in the same division increase ording to grade.

    Using the 3rd ss as an example:

    1st Grade = over 32,000 suits

    2nd Grade = over 16,000 suits

    3rd Grade = over 8,000 suits

    4th Grade = over 4,000 suits

    5th Grade = over 2,000 suits

    6th Grade = less than 2,000 suits

    The 5th grade is the lowest grade that can be used for staves. The 6th grade is the cheapest and can be bought even by the masses. Causing it to bemonly used in operating magic tools. Like a battery in other words.

    There are some 5th grade wands that have 6th grade stones mixed with them during manufacturing, but the 6th grade is generally considered trash.

    Next is the 2nd ss. This ss is rarer than the 3rd ss, so they¡¯re three times more expensive. But that doesn¡¯t mean that as long as one is 2nd ss it has to be more expensive than 3rd ss.

    The prices are as follows:

    1st Grade = over 96,000 suits

    2nd Grade = over 48,000 suits

    3rd Grade = over 24,000 suits

    4th Grade = over 12,000 suits

    5th Grade = over 6,000 suits

    6th Grade = less than 6,000 suits

    As can be inferred from these prices, a 3rd ss magic jewel can be more expensive than a 2nd ss magic jewel depending on the grade.

    But in our case...

    ¡±Umm... This magic jewel has the dark attribute. A 2nd ss magic jewel under the 1st grade. Both the attribute and the quality are good, so it should sell well, right?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes, it is exactly as Ryouma-sama has said. Magic jewels are luxurious, but difficult to find. So these jewels can be sold to craftsmen and magicians. Quality and grade on this level are rarely found though, so as long as these stones are sold in the right ce, they should sell for two or three times more than the normal price.¡± [Sebasu]

    2 or 3 times those prices just now!? But just rounding one of those to 100,000 suits would already get you a big gold coin! And 2 to 3 times of that!?

    ¡°Umm... Sebasu-san?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°What is it?¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°There¡¯s actually a lot more of those down here.¡± [Ryouma]

    When they heard that, they were shocked. And so we decided to dig out all the jewels we could.

    Opening my ¡®Dimension Home¡¯, I had the earth slimes and dark slimes help as well. I originally intended of only using the earth slimes, but the dark slimes wanted to go out as well, so I let them. The dark slimes apparently wanted to absorb the magic power in the area.

    I do feed the slimes with my own magic power in different attributes, but that amount is realy no more than a snack to them. So they still need a natural source to feed from. And this ce here is a great ce to feed from.

    As we dug, I had the earth slime use their magic to dig, while the dark slimes gathered the earth, and I transported it away. The other four who were outside of the hole would then use ¡®Identify¡¯ on the magic jewels.

    After digging, our haul totaled to 22 dark magic jewels. But then suddenly, that sensation that I¡¯d forgotten came rushing back.

    ¡°Tch! ...¡± [Ryouma]

    Immediately, I used earth magic, dug a hole. What I saw was ¨C¨C¨C

    ¡°This magic jewel is... huge.¡± [Ryouma]

    What I found was an absurdly giant magical jewel, hidden behind various sizes of pir shaped magical jewels. That magical jewel had a height of around 60cm.

    ¡°!?¡±

    When I saw that I tried to touch it. But then a chill wrapped around my body, forcing me to immediately jump back, drenched in sweat.

    What is this? Is this stone dangerous?

    ¡°Ryouma-chan? Did something happen? Eh? Wow, you¡¯re seriously sweating! What¡¯s wrong!?¡± [Remiri]

    Yelled Remiri-san as she used light magic from above the hole.

    ¡°I found a really huge magic jewel just now. But when I tried to touch it, I felt that strange, disgusting sensation.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ryouma-chan, can you get back up here for a bit.¡± [Remiri]

    They told me to go up, but I was really concerned about that stone. But when I remembered that chill I felt, I shook the thought away. And I left the hole along with my slimes. As soon as I got out, Remiri-san aimed her wand at me, and chanted,

    ¡°¡¯Dispel¡¯¡± [Remiri]

    When she used ¡®Dispel¡¯, I suddenly felt better. Did I get cursed?

    ¡°As I thought. I forgot because it doesn¡¯t normally happen. But when digging for dark magic jewels, idents sometimes happen. The dark attribute, after all, attacks mentally and indirectly.¡± [Remiri

    So that¡¯s how it is... That was dangerous. What would¡¯ve happened if I was alone?

    ¡°You saved me. Thank you, Remiri-san.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll teach you how to deal with curses properlyter. Just rest for now. Onee-chan will take care of that magic jewel down there.¡± [Remiri]

    Said Remiri-san as she rubbed my haed. Then she jumped down the hole.

    ¡°Here¡¯s some water, Ryouma-sama.¡± [Sebasu]

    Then right after, Sebasu-san gave me a ss full of water and a towel from his ¡®Item Box¡¯.

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    Using those, I wiped my seat, and quenched my thirst. Around the same time, light shed down the hole, and after a few seconds, Remiri-san came out.

    ¡°Remiri, how was it?¡± [Rheinbach]

    Asked Rheinbach-sama, to which Remiri-san replied with her eyes sparklilng,

    ¡°It was amazing! It was cursed too, but just as Ryouma-chan said, it was a magic gem!¡± [Remiri]

    Magic gem? Isn¡¯t that the same thing as the ruby in the ne Elia lent me? It should be a super luxurious item.

    As I thought that, Remiri-san asked me for help to get the stone.

    We went down the hole again, and after taking a better look at it, I saw that it was arge cluster of ck crystals. I¡¯ve seen a crystal cluster before in the waiting room of a clientpany, but I¡¯ve never seen anything this big. I wonder why I didn¡¯t notice what it was a while ago? I guess my observational skills must¡¯ve gotten poorer.

    This is quite the luxury though... I wonder if it¡¯d be too much to use it as decoration for the house? Hmmm... I kind of want it.

    But although it¡¯s been dispelled already, I still kind of don¡¯t want to touch it. Because of that, I used ¡®Create Block¡¯, and I turned the earth surrounding to the cluster into one giant block.

    I then ordered the earth slimes to widen the path, and then using Qi Gong, I carried the block out of the hole.

    Outside the hole, I used ¡®Break Rock¡¯ to break the earth surrounding the cluster. And out came thatrge ck crystal. When everyone saw it, everyone except me and Remiri-san was speechless.

    Not only was this crystal a magic gem, it was also of the dark attribute with good quality. It was also big, so it¡¯ll definitely sell for hundreds of times the normal price.

    As for how much, I don¡¯t know for sure. The price is just that big. Selling it would probably cost amotion too, so I probably shouldn¡¯t sell it. Let¡¯s just leave it at home.

    As I was thinking that to myself, Remiri-san asked me.

    ¡°Ryouma-chan, can you give me this magic gem?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Eh, this?¡± [Ryouma]

    I thought of refusing her right away, but then I remembered that strange feeling I felt before. Huh? Then again why did I want to refuse her? If I sold it, it would make a hugemotion, and Remiri-san didn¡¯t even say she was asking it for free... I¡¯m not so attached to it that I¡¯d refuse without even asking either, but... Maybe I actually want it deep inside. Well the again it is a luxurious object, can¡¯t me me, right?

    As I was thinking that to myself, Remiri-san panicked, and quickly added,

    ¡°W-Wait Ryouma-chan, you don¡¯t have to worry about it that much. You should actually be refusing me here, you know?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Eh?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Sheesh... I wouldn¡¯t actually ask you to just give something like this away. Rheinbach-chan told me you didn¡¯t really care much for money, so I just wanted to test it is all. You don¡¯t have to worry so much.¡± [Remiri]

    Oh, she wasn¡¯t serious.

    ¡°Ah, so it was a joke.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Naturally. This crystal here is a huge fortune. It would have been normal to just refuse outright. And you can¡¯t get a lot of money out of this either, unless you negotiate seriously, Ryouma-chan. But instead, you suddenly started to worry for real...

    We¡¯re adventurers, so it can¡¯t be helped if disputese out during times like these... If you¡¯re like that, you¡¯ll make me worry that you¡¯ll get scammed somewhere.¡± [Remiri]

    It¡¯s true that I don¡¯t care much for money, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s to the point where I would be swindled.

    ¡°In any case, Ryouma-chan was the one who dug these magic gem and magic jewels out, so it¡¯s yours.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Ah... The magic gem aside ,let¡¯s share the magic jewels.¡± [Ryouma]

    They dide with me after all, and they even taught me various things, and even looked after me, so they do have some right to it, right?

    ¡°Hmm... Then in that case, we¡¯ll each take one. Any more than that is too much.¡± [Rheinbach]

    Said Rheinbach-sama as he took out his own portion from the bag containing the magic jewels. The others also took theirs, and Remiri-san happily embraced me.

    Remiri-san is apparently going to be using it for her new wand. There, I suddenly remembered the branch of the elder treant, so I took a branch and gave it to her. Remiri-san became even happier, and she hugged me even tighter.

    It was almost as rough asst night, but at the same time, I was also a little happy.

    After that, with nothing else left do to in the area, we left with the Eternal Darkness (herbs) and magic jewels in the ¡®Dimension Home¡¯. As for the magic gem, I turned it into a block again with ¡®Create Block¡¯, and then hid it in my ¡®Item Box¡¯. And so, we decided to spend another night outside thebyrinth, and then make our way home.

 Volume 3 - 32

    TL Note: The Japanese don¡¯t have any L, so they use R and L interchangeably. There¡¯s a pun here in this chapter that ys on this idea, and it¡¯s not really trantable since... well... author is quoting an English word and we¡¯re talking in the Englishnguage, so yeah. Just keep it in mind. I¡¯m fairly sure you guys will recognize what I¡¯m talking about as soon as you see it. It¡¯s kind of hard to miss.

    Change:st line in previous chapter -> And so, we decided to spend another night outside thebyrinth, and then make our way home.

    Volume 3 Chapter 32

    When we got out of thebyrinth, the sun was high up in the sky. We couldn¡¯t tell the time at all from inside thebyrinth. We then made camp, and then we rested outside thebyrinth as we had lunch.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, how¡¯s your magic power?¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°I spent much fighting, but I¡¯ve already recovered 90% of it. It seems like it¡¯s recovering faster than normal though.¡± [Ryouma]

    There, Remiri-san exined why.

    ¡°Breathing the air or eating food which both contain magic power will instill the magic power found in those things within your body, quickly increasing the speed of your magic¡¯s recovery. And right now, we¡¯re here right next to abyrinth which contains much magic power. So the recovery rate of magic power here is faster than other areas. There are wizards who intentionally go tobyrinths for the recovery bonus, so they can train faster.¡± [Remiri]

    I see, so that¡¯s how it is.

    ¡°Ryouma-chan, are you going to practice after eating? You¡¯ve already recovered your magic power, so I think you could, but then again, you must be tired from the curse...¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°I¡¯ll train. I¡¯ve fully understood from the recent incident just how important anti-curse spells are. So please teach me, Remiri-san.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Really? Well, alright. Let¡¯s start with the light magic, ¡®Dispel¡¯.¡± [Remiri]

    After eating, Remiri-san picked up a nearby stone, and chanted,

    ¡°¡¯Illness¡¯¡± [Remiri]

    At that instant, Remiri-san passed me a stone she d in magic power.

    ¡°Alright, hold this.¡± [Remiri]

    I held the stone as she instructed, and my body began to feel feverish. When I removed my hand from the stone, the feverish sensation vanished.

    ¡°There are different kinds of curses. The curse afflicted on that stone is Illness. A curse of illness. When afflicted by this curse or when wielding an objected afflicted by this curse, you will experience the same symptoms as the illness imbued in the curse. And unlike normal illnesses, you won¡¯t be able to recover from it with medicine.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°So that¡¯s where that feverish sensation wasing from.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I started off with a simple curse to make it easy to understand. We¡¯ll use that to practice ¡®Dispel¡¯.¡± [Remiri]

    Like this I began the training on ¡®Dispel¡¯ which permeates a target in light attribute magic power to purify the darkness attribute magic power and remove the curse.

    The darkness attribute magic power that¡¯s used in curses is altered, and is different from the normal darkness attribute magic power. Which is the reason why the magic jewels did not lose the magic power imbued in them when the curse was lifted from them.

    I practiced by recalling the sensation I felt when ¡®Dispel¡¯ was used on me back in the execution grounds of starvation. The result: I failed 8 times, and seeded on the 9th try.

    The next spell I was taught is the light magic, ¡®Anti-Curse¡¯. It¡¯s a spell that creates a barrier around the body to protect from curses. I also seeded at using this spell with the concept of magic battle technique.

    Then in order to find out just how much I am able to defend against curses with the ¡®Anti-Curse¡¯ spell, Remiri-san casted curses at me with increasing intensity until I was able to understand my limits.

    As a result, I found out that my ¡®Anti-Curse¡¯ wasn¡¯t very strong. It immediately broke as soon as a slightly stronger curse was casted.

    Thanks to my mental resistance and physical pain resistance though, I can actually endure quite a bit even after being afflicted with a curse. It seems I¡¯ll be able to cast ¡®Dispel¡¯ on myself to remove curses afflicted on my body. The only problem is the fact that I¡¯ll be left defenseless while I¡¯m doing so. My defense against curses are weak too, so it¡¯s bit worrying. A situation where a strong curse that I can¡¯t defend is casted on me won¡¯t be pretty.

    There, Remiri-san suggested,

    ¡°If you¡¯re that worried, you could try looking for a magic tool.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°A magic tool?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Right, a magic tool. Amongst magic tools there¡¯s one that¡¯s imbued with the ¡®Anti-Curse¡¯ spell. Unfortunately, people who make magic armaments imbued with curse resist spells are rare, so it¡¯ll probably be a challenge to find. You¡¯ll probably have to spend a pretty penny too.¡± [Remiri]

    Then Remiri-san jokingly added, it¡¯s because the hated nobles keep gathering those craftsmen.

    I see... If I find one, I should buy it. But for the meantime, I should keep training at it until I¡¯m good enough to defend myself.

    With that conclusion we went on to the next magic. But Remiri-san was starting to get low on magic power, so we changed the subject from curses to the other spell that Remiri-san used before, ¡®Hide¡¯. We¡¯ll study on curses again tomorrow.

    The dark magic, ¡®Hide¡¯, is a spell that creates a barrier around one¡¯s surrounding with darkness attribute magic power. That magic power is able to iste one¡¯s presence. It could also suck the surrounding area to blur one¡¯s image.

    This spell¡¯s rtively easy to learn, and I was able to learn it by my fourth try. I decided the spell was good enough when Shiva-san, who was watching us train, told me he couldn¡¯t feel my presence anymore.

    Incidentally, Shiva-san had a match with five of my king scavengers just a while ago. Thebyrinth search was too easy, so Shiva-san was feeling unsatisfied. And so he requested to train with the king scavenger slimes. Shiva-san thought it¡¯d be good practice with the slimes¡¯ physical attack resistance and ¡®Erge¡¯ and with all five of them attacking at the same time.

    As for me, I thought it¡¯d be a good way to get experience for the slimes as well, so I happily agreed.

    As I was thinking that, a zombie came out of thebyrinth. Then looking at the setting sun, I thought to myself, Oh, it¡¯s already time for the zombies toe out, huh? And so I thought to feed the scavenger slimes and have them split. I need to increase the scavenger slimes¡¯ number in order to find out whether there¡¯re still any more after King or not after all.

    But I also want to leave some magic power for my training... so I decided to let only a hundred split today.

    And so, I had a king scavenger slime split. And I had 100 scavenger slimes feed on the zombies. The scavenger slimes immediately chased after the zombies, and the zombies were annihted.

    After that, I gave the OK for the slimes to attack the zombiesing out of thebyrinth as well. And I spent the rest of time with the others, drinking tea as we chatted. A littleter, 19 scavenger slimes entered the ¡®Holy Space¡¯.

    As I was wondering why, the slimes suddenly began to evolve. Apparently, they wanted a ce where they could evolve safely.

    The slimes began to release and absorb magic power repeatedly as usual, but unlike before, the amount of magic power they released was greater than other evolutions. At first I thought it was just because there were 19 of them evolving at the same time. But after looking at them closely, the amount of magic power was greater even individually speaking.

    Shiva-san and Remiri-san gazed at the slimes with interest with me until the slimes finished evolving. Apparently, it¡¯s their first time seeing a slime evolve.

    This is something I heard from Robelia-san, but apparently, slimes won¡¯t evolve unless they are at ce where there¡¯re no enemies, and they feel that they¡¯re safe. So there¡¯re actually little opportunities for people aside from researchers to see slimes evolve.

    As I recalled that to myself, the slimes finished evolving. The slimes¡¯ bodies have turned into the hue of ckish dirt, and their bodies were considerably biggerpared to other slimes, having a diameter of 60cm. A perfect height for sitting. Not that I¡¯m going to sit on them though.

    I used ¡®Identify¡¯ on one of the slimes, and I found out that they¡¯re called, ¡®ive Slime¡¯.

    ive slime... that weapon that¡¯s like a spear or halberd? But why? Is what I was thinking, but then after looking at their skills, I realized I was mistaken.

    Skills

    Attract Ghosts Lv1

    Absorb Ghosts Lv3

    Enshrine Remains Lv3

    Disease Resistance Lv7

    Poison Resistance Lv7

    Eat Filth Lv6

    Cleaning Lv2

    Deodorize Lv7

    Physical Attack Resistance Lv2

    Jump Lv3

    Digestion Lv7

    Absorb Lv3

    Split Lv2

    Taijutsu Lv2

    Attract Ghosts, Absorb Ghosts, Enshrine Remains... Could it be, it¡¯s referring to graves?

    Come to think of it, grave is also written in English as ¥°¥ì¥¤¥Ö (Grave/ive). In any case, the cleaning skill seems to have gone down in level, and the deodorization liquid skill has vanished. In exchange, the slimes learned those three new skills rted to graves. It¡¯s good that they didn¡¯t lose the skill they learned from my training though.

    After that, I took a look at what attributes they liked, and they liked earth and darkness first, followed by dimension... Dimension!?

    Well, that¡¯s a surprise. It¡¯s my first time seeing a slime that likes the dimension attribute.

    I¡¯ve tried feeding slimes with dimension attribute magic power all this time to no effect, but with this... Maybe, just maybe, it might be possible to bring out a slime that can use dimension magic!

    Then while I was caught up in my own thoughts, Rheinbach-sama asked,

    ¡°What kind of slime is it this time?¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Grave Slime.¡± [Ryouma]

    Apparently, no one¡¯s heard of it yet. A new type it seems.

    Since there was no information whatsoever, I decided to try out their new skills. But before everything else, I had the scavenger slimes that were feasting on the undeade back first. I then found that 10 were eligible for splitting, so I had them split, and then I contracted them.

    After that came the testing of the skills. When I had the grave slimes use the ¡®Attract Ghosts¡¯ skill, the grave slimes¡¯ body faintly turned pale blue as they shone an obscure light. The undead outside the holy space suddenly started approaching us.

    Then with the activation of the ¡®Absorb Ghosts¡¯ skill, the slimes took the gathered undead into their bodies. And over half of the undead meekly allowed themselves to be swallowed. It¡¯s differentpared to when the scavengers were fighting. During that time the undead were resisting and fighting... Could this be the grave slimes¡¯ ability? Looking at the undead closely, there were also those that were heading on their own volition to be swallowed.

    Regarding thest skill, ¡®Enshrine Remains¡¯, it apparently allows the slime to hide an undead body into their body without letting it rot. The slime can then expulse the undead from its body any time.

    ¡°A slime that catches undead... How strange.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°It¡¯s convenient for hunting undead. You can gather the undead in one area, and finish them off in one gulp. If there¡¯re too many, then you could just imprison them within the slimes, and then gradually whittle them down.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°It can also be used to tame undead-type magical beasts.¡± [Rheinbach]

    The others gave their own opinions about the grave slimes, but it was Rheinbach-sama¡¯sment that piqued my curiosity.

    ¡°Undead can also be tamed?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Of course. The undead are splendid magical beasts. Only... They¡¯re not well liked, so there are no ve magic users that use them. Their regeneration is great, but the problem is that they¡¯re too eerie.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°There¡¯s also the odor from zombies and ghouls. And they¡¯re also weaker during the day, so there¡¯s some downside in using them.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°The undead can¡¯t stay at an inn too, so they won¡¯t be able to enter towns.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Now that you mention it, there¡¯s definitely plenty of reason for them to be unpopr.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Right? Because of that, the only ones that employ undead-type into their service are researchers and ve magic users that don¡¯t have any affinity for anything else but undead-type magical beasts. Because of that, there¡¯re barely any that use undead.¡± [Shiva]

    I guess the undead researchers are next to the slime researchers in terms of misfortune.

    I wonder what those researchers would think were they to know that there¡¯s a slime like this. You could just have the undead enter the grave slimes when it¡¯s inconvenient... And there¡¯s also the ¡®Deodorization¡¯ skill, so doesn¡¯t this solve the problem?

    I decided to tame an undead to prove my hypothesis. There were already a number of undead nearby because of the grave slimes, so I just contracted one of those, and¨C¨C¨C

    Buchi!!

    ¡°What was that just now?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°What happened?¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°I just thought I¡¯d try contracting zombie, but for some reason, it felt different than normal... It felt like the magic power line wouldn¡¯t connect. Like it was being rejected...¡± [Ryouma]

    It probably just failed, but it felt like a phone that was cut violently.

    ¡°Well, you could¡¯ve just failed because it¡¯s your first time. You might also just have poor affinity for zombies, so why don¡¯t you try with other undead?¡± [Rheinbach]

    Just as Rheinbach suggested, I tried contracting with skeletons and wraiths, but it was all the same. Apparently, my affinity for undead-type magical beasts is really bad.

    The grave slimes being able to go in and out holy space is because they¡¯re not undead, but I wonder what would happen if I had an undead-type slime.

    While I was thinking that, I decided to retire for the day. We didn¡¯t need to thin out the undead today, so I went inside my ¡®Dimension Home¡¯, and slept by myself.

    The next day.

    I readied myself, and then I went out of my ¡®Dimension Home¡¯.

    And first thing in the morning, I received Remiri-san¡¯s lecture on dark magic.

    First was how to afflict curses, and after that was how to defend against curses.

    The curse and defense against it that I learned were ¡®Curse Transfer¡¯ and ¡®Return Curse¡¯.

    ¡®Cast Transfer¡¯ isn¡¯t a spell for releasing curses. Instead, it¡¯s a spell that transfers a curse to remove the effect on the target. ¡®Return Curse¡¯ is a spell that protects the body, and returns the curse to the person that casted it. They¡¯re both ways of dealing with curses, but they¡¯re very different from each other.

    When morning training ended, we were to go home, but...

    Right now, we¡¯re riding on the back of a reddish-brown, western dragon with a length of 50m from its head to its tail.

    This dragon is Rheinbach-sama¡¯s ve demon. It¡¯s of the Ignis Dragon variety. It can breathe out fire, and generally lives in volcanoes. But it can live anywhere else too as long as it¡¯s not cold.

    It¡¯s been decided that we¡¯ll be going home on the back of this dragon. As for me, I¡¯ll be dropped by somewhere close to Gimuru.

    Apparently, they were originally nning to use the dragon to get to thebyrinth, but then they met me, and so they didn¡¯t use it in order to buy time for my lessons. It also worked out well, as the walk going there was good experience for me.

    They actually went out of their way to walk through that ravine just to teach me, I¡¯m really grateful.

    ¡°Are you ready? Hold tight!¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Yes!¡± [Ryouma]

    We sat on what appeared to be a saddle on the back of the dragon, and hung onto the handles that were affixed to its body with metals. The dragon spread its giant wings, and it ran as it pped them. Then it took off with great vigor.

    ¡°Wow...¡± [Ryouma]

    It¡¯s my first time flying sinceing to this world. I¡¯ve traveled many times on air before in my previous life, but this is apletely different experience. The rumbling strong wind blew past me, forcing my eyes to a slit as I did my best to resist its pressure. And gradually, thebyrinth down below became smaller and smaller as the great ravine filled my vision.

    This dragon was quite terrifying when it was first summoned. I actually sweated a bit, wondering what was going to happen. But now that I¡¯m riding on it, I have to say, it¡¯s not bad. It flies safely, and the ride isfortable too.

    Rheinbach-sama did tell me beforehand that it¡¯s safe, but the dragon¡¯s menacing posture when it was summoned was a considerable pressure. My body froze in fear, and I couldn¡¯t move an inch. I¡¯d hate to actually make an enemy with one of these. Its ws are sharp, and its tail is thick like a log. Every single one of its attacks probably contains a force strong enough to kill in one hit. I¡¯ll make a note to remind me to run if I ever meet one of these out in the wild.

    After all, just because a magical beast has the same rank as another, doesn¡¯t mean that they¡¯re the same on the danger scale. The Ignis Dragons are A Ranked requests when put up, but they can also be S Rank depending on the situation. You could say that the Ignis Dragons are at the summit of A Rank magical beasts. I¡¯d really rather not fight with one, unless I have to.

    Thebyrinth grew farther and farther as I quietly thought those things to myself. With this, my firstbyrinth search and the training I needed for the Great Forest of Shurus has bothe to an end.

 Volume 3 - 33

    TL Note: Here¡¯s the Monday chapter I missed. Sorry, the sched¡¯s a bit of a mess. I¡¯ll try to have everything fixed by next week. I have a module ss this week, it¡¯s a bit hectic.

    Japanese is a very punnynguage, it¡¯s full of puns. There is a line here that might make you tilt your heads in confusion, so I¡¯ll say it now, it¡¯s an untrantable pun. I¡¯ll exin the terms used at the end of the chapter so as not to spoil it here.

    Volume 3 Chapter 33

    2 dayster.

    ¡°Thank you very much, everyone.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Stay in good health.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Take care of your body.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°I pray for your safe trip.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°Let¡¯s meet again~¡± [Remiri]

    With Rheinbach-sama¡¯s dragon, the trip that should¡¯ve taken a month took us only two days. I was dropped off near Gimuru. I gave my thanks to Rheinbach-sama and the others, and then we went our separate ways. Like that I returned to Gimuru.

    I learned a lot of magic in these past two days as well. It was a fruitful trip.

    When I passed through the city gates, the first ce I headed to wasn¡¯t my store, but the church.

    Actually, there¡¯s something that¡¯s been bugging me these past two days. I can¡¯t tell for sure what it is. But because of it I¡¯ve been thinking so much, and I haven¡¯t gotten much sleeptely. Most of it is about my current strength, my current fighting style, and actually using the magic gem that I keep hesitating to use. It¡¯s mostly just a repetition of these things.

    For a moment I thought I was cursed, so I tried using dispel and anti-curse, but nothing changed. I might have simply been traumatized after being afflicted with a curse such that I don¡¯t want to touch it again. But regardless, it sure feels disgusting.

    Because of that, I thought of consulting with Gayn and the others. And now, I¡¯m headed to the church.

    Ah, but before that, I should put away my armor and weapons into my ¡®Dimension Home¡¯. It wouldn¡¯t be right to go into the church with those after all.

    As usual, the nuns, Riera-san and Bell-san, were standing by the gate of the church. I¡¯ve been helping out with the children¡¯s training, and have also been going to the church for personal reasons frequently, so I¡¯m well acquainted with them. After I greeted them, I quickly headed to the chapel.

    There were already people praying in the chapel by the time I got there. So I quietly entered the chapel so as not to disturb them. Then I sat by a corner, and prayed.

    The usual light filled my vision, and my consciousness was taken to the divine realm. Before me was Gayn, Kufo, and Rurutia.

    The gods no longer found it surprising for me to visit them, but the atmosphere about them this time was different.

    Normally, they would wee me with warm smiles, but this time, they¡¯re looking at me with suspicion.

    I don¡¯t know if I did something wrong, but they¡¯re not talking to me. If this keeps up, we¡¯ll just end up wasting time.

    With that, I decided to break the silence myself.

    ¡°Gayn, Kufo, Rurutia, I know I suddenly came, but I wanted to ask you guys something.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ah, right... That¡¯s fine, but there¡¯s also something we want to ask you.¡± [Rurutia]

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, did you do something strange? You¡¯re different from usual.¡± [Kufo]

    I don¡¯t really think I¡¯m acting any different than normal, but something strange did happen.

    ¡°What you want to know is probably the same as what I want to talk to you about.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Then let¡¯s hear what you have to say first.¡± [Gayn]

    At Gayn¡¯s urging, I opened my ¡®Item Box¡¯, and brought out the stone that the magic gem was in.

    I was thinking of all sorts, trying to make out what Gayn and the others were talking about a while ago, but as soon as they saw the magic gem, their expressions turned grim.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, you should hand that over to us.¡± [Gayn]

    Gayn spoke in a heavy voice I¡¯ve never heard before. I nervously handed the magic gem to him. Gayn waved his hand, and the magic gem floated toward his hands. The three gods surrounded the magic gem.

    ¡°Sorry, but just wait for a sec.¡± [Rurutia]

    Rurutia spoke in a gentle manner, but she was clearly too busy to bother herself with me right now. I couldn¡¯t do anything else but stay quiet as the three gods fiddled with the magic gem.

    The three gods caused the stone the magic gem was in to crumble, revealing the magic gem in its full glory. Their expression turned even grimmer. Then they stretched out the palm of their hands toward the magic gem. In the next moment, light shone from their hands. And it wrapped itself around the magic gempletely, turning it into a ball of light.

    I couldn¡¯t tell at all what they were doing, but the three gods breathed a sigh of relief as they finished wrapping the magic gem in light. It must have been hard work.

    That guess was proven true as the gods began to talk amongst themselves. Then suddenly, Kufo and Rurutia disappeared along with the ball of light.

    Then Gayn, who was the only one remaining, turned toward me, and his face quickly changed from that grim expression to a troubled one.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, you¡¯ve done well. It¡¯s a good thing that you were able to bring that thing to us.¡± [Gayn]

    Those words left me confused.

    All I did wase here to ask about something I felt was off from the people I consider to be the most knowledgeable. I didn¡¯t expect to be thanked at all. And since the gods themselves are thanking me, that magic gem must have been something really dangerous.

    Cold sweat permeated my back as I realized that fact.

    ¡°Exactly what was that?¡± [Ryouma]

    Gayn hesitated for a bit, but in the end, he answered.

    ¡°If I were to put it in simple words...¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°In simple words it¡¯s?¡± [Ryouma

    ¡°A god.¡± [Gayn]

    The shock from that answer petrified me.

    What? What did he say just now? A god?

    ¡°I¡¯ll say this now, but I don¡¯t mean paper or hair, alright? God, as in god. Someone like us.¡± [Gayn]

    Seriously!?

    ¡°Why has a god been turned into a magic gem and buried in abyrinth?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°The exnation will be a bit long...¡± [Gayn]

    After that, Gayn exined.

    First, it¡¯s a fact that the magic gem I brought here is the demon king that attacked the world in the past.

    Gods and demon kings are actually both gods. Demon kings or devils are merely gods who have broken the rules, and have decided to invade the world of other gods. Being called a demon king or a devil is merely for the sake of distinction. It¡¯s no different from humans calling humans who havemitted a crime, criminals.

    Moreover, the demon king Gayn is referring to is actually a god who has been managing a world that¡¯s been around since the beginning of the civilization of this world. But his world advanced too much, and when a war broke out, his world was ruined beyond repair. That god lost his world. Gods and worlds are two yet one being at the same time. Once a god loses the world he rules, his existence will gradually fade until it is no longer able to maintain itself, causing it to shatter into nothingness. The only way out is to have a new world.

    A normal god would use their own power to create a new world, and then be its god. But in doing so, that god will lose most of its power.

    A normal god will regain its power after the passing of some billion years once the world begins to develop. Which is why there are gods that endure the loss of power and give birth to new worlds. But there are cases, rare they may be, where a god, just like the aforementioned demon king, refuses to create their own world, and instead attempts to steal the world of another god.

    ¡°I understand the situation now, but I don¡¯t recall being told that you defeated the demon king. Although I do feel like I¡¯ve heard of that story when I came to this world.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t it when we told you that we don¡¯t interfere with the world much? And we didn¡¯t defeat the demon king. We just went out and drove him away. And I¡¯ve mentioned this before, but that god has been a god since the beginnings of this world. A god¡¯s power grows as his world progresses. That god is in a different leaguepared to us. He might have gotten weaker from losing his world, but driving him away was the most we could do.¡± [Gayn]

    So that¡¯s how it is...

    ¡°Then did that demon kinge to invade this world again?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°No, that thing¡¯s just a nasty souvenir. A fragment of the demon king. He purposely sealed a portion of his own power and will, and hid it a ce full of magic power that we couldn¡¯t find. In time, the ck crystal produced by that area was filled with that power and influence of the demon king, turning that crystal into a magic gem.

    But while it might contain the thoughts and powers of the demon king, it¡¯s still a magic gem. But since we didn¡¯t know where it was, if it were not for you finding it, after the passing of some tens of thousands of years, a powerful magical beast might be born. In the worst case, a demon king might be born.¡± [Gayn]

    Tens of thousands of years... that¡¯s a long time... In any case, I get that that crystal isn¡¯t any good news. But rather than that, I¡¯m more worried about...

    ¡°There were some magic jewels along with that magic gem... Are those safe?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Those¡¯re fine. We checked it a while ago, and the jewels your friends are carrying are just magic jewels. The jewels they¡¯re carrying are just the solidification of the magic power gathered by the fragment of the demon king.¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°I see... That¡¯s good to hear.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Rather than worrying about them, the real problem is actually you.¡± [Gayn]

    Me? Is something the matter?

    ¡°It might be weaker than the actual thing, but it is still a fragment of the demon king. The negative influence you received from carrying it isn¡¯t something to scoff at. In fact, you received enough influence for four people¡¯s worth.¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°Eh!? Will everything be fine!?¡± [Ryouma]

    Shocked, I yelled that out in surprise as I checked my own body.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s nothing so serious. You wanted that magic gem, right? And when you had it with you, you wanted to use it, right?¡± [Gayn]

    I did. Before I found that magic gem, for some reason, I knew that there was something there. And as if I was being guided, I dug the ground, and as soon as I found it, I took it. If it wasn¡¯t for that strange sensation, I would have undoubtedly immediately recovered it, and would have fiddled with it in my magic experiments. [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes... I guess it really wasn¡¯t something good.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Well, it is a portion of a demon king¡¯s power. Also, it would appear that a curse was put on it to mentally attack whoever found it before its activation. And the curse was made to pollute the mind even further if the person tries to keep it for an extended period. And were you to have used it, your mind would have be more vulnerable to the pollution.

    You possess a high level of mental pain resistance skill and recently, you even gained the charm resistance skill. On top of that, you even contained the fragment with your earth magic, so you were able to minimize contact with the fragment. Yet despite all that, the moment you set foot in the realm, we knew that there was something strange about you.

    You learned how to dispel curses from that magician named Remiri, and it seems you tried dispelling the curse several times yourself. But all that can do at most is stabilize your condition temporarily, it can¡¯t get rid of the main cause which is the power of a god. Because of that you couldn¡¯t remove the curse.¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°.........¡± [Ryouma]

    What is that? That¡¯s scary. I¡¯m drenched in cold sweat. Am I in danger?

    As I thought that to myself, Gayn served me tea from out of nowhere as he told me not to worry. Also, after listening to Gayn, apparently my situation isn¡¯t hopeless. The negative influence I received is a bit troubling, but it¡¯s nothing the power of a god can¡¯t remove. It¡¯s not a problem they can ignore either as gods, so they¡¯re going to remove the curse.

    Speaking of which, the chills I felt when I found the magic gem are because of Kufo¡¯s divine protection.

    The divine protection of the god of life has the effect of letting its receiver know where danger is via instinct. Moreover, as the ability to sense danger is merely an extra, it also improves the receiver¡¯s weakest ability to sense danger.

    For example, a person who tends to eat anything as soon as he sees it when he is hungry will be able to perceive when the food before him is bad. A person who tends to find himself in dangerous ces will gain the ability to sense when the direction he is going in is dangerous.

    In my case, the ability I gained is rted to dealing with people. It works both for humans or for things that possess a certain level of intelligence. And my ability works such that I can sense whenever that person or something feels some sort of hate for me. Hearing that reminded me of Matthew and the boss of that fang group whose name I can¡¯t remember. Back then, I thought it was just because they were simr to my superiors back in my previous life, but apparently that was actually due to the effect of the divine protection.

    The chills I felt from the fragment of the demon king is because of the malice in the demon king¡¯s will. If it wasn¡¯t for that chill, things might¡¯ve be more dangerous for me.

    ¡°You¡¯re really unlucky though... I even bettered your luck with my divine protection and power, and yet...¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°Really? I thought I¡¯ve been quite lucky sinceing to this world though.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You found a fragment of a demon king that¡¯s normally hidden and caught his attention, you know? I don¡¯t know anyone unluckier than that.¡± [Gayn]

    My words were cut down in a single stroke. Then it was decided that I¡¯ll be sleeping while the influence is removed from me. It¡¯s sort of like anesthesia.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s start. Just rx.¡± [Gayn]

    I lied down on the bench that Gayn brought out, and rxed. A fog gradually covered my thoughts until eventually my consciousness faded.

    I don¡¯t know how much time had passed, but when I opened my eyes, I saw Gayn¡¯s face.

    ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°Ahh... Is it done? Eh?¡± [Ryoum]

    My head was a bit hazy, but when I sat up, I noticed that it wasn¡¯t only Gayn in the room, but also Kufo, Rurutia, and even Tekun who wasn¡¯t there before.

    ¡°Tekun, why are you here?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°To make Gayn¡¯s life easier. I was called here to extend the time you could spend here in this realm.¡± [Tekun]

    Ahh! Now that he mentions it, I do have limited time here in this realm.

    ¡°I see, thank you.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind it. Here, drink.¡± [Tekun]

    Tekun filled a cup with liquor, and passed it to me. Liquor alwayses whenever I meet up with Tekun...

    ¡°By drink, you mean now?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Just drink it in one gulp.¡± [Tekun]

    For the meantime, I took a sip. The moment I drank it, my body felt hot, and immediately after, my body felt refreshed.

    ¡°What is this?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Medicinal alcohol. It has the effect of stabilizing one¡¯s mind when taken moderately. It¡¯s the perfect wine for waking someone sleep like you, right?¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°So it¡¯s that kind of wine. I certainly do feel like I¡¯ve woken up.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Then, since you¡¯re awake now, let me exin.¡± [Gayn]

    Gayn joined in on the discussion.

    ¡°First things first, I wasn¡¯t able topletely remove all of the negative influence now.¡± [Gayn]

    Eh!? Then what¡¯s going to happen to me?

    ¡°Was it no good?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I just wasn¡¯t able to remove everything ¡®now¡¯. I could remove everything, but removing it all in one swoop would put too much burden on your soul, so I didn¡¯t.

    I put up something to suppress the influence instead. As long as we keep treating the influence just as we did today, eventually, all of the influence will disappear.¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°Just look at it as if you¡¯re dropping by the hospital to receive treatment. The treatment was done once to buy time and reduce the burden on the soul. You¡¯ll receive more treatmentster on, and eventually, you¡¯ll be bright as new.¡± [Rurutia]

    Oh? Then in that case... I guess I¡¯ll be ok, right?

    You¡¯ve been doing your besttely to get to Cormi Vige, but you¡¯ve already finished most of your preparations, right? So once you get the inheritance back, settle down at Gimuru for a while, and regrly visit the divine realm. Our free time for vising Earth will also lessen, but drop by the divine realm frequently, so we can treat you.¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°Alright. Please take care of me.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that, all of the sudden, a god appeared before me at point nk.

    ¡°Uwaa!? Ah, Fer Noevir-sama.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Did I startle you? My apologies.¡± [Fer Noevir]

    The person that suddenly appeared before me was the god of magic, Fer Noevir-sama.

    ¡°It¡¯s been awhile.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Awhile? It¡¯s only been half a year, no?¡± [Fer Noevir]

    ¡°...Half a year is considered plenty long amongst humans. Not that there¡¯s a standard or anything.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I see, but enough of that. I came here to give you something that I should hand over to you, or no. Rather, I came here to give you back something. [Fer Noevir]

    ¡°Something that should be returned?¡± [Ryouma]

    As I was wondering to myself what the god meant, Fer Noevir-sama made the magic gem that I brought appear.

    ¡°...Is that what you mean by something that should be returned?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Precisely.¡± [Fer Noevir]

    ¡°Umm... Even if you give it back to me, a demon king¡¯s fragment is a bit...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve already removed the will of the demon king from it. Its quality is abnormally high because of the demon king¡¯s influence that it¡¯s received for a long time, but it¡¯s just a dark attribute magic gem now. And since you were the one who dug it out, you have the right to own it. I suggest using it to make a wand or something.

    It¡¯s up to you what you want to do with it, but I would advise you not to sell it as it would cause amotion.¡± [Fer Noevir]

    As Fer Noevir-sama said that, he left no room for arguments as he quickly handed to me the magic gem. I stored the magic gem in my ¡®Item Box¡¯.

    There, Tekun turned me by the shoulder, and said,

    ¡°Ah, by the way, Ryouma, you don¡¯t have a wand, right?¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°Nope, none. I do think it¡¯d be a good idea to have one though.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Then the timing couldn¡¯t be better! You should use this magic gem to create a wand. And for the wand itself... you have branches of the mutated elder treant with you, right?¡± [Tekun]

    I told Tekun that I hid it away in a corner of my ¡®Dimension Home¡¯, and immediately, Tekun¡¯s face turned into a blunt face of dissatisfaction.

    ¡°What a waste! Materials are meant to be used. Oh yeah, you have the woodworking skill, right? This here¡¯s a good opportunity, so why don¡¯t you try making it yourself?¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°Magic wands can be made with woodworking?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°The basic stuff, yeah. But for the better ones, you¡¯ll need magic perception and the ingredients. But you already have those, right? So if you¡¯d like, I could teach you how when your dropping by to receive your treatment. After all, I am god of art and craft.¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°Is that ok?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°There¡¯s no problem as long as it¡¯s just human techniques. All I¡¯m going to be teaching you are the basics of creating a magic wand. From there, it¡¯ll be up to you to research and improve on it. Craftsmen all improve through the umtion of those. And looking after that is my job.¡± [Tekun]

    As Tekun said that, he filled a cup with liquor, and drank. Then he said,

    ¡°Nothing much really changes whether I support craftsmen directly or indirectly. Actually, from my point of view as a god of craft, I want people to keep creating crafts as much as possible with their own techniques.

    ¡°Really?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Well, they went to all the trouble of learning it right? If you¡¯re not going to use it, the skills will go to waste. So while I¡¯m not going to ask you to make a living out of crafts, I do want you to keep making them even as a hobby.¡± [Tekun]

    Well, it¡¯s true it¡¯d be a waste to see something not used. And besides, it¡¯s a rare privilege to be taught by the gods directly.

    At those thoughts, I decided to make my own wand.

    ¡°I understand; I¡¯ll do my best.¡± [Ryouma]

    Like this, it was decided for me to go to the divine realm regrly for treatment and for guidance from Tekun after I get home from my trip to the Great Forest of Shurus.

    TL Note: Éñ(god read as kami) ¼ˆ(paper read as kami) óŠ(hair read as kami). These are the words referred to for the puns in that one line.

 Volume 3 - 34

    TL Note: Sorry, stuff happened, and I vanished. I¡¯m back. Might have to change the schedule (Because I took even more subjects sigh...), but for now here¡¯s a chapter.

    EDIT: I fixed the untranted part.

    EDIT2: Digger Armaments to Digger Arms Shop. Shoutout to Frederic Dutzke for checking: thank you!

    Links also updated. And some corrections were done.

    Volume 3 Chapter 34

    After that, our time ran out, and I walked out of the chapel into the town. For the meantime, I¡¯ll have no choice but to do as they ordered, so I should go and get the... no, before that, I should check the store first. I should also make the bug repent with the Eternal Darkness (Herb).

    ...Although to be honest, I actually just can¡¯t get rid of this worry that¡¯s tugging at me. If I don¡¯t do anything, I¡¯ll end up overwhelmed by fear and anxiety for the demon king, so as much as possible I want to distract myself from it.

    Gayn also told me that they can remove all of the bad influences to put my mind at ease. They gave me a bunch of reasons to call me over so they can heal me. They were worrying, but they still believed in me, and talked with me. So, since they believed in me, I too should believe in them that they can really remove the evil influence of the demon king and I should just focus on the work I have at hand.

    As I decided that, I went over to Digger¡¯s Arms Shop to have the armor that broke in the trip this time, ah, but I guess it¡¯d be more apt to say it broke in my duel with Shiva-san rather than the trip though. In any case, I went to have it repaired.

    ¡°Excuse me.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I entered the shop, I noticed that there was no one there, so I called out. The store¡¯s owner, Darson, then came out.

    ¡°Looks like you came back safely.¡± [Darson]

    ¡°Thanks to your goods.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Did something happen to your armor? We just adjusted it recently though.¡±

    ¡°I need it repaired.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Repair? Did you run into some trouble?¡± [Darson]

    ¡°The magical beasts didn¡¯t pose any problems, but along the way, I met someone. We exchanged pointers, and my armor was ruined.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You fought someone strong, huh?¡± [Darson]

    ¡°Yes. I learned just how weak I still am from thisst trip.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°As usual, you¡¯re not like a kid at all. Well whatever, show me your armor.¡± [Darson]

    Ryouma brought out his armor, and as Darson-san stared at it with a gaze full of interest, he muttered,

    ¡°Ho... That guy you fought was pretty good, huh? He used a spear of some sort for his weapon, right? On top of that, he used magic as well.¡± [Darson]

    ¡°You can tell?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°After being in this trade for such a long time, I¡¯vee to learn how to tell things from a nce... I have to say though, that guy you fought with is amazing... There¡¯s barely anyone who could pierce through the hard lizard¡¯s hide so cleanly, you know? Was he someone famous?¡± [Darson]

    ¡°Yes, his name is Shiva Gardak.¡± [Ryouma]

    Of course he¡¯s famous, he¡¯s the former knightmander. As I quietly thought that to myself, Darson-san¡¯s gaze jumped up from the armor toward me.

    ¡°The former knightmander!? Why were you fighting with a bigwig like that!?¡± [Darson]

    ¡°We met along the way. One thing led to another, and well... we ended up sparring.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Right... Well, whatever, if it¡¯s the knightmander, then I guess it makes sense. Anyway, I can repair this thing if you want, but it¡¯s cheaper to buy a new one, so... What will it be?¡± [Darson]

    Money isn¡¯t really a problem right now.

    ¡°Just repair it. It¡¯s only been for a year, but I¡¯ve already gotten quite attached to it.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Got it.¡± [Darson]

    ¡°Also, the thing I asked you before... How is it?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Oh, right! I finished it as soon as you left the town. I¡¯ll bring it out now, just wait for a sec.¡± [Daron]

    At those words, Darson-san left and headed for the store¡¯s inner rooms.

    That ¡®thing¡¯ I¡¯m referring to is the custom armor I asked him to make before. I wondered whether it would be possible to create an armor woven with the sticky slime¡¯s high-durability thread, so I asked him to make one.

    After waiting for a while, Darson-san came back with a box that was somewhat on the bigger side. Inside that box were a pair of light green shirts, two pairs of pants, and two mantles.

    ¡°These here¡¯re the finished products. I asked a good friend of mine that works with armors to make these, but I can guarantee their quality. I can hand these to you with confidence.¡± [Darson]

    As Darson-san said that, he took a sheet of cloth from the box, and pointed a knife at it.

    ¡°Watch.¡± [Darson]

    Darson-san tried to cut the cloth several times, but no matter how many times he tried, the de couldn¡¯t pierce through. The cloth could neither be torn nor cut.

    ¡°These were created with two pieces of clothing that were woven from the thread you brought. Everything in this box was made like this. It was hard to cut through the cloths, so it took a lot of effort to make, but the result is excellent.

    These look like normal clothes from the outside. And though they¡¯re meant to be worn beneath an armor, their actual quality is closer to that of a chain mail. It possesses extraordinary defense for inner armor.¡± [Darson]

    I took out one of finished products from the box.

    ¡°You made the inner part out of silk?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°The cloth¡¯s durable and it doesn¡¯t feel all that bad to touch, but it doesn¡¯t absorb water or moisture. So I thought about it, and I decided to create the inner part out of silk.¡± [Darson]

    ¡°I see, thank you. With this I won¡¯t have problem even if I passed through a grove.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°A grove? Even wolves or goblins wouldn¡¯t be able to pose a problem to you with that.¡± [Darson]

    ¡°With these and the repairs, how much is everything?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Hmm... 13 small gold coins.¡± [Darson]

    That¡¯s actually pretty cheap considering I had it ordered.

    ¡°Is that alright? You¡¯re repairing my armor too, so...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It just took time to cut those cloths. No special processes were required. Besides, craftsmen love working with strange materials. So 13 small gold coins is enough.¡± [Darson]

    ¡°I see, thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    I took out a pouch filled with money. And from it, I took out 13 pieces of small gold coins. After I paid the bill, I took the clothes, and went out to town.

    Next stop is my store.

    When I got to the store, people went in and out like buzzing bees. Busy as always, I thought.

    ¡°Good morning¨C¡° [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ah, Boss, ~Good Morning~¡± [Maria]

    ¡°Mornin¡¯, Boss.¡± [Fina]

    ¡°Wee home.¡± [Carm]

    Entering through the store¡¯s employee-use entrance, I went to the employee¡¯s break room. There, Maria-san, Fina-san, and Carm-san greeted me. They looked somewhat startled at my presence.

    Every time before I would leave, I would tell them when I nned to leave and when I nned toe back. Thisst trip was the same. Only, I was supposed toe back a monthter, so their surprise is because I came back so quickly.

    ¡°I finished my task much earlier than expected, so I came back early. I¡¯ve only been away for a month, but did any problems ur while I was gone?¡± [Ryouma]

    When I said that, they said that nothing in particr happened. But it would appear that there¡¯s something bothering them.

    ¡°Actually, Celma-san¡¯s been out of ittely~...¡± [Maria]

    ¡°Celma-san? Is her health poor?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I don¡¯t think she has any ailments. She¡¯s making delicious meals for us as always, and she¡¯s always cheerful in the mornings. Just that... once work finishes and during our rest days, she would be lifeless.¡± [Fina]

    ...Is she worried about something? I¡¯m not particrly good at giving advice regarding worries, but if she has some worries regarding her work, I might be able to help...

    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll talk to her for a bit.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Really?¡± [Fina]

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can help, but if it¡¯s something rted to her job, then I might be able to do something. I do need to act like a proper boss now and then after all.¡± [Ryouma]

    After I said that, I left the breakroom, and went over to Celma-san¡¯s workce, the kitchen.

    Erasing my presence, I stealthily took a peek at the kitchen. There, Celma-san was standing, mixing the soup as she pondered something to herself undecidedly.

    ¡°Good morning, Celma-san.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Eh!? Oh dear me... Boss, wee home.¡± [Celma]

    ¡°I¡¯m home. By the way, is something the matter? You don¡¯t seem to be in high spirits...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Oh, no, no... There¡¯s no such thing. I¡¯ve just been thinking a lottely ever since I received a certain letter.¡± [Celma]

    As I was wondering how far I could meddle in her problems, the person-in-question herself spoke.

    Apparently, the boss of the lodging Celma-san used to work at sent a letter through the merchant guild. Ever since reading that letter, she¡¯s been reminiscing the past.

    The workload was much bigger than here at the store, but Celma-san loved cooking for people and hearing them say how delicious her cooking was. Celma-san¡¯s face as she spoke of the past was a truly beautiful smile.

    ¡°I see... Well, for the meantime, it¡¯s good to know that you¡¯re not sick.¡± [Ryouma]

    This isn¡¯t something I can help. I can¡¯t tell her to stop thinking of her former work. There¡¯s no meaning in saying something like that.

    Besides, I¡¯m not that much different from her. Ever since I¡¯vee to this world, there were times when I thought back to my previous world as well. It¡¯s not really much different from wanting to reminisce from time to time. She¡¯s not causing problems in her work either, so there¡¯s really nothing for me to say.

    ¡°Sorry for worrying you, Boss.¡± [Celma]

    ¡°Don¡¯t sweat it. After all, it¡¯s not something you need to apologize for. That aside, please do tell Maria-san and the others. They¡¯ve been worrying about you, you know?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Oh, they were? Hehe... then in that case, please tell then in my stead, Boss.¡± [Celma]

    Me?

    ¡°You want me to tell them?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I just thought I¡¯d make another dish for them. If I work now, I should make it in time to serve them another dessert before break ends. I need to do my best for everyone¡¯s sake.¡± [Celma]

    Celma-san said those words with the same smile she showed me when she was reminiscing of the old days.

    So Celma-san¡¯s the type to speak through her actions rather than her words.

    ¡°I understand. Please do your best, Celma-san.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that, I left the kitchen, and went back to the breakroom. There, I told the others what Celma-san told me.

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it was.¡± [Carm]

    ¡°So she wasn¡¯t troubled or anything.¡± [Fina]

    ¡°That¡¯s great~¡± [Maria]

    It¡¯s really good to hear that nothing was wrong. I also understand now just how good the rtionship is between these employees of mine. That¡¯s another plus.

    After all, when the rtionship in the workce is bad, or even when the rtionship isn¡¯t bad, but just that the employees don¡¯t care about each other... then small problems are bound to ensue. Those small problems would eventually lead to making quarrels amongst them more likely.

    On top of that, such an environment would pile up stress on the employees, causing them to be more prone to mistakes and to be unhappy at their work. Moreover, they¡¯ll be more likely to fall sick physical or mentally.

    Above all, this world hasn¡¯t progressed much in its machineriespared to my previous world. Which goes to mean thatbor force is pretty much equal to manpower. And because environment and motivation are important factors in improving a worker¡¯s efficiency, just raising the sry won¡¯t be enough.

    My store is doing great at handling its employees. I¡¯d like to keep this up.

    For that reason, I want Carm-san and the others who are in charge to do their best. Of course, I¡¯ll be doing what I can as well.

    I pondered on the different welfare benefits I could provide, and the first thing that shed through my mind were bonuses, sries, and summer vacation? Is there something like that in this world? Hmm... Although it¡¯s good to be enthusiastic, I¡¯ll need to ensure that the things Ie up with match with themon sense of this world.

    Suddenly, it hit me. Fina-san and the others left their homes to earn money, right? And yet... they haven¡¯t gone back to their vige in this whole year at all? Is that really ok?

    It¡¯s a good opportunity, so I might as well try asking them. If they do say that they want to take a vacation and visit their home, then it won¡¯t be a problem since I can work in their ce after I get my inheritance. I¡¯ll be treating it as paid vacation, but I wonder if it¡¯s alright to give them money for the trip as well.

    ¡°Right. Fina-san, Maria-san, mind if I ask you two something for a bit?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°What is it?¡± [Fina]

    ¡°Please ask us whatever you want, Boss~.¡± [Maria]

    ¡°Jeanne-san and you two left your vige in order to make money, right? Do you have any ns of going back to your vige?¡± [Ryouma]

    The moment I asked that, the two of them immediately looked at each other, and panicked. Then with a docile expression, they answered.

    ¡°None... as of now...¡± [Maria]

    ¡°None of us three have any ns of going back. Umm... Boss? Are we being fired?¡± [Fina]

    Eh!? Why did they take it that way!?

    ¡°You¡¯re not. You¡¯re not being fired at all. I¡¯m just asking since I¡¯m worrying whether it¡¯s alright for you three not to bring home money to your family and see them. After all, you three are working out here to provide for your family, right?¡± [Ryouma]

    I answered immediately, and the two seemed to have calmed down, breathing out sighs of relief. After that, I asked Carm-san to exin to me why the two had that sort of misunderstanding.

    First off, this world does have its postal service, so people who leave home to work are able tomunicate with their families via letters. And through the merchant guild, though they do have to pay a fee, they are also able to send money back home.

    Also, it¡¯s normal for such workers not to go home unless the reason is because of a life-endangering illness or a funeral service. Because of that the question ¡°Do you have any ns of going back to your vige?¡± was interpreted as, ¡°Is there anyone among you who wouldn¡¯t mind retiring?¡±

    ¡°My deepest apologies for surprising you two. I don¡¯t have any intentions of dismissing either of you, so please rest assured. In fact, I wish for you all to continue to work with me in the future. I was just wondering whether it¡¯d be a good idea to create an opportunity for you three to visit your home once a year.¡± [Ryouma]

    They seem to have finally understood when I said those words. Although they were still quite shocked when they heard that on top of being given a long leave, their travel expenses would also be paid for, they were indeed happy to have the opportunity to meet their rtives again without losing their job. After all, even though it¡¯s epted in this world that going home isn¡¯t possible unless one loses their job, they still can¡¯t help wanting to see their families, right?

    After having lunch together, I discussed the concept of paid vacations and sries with Carm-san.

    As a result, it was decided that it¡¯ll be possible for the employees to file a vacation leave ahead of time, in which they¡¯ll then be allowed to leave for a significant period of time. And with enough money provided to allow one to stay at the cheapest inns ¨C although no food is included in the calctions ¨C and the least amount of days required, the employees will have a much easier time visiting their families.

    Continuing, I asked him regarding the status of the store.

    The other stores don¡¯t have any problems either. If there¡¯s anything to take note of it¡¯s that the adventurers have frequently been requesting for branches of theundromat to be put up in the other towns as well. Because of that, Caulkins-san and his group proposed to use lure away the other researchers that are still researching slimes.

    Slime researchers are mostly ignored, so there are very few amongst them that have confidential information. Because of that, there shouldn¡¯t be any problems in luring them away to work for my store.

    Moreover, because of the poorness ofmunication technology in this word, there are many people in the towns that we don¡¯t have a branch in that don¡¯t know about our store. And even those that do know about store don¡¯t know about the usefulness of slimes. Although there are many people as well who think that some slimes can be used, the image of slimes being weak and useless is just too deeply ingrained into the minds of the masses.

    But that also goes to say that this is an opportunity to lure away those poor slime researchers that are still being given the cold shoulder. And by luring them away, we¡¯ll gain new manpower for the new branch stores. After teaching the promising ones amongst the new employees, we¡¯ll be able to raise some new demon ve practitioners.

    There¡¯s no reason for me to refuse, so I agreed and approved of the n of luring away slime researchers in order to prepare the new store branches.

    ¡°...It¡¯s almost time to close the store.¡± [Carm]

    I hadn¡¯t realized it until Carm-san mentioned it, but apparently we had spent a long time talking about the store¡¯s welfare programs and other matters.

    After closing the store, and after finishing the work that needed to be done after closing the store, I went to the merchant guild.

    I¡¯m heading to the guild to deposit the ie of the store.

    The guild also works as a bank and as a money-exchanger. It¡¯s also possible to create an ount under one¡¯s personal name as a merchant or the name of one¡¯s store.

    My store has its own ount. Because of that Carm-san goes along with Fei-san and Li Ling-san to deposit the money at least three times a week.

    The only money in the store are the copper coins used as change and the employees¡¯ sries. As well as the funds stored in the store¡¯s treasury to be used to replenish the misceneous goods of the store when necessary.

    There¡¯s no other way to deposit the money, but to carry arge, heavy bag filled with copper coins. But when I¡¯m around, I can simply tuck away the money in my ¡®Item Box¡¯, making transport a walk in the park. And more than anything, with the money hidden in my ¡®Item Box¡¯, there¡¯s no danger of dropping the money or being stolen from. Because of that it¡¯s usually best for me to carry the money myself.

    ¡°Every time I do this, I feel like the security guard of a bank¡¯s armored transport car... There¡¯s no danger in dropping the money, but I should hurry up and deposit this.¡± [Ryouma]

    I hurried my pace as I muttered that. When I got to the merchant¡¯s guild, I deposited the money. And then I went back to the house that I haven¡¯t been in for about a month now.

    I had made a wall out of a steel te and boulder to block the entrance and prevent magical beasts from settling inside the abandoned mine. It¡¯s a bit of a hassle that I can¡¯t go rest immediately whenever I get back, but... well....

    As I thought to myself the usual things I would think of whenever I returned, I finally arrived to my house.

 Volume 3 - 35

    Volume 3 Chapter 35

    While Ryouma was preparing to go to the Great Forest of Shurus.

    In the Kingdom of Riforu, stood a gaudy building. On its signboard ¡®Riforu Kingdom Tamer Guild Main Branch¡¯ was written. And a number of well-dressed people could be seen going in and out of one of the rooms of the tamer guild branch.

    They are the branch leaders of the tamer guild of the ve demon practitioners and conjurers of the Riforu Kingdom. Right now, they are attending the meeting that is held once a year.

    Amongst the attendees is the leader of the tamer guild branch of Gimuru, Matthew. At this time, a man walked toward him and spoke to him.

    ¡°Matthew, how about a drink with me and our friends?¡± [Man]

    ¡°But of course, Nejil-sama! It¡¯s an honor for someone like me to be invited by someone of your stature.¡± [Matthew]

    The man who spoke to Matthew is Zest Nejil. He is one of the nine members responsible for electing the guild masters of the tamer guild. Moreover, on top of the influence his position entails, he is also the person who rmended Matthew after receiving a bribe.

    When Matthew saw him, he quickly humbled himself, and apanied him with the people he had in tow to a high-ss bar.

    Matthew and Zest¡¯s cronies enjoyed the luxurious food and wine, currying favor with Zest as they did. When more food and wine arrived, the conversation switched up a bit as Zest spoke to Matthew.

    ¡°Oh, right. Matthew, there¡¯s something I¡¯ve been wanting to speak to you about.¡± [Zest]

    ¡°With me, Zest-sama?¡± [Matthew]

    Anxiety, distress, expectation, and fear mixed altogether filling Matthew¡¯s heart.

    ¡°It¡¯s only something I¡¯ve recently been made aware of, but I¡¯ve heard there¡¯s an excellent demon ve practitioner at your guild.¡± [Zest]

    ¡°But, of course. I am always keeping a watchful eye over the progress of my juniors.¡± [Matthew]

    Matthew replied with confidence. There are many demon ve practitioners under Matthew that can transport the ores from Gimuru¡¯s mine. To Matthew, the mark of an excellent demon ve practitioner is one who can employ strong magical beasts. Which is why Matthew himself believed that his guild had many excellent practitioners.

    ¡°That¡¯s all well and all, but from what I¡¯ve heard this ve demon practitioner uses slimes to make a profit. Moreover, this profit isn¡¯t just a meagre amount. If it¡¯s not too much trouble, I¡¯d like to get in on this little secret, how does this practitioner of yours make his profit? I¡¯d really love to have the people of my branch follow suit, you see.¡± [Zest]

    When the ve demon being a slime entered Matthew¡¯s ears, the image of a young boy he detested immediately shed through his mind.

    (I was wondering who he was referring to when he spoke of an excellent demon practitioner, but he¡¯s actually talking about that brat that can¡¯t use anything but slimes!? To think even Zest-sama would hear of that... how aggravating. A blunder...)

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Can¡¯t you tell me how that ve demon practitioner is making a profit with slimes?¡± [Zest]

    Although Matthew hesitated momentarily, he answered in the end.

    ¡°If it¡¯s that practitioner you¡¯re referring to; he¡¯s using his slimes to eat the filth from clothes to operate aundromat.¡± [Matthew]

    ¡°But that shouldn¡¯t be possible. Dissolving the filth is possible, but the clothes would also dissolve.¡± [Another Guildmaster]

    A guildmaster who was listening from the side as he drank said that.

    ¡°Certainly, it would normally be impossible, but if it¡¯s his slimes, then it¡¯s possible.¡± [Matthew]

    ¡°Do you know how he¡¯s doing it?¡± [Guildmaster 1]

    ¡°How is he training them?¡± [Guildmaster 2]

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say just now that you kept a watchful eye over your juniors?¡± [Guildmaster 3]

    Sweat began to run down Matthew¡¯s forehead as the questions were thrown at him one after another. As the questions poured relentlessly, Zest¡¯s voice diffused the situation.

    ¡°Now, now, everyone. Let¡¯s not all talk at the same time, or else Matthew will never be able to speak. Now then, Matthew. Mind telling us everything one by one?¡± [Zest]

    ¡°O-Of course!¡± [Matthew]

    It was because Zest wanted to know how the slimes could reap a profit that he called Matthew here.

    Matthew understood that, so he decided to try and trick Zest and the others as he spoke of Ryouma¡¯sundromat as if he was well-informed, twisting the story to suit his own conveniences.

    ¡°Actually, the slimes he¡¯s using is a new variant. His slimes have a special trait that can dissolve the filth off clothes without dissolving the clothes along with it.¡±

    ¡°Special trait, huh?¡± [Guild Master 1]

    ¡°It¡¯s not because of some sort of training?¡± [Guild Master 2]

    ¡°Where do you catch that sort of slime?¡± [Guild Master 3]

    ¡°If what you¡¯re saying is true, then why aren¡¯t there any rumors?¡± [Guild Master 4]

    The people in the room stared harder at Matthew.

    ¡°Actually, that ve demon practitioner is still only a child, and since he¡¯s a bit of a problem child, I¡¯m actually at a loss at what to do with him.¡± [Matthew]

    ¡°...Continue.¡± [Zest]

    ¡°Ever since that boy has registered, he hasn¡¯t done a single job. And under the protection of someone who discovered the slime, he kept the information, and monopolized it. Then he used the slime to make a killing with hisundromat. With all the profit he¡¯s made, he just ys around nowadays.

    I¡¯ve sent him teachers (Ruffians) to help him change his lifestyle, but my feelings couldn¡¯t reach him at all. And instead he hired body guards with the money he has made to send away all of the men I¡¯ve sent to him.¡± [Matthew]

    ¡°You¡¯re saying Gimuru¡¯s guild can¡¯t even discipline a kid?¡± [Guildmaster 1]

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you just beingzy?¡± [Guildmaster 2]

    Matthew was showered with criticism, but Zest only put a stop to it as he spoke.

    ¡°...I think I understand the situation. There are all sorts of people in the world. And amongst these, there are many that can¡¯t be reached no matter how much effort one puts. I suppose that boy is like that. Still... being a guildmaster this isn¡¯t something that can be ignored... Looks like you¡¯ve walked into a disaster, huh, Matthew?" [Zest]

    ¡°Thank you, Zest-sama.¡± [Matthew]

    When Zest spoke those words, the people criticizing Matthew stopped talking. But unexpectedly, Matthew couldn¡¯t rx despite Zest¡¯s questioning stopping.

    If one were to put it in simple words, the man known as Zest is actually a cheapskate. He¡¯s the sort of man who would amodate someone bribing him, but will refuse to do anything when he can¡¯t make a profit.

    Zest actually never cared from the start whether a ve demon practitioner was good or bad, all he really wanted to know was a way to make money. But at the same time, although he¡¯s objective was indeed money, it still can¡¯t be denied that Zest is one of the few people in the tamer guild that has begun to see slimes in a new light.

    Matthew and all the people around Zest are all aware of Zest¡¯s attachment to money. It is, after all, the very reason why they were able to benefit from him so easily. Such a person couldn¡¯t possibly give up on information that could possibly be a money-bearing tree. Because of that, everyone but Zest couldn¡¯t help but be uneasy, waiting for the next words toe out of Zest¡¯s mouth.

    Surprisingly, however, the words toe out of Zest¡¯s mouth next waspletely different from what they were expecting.

    ¡°By the way, Matthew. A new town is being built at Gimuru, right? You must be busy.¡± [Zest]

    ¡°W-Well yes. In fact, we are always being pestered by people to lend magical beasts for transporting resources and goods. On top of that the mine also needs our magical beasts. Because of that we don¡¯t have any margin for handling requestsing from ces other than those two ces.¡± [Matthew]

    Although Matthew was suspicious at the sudden change in topic, he still answered. At his reply, Zest nodded as if it was exactly as he had thought.

    ¡°As expected. In that case, I¡¯ll send some of my people to your branch. I¡¯ll send them as soon as I get back to my branch. Please do ept them.¡± [Zest]

    ¡°Huh... In any case, I¡¯m grateful for the help, but what kind of people will you be sending?¡± [Matthew]

    ¡°I¡¯ll be sending you some of the more skilled practitioners from my branch, the Three Harken Siblings. You¡¯ve heard rumors of them, yes?¡± [Zest]

    Of course, Matthew¡¯s heard of them. The others too, and they were quite surprised.

    The Three Harken Siblings, as the name implies, refer to three conjurers that happen to be blood-rted siblings. They have many C Rank magical beasts under them, and their eldest brother can even control a B Rank magical beast. On top of that, they even have experience subjugating an A Rank magical beast once.

    Still, although these three are exceptional conjurers, they are problem children. Their behavior isn¡¯t something to be praised. Moreover, while ambition isn¡¯t necessarily a bad thing, these three tend to attempt contract with any magical beast they like regardless of affinity or rank, causing rampages to ur from time to time. They do, however, take measures to ensure everything is safe, so there¡¯re barely any casualties from their actions, and even when there are, it¡¯s mostly only injuries to themselves.

    Although they haven¡¯t caused any harm to themoners, their past records and their subordinates have caused scandals, earning them Zest¡¯s disfavor as he hatedmotions. He may have let them off with only a warning, but there¡¯s no doubt that these three siblings were trouble.

    ¡°But that¡¯s!¡± [Matthew]

    ¡°What? Are you dissatisfied?¡± [Zest]

    Matthew would definitely be grateful for extra help, but of course, that¡¯s only true when the people he¡¯ll be receiving are decent. It¡¯s only a given after all that Matthew wouldn¡¯t be willing to ept something that he knows to be a problem. Unfortunately, though, Matthew doesn¡¯t really have a choice. If he is to go further in his career, he can¡¯t go against someone as influential as Zest directly.

    ¡°N-No, not at all... Only, isn¡¯t it a waste to use such exceptional people for nothing but transport?¡± [Matthew]

    ¡°They¡¯ve gotten in over their heads a wee bit too much, so I figured I¡¯d let these ambitious youngsters take a break for a while. And a job that only requires them to transport things should be perfect for a breather. Oh, and it seems you¡¯re misunderstanding something. I¡¯m not thinking of lending them. I am lending them to you, and you will ept.¡± [Zest]

    As Zest said that, he looked over to the others, and said.

    ¡°If there is anyone amongst you that have any spare men, please do feel free to lend them to Matthew. It¡¯s imperative that we help each other in times such as this.¡± [Zest]

    When Zest said that, the people in the room suddenly started saying that they¡¯ll be sending people over to Gimuru as well. Amongst the names that the others gave, names of people famous for their bad behavior and shoddy skills would sometimese up. Today, Matthew had a great crowd of problem children pushed onto him.

    When their business at the bar finally settled, Zest paid for the bar¡¯s bill. But before he went back, he grabbed Matthew¡¯s shoulder tightly, and then said.

    ¡°Well then, Matthew. You should continue to work hard from now on. I expect much from you, you know? But for now, I think it¡¯d be better if you took a break along with all the people we sent you. I hear it¡¯s been getting real busytely after all.¡± [Zest]

    As he said that, Zest left the bar with the other guildmasters. Matthew who was left alone there quietly went back to his lodging. There, he locked himself in his room, and held his head.

    ¡°Not good... Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! But at least he hasn¡¯tpletely abandoned me yet, next time when there¡¯s something I should... No! I need increase the bribe I¡¯m paying to Zest-sama! As long as I give him money, then the problem should somehow work itself out... But those people they sent me. They pushed all the problem children onto me. If something happens, the one who¡¯s going to be held responsible is me! Shit!! No... I should at least act meekly...¡± [Matthew]

    All alone by himself, Matthew began to think of a n on how to break out of this predicament he had been thrust in. But to his dismay, the day passed with no good news...

    TL Note: The exact number of guild masters actually wasn¡¯t mentioned, so those anon guildmasters were just randomly given a number in order to distinguish their dialogue from the two main speakers.

 Volume 3 - 36

    TL Note: A chapter will be posted on Wed. It¡¯ll be an extra chapter, but it won¡¯t count against the queue since I still owe you guys a free chapter.

    Volume 3 Chapter 36

    When I got back to Gimuru from thebyrinth, I spent two weeks resting and preparing. When I finally left, the trip southeast to the Great Forest of Shurus took me 17 days all in all. As of now, it is the 2nd afternoon since I¡¯ve began to move within the Great Forest of Shurus.

    The path I¡¯m following is an animal trail. There is also a road here as there are adventurers that go through here, but it¡¯s narrow and isn¡¯t being maintained.

    Just as the name, the Great Forest of Shurus, implies, the area here is full of trees covered by vines, making it difficult to see. This is probably the most difficult I¡¯ve had when ites to spotting enemies. There are just too many trees and thickets, and the shadow they cast makes it difficult to distinguish things.

    ¡°I¡¯m still better off than most other adventurers though... Although this certainly is the most difficult trip I¡¯ve made.¡± [Ryouma]

    I¡¯ve passed many adventurers along the way, but because they don¡¯t have the Eternal Darkness insect repent, they were all greatly affected by the insects and leeches of the Great Forest of Shurus.

    The Eternal Darkness insect repent is something that my grandmother developed when she was confined here. It¡¯s not something that just anyone can get their hands on. It¡¯s thanks to Gayn¡¯s group that I¡¯m able to have such an easy time here in the Great Forest.

    For normal adventurers, they have to buy an insect repent from the market. But those ones can only work on insects and not leeches. Moreover, the repent can be diluted by sweat, so overtime its effect will wear off. And the adventurer will have to rub it all over his body again.

    ¡°And with an environment like this, it¡¯s impossible not to sweat.¡± [Ryouma]

    This sort of environment isparable to a jungle. There are leeches and the humidity is high, so naturally, being in such an environment, it¡¯s only natural to sweat. And all the adventurers I¡¯ve passed by are proof of that. They were all sweating. On top of that, they had a unique stench from the mixing of their sweat and the medicine they are using.

    I hope I don¡¯t meet any more adventurers along the way. As I thought that to myself, I continued along.

    For the record, it¡¯s not because they stink that I don¡¯t want to meet them, ok? I mean they do stink, but that¡¯s not something that they can help. The reason I don¡¯t want to meet them is because I don¡¯t like the way they look at me.

    The Great Forest of Shurus is a dangerous area littered with magical beasts over the D Rank. And in such a dangerous area, a kid like me is loitering. Naturally, whenever those adventurers see me, they¡¯ll call out to me, warning me to leave before I die. I don¡¯t me them for thinking of me as a lost or reckless young boy. I mean given the situation, it¡¯s only normal to think so, right?

    The Great Forest of Shurus isn¡¯t blocked by any sort of fence, so even low ranked adventurers can enter it. There¡¯s no guarantee that one will keep their life while in the forest, so other adventurers will always scold low-ranked adventurers whenever they spot one. It¡¯s because of that that I raised my Rank to C first before attempting this quest.

    But even then, when I stopped by a vigest night... Actually, rather than a vige, I guess it¡¯s closer to a base camp; Anyway, I was still told by many adventurers to go back.

    Of course, in a situation like that, I decided to show them my guild card to prove that I was already a C Rank adventurer. But although it¡¯s true that being a C Rank meant I had some power, it¡¯s also true that there are differences in power amongst those in the C Rank.

    Moreover, being in C Rank at such a young age caused many to be jealous. They tried to hide it, sure, but it still showed in the way they talked. There were also those who didn¡¯t show jealousy, but the fact that my being a C Rank at this young age being a cause for many adventurers¡¯ jealousy is undeniable. In fact, I was even jeered at this morning.

    The jeers I got where when I passed by some adventurers when I left the vige. I don¡¯t know how many times I had to exin to them that I was eligible to enter this forest, but while I was exining to them, we were attacked by some raptors. I worked together with the six of them to subjugate the raptors, but I ended up killing way more than they did.

    Of course, I didn¡¯t do something boorish like call them weak or anything as I do think that they could have dealt with the raptors even without me, but their pride was still visibly hurt. I didn¡¯t want to bother myself with them, but the people that were hurt and the people that wereforting them all felt the same. I felt bad, so I just gave a few words to the people jeering at me and the people that wereforting them, and then left.

    Can¡¯t say I¡¯m a fan of situations like those, but it¡¯s impossible to be liked by everyone. Sure it doesn¡¯t feel good, but it¡¯s not something I can¡¯t handle. Besides I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll need to endure much while in the Great Forest, so I just let it slide.

    It¡¯s not the first for me anyway. In my previous life I¡¯ve had many situations like these ones. And back then I was able to ignore them. Of course, the situation then was a bit different in that instead of jealousy, I was looked down on, but my response is the same. Only the details are different.

    Speaking of which, I¡¯m currently a bit sensitive to negative emotions. As for why it¡¯s because of the influence of the demon king¡¯s fragments.

    A person would get stressed whenever hit by negative emotions. And depending on how he receives it, he could resist it, throw it away, or even worry about it. That¡¯s normal. I doubt there are many people who could afford not to feel anything despite being the target of another¡¯s ill will.

    But for someone who holds the demon king¡¯s fragments, it¡¯s a bit different in that that person is much more sensitive to the negative emotions of the people around him. It¡¯s that heightened sensitivity that I find so exhausting. More than likely it was purposely made that way to weaken the heart, and speed up the corrosion.

    I¡¯ve already heard of this from Gayn¡¯s group back when I met with them, and ording to them, they¡¯ve already repressed it enough such that it won¡¯t affect the way I look at people or the way I speak. If it wasn¡¯t for their help, the demon king¡¯s fragment would have already affected my day-to-day life.

    ¡°Anyway, there¡¯s not much point in thinking about this. It¡¯s not something I can do anything about after all. More than that...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Gyaa!¡± [Monster]

    I calmly reached for the katana by my waist. In the next instant, a magical beast leaned out of the thickets on the right, sweeping with the ws on its forelegs.

    With a step back, I dodged the ws of the beast. Then as I turned toward my right, I drew my sword. And in a sh, I cut off its neck and subjugated it. But I can still feel the presence of many magical beasts in the area. They¡¯ve been hiding their presence because they wanted to take me by surprise, but after thatst magical beast, they gave up on the ambush and stopped hiding their presence. Now they¡¯reing at me at full force.

    ¡°Gurururu...¡± [Monster 1]

    ¡°Gya! Gya!¡± [Monster 2]

    ¡°Gii!¡± [Monster 3]

    The magical beasts that are attacking me right now are known as Raptor. They are a little smaller than horses and are simr to dinosaurs in their appearance. They run with their two hind-legs. And being a little smart, they prefer to hunt with surprise tactics or as groups.

    The raptors are magical beasts known for their numbers as well as their many various species. But the kind of raptors that can be seen in the Great Forest of Shurus could be said to be perfect for the area. Their bodies are smaller than the others and the color of their hide is even green, allowing them to blend themselves with the surrounding like a natural camouge.

    But although I am currently being surrounded by 30 raptors, I¡¯m not in any danger. I¡¯ll just lop their heads off ording to the order of their attacks.

    The herd of raptors surrounded me, and attacked me both from the front and behind. But I only dodged them as I leisurely lopped their heads off.

    As their heads flew one after another, their corpses gradually littered the surrounding area, piling up atop one another. When they realized winning wasn¡¯t possible, the herd of dinosaurs scattered in all directions like baby spiders.

    ¡°Nine raptors before they finally ran away, huh? I guess their heads really are good.¡± [Ryouma]

    If those were goblins just now, they would have attacked regardless of how many of theirrades died. Compared to that, the raptors were certainly smarter. Anyway, I should retrieve these piled up corpses now. It¡¯s not good to waste the corpses of beasts.

    ¡°¡¯Dimension Home¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    While keeping alert of my surroundings, I used Dimension Home, and brought out the grave slime to have it retrieve the corpses.

    After investigating the grave slime¡¯s abilities, I found out that its Enshrine Remains skill is able to retrieve not only the corpses of undead magical beasts but even the corpses of the living. Moreover, it also has the effect of keeping the bodies from rotting.

    Of course, it¡¯s not to the point where it canpletely prevent the corpses from rotting, but ording to my experiments, it can at least keep a corpse that would normally take 1 or 2 days to rot, and extend it until 10 days.

    Because of this, I¡¯ll be able to retrieve the hide and meat of magical beasts and animals better.

    ¡°Grave slimes are really convenient.¡± [Ryouma]

    I could also feed the corpses to the slimes, but preserving the corpses is best. Especially since retrieving the hide is easiest this way.

    Preserving is possible by stripping the skin off the meat, then scraping off the meat and the oil, and then using the tannin from the nts to treat it. But although I know this from the survival skills I received from Kufo ¨C although it¡¯s just the basics of basics ¨C the process is long and will take a lot of effort.

    Back in the Forest of Gana, I lived there so I created a workce so I could work without any hassle. But when I got to Gimuru, I started either giving the corpses to the artisans in the town or fed it to the slimes.

    But with the grave slimes, I can now put the corpses on hold for a much longer time, giving me time to hand it over to the artisans at its best condition. The grave slime is an extremely useful slime.

    As I walked while thinking that to myself, the animal trail I have been following suddenly grew wider. And from the distance, I could make out a wall of rock.

    ¡°So that¡¯s the next base camp... Well it¡¯s just going to be a hassle anyway, so I guess I¡¯ll just hurry on without stopping by.¡± [Ryouma]

    I hurried my pace, and headed for the camp. This part isn¡¯t really pleasant, so I want to get over it as soon as possible. I did also think of going around the wall, but the guards could mistake one for a magical beast, so there¡¯s a tacit agreement between adventurers not to hide when near the base camp.

    So in order to minimize my troubles, I decided to just go through the base camp as quick as I could.

    Or at least that¡¯s what I was nning when I headed for the base camp, but...

    ¡°Even if you are C Rank¨C¨C¨C¡± [Adventurer 1]

    ¡°This isn¡¯t a ce for brats like you!¡± [Adventurer 2]

    ¡°¨C¨C¨CBesides don¡¯t you think it¡¯s reckless for you to go by yourself¨C¨C¨C¡°[Adventurer 3]

    See? It¡¯s such a hassle.

    And so, when I got to the entrance of the base camp, I was stopped by three adventurers. No matter how much I tried to exin, they scolded me and tried to persuade me. Because of that we started gathering attention, and more and more adventurers came to take a look.

    On top of their jealous and unhappy words, their gazes were painful. I wonder if I should just beat up these guys, and go my way...

    As I was starting to think toward that direction, a loud voice suddenly resounded.

    ¡°Yer in the way! Quit blockin¡¯ the entrance! And quit yer yapping! All of ya!¡± [Voice]

    The owner of the voice was a big and brawny man nearly 2 meters tall.

    ¡°Glen-san...¡± [Adventurer 1]

    ¡°Get outta my way, and don¡¯t block me.¡± [Glen]

    ¡°But this kid...¡± [Adventurer 1]

    ¡°Haah? Just leave him alone. Ain¡¯t itmon sense for adventurers to take care of ther own lives? Even if he dies it¡¯s all on him. ¡®Sides I¡¯m no different from that lil¡¯ brat there, I¡¯m also on my own, ya know?¡± [Glen]

    ¡°But this kid can¡¯t bep¨C¨C¨C¡° [Adventurer 2]

    ¡°Look, I told you, whether that kid dies or not is on him! ¡®Sides if ya actually opened yer eyes then maybe you¡¯d have realized that he didn¡¯t even have a single scratch on him. A brat that could get here without a scratch¡¯s more than qualified.¡± [Glen]

    At Glen¡¯s words, the spectators suddenly seemed to have lost interest as they opened a path. Even the adventurers who kept pestering me kept their mouths shut. Great, it¡¯s a chance! If I go now, I¡¯ll be able to leave. Oh, wait, I have to go thank the guy.

    ¡°It was Glen-san, yes? Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Haah? Don¡¯t sweat it. Ya just so happened to be in the way is all.¡± [Glen]

    As Glen-san left, I bowed my head again. Then I went through the exit on the other side. When I finally took some distance from the camp, I muttered to myself.

    ¡°If everyone was like that guy, it would be great, but... sigh...¡± [Ryouma]

    That man called Glen-san didn¡¯t carry an ounce of malice toward me. There are also people like that. People that aren¡¯t jealous of me.

    I¡¯m always thankful for those kind of people and their words. Although we may have only passed by each other or stumbled upon each other in the camp, I still make sure to keep their words in my heart. Although from time to time, there are also people that try to meddle in my business who don¡¯t have any malice. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because they¡¯re good or because of their sense of justice, but whatever the reason may be, it¡¯s certainly troublesome.

    After that, I continued on my way as I fought the magical beasts that attack me.

 Volume 3 - 37

    TL Note: Edited (2016/02/18). Also thanks to all those who checked if the ads are showing or not. I was wondering if it was just me who couldn¡¯t see it, and after checking the FAQs apparently it¡¯ll take some time before actual ads start showing.

    Volume 3 Chapter 37

    Third Day

    I spent the nightst night within the Dimension Home. When morning came, I exited it as soon as I finished my preparations. The ce I came out to was the base of arge tree only slightly separated from the animal trail. When I came out, my back was facing the tree.

    But as soon as I came out, I suddenly felt the presence of a magical beast,ing from the direction of the animal trail.

    Unsheathing my sword, I paid careful attention to my surroundings. What came was a lone bird-type magical beast. It¡¯s exterior looked like that of an ostrich. It ran at a terrifying speed toward me.

    ¡°Eh? Is this guy...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Gegegegegegege!!!¡± [Ostrich-like Monster]

    The bird-type magical beast ran toward me, but instead of attacking, it avoided me, and continued on the animal trail ahead. As the bird-type magical beast left me, I suddenly heard the sound of a great number of feet moving as the sound of branches and nts being crushed underfoot apanied it. When I looked over I saw an astounding number of raptors.

    ¡°This early in the morning!?¡± [Ryouma]

    The bird-type magical beast that passed by just now is a Take Ostrich. It looks like an ostrich, but it¡¯s mode of life is closer to that of a vulture or a hyena. That bird is carnivorous, but it¡¯s power is weak. It can¡¯t fly either. But in exchange for those two things, it¡¯s been blessed with strong legs, allowing it to lead other carnivorous magical beasts around by using itself as bait. In doing so, it¡¯s able to lead other magical beasts to kill other preys. After which, the ostrich would run away, and thene backter to grab the corpse.

    ¡°The trees are in the way, so I can¡¯t know for sure, but... there should be over 50 of them. Not exactly a funny number...¡± [Ryouma]

    While I calmly said that, the raptors were clearly agitated as they continued to run toward me. Their eyes were bloodshot and their fangs could be seen peeping out of their mouths. That herd of raptors neared me like flowing water. I could tell since a while ago, but it looks like these guys really have no intention of trying out any sneak tactics this time.

    The pressure given off by that herd was terrifying. Any other adventurer would lose their calm before it, causing them to take too long to respond and die. ording to my investigation from before, apparently the leading cause of death in these areas is the Take Ostrich.

    ¡°This number isn¡¯t really something I can justugh off. ¡®Paralyze Mist¡¯ ¡®Spark Ball¡¯ ¡®Spark Ball¡¯ ¡®Spark Ball¡¯ ¡®Spark Ball¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    I calmly casted an intermediate poison spell toward the rushing herd of raptors, followed with four casts of an original electric-type spell.

    The Paralyze Mist has an immediate paralyzing effect on all bodies that inhale it, while the Spark Ball fires a projectile that affects the surrounding area with an electric attack.

    The paralyzing poison mist caused the raptors¡¯ movement to worsen, but it wasn¡¯t enough to stop them in their tracks. But with their movement slower, they weren¡¯t able to dodge the oing Spark Ball, and they were swallowed by the bursting electric shock.

    ¡°That took out around 30%, huh!¡± [Ryouma]

    I cut down two more raptors as I said that. The number of raptors that have been knocked down by the magic is about 30%. Against humans, Spark Ball would deal plenty of damage, but against magical beasts, the power is quite weak.

    Despite that though, the herd of raptors suddenly stopped in their tracks, and began to run away. I guess it must be because they suddenly lost 30 percent of their men.

    After I was sure that the raptors were gone, I went to check the defeated raptors¡¯ status with my magic.

    ¡°Ah, as expected...¡± [Ryouma]

    There were still plenty of raptors that weren¡¯t dead, but because of the effects of the paralyzing poison mist and the electric attack, they couldn¡¯t move their body.

    It would be problematic if they attack me once they recover, so I might as well finish them off here painlessly, and then recover their corpses.

    ¡°Still though... This ce really is the home of beasts... to think I¡¯d get attacked this early in the morning.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I muttered that to myself, I left after making sure that the trees hadn¡¯t caught fire because of my electric attacks.

    After walking until noon, I found myself before arge rock where the animal trail ended. From here on I¡¯ll have to move without a path to follow.

    ¡°There should be ake southeast of this rock. Right, let¡¯s go there first.¡± [Ryouma]

    I walked as I read out the directions of the vige written in the letter Gayn¡¯s group had sent me. There¡¯s really no path here, so I had no choice but to proceed as I cut down the vines blocking my way. From time to time, I met some treants too, so I cut those down too before moving on.

    Then after three hours of walking, the journey became even more difficult.

    ¡°As expected, this really isn¡¯t simple...¡± [Ryouma]

    The ground in the surrounding area is all mud. So every time I took a step, the mud would swallow my foot all the way until the ankles, making it considerably harder to move. At the same time, the magical beasts would keep on attacking me without holding back.

    And right now, there is a 4-meter-tall, brown-colored alligator ring at me.

    This is a Galmos Alligator, a C Ranked magical beast. Its strong jaw could easily tear through the flesh and armor of humans. Unfortunately for it, but right now, it can¡¯t use that jaw it¡¯s so proud of.

    I had already taken everything into consideration before setting out after all. Which goes to say that I had also prepared a n to deal with the Galmos Alligator.

    ording to the misceneous knowledge that I knew in my previous life, the alligators have strong bites, but have rtively weak power when opening their mouths. So taking advantage of that, I transformed the concentrated hardening liquid nk and created a cylinder the size of a spray can. I then filled that cylinder with the sticky slime¡¯s sticky liquid, and produced arge supply which I brought with me here today.

    Taking those cans into my hand, I would throw one into the mouth of a galmos alligator each time I came across one.

    The cans are only durable enough not to break when dropped, so naturally they would break when crushed between those fangs that could easily tear off armors. And when it does, the sticky liquid will spill into the alligator¡¯s mouth.

    The spilled sticky liquid will cling to the upper and lower jaws and all of the fangs of the alligator, spreading even more with each bite the alligator makes. In the end, the galmos alligator will no longer be able to open its mouth.

    ¡°I was worried at first at whether the alligators¡¯ saliva would dilute the effect of the sticky liquid, but things actually worked out better than expected.¡± [Ryouma]

    Of course, I did run some tests to ensure that the sticky liquid couldn¡¯t be washed off by water, but still... I didn¡¯t think it would work this well. I was only really hoping that it would buy me some time to make my move, so I¡¯m really surprised.

    Anyway, it¡¯s dangerous to just turn my back to this alligator and run, so I immediately pierced its head with my katana to subjugate it. Then I continued on my way as I retrieved its corpse.

    This magical beast¡¯s hide can be used to make armors, clothes, bags, small essories, and then sold at a good price to the nobles. But the most profitable item are mounts madepletely with the galmos alligator¡¯s fangs and hide. And naturally, the less injuries there are on the raw goods, the higher it sells.

    After that, it took me another four hours of walking before I finally reached an area with no mud. Along the way, I met a total of 8 galmos alligators. Their sizes varied, but I hunted them all the same.

    I quietly continued to walk again, and after two hours, I found myself in another muddy area.

    I haven¡¯t reached theke yet, but since I was nning to take a break anyway and since it¡¯s already getting dark, I decided to stop here and retire for the day... Or at least that¡¯s what I was thinking, but then it suddenly came to me that the area I¡¯m in now had less living things in it than any other area I¡¯vee across yet.

    Normally, there would at least be insects, but... I wonder if there¡¯s something here...?

    I walked while paying careful attention to my surroundings. When the third minute struck, I suddenly felt something move!

    Immediately, I jumped back. And right after, the sound of the trees¡¯ leaves being rustled entered my ears as a long, cylindrical, green lump the size of a log fell from a tree onto the ce I was standing at just a moment ago.

    ¡°Is... Is my luck seriously that bad?¡± [Ryouma]

    The lump that fell squirmed as it fixed its gazed at me. Of course, it¡¯s a living being after all, naturally it would have an eye or two, right? It sure hid itself well atop that tree considering how big it is though.

    What¡¯s attacking me right now is arge snake that could swallow several humans in one gulp.

    When I searched back in my mind through the information I prepared for this trip, I could only find one entry corresponding to this magical beast.

    ¡°Undead Snake, A Rank.¡± [Ryouma]

    There¡¯s more than one kind of snake in the Great Forest of Shurus, but considering its size, this is most likely the undead snake.

    The undead snake is a magical beast that lives in the centermost area of the Great Forest of Shurus. The area we¡¯re in right now, however, is a long distance away from that. About a week¡¯s distance of walking.

    ¡°Well... it is a magical beast that lives within the Great Forest of Shurus, so it¡¯s not like there¡¯s no chance of iting out. I guess I could just me this to my bad luck.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I muttered that to myself, the undead snake crawled toward me, and attacked. It raised its sickle-shaped neck, and as soon as I entered its range, it reached out for my neck like a bullet, biting for my neck. Its speed was a league faster than any magical beast I¡¯ve fought yet.

    As I dodged its attack, I struck up with my katana toward its body. But when my katana touched its flesh, a resistance stronger than any other met my de. I could only leave a shallow wound on its body.

    Shallow as it may be, there¡¯s still plenty of blooding out of that open wound. But the undead snake only ignored that wound as it tried to wine itself around me. In response, I reinforced my legs with ki, and sprung up, jumping over the undead snake. I struck downward toward the snake as I reached the other side. Then when Inded behind it, I took some distance.

    While I am more than able to fight A Rank magical beasts, I can¡¯t let my guard down. As I thought that to myself, I cut a nearby tree with my katana, carving an arrow that pointed toward the direction I came from. I could lose my way in this forest if I keep fighting like this, so I¡¯ve been paying attention not to forget. But with this, I¡¯ll be able to focus on the fight.

    At that moment, the undead snake¨C¨C¨C

    ¡°As expected of something named undead...¡± [Ryouma]

    The wounds on the sudden snake suddenly recovered in the blink of an eye.

    The undead snake¡¯s special characteristic is its abnormal vitality and its fast regeneration. The speed of its recovery is so fearsome, it¡¯s almost like an undead. That¡¯s the story behind why a magical beast that¡¯s not undead has undead in its name.

    Moreover, because the undead snake isn¡¯t an undead-type magical beast, light magic has no effect on it. Despite that, its recovery speed is far greater than that of ghouls. Knowing that, I could imagine fighting with it to be a pain.

    ¡°Fortunately, it¡¯s at least not venomous. Still though... this is the sort of magical beast that requires several people to cast magic on it to stop its movements. At which point, it then needs to be beaten repeatedly until it dies...¡± [Ryouma]

    I more or less have a n to deal with it, but for now, let¡¯s try fighting it normally. If it gets too dangerous, I¡¯ll go ahead and use my trump card. My trump card isn¡¯t really something I should use for various reasons.

    ¡°Shaa!!¡± [Undead Snake]

    The healed snake came attacking at me as it sounded out a hoarse sound. Its way of attacking was the same as before: a sort of jumping attack. Dodging that, I d my de in cold using magic battle technique and the water-attribute magic power. This time, my cut went in deeper.

    ¡°Kishaaaa!!¡± [Undead Snake]

    The wound this time didn¡¯t bleed like before, and instead the wound closed up frozen. The undead snake¡¯s voice was also much more pained this timepared to before, but...

    ¡°Shaaa!¡± [Undead Snake]

    The undead snake jumped again. My attack just now had some effect, but it wasn¡¯t enough to kill it.

    ¡°If anything it just pissed it off.¡± [Ryouma]

    The undead snake ferociously bit and twirled about. It even climbed up the surrounding trees, and started attacking from all directions as it pleased. It could do that because it lived here. The home court¡¯s advantage so to speak.

    I continued to dodge its attacks while I shed back at it with my chill-d de, but no matter how many times I cut, I couldn¡¯t inflict a fatal wound on it. At most, I could only slow down its recovery.

    Looks like cutting it just isn¡¯t sufficient...

    As I thought that, I dodged the undead snake that had just tried to twirl itself around me, and took an overhead stance with my katana. I held the sword out toward the snake as I reinforced my whole body and my katana with ki.

    ¡°Ha!¡± [Ryouma]

    And when the snake attacked me, I dodged it, and shed down at its neck with all my strength. As my de sunk 60cm into its neck, I sessfully decapitated it. When I use ki, I could cut even with the guard on the sword, so I thought it might work. Without ki, I wouldn¡¯t even be able to cut with the guard of a sword, so cutting the snake in two wouldn¡¯t be possible, right?

    ¡°Shaa!? Shaaa!!!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°O!?

    Surprisingly, the cut head was still alive. And the body started writhing about. I thought to crush its head, but I had to take a step back in order to not be caught up by its body. Then I took a look at its head.

    ¡°...What¡¯s going on with its body?¡± [Ryouma]

    The cut head is actually already starting to regenerate its body from its open wound. I could still somehowe to terms with just not dying immediately, but something like this is... This really isn¡¯t an undead, right?

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that they¡¯re stronger than the C or B Rank magical beasts, but whether it¡¯s this undead snake or Rheinbach-sama¡¯s Ignis dragon, all the A Rank magical beasts are monsters.¡± [Ryouma]

    While I was dumbfounded like that, the snake¡¯s head had already regenerated its body. And it was now the same size as it was just a moment ago.

    ¡°Fortunately, it at least didn¡¯t regenerate its head from its body. But if this keeps up it¡¯ll take forever. I guess I¡¯ll have to do it. ¡®Exchange¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    I sheathed back my katana to its scabbard as I casted my original space magic, Exchange. Suddenly, a 1.4-meter-long silver-colored short spear appeared within my hand.

    The magic, Exchange, is able to transfer nearby objects. And being a more practical application of Pickup, it¡¯s able to take an item from the Dimension Home or from the Item Box.

    Originally, I wanted this magic to work as its name implied, that is exchanging an object I had with something from inside the Dimension Home, but right now I can only take out objects at most. It¡¯s still an iplete magic. I do one day hope toplete it though.

    ¡°This is the end!¡± [Ryouma]

    I ran toward the snake with the short spear in hand. The undead snake was wary of me, having had its head cut off once, but after raising its sickle-shaped neck several times and swaying, it came to bite at me again.

    It¡¯s an attack I¡¯ve seen many times, so I calmly dodged its attack as I d my short spear with ki. Then I thrusted that spear into the undead snake¡¯s body.

    Just that wouldn¡¯t be able to stop the undead snake, but this is exactly what I¡¯ve been aiming for. I let go of the spear with my hand, and dodged the snake that tried to twine itself around me.

    The undead snake tried to chase after me, but suddenly, the undead snake fell to the ground. And its body started writhing about just like it did a while ago when I lopped off its head.

    When I saw that, I knew that my trump card had worked. After that, I checked up on the snake, and when I confirmed that it was dead, I retrieved my spear.

    ¡°Good work, it¡¯s enough now.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I called out to my spear to thank it, the form of the spear crumbled, and it fell onto the ground. It then turned back into its original appearance, an iron slime.

    What I used just now was the iron slime spear. But what defeated the undead snake wasn¡¯t just the iron slime alone.

    Bodily fluids could be seen seeping out of the wound that the iron slime spear had just left. It¡¯s normal for blood toe out from wounds, but what¡¯sing out of the snake isn¡¯t blood, but a bloody slime.

    I had ordered an iron slime to create a hollow iron spear. And then in the hollow portion of that spear, I had ordered a bloody slime to wait. With the iron slime¡¯s natural hardness coupled with the reinforcement of my ki, its strength was more than enough. And I pierced the foe¡¯s body with the spear, upon which the iron slime transformed again. The bloody slime in the hollow portion of the spear then entered the blood vessels of the enemy through its open wound.

    After that, the bloody slime sucked the enemy dry of its blood, killing it.

    ¡°I guess it does work even against A Rank magical beasts. I shouldn¡¯t use it too much though...¡± [Ryouma]

    This technique is strong, but it¡¯s quite brutal. And chances are, it can kill anything regardless of if its beast or human. But then again, I don¡¯t know everything about magical beasts, so there might be one that could live through it, but for the most part, as long as I¡¯m able to pierce with the spear, I should be able to kill the target.

    At the very least, it¡¯s shown itself to be very effective when I tested it against the goblins and other various magical beasts when I first thought of it.

    But while it¡¯s efficient, using it too much will dull my skill. Moreover, I also can¡¯t use it in front of other humans. Just thinking of the consequences if word of it gets out, and a viin finds out about it makes me shiver.

    One thing¡¯s for sure though: this skill is definitely my trump card.

    As I decided that in my heart, I retrieved the undead snake¡¯s corpse, and then retired for the day. Today¡¯s been really tiring...

 Volume 3 - 38

    Volume 3 Chapter 38

    The Fourth Day

    Today, I am walking again within the dense forest. The surrounding area all look the same, so it¡¯ll be a disaster if I ever get lost... Fortunately, I have no problems with water thanks to my water magic. And there¡¯re even greens and magical beasts that can be eaten around here, so there¡¯re no problems in that regard.

    As I was thinking those sort of things to myself, I suddenly felt the presence of humans from ahead.

    There¡¯s a person here? In a ce like this? Moreover, alone? Hmm... but then again, I dide here all by myself, so I guess it wouldn¡¯t be too strange for there to be another person aside from me... I wonder if it¡¯s an adventurer who came here to collect something.

    I approached the presence I felt while keeping my guard up. When I did, a man wearing an armor made of tree appeared before me. His body was covered in wounds all over, and blood was incessantly flowing out of him as heid unconscious. A corpse? But just as I thought that, the man groaned.

    ¡°Ugh...¡± [Man]

    ¡°Are you still alive!? ¡®Light Ball¡¯!¡± [Ryouma]

    I fired a shot of Light Ball toward the man. It¡¯s to ensure that the man is not an undead-type magical beast. There are cases of corpses bing undead and wraiths possessing bodies, so I have to check first before I try to save him.

    From the looks of things, the man doesn¡¯t seem to be able to talk, so this is the fastest way of confirming things.

    The Light Ball I shot went straight for the man, but the man didn¡¯t show any changes. And since he neither vanished nor show any signs of pain, I guess that means he¡¯s human.

    ¡°I¡¯ll save you now!¡± [Ryouma]

    I ran toward the man while keeping wary.

    ¡°Are you alright? Can you hear me?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°U-Ugh... [Man]

    I called out to the man as I ran toward him to confirm whether he was conscious or not, but all I got in response was a groan. In any case, healinges first!

    ¡°¡¯High Heal¡¯ ¡®High Heal¡¯ ¡®High Heal¡¯ ¡®High Heal¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    I casted healing magic all over the man¡¯s body. The bleeding from the man¡¯s feet were especially severe. Like this the man won¡¯t be able to walk, much less fight, right? For some reason, no matter how much I casted healing magic, the bleeding wouldn¡¯t stop.

    In any case, I better transport him to the Dimension Home first, and have the heal slimes help. And if anything, the Dimension Home is at least safe.

    As I thought that, I held the man, and was about to bring him to the Dimension Home, but¨C¨C¨C¡®

    ¡°!?¡± [Ryouma]

    As I was about to use Dimension Home, the moment I stopped focusing on the man, the man¡¯s body suddenly crumbled.

    The bones throughout the man¡¯s body suddenly vanished, turning his body extremely soft. And suddenly, the man took into him the arms that I was holding him with as he threw his leaned toward me with his chest out.

    ¡°Pshaw!¡± [Ryouma]

    I was surprised for a moment, but I quickly gathered myself, and calmly responded by wrapping my body in electricity. As a result, the man who had tried to swallow my arms into his body was electrocuted, and he stopped moving. In that instance, I recovered my strength and shook the man, no, the something that looked like a man, into the ground, and then I kicked him.

    That something that was kicked, crashed into a tree, and then crumbled. Continuing, I unsheathed my katana, and d it in mes. Then with a stroke, I cut the something from its right leg all the way to its left armpit.

    But that ¡°something¡± didn¡¯t seem to be fazed by it, and instead it tried to run away. The ¡°something¡± that was before me did not possess the same regenerative abilities that the undead snake possessed, so instead it tried to run away by throwing away its lower body, and using only its arms to crawl away.

    Then in the next instance, that ¡°something¡± lost its human form, and it transformed into the form of a small Take Ostrich.

    ¡°Ah!?¡± [Ryouma]

    The ¡°something¡± ran with a speedparable to the real Take Ostrich, but unfortunately for it, I had no ns of letting it go. If I ever had such thoughts, it disappeared just now!

    ¡°¡¯Barricade¡¯! ¡®Bind Ivy¡¯!!¡± [Ryouma]

    With the wood element magic, I controlled the nts in the surrounding area, and created a wall, blocking the ostrich. And with another wood element magic, I tried to capture the ostrich with the vines. The result: sess. These two magic make use of the surrounding greens, so it¡¯s difficult to use in ces with no greens. But here in the Great Forest of Shurus? It¡¯s quite easy to use.

    ...But it can also be an obstacle to me, so I need to be careful when I use it.

    ¡°Oops. You think I¡¯ll let you escape!?¡± [Ryouma]

    The ¡°something¡± that was bound with ivy suddenly broke its form as it tried to escape. But seeing it attempt to run, I quickly contracted it!

    The moment I invocated the contract, the ¡°something¡± stopped moving. And a connection of magic power formed between us, indicating that the contract seeded.

    I brought it with me to the Dimension Home, and there I used Monster Identify to reveal the true identity of that ¡°something¡±.

    ¡°Just as I thought... I had my suspicions when I saw it change its form from the upper portion of a man¡¯s torso into a take ostrich, but from the looks of things, I seem to be right.¡± [Ryouma]

    This is the result of the Monster Identify.

    Mimic Slime

    Skills

    Mimic Lv10

    Mimic Memory Lv2

    High-Speed Movement Lv8

    Lure Prey Lv2

    Erge Lv7

    Compress Lv7

    Consume Prey Lv3

    Digestion Lv4

    Absorption Lv4

    This thing is neither a human nor a take ostrich. It was able to trick me with its Mimic Lv10 skill, but there¡¯s no doubt that it¡¯s a slime.

    ¡°You fooled me well. I thought you were a real human until the moment you attacked me. Hmm... thinking of that time when you tried to use High-Speed Movement to try to run away as you turned into a take ostrich... could it be? Are you also able to copy the abilities of the opponent you mimic? The consume prey does seem like a skill a take ostrich would have...¡± [Ryouma]

    As I thought that to myself, I ordered the mimic slime to transform into a take ostrich. After making it run around the Dimension Home, I was able to confirm that its speed was the same as a real take ostrich¡¯s. Well this is amazing...

    The Mimic Memory that apanies the mimic skill is probably the skill that allows the slime to learn the skills of its target. At that, I wondered whether the mimic slime would be able to transform into something else, but unfortunately, it could only transform into either a take ostrich or a raptor.

    The form it took a while ago as a man was apparently a one-time thing. It can¡¯t transform into that anymore. There¡¯s probably some sort of condition that needs to be fulfilled before it¡¯s able to freely mimic.

    As for the Erge and Compress skills, I was a bit surprised at first, but thinking about it now, the skills are probably for changing its size to match with its target. It is after all only the size of a basketball before mimicking. At that size, it could be a sort of portable magical beast, but there¡¯s no way it¡¯d be able to trick its enemies.

    Lastly, there¡¯s the Consume Prey skill...

    ¡°I take it this means that this slime is a predator, and not a prey.¡± [Ryouma]

    Slimes are generally at the bottom of the food chain, and are always being killed by humans and preyed upon by other magical beasts. But apparently, this slime has been living in such a ruthless environment that it actually transformed from a prey into a predator. This is just something I thought of just now, but I think it might have something to do with the fact that it hunts and then eats its prey.

    What¡¯s strange about this slime is that it doesn¡¯t have the Split skill that other slimes have. I don¡¯t know how this slime manages to reproduce, but that¡¯s not something I can find out immediately, so I¡¯ll put it on hold for now.

    In any case, I was surprised for a bit, but with this the matter has been settled.

    I left the Dimension Home, and walked through the dense forest again. An hour passed, and I began to see an area where the trees have been knocked down.

    ¡°Theke¡¯s close.¡± [Ryouma]

    This trees that have been knocked down is proof that I¡¯m close to theke. Why? Because the magical beast that knocked this trees down is the Cannonball Rhinos. Arge magical beast with the length of 3m. And as you¡¯d expect, they live near water, and prey on fallen trees.

    Incidentally, the Cannonball Rhinos is a B Rank magical beast, but unless you attack first, they won¡¯t do anything. They do tend to get worked up during breeding season, but as long as you take care not to get too close to them and offend them, then they won¡¯t attack. They¡¯re generally gentle magical beasts.

    As long as you don¡¯t piss one off anyway. If you do, it won¡¯t be funny. The greatest special trait of the Cannonball Rhinos is the skin and hair covering its body. These two things are so hard it makes one question whether the Rhinos is truly a living thing. Even magic is inefficient against it. In fact, if it¡¯s only its defenses that we¡¯re considering, then it¡¯s definitelyparable to an A Rank magical beast.

    Moreover, the Cannonball Rhinos is faster than itsrge frame would like you to believe. And after bing an adult, it can even use the neutral magic, Strengthen Body.

    A durable and heavy body coupled with a power that won¡¯t lose out. And on top of all that, a magic power that further strengthens it. With all that put together, it¡¯s charge is a thing to be feared. Take one directly, and you¡¯ll definitely incur a life-threatening wound.

    Note though that the Cannonball Rhinos does not only live in the Great Forest of Shurus. There are some lost ones that have also been spotted in other ins and forests. There were also some who had apparently broken some gates and walls in the past. It¡¯s such that the Cannonball Rhinos received the nickname, ¡°Wallsmasher.¡±

    As I recalled that information that I researched in the past, theke came into view.

    ...Although I sayke, the water is muddy. It might be possible to drink it, but for humans we¡¯ll definitely need to boil it first. Not that it matters to me or anything since I can use water magic... As for the surrounding area...

    ¡°...There doesn¡¯t seem to be anything. Good.¡± [Ryouma]

    I was worrying whether there¡¯d be Cannonball Rhinoses around, but fortunately that doesn¡¯t seem to be the case. I should take this opportunity, and pass through this area as soonas I can.

    ¡°If I head directly east from here, I should make it to Cormi Vige in 4 hours... Looks like I should be able to make it to the vige today.¡± [Ryouma]

    Using thepass I had prepared, I confirmed the direction, and headed east.

    Along th way, I was attacked several times by raptors and de rats. Naturally, I defeated those as I continued along my way.

    The raptors don¡¯t really matter much, but the de rats are actually quite difficult to fight. They might look small and cute, but their attacks aren¡¯t funny.

    The de rats spread their limbs and membrane part to glide through the air, but sharp, de-like objects can be seen in its membrane part. With those, the de rats fly through the air, attacking as they aimed for the carotid artery and throat.

    No one should underestimate a magical beast just because it¡¯s small.

    As I continued to walk along while paying attention to my surroundings, the presence of living beings gradually decreased. Until eventually, I spotted the figure of a person.

    ¡°Another person... No, a zombie, huh?¡±

    It might¡¯ve been because of the sound of the grass being pushed, but the ¡°person¡± responded, and it faced toward me. When it did, I saw its abdomen gouged out and its windpipe bitten off by something. Obviously, it wasn¡¯t a person.

    ¡°¡¯Light Ball¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    I looked at the oing zombie with dead eyes as I shot Light Ball toward it. There¡¯s no reason for me to wait until it got closer. The Light Ball I shot cleanly blew off the head of the zombie.

    With this, the problem was easily solved, but...

    ¡°Shuraaaa!¡± [Undead]

    ¡°Hy¨C...Hyu...¡± [Undead]

    ¡°GARURURUu...¡± [Undead]

    ¡°¡¯Light Ball¡¯ Tch!¡± [Ryouma]

    One hour passed after that. For some reason, the magical beasts that appeared were nothing but undead. The undead that appeared were the usual wraiths and zombies. There were also magical beast corpses turned undead, the beast zombies.

    There were many kinds of beast zombie. Of course, there were raptors and de rats. But there was also the C Rank magical beast, the Anchor Chameleon. It had the ability to change its body¡¯s color to meld with its surroundings, while it attacked vital spots with the hard end of its long tongue. And there was also the Doping Bee. The doping bee has a body colored red and purple. It¡¯s poisonous, and when I saw a zombiefied doping bee, I couldn¡¯t help but break out cold sweat.

    The doping bee is an A Rank magical beast. But unless its nest is attacked, it won¡¯t go out of its way to attack humans. Its individual strength isn¡¯t much either. In fact, its fighting prowess isn¡¯t much different from that of a normal bee. At most it¡¯s only really a pain to kill since it¡¯s small and fast. And if one adequately prepared for it, then it¡¯s possible to defeat them even as an E Rank adventurer.

    As for why a magical beast like that was ssified as A Rank, well that¡¯s because of the doping bee¡¯s poison and mode of life. The doping bee¡¯s poison has the effect of strengthening the body of magical beasts as well as making them go feral.

    In exchange for itsck of power, it has the ability to strengthen other magical beasts with its poison. It¡¯s a kind of magical beast that makes use of other magical beasts to protect their nest. I did wonder at first whether the berserked magical beasts would be a danger to the nests as well, but apparently, because of the poison, the beasts won¡¯t attack their nest.

    In addition, the doping bee¡¯s needle and honey can be turned into various medicines, making them highly profitable. But because it¡¯s not possible to go around the nests of doping bee¡¯s without risking one to death at the hands of one of their guardian magical beasts, there¡¯s not much of their needles and honey being sold.

    Then again, they¡¯re not even the sort of magical beast that lie in limited ces, so it¡¯s not even possible to n ahead. Consequently, their nests and magical beasts that have been stabbed by their needles are rarely s

    Because of that, adventurers rush in droves whenever a magical beast that has been affected by their poison is spotted. Speaking of which, the way to identify whether a magical beast has been affected by the doping bee¡¯s poison is to look at their eyes and the ce where they were stabbed. Their eyes should have an abnormal congestion in it. And the ce they were stabbed should have a vivid violet speck on it.

    The doping bees here have all lost their special abilities though. They¡¯ve all been zombiefied so it¡¯s not really strange. Even if they were still alive, their poison wouldn¡¯t work on zombies. So in the end there¡¯s still no problem.

    ¡°Right now, it¡¯s the raptors who¡¯s a pain and not the doping bees.¡± {Ryouma}

    Zombie raptors have lost their intelligence and can no longer fight as a group, but their agility remains strong, making them faster than the ghouls.

    The sun has also set... I guess it can¡¯t be helped. I fired Light Shot in all four directions, quickly blowing away the undead in the surrounding area. And then¨C¨C¨C

    ¡°¡¯Holy Space¡¯ ¡®Dimension Home¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    Using the Holy Space that I had directly learned from Remiri-san, I created a safe area. Afterwards, I brought out the light slimes and the grave slimes.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t bring them out before because it would make our pace too slow. But since I¡¯m not moving anymore, I decided to let them show their strength.¡± [Ryouma]

    After that... well it turned into a fixed operation.

    The grave slimes used Attract Ghosts to lure the enemies, and swallow them. While the light slimes dealt with the violent ones with their light magic. When non-undead magical beasts came around, I protected the slimes while subjugating all of them.

    Dealing with the undead wasn¡¯t a problem, but there were many amongst the undead that went wild. The undead here were much more resistant to Attract Ghosts than the ones in the Town of Departed Spirits.

    I¡¯m a bit concerned, but oh well. It¡¯s already dark, so I decided to retire for the day.

    I hope I can get to Cormi Vige by tomorrow.

 Volume 3 - 39

    Volume 3 Chapter 39

    Fifth Day

    A night passed after getting rid of the horde of undeads. And when morning came, I once again made way for Cormi Vige, battling the undead as I went along. As I got closer to the vige, the atmosphere became gloomy like that in the previousbyrinth. It doesn¡¯t have the same feeling of magic power being gathered, but it felt peculiarly stagnated.

    After walking for a bit more, the walls of Cormi Vige finally entered my sight. But instead of entering right away, I used the dark magic, Hide, and hid my presence. Then I climbed up a nearbyrge tree, and took a peek at the other side of the wall.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t know Cormi Vige would be so big. From what I can see, it¡¯s square shaped, and each side is about 400 meters long. There are plenty of viges bigger than this outside the Great Forest of Shurus, but it¡¯s still massivepared to the camps.¡±

    This vige should¡¯ve been built sturdily, but after bing an abandoned vige, even its sturdily built gate has fallen. And although it should¡¯ve only had one entrance, because the walls have also crumbled in some areas, anyone can now freely enter the vige.

    Weeds could be seen growing uninhibited past the vige walls where undead jostled about freely. While above them, in the sky, were fraids of wraiths floating about as they pleased.

    ¡°...Horrible... To think it was actually because of the vige that there were so many undead in the area.¡± [Ryouma]

    After observing for a bit, I came to understand that the skeletons, the zombies, and other human-shaped undead would create traps, and then hunt preys which they would then bring to their vige. It¡¯s still morning, so they¡¯re only hunting from time to time, but once night hits, they¡¯ll probably start hunting vigorously.

    The hunted preys are gathered in the centermost za-like area where it is then distributed, and then eaten. It wouldn¡¯t have been strange for the undead to just eat as they caught, but for whatever reason, they¡¯re gathering their food in one ce first before eating.

    And because they¡¯re gathering their preys and leaving it in the vige, undead would sometimes be born out of the pile of corpses. It¡¯s not really all that strange for the corpses to turn undead though, considering the state of all those corpses.

    ¡°And because of that the numbers ended up that many; what a pain...¡± [Ryouma]

    No matter how you look at it, that¡¯s a lot of undead. There¡¯s about 700 of them, and that¡¯s only from what I can see right now. There should still be zombiefied small beasts that are hiding in the weeds, or in the fallen walls or in the shadows of other undead. And on top of their numbers, the undead that go out to hunt are also stronger than the ghouls as they are wearing armors and swords.

    But if I were to honestly say it, I think it¡¯s a doable fight. Only, their numbers are too great, so I¡¯m worried I might run out of magic power and stamina in the heat of battle. Should I just whittle them down then? Or should I after all try to kill them all in one gulp?

    After some time of strategizing, I finally decided to fight the undead during the afternoon when they won¡¯t be able to show their full abilities. And in the case where I am unable to defeat them in one day, I will retreat, and hide within my Dimension Home until the night passes. Upon which, I will then resume my attack.

    Aside from the fact that I have something to do in the vige, it also doesn¡¯t seem like it¡¯ll be possible for me to avoid fighting the undead. So in that case, I might as well reduce their numbers here, and ensure a smooth retrieval of my inheritance.

    And besides... no one in this world wishes for someone to turn undead after passing away. There are also people who considers turning undead after death to be a humiliation, so defeating the undead here can be thought of as a form of memorial service. And considering how it¡¯s highly probable that the human-type undead here are the former residents of this vige, it¡¯s all the more reason that I can¡¯t just leave them here like this.

    Fortunately, I have the slimes to rely on, and I also have Remiri-san¡¯s light magic to aid me. On top of that, I¡¯ve also prepared a number of unique and improved anti-undead magic. And although I¡¯d normally be anxious of running out of magic power because of the power and scope of my magic, I don¡¯t have to defeat all of the undead in one day this time, so that¡¯s not an issue either.

    There are no humans who live in this sort of environment either, so...

    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll throw ¡®em a barrage of magic the whole day then.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I muttered that to myself, I began the operation.

    First, I jumped down the tree, then I closed in to the gate in one breath. There, I fired off two shots of Light Shot at the five undead that were keeping watch at the vige gate. The undead keeping watch were all human-type, so they all vanished upon contact with Light Shot.

    ¡°¡¯Holy Space¡¯ ¡®Light Shot¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    I casted Holy Space by the gate, and then fired off a shot of Light Shot to restrain the undead that noticed me.

    Being surrounded would be problematic, so to avoid that I casted that Holy Space to block the gate. Of course, I could still be surrounded if the undead exited the vige from somewhere else, but I¡¯ll just think about that when the timees. For now, it¡¯s enough that I¡¯ve made it harder for them to surround me.

    ¡°Then once the undead have clumped up nicely... ¡®Holy me Carpet¡¯ !!¡± [Ryouma]

    As I chanted that, a great, bright me appeared from my hands. It turned into a ball of me, and it shot toward the undead before me. The raptors that were above the ball of me¡¯s course, lost their lower bodies. And when the ball of me hit the ground, the mes spread, and a great number of undead were burnt away. But the mes did not cease there as it caught onto the weeds, spreading the me, and burning even more undead.

    This magic is something I came up with afterbining the intermediate me magic I learned from Rheinbach-sama, ¡®me Carpet¡¯, and the spell, ¡®Exorcism¡¯ that was directly transmitted to me by Remiri-sama, on the way back home from the Town of Departed Spirits.

    me Carpet is a kind of magic that spreads a thinyer of me-attribute magic power to attack one¡¯s foe. The me birthed is a result of magic power, so it can be used even in rocky ces with no mmable objects. But in a ce like this one where mmable objects like weeds are growing abound, the effect is intensified.

    I can easily visualize this spell by imagining the picture of spilled alcohol being lit up. Then on top of that image, I would imagine the light from the mes to have the effect of Exorcism, making this spell the first of my anti-undead area magic attacks. The downside to this spell is that it¡¯s difficult to control, so one cast will consume up to 40,000 magic power, but its strength is unquestionable. And right now, that effect can be seen as all the undead within an area of 60m from the gate has been annihted. Even the wraiths floating in the sky have been reduced to some extent.

    It was already hard tobine two spells with differing attributes into one, butbining light magic with another attribute was especially difficult. I think I¡¯ll investigate why after this. Oh, incidentally, I used the food of the grave slimes and the undead that they have stored in them as test subjects when I was making this spell.

    ¡°¡¯Dimension Home¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    I brought out some light slimes and grave slimes from the Dimension Home. Then as the grave slimes gathered the undead, I took a look at the situation.

    I was anxious about the fire spreading due to the sparks, but it seems there weren¡¯t any problems. That¡¯s probably because the humidity here in the Great Forest of Shurus is high. As for the fire spreading inside the vige... I don¡¯t really mind. That aside, the fire catching onto the weeds here and burning it was a huge boon. Because now I can see the small undead easily.

    When I saw undeading again, I fired off my magic.

    ¡°¡¯sh Grenade¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    As I chanted that, I fired off a ball of light toward the sky. Then I closed my eyes and covered them with one of my hands. In the next instant, the ball of light exploded, releasing magic power and light. The momentary light shot off by that ball dyed my closed sight in red.

    The magic I had used just now might look no different from a normal Light Ball, but it¡¯s actually a sessfully improved version of the Light Shot. If I were to put it in simple words, it¡¯s a bomb of light.

    It explodes with light-attribute magic power, so it¡¯s potent against undead. It may have a wide area of effect, but it¡¯s magic power consumption is only half that of the Holy me Carpet, putting it at a consumption of 20,000 magic power points. Its downsides are that its effect can be weakened by hiding beneath the shade of a shelter and that the light emitted is too strong, so if you look straight into it, you¡¯ll be blinded temporarily. One day, I n tobine this spell with the wind magic, ¡®Sound Boom¡¯, to create the magic, Stun Grenade, but I¡¯ll put that off forter.

    Going back to the topic...

    The sh Grenade seems to have worked well as the undead, especially the fraids of wraiths in the sky, have had their numbers greatly reduced. I actually didn¡¯t really know how effective the spell would be when I closed my eyes, but it looks like it worked well. I should probably think of a way to make a pair of sunsses when I get back. I mean it¡¯s not exactly a good thing to close one¡¯s eyes during battle... as necessary as it may be.

    As I was thinking that to myself, it suddenly hit me.

    Wait a moment...? I was being cautious because their numbers were great, but now that I¡¯m fighting them, it¡¯s actually easier than I thought... There are undead, but they¡¯re not attacking me that hard. Rather... they¡¯re not really resisting much.

    ¡°...Could it be that they¡¯re just many, but are actually really weak?¡± [Ryouma]

    I took a look at them again, and I noticed that their movements individually were actually worse than the undead in the Town of Departed Spirits. On top of that, there weren¡¯t any higher sses among them.

    Somehow it feels like I got too fired up, and ended up striking against the air... I wasted my magic power...

    After thinking that, I brought out the king scavenger slimes and the grave slimes, and had them proactively hunt the undead.

    The result was just as I expected. The undead in the vige were weak enough that it was enough for me to leave them to the slimes. I was using the undead in the Town of Departed Spirits as a standard, but it would appear that the undead there are far stronger than the ones here. It¡¯s probably because the magic power there is thick that the undead there are so strong.

    And although the intellizombies here are quite numerous, the memories they possess is a far cry from back when they were alive. They were probably brawny warriors back when they were still alive as they can still use short swords after turning into zombies and skeletons, but... they¡¯re not much of a threat. Even the strong ones among them are only about as strong as ghouls at most.

    And then there are even undead that won¡¯t do anything unless you lured them out, and would just sit somewhere as if they were in their house. Surprisingly, those types were actually much more resistant to Attract Ghosts than the undead walking outside. I guess they¡¯re much closer to wandering ghosts or bound ghosts than they are to magical beasts.

    When I realized that, I shook off the thought of fighting them, and I decided to treat this purely as a form of memorial service to them. I decided to defeat all the undead here while praying for their happiness in the next world. Originally, I was thinking of defeating the undead here first, but I changed my mind. I¡¯ll go ahead and get my inheritance first. After all, even if I got surrounded, it wouldn¡¯t matter as the slimes are around, so I might as well deal with themter. I also want to spend more time for their memorial service, so finishing my business first will be best.

    I walked toward the direction of my grandparent¡¯s house. I do want to take a break, but if I¡¯m going to be taking a break then I might as well take a break in my grandparent¡¯s house instead of the public za.

    Like this I walked toward my grandparent¡¯s house while praying for the welfare of the undead in their next lives.

    I had my slimes encircle me as we passed by a path overgrown with grass. We also passed over some bent spiked-fences. The fences were stretched around inside the vige, so they must have been put up to stop magical beasts that have already invaded the vige.

    But in one side of the fences was arge building with traces of divisions and, although already mostly ruined, was a small house with many divisions. The spiked-fences were also there in the divisions of the small house, so I guess they weren¡¯t put up just to stop invading magical beasts.

    After a bit more of walking, I finally arrived to the western edge of the vige. My grandparent¡¯s house was situated somewhat separate from the other houses.

    ¡°So this is the house of the Sage and the Martial God... Although it¡¯s not all bad, it doesn¡¯t look like the house two amazing people would live in.¡± [Ryouma]

    It might look somewhat big from the outside, but in the end, it¡¯s a in, square-shaped house with five chimneys.

    Its walls are made out of rock, while its roof and windows are made out of wood. Overall, it looks like a house that was carved out of a rock. Chances are my grandparents used earth magic to create this house. Simr to the other areas of the vige, this house has also been overgrown with weed. There are even vines twined around its walls.

    The house looked worn-out, but when I touched it, its walls were surprisingly rigid, not moving one bit. It¡¯s been left all alone for so long, yet it still feels safe.

    I entered the building while keeping wary of the undead.

    When I entered, the floors creaked. The floors were also made out of wood, so its deterioration wasn¡¯t something unexpected.

    ¡°It¡¯s probably a good idea not to be too rough here considering the state of the flooring...¡± [Ryouma]

    As I muttered that to myself, I searched the house. For the meantime, it looks like there¡¯re no undead here.

    There was nothing at all in the building. ces that would normally be expected to have something werepletely empty. It was as if a robber had gone in and ransacked the whole ce. At most, the only things that I could find were broken objects.

    ¡°The closet should at least have clothes, so I guess the people here took it away after my grandparents died. Did they take even the beds too? They thoroughly emptied the ce, didn¡¯t they?¡± [Ryouma]

    I muttered that to myself, reporting the situation out loud, as I walked through the house until I finally reached my goal.

    ¡°It¡¯s here.¡± [Ryouma]

    It was one of the rooms of the building. Inside, broken medicine cabs and desks could be seen, along with three hearths with differing sizes lined up. It was my grandparent¡¯sboratory. This is the room where my grandmother, the sage, concocts medicine. Out of the five chimneys that could be seen from outside, three of them are connected to the hearths here. The remaining two are connected to the kitchen and the smithy that my grandfather uses.

    I walked toward the middle hearth, the biggest of the group, and I took down the cauldron that was big enough for a plump man to fit into easily. I then scraped out the ashes and cinders that have piled up to reveal the bottom of the hearth.

    When I did so, a circr outline with two ditches over its t surface entered my sight. This is the entrance to the hidden area where my inheritance is.

    As I inched into the hearth, I stuck out my hands into the two ditches, curving my fingers inside. Then reinforcing my body with qi gong, I pulled it up open.

    The interior of the hearth¡¯s bottommost area made a scraping sound as I pulled that circr outline up. And after I had brought it up all the way up my thighs, I was finally able topletely pull out that cylindrical stone flooring. When I left that outside the hearth, and took a look down the now open floor, what I saw was a wide passage underground.

    It was dark, so I shot a Light Ball down.

    ¡°About 3 meters until the bottom, huh? The surrounding area down there seems to bepletely made out of stone with dents here and there, so... there should be more than enough space for my hands and feet for me to climb down.¡± [Ryouma]

    I threw a burning cloth down the passage, and I watched it burn until itpletely burned up. After confirming that there¡¯s air down the hole, I used wind magic to provide venttion for myself, and then I climbed down it.

    Gayn only gave me information up to this passage here, so I don¡¯t know what to expect once I get down. He did however mention there being no traps, but.... just in case, I better proceed with caution.

    When I reached the bottom of the hole, what greeted me was a normal passageway. I walked through the passage while lighting up the path with light magic. After a few seconds passed, I stumbled onto a wide room.

    Inside were bookshelves packed with books, casks spilling with weapons, and boxes and pouches whose contents were unidentifiable from a nce. Then between me and all those things stood a stone table. On top of it was an object that resembled a thin book.

    When I grabbed that object, and took a peek at it, I quickly found out that it wasn¡¯t a book, but several letters all bundled up together. The first half of the letters spoke of the basic details surrounding the vige, as well as the reason why they lived here.

    My grandparents were widely renowned as great warriors and magicians, causing nobles and merchants from all over to pester them to work for them. They received all sorts of requests from legal to illegal, and my grandparents eventually grew sick of it.

    Fed up with the ceaseless pestering of the nobles and merchants, they finally decided to run away. They searched for a ce where they could easily get medicinal ingredients that at the same time could not be easily essed by other people. And so, they decided to enter the Great Forest of Shurus where theyter reached this vige.

    This vige was originally created by the country to be used in the expedition to reach the center of the forest and in the securing of additional resources. Because of that it was different from the other camps, and was not only used for resting. The country brought many armor and weapon craftsmen, doctors, and servants, making them all work hard in arge-scale construction to create a powerful base that would be the cornerstone in the expedition to the centermost area of the forest.

    However, due to the many powerful magical beasts such as the undead snake living in the center, the n was setback. The many adventurers and ves that came with those adventurers, however, remained.

    Owing likely due to the harsh environment, most of the people in the vige were either craftsmen or servants. Then in order to make back the money wasted when the n failed, the country sold away a part of the ves along with the facilities and magic barriers to the adventurers.

    After that, this vige was officially used not as a vige but as a stopping point for adventurers to collect herbs and medicines. The management was mostly done by the adventurers themselves in order to suit their own conveniences. Eventually, since even the people living in the vige stopped needing to pay tax, the vige was given autonomy.

    After some time, powerful, but wicked adventurers started to gather. Each one had their own reasons, but regardless, people that sought refuge from the public eye started to gather. Many months and years passed, and the vige eventually created its ownws and social sses.

    A person¡¯s standing was decided mainly by his strength. Matters such as lineage mattered not. But of course, that didn¡¯t mean that a person could do as he pleased just because he was strong and managed to be the vige chief. But if one could contribute much to the defense of the vige or to the revenue of the vige, then one would be guaranteed an uninhibited life in the vige.

    That also goes to mean that the weak cannot survive in the vige unless protected by the strong. Due to this, the weak have no choice but to submit to the strong, and do all their bidding. When my grandparents saw that, they felt pity for the people with low statuses, and they started thinking of a way to better their lives.

    But the vige chief then has always been in a position close to the top of the hierarchy, and he considered the treatment of the lower sses normal. He didn¡¯t think there to be anything strange with the way the vigers treated their lesser men.

    The vige chief and my grandparents could note to a resolution, so the vige chief said this: if you¡¯re unsatisfied, then go and make a lot of money. If you do, I¡¯ll consider doing something about the way the lesser people are treated. My grandparents agreed to that, and so my grandmother began her research on medicine, and she started treating the sick vigers, while my grandfather supported her.

    Frankly speaking, I thought my grandparents lived a harsh life, but ording to them, it wasn¡¯t harsh at all.

    ording to the letter, my grandparents were stronger than anyone else in the vige. And it reads here: ¡°Money is easy to make. Just go to the center area of the Great Forest of Shurus, and collect some herbs. Then for the testing, well... there were plenty of subjects.¡±

    There probably wasn¡¯t a ce more suited to my grandparents as this ce here. Not only is it possible to hide away from the public here, but it¡¯s also easy to get medicinal ingredients.

    ¡°...They made medicines and even took care of the people. They must have been nice people... although they do seem to be a bit different from normal people though.¡± [Ryouma]

    That¡¯s about it for the first half of the letter. The rest talks about their will.

    Reading the letter, it reads: to the person who is reading this now ¨C¨C ...well, to make things short, they¡¯re saying that they will be giving me everything that is in this room.

    The things in this room are all near the end of their life span, so they can¡¯t really be used anymore. But the money here along with the other things are all things that they acquired in their adventures together as husband and wife. These things all have sentimental value to them, so they hid it here, and did not want the vige chief to find it. For some reason though, they could not dispose it.

    They hoped that someone who was not affiliated with the vige would find these things. Several lines in the letter also mention that the magic tool inside the box here in the room is something that they found in some ruins.

    ¡°Teagle-san, thank you. I will carry on your legacy. Melia-san, as well, thank you. I will be sure to continue the research that you have left. May you two find peace in your sleep.¡± [Ryouma]

    I spoke those words after I finished reading the letter. Then I faced toward the letter and the inheritance, and I offered a silent prayer.

    After which, I then took all of the inheritance in the room, and I stored them all within my Dimension Home. I¡¯ll check the contentster.

 Volume 3 - 40

    Volume 3 Chapter 40

    When I got back up to ground level, I blocked the entrance leading down the underground tunnel with a rock just as it were before. And just as I thought of stepping out of theboratory to breathe in some fresh air, a creaking sound resounded from around my feet. Immediately after, my bnce broke.

    ¡°Uwaah!?¡± [Ryouma]

    ...I had apparently stepped through the flooring...

    This ce¡¯s dangerous, I better get out quick.

    As I thought that, I went out of the house, and immersed myself in the atmosphere outside before going into my Dimension Home. There, I checked the contents of my inheritance, and I saw that there were two jute bags of differing sizes, a barrel filled with all sorts of weapons, and four metal boxes that¡¯s each barely big enough for an adult to carry with his arms spread. I also from some inheritance from the shelves, but there was no need to check, as I already knew that the contents are roughly around 100 books. They¡¯re shelves after all. What else would you put in them?

    ¡°Well, I better check the barrel spilling with weapons first then. Although, I don¡¯t think I can expect much from this one.¡± [Ryouma]

    The weapons inside the barrel are all rusted. Most likely because they¡¯ve been left for far too long down there in the basement. After carefully inspecting the weapons, I found out that only eight were not rusted.

    Three of those were swords, two spears, two axes, and one hammer. They¡¯re all first ss weapons, so putting the sword and the spear aside, the axe and the hammer should sell well. I¡¯m selling them since neither I nor my slimes can use them.

    ¡°Next up are the jute bags.¡± [Ryouma]

    I looked inside a jute bag, and I found out that the first jute bag was filled with magic jewels. The attributes are: neutral, water, earth, wood, poison, and even light.

    ¡°Light attribute? Isn¡¯t that a rare magic jewel? Sure, there might not be a lot of them, but it¡¯s still amazing... I don¡¯t really have any way of using them right now, but I¡¯ll keep them around for use in something like making a staffter.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that, I opened the next bag. This bag is far smallerpared to the other bag. In fact, it looks like the sort of bag you¡¯d get when buying lunch. Inside the bag were three metal ingots of different varieties. I thought about it for a while until I eventually concluded that I don¡¯t know what type of ingots these are. Judging from their tint though, they might be the usual iron, silver, or copper ingots that aremonly used.

    For the meantime, I took out one ingot, and used Identify on it. When the results came, I was shocked. So shocked I almost dropped the ingot.

    The results of Identify are as follows:

    Mythril Ingot

    The resulting product after refining an ore of mythril, purifying it, and turning it into an ingot.

    Although it¡¯s metal, it¡¯s light, and easily allows magic to pass through it. Its downside is the difficulty involved in working with it.

    Fantasy metal hase!!

    So this is mythril... If I were to use this to make a weapon, would I end up with a weapon that¡¯s convenient to use magic battle technique with? The slime katana I¡¯m using now is fine, but I¡¯m a bit curious.

    Anyway, let¡¯s leave this here for now, and check the other ingots. The next ingot I took out was ck and heavy...

    Adamantite Ingot

    The resulting product after refining an ore of adamantite, purifying it, and turning it into an ingot.

    It is extremely durable and highly resistant to corrosion. Its downsides are its heavy weight and the difficulty in manufacturing it. Magic also has difficulty passing through it.

    This is also a fantasy metal. I could use this to make either weapons or armors. I think I can also use it to make staves, although that doesn¡¯t seem to be a good idea. Unless I¡¯m making a staff for hitting people with that is. But in that case, I might as well go ahead and make a mace instead.

    Well, let¡¯s leave this one here too, and go to the next one. The ingot this time is different from the other two in that it¡¯s about half their size and is dazzling gold. This wouldn¡¯t be a gold bar, would it?

    After investigating, it was, just as I expected, also a fantasy metal.

    Orichalcum Ingot

    The resulting product after refining an ore of orichalcum, purifying it, and turning it into an ingot. A type of metal that is highly durable and highly conductive to magic. Mining rates are extremely low, and manufacturing is equally difficult.

    So after mythril and adamantite is orichalcum, huh? Well it¡¯s the inheritance from the Martial God and the Sage after all, so something of this level probably isn¡¯t strange. I am surprised, but that can¡¯t really be helped.

    Also, this is something I learned from the Digger Arms shop in Gimuru, but apparently, regardless of which of these three metals is used, the resulting weapon will at least be several small tinum coins¡¯ worth.

    ¡°These fantasy metals... could it be? Were these things dug up from somewhere here in the Great Forest?¡± [Ryouma]

    As I was thinking that, I heard something sound out from inside the bag. It was then that I realized that there was a sheet of paper in the bag. On that paper was something that appeared to be a map of sorts drawn by my grandfather. It¡¯s mostly faded out, but at the bottom it reads:

    ¡°These are all I have at hand. If you want more, go get them yourself.¡±

    Looks like this map lead to the cave where mythril, adamantite, and orichalcum can be excavated. Although it¡¯s certainly great that he told me the location of those precious metals, but unfortunately, I can¡¯t really be happy about it right now.

    ¡°Normally I would, but unfortunately, I can¡¯t go right now...¡± [Ryouma]

    The end of the trail on the map drawn is undoubtedly the centermost area of the Great Forest of Shurus. It¡¯s too bad, but I¡¯m not strong enough to plunge into a den crawling with magical beasts like the undead snake yet. Or rather, did grandpa actually treat going to a ce like that as if he was walking in a park? Looks like the name, Marital God, isn¡¯t just for who, huh?

    ¡°In any case, it¡¯s not something necessary right now, so I better put it off for now. At the very least, until when I¡¯m able to deal with an undead snake without relying on the bloody slimes. Right, let¡¯s go with that.¡± [Ryouma]

    I carefully put away the map.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s pull ourselves together, and let¡¯s go see what¡¯s inside the box. If I recall correctly, the letter mentioned it having magic tools inside.¡± [Ryouma]

    I opened the boxes, and three out of four of them were filled with books and magic tools forpounding medicines. Thest box was a jumbled mess of various objects.

    Grandma¡¯s books and tools were neatly kept inside the first three boxes, but thest box was a mess. I couldn¡¯t tell which was which.

    After taking a better look at the contents of thest box, I found out that it was mostly filled with tableware and seemingly inexpensive essories... Ah, there seems to be some gold in between the gaps of all the stuff stuffed in the box too... How to put it, this box feels like the ¡®just stuff whatever ya want into¡¯ sort of box. These things are all most likely things that have some sentimental value to my grandparents.

    After investigating the boxy further, it came to me that the contents of the box and the number of things in it don¡¯t match. There are actually enough objects in it to fit a box three times its size. And taking a closer look, I can see that the things in it don¡¯t appear to have been left alone for long.

    For example, there is a small emerald ring inside the box, but the jewel doesn¡¯t show any signs of deterioration. Andpared to the faded letters and maps in the previous bag, and the faded books in the shelves, the diary-like books in this box doesn¡¯t seem to have faded one bit.

    ¡°A magic tool that allows more things to be fitted inside than what its exterior would suggest. On top of that, it preserves the contents, keeping them from deteriorating... This... isn¡¯t this a really amazing object?¡± [Ryouma]

    There are also magic tools in this world that uses dimension magic, but they are rare even amongst magic tools. As for why it¡¯s because there are few enchanters that use dimension magic. But even then, if someone were to enchant an object with dimension magic¡¯s Item Box spell, there wouldn¡¯t be any effect that would allow its contents to resist the passage of time. Item Box is, after all, only a magic meant to create another space to store objects in.

    ¡°When ites to storing things, there¡¯s nothing better than this. I¡¯ll put it to good use.¡± [Ryouma]

    Moreover, there are even adamantite and mythril weapons at the bottom of the box. Looks like grandpa hid the really good weapons in this box. It feels like a waste to keep the weapons I can¡¯t use just hidden, but it would also be a problem if I sold them... If I sell them poorly, I¡¯ll end up conspicuous in a bad way after all.

    I can just leave things inside this magic tool box since it resists deterioration, but if I do it poorly, I¡¯ll end up leaving something in it for a long time just like I did with Melzen¡¯s spear... In that case, I better leave the things that I or my slimes can use here, while I sell the long sword and the spear cheap to Asagi-san and Jeff-san, all the while asking them to keep quiet about its origins.

    Like this I finished investigating the inheritance, and I left the Dimension Home. Outside, the sun had already set, and the sky had already be a beautiful sunset.

    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll rest for a bit, and eat supper.¡± [Ryouma]

    Also, I might as well study the mimic slime¡¯s ecology. Fortunately, there aren¡¯t any magical beasts here aside from the undead.

    As I thought that to myself, I grew livelier, and I took out the mimic slime from the Dimension Home.

    First, I need to know what it eats, so I ordered a grave slime to release its caught preys. When I met the mimic slime for the first time, it tried to eat me, so it must be a predator. But I¡¯ll prepare some vegetables and poisonous nts as well.

    After inquiring whether it could only eat one or the other, I understood that it could eat either meat or vegetables. Apparently the mimic slime is an omnivore. However, it can¡¯t eat the rotten meat of the undead-type magical beasts. It also can¡¯t eat poisonous nts. Its eating habits are mostly simr to that of a human¡¯s.

    On top of these facts, I also discovered something interesting. When I had confirmed that the mimic slime ate meat, I prepared raptor and galmos alligator meat. The mimic slime jumped at the galmos alligator meat, and it started feasting on it.

    After it finished eating, the mimic slime suddenly began to transform into a galmos alligator!

    ¡°So the mimic slime¡¯s Mimic is also rted to its diet! Does Mimic activate when it eats its prey? If so, then how necessary is eating to Mimic?¡± [Ryouma]

    As I thought that, I tested it out by pulling a strand of hair from my head, and having the mimic slime eat it. But then it appeared that the mimic slime couldn¡¯t Mimic with just this. In that case, I¡¯ll have to increase the amount.

    I opened my Item Box, and I took out a pair of scissors I use for sweing. I then cut my bangs and the hair reaching to the back of my neck. My hair has also grown out quite a bit, so this much should be fine. But if I need to shave myself bald then I¡¯ll have to do that after I get back to Gimuru.

    It¡¯s because this body is still only 12 years old, so I¡¯m not growing any beard yet. Because of that, I don¡¯t have a razor with me. Besides, it would be strange if I suddenly came back bald. Shaved head and skinheads do exist in this country, but they aren¡¯tmon. Even if you walk throughout the twon, you¡¯ll barely see anyone with those hair styles. The country to the south seems to have a fair number though. But in any case, that sort of style is rarely seen in this country.

    A-Also, if I have to feed the hair on my limbs to the slime, then I¡¯ll just give up on it. As one would expect, I¡¯m not willing to shave my body that much just to experiment.

    It would be great if it could Mimic with just these. As I thought that, I fed the mimic slime the hair I had cut. When I did, the mimic slime slowly began to transform into me. It seeded! However...

    ¡°Why are you naked!?¡± [Ryouma]

    Wai! I know it¡¯s not me, and there¡¯s no one around, but it¡¯s still embarrassing! Why are you naked!? Weren¡¯t you wearing an armor when you were transformed into that man from before!?

    ¡°But, in any case, go put on some clothes now!¡± [Ryouma]

    Panicked, I quickly took out a pair of pants and shirt from my Item Box, and handed them over to the mimic slime. The mimic slime slowly extended its hands, but as it began to walk, it fell over.

    ¡°Why!?¡±

    I ran up to the mimic slime, and checked on it, and I found out there that it wasn¡¯t feeling unwell or anything. Just that it can¡¯t stand, and the most it can do is roll about.

    A few hours passed after that, and after much investigation, I found out that although the mimic slime had seeded in transforming into me, it couldn¡¯t even walk. Much time might be needed to allow it familiarize itself with the body it transformed into.

    ¡°Is that the reason why when it pretended to be a human and attacked me, the movements it used when it attacked was not something that belonged to a human? But I really don¡¯t want to see myselfpletely naked under the sun, struggling like a newly born child... Fortunately, no one else saw it.¡± [Ryouma]

    Speaking of which, right after that, I had the mimic slime put on some clothes. Or rather, I had it eat some clothes, and then had it transform its body¡¯s surface into clothes. It seeded well too. Whether it was the appearance of the clothes or the texture, it was a perfect replication. Truly a fearful LV 10 Mimic.

    Only, it couldn¡¯t transform back into me after I had it cancel the transformation. That¡¯s most likely because its Mimic Memory skill level is too low. The slime might have to put it to memory first before it¡¯s able to transform at will.

    As I continued thinking like that, the sky finally began to turn dark. So I entered the Dimension Home, and began to prepare supper.

    ¡°The menu for today is bread and... Oh, right, let¡¯s go with that.¡± [Ryouma]

    I had the grave slime bring out the undead snake that I recently defeated. I then cut its headless body apart, removing its hide and its bones. I then cut it into thin, long strips, and then fried it.

    ording to what I had researched before, the undead snake is a nutritious treat to eat as its regeneration ability allows its body to store up plenty of nutrients. I also heard that it¡¯s delicious thanks to its fatty meat. Because of all that, I decided to try eating it.

    A few seconds after I had begun frying it, oil started to drizzle out of its meat. Then gradually, scent simr to that of fried chicken filled the Dimension Home.

    ¡°Looks delicious.¡± [Ryouma]

    To think it would actually make such a delicious smell... It would¡¯ve been great if I had remembered earlier...

    Without adding anything onto it, I took a bite out of the now cooked snake meat. When I did, my teeth easily sunk into the soft meat, and juices gushed out of the meat, filling my mouth with its taste.

    ¡°Ohh, it¡¯s delicious! It¡¯s plenty juicy, and there¡¯s also enough umami. Come to think of it, I think I also heard of the undead snake meat being good ingredients for tonics and beautifying the body. Speaking of beauty, I wonder if it¡¯s because of the cogen texture? I¡¯ve never had cogen pot, so I don¡¯t know, but... well, it¡¯s delicious and safe to eat, so whatever.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I thought that, I fried more meat to eat. The meat is plenty delicious, so just a little salt and seasoning is good enough. Today¡¯s menu is bread and grilled undead snake sd.

    Moreover, I also cut apart the undead snake body that had regenerated from just its head. I grilled that one with salt too, and I fed it to the slimes. When I tasted it, I noticed that its quality had gone down. It must be because it had used its regenerative enegies that its meat had grown dry and hard. It didn¡¯t taste as good too. Well, although it doesn¡¯t taste as good, it¡¯s still plenty delicious though. It does feel a bitckingpared to the meat I had just tasted a while ago though.

    The slimes ate the snake meat happily. The mimic slime also couldn¡¯t use Mimic after eating the fried meat. Mimic might require raw meat, I¡¯ll have to investigate this moreter.

 Volume 3 - 41

    Volume 3 Chapter 41

    The Next Day

    I began filling in the hole in the wall of the vige with earth magic, repairing it and reinforcing it. While I also began to demolish the structures within the city walls.

    Fixing the wall is to prevent magical beasts from entering after I send off the undead, and create a safe area within the forest. The demolishing of the buildings is to ensure that I don¡¯t miss any undead.

    Besides, they were all so worn out that they would crumble after just breaking two or three pirs anyway. They were pretty much useless except for the undeads who would hide them, so burning them down isn¡¯t really a hard decision to make.

    When I went to clear out the vige, I started by investigating each house. performing a memorial service for the undead as I did. The first division I got to was a dense collection of several small houses, so I took them down one by one, then I burned them with Holy me Carpet, cleaning up the wreckage. In the end, I decided to do the same, and clean out the rest of the vige in the same way.

    The undead that came attacking at me were all mostly taken care of by the grave slimes, the king scavenger slimes, and the light slimes. All the while, I demolished the buildings with the help of the earth slimes and the wind slimes.

    The vige is a bit too big for me to do everything by myself, but with the help of the slimes, I figured I could finish everything within a few days.

    As the operation gradually progressed, I eventually neared the limits of my magic power. I randomly took breaks as I kept going until eventually dusk came.

    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll end things here for the day... Oh, right!¡± [Ryouma]

    Abruptly, I opened my Item Box, and from it I took out the guitar that I haven¡¯t used in a while. Then I began my preparations to y the guitar and sing, chantlessly casting dark magic as I y.

    It¡¯s started to get dark, so I decided to stop the operation for the day, but just a little, I thought I¡¯d use the remaining magic power I have, and practice the Cursed Song I coincidentally learned in the past.

    If you¡¯re wondering why I suddenly thought of doing something like this now, well it¡¯s because I¡¯m really bad at using this Cursed Song magic, and yet I haven¡¯t practiced it at all. I did investigate the spell after learning it, but that¡¯s about all I did.

    Funny thing about this spell is that its good part is the same as its bad part, both being its area of effect.

    It has a wide area of effect as it works as long as you can hear it, but because of that...

    ¡°I can¡¯t choose the target. Which goes to mean that it¡¯s an attack that doesn¡¯t discriminate between foe or ally...¡± [Ryouma]

    Fortunately, though, the slimes can¡¯t hear, and the rimel birds can block off the sound with wind magic, so it doesn¡¯t affect them.

    But if I were to use the skill at the wrong ce, then there¡¯s a possibility that I might affect the people passing by. I also didn¡¯t learn the spell because I need it, so because of all those reasons, I didn¡¯t practice it at all. I don¡¯t know if I can do something about its indiscrimination by practicing it, but I at least hope to be able to reduce its area of effect. There¡¯s no one around here, so I might as well take this opportunity to practice it to my heart¡¯s content.

    As I focused, I began ying the guitar as I sang the theme song of an anime I had heard in my previous life.

    But not long after, I had to stop.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on!?¡± [Ryouma]

    When I started to use Cursed Song, the apathetic undead in the surrounding area suddenly started hurrying toward me. Seeing that, I immediately had the slimes prepare for battle as I pulled out my katana.

    ¡°...Huh? They¡¯re noting anymore?¡± [Ryouma]

    When I stopped using Cursed Song, the undead suddenly lost all interest, and they scattered away.

    ¡°Could it be?¡± [Ryouma]

    I tried ying the guitar again as I used Cursed Song, and the undead all came hurrying toward me again. And when I stopped, they scattered away. I tried ying the guitar again, singing normally without using Cursed Song, and they didn¡¯te, so in other words...

    ¡°The Cursed Song has an effect simr to the grave slimes¡¯ Attract Ghosts?¡± [Ryouma]

    I unexpectedly discovered an effect of Cursed Song in an unlikely ce. But while it¡¯s great that I discovered something new, with this I won¡¯t be able to practice here anymore...

    ¡°Guess I¡¯ll have no choice but to practice in the abandoned mine once I get back home... Well, I won¡¯t be going on trips for a while once I get back anyway, so I guess I¡¯ll take my time then.¡± [Ryouma]

    The undead suddenly rushing toward me kind of sucked all my strength away, so I think I¡¯ll just go have supper, and rest now.

    Day 2 of the Operation

    I performed a memorial service for the undead that we lured yesterday. We also somehow managed to finish clearing out the section with many small houses before noon. Then after lunch, we dealt with the houses that were rtively big. Amongst those, many were either workshops or storehouses

    There were many bound ghosts in them too. For example, there was this skeleton that¡¯s probably a former ck smith as he would lean over the hearth, and smash a rusted hammer against a rusted anvil ceaselessly. Those sort of ghosts never paid me attention even when I entered their workshop. But because of the sounds they made, they were easy to find.

    After that, I entered therge houses. When I did, I understood that there were two different types ofrge house.

    On one hand, you have the housingplexes that worked like apartments or inns. And were probably inhabited by people who can fight as weapons and armors could be seen littered all over the ce. Moreover, there were also undead that could use the weapons quite well, so this hypothesis is probably true.

    Then on the other hand, you have the houses of the authorities. These type ofrge houses had much more thingspared to the others. Moreover, there were also undead who would fight while sitting down on a chair as they muttered orders such as ¡®go protect!¡¯ or something.

    It¡¯s not like the other undead listened to their orders either. After all, there¡¯s no one left who could listen to orders anymore, so seeing an undead do that was kind of funny. Although, it also made me feel empty.

    After I finished demolishing a few more houses, I neared the limits of my magic power, so I decided to take a break. I spent the break, practicing with several of the weapons I got from my grandpa.

    The first thing I practiced with was the mythril spear that dazzled blue when light shone on it. It¡¯s light and durable, but more than that, what¡¯s really worth mentioning is its conductivity to magic, which makes using magic battle technique with it really easy.

    Moreover, when I tried channeling my magic power through the spear to cast a fire ball, I found out that the magic power consumption became smaller. This is supposed to be a spear, so it¡¯s probably the mythril that¡¯s causing the reduction of magic power consumption.

    The next thing I tried out was the thin, ck-colored, adamantite rapier. It might look thin, but it¡¯s made out of adamantite, so it¡¯s a lot heavier than it seems.

    I¡¯m not well-versed with rapiers, but I do know that you¡¯re supposed to thrust with them, so I practiced with the rapier by thrusting it into the pirs of the house that I haven¡¯t demolished yet. When I did, the rapier easily pierced into a wooden pir.

    After that, I tried piercing the wooden pirs and brick walls at full strength with ki reinforcement, and the rapier didn¡¯t bend at all. When I took it a step further, and swept the rapier against the wooden pir, the pir was hacked down despite the fact that I was only relying on pure strength. Of course, the de didn¡¯t bend either... Were rapiers meant to be able to cut wooden pirs like this?

    Thest weapon I tested was the adamantite katana. This one¡¯s much more durable and sharppared to the iron slime de I normally use. It¡¯s undoubtedly an excellent sword. Only, it¡¯s quite heavy. I can swing it no problem with qi gong, but it¡¯ll be quite exhausting in a long fight, so it¡¯s a bit worrying to use. From here on, I should wait for my body to grow while I train myself to build up some muscles.

    The Third Day

    By noon, most of the memorial service of the vigers had been held. When I took a break, and walked around the vige, I took the opportunity to search the area, and I ended up getting some herbs. Unexpectedly, I actually got some pepper that I could use for seasoning.

    When I saw the pepper, I couldn¡¯t help but raise my voice in delight. Pepper can be bought in the vige, and in fact, I have actually bought them many times. But because they¡¯re so expensive, they¡¯re not something I use on a daily basis.

    Buying pepper from a store in the town will cause the food expenditures to rise several times, so it¡¯s actually a luxury to use it. I¡¯ve also gotten used to food without pepper. And besides, I¡¯ve already been living in this world for four years, so theirmon sense has already rubbed off on me to some extent.

    Sill, I¡¯ve been using ck pepper in my previous life normally, so I personally don¡¯t think it¡¯s that much of a luxury. But even if I don¡¯t consider ck pepper itself to be a luxury, since one small bottle goes for a small gold coin - and to add to that - if I were to actually use it as if I was still back in my previous world, I¡¯ll end up spending several times worth of a day¡¯s living expense. Because of that it does feel somewhat luxurious. I might be making a killing, but it seems I still haven¡¯t rid myself of my frugal mentality. Well, it still beasts being a spendthrift though.

    ¡°I might be able to solve my ck pepper problems if Ie here to get some every now and then. I found a good ce.¡± [Ryouma]

    If you take too much, a new one won¡¯t grow again, so it¡¯s important not to thoroughly uproot the herbs. I¡¯ve heard this warning many times. And especially so in the adventurer¡¯s guild as they¡¯ll tell you the same warning at the reception desk before letting you off.

    When I began harvesting, I was, at first, constantly warning myself to be careful, but when I saw how many herbs there were, I changed my mind. It¡¯s because there were so many that even if I didn¡¯t thoroughly empty the field, I would still have more than enough. Most likely, the amount I take from here willst me enough for the whole year.

    Speaking of which, the nts were nted right next to the walls of the vige, so it¡¯s highly probable that the vigers were cultivating these. And because they all died, no one was left to harvest the herbs, so in the end, it ended up this many. As of now, there¡¯s no one who knows that, so it¡¯s a mystery.

    Right after finish, I immediately put the ck pepper I had gathered to use. I dried the ck pepper with alchemy, and then I crushed it. After which, I then ate the meat of the undead snake with salt and ck pepper. Because of the tingling taste and smell, the already delicious meat became even more delicious. From now on, my daily food will be quite luxurious.

    The Fourth Day

    Thanks to the power of magic and the slimes, I was able to somehow finish cleaning Cormi Vige. There were no longer any undead inside the vige. And even that gloomy atmosphere has been blown away. I also saw that there were magical beasts outside the vige. I¡¯m d I took the time to repair the walls.

    As I¡¯ve taken and burned everything down except for my grandparents¡¯ house, the ce has mostly be vacant. It¡¯s already be an abandoned vige, so I think it¡¯ll be better if I start referring to this ce as the Cormi Vige (Formerly). Well, whatever¡¯s fine though.

    In any case, I¡¯ve finished what I¡¯vee here to do. Let¡¯s go back to Gimuru.

    I prepared whatever I needed to prepare, then when I went out, I blocked the gate of the vige with earth magic. Afterwards, I brought the mimic slime out of the Dimension Home, and I ordered it to use Mimic to transform into a take ostrich.

    ¡°I¡¯m relying on you.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°..Kuke!¡± [Take Ostrich Slime]

    When I called out to the mimic slime, what responded back was the cry of a mimicked take ostrich. Mimic slimes reproduce even the actual body of the creature they are mimicking, so they are able to gain the full five senses when they use Mimic. Because of that, they would sometimes cry out after finishing the task I¡¯ve given them, seemingly asking, ¡®what¡¯s next¡¯.

    Back to the Main Topic

    After I had confirmed that the mimic slime was ready, I rode it... Clinging is more fitting though, I suppose.

    In these past three days, I¡¯ve been sending the undead off, and have been cleaning the wreckages. When I finally ran out of magic power, and took a break, I investigated the mimic slimes, and trained them by having them let me ride them. I also rode on them, whenever I went out to get some herbs, creating more opportunities for them to train.

    The impetus behind that is that when I saw the mimicked take ostrich running around, I thought to myself, couldn¡¯t I ride that? And so, I tested it out, and I found out that the leg strength of the take ostrich was actually really strong. It was able to let me ride it and run fast at the same time. Of course, it was slower than when I wasn¡¯t riding it, but it¡¯s still plenty fast, so there¡¯s no problem on that front.

    The feathers of the take ostrich were much softer than I had originally thought it to be. I also didn¡¯t receive any difort when I rode it. Moreover, the mimic slime was able to make itself bigger with its Erge skill, so riding over it was actually quitefortable. Also, the mimic slime is different from the other slimes in that it can feel fatigue, so I couldn¡¯t overdo it. Thanks to the take ostrich, the way back has gotten a lot easier.

    ¡°Go!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Kuke!¡± [Mimicked Take Ostrich]

    The take ostrich rocketed off at my words, and it ran like a sprinting horse within the dense forest.

    ...It¡¯s fast, but I¡¯ll definitely have to put a saddle over it once I get back. It wouldn¡¯t be nice if I fell after all. If this were a horse, I¡¯m confident that I¡¯d be able to find a saddle for it somewhere along the way. But because it¡¯s a take ostrich, I¡¯ll have to look for a saddle that¡¯s meant for ostrich use. If I find one, I¡¯ll buy it.

    Around an hour after departing.

    The magical beasts that attacked me from time to time were paralyzed by my Paralyze Mist and scattered by the speed of the mimic slime, so we haven¡¯t stopped at all since we left an hour ago. Around this time, the mimic slime started getting tired, so I let it rest inside the Dimension Home.

    I didn¡¯t think it would actually be able to keep that pace up while carrying me for an hour. Apparently, I had been underestimating the leg strength of the take ostrich. Their speed isn¡¯t just explosive, it can alsost for extended periods.

    It would normally have taken four hours even without any undead, but thanks to the mimic slime I can now get to theke now with just a little more walk.

    As I thought that, I walked. And when I neared theke, I noticed the presence and sound of something rampaging. Apparently something was rampaging around theke. Immediately, I used Hide to hide my presence, then I went out to see what the fuss was about.

    What entered my sight were two cannon ball rhinoses. One of them was 2 meters tall and 4 meters long, a cannon ball rhinos with a body bigger than the average cannon ball rhinos. Fighting against that cannon ball rhinos was a tiny, one-meter-tall cannon ball rhinos, that could still be thought of as a child...

    ...This fight¡¯s no good. The bigger cannon ball rhinos isn¡¯t moving much, but the smaller one keeps challenging the other cannon ball rhinos only to be blown away. But it won¡¯t give up. It stands up immediately after being thrown away, and tries again. The difference in physique is too big, at this rate, the smaller one won¡¯t have a chance to win at all.

    Still... Why on earth is that small one picking a fight with that big one? It¡¯s already wounded all over, and yet it keeps desperately charging against that bigger...!?

    As I continued to watch the cannon ball rhinoses, I suddenly felt something fly toward me, aiming for my head. As soon as I felt that somethinging at me, I bent my body to dodge it.

    What came flying was a tongue that looked like it had a sharp arrowhead attached to it. Following back the direction where it came from, I saw a lone tree from which the tongue could be seen growing on one of its branches.

    Unsheathing my sword, I headed toward the tree, and I cut off the ce slightly above where the tongue was growing from. When I did so, blood spurted out of a part of the tree, and that something fell to the ground. The true identity of what had gone flying at me was actually the tongue of an anchor chameleon. Apparently, it thought it was a good opportunity to attack as I was caught up watching the cannon ball rhinoses.

    Thinking that to myself, I suddenly remembered the cannon ball rhinoses, so I turned to see how they were doing.

    ¡°.........¡± [Both Rhinoses]

    ¡°Ah¡±

    Our eyes met. Looks like they noticed me when I killed the anchor chameleon... Currently, I am facing toward the two rhinos which are both in front of theke. The bigger one is situated diagonally to my right, while the smaller one is situated diagonally to my left. They both turned toward me.

    ...I¡¯m not an enemy, you know~

    ¡°KUOoOOoO!!!!!!¡± [Rhinos]

    ¡°Wh¨C!?¡± [Ryouma]

    After a few moments of silence, the bigger rhinos suddenly took a 180 from its previous behavior as it bellowed out a war cry, and charged toward me.

    Not good!

    Immediately, I hid myself, and jumped in between the trees, dodging the charge. The bigger rhino that had charged toward me, kept going until it crashed against a tree.

    The tree bent at the impact, andrge cracks could be seen extending from where the rhinos horn had pierced. Not long after, sounds of breaking apart resounded, and the treepletely fell down, causing the ground to shake.

    ¡°I¡¯ll definitely dodge it if ites from the f¨C woah!¡± [Ryouma]

    That was dangerous!

    I had managed to dodge the bigger one, but the smaller one came attacking too!

    As I was wondering whether I had to fight them both at the same time, it suddenly urred to me that there were two cannon ball rhinoses lying down.

    For a moment, I braced myself, thinking there were more of them. But not long after, I noticed that they were already dead. From that, I finally understood why the smaller one was picking a fight with the bigger one.

    Those two rhinoses were probably the smaller one¡¯s parents.

    As I was thinking that to myself, the bigger one turned toward me, bellowed out a war cry as it charged toward me again. Stepping to the side, I dodged it. And then just as I tried to sh it¨C¨C¨C

    ¡°!? It¡¯s tougher than I thought.¡± [Ryouma]

    That pretty much summed up what it felt like when I hit it. Sure, I did hear that its skin was tough, but my ki d stroke actually couldn¡¯t cut through it. All it did was cut through the rhinos¡¯ fur, leaving only a shallow cut over the rhinos¡¯ body. It didn¡¯t even bleed a drop. This is the first time something like this has happened since I got to this world, so I¡¯m a bit surprised.

    The attacks of the rhinoses¡¯ are linear, so I can just dodge them by sensing the magic power they release before they start the charge. But at the same time, my attacks won¡¯t work, so the situation isn¡¯t exactly getting any better... There is that adamantite katana I got from grandpa though. Should I try using it?

    No, it¡¯s dangerous to use an unfamiliar weapon I haven¡¯t even practiced with. If it were just a raptor, then it wouldn¡¯t matter much, but this are cannon ball rhinoses.

    But still... what¡¯s up with toughness of their skin? I heard they used neutral magic, but could it be there¡¯s also a hardening technique aside from just the strengthening one? Or could it be this hardness is just normal amongst the bodies of the cannon ball rhinoses?

    I kept my eyes fixed on the two rhinoses while I continued to think of a way to deal with them

 Volume 3 - Volume 3 END

    TL Note: Cannonball Rhinos -> Cannonball Rhinos. Extra chapter maybe Monday or Tuesday. Gotta pass another paper Monday morning, so yeah... Monday or Tuesday it is.

    Edit: Sorry, I missed something in one of the lines. Ryouma retrieves all the corpses, not just the two parents¡¯.

    Volume 3 END

    ¡°Did I overestimate myself? But before that, what should I do about this situation? If I can¡¯t pierce into the body, then not even my bloody slime will work. Moreover, aiming at their eyes and mouth requires that I stand right in front of them. If I were to do that, I¡¯d be exposing myself to their charge... Oops.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I was thinking to myself how to defeat the bigger one, the smaller one attacked me. Honestly, after understanding the situation, I¡¯ve lost all will to fight the smaller one...

    As I was thinking that, this time the bigger one came to attack me. When I dodged it, the smaller one... Wait, why are you guys focusing on me? You should at least... Oh, right, maybe I could do something if it¡¯s the smaller one.

    ¡°Haaaaa...¡± [Ryouma]

    Sheathing my katana, I faced my back toward theke, and I filled my body with ki. Then I stood before the smaller cannonball rhinos.

    The cannonball rhinos began to mercilessly charge at me. With a half turn, I dodged the horn of the cannonball rhinos. Then I grabbed its neck, neared my butt to the ground, and I entered the area beneath it. There, I touched the body of the cannonball rhinos with my feet, and with my ki charged, I kicked it up to the sky!

    ¡°Leave me alone for a bit!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Kyuon!?¡± [Little Rhinos]

    It was heavy, but I was able to kick the cannonball away. It kept flying as it drew an arc and eventuallynded into theke. Amongst cannonball rhinoses, they have a tendency to ept defeat when they¡¯re thrown away by the horn, or pushed down. So I hope the smaller one will stop attacking me with this.

    Still... it¡¯s fortunate that I used my legs. From the weight I felt when I threw it, I don¡¯t think I could have thrown it that far even if I had raised it up with my arms. Thiske looks shallow, so I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll drown... That aside, there¡¯s still the problem of the bigger one.

    Immediately, I picked myself up. But for some reason, the big cannonball rhinos that was so eager to attack me before was not moving... But just as I was thinking that, the cannonball rhinos suddenly bellowed out a war cry as it charged toward me.

    I decided to dodge it and move way from where I threw the smaller one. With my course of action decided, I fired off some magic at the cannonball rhinos to get its attention. Then I unsheathed my katana, wielded it with my right hand, while my left wielded the sheath itself.

    Following that, I ordered the big iron slime katana and big metal slime sheath to transform. The form of the katana and the sheath began to melt, turning into liquid as they wrapped themselves over my hand toward my shoulders. When they finished transforming, the smooth, curved metal hadpletely changed into a scale-like silver and dark grey mittens.

    Weapons that can cut have little effect against the hide of these rhinoses, so I¡¯ll fight with strikes instead. There¡¯s also the chained iron ball that I used to defeat the elder treant, but that one¡¯s heavy, so if I were to use that, my movement would get dull. Besides, there¡¯re plenty of trees around, it won¡¯t be easy to use. Compared to that, this gauntlet might be a little heavierpared to the de-form of the slimes, but it¡¯s easy to use.

    ¡°My right might be... short!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°O!?¡± [Rhinos]

    ¡°...¡± [Ryouma]

    I dodged the iing cannonball rhinos, and thennded a strike at its left nk with my fist. My attack seems to have had much more effectpared to the katana as the rhinos let out a little of its voice. It wasn¡¯t that loud though, so the effect wasn¡¯t all that much.

    Part of is it¡¯s because it¡¯s durable, but it¡¯s also because my attack slipped when I attacked it while it was charging. I don¡¯t think it did it on purpose, but it still feels like my attack got parried. I guess I should attack it when it stops moving...

    I lured the cannonball rhinos into the denser area. If it¡¯s inside an area with more trees, it should be harder for it to attack. At least that¡¯s what I thought, but then the canon-ball rhinos ignored the trees, and it began charging recklessly.

    As sounds resounded and tremors shook the earth, the trees were either bent or mowed down. The instances of the cannonball rhinos stopping also increased. Aiming for those moments, I curled my hand into a fist, and I smashed it against the cannonball rhinos.

    Our battle continued like that for a while, but the cannonball rhinos still refused to show any signs of falling over.

    ¡°Hmm... On top of the weight of the slimes, there¡¯s also the reinforcement from ki. If it was a human I was fighting, his cranium would have caved in at the power ages ago... This is making me lose confidence. This wanton destruction of nature is also making me anxious.¡± [Ryouma]

    But still... I wonder if this thing can¡¯t feel any pain. I¡¯ve hit so many times, and it¡¯s even crashed itself against so many times. I¡¯ve even hit it with fire, electric, and ice type magic, but I¡¯ve only either slightly burned or froze its fur.

    I tried making a hole once while I let it crash against the wall erected by Earth Wall, but the hole was too small and too shallow, and the cannonball rhinos just went through the earth wall. All I managed to do was buy some time.

    Dark magic works, but then the cannonball rhinos goes even wilder, and it bes harder to predict how it will attack. Seriously, what am I supposed to do about this? I can stop its movements and buy some time, but my attacks won¡¯t work on it, so I can¡¯t defeat it.

    ¡°GUoOO!!¡± [Rhinos]

    ¡°Tch!¡± [Ryouma]

    After how many times of hitting it with my fists, I realized something strange. This big cannonball rhinos sometimes suddenly stops. At first, I thought it just didn¡¯t feel like fighting anymore since it just got hit back whenever it attacked, but then it would persistently start chasing me again. It would¡¯ve been nice if it started getting a concussion after crashing into trees so many times, but apparently that wasn¡¯t the case...

    ¡°KUOoOOoO!!!!!!¡± [Rhinos]

    Ahh, it¡¯s here again!

    ¡°You¡¯re persistent! And your eyes are bloodsh¨C¨C...!!¡± [Ryouma]

    It was here that it came to me that a part of the cannonball rhinos¡¯ sclera was oddly congested. Taking note of that, I began observing the rhinos. As the Rhinos bellowed out a cry, I noticed that there were some violet specks inside the mouth of the rhinos. When I saw that, I finally understood the reason behind its behavior. At the same time, I felt my face cramping.

    ¡°It¡¯s the poison of the doping bee!¡± [Ryouma]

    A queer congestion within the eyes and specks of violet are both special traits of a magical beast that¡¯s been pierced by the doping bee. Moreover, when the doping bee¡¯s poison has had too much of an effect, the magical beast¡¯s consciousness will sometimes be muddied, causing it to be dazed. And the beast will alternate between berserk and being dazed. The interval between the two states doesn¡¯t seem to be fixed though.

    Took me way too long to remember... If I can¡¯t remember my preparatory research during a critical moment, then there¡¯s no point in doing it in the first ce. I¡¯ll have to reflect on thister.

    But that¡¯s that. At least now I finally know why this thing¡¯s going wild, and why it¡¯s so strong.

    ¡°It¡¯s not just strong because of magic. It¡¯s strong because the originally A Rank defensive power has been further bolstered... But even if I know that, the situation hasn¡¯t changed.¡± [Ryouma]

    I could feel drops of sweat forming at my brows. I can¡¯t just leisurely stop moving. I have to think of a way to defeat the cannonball rhinos while dodging it. As I was doing that, the wound I first cut on it came to my attention. It was then that I remembered something, and I decided to try it out.

    First, dodge the charge of the cannonball rhinos while letting it charge into a tree to stop it from moving. Up to this point is still the same as always, but¨C¨C¨C

    ¡°¡®Bind Ivy¡¯!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Guon!¡± [Rhinos]

    I used wood magic, and the surrounding ivy wrapped around the trees began to wrap themselves around the cannonball rhinos.

    The cannonball rhinos had its attention taken by the vines, but just my moving its body in all directions, it¡¯s already began to gradually pull itself away from the ivies. Then with a strong step, and with its power poured into its limbs, it charged. At that, it fully freed itself from the grasp of the ivies.

    ¡°A few seconds at most, huh? Let¡¯s try it! If it fails, then I¡¯ll just run with all my might!¡± [Rhyouma]

    Again, I lured the cannonball rhinos as I ran back the direction we came from, and headed toward theke.

    The trees were mowed down quite a bit, so the view¡¯s now not as obstructed as it once was. Because of that I was able to get back to thete without stopping much, and was able to get there quickly. The small rhinos is sitting in front of its deceased parents¡¯ corpses... It shouldn¡¯t be a problem as long as I stay away from him.

    ¡°¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C!!¡± [Big Rhinos]

    ¡°Take this!¡± [Ryouma]

    I dodged the rhinos that charged from behind. When I did, the rhinos kept going and going until it plunged itself into theke. Water burst up high into the air. Again, I was reminded of just how much power the rhinos had. But I don¡¯t have the time to stop moving. I stood at the border of theke and the jungle to initiate my n.

    The cannonball rhinos that had charged into theke, turned toward me as it raised itself. Then it began charging again.

    ¡°You¡¯re strong, but you¡¯re too dull! ¡®Bind Ivy¡¯!¡± [Ryouma]

    As I dodged the charge, I used Bind Ivy. As the rhinos charged into a tree, and stopped moving, its body was wrapped in ivy.

    Right after that, I jumped onto the back of the cannonball rhinos with my ki reinforced body. Then I grabbed the ivy, and began strangling the rhinos¡¯ neck.

    The ivy began to be torn off again, but I won¡¯t let the rhinos do as it pleases!

    ¡°¡¯Mud Pool¡¯!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°GUoA!?¡± [Big Rhinos]

    As I activated my magic, the water and the ground began to mix, changing into mud, and swallowing the cannonball rhinos¡¯ legs. The ivies were creaking at the cannonball rhinos¡¯ pressure, but because of the mud that suddenly appeared, the rhinos¡¯ resistance vanished. The rhinos was no longer able to tear off the ivies.

    Mud Pool is thebination of water attribute and earth attribute. It¡¯s a simple magic meant to transform thend into mud. I learned this magic after I heard about it from the adventurers in Gimuru, and practiced it by myself.

    At the time, it was quite difficult to do. If I casted the magic poorly, then even my allies would lose their footing. Because of that the adventurers mentioned that it¡¯s generally only used when running away. But! Something like that doesn¡¯t matter when I¡¯m on top of a magical beast!

    ¡°¡¯Exchange¡¯!¡± [Ryouma]

    I held on to the neck of the struggling cannonball rhinos while I used Exchange to bring out the adamantite rapier. Then dding it in ki, I thrusted it diagonally from the rhinos neck toward its head.

    But the rapier couldn¡¯t reach past the tip of the rhinos¡¯ hide. But I already expected that the rapier wouldn¡¯t be able to pierce through easily. It was here that I changed my position while keeping myself from falling off the cannonball rhinos.

    ¡°Ha!!¡± [Ryouma]

    With all of my strength, I pounded the heel of my palm onto the rapier.

    ¡°GUoOOO!?¡±

    Because of the impact of that attack, the rapier that had pierced into the hide of the rhinos sunk deeper. The cannonball rhinos rose its voice, and its movements grew wilder.

    ¡°One more ¨C¨Ctime!¡± [Ryouma]

    I struck again with my palm.

    I don¡¯t know if you could this a tactic or not, but I¡¯m doing exactly as I¡¯ve nned. Stop the cannonball rhinos from moving, hit a vital spot with a de, allowing it to stand. And then finish it off like that. The first stroke could only cut a shallow wound, but it still doesn¡¯t change the fact that it was strong enough to cut into the cannonball rhinos¡¯ skin. So I figured it should be possible to damage the rhinos enough so long as I¡¯m able to focus my attack on one point.

    I used the durable adamantite rapier for that reason. From the looks of things, it seems the rapier will be able to get through. This usage strikes me as somewhat absurd for a rapier, but so long as it works, anything¡¯s fine!

    After two more strikes, the sensation transmitted to me by the pommel of the rapier changed. After another strike, the rapier sunk deep into the cannonball rhinos. But I didn¡¯t stopped there as I pushed it even deeper.

    Using battle magic technique, I d my entire body and the rapier in electric magic power. Then I fired off my magic through the tip of the rapier.

    ¡°¡¯Thunder Bolt¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    Intermediate electric magic ¡®Thunder Bolt¡¯. Just as the name implies, an attack that summons electricity to strike against the target.

    It didn¡¯t have much of an effect a while ago, but just as one would expect, firing it off from inside the body like this is quite effective. Immediately after casting it, the cannonball rhinos stopped moving, and it copsed to the ground.

    At that time, the ivies wrapped around the cannonball rhino were cut, and the cannonball rhino began to fall down into the mud. Immediately, I jumped off the cannonball rhino, and left the mud. I waited for a while, and after confirming it, I knew that the beast had died.

    ............I was cutting it pretty close there. It¡¯s good that I won~!!

    ¡°Even if it was strengthened by the poison of the doping bee, it seems it¡¯s still too early for me to challenge A Rank and S Rank magical beasts... Not that I have any ns of challenging those. To begin with, it¡¯s generally assumed that one has to form a party to challenge magical beasts above the B Rank.

    As I muttered to myself while staring at the giant body of the cannonball rhinos, the smaller one approached me from behind.

    ¡°Heeey... you still feel like fighting¨C¨C¨CMn?¡± [Ryouma]

    Just when I thought it still felt like fighting, the cannonball rhinos rose its two forelegs as it stood up on its two hind-legs. This is...

    ¡°If I recall correctly, this pose signifies a cannonball rhinos¡¯ surrender, right?¡± [Ryouma]

    It¡¯s written down in the information I gathered beforehand. At first, I thought it might just be trying to make its body appear bigger to threaten me, but that doesn¡¯t seem to be the case. But why? That¡¯s normally something a cannonball rhinos would show to another cannonball rhinos that managed to defeat it, so... ¨CAh! Could it be it¡¯s because I¡¯d thrown it once? Or is it because I defeated the bigger one?

    As I was thinking that to myself, I saw the small cannonball rhinos¡¯ feet slightly trembling. It might still be a kid, but it¡¯s body is still quite heavy. It should be painful for it to raise its body up with just two legs.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just leave the questions forter, and contract it now. It might be a B Rank magical beast, but it¡¯s still a kid, so it might not survive out here...¡± [Ryouma]

    If I were to ept this little cannonball rhinos, then... As I thought that, I activated the contract of the ve demon magic. When I did, the contract was a sess, and the cannonball rhinos became my ve demon. I named the little one, Rai.

    After that, I began to heal Rai¡¯s wounds with the heal slimes. During that time, I had the grave slime retrieve the big cannonball rhinos and the two corpses that were most probably Rai¡¯s parents.

    Rai quietly watched the corpses be retrieved as he continued to receive treatment. I thought he would go wild, but I guess magical beasts understand the rule of the jungle well.

    Not wanting to waste the ingredients in the corpse of Rai¡¯s two parents, I immediately took them to the Dimension Home, and disassembled them. I retrieved their pelt, their horns, and their bones. The muscrity of the meat makes it unsuitable for humans, but it¡¯s enough as feed for the slimes. As I was feeding them to the slimes for lunch, the mimic slime began to transform into a cannonball rhinos.

    I tried to order the slime to stop the transformation, but seeing Rai look at the transformed mimic slime, and then cuddle up to it, I stopped. Instead, I ordered the mimic slime to stay in that form for a while.

    ...I don¡¯t know if this is good for Rai, but I¡¯ll just leave them like this for now.

    Just to be safe, I ordered Rai not to go wild. Then we left the Dimension Home, and we moved again to leave the Great Forest of Shurus. After 30 minutes, we coincidentally came across the nest of doping bees that was most likely responsible for causing the big cannonball rhinos to go berserk.

    The nest was about as big as a drum as it clung to the branch of a big tree. I took out 50 sticky slimes, and had them climb up the tree, and swallow the nest.

    Of course, the doping bees attacked the slimes, but if their stingers can¡¯t reach the nucleus, then their poison won¡¯t have any effect.

    The doping bees that attacked the sticky slimes were glued to them one after another, and they eventually died by suffocation.

    The same happened to the bees inside the nest. But just to make sure everything¡¯s safe, I blocked all of the holes of the nest for 30 minutes. Then when I saw that nothing was resisting anymore, I retrieved the nest. Naturally, I retrieved the corpses of the doping bees that were inside the sticky slimes as well.

    Well then... A lot of unexpected things happened, but now I¡¯ll at least be able to go back to Gimuru. I have my treatment, the store, and a bunch of other things that need to be done. And then there¡¯s also Rai. I managed to form a contract with him, but there¡¯s still definitely a lot of thinking to be done regarding the future.

 Volume 3 - Idle Talk 2

    Ryouma left the Great Forest of Shurus, and went back to Gimuru. Upon arrival, he spent most of his time studying and researching the inheritance he received from his grandmother. There, a life of rest and games with his magical beasts began.

    At a day like that, the gods opened a feast in the divine realm with Ryouma.

    ¡°More wine! Don¡¯t hold back! Just drink and drink!¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°Tekun, aren¡¯t you drinking too much?¡± [Rurutia]

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it fine? I won¡¯t get drunk. Instead, why don¡¯t you tell that to Gayn?¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°Mn~? I¡¯m not drunk, you know~?¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°You are!¡± [Tekun & Rurutia]

    ¡°He is drunk, right?¡± [Rurutia]

    ¡°He¡¯s drunk...pletely. Ryouma¡¯s cooking and snacks are delicious, so we¡¯ve been drinking nonstop~. But really... this liquor here is the sacred wine, so drinking lots probably can¡¯t be helped... It¡¯s great that the cooking matches it though. Ah, do you have any more of this Japanese-style Hamburger?¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°There is. The meat was cheap, so I bought lots and made lots. Please feel free to eat as much as you want.¡± [Ryouma]

    This feast is something that becamemon practice after Ryouma received the treatment for the demon king¡¯s influence and around the time when Ryouma started receiving pointes from Tekun on how to make his staff.

    At the start, Ryouma was wondering whether or not he could find a way to thank Gayn, Tekun, and co. for helping him out, so he filled the magic tool box that he got from his grandparents with cooking, and then entered the divine realm.

    But before the foodes wine. And when there¡¯s food and wine, then it¡¯s a feast. Said the God of Wine, Tekun, who was also naturally a wine aficionado. It only took him a moment to prepare the liquor and the ce.

    As Rurutia enjoyed the sweets back in Earth, it could be seen that the taste of the gods and the humans aren¡¯t that much different. Because of that even the gods that werecking in pleasure enjoyed the feast. And since the gods seemed to be happy, Ryouma brought food again the next time he came. And again, and again... That repetition continued for some time until it finally becamemon practice amongst them.

    The gods that took part in the feast were generally the four gods, Gain, Kufo, Rurutia, and Tekun, along with Ryouma. But after holding the feast a few more times, other gods started participating as well. For example, the God of War from before joined. And even the God of Magic. After that, even the husband and wife, the God of Farming and the God of the Land, joined.

    At the start, Ryouma was at a loss when the gods he knew started to increase. Buttely he¡¯s gotten used to it.

    And today, a god Ryouma hadn¡¯t met yet, showed up.

    ¡°Hey.¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°Oh my.¡± [Rurutia]

    ¡°Why are you here?¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s unusual.¡± [Gayn]

    Muttered the gods as the they looked behind Ryouma. A momentter, Ryouma turned around. What entered his vision was the face of a young girl. Their eyes met.

    ¡°Eh!?¡± [Ryouma]

    When Ryouma noticed that the girl was point-nk him, he took a step back, but the girl only continued to stare at Ryouma without saying a word.

    When Ryouma had taken some distance, he saw the full body of the girl standing there in front of him. Ryouma thought the girl to be cute, but emotionless. The girl almost seemed robot-like with that deadpan face of hers.

    The girl looked to be below 10. Her straight, silver hair extended past her waist all the way to her knees. d in a dress ck as the dead of the night, the girl released a mysterious, overwhelming pressure. Ryouma and the girl continued to look each other in the eye wordlessly.

    ¡°If this keeps up, we¡¯ll end up wasting time. Ryouma-kun, that child¡¯s name is Meltrize. She is a god just like us.¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°Pretty rare, eh? For you to show up.¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°I was interested.¡± [Meltrize]

    The little girl responded to Tekun¡¯s inquiry with only a few words as she continued to stare at Ryouma. Ryouma was bewildered at the girl¡¯s behavior, but he decided to introduce himself anyway.

    ¡°Greetings, my name is Ryouma Takebayashi.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I know who you are.¡± [Meltrize]

    Said Meltrize with an expressionless face.

    ¡°My name is Meltrize. I am the God of Death and Sleep. It¡¯s a pleasure.¡± [Meltrize]

    ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Meltrize-sama.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Meltrize is fine. Rather than that, I want to hear you sing.¡± [Meltrize]

    ¡°...Sing?¡± [Ryouma]

    While Ryouma was surprised by the sudden request, Tekun stood up.

    ¡°Oh? Missy, you wanted to hear a song? If that¡¯s the case, then I can sing enka¨C.¡° [Tekun]

    ¡°No need.¡± [Meltrize]

    ¡°Ok...¡± [Tekun]

    Tekun¡¯s proposal was tly rejected, so he had no choice but to dejectedly sit back down. Tekun came to like Earth¡¯s enka, so he started enjoying singing it during the banquet.

    ¡°What I want to hear is the song that you sing during the night.¡± [Meltrize]

    Hearing that, Ryouma finally understood what it was that Meltrize wanted to hear. But at the same time, he was troubled.

    ¡°Could it be you¡¯re referring to the Cursed Song?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Right.¡± [Meltrize]

    ¡°That song¡¯s a bit...¡± [Ryouma]

    When Ryouma got back to Gimuru, he sometimes practiced the song in the abandoned mine. But despite that, he wasn¡¯t able to control the Cursed Song once.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry. We¡¯re all gods here. Your magic won¡¯t harm us.¡± [Meltrize]

    ¡°Then in that case...¡± [Ryouma]

    With those words, Ryouma¡¯s fears were swept away. He took out his guitar from the Item Box, and he began to sing.

    ¡°Then... One song.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Sing, sing!¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°Hyu! Hyu!¡± [Kufo]

    While Tekun and Kufo were egging Ryouma on, Ryouma sang the Cursed Song. They were still having a banquet, so Ryouma chose a quiet, but warm song. The effect was lessened, but it¡¯s not like the Cursed Song can¡¯t be used unless the song¡¯s depressing.

    And just as one would expect, even Tekun and Kufo kept quiet when the song began. They all quietly enjoyed Ryouma¡¯s performance.

    When Ryouma finished singing, the gods broke out in an apuse. All but Meltrize who only approached Ryouma.

    ¡°Was my performance able to satisfy the young miss?¡± [Ryouma]

    As Ryouma jokingly asked that as if he were a gentleman, a sinister and vigorous ck smoke erupted from Meltrize¡¯s, which wrapped itself around Ryouma.

    ¡°What are you¨C!?¡± [Ryouma]

    Just as Ryouma thought he had offended the god, a ck smoke appeared, and Ryouma began to struggle. But then, Rurutia¡¯s voice reached his ears.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Ryouma-kun! She is only giving you her divine protection; it won¡¯t hurt you!¡± [Rurutia]

    ¡°Divine protection!?¡± [Ryouma]

    Hearing that, Ryouma finally noticed that neither the ck smoke nor Meltrize held any ill will. Ryouma has the divine protection of Kufo, so he should be able to tell whether Meltrize wishes to harm him or not.

    ¡°But... divine protection? I¡¯m grateful, but why me again?¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma¡¯s question was answered by Tekun.

    ¡°There doesn¡¯t have to be a reason for us to give a divine protection, you know? She pretty much just came to like you, so she¡¯s give you her divine protection. It¡¯s the same even for the slimes. If I like one, I¡¯ll give it my divine protection.¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°But you actually did give my drunk slime your divine protection.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I thought it was pretty strange seeing a slime who actually enjoyed to drink, but when I saw it evolve, and saw it be able to make alcohol. I thought, well isn¡¯t this amusing? That little girl over there is the same. She¡¯s giving you her divine protection because she likes your song.¡± [Tekun]

    Hearing that, Ryouma looked at Meltrize. When he did, Meltrize nodded wordlessly, then she began exining.

    ¡°That song... I don¡¯t hate it. The sound is filled with magic power and is rxing.¡± [Meltrize]

    Ryouma didn¡¯t know whether the song being rxing had anything to do with the sound being filled with magic power. Meltrize realized Ryouma¡¯s confusion, so she tried exining.

    ¡°...I am the god of sleep and death, so I feel most at home at ces where there¡¯s plenty of dark attribute magic power. Your Cursed Song spreads dark magic power in the area. And the area affected by that magic power isfortable to me. There are many people better than you when ites to ying the guitar and singing, but there¡¯s no one else who can sing a song asfortable as you.¡± [Meltrize]

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is...¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma wasn¡¯t able to understand to what extent it was pleasurable, but he did understand what Meltrize was trying to say.

    After that, Meltrize joined the banquet. As she ate, she began to teach Ryouma the details of the divine protection of the death god.

    ¡°My divine protection will make the usage of dark attribute magic power somewhat easier. So as long as you put in the effort, you should be able to control the Cursed Song. Also, although it¡¯s really just a little bit, but you should also gain resistance against curses and dark magic.¡± [Meltrize]

    Hearing that, Ryouma, who had little resistance toward curses, was ted. So he figured he could at least bring out more food, and sing as a form of appreciation.

    And this is going somewhat off topic, but this is Meltrize¡¯s first time joining the banquet, so he didn¡¯t know what she liked. To remedy that, Ryouma had everyone taste all the food in the banquet, and he found out that Meltrize enjoyed food like pepperoncino which had strong sharp taste.

    He also found out that contrary to her appearance, Meltrize actually liked to drink.

    It was in this way that Ryouma enjoyed his time with the gods. Until finally, the time for the banquet to end came.

    ¡°Oops, guess it¡¯s time.¡± [Tekun]

    Said Tekun as he looked at Ryouma. A bead of light had already began to shine around Ryouma due to the time limit being reached. As this is something that everyone had already gotten used to, it¡¯s now being used as a sign to end the banquet.

    From there on, Ryouma began to quickly clean everything up as he put everything back into his box.

    ¡°Then... next time again.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°The next one¡¯s two weeks from now.¡± [Rurutia]

    ¡°You¡¯ve already managed to do the basics of making a staff, so next time, depending on your progress, I¡¯ll teach you the next step.¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°Don¡¯t push yourself too much~¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°Let¡¯s meet again.¡± [Meltrize]

    ¡°It¡¯s hard, but do your best.¡± [Kufo]

    Like this, the banquet for the day ended, and Ryouma left the divine realm.

    After Ryouma had left the divine realm, a heavy atmosphere unlike that of a while ago filled the presence of the gods. Even Gayn who was acting a little drunk just a moment ago was suddenly sober. Amongst that group of gods, the one who spoke was Kufo.

    ¡°Well then... I guess the break¡¯s over.¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°Right. It¡¯s going to be busy again... But it¡¯s still good since he Ryouma found that thing while it was still in that stage.¡± [Rurutia]

    ¡°True... It¡¯s embarrassing as a god, but not one of us was able to notice the fragment left behind by the demon king. We would have probably fallen behind if Ryouma hadn¡¯t found it, so our work¡¯s actually been reduced a lot as we¡¯re able to deal with it before it turned into a disaster.¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°It¡¯s been such a long time since we were this busy... I hate this sort of busyness.¡± [Rurutia]

    ¡°That¡¯s because there¡¯s nothing fun about working ourselves to the bone looking for the hidden fragments of the demon king.¡± [Gayn]

    The other gods nodded to Gayn¡¯s words, showing their agreement. Ever since Ryouma found the magic gem that housed the fragment of the demon king, the world of the gods has been buzzing in busyness.

    Even if it is true that the demon king¡¯s fragment that Ryouma found was well hidden, it still doesn¡¯t change the fact that the ones responsible for governing this world are the gods. Which means to say that the gods were negligent. So it¡¯s only a given that they would start working to find a solution as soon as they found out about the matter.

    If it were a human they were dealing with, they would have been able to settle the issue immediately. But the opponent right now is a demon king. Although rotten, it¡¯s still a former god. Finding the fragment is difficult even with the power of god. It takes a lot of time and effort to find, making the work a chore. The gods¡¯ bodies may not be capable of breaking apart, but they do still umte stress and fatigue. So in order to restore their energies, they have a banquet whenever Ryoumaes.

    However, they did not exin to Ryouma about that part. All they said was, ¡°We¡¯re trying to see if there¡¯re any more fragments,¡± keeping any information under wraps. And because Gayn and the others were too busy except during the banquet, they decided to exchange information after the banquet before going back home.

    ¡°Speaking of which, what¡¯s going to happen to Ryouma? You¡¯ve been letting him drink some of the god¡¯s wine that¡¯s been diluted with normal wine, right?¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°The influence of the demon king sometimeses out, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll get any worse than this. As for the sacred wine, he¡¯s only drinking enough to contain the strength of the demon king, so there shouldn¡¯t be any other effects.¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°With the sacred wine as treatment, we should be able to keep most of the harm to Ryouma in check, right?¡± [Rurutia]

    ¡°Well, he has gotten better, right? Besides, it¡¯s better thanpletely sealing it up. If we were topletely seal it up, then Ryouma¡¯s soul would also have to be sealed... That would be putting the cart before the horse.¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°Even a moment of sealing would cause a person to be crippled after all.¡± [Rurutia]

    Hearing that, Meltrize, who had just met Ryouma today, was shocked. But with her unsociable expression and unchanging tone, that shock was by no means visible from the surface.

    ¡°Was that fragment that strong? I heard he hadn¡¯t spent much time with the fragment.¡± [Meltrize]

    ¡°...A normal person wouldn¡¯t be affected as much, but if it¡¯s Ryouma we¡¯re talking about, then the situation is a bit different. I talked to you about Ryouma¡¯s previous life when I woke you up, right?¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°You did. It is visibly strange.¡± [Meltrize]

    ¡°Umu. I¡¯ll leave it at that for now, but because of that world¡¯s god pulling strings, Ryouma¡¯s soul has be able to easily absorb the power of gods. We¡¯ve managed to treat it for now, so it¡¯s safe now, but the demon king¡¯s power did begin to influence Ryouma¡¯ soul. It will take some time before Ryouma fully recovers, but we can only call it fortunate that we didn¡¯t find out before it was toote.¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°Also, Fer Noevir mentioned that he might have figured out a hint from that case regarding the abnormality of the recent otherworlders.¡± [Rurutia]

    Tekun reacted to Rurutia¡¯s words.

    ¡°What? I didn¡¯t hear anything about that.¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°Oh? Maybe it¡¯s because you went ahead that time? Well it¡¯s a separate issue from the demon fragment, and there¡¯s no proof either, so we probably forgot to inform you.¡± [Rurutia]

    ¡°So what did he say?¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the reason why we were sometimes unable to predict the grow of the otherworlders that were sent to our world, is what he said.¡± [Rurutia]

    ¡°So the god from the other world is doing something to the people being sent here?¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not impossible. We already know after all that that god has changed the destiny of many people already. It wouldn¡¯t be strange if some of those people were toe to this world.¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°But why would he do that?¡± [Meltrize]

    The gods fell into deep thought at Meltrize¡¯s question. In the end, Gayn said this,

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. The god from Earth is a level above us. Moreover, there¡¯s no merit in him attacking other worlds as his own world is safe... There were some otherworlders that caused disasters, but there were also those that benefited our world. So I can¡¯t think of his actions as an invasion.

    Moreover, there were also people that lived ordinary lives until the end. I can¡¯t think of any reason for him to be doing this on purpose. As of now, the most I can say is that it¡¯s a coincidence.¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°And while there might be many gods who don¡¯t interfere with gods of other worlds, there aren¡¯t many who would willingly give the magic power of their world to another god¡¯s. Because of that we can¡¯t afford to pursue the matter, lest risk angering the god of earth, and losing a source of magic power for this world. Which would then greatly affect this world¡¯s vitality...¡± [Rurutia]

    ¡°When that happens, the world might not be destroyed, but a lot of problems will certainlye up... Wait a moment, this.. and even that too! Isn¡¯t everything the fault of that demon king!?¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°I can¡¯t say everything, but it is true that this world was invaded, and that the magic power became easily exhaustible. If it weren¡¯t for that demon king, we wouldn¡¯t have had to borrow power from the god of earth. But saying that now won¡¯t change anything. Right now, what we have to do is decide on how to solve the problem.¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°Then... should we start the operation now?¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°Umu. Let¡¯s go look for the fragments of the demon king. As for me, I¡¯ll go check up on the others that couldn¡¯te to me, and then I¡¯ll go back to my own search.¡± [Gayn]

    As Gayn said that, he vanished from that ce.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go back too.¡± [Meltrize]

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget to contact me when you find a fragment. Also,e to the next banquet too, alright, missy?¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°Sure.¡± [Meltrize]

    ¡°How unusual. Not only did the sleepyhead Meltrize wake up, but she¡¯s also actually going out do something.¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°Pepperoncini... was delicious. Also... I¡¯m not a sleepyhead, I¡¯m the god of sleep.¡± [Meltrize]

    ¡°You realize that in the mortal word¡¯s time, you slept 500 years straight until you actually had to deal with this recent matter, right? Isn¡¯t that plenty to qualify you as a sleepyhead?¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°...I¡¯m going home.¡± [Meltrize]

    As Meltrize said those words which, although her face remained expressionless and the tone normal, seemed to carry a hint of dissatisfaction, she vanished.

    After that Kufo, Rurutia, Tekun, also disappeared one after another. And they all busied themselves, searching for the demon king¡¯s fragments until the next time when Ryoumaes to visit again.

    TL Note: Meltrize is pronounced mel-tree-ze. The ze is like the ze from zen. Also, extra chappie tomorrow.

 Volume 4 - 1

    olume 4 Chapter 1: Reunion 1

    TL Note: Please note that this chapter was split by the author himself.

    This is also the extra chapter for the week, so a huge thanks to all the donors for making this chapter possible.

    It¡¯s already been three years since Ryouma parted with the duke¡¯s family at Gimuru, and approximately two years since Ryouma retrieved his inheritance.

    It was on the morning of such a day, that a carriage departed from the gates of the town of Kereban that was a few days¡¯ distance from Gimuru. Within the carriage were the figures of six people. One was an old man who worked as the coachman, while the other five were young girls of marriageable age.

    The coachman was the butler of the Jamil Household, Sebasu. And the ones inside the carriage were the daughter of the Jamil Household, Elialia Jamil and her friend and ssmate, Miyabi Saionji. Also within the carriage were the eldest daughter of a count, Michelle Willdan, the knight and eldest daughter of a baron, Riera Clifford, and the magic tool craftsman apprentice, Kanan Shuza.

    Dressed in inconspicuous clothing, these five young girls have left the capital, and have been travelling with Sebasu-san on a carefree trip.

    ¡°It won¡¯t be long till the city of Gimuru.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Right~¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°If everything goes well, we¡¯ll be there within 2 days.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to seeing the matches being held at the arena.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°As for me, I¡¯m most interested in Elia and Miyabi¡¯s friend.¡± [Kanan]

    These five young girls made use of the academy¡¯s extended leave to go on a trip. And are now happily talking about the things they are looking forward to in Gimuru. The reason behind choosing their destination as Gimuru is partly because of Elia¡¯s promised reunion with Ryouma. However, that¡¯s not the only reason they¡¯re going to Gimuru.

    In the past two years, thanks to the all the efforts of Gimuru¡¯s hired earth magicians and workers, Gimuru was able toplete the new town to the south where the arena is, making the ce much more lively than what it used to be. They, especially Riera who aims to be a knight, hope to see the matches of the many adventurers and people that take pride in their skills.

    Although this trip might be a carefree one, as three of the young girls are daughters of nobles, they are being apanied by the head butler of the Jamil Household, Sebasu, who acts both as their coachman and bodyguard. Of course, the young girls¡¯ parents had all given them their approval to go on this trip too.

    Some timeter as the carriage continued to proceed toward their destination, Elia looked out the window. As she gazed at the scenery outside, she muttered, saying

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard rumors of bandits attacking while on the road, but I can¡¯t feel even an inkling of such presence.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Gimuru has gotten poprtely, causing the tourists and merchants to increase. Because of that the number of bandits have also increased. However, Gimuru isn¡¯t one to take that lying down. In order to deal with them, Gimuru put up requests against the bandits with rtively highpensation. As soon as the rumors circte, the adventurers gather, and the bandits are dealt with. But in the unlikely situation that we do happen upon some, please rest assured, I will be here to protect you youngdies.¡± [Sebasu]

    A first-ss magician such as Sebasu could easily deal with bandits while protecting five people. And even if the carriage were to be ruined, Sebasu could still run away with the group in tow with his dimension magic.

    ¡°Moreover, the path we¡¯re taking is safer than the other paths. There should be little chance of bandits appearing here.¡± [Sebasu]

    As he said that, he took the reins of the horse, guiding it toward one of the many roads leading to Gimuru. The path the carriage was headed for was the path that crossed over a mountain.

    ¡°Sebasu-dono, why is this path safe?¡± [Riera]

    Having been born to a family that has served as knights for many generations, Riera possessed a wealth of knowledge when it came to dealing with bandits. It should have beenmon sense that bandits preferred the mountain roads, where they could lie in wait at an opportune ce for some unknowing prey. She could not understand why Sebasu would judge the road they were taking to be safe.

    At Riera¡¯s question, even the other four couldn¡¯t help but pay attention to Sebasu.

    ¡°This is something I happened to overhear at Kereban, but apparently, there¡¯s an adventurer that¡¯s been frequenting this roadtely. He goes around subjugating the bandits even without receiving a prior request. Moreover, he makes sure to deal with all of the bandits, not leaving even a single one untouched. Such actions have apparently stricken fear into the hearts of the bandits, causing most of them to stay clear of this road.¡± [Sebasu]

    When the five girls heard that, they were able to understand. Afterwards, they began to talk amongst themselves again. As they did, Sebasu happily watched over them as he drove the carriage.

    As their carriage continued through the mountainous road, they passed through other carriages, and even the travelers that were resting by the road. When noon came, the girls had to stop their carriage as well in order to rest and have lunch.. As they ate, they talked about the people passing by.

    ¡°This road sure has a lot of people passing through it, huh?¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°I know right? They¡¯re probably gatherin¡¯ here caused they heard that the road¡¯s safe.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Because of that rumor?¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Most likely. Besides, with this many people passing through here, it won¡¯t be so easy for the bandits to attack either. Well... being safe is nice and all, but I¡¯m a bit worried about the lodging once we get to the next town.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°The next town¡¯s not that big either too. It¡¯d probably be better if we hurry, huh?¡± [Riera]

    ¡°I don¡¯t think hurrying now would make a difference though.¡± [Michelle]

    They ate like that as they talked amongst themselves. When they finished eating, they began to move again. And fortunately, they were able to make it to the town, before the sun had set.

    This town is called Mek. It¡¯s mostly just a stopover town for people to rest while on their way to Gimuru. And as it¡¯s only a day¡¯s distance from Kereban, a lot of people heading to Gimuru drop by.

    It was on this town that a problem appeared.

    ¡°My deepest apologies, but there are no longer any free rooms...¡± [Clerk]

    ¡°I see...¡± [Elia]

    The six left the inn that refused them. Just as they had feared, they weren¡¯t able to get an inn.

    This vige is an inn town, so there¡¯re many inns in it. But at the same time, there are also a lot of people heading for Gimuru. Moreover, that already overwhelming number was further increased because of the rumor that¡¯s been circting. There are some new inns being built, to allow the town to amodate more people, but unfortunately, they aren¡¯t done yet. As a result, the town¡¯s inns are being constantly filled with people.

    If the three daughters of noble lineage were to announce their presence, it would be possible to forcibly take some rooms, but their personal values wouldn¡¯t let them do that. Because of that, they had no choice but to go around to look for an inn. In the end, they were refused, and they finally had no choice but to sleep inside Sebasu¡¯s Dimension Home.

    Because they gave up on staying at an inn, the girls weren¡¯t able to experience one of the joys of travelling which was to stay at the inn of thend they are visiting. So instead, they went around to see the gorgeously decorated lively town, window-shopped at a souvenir store, and when they¡¯d whetted their appetite enough, they went to eat supper.

    ¡°Does this town have any specialty?¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°There seems to be a lot of delicious restaurants.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°But because there¡¯s plenty of delicious restaurants, it bes a dilemma which one to go to.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Then in that case, I¡¯ll go and ask.¡± [Kanan]

    As Kanan said that, she went to a nearby shop¡¯s clerk, and she began her inquiries. She came back after a while.

    ¡°I got some info~. There¡¯s a bar near the west gate of this town called ¡°Woodsman.¡± There¡¯s also a restaurant with delicious cooking at the east gate at a restaurant called ¡°Tereshi Diner¡±. And then if we want to eat a variety of foods, the clerk said to go to the northern part of the town as there¡¯re many carts gathered there.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Regardless how delicious the cooking may be, it¡¯d be better not to go to the bar.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°It¡¯ll be a pain if we get caught up with some weird guy after all.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°So that leaves the carts or Tereshi Diner.¡± [Riera]

    There, Elia asked Kanan this.

    ¡°I wonder what kind of food the cars serve.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Ah~...... It¡¯s because Elia¡¯s ady after all.¡± [Kanan]

    As Kanan said that, Riera began exining.

    ¡°They generally have a lot of food on stick. There¡¯re also plenty of soups and drinks. And then, there¡¯re also ces that properly serve food. And even if the disdh is the same, the taste can change depending on the store. A good cart can provide really delicious food.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Oh? Riera, have you gone to carts before?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°I don¡¯t go that much, but before I enrolled into the academy, my dad sometimes took me. Dad says it¡¯s convenient to eat at those sort of ces because it makes it possible for him to have an honest conversation with his subordinates, so because of that, he frequents the food carts.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it its.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Since Elia doesn¡¯t seem to have any experience with the food carts, how about we eat there?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°If everyone¡¯s alright with it, then please.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°I¡¯m fine with it! It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve gotten to eat from a food cart.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°I¡¯m alright with the food carts too, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯ll be enough to have our fill.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Then in that case, we can go there to taste some food from the carts. Then if that¡¯s not enough, we can just go eat at a proper restaurant.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Perfect! As long as we pay attention to the amount we order, there should be no problem.¡± [Elia]

    Like this, the girls headed for the northern part of the town where the carts were gathered.

    With Kanan in the lead, the girls headed for the area where the carts were gathered. When they got there, they were greeted by arge, rectangr za that ran along the town¡¯s outer walls.

    The za of the town can be entered through the side road from the main street. Meeting the people entering from the side road are the over 40 carts lined up. There are many customers going around between the carts and the side street. With the hustling and bustling and enthusiasm all together the atmosphere area was like that of a festival¡¯s.

    ¡°There are so many people.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°I haven¡¯t gone to food carts all that much with my dad, but from what I¡¯ve heard, one of the joys of eating at food carts is finding a delicious one amongst all the rabble. With this many carts, there¡¯s bound to be one that¡¯s delicious.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Let¡¯s go and find a delicious ce ta eat at already.¡± [Miyabi]

    At Miyabi¡¯s words, the five of them went to take a look at the food in the carts. Meanwhile, Sebasu nonchntly made sure that there were no suspicious people around them.

    When they found something that caught their eye, the five of them went along with Sebasu-san toward that cart. At first, Elia couldn¡¯t calm down as she impatiently carried the skewered meat to her mouth, but after a while, she finally showed signs of getting used to it.

    When everyone had their fill, Michelle said this.

    ¡°Hmm... I think I¡¯ll finish after one or two more. As expected, we won¡¯t be able to go see all the carts.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°I think I¡¯ll do the same.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Right... then what should we eat? We¡¯ve already eaten all sorts of skewered food, so...¡± [Elia]

    ¡°I¡¯d like to eat something that fills me up more.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Then in that case, how about that cart over there?¡± [Sebasu]

    As Sebasu said that, he pointed toward a cart with a long queue waiting on it. As the cart was hidden by the crowd of people, the six of them couldn¡¯t see the cart. However, there was a sign that was raised up high where the food being sold was written.

    ¡°Slime Den Restaurant, special meat buns?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°From the town of Gimuru... I think that might be...¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s the name of Ryouma-sama¡¯s store.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°By Ryouma, you mean Elia¡¯s friend, right?¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Yes. Some time ago he mentioned in his letter that he had employed someone whom he turned into a head chef and opened a store with... But I didn¡¯t know that it was a cart.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think the store¡¯s name might just be an imitation?¡± [Kanan]

    The possibility that Kanan mentioned does exist, but Sebasu promptly denied it.

    ¡°That¡¯s genuine. It¡¯s most likely Ryouma-sama¡¯s cart. I also haven¡¯t heard anything about Ryouma-sama¡¯s cart, but he probably came here to spread word about his store.¡± [Sebasu]

    The papers for a cart can easily be done. Moreover, finding a ce for one won¡¯t be hard either. Because of that, it¡¯s not strange to have just one or two cooks operating one. Moreover, by spreading word of his own store to all these people heading that are heading toward Gimuru, the possibility that a lot of people mighte to his store shouldn¡¯t be hard to imagine.

    Hearing that, the five understood. In that case, the next problem would be the taste.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of that meat bun dish he¡¯s talking about. What kind of cooking is it?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°It¡¯s seasoned grilled meat mixed with all sorts of ingredients and then packed in a bread. However, the bread used ispletely different from a normal bread. The bread used is made not by frying, but by steaming, so it¡¯s extremely soft. And with the juice of the meat permeating into the bread, the taste of the ingredients be superb. I¡¯ve had the pleasure of eating it once, and I have to say, it was absolutely delicious.¡± [Sebasu]

    When Sebasu answered Riera¡¯s question, everyone suddenly became interested in the meat buns.

    ¡°It kind of sounds delicious.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Shall we go try it? We¡¯ll be meeting himter, so it¡¯ll also serve as a good topic for conversation.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Still, the line¡¯s pretty darn long...¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Moreover, there also seems to be a limit on how much one can buy.¡± [Michelle]

    On the store¡¯s sign was pasted: only two per person. This is to spread the store¡¯s meat buns to everyone, please cooperate.

    ¡°Just two, huh? Then I guess I¡¯ll go buy some dessert somewhere. Can you guys buy my portion too? Of course, I¡¯ll buy dessert for everyone.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°I¡¯ll lend ya a helping hand. Carryin¡¯ six people¡¯s worth of food¡¯s bound to be a handful, right?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Then in that case, I¡¯lle along too. Riera-sama, please take care of our family¡¯s youngdy.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°Leave it to me.¡± [Riera]

    Like this, Michelle, Miyabi, and Sebasu left to buy dessert. The ones left in that ce were Riera, Elialia, and Kanan. They were lined up at the end of the queue.

    Riera felt something amiss when Sebasu chose to leave Elia, whoe he was supposed to protect the most, but her thoughts were interrupted when the other two called out to her.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Riera?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Keep going. The queue¡¯s unexpectedly fast, so if you stop, we¡¯ll be a bother.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°A, Ah... Right.¡± [Riera]

    What Riera was pondering about was actually what would happen if a situation where she can¡¯t handle urs. But changing her way of thinking, Riera followed the line. Just as Kanan had mentioned, the line was actually quite fast. At this rate, it shouldn¡¯t be long before it bes their turn.

    The three waited for a while, then their turn finally came. The cart was being operated by two ck-haired men who cooked the food and served the customers. The two had the exdact same face and appearance, so they were clearly twins. With Riera in the lead, the three of them closed in to the clerk. The clerk called out to them.

    ¡°Wee!¡± [Clerk]

    ¡°Six meat buns. There¡¯s three of us.¡± [Riera]

    Said Riera as she ordered the meat buns. But as the clerk was about to respond, the clerk suddenly stopped mid-speech.

    ¡°Unders¨C¨C¨C¨C¡° [Clerk]

    Before Riera, who became wary of the clerk, could say something, the clerk muttered.

    ¡°¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨CElia?¡± [Clerk]

    When the three heard that, they were more or less surprised, but the one surprised the most was the one whose name was called, Elia. When Elia took a peek at the clerk who called her name, she felt that it was a face she had seen before.

    As she tried to recall, she spoke the name of the person that came up in her thoughts.

    ¡°Ryouma-san?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°So it really is Elia! It¡¯s been a while!¡± [Ryouma]

    Elia nodded her head to confirm the clerk¡¯s, Ryouma¡¯s, words. And then she smiled.

    These two have been keeping in touch with each other through their letters, but letters aren¡¯t able to show one another their appearances. Moreover, they were both going through a period of growing up, so after not having met for three years, they had grown up, and weren¡¯t able to recognize each other with just a nce.

    The both of them were tallerpared to three years ago. Elia had grown to around 160cm, while Ryouma was half a head taller. And more than anything, Elia¡¯s body was be much more rounded like a woman¡¯s, while Ryouma wasn¡¯t fat by any means, he was body is built with muscles. It can¡¯t be helped that neither of them were able to recognize each other.

    Although they were surprised at the sudden reunion, Ryouma and Elia began talking to each other while her friends were left dumbfounded at the realization that the rumored friend was actually the man before them. But then, a man¡¯s voice sounded out from behind them.

    ¡°Hey, hurry up¨C¨C¡° [Man]

    ¡°Ah, yes!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°We can¡¯t talk here, huh?¡± [Elia]

    As Ryouma filled the paper bag with meat buns, he asked Elia.

    ¡°Elia, where are you staying at today?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Actually, we couldn¡¯t find an inn because of all the people. So we¡¯ll be staying at Sebasu¡¯s Dimension Home instead.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Oh... I¡¯m going to close soon, so if you don¡¯t mind, how about we meetter?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes, let¡¯s. But where...¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Let¡¯s meet at the Tereshi Diner to the east of this town. That restaurant¡¯s being run by a pair of now married, former adventurers, so it¡¯s safe.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll see you then.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Thank you for your patronage. Next customer!¡± [Ryouma]

    After finishing their quick exchange, Elia and her friends left Ryouma¡¯s cart. And just as they left, Michelle and the others who had gone to buy desserts arrived. Elia and the others exined to them what had just happened at the cart.

    After eating the meat buns and the desserts, the six of them all gathered at the Tereshi Diner to meet with Ryouma. Speaking of which, the meat buns were a huge sess.

 Volume 4 - 2

    Volume 4 Chapter 2: Reunion 2

    The Tereshi Diner was a big restaurant, so the travelers that came to this city would often eat and drink there. At a corner of that restaurant¡¯s warm atmosphere were Elia and the others, chatting as they enjoyed their tea.

    ¡°So Sebasu, did you know that Ryouma-san was here?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°I did hear that Ryouma-sama has gone through the mountainous road many times, but I wasn¡¯t aware that he would have his cart open in this town today.¡± [Sebasu]

    At that time, Sebasu saw Ryouma¡¯s figure working within the cart through the opening between the people lined up. It was there, that he first realized that Ryouma was in town.

    Incidentally, the reason Ryouma was in this town was because Elia had once sent him a letter, informing him that she would use this path to head to Gimuru. Because of that, Ryouma decided to subjugate the bandits in the area. Him deciding to open a cart in this town came after that.

    The rumored person they heard of this afternoon is none other but Ryouma. Sebasu was already aware of that. When Elia found out that he knew, sheined and told him that he should have told her. Right around that time though, Ryouma entered the store. Promptly, he was brought to where the girls were sitting, and the clerk called the girls attention.

    ¡°Excuse me. I¡¯ve brought yourpanion.¡± [Clerk]

    ¡°Sorry, I waste.¡± [Ryouma]

    After a quick bow, Ryouma called out to E.

    ¡°Elia, it¡¯s been a while. I did mention it just a while ago, but it¡¯s great to see you¡¯re doing well.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Indeed. It really has been a while, hasn¡¯t it? Ryouma-san, are you doing well too?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°I did mention it in the letters, but yes... I¡¯m doing fine. By the way, these people are your...?¡± [Ryouma]

    After Elia smiled at Ryouma, he turned to look toward the other girls. The one who received his gaze was Miyabi, who waved her hand.

    ¡°Ryouma-han, long time no see. D¡¯ya still remember me?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Miyabi-san, right? Long time no see too. Of course, I remember you.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°So ya remembered me, huh? Ta tell ya the truth, I was sort of wonderin¡¯ what I should do if ya didn¡¯t.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, forgetting you won¡¯t be possible, since the impression you left was quite strong.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°The way ya talk makes me wonder exactly how it is you¡¯re remembering me, but eh, whatever. That aside, how long are ya nning ta keep on standing? Take a sit.¡± [Miyabi]

    Having been told that, Ryouma took a seat, then he began his introductions to Michelle, Riera, and Kanan.

    ¡°My name is Ryouma Takebayashi. I believe the two of you have already seen me back there in the cart, but in any case, I am the owner of the meat bun selling cart and the restaurant, Slime Den Restaurant at Gimuru. But considering that the management is mostly taken care of by the head chef, I suppose it might be better to refer to me as an investor instead. I normally spend my days at home, researching and manufacturing things. When I¡¯m not, I¡¯m out gathering materials and ingredients for my research while carrying out adventurer work. In any case, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you all.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°A pleasure to meet you as well. I am Michelle Willdan. I¡¯m the eldest daughter of the Willdan Household, but please refer to me as Michelle. My hobby lies in magic formation research.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°So Michelle-san is a schr of Magic Formations.¡± [Ryouma]

    When Michelle heard Ryouma say that, her eyes sparkled.

    ¡°Are you familiar with magic formations!?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°I know a little from my grandmother, but it¡¯s nothing more than a little introduction.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°As Magic Formations is unfortunately a study that¡¯s widely unpopr, there are few people that know of its existence... Which is why I¡¯m so happy to know that I have some to talk about it with now, Ryouma-kun!¡± [Michelle]

    As Michelle began to grow excited, Riera remonstrated her.

    ¡°Calm down, Michelle. We haven¡¯t finished introducing ourselves yet.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Oh, sorry, please excuse me.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Seriously... I¡¯m sorry, Michelle has a tendency to sometimes prattle on like this.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Please don¡¯t mind it. There are many people like her amongst my acquaintances, so if anything, it¡¯s actually rxing.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Thank you.¡± [Riera]

    Said Riera as she sighed, then as her expression stiffened, she introduced herself.

    ¡°Please pardon my dyed introduction. I am Riera Clifford. There¡¯s no need to be polite with me either. So please just call me Riera. In the future, I n to be a knight... By the way, a while ago, you mentioned that you did adventurer work. May I know what rank you are?¡± [Riera]

    ¡°My rank? It¡¯s C.¡± [Ryouma]

    After Ryouma said that, Riera thought to herself for a bit, then she said this.

    ¡°I see... If you don¡¯t mind, I would like to have a duel with you should the opportunity present itself. I want to know my current strength.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°If you¡¯re fine with me, then anytime. There is a good ce for that very purpose in Gimuru after all.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Thank you.¡± [Riera]

    Riera bowed, and the next one, Kanan, spoke.

    ¡°Next up is me. Name¡¯s Kanan Shuza. My family¡¯s been working as magic tools craftsmen for generations. So I¡¯m studying both as a magic tools craftsman and as a jeweler. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you!¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you as well.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°By the way, I heard you mention just a while ago that you manufacture things. Can I know exactly what it is you make?¡± [Kanan]

    Ryouma appeared to be a little troubled as he answered Kanan¡¯s question.

    ¡°If I were to put it briefly, a lot. Medicines, smithing, woodworks. I also make kitchenware such as pots and knives, and even the steaming baskets I used in the cart from before. I make weapons too, but I¡¯m usually making things that are needed for daily life or farming tools... If there¡¯s anything I specialize in in particr, then I guess it¡¯s medicine and magic staves.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You really do make a lot. Ah, as for me, I specialize in grinding jewelry.¡± [Kanan]

    Hearing that, Ryouma asked.

    ¡°Kanan-san, do you make jewels right from the grinding stage? A jeweler I know buys his from a specialist that specializes in grinding, which he then uses to create his ornaments.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°There are people like that, but the Shuza Family works from the grinding stage to the engraving stage. Because of that members of our family are able to create products all on their own. Part of the reason is because of the necessity in ensuring that the materials used arepatible for magic tool purposes, but it¡¯s mostly because our family¡¯s made up of stubborn craftsmen who don¡¯t want others interfering with their work. Of course, there are also cases where several people work together to make a single product, but that only really happens between a pupil and a master that¡¯s been together for a long time. We don¡¯t really buy jewels from external sources.¡± [Kanan]

    It was in this way that the introductions concluded, and Ryouma and the others got to know each other. There, Ryouma finally ordered. And Michelle asked him a question.

    ¡°Do you frequent this store?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Yes, actually. I usually have my meals at this restaurant whenever I drop by this town. At first, I was nning on having the leftovers of the cart for supper, but since nothing would be left for met to eat, I decided to eat out instead.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Well, that meat bun really was delicious after all. Still... you seem to be famous here for some reason, and not just because you¡¯re a regr or anything. Is there something going on?¡± [Michelle]

    This is actually something that the others have also been itching to ask.

    At first, they thought it would be rude to just enter the store without ordering anything, so they figured they should order something light while waiting. But when they entered the store, and mentioned they were waiting for Ryouma, the female clerk they were talking to realized that they had already eaten some meat buns from the cart, and she told them that they didn¡¯t have to forcefully order something if they¡¯re only waiting for Ryouma.

    It shouldn¡¯t be strange to see customers who take up seats without ordering to be a nuisance, but despite that, no one saw them as a bother.

    ¡°It¡¯s probably because I order a lot ande here frequently. Moreover, I also helped out a lot of times with the expansion of the town. I used my earth magic to create the area they are building the new lodging on now, you see? Also, each time I woulde here, I would order food enough for 10 persons¡¯ portion.¡± [Ryouma]

    Hearing that, not only Michelle, but even Sebasu and the others were shocked.

    ¡°10 peoples¡¯ portions every time?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Ryouma-san, did you always eat that much?¡± [Elia]

    Having been asked like that, Ryouma exined himself.

    ¡°No. I eat the same as a normal person. A single person¡¯s serving or maybe two at most. The one eating the remaining food is... I think the three of you who dropped by the cart might have noticed it, but there is another person working at the cart alongside me. The one who eats a lot is that.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°...There was another person?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°There was. But he was working by the cookware at the back, so he didn¡¯t stand out.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°I saw him too. That guy had the same face as Ryouma. Is he your twin?¡± [Kanan]

    Ryouma chuckled when he heard Kanan¡¯s words.

    ¡°We¡¯re not twins. Actually, he¡¯s not even human.¡± [Ryouma]

    Everyone else except for Sebasu was shocked. Sebasu had met Ryouma many times in these past two years, so he already had a good grasp of the situation.

    ¡°He¡¯s actually a slime.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°A slime?¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°It¡¯s a mimic slime, a slime with the ability to mimic. I have it mimic my appearance to help out with the cart whenever I put it up. And instead of a sry, I feed it a lot. It may look like a human, but it¡¯s really a slime deep inside, so its digestion is really fast.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°So that¡¯s why you¡¯re ordering 10 people¡¯s portion every time...¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°They even gave us some ¡®service¡¯ thanks to that.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯m an important customer. Besides the people of this shop are all good people and really adaptable.¡±

    As Ryouma said that, the food finally came. The waiters lined them up before Ryouma, and Ryouma paid them in chips. Then he began to eat. As he was eating, he asked something that bothered him while they were introducing themselves.

    ¡°By the way, why is Sebasu-san the only escort? Is that really ok?¡± [Ryouma]

    The one who answered that question first was Michelle. She threw her chest out as she said.

    ¡°It¡¯s true that there are nobles who like to bring escorts and helpers in groups whenever they travel, but I hate that sort of stuff. Besides, my mom is a researcher of medicine, and my dad¡¯s a researcher in the field of magic formations, so there¡¯re plenty of times when they go out to gather ingredients and test out their magic. Because of that, I was also advised to put importance on field work. ordingly, I normally go out by myself. Besides, Sebasu-san is here too, so there shouldn¡¯t be any problems.¡± [Michelle]

    The next one who answered was Riera.

    ¡°I might be a noble, but I was still born to a knight family. If it¡¯s just one or two, I¡¯m fairly sure I can protect myself. Besides, if anyone from my family were to ask for escorts when going out, my family would scold them saying, ¡°If you¡¯re aiming for a knight, then you shouldn¡¯t be on the side of the one¡¯s being protected, but on the side of the one¡¯s protecting! Don¡¯t be na?ve!¡±¡± [Riera]

    Riera smiled as she said that. Following after her, Kanan spoke next.

    ¡°Me and Miyabi aren¡¯t nobles to begin with, so we never had any escorts from the start. Even without escorts, a girl can still travel safely as long as she pays to ride a stagecoach. Unless you¡¯re carrying a lot of money, or carrying something valuable, or being target by someone, amoner wouldn¡¯t really bother hiring an escort.¡± [Kanan]

    Hearing their replies, Ryouma was able to understand. After that, they spoke about a lot of things such as when Elia and Ryouma first met or when Elia and the other girls first met. Ryouma was eating while they were talking, so he was mostly just listening.

    Around the time when Ryouma finally finished eating, they were a lot more familiar with each other, and could speak their thoughts unreservedly. It was then that they decided to travel together to Gimuru tomorrow.

    ¡°We¡¯ll see you tomorrow. Let¡¯s meet by the east gate.¡± [Elia]

    Ryouma and the others left the store. Then the girls¡¯ group randomly picked a ce, opened the Dimension Home, entered it, and then passed the night.

    Within Sebasu¡¯s Dimension Home that was wonderfully partitioned with a partition screen, inside a room where five beds were lined up, were five girls talking amongst themselves.

    ¡°Who would¡¯ve thought we¡¯d actually meet with the rumored Ryouma-kun in this town? Although we did n to say hi once we got to Gimuru, it seems our ns were pushed forward a bit...Well, what do you all think?¡± [Michelle]

    As Michelle said that, Riera and Kanan began to think. Elia and Miyabi waited for them to talk.

    They have heard all sorts of things about Ryouma from Elia and Miyabi, who would sometimes talk about him. But the things they heard were things were all unbelievable things such as a boy who was a year younger than them but could cast intermediate dimension magic or someone who could kill D Rank magical beasts barehanded. This caused Michelle, Riera , and Kanan unable to decide whether what they were hearing was true or not.

    It¡¯s not that they suspected Elia and Miyabi to be lying. It¡¯s just that the stories they heard were really hard to believe. Because of that they made it one of their goals in this trip to meet Ryouma in person.

    Kanan was the first to speak.

    ¡°How to put it... He feels like a normal older brother. The type that could be seen anywhere... I can¡¯t see him being as strong as the stories say.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°But his body seems to be well-built. He mentioned being a C Rank adventurer, so he should have at least that much strength. In any case, I like how he didn¡¯t look at us with perverted eyes.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°His eyes aside, I¡¯m more interested in his research rather than whether he¡¯s strong or not, but I couldn¡¯t ask him about it at all today... That slime of his sure surprised me though. It¡¯s my first time knowing about a slime that could be anything it eats. If it eats a goblin, it will be a goblin. If it eats a dragon, then it can turn into a dragon.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°He called it a mimic slime, right?¡± [Elia]

    The conversation would sometimes stray, but their impression of Ryouma wasn¡¯t bad.

    The three who hadn¡¯t met Ryouma until now, especially for Riera who had only heard of rumors of a queer and unknown young man, were wary of him. But after their first meeting, they were at least able to understand that he didn¡¯t seem to be a dangerous person, allowing them to rx their guard.

    Even though it should have been a given that Ryouma wouldn¡¯t be a dangerous person as he only came to know Elia thanks to her ducal family acknowledging him, it could be said that Riera having her guard up is due to how serious she was and how strong her feelings were for her friends.

    In Michelle¡¯s case, she didn¡¯t¡¯ think of Ryouma as anyone dangerous at all. The only thoughts she had regarding Ryouma was her interest in him as a researcher. From what she¡¯s heard, Ryouma¡¯s an intellectual. Moreover, the chances of him being an alchemist is high. Because of that she can¡¯t help but be restless, eagerly hoping to have a chance to talk with him about magic formation research.

    She may not have any proof that he¡¯s an alchemist, but from what she knows, Ryouma is the most mysterious person around Elia. As Elia¡¯s friend... As a researcher... There were many reasons why she wanted to meet him. And now that she¡¯s able to meet him, she can¡¯t help but rack her head, trying to think of a way to bring alchemy up in a conversation.

    As for Kanan, she didn¡¯t hold any special thoughts regarding Ryouma, and was mostly interested in him for being a friend¡¯s friend. Because of that, she never had any preconceptions or bias when they met.

    Like this, the girls continued to talk about their impressions until the night grewte. When they reached a point where they could stop, they went to sleep, and retired for the day.

 Volume 4 - 3

    TL Note: Here¡¯s another extra chapter. Thanks for all those who donated. GK tomorrow btw, due to some assignments that need to be passed early morning tomorrow.

    Terms:

    Extended leave -> Vacation.

    Extra Chapters:

    Also, remaining extra chapters will be posted this week. So this week will be another four chapter week.

    Volume 4 Chapter 3: The Road to Gimuru 1

    The Next Day

    On a bright and clear day, Ryouma met up with Elia¡¯s group by the east gate, and left the town. Sebasu then took out a covered wagon and horse from his Dimension Home. And since Elia¡¯s rimel birds were out, Ryouma took his as well from his Dimension Home.

    When he did, the rimel birds seemed to recall that they were all from the same flock, and starting from the nightmare and phantom rimel birds, the other rimel birds followed, and they all flew through the skies together.

    ¡°Seventeen rimel birds flying sure stands out...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°They seem to be having fun, so just let them have their way for now. Rather than that, Ryouma-san, you seem to have two more rimel birds than before.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Yeah, justst year the rimel birds suddenlyid some eggs. That really took me by surprise. How about yours?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°All my rimel birds are female.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Oh, I guess it can¡¯t be helped then.¡± [Ryouma]

    The two continued to chat as they watched the rimel birds until the carriage was ready to depart. Just like yesterday, Sebasu took the role of the coachman while two sat on the sides and three sat on the front and backseats. They sat facing each other. Ryouma¡¯s seat was situated the furthest back as it also doubled as a lookout for the rear of the carriage.

    The carriage drove, and the rimel birds meandered. They followed the carriage from the skies, and from time to time, they would perch themselves over the carriage¡¯s roof.

    Inside the carriage, Ryouma took out the ne that Elia asked him to keep three years ago. He couldn¡¯t give it back to her yesterday due to therge number of people in the area. But now that they were alone, he could safely give it back.

    ¡°Elia, here¡¯s the ne you asked me to keep.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°So you brought it with you. Thank you.¡± [Elia]

    With a smile, Elia received the box containing the ne. Then she put it away in a small item box. After that she whispered to Sebasu, and had him take out two slimes from his Dimension Home.

    Those two slimes were none other than the heal slime and scavenger slime that Ryouma had lent Elia. As Elia hugged the two slimes, she made an expression that seemed somewhat lonely.

    ¡°These two kids have taken good care of me these past three years. Thank you for lending them to me.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°So you received these two from Ryouma too.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°The heal slime healed us whenever we got injured while training. It was really a great help. Thank you.¡± [Riera]

    As they said that, they began to caress the slimes. Ryouma fell into a deep thought upon seeing that.

    ¡°Ryouma-han?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°...Elia, if it¡¯s not too much trouble, could I have you continue raising those as your ve demons?¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma¡¯s words shocked Elia.

    ¡°I¡¯d be happy to, but... is it really alright?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Of course. Everyone seems to adore them, and I still have my own heal slimes. So how about keeping them as your own ve demons?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Thank you so much, Ryouma-san!¡± [Elia]

    Like a blooming flower, a smile was drawn on Elia¡¯s face, and Ryouma smiled in return. But because of this turn of event, the discussion was turned toward the heal slimes¡¯ magic.

    ¡°So Ryouma-han, I take it you want to gather all the magic using slimes?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Of course, but the journey will be long... I¡¯ve managed to gather some lower sses, middle sses, and even higher sses in these past three years, which all total to 12 different magic attributes. But from there, the slimes still continue to evolve into slimes that can use several magic attributes, and I still see new slimes here and there, so I don¡¯t know when I¡¯ll be able to gather all the slimes or whether I can even gather all the slime variations.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I think being able to gather 12 types is plenty amazing.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°What sort of slimes can use multiple magic attributes?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°For example...¡± [Ryouma]

    As he muttered that, he brought his hand near the floor of the carriage. When he did, the shadow cast by his hand began to wiggle. Then not long after, it began to stretch itself up, turning into a three-dimensional object. When the five girls saw that, they were scared out their wits, causing them to jump, and shaking the carriage.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. Please calm down.¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma picked the extended shadow, and let it ride over his hand. Then he stretched out his hand for the other to see.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for scaring you. This is one of the slimes that can use multiple magic elements, a shadow slime. It can use both dark magic and light magic. It specializes in in controlling shadows through thebined effect of the two elements, light and darkness. It also has the ability to move through shadows. Because of that, I normally have it lurking in the shadows as a bodyguard.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I-I see...¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°I didn¡¯t notice it at all.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°The shadow slimes seem to inhabit forests with plenty of magic power and dark ces. Like other magic-using slimes, they don¡¯t feed on normal food, and instead naturally absorb magic power while lurking within the shadows. Because of that, they¡¯re extremely hard to find. In my case, I was only able to find one by coincidence, and was able to immediately capture it. I don¡¯t think an opportunity to catch a second will ever present itself. But the shadow slime began increasing itself one at a time, and just recently, they managed to reach 10.¡± [Ryouma]

    They continued to talk about slimes after that, but as the trip was long, they also talked about other things.

    ¡°How long will your vacation be?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°About five months.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°That¡¯s long! Is it really that long!?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°When the academy was first founded, the vacation provided was only about two months, but the thing is there are also students who would take up to a month just getting back home. But in exchange for the long vacation, there¡¯s only one or two rest days at most in each week for three years.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°If it¡¯s like that, then isn¡¯t it too short?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°The facilities of the academy can be used freely, so self-study is possible. Also there are many who use their free time to work and get money to pay their school expenses. Moreover, there¡¯s an exam at the end of the long vacation based on the course one wishes to take, so considering that its preparation for that, it¡¯s not so bad.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°So it¡¯s like that...¡± [Ryouma]

    The group continued to talk of various things like this. When the carriage had begun to descend the mountainous road, Kanan, who was sitting facing Ryouma, stopped talking, and just stared at his face wordlessly. Ryouma grew concerned of that unmoving gaze of hers, so he decided to ask her.

    ¡°Kanan-san, is there something on my face.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That¡¯s not it, but... Do you mind if I touch your hair or your face for a bit?¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Eh? Ahh, well... I don¡¯t mind.¡± [Ryouma]

    Kanan¡¯s odd request caused Ryouma to tilt his head, but thinking a request of this level was no problem, he let her. When he did, Kanan immediately reached for Ryouma¡¯s face and hair.

    ¡°Excuse me...... Oh... Ohhh!¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°W-What is it!?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Kanan, what¡¯s the matter!?¡± [Miyabi]

    Startled with a mix of agitation, concern, and emotion, Miyabi raised her voice as she asked Kanan what was going on. In response, Kanan only turned her neck toward Miyabi as she said.

    ¡°Since yesterday, I¡¯ve been thinking that Ryouma¡¯s hair and skin are really pretty~ When I touched it, it was even better than I expected! Please teach me what methods you use!¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°My skin and hair?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Now that you mention it, he sure is a lot more attentive than our male ssmates,¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Sorry, let me touch ya lil¡¯ bit too...... You¡¯re right! His skin really is smooth!¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Right!? Craftsman normally end up with rough hands and dry skin, and yet your skin is like this! Please tell me why your skin is so pretty!¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Ahh, if it¡¯s that then...¡± [Ryouma]

    Hearing Kanan¡¯s girly words, Ryouma began to exin.

    ¡°It must be because of the soap I¡¯m using. I mentioned yesterday that I was make medicine, right?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You did.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°I studied medicine under my grandmother, but I wasn¡¯t able to learn everything. Right now, I¡¯m studying and researching on my own with the books I inherited from her. Because of that, I¡¯ve been making the medicines whose recipes were written down. Among those are the improved soap and the beauty lotion. My grandmother is a girl after all, so she researched that sort of medicine when she was young. If you¡¯d like, I could let you try it out.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Is that alright!?¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°So long as you let me know your thoughts, I don¡¯t mind presenting you some soap and lotion. I¡¯ve confirmed that they¡¯re safe to use, but the effects will vary depending on every person¡¯s skin. If you notice anything, please let me know immediately. Everyone else as well, if you all don¡¯t mind.¡± [Ryouma]

    I¡¯m not sure if the other four were also interested, but they modestly epted. Then around that time, the rimel birds suddenly began making amotion.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°It seems there¡¯s something nearby. Sebasu-san.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I don¡¯t sense any nearby humans or magical beasts.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°I¡¯ll take a look at the situation through the Rimel Birds.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Me too!¡± [Elia]

    Ryouma and Elia began to use Sensory Link to see through the rimel birds as they ordered them to search the surrounding area. Immediately, two rimel birds at the top of the carriage stood up, and flew. The image the rimel birds were seeing were then sent to Elia and Ryouma¡¯s minds. A few minutester after scouting ahead, Elia was able to confirm that there were 10 men wearing shoddy clothing and armor fighting against three magical beasts.

    ¡°That¡¯s...¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Did you find something?¡± [Riera]

    Elia¡¯s face stiffened at Riera¡¯s question.

    ¡°There are B Rank magical beasts ahead. Three ogres. They¡¯re currently in the middle of a battle.¡± [Elia]

    Those words sent the atmosphere within the carriage into a turmoil. The ogre may be a weak, B Rank magical beast, but that doesn¡¯t change the fact that it¡¯s a dangerous magical beast to them. So it¡¯s not strange at all for them to be so tense.

    But while the girls seemed to be in a panic, Ryouma, who had been ordering his rimel bird to fly quickly to see the situation, spoke.

    ¡°Everyone, please don¡¯t worry. Those ogres are Uncle Harold¡¯s... They¡¯re the ve demons of someone I know. I¡¯ve also confirmed the presence of my acquaintance, so I¡¯m not mistaken. From their clothing, the enemy seem to be bandits, so it¡¯s just a bandit subjugation request.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I¡¯ve also confirmed it.¡± [Elia]

    Hearing that, the tension immediately loosened. Then Riera asked how the situation was.

    ¡°Do they need assistance?¡± [Riera]

    ¡°There¡¯s an overwhelming gap in strength. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any need to worry about them.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°That¡¯s right. But the bandits that have run are headed here, so I¡¯ll just go out for a bit.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ah, wait!¡± [Kanan]

    As Ryouma said that, he jumped off the back of the carriage. Then ignoring Kanan¡¯s attempt to stop him, he ran off.

    Ryouma has already gone through this road many times, so he already had a good grasp of the bandits¡¯ escape routes. And considering, there¡¯s Sebasu and the rimel birds to protect the carriage, there probably won¡¯t be any problems. Ryouma ran to the ce he saw through the rimel birds.

    A minuteter, the running bandits¡¯ figures entered Ryouma¡¯s sight. At the same time, he also saw the man they were up against. Ryouma readied himself to break through.

    The bandits numbered 5, but it seems there were still some mening from behind them. As Ryouma confirmed that, he shortened the distance, and the battle between Ryouma and the bandits began¨C¨C¨C or at least that¡¯s what should¡¯ve happened.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to die, then...¡± [Bandit 1]

    ¡°Huh!?¡± [Bandit 2]

    ¡°Aniki!! Ugh!¡± [Bandit 3]

    ¡°Wh¨C!¡± [Bandit 4]

    ¡°...¡± [Bandit 5]

    But what happened instead couldn¡¯t even be called a fight. As Ryouma passed through them, he used his magic power-d fists to knock every single bandit out.

    Magic Battle Technique ¡®Sleep Fist¡¯

    By dding the fist with the poison magic, ¡®Sleep Shot¡¯, a kind of magic that shoots out a lump of magic power that causes one¡¯s foes¡¯ to faint, one is able to make his enemies sleep with magic and fighting techniques. This is a technique that Ryouma became able to use in these past two years, an anti-personal magic catered for arresting people. Depending on the situation, Ryouma also has the ¡®Paralyze Fist¡¯, which can paralyze people or the ¡®Poison Fist¡¯, which could worsen people¡¯s health.

    Ryouma struck a daunting pose as he towered over the unconscious bodies of the poor bandits. As he sent the shadow slimes to surrounding tree¡¯s shadows, he remained standing as he waited for the other bandits to reach him.

    When the other bandits saw their friends sleeping by Ryouma¡¯s feet, they stopped. But with three ogres behind them and a burly, old man dressed in a shirt a size smaller than he should be wearing, chasing after them as he beat the bandits that were too slow barehanded. The bandits didn¡¯t have the time to think, and they had no choice but to attack Ryouma. Their resistance, however, was futile. Some were faster, and some were slower. But such things didn¡¯t matter as they were all destined to reach the same end.

    Before them was Ryouma. Behind them were the ogres. And then by their sides were the shadow slimes, lurking. They were alreadypletely surrounded.

 Volume 4 - 4

    Volume 4 Chapter 4: The Road to Gimuru 2

    There were six others aside from the ogres and the bandits who saw Ryouma¡¯s one sided ughter that couldn¡¯t even be called a fight.

    ¡°Amazing. I don¡¯t know much about martial arts, but I can tell Ryouma-kun¡¯s really strong.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Can you really sum that up in such few words?¡± [Riera]

    ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s really anything else to say though.¡± [Michelle]

    From the girl¡¯s perspective, Ryouma¡¯s fight was nothing short of a performance.

    Above a bandit that ran to attack Ryouma with his one-handed sword, was a bandit that was sent flying by the ogres. The flying bandit flew past the running bandit as he approached Ryouma. Ryouma caught that bandit, then with a turn, Ryouma bashed the other bandit with that bandit.

    But at thest moment, the bandit managed to jump to the right, avoiding the other bandit in Ryouma¡¯s hand. Taking that opportunity, Ryouma extended his hand toward the opening of the bandit¡¯s one-handed sword. Then as Ryouma dropped the other bandit, he grasped the sword with his left hand, and as he swept his right hand, he entered into his opponent¡¯s chest. Finally, with an elbow strike from his right to the chin of the bandit, he knocked him unconscious.

    At that moment, another bandit came attacking at him. Ryouma averted the tip of that bandit¡¯s sword that came piercing at him with his right hand. Then continuing with that momentum, he grabbed the bandit¡¯s wrist and arm, and with a karate chop, he knocked a second, unconscious.

    But just as Ryouma finished knocking down a second, at nearly the same time, a bandit swung his great sword down behind Ryouma. Ryouma immediately thrusted the unconsciouss bandit away, then as he turned his body, he dodged the great sword, and at the same time, hended a backhand blow on the bandit¡¯s chin.

    However, the bandit was able to barely dodge the backhand blow. In no time at all, however, Ryouma stepped in with his left foot, and sent a kick flying from his right leg. The kicknded itself onto the hands carrying the great sword, forcing the bandit to release his weapon as it grazed past his face.

    But at the same time, something had hit the bandit¡¯s stomach. The very same moment Ryouma sent a kick flying toward the bandit, he chantlessly casted earth needle, attacking the bandits from a ce hidden by the shadow of his feet.

    The earth needle couldn¡¯t pierce through the armor, but it imparted a shock no different from a pir crashing into a body. The strength of that force momentarily caused the bandit to nk out, giving Ryouma time to pull back his leg. Then with a fist to the brow, Ryouma knocked his third one down.

    All these took ce within only a span of a few seconds. Ryouma¡¯s precise movements that hadn¡¯t any unnecessary moves in it made short work of the bandits. Were this the arena, Ryouma might just be used of match fixing. That¡¯s how one-sided the fight was. But what the bandits did next left Elia and the others puzzled.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Cleaner! Run!!¡± [Bandit 1]

    ¡°You think I¡¯ll let myself be caught here!? Damnit!!¡± [Bandit 2]

    ¡°I won¡¯t attack anyone anymore! Please let me go!!¡± [Bandit 3]

    For some reason, the bandits suddenly started panicking. Ryouma hadn¡¯t used any magic that attacked one¡¯s mind, and yet all these people were clearly mentally affected.

    Those bandits were also beaten up. After everything ended, they checked whether there were still any survivors left along with the recovery of the dead bandits and the bandits that were still alive. While they were doing that, Elia and the others decided to stop the carriage, and take a break there.

    ¡°Sebasu, why are those people scared of Ryouma-san?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°And Ryouma-kun was also making a sad face.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°It¡¯s a long story, so cutting it short... Everything started due to Ryouma¡¯s bandit subjugation during his journey.¡± [Sebasu]

    In the past, Ryouma happened upon 10 bandits whom he subjugated.

    Those bandits were affiliated with the Dark Guild. They were the leaders of a small branch of a fairlyrge bandit organization who came out to show off the strength of their tiny branch as well as give some orders.

    Due to having their leaders arrested, the bandit organization attacked Ryouma¡¯s house in revenge, but they were instead done in. Most of the bandits were arrested, but they were turned into guinea pigs for Ryouma¡¯s new medicines.

    Other bandits came to take revenge, but Ryouma, starting to get fed up with them, decided to leave an opening to let them escape, and reveal their home base. But what Ryouma ended up finding wasn¡¯t the home base of the bandits, but rather the home base of a branch of the Dark Guild.

    Thinking it would be foolish to make a move alone, Ryouma decided to contact the duke¡¯s household. Ryouma left the matter to the duke¡¯s household, but from the time Ryouma contacted the household to the time the branch of the Dark Guild was destroyed, the things Ryouma had done were exaggerated. Rumors amongst the bandits began to circte, saying malicious things such as Ryouma capturing bandits and inflicting excruciating pain upon them, or Ryouma slowly torturing people as he beat them and healed them to death.

    ¡°And because of that, the bandits are now scared out of their wits of him, huh?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Yes. Due to a rumor that¡¯s quite different from the truth.¡± [Sebasu]

    While it¡¯s true Ryouma is still using bandit test subjects to this day to test his medicines on, he first tests the medicine on goblins to distinguish which of his potions are poison and which are not. He checks whether there any strong side effects, so he doesn¡¯t try out medicines on humans aside from those that are generally safe.

    Because of that, there were rarely any cases of someone dying due to his experiments. The bare necessities (water, food... etc.) were provided, there were no unnecessary violence either, and in order to hand them over healthy to the guards of Gimuru, Ryouma¡¯s been dealing with the bandits who aimed for his life, humanely. But unfortunately, the rumors turned everything upside down.

    ¡°Thanks to Ryouma-sama, the bandits around Gimuru had been reduced for a period, and even the people who tried to bring prohibited goods into the arena were lessened. We¡¯re really grateful for it, but it seems Ryouma-sama¡¯s somewhat bothered whenever he sees the bandits so scared of him.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°Seeing someone so scared of you just from seeing you... It probably can¡¯t be helped.¡± [Kanan]

    Here, Michelle asked Riera.

    ¡°By the way, Riera. You asked for a match yesterday from Ryouma, right? What are you gonna do now?¡± [Michelle]

    Riera made a troubled face for a moment, but not long after, she recovered herself, and calmly answered with resolve.

    ¡°Mn... No, there¡¯s no problem. I¡¯m not fighting to win. The match is to let me know my current strength.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Good. Even I can¡¯t win against Ryouma in a one-on-one, so it¡¯s better to focus on studying rather than on winning.¡± [Sebasu]

    Hearing that, Kanan asked Sebasu.

    ¡°Sebasu-san, just exactly who is Ryouma-kun? Putting the battle just now and Sebasu-san¡¯s story, it almost seems as if his story of being a C Rank adventurer is a lie.¡± [Kanan]

    Having been told that, Sebasu answered.

    ¡°Ryouma-sama being a C Rank isn¡¯t a lie. However, because Ryouma-sama spent his time these past two years on other jobs, his studies, and even in phnthropic work, he has rarely taken any adventurer jobs. If it was just his abilities, then he wouldn¡¯t lose out to an A Rank adventurer.¡± [Sebasu]

    When the girls heard that, everyone except for Elia was surprised, causing them to renew their image of Ryouma. After Ryouma finished gathering the bandits, he returned with an old man.

    ¡°We¡¯re done. By the way, let me introduce Harold-san. He is a ve demon magic user just like myself.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Harold. Sorry for bothering you all while you¡¯re on your trip.¡± [Harold]

    Harold bowed his head as he said that.

    ¡°Harold-san is an A Rank adventurer, so he teaches low ranked adventurers, children aspiring to be adventurers, and the guards in my stores how to fight. Today, the best amongst the trainees are fighting bandits under Uncle Harold as well as other teachers to gain experience. The bandits from before were apparently those that got away from the trainees¡¯ encirclement.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is. Sorry for bothering you. But thanks to you and your friends, we¡¯ll be able to have a safe trip. Thank you for you work.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Thank you. Now if you excuse me, I need to rendezvous with myrades now. Also, Ryouma, those boys are still too na?ve. They still need plenty of working.¡± [Harold]

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to hurry, so please take care of them until it¡¯s safe to send them out. Should you need any help, please feel free to inform me.¡± [Ryouma]

    Harold told Ryouma to leave it to him, then he took the three ogres with him, and he left toward the direction fo the trees. There, Sebasu handed a ss filled with water and a towel to Ryouma.

    ¡°Please.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°Thank you, Sebasu-san.¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma lightly wiped the sweat of him, then as he took a mouthful of water, and a short rest, Elia spoke to him.

    ¡°Ryouma-san, what was thatst thing you were talking about?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Oh, didn¡¯t I mention it? We started raising up some human resources in Gimuru. I am also a teacher actually... By the way, what happened to those four?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they¡¯re just having some issue putting togethermon sense and reality together after seeing you fight.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°So long as they¡¯re not scared, I guess it¡¯s fine.¡± [Ryouma]

    At the other end of Ryouma¡¯s gaze were the four girls, but Ryouma didn¡¯t say anything to them as he took a short break and had some snacks.

    It might have been because they had already heard of Ryouma before, but after the break ended, the four were back on their feet. And they chatted just as they did before the bandtis came out.

    The carriage continued to descend the mountain, and just before the sun set, they managed to reach the western gate of Gimuru, where a line of carriages had formed.

    ¡°We¡¯ve finally arrived, but the line sure seems long.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°There are a lot of carriages, so it¡¯s probably some sort of merchant group, and is probably going to take a lot of time, right?¡± [Riera]

    ¡°...They¡¯re examining the luggage, so I think it will take a lot more time.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind waiting, but I wonder whether we¡¯ll be able to get some rooms today? It¡¯s also the same time as yesterday, but...¡± [Riera]

    The one who answered Riera¡¯s thoughts were Ryouma.

    ¡°There are plenty of lodging for tourists, so you¡¯ll be able to get an inn. If there¡¯s any issue, it would be the quality of the room.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Any rmendations?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Hmm.........Rather than the new town, I think it¡¯ll be better to go to the lodging in the first town. There are also guards in town number two, but there¡¯s a lot of people, so it¡¯s noisy, and there are plenty of pickpocketing going on too. It¡¯s safe enough to go out in the night, but the first town¡¯s quiet and safe.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Is there anything we should be careful of in Gimuru?¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Nothing in particr, but... Ah, there¡¯s one. There¡¯s an inn built specifically for ve demon magic users and a resting area for ve demons by the gate of the second town. It¡¯ll be best to stay away from it. The ve demon magic users and conjurers there are generally bad folks.¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma continued.

    ¡°While it¡¯s good that the jobs in the town increased thanks to the new town, there are some bad folks amongst the people who came here to work for the tamer guild. They would drink themselves drunk, rampage with the ir magical beasts, walk around, showing off their strength and scaring other people... And in the worst case, there are even those who pick fights inside the town with their magical beasts.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That bad?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°The really bad ones are being caught one after another, but as I¡¯ve said, the bad folks stay in that particr inn. There are also good people amongst the ve demon magic users who came to help the construction of the new town, but the ones stand out. Because of that, people have started to look badly on ve demon magic users, and... Oh, I¡¯m sorry. I started ranting.¡± [Ryouma]

    As Ryouma apologized, the other five told him not to mind it.

    ¡°It must¡¯ve been tough for you, huh, Ryouma-han? Enough toin at least.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to hold back. Just throw everything out.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    Suddenly, the line began to move quickly.

    ¡°Ah, looks like the carriages of that merchant group finally got through... Huh? Up to where did we talk? Well... so long as you gain the trust of the people, there shouldn¡¯t be any problem. It¡¯s not a big deal, so it should be fine. It¡¯s not just me, even Uncle Harold who is a ve demon magic user from another ce is an honest person and is trusted. Rather than that, let¡¯s begin to enter the town.¡± [Ryouma]

    As Ryouma said that, they each took out of their chest and bags their respective proofs of identities. When they were ready, they talked about what they would do after they enter the vige. There, they decided to first rest at the inn. It wouldn¡¯t be nice after all if the girls were to suddenly fall sick or something, so they decided to rest up first, and begin sightseeing tomorrow.

    Finally, after going pass the gate, it was Ryouma¡¯s turn to shine. Ryouma guided the girls and Sebasu to a nice inn that, while not luxurious by any means, was clean and had good food for the price.

    The girls took a room there, and after Ryouma volunteered to tour the girls tomorrow, he went back home to his house in the abandoned mine.

 Volume 4 - 5

    The Man Picked up by the Gods - Volume 4 Chapter 5: Tour 1

    TL Note: Here¡¯s the first extra chapter of the week! Thank you so much to all the donators!

    Name Change: (More urate) Perle Bekentein -> Perdre Bekentein.

    Also is there a specific word for someone who tries to pull customers into their store?

    Volume 4 Chapter 5: Tour 1

    The Next Day

    I woke up at the Rimel Bird¡¯s cry. As I stood up from my bed, I rubbed my eyes. And when I got down, I stretched my body.

    ¡°Guu... Fuu. Alright. I have to prepare.¡± [Ryouma]

    I washed my face, and woke myself up. Then I went to make myself a quick meal with the help of my mimic slime. My breakfast for today is bread with peach-like jam and fried bacon. On the side, there¡¯s cheese and herb sd. And then for my drinks, there¡¯s goat milk.

    The mimic slime before me skillfully handled the knife and fork. From the outside, it really looked like a human. Thinking of the time when it couldn¡¯t walk really brings me back... At first, it couldn¡¯t walk properly. It wasn¡¯t until a few weeks after it first transformed into me that it finally learned how to move on its own. But even then, that was just a crawl. It took several more months after that before it was finally able to walk and graduate from a babe to an adult.

    But after that, I found out that I could train the mimic slime faster with the use of Sensory Link, so its growth sped up from then on. Sensory Link allowed me to find out which parts it was having a hard time emting, so I could focus on the parts that needed to be focused on when training it, allowing it to learn faster.

    After that, I used Sensory Link to train and confirm the things the mimic slime could do, and I found out that on top of being able to walk and run, it can now also fight. It could also help out in cooking, woodworking, and smithing with no problem. Unfortunately, it¡¯s still not able to talk, but if it could, then it would really be indistinguishable from humans.

    After eating, I dressed myself, and then left the house. As I ran, I used Dimension Magic to reach the town. Along the way, something caught my attention.

    ¡°This ce has changed a lot too...¡± [Ryouma]

    What got my attention was the surrounding scenery that had changed much since the time when I trained with Elia. If I were to give an example, then I suppose thendscape of the mountain of the abandoned mine and the patch connecting it to Gimuru were the biggest changes.

    First off is thendscape. 2 years ago there were plenty of rocks, but right now, aside from the road I and my slimes use, everything else is covered in nts or weeds. There are now also thickets of various kind of bamboos growing near the entrance of the mine.

    If you¡¯re wondering why that happened, it¡¯s because Gayn and the other gods wished for it, so I made it happen.

    Because of the treatment of the demon king¡¯s influence that required me to visit them once a week and the feast we would have each time I did, the number of opportunities there were for me to talk with them increased... And as a result I also ended up hearing a lot of the back talks of the gods.

    One of the things talked about was regarding the close rtionship between nature and the mechanism set by the gods that creates magic power. Putting it simply, the more nature there are, the higher the efficiency of the magic power created by the world. Conversely, if nature were to be destroyed, then the amount created would lessen. There they told me it would help them out a lot if I could grow something at the mine¡¯s mountain.

    Although it¡¯s something they said while drunk, I asked Pioro-san about bamboos the preceding day. Incidentally, I managed to ask the god of farming, Grimp, whether bamboos would grow since they have strong vitality. And since he gave his approval, I decided to try growing them.

    After deciding how far I¡¯mfortable with the bamboo thicket growing, I buried some iron te into the ground, and created a sturdy wall to create a boundary. It took quite a bit of effort, but bamboo does have a lot of avenues, and Gayn and the others would be happy, so I think the effort was worth it.

    I built pavements for roads in order to exhaust my magic power, and increase my maximum magic power, so while it wasn¡¯t necessary for me to build the roads, I didn¡¯t do a half-assed job of it either. Because the pavements I made for roads were based on the roads from Earth, I inclined the roads, and dug a gutter at the sides to provide a ce for the rain water to flow to. Because of that the road I made ended up being fairly well done.

    My store and this road that I made caught the eye of the architect, Perdre Bekentein, so he asked me to be his subordinate. I politely refused his offer.

    Incidentally, Perdre Bekentein is a young man who has only reached histter twenties, so he¡¯s quite fierce and self-absorbed. And although he wasn¡¯t what I would call humble, he does praise people when they deserve to be praised. He was also a skilled architect, so his subordinates had much faith in him.

    When I refused his offer, he actually told me to contact him whenever I felt like, and then immediately withdrew. We could also talk lightly with each other whenever we happened upon each other in town. His character might be a bit strong, but he¡¯s not a bad person...

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve arrived.¡± [Ryouma]

    Caught up in my own thoughts, before I knew it, I was right in front of Gimuru¡¯s northern gate. As expected, using dimension magic makes travel quick. Thanks to it the distance from my house to the gate actually felt like a 10-minute walk from my house in my previous life to a nearby train station.

    As I slowed myself down, I took out my adventurer guild card from my chest, and called out to the gatekeeper. I showed my proof of identity because of the rules, but actually, in these past three years, I could already pass by with just my face as proof.

    Nothing particr happened as I did, so I just passed through the gate as usual, and went over to Elia¡¯s inn.

    The inn Elia and the others were staying at was situated at the center most area of the town near the adventurer and merchant guilds. Because of that a lot of people recognized me, and I had to greet them back as I walked.

    ¡°Ah, good morning, Sebasu-san.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Good morning, Ryouma-sama. Ojousama and the others will soon finish their preparations, so please wait for a while.¡± [Sebasu]

    Said Sebasu-san who was preparing a coverless carriage in front of the inn. But just as he was telling me that, the door to the lodging opened, and Elia¡¯s friend, Michelle-san, stepped out.

    ¡°Ah, Ryouma-kun, good morning. So you were here already. Did we make you wait?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Good morning, Michelle-san. I just got here actually.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I see. Well, Elia and the others wille soon.¡± [Michelle]

    Just as she said, not even a minute passed before Elia and the others stepped out of the inn. However, the clothes they were wearing today was a little differentpared to yesterday. Their clothes were made of good fabric, and they were all wearing jeweled silver essories. Elia wore a hair clip, Kanan, a bracelet, Riera, a pair of earrings, and Miyabi, a ring.

    Well they are young girls of age, so I suppose wanting to doll up is normal. Anyway, I better say hi.

    ¡°It seems you¡¯re all wearing clothes different from yesterday. Especially the essories.¡± {Ryouma}

    ¡°Oh, right. This is your first time seeing these, huh?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°We removed our essories during the trip because we thought it might cause us to be targeted.¡± [Michelle]

    Michelle-san¡¯s essory was a pendant hidden within her clothes. Since she went out of her way to bring it out, and show me, I took a good look. There, I noticed that all of their essories had the same flower emblem engraved into it.

    The engraved flower was a collection of thin and long petals. If one were to look above it, the flower would appear to be round. Look from the side, and the tip of the petals could be seen to be rounded, running along the stems, making the flower appear to be an inverted triangle. This flower is known as Tertos. It has seven different color variations, but is also a medicinal ingredient. It¡¯s because of that that I¡¯m privy to it.

    ¡°This is the flower of Tertos, right? ...That¡¯s amazing... It¡¯s been engraved so well. The jewel iyed at the center is also beautiful.¡± [Ryouma]

    My frankment was met with Elia¡¯s smile.

    ¡°These essories are something Kanan made herself after we formed our group.¡± [Elia]

    I alternately looked between the essory and Kanan-san upon hearing that. Then I said,

    ¡°Kanan-san, you¡¯re amazing.¡± [Ryouma]

    Those were the only words that came out, but those alone were enough to leave Kanan in a blush as sheughed and waved her hands.

    ¡°Y-You¡¯re praising me too much... The thing is I haven¡¯t been making anything else aside from magic tools, so it actually took me a lot of time to figure out how to make these. Also... I¡¯ve always liked the flower, Tertos, so I¡¯ve had plenty of practice engraving it.¡± [Kanan]

    She doesn¡¯t seem to be used to praise. Still... she sure seems happy. Her face haspletely melted into a grin, and being from the dog tribe, her tail¡¯s wagging like crazy. With that small figure of hers at 150cm, she sure looks like a puppy.

    By the way, I can also engrave. The iron weights I¡¯m using for training are bracelet-types. Apparently, Tekun wasn¡¯t very happy with them, saying ¡°If you¡¯re going to make a bracelet, then you might as well be able to do it properly, and make some ornaments.¡± Because of that I had to learn the basics of engraving.

    However, the most I could make are cheap stuff that wouldn¡¯t sell for much. It¡¯s a far cry from Kanan-san¡¯s quality.

    Should I take this opportunity to practice my engraving skills? As I was thinking that, I rode the carriage with Elia and the others, and headed for the second town. We¡¯re supposed to go straight to the arena, and watch some matches, but for some reason, Elia wouldn¡¯t stay put.

    ¡°Elia, is there something wrong?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Everything¡¯s changed so much in these past 3 years, so I can¡¯t help but be curious.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Yeah, well as the second town nearedpletion, there were also stores that moved there. As a result, the town¡¯s changed a lot. Even the manager of the lodging we stayed at before has changed in these past three years.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Really?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°There are more people in the new town, allowing better chances of profit. Because of that inns, weapon stores, and armor shops, relocated themselves there. There were also a number of stores selling ingredients that moved... Ah, for the record, I¡¯m not saying that the first town is being deserted. It¡¯s just that people who will fight in the arena will have to stay for an extended period over at the second town. Moreover, there¡¯s also the fight money. So there are a lot of people who decided to make money off of that. In exchange, there are more houses relocating themselves in the first town in ce of the stores. Thanks to that, there are a lot of construction left to be done.¡± [Ryouma]

    Elia became somewhat relieved upon hearing my words. Though at the same time, an expression of anxiety also showed on her face. But following up on it a bit more, it appears she¡¯s at least relieved. What I said wasn¡¯t a lie, so it¡¯s all cool. But more than anything, I¡¯d prefer it if she just enjoys herself without thinking too much.

    The carriage left the southern gate as we were talking, and finally, the gate of the second town entered our vision.

    ¡°This is the new town, Gimuru 2. To match with the first town, this new town was built with town 1 in mind, giving it a long elliptical shape extending from the south to the north. The gates of the two towns are 400 meters apart, so the southern road is able to effectively connect the middle of the two towns.¡± [Ryouma]

    After that we passed through the gates of the second town, and we headed toward the arena. However, unlike with the first town, Elia and the others were quite surprised.

    The buildings in the second town were made in the same way as the first, but the roads were all gaudily decorated. There was also a great crowd of tourists crowding the streets.

    ¡°The capital still has more people, but this ce sure is lively.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°This town was built specifically formerce after all. If it weren¡¯t lively, it would be troubling. Aside from the arena, there are also souvenir shops, ygrounds, brothels, and other various stores... There¡¯s enough to amodate 40,000 people.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°If we get lost, it¡¯ll be a problem, so we be better to take care.¡± [Michelle]

    People and carriages alike littered the second town, causing the carriages to slow into a walk. Due to that we were chased after by many of the peddlers and many of the clerks, asking us to take a look at their wares or store. It wasn¡¯t until fifteen minutester before we finally arrived at the stop for carriages provided by the arena.

    The arena was situated at the center of the second town. It had four floors, two of which were below the ground, and two of which were above. From the outside, it looked like a shrunken ellipsis.

    When I first heard of an arena, the first thing that came to my mind was the image of a colosseum that I had learned in my student days, but this one¡¯s a bit different. First off, the exterior of the building that¡¯s a made out of stone has windows attached to them. Each of the window frames has a transparent ss affixed to them, allowing light to enter. Moreover, over the roof of the arena were statues of warriors dressed in armor, wielding all sorts of weapons from bows to swords, to axes, to spears, to magic staves... all sorts.

    Inside the arena, the first and second floors had the painting of warriors painted over one side of the walls. There were also statues furnished here and there, but rtively speaking, the design simple. ording to the architect, Perdre Bekentein, making the ce the customers should enter needed to be emphasized.

    Conversely, the basement floors that¡¯s only used by the staff and the contestants are a bit moreplicated.

    ¡°Good work, everyone. This is our destination. Considered the heart of the city, even in the sense ofmerce, wee to the are¨C¨C¡° [Ryouma]

    ¡°WaAAAAAA!!¡±

    Oh? Did someone¡¯s match end? I¡¯vee here many times before, but every time Ie here, I can¡¯t help but be impressed at how amazing noise and cheers are.

    ¡°Looks like the matches have started already. Let¡¯s go..,. Oh, right.¡± [Ryouma]

    Suddenly remembering something, I asked Elia and her friends for a favor.

    ¡°Sorry for suddenly bringing this up, but I¡¯d like to ask you guys a favor.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°What is it?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Actually, I have a store here in the arena. It¡¯s a store that sells food for spectators to eat as they watch the matches. So I¡¯d like to ask you all to buy from it, and tell me how it¡¯s doing.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind, but wouldn¡¯t it be better to ask the people in charge how the store¡¯s doing.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Yes, but I¡¯d like to know the opinion of a customer buying as well as the normal behavior of the employees. There¡¯s a lot of new hires right now, so if I personally checked up on them, they¡¯d stiffen up.¡± [Ryouma]

    It¡¯s what you would call mystery shopping. After I told them I wasn¡¯t able to check up on the store since I went around subjugating bandits, leading me to think of now as a good opportunity, Miyabi-san was immediately able toe to terms with it and agreed. The other four also didn¡¯t have any problems, so they agreed too. Because of that it was decided that I would be the one covering the expenses they would spend at my store.

    As we decided that, we paid the entrance fee, and entered the arena. Inside, there were two stairs at the left and right, extending upwards and downwards. The participating contestants have to go down the stairs.

    At the front, there¡¯s the bulletin board recording the details of the gambles made and the schedule for the matches. Beside that is a ticket window. Should one want to gamble, he or she would have to pay through that ticket window, and then receive proof that he or she has made a bet. If that person wins, then he or she can take the proof to the ticket window, and receive her dividend.

    I think I¡¯ve pretty much exined everything there is about the arena.

    ¡°Any questions?¡± [Ryouma]

    No else had any questions when I asked that. Incidentally, no one gambled either.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, do you gamble?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°No. I don¡¯t gamble either.¡± [Ryouma]

    Even though back in my previous life, I thought of trying it out if ever I had money to burn. But now that I have the money, I realized, I¡¯m not really that interested. I have gambled several times, but it wasn¡¯t fun whether I won or not. Well I think it¡¯s better than getting addicted to gambling, and ruining one¡¯s health though.

    After that, I told the girls the locations of the store. After that, we split, and I headed to the seats by myself. I¡¯ve already told them the ce, and there are 6 shadow slimes lurking in their shadows, so there shouldn¡¯t be any problem. If they take too much time, I can just go and look for them.

    ¡°Now then... Let¡¯s do our best and look for a good se¨C¨C woah!¡± [Ryouma]

    The centermost front row is free! Get ¡®em!

 Volume 4 - 6

    TL Note: Next chapter might not be on Monday but Tuesday. Depends how busy I get. Anyway enjoy.

    Edit: 2016/03/28 Edited a bunch of typos. Thanks to all who mentioned them in thements.

    Volume 4 Chapter 6 Tour 2

    Beneath the blinding light of the sun, within the passionate zeal of the spectators, was me, sitting to the right of the stone pedestal, at the middlemost seat of seven chairs.

    As I somehow managed to secure seats for everyone, I felt Elia¡¯s group nearing through the shadow slimes lurking in their shadows. I looked toward their direction, and I saw them through the gaps between the many spectators. I waved my hand, and they came over.

    ¡°Ryouma-han~ sorry for making ya wait.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°We bought some drinks. And umm... is this crushed ice ok?¡± [Kanan]

    Kanan-san handed me a transparent bag filled with transparent ice and fruit juice, with a straw sticking out.

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s been really hottely, so I ended up buying as soon as I saw something cold.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Well I started selling crushed ice because of the heat, so if you bought it for that reason, then guess it¡¯s a sess.¡± [Ryouma]

    Crushed ice is a product based on my previous life¡¯s memories. Right now, I¡¯m selling it as one of my shop¡¯s limited products, and is currently one of my best-selling goods.

    Products like ice, ice cream, and sherbet have actually existed long before I even came to this world despite them not having fridges. They were able to make them through the employment of magicians, but because of that, there weren¡¯t a lot of stores that could sell them. It wasn¡¯t easy to make them even with one or two magicians due to the limits of magic power. Plus, adding to the fact that sugar was a necessary ingredient to make sherbet and ice cream, they naturally ended up being expensive.

    But in our store, the ones creating the ice are ice slimes who can use ice magic and the many slimes that could use barrier magic. Because of that our store can afford to sell a lot at a cheap price impossible to other stores.

    Moreover, the other stores can¡¯t imitate the transparent bags we¡¯re using that prevents water from seeping through. These bags along with the straws are products of the sticky slime¡¯s sticky liquid and hardening liquid. Ibine those two liquids, rub them over a metal mold, dry them, and then tear them off. The resulting product is simr to a vinyl bag that¡¯s extremely easy to use. As the product isn¡¯t in cirction, it can¡¯t be helped that the other stores aren¡¯t able to acquire it.

    Or rather, if they manage to get some, I¡¯ll have to investigate where they got them... Well, in any case, the crushed ice sold by our store is unusually cheap. Couple that with a ce like this arena here were people are quick to spend, then you have a recipe for a killing.

    Also, I¡¯m digressing a bit, but the one who came up with this bag wasn¡¯t me, but the branch manager of aundromat, Caulkins-san. Having gotten used to managerial work, Caulkins-san sent me a letter, saying he¡¯s started researching slimes again. I don¡¯t have any intention of interfering with my employees¡¯ private lives so long as they¡¯re able to do their work, so I just sent him back an approving reply.

    Half a year after that, a letter came with several prototypes of a vinyl-like bag. I was really touched when I saw those bags... I forgot about vinyl bags already, so when I saw them, it felt so nostalgic. I knew immediately that the vinyl bags would be useful, so I gave Caulkins-san a special bonus that also served as research funds.

    As for the straw it was necessary before selling crushed ice. I created it with the production method of the bags as reference. It was made in pretty much the same way save for the ratio of the sticky liquid and hardening liquid and the mold used.

    While I was caught up in my recollection after seeing the crushed ice, Riera-san and Sebasu-san took out a paper bag filled with food and a vessel made out of thin bamboo strips.

    ¡°What sort of food do you want? There¡¯s popcorn and fried corn.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°There¡¯s also hotdogs and corndogs.¡± [Sebasu]

    Looks like they bought a lot...

    Incidentally, popcorn, hotdog, and corndogs were in this world since long ago. They were definitely introduced by the otherworlders before me.

    ¡°I wonder if we bought too much?¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, what¡¯s important is that you¡¯re able to eat your fill.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Well that¡¯s true.¡± [Elia]

    The six each took their seats as they ate, and started to watch the matches. I took a corndog for myself too as I listened to the six¡¯s report regarding the store.

    ¡°Right... I think the service was good. They also exined the products well.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°I don¡¯t think there were any problems in particr, but if I were to be picky, then I guess they seemed to be busy?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°That can¡¯t be helped though. There was a huge crowd of customers other than us after all.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°No, thank you very much. It¡¯ll serve me well as reference for making a decision in whether I should add more employees, or whether the employees have simply not gotten used to their job yet.¡± [Ryouma]

    Moderate busyness due to the store flourishing and being lively is fine, but if they make a mistake due to their busyness, it¡¯ll be problematic. Customers don¡¯t like seeing clerks that are too busy and always in a hurry either. I¡¯ll have to check up on them in the near future.

    While I was talking with the others, a flourish of trumpets resounded, signaling that there were 30 seconds left before the start of the match. The surrounding spectators had already begun to cheer on the fighters.

    ¡°Start!¡± [Announcer]

    Several warriors entered the arena from the two gates on opposing sides. From our right were 5 men (1 spearman, 3 swordsmen, and 1 man with sword and shield). Facing them from our left, was a lone man nearly 2-meter-tall, wielding a huge hammer. Wait a moment... isn¡¯t that Glen-san?

    It takes me back when I see him him change his weapon from what he had when we met a few days ago to something different. Still... he¡¯s making a killing anyway, so he should just go ahead and buy an adamantite weapon not just for fighting, but even for matches like these arena tournaments.

    ¡°Ryouma-dono, is this match a five on one?¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Seems to be the case.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Then is the man to the left at the disadvantage?¡± [Riera]

    ¡°No. That man to the left is Glen-san. He¡¯s an adventurer who just became S Rankst year, so he should be fine.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Really!?¡± [Riera]

    Ohh, Riera¡¯s eyes turned sharp as soon as she heard he was an S Rank adventurer as if she wasn¡¯t going to let even a single movement of his go unobserved.

    ¡°He¡¯s the champion of a tournament that was held here before. Sometimes when a person like thates out, he¡¯s made to fight against multiple opponents as a handicap. Otherwise, since Glen-san¡¯s so strong, it wouldn¡¯t be possible to bet... Ah, but of course, there¡¯s no match fixing going on here. Especially when Glen-san¡¯s fighting as I think he¡¯d get mad if that were to happen.¡± [Ryouma]

    Glen-san is what you would call a battle junkie. He made Gimuru his home base as soon as the arena waspleted. He lives here precisely so he can fight. He¡¯s not one to go easy on his opponents or put his hands in match fixing. Even if he were asked to, the only thing that would result in is souring his mood.

    I¡¯ve also met with Glen-san several times since he lives in Gimuru. When we did he would always ask, are you fighting in the arena? It seems he remembers my face from when we met at the Great Forest of Shurus before.

    ...Fortunately, he wasn¡¯t the type to forcefully make mee with him, or attack regardless of the location. Then again, a person like that probably wouldn¡¯t be S Rank. There¡¯s a background check before one is promoted to S Rank after all. You can¡¯t be one just with power alone, you also need to have a good history and personality.

    As I was thinking that, we approached the start of the match. The constants were gathered, and at the center stood a man dressed in white armor. The two groups braced themselves.

    ¡°Match, start!!¡± [Announcer]

    At the voice¡¯s call, the bell sounded, and the battle began.

    ¡°WoORa!!¡± [Glen]

    ¡°Ga!?¡± [Spearman]

    Immediately, Glen-san rushed toward the spearman. With his hammer in his hands, he struck down, and crushed the spear. Then with a full swing, he sent the man flying.

    I guess that he¡¯ll be sent to the first-aid office then.

    After that, the shield and sword wielding warrior stepped out, attracting Glen-san¡¯s attention while the three others came from the side. Glen-san tried to destroy his opponent¡¯s weapon with his hammer, but as he was aiming for a counter, he was able to dodge. The shield wielding man covered for him, allowing him to recover his stance, and there after attack once more. A close battle with neither side gaining an advantage continued.

    That shield guy sure is holding it well. The other three guys are also strong. I don¡¯t recognize any of them, but regardless how bad my eye is for skill, they should all at least be B Rank up... This match is certainly something worth seeing. After this, I should check the matchupster.

    As I was thinking that the battle grew fiercer.

    ¡°Ah!¡± [Someone]

    As the shield of the shield-wielding warrior was flicked away, someone cried out in surprise.

    The warrior tried to pick up his shield, and fix his stance, but instead he was sent flying away together with his shield. He was forced to withdraw. Then with the remaining three warriors¡¯ coordination broken, Glen-san took them down one by one to im victory.

    The referee dered Glen-san the winner, and the spectators all broke out into cheers as Glen-san waved back at them, exiting through the gate.

    ¡°As expected of an S Rank, he didn¡¯t step back once.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°What an amazing match. Do matches like this happen here all the time?¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Oh, no. I don¡¯t think the normal matches here are up to that level.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Although they lost, they were quite strong too.¡± [Sebasu]

    The trumpets blew again, and the spectators¡¯ cheers grew louder. Because of that I¡¯m not sure whether the girls heard my and Sebasu-san¡¯s exnation.

    It¡¯s not obvious, but Glen-san is a dwarf. The dwarves have an image of being a small race, but that¡¯s only because most of them are short. There are actually tall dwarves as well.

    Dwarves are handy with their hands and physically fit. They are a race blessed with a powerful body, but even within that, Glen-san is exceptionally strong. It¡¯s only because the shield-wielding warrior from before was able to endure the force of that strength despite being bashed by the hammer several times while the others fought together as one that they were able to fight a battle like a while ago. If it was anyone else, they would surely have been instantly defeated.

    The five girls already seemed to be looking forward to the next match, but if they¡¯re expecting a match simr to just now, I hope they don¡¯t get disappointed...

    And then night came.

    ¡°The matches sure were exciting.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°The matches were amazing, but the first one was definitely the best.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Really? I think the three matches after that that used magic were better.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Those matches were really showy~. If it weren¡¯t for the barrier magic protecting us, we wouldn¡¯t have been able to watch the battle.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Speaking of showy¨C¨C¨C¨C¡° [Elia]

    After watching at the heated arena, we rode back home on as the girls talked about their impressions. They seem to have really enjoyed themselves today.

    Although I sure didn¡¯t think they¡¯d spend the entire day watching fights.

    The five of them were girls after all, so I thought they¡¯d get tired after a while. But apparently that wasn¡¯t the case. Especially for Riera-san who was especially heated during the matches. But the other four weren¡¯t bored either. I wonder if it¡¯s simply because they¡¯re bored?

    Come to think of it, I¡¯ve never heard of sports in this world... some board games from earth were passed down, so there¡¯s rtively a lot of them, but I¡¯ve never heard of anything pertaining to sports. I¡¯ll try asking someone about it next time...

    The carriage continued on its way as I quietly thought to myself. As the crowd of scantily-dressed women grew more numerous on the road, we left the gates of the 2nd town, and reached the gates of the 1st town. Our carriage was stopped here.

    ¡°Please show your identific¨C¨C¨C¨C Ah, old man!¡± [Guard]

    I sent a gaze toward that nostalgic voice, and what greeted me was the face young guard with a familiar face. He¡¯s someone I personally taught. If I recall correctly, his name is.... Crais-san. Oh, so he was recently hired then.

    I thought that as I rubbed the corner of my inner eye with the thumb and index finger of my left hand. Then as I abruptly stood up, I inched my way through Elia and the others who were seating to get to the driver¡¯s seat. There, I took a tight grip of Crais-san¡¯s head.

    ¡°Old man...?¡± [Crais]

    As I held him tight under my arms, I said.

    ¡°Who are you calling an old man? I¡¯m younger than you!¡± [Ryouma]

    I¡¯m 14 years old, he¡¯s 18 years old. The younger one is me! Of course if you include my previous life, then I¡¯m an old man, but there¡¯s no way he would know something like that. Being called younger is one thing, but I don¡¯t want to be referred to as someone older.

    ¡°Ah, o!! Wait a sec, old man! I¡¯m a guard! It¡¯s not good to manhandle guards!¡± [Crais]

    Comined Crais has he endured the pain. But the other guards in the area only said.

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine.¡± [Guard 1]

    ¡°That guy got married recently, so he¡¯s been getting over his head. Do him in more!¡± [Guard 2]

    ¡°We see nothing.¡± [Guard 3]

    ¡°This kid always talks about his wife every chance he gets! Damnit!¡± [Guard 4]

    ¡°... Crush him!¡± [Guard 5]

    ¡°Senpai!? o!¡± [Crais]

    The surrounding guards cheered me on, so I locked his head hard one more time then I let him go. We couldn¡¯t stay locked like that forever after all.

    ¡°We want to enter the town, so please quickly grant us permission.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ah... it still hurts... Excuse me, I¡¯ll just check your identification.... Alright, everyone seems to be ok. Please enter.¡± [Crais]

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Thank you very much, Crais-san. Please continue to do your best.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Of course! I¡¯ll do it for my wife and my future child too!¡± [Crais]

    ¡°Ryouma, do him in again!¡± [Guard 1]

    ¡°Even using that giant ve demon of yours is fine.¡± [Guard 2]

    ¡°Nah, let¡¯s just do it ourselves.¡± [Guard 3]

    ¡°Wait, senpai! Please stop!¡± [Crais]

    As Crais-san was surrounded by the other guards, we entered the town with our carriage. I sent a nce back toward where Crais-san was, and what I saw was Crais-san¡¯s two arms locked down by two guards as he received light body blows from another. Then while they were ying around another guard came. I guess it¡¯s time for them to change shifts. In any case, I offered a silent prayer for Crais-san.

    ¡°Umm... Ryouma-san? What was about just now?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°That guard was my former student. For some reason he likes to call me old man though. Even though I¡¯m the younger one...¡± [Ryouma]

    Upon hearing that, not just Elia, but even Sebasu-san and Miyabi-san showed understanding expressions.

    ¡°...What is it?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ryouma-sama, you¡¯ve always been mature mentally, so it probably can¡¯t be helped.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°I remember I thought you were reallyposed too when I first met ya.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Sometimes you even look at me with eyes like gramps and the others. Eyes that seemed like they were protecting me.¡± [Elia]

    Following them, the other three also spoke.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, you¡¯re younger?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°I do recall hearing you¡¯re younger than us by a year, but I forgot all about it after talking with you.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°We might call you with ¡®kun¡¯, but your atmosphere¡¯s definitely that of an older guy.¡± [Kanan]

    Maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯ve been a kid for 6 years already that I find it strange they think of me like this... I don¡¯t know anymore... Am I a kid or an old man? I know deep inside that I¡¯m older than my exterior shows when I put my two lives¡¯ ages together, but I still can¡¯t help but insist, ¡®I¡¯m 14 years old!¡¯, deep inside.

    ...Nothing would change even if we kept this up, so I just forcefully changed my feelings. I asked what Elia and her group will be doing tomorrow, and apparently, they want to go somewhere different. There, Riera-san mentioned that she wanted to have the match we talked about the day before yesterday. I guess she¡¯s been influenced by the arena. Well I did promise her though, so why not?

    After thinking for a while, I suggested to give them a tour of some of Gimuru¡¯s training. There¡¯s a training area there too, so we can use that to have the match. After that, I chatted idly with Elia¡¯s group until we reached their lodging. After we parted, I went back home.

    ¡°I should make some preparations for tomorrow. And since we¡¯re going to the Slime Den Restaurant tomorrow noon, I guess I should inform Celma-san in advance.¡± [Ryouma]

    I stopped walking, and then I decided to go to the Slime Den Restaurant first then go home. My course decided, I began walking the night road again.

 Volume 4 - 7

    TL Note: Rhinos -> Rhino. It says rhinos in the raw so I considered making it rhynos, but in the end, I just decided to turn it into a rhino. Oh, by the way, I changed this because it seemed to be confusing people.

    Also, katakana is one of the three Japanese character-types, and is often used for foreign words or for emphasis.

    Volume 4 Chapter 7: Pick-up

    The next day

    After I finished my morning preparations, I went outside to the bamboo thickets, and prepared my monster carriage.

    A monster carriage is just a carriage pulled by a magical beast, so the structure isn¡¯t really that different from a normal carriage. People wanting to buy one also needs to go to a workshop or a store that sells carriages, so there are people who just call them both carriage.

    If I had to point out a difference, it would be the position of the coachman¡¯s seat. The magical beast¡¯s body is different from a horse, so it¡¯s necessary to position the seat with that in mind. As a result, there are quite a number of specially ordered goods for monster carriages. Unless of course, the body of the magical beast to be used is simr to a horse.

    "I¡¯ll be relying on you today." [Ryouma]

    "Kyuyon!" [Cannonball Rhino]

    I said that as I tied Rai to the carriage. When I did, he responded with an unusually high-pitched voice.

    Rai¡¯s no longer the same as when I met him 2 years ago. His body is now close to being 3 meters long, which is the average size for an adult cannonball rhino. So with that, I guess you could say he¡¯s an adult now. Along with that growthes power. Nowadays, Rai¡¯s strong enough to pull arge carriage by himself easily, so whenever I use one, I usually let him pull it.

    Moreover, the monster carriage I tied Rai to was closer to an oxcart in shape rather than a carriage. The frame of the carriage is a long rectangle with sticky slime hardening liquid nks iyed onto the windows to prevent crimes. There¡¯s also the specially-ordered seat for the coachman that¡¯s positioned a little higher than what it should be in order to take into consideration Rai¡¯s future growth.

    It¡¯s possibly to put objects atop the frame, but even without doing that, the frame could already fit 8 adults inside excluding me. So there¡¯s plenty of space even when I let the slimes ride on the carriage. Only, due to Rai¡¯s overbearing strength, the stress ced on the frame and especially the wheels at full speed was too great. So in order to remedy that, I had the big iron slimes transform into wheels.

    "Whoops, I guess I better go now."

    I shouldn¡¯t bete for my appointment with Elia and the others.

    I ordered Rai, and he entered into my Dimension Home. I n on going to Gimuru with my dimension magic, but I won¡¯t be able to take Rai and the carriage with me. Fortunately, I can take him along as long as I have him enter the Dimension Home first, and then release him once we get there.

    I say... Dimension magic sure is convenient. Though I guess saying that might be a tad bit toote now considering everything.

    "¡¯Gate¡¯" [Ryouma]

    When I used the advanced dimension magic, Gate...

    ¡°Made it in just the nick of time.¡± [Ryouma]

    ...the scenery immediately changed from that of the abandoned mine and the bamboo thickets to that where I was close enough to see the outer walls of Gimuru.

    Rtively speaking, it¡¯s just something recent, but I learned how to use ¡®Gate¡¯. It¡¯s thanks to this magic that I¡¯m able to greatly reduce the travel time between towns. Unfortunately though, with the speedes the loss of enjoyment. There¡¯s no elegance or atmosphere to it, so I only use it when I¡¯m in a hurry. Otherwise, I¡¯d rather take my time, and enjoy the travel with Rai pulling on the monster carriage.

    ¡°Just as the name implies, the advanced long distance magic, ¡®Gate¡¯, is able to teleport one from outside the gate to the next town¡¯s gate. It seems to have been named exactly because of that ability. Anyway... ¡®Dimension Home¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    With a cast of my Dimension Home, I took Rai and the monster carriage out. Then I sat myself over the coachman¡¯s seat, and took hold of the bridle as I drove the monster carriage. By the way, the bridle is just for show. Rai is my magical beast, so I can just order him to pull it with the bond between us that¡¯s formed via magic. There¡¯s no need to actually hold the bridle.

    Five minutester as Rai pulled on the monster carriage, we arrived at the northern gate of Gimuru.

    "Good morning." [Ryouma]

    "Hey, good morning. Big as always, huh? This guy." [Guard]

    "Kwon!" [Rai]

    "Oh, good morning to you too, huh?" [Guard]

    "I¡¯ve finished confirming your identification. You can go now. And if it¡¯s you, I think you¡¯ll be fine, but do take care in handling your magical beast." [Guard]

    "Alright. Thanks as always." [Ryouma]

    I passed through the gates, and then I headed to the girls¡¯ lodging.

    Riding on the monster carriage, I entered Gimuru. As we passed by, people who recognized Rai waved their hands, and the children ran along with us. There were also people who were surprised, but they were all either people who didn¡¯t live in Gimuru or people who had only recently moved here.

    There was a time when the people were scared due to the idiots over at the tamer guild, but after earning the trust of the people, I now oftene here with Rai. Besides, the people like to touch him, and the kids like him too.

    He¡¯s big, he¡¯s strong, he¡¯s gentle... and the fur over his body is pretty too. He¡¯s actually great to look at.

    ¡°Even though I thought he was brownish when we first met...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Kwon!¡± [Rai]

    I didn¡¯t notice it back when we were at the Great Forest of Shurus, but his fur is actually colored gray, close to white. I only found out after he became my magical beast, and I had the cleaner slimes give him a shower. I was really shocked when the color of his fur vanished in the blink of an eye right in front of me...

    I investigated the matter a bitter, and apparently, the base color for a cannonball rhino is gray. It does change a little depending on each cannonball rhino. Unfortunately, I wasn¡¯t able to get any information on what other colors there were. I do want to research the matter a bit more, but even if I tried to clean the other rhinos with my cleaner slimes, they¡¯d just run away... But then again, Rai has grown up... Should I find him a mate? Once I do, I could use that as an opportunity to research.

    In any case, I¡¯ll deal with thatter...

    As I approached the lodging, I noticed that Elia and the others were already outside, waiting.

    Oh? Was Ite?

    ¡°Good morning. Sorry for making you all wait.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Good morning, Ryouma-san. You¡¯re actually earlier than the appointed time.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Yesterday, I heard you were going to prepare a monster carriage. I was so excited wondering what magical beast you would take with you.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°This kid¡¯s so big... What kind of magical beast is this?¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°His name is Rai. He¡¯s a cannonball rhino. A B Rank magical beast. Not only is he a huge help with that carriage, but he¡¯s also a great deterrent to other magical beasts attacking, making travel a breeze.¡± [Ryouma]

    Because of that though, he¡¯s unfit for subjugating bandits. Since they¡¯d just run away as soon as they saw him. For example, the bandits that aren¡¯t a part of the dark guild that haven¡¯t heard of the rumors about me ¨C who, in other words, are ¡®unlicensed bandits¡¯ ?¨C would just generally run upon seeing Rai.

    ¡°That¡¯s that, but isn¡¯t it hot waiting outside?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Not at all. It¡¯s still early morning, so the weather¡¯s still fresh. The morning wind also feels good, so there¡¯re waiting outside¡¯s no problem.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°So she says, but deep inside, she¡¯s actually just dying ta have her match with you.¡± [Miyabi]

    So that¡¯s why they were waiting outside.

    ¡°M-Miyabi...¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Ain¡¯t it fine? I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything ta be embarrassed about considering it¡¯s Ryouma we¡¯re talking about.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°He¡¯s on a different leaguepared to our ssmates at the academy.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Well that¡¯s true...¡± [Riera]

    Her face is a bit red... I wonder if she¡¯s nervous or embarrassed because she got found out. In any case, I should help her rx. I nned for the match to be held in the afternoon from the start anyway, so...

    ¡°We¡¯ll just keep talking and standing outside here at this rate, so everyone, please enter inside.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I stepped down the coachman¡¯s seat, I opened the door of the carriage attached at the side of the carriage¡¯s frame. But before letting them enter, I ced a wooden foothold to make it easier for the girls to enter. Elia and the others thanked me as they each entered the carriage.

    After everyone had gotten inside, I sat myself back up over the coachman¡¯s seat. There¡¯s a door just big enough for one person to reach the coachman¡¯s seat. Opening that door, I called out to Elia and the others.

    ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, we¡¯ll be departing. Are you all ready?¡± [Ryouma]

    When I asked that, they answered back that they were ready. Since everything was good to go, I gave Rai the order, and the carriage began to move. The people of this town are alright, but there¡¯re a lot of outsiders in the lodging, so it¡¯ll be best for us to leave quickly. Rai is a strange sight after all, so there¡¯re a lot of people who can¡¯t help but want to take a look at him. There¡¯s also no point in staying, so leaving quickly is best.

    ¡°Please feel free to speak out if the temperature¡¯s too hot or cold! I can adjust it for you!¡± [Ryouma]

    I said in a voice just loud enough for them to hear as I continued facing the road¡¯s direction. But the response that came back from the girls was not an answer, but a question.

    ¡°Change?¡± [Kanan]

    Ah... I¡¯ve been using the monster carriage like a car from my previous life, so I¡¯ve forgotten. But now that she mentions it, yeah... ACs aren¡¯t normal here in this world, huh?

    ¡°There¡¯re three slimes in the carriage, right?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yeah.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Those three slimes are cooler slime, heater slime, and aircon slime. Those slimes can each use wind and ice, wind and fire, and then wind, fire, and ice, magic respectively. If you want me to, I can order those slimes to blow cold air or hot air inside the carriage to control the temperature. Please feel free to say it if you need the temperature changed.¡± [Ryouma]

    The girls weren¡¯t surprised at all when I gave that exnation, rather they just calmly epted it.

    ¡°By the way, Ryouma-han. Where are we going right now? Yesterday, you did mention that we would be going several ces today.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°First off is the lodging for the training and the trainees. It¡¯s close to the residential district, northeast of Gimuru. That ce used to be the slums three years ago, but all that changed thanks to the increase in jobs.¡± [Ryouma]

    Most of the town personnel were split between the two towns, so I was put in charge of dealing with the demolished slum. The training facility is one of the things I constructed there. There are also a lot of trainee that lived in the slums before.

    As Iughed while saying that, the others said they were interested. Especially, Michelle-san who was staring quite strongly... Well, as long as they¡¯re enjoying themselves, then that¡¯s all that really matters.

    ¡°By the way, why did you start that training facility of yours?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Hmm... Well if there was to be a reason, then I guess it would be because I was ufortable.¡± [Ryouma]

    Michelle-san could only tilt her head in puzzlement when she heard my words. Can¡¯t be helped... it¡¯s only natural after all that she wouldn¡¯t understand much with just that exnation..

    ¡°I started the training facility about 2 years ago. Until then I was always away from Gimuru. But during that time, the construction of the second town began, and the adventurers and ve demon magic usersing from outside also increased. Even if I were to say it myself, the reason behind what happened then was probably because I was strong...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Were you envied by adventurers your age?¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Exactly.¡± [Ryouma]

    That time sure was rough... I was really sensitive to petty envy due to the demon king¡¯s fragment. It was such that I could feel even the tiny envy from adventurers I was close with whenever we talked.

    ¡°Then why did you start the training facility because of that?¡± [Kanan]

    At first, I did consider just cooping myself up inside the mine. But then, it hit me. While I may have been bothered by the ill will people held against me, at the same time, although vague, I was able to understand what it was that was causing that ill will.

    When I realized that, I thought to try something.

    ¡°So I thought I could solve the issues as long as I made the reason behind their malice go away. And since people were envious of me because of my strength, I figured I should just train them until they were strong enough they didn¡¯t need to be envious. As for those who were envious of my money, then I decided I should just introduce them to a good job, so they could earn money.¡± [Ryouma]

    I wasn¡¯t sensitive to subtle things like that back in my previous life. Thanks to the demon king¡¯s fragment though, I was able to sense it. It might only be limited to negative emotions, but it¡¯s no doubt that it¡¯s thanks to it that I was able to understand the emotions those people held.

    My actions were done on a whim, but the result was mostly a sess. I trained people whenever I went out to buy food ingredients, and over time, the eyes that the troubling people looked at me with changed for the better.

    Of course, there were also times when they needlessly refused. But at that point, there¡¯s nothing else to do, but to just ignore those types of people. That¡¯s apromise I decided on since before, so I wasn¡¯t really bothered much.

    There were failures too. Some of the people who were envious became scared instead. I did hold back though. I wonder if they were beginners. People thought I was bullying people, so the guild master, Wogan, paid a visit. I exined everything to him except for the demon king¡¯s fragment, and he decided to help out as well.

    I think it was around that time that aspiring neers would sign up on their own. It was due to that that the scale of the facility also grew bigger...

    After continuing that for some time, I eventually learned the Coach skill. Moreover, even though the fragment of the demon king¡¯s almost been finished being treated, I¡¯m a lot more sensitive to people¡¯s feelings now... Or at least I think so anyway. At the very least, my acquaintances have increased. I know way more people now than I ever did back in my previous life. I¡¯m really happy about that. I also have a bit of influence in Gimuru nowadays too. No one¡¯sing to sabotage my stores like that time when I first opened my store either. Everything¡¯s going real well.

    Now going back to the main topic...

    I exined the story to Elia and the others as the carriage swayed. Of course, I made sure to leave out the demon king¡¯s fragment. As I finished exining, a white wall about 2 meters tall and a gate surrounding a two-story building entered my vision.

    You can¡¯t see the whole thing from here, but the buildings are arranged like the katakanas ¡®¥³¡¯ (ko) and ¡®¥í¡¯ (ro) from the entrance of the building. Overall, the ce looks like a mansion save for some parts. The whole ce is shaped like a rectangle with the dimension 50m x 100m, and an area of 5000 square meters.

    ¡°You can see it now.¡± [Ryouma]

    When I said that, Elia and the others took a peek from the door behind me.

    ¡°So that¡¯s Ryouma-kun¡¯s training facility?¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°It¡¯s well made.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°To think it would be this big.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°I talked with the duke before making this, so I got a lot of help.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ryouma-sama¡¯s efforts have greatly improved the public order of Gimuru. The household of the duke also managed to gain some hidden gems amongst the aplished people trained by the facility. The master also ns to continue providing assistance depending on the sess from here on. Moreover, the Jamil Household is also investigating whether to make simr buildings like this one in the different town. It¡¯s not so strange at all that the duke would support Ryouma-sama¡¯s idea.¡± [Sebasu]

    Come to think of it, weren¡¯t there people leaving to work for the duke recently? I can¡¯t remember their names, but they should be doing well... right? It¡¯s great that they were able to find a good ce to work at.

 Volume 4 - 8

    TL Correction: Previously, the trantion read that the shapes ko and ro were arranged from the entrance. That¡¯s a mistrans.

    Instead, the buildings are actually arranged like ¥³ (ko) and ¥í(ro) from the entrance.

    Volume 4 Chapter 8: A Visit to the Training Facility

    After passing through the gates, I returned Rai and the monster carriage back into the Dimension Home, then I began the tour.

    We¡¯ve just gone past through the gates of the facility. The ce was quiet, and there were no people around. The only things that could be seen were the seemingly well-built buildings with flower beds and trees around and the open za. But despite the seemingck of life, the sound and voices of people could be heard.

    ¡°Currently, the orphans of and around Gimuru, the teachers, the employees working at my store, and the ves are all living here. There are 300 of them all in all. Aside from those living here, there are also those who have their own house or stay at the inn at the town whomute to this training facility.¡± [Ryouma]

    When I said that, Elia and the others looked at me with deep interest.

    ¡°As I¡¯ve said before, I originally started this facility on my own whims, but it was thanks to the support of the Jamil household and the many people who helped me that we were able to put up this facility.¡± [Ryouma]

    Financial aid was one of the ways I received help, but other than that I also received help in the form of people offering their services. Most of the instructors in this facility are actually people who retired from their jobs under the condition that I would provide for their day-to-day needs. They said they didn¡¯t need much of a sry so long as I could ensure their livelihood.

    This facility is an orphanage for children unable to support themselves, a dormitory for the employees working for me, a school for children and other aspiring people who wishes to learn techniques, as well as a workshop for the craftsmen taught by the facility.

    As I said that, the first ce I led the group to were the rooms of the people living in the facility. The left and right buildings that were lined up like the katakana ¡®¥³¡¯ from the gate were the residences. And the center building of that shape was the shared space which contained the bath and the dining hall. I showed Elia¡¯s group the rooms that were currently empty.

    The rooms were fit for four, furnished only with the barest of necessities. But should any other furniture be needed, we can also provide those. But in any case, the rooms were dreary with nothing else to them but their sturdiness. Yet surprisingly, Michelle-san actually liked the room, and thought it to befortable.

    After that came the bath and the washroom. There was arge bath for each of the residences to the left and right, totaling to 2. At first, it was suggested to only have onerge bath, separating the people entering by time. But then considering that many of the adventurers and artisan trainees woulde home dirty, in the end, it was decided for there to be tworge baths to allow either gender to enter whenever they wish.

    All the dirty water and trash goes to the basement where the scavenger slimes dispose of them. After which, the scavenger slimes then spit fertilizers into another room in the basement.

    Next came the lounge and the dining hall. The lounge and the dining hall were created to amodate a huge crowd, but due to the furniture being created by the students of the craftsmen, the furniture decorating the area were all over the ce in terms of quality.

    As for the kitchen, the one using it weren¡¯t only the cooks, but also the students learning to cook. They used it for their hands-on training as well as a ce to make bread crumbs. It¡¯s no exaggeration to say that it¡¯s thanks to the students and the husband and wife instructors who were former bakers that I¡¯m able to serve the fried foods ¨C except for the tempura - in my Slime Den Restaurant or the store in the arena.

    Food like croquette, tonkatsu, and menchi-katsu were certainly popr, but leaving even the production of the bread crumbs to the employees was just too much of a burden. But thanks to the help of the students and the teachers, not only is it possible for the employees to skip the bread crumb making stage, but as the two bakers had even researched on the frying of the breadcrumbs, the taste was even improved. The skills of a pro are truly frightening.

    This concludes most of the tour. Now... let¡¯s go to the main course, and head to the learning area!

    But just as I was about to head there, I noticed that Elia and the others were for some reason looking at the ceiling and the walls strangely.

    ¡°Magic stones for lighting the rooms, and candles for the hallway...¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Is there something that caught your attention?¡± [Ryouma]

    As I responded to Riera-san¡¯s muttering, Riera-san hesitatingly said.

    ¡°Yes, actually... Is this facility doing fine in regards to its operation costs?¡± [Riera]

    Operation costs? Well, there¡¯s no problem in particr... Did it look like we were having financial problems?

    As I was being puzzled by Riera-san¡¯s unexpected question, Michelle-san added.

    ¡°The candles on the hallway walls are consumables, right? Moreover, there¡¯re also the magic stones inside the rooms. Isn¡¯t it expensive having so many magic tools set in so many different rooms? Orphanages and baths normally don¡¯t have them. I mean they¡¯re great to look at sure, but isn¡¯t it too costly?¡± [Michelle]

    Ah, so that¡¯s what it was! It wasn¡¯t the walls, but the candles that she was looking at!

    Of course, using lighting would definitely cost money. And the bigger the facility, the greater the expenses. That¡¯s why the church and the orphanage gets everyone to sleep early. It¡¯smon sense after all to save up on candles.

    But this training facility doesn¡¯t do that. If you ask why, well it¡¯s because three amongst the teachers here are tallow chandlers. Moreover, there are ten students here learning how to make candles, resulting in hundreds of candles being made every day. So there¡¯s no need to bother about candle consumption.

    The teachers check the candles made, and when they¡¯re good enough, they get sent to Serge-san¡¯s Morgan Firm to be sold. So rather than being a burden to the operation costs of the facility, the candles are instead a source of profit.

    Moreover, the students are also passionate about their studies. So there are many of them who continue to study even during the night. If they just wanted to y around, then I probably wouldn¡¯t support them, but since they want to study, well... I mean if I didn¡¯t support them, then there wouldn¡¯t be any point to this facility, right?

    So I firmly answered.

    ¡°There¡¯s no problem at all. The magic stones will break after using them long enough, but we¡¯re more than able to take care of the expenses. Besides, it¡¯s a necessary expense to let the children study.¡± [Ryouma]

    When they heard my response, they pped and praised in admiration. They each looked at me with admiring gazes.

    ¡°Ryouma-san, I¡¯m moved!¡± [Elia]

    As Elia said that, she took my hands, surprising me. Then Michelle-san said.

    ¡°The Imperial Capital¡¯s Academy provides magic tools and candles in order to reduce the costs of lighting in the night. From time to time, we see some poor students without any lighting.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Really?¡± [Ryouma]

    I didn¡¯t know.

    That aside is Elia going to keep holding...

    Just as I thought that, it seems Elia noticed too, and she pulled back her hand as she took a step back. Thinking back on the Elia from before, this Elia¡¯s reaction is a lot more womanlike....

    Michelle-san continued.

    ¡°Yeah, so what they do is they cut their time spent during the night, save up money, and then buy some lighting for themselves. The fact that you consider it a necessary expense to provide lighting for your students really helps them a lot. Your students are fortunate, and I¡¯m sure they can feel your passion as well.¡± [Michelle]

    It sure feels uneasy being praised this much. Michelle-san¡¯s a bit androgynous, but she¡¯s still really pretty. The other four girls are also all young, beautiful women, so it can¡¯t be helped if I end up blushing after being praised like that.

    ¡°Ah, no... It just doesn¡¯t cost that much for me, so you don¡¯t have to praise me that much.¡± [Ryouma]

    I pulled myself together... I nned on taking them to the learning area anyway, so I might as well take them to the candle workshop first. As I thought that, I walked.

    With the girls in tow, I left the shared area, and walked down deep into the halls until we reached a fork. Ahead is the learning space.

    I turn right, and walk past the ssroom of the students studying letters and calctions. I climbed up the stairs at the end, and then opened the door to the corner room that was the first to greet us upon entering the second floor.

    The room we entered was two sizes bigger than the ssroom we just passed by a while ago. In there were three skilled tallow chandlers. They were Dort-san, Delt-san, and Tord-san. With them were 10 male students, working. After they greeted me, and I told them that I was doing a tour of the facility for Elia¡¯s group, they immediately went back to working.

    Amongst the 10 students that were working, two were twining a wooden rod in washi (Japanese Paper), grass, and cotton. Two were melting and filtering wax inside a pot. Of which the resulting wax were then being processed by another two who created wicks through the use of the rod from before. Then the remaining four used their bare hands to smear wax over a rod until it was thick. As for the three skilled tallow chandlers, they would go around supervising the students by giving them advice or by showing them how it¡¯s done.

    I feel like the students started working harder when I entered the room, but I¡¯ll just keep quiet about that.

    ¡°These are the skilled tallow chandlers and the people learning from them.¡± [Ryouma]

    When I said that, the girls¡¯ gazes moved to the box near the students, by the corner of the room, filled with candles.

    ¡°This facility first teaches characters and the basics of arithmetic calctions. After that, it teaches the students what they want to learn.¡± [Ryouma]

    The students are cut out for different things, so while I won¡¯t chase them out if they have no talent, being unmotivated is another story.

    ¡°So... about the matter of lighting we were discussing a while ago, the candles being used in this facility are all being made here. We also make a profit from the candles produced here, so there¡¯s not much of a burden to our operation costs in providing all that lighting.¡± [Ryouma]

    I might as well take this opportunity and introduce them...

    I went to a corner of the room, and showed them a slime that was inside a barrel.

    ¡°This slime is a wax slime. It¡¯s a slime that spits out wax.¡± [Ryouma]

    The wax slime prefers to eat vegetation with plenty of oil content in them, but it can also eat other food just fine. The only side effect to doing so is that the wax it spits out will be less. Thanks to this slime the only real expense in candle making are the grasses and cotton used in the production of the candles¡¯ wick.

    The rods used are shaved bamboos made from the bamboo thickets by my house. The washi papers are created by the evolution of a sticky slime after eating bamboos, the pulp slime.

    The pulp slime likes to eat strong vegetation with plenty of fiber. It then spits out the sticky liquid resulting from melted vegetation. It was by wringing out the faint memory I had of one of my extracurricr lessons back in my previous life, that I was able to make paper. It was hard making it from memory, but it was worth it.

    The produced paper is used by the students as notebooks, textbooks, and test papers. It is also used to create paper bags to be used by the store at the arena. Papers are sold for 10 suits a sheet on the market, so just 10 sheets would already cost an adult a day¡¯s living expense. With the pulp slime, a good chunk of the expense can be cut off. Unlike the candles, the paper made here is only used in my training facility, in my house, and in the store. It isn¡¯t being sold.

    ¡°We don¡¯t just provide candles to the students. We also provide them with notebooks and the necessary writing materials. Character and math textbooks are also distributed free of charge to the students. And in the instance they run out of papers, they can request for a new one. Of course, they¡¯ll be scolded if the waste it.¡± [Ryouma]

    From candles to the ingredients of candles, and then to the exnation of the pulp slime. By the time I finished exining everything, Elia and her friends¡¯ eyes had turned into dots.

    ¡°...¡± [Elia and her friends]

    Huh? It¡¯s not like I mentioned anything about my previous life... And it¡¯s not like they were surprised by the cooler slimes back in the monster carriage, so why? Even Sebasu-san¡¯s just nodding his head while saying it can¡¯t be helped.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, the textbooks are free? But shouldn¡¯t those be expensive since you need to pay for the ink and pay someone to engrave a mold?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Oh there¡¯s no problem there either as we have ink slimes.¡± [Ryouma]

    The ink slime eats vegetation and spits out liquids of different colors. Currently, they can spit out six different colors, which are ck, white, red, blue, yellow, and green. But that¡¯s not all, by using ink with finely powdered magic stones, and writing a script. Then by cing a sheet of paper over that script, and letting the ink slimes spit out ink ording to the shape of the script, it¡¯s possible to easily reproduce copies of the original script.

    If you release magic power, the slimes will happily gather, and absorb magic power. This method of copying takes advantage of the slimes¡¯ ability to sense magic, and is useful for creating documents for reports and meetings. This is something that was mostly created by the slime research facility put up by me ¨C as part of my hobbies ¨C and by my fellow researchers.

    Upon exining that, Elia and her friends broke out in a chatter about how convenient slimes were.

    I wholly agree with them. The fact that slimes are useful is a sharedmon sense in my circle.

    More than anything though, I¡¯m happy that they realize just how useful slimes are.

    ¡°If you¡¯d like, I could provide some notebooks and papers for you all.¡± [Ryouma]

    I spontaneously said that out loud. Actually, I don¡¯t think notebooks and papers would be a good present for girls, but Michelle-san was actually ted. Apparently, she often runs out of paper due to all of her magic formation experiments. She also had to record the results down too.

    After that, I showed them the other ces.

    First was the workshop in the second story that created light things such as strainers, baskets, chairs, ornaments, clothes, and leather goods. Then I brought them to the ssroom where lecture regarding the prices ofmodities and the cirction of goods in the market were held. After which came the ssroom for medicinal products and theboratory. The doctor teaching that ss is also responsible for aiding students that have fallen sick.

    Following that, the rooms in the first floor were mostly just ssrooms, workshops that produced heavy objects, the ingredients for those objects, and the warehouse where the furnishings of the facility were stored.

    To give some examples of the workshops there, there¡¯s the workce of the carpenters that build cabs and desks, the sawmill where lumber is produced, and the harness/carriage workshop that had arge door facing toward the courtyard. It¡¯s actually from that workshop that I got Rai¡¯s monster carriage made.

    We also visited many of the other sses. By the time we finished, it was noon. With the tour done, we rode on Rai¡¯s monster carriage, and left the facility.

    On the way to the Slime Den Restaurant to have our lunch, I heard the girls talking from the seats behind me.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it possible for the training facility here to actually be better than the Imperial Capital¡¯s Academy?¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Yeah... Smithing and magic¡¯s also taught in different ces, right?¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Yes, that is correct.¡± [Sebasu]

    There are a lot of people who want to be adventurers, and there¡¯s the risk of idents if we had magic training take ce in the same area, so adventure rted sses and armor and weapon crafting sses are being held elsewhere.

    ¡°The subjects being taught are less than the academy¡¯s, but that¡¯s only because the scale is different... And considering that the graduates have to be an apprentice somewhere, it¡¯s not that much different I feel.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°I think it¡¯s better here since I can get all the lighting and paper I need.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Well depending on what a person is looking for, the training facility here might actually be better than the academy. I think most people would prefer it here though.¡± [Elia]

    Seeing the five praise the training facility that much made me happy. I had great confidence in it which is why I showed it to them, but who would¡¯ve thought it would be put on the same level as the Imperial Capital¡¯s Academy.

    After that, I focused on driving the carriage. It wasn¡¯t until we got to the Slime Den Restaurant that I realized that I¡¯ve been humming all along.

    Looks like I was a lot happier than I gave myself credit for.

 Volume 4 - 9

    While the girls were exiting the carriage, I looked at the Slime Den Restaurant.

    The Slime Den Restaurant is a three-storied building. It¡¯s built with stones made from the red soil of the abandoned mine, giving it the warm atmosphere of a building made out of bricks. Its built on thend that was left over from when I built theundromat, Bamboo Forest, and thend of the nearby building that was sold due to the store there moving to the new town. Because of that, theundromat and the Slime Den Restaurant ended up having the employee dormitory right in between the two.

    The manager of the Slime Den Restaurant is the same employee who took care of the kitchen of theundromat, Celma-san. Karm-san said that there were plenty of vacant rooms in the dorm, so considering that Celma-san also had some lingering affections for her previous job, I talked to her about it.

    We¡¯ll be able to fill the vacant rooms by having the employees of the Slime Den Restaurant sleep at theundromat¡¯s dorm, and the employees will also be able toe and go easily to eat. Moreover, if I were to teach Celma-san the cooking in my previous life, I¡¯ll be able to eat food from my previous life whenever I please. It was for these reasons that I made the restaurant. With all that said, the Slime Den Restaurant is actually a store I started without any intention of making a profit. I was satisfied so long as it stayed clear of the red.

    But by teaching Celma-san the recipe of my previous life¡¯s cuisines, and by giving her the pepper I harvested when I sometimes went out to gather herbal ingredients from the Great Forest of Shurus, and on top of that, by giving her the meat of the magical beasts I hunted along the way... Before I knew it, the store had already gotten famous for delicious cuisine.

    After everyone had gotten off the carriage, I returned Rai into the Dimension Home. I took Elia and her friends into the store. As we opened the door, a bell sounded, and the hustle and bustle within the store and the bright voice of the employees reached our ears.

    ¡°Wee. This way please, owner.¡± [Waitress]

    When we entered the store, a waitress and a slime that was on a small table a short distance away from the door, weed us. The drunk slime is the mascot of this store. Thanks to the divine protection it has received, it¡¯s able to provide good alcohol to the store. It¡¯s what you would call a ¡°beckoning slime¡±.

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    We followed the waitress through the crowded restaurant. The seats and tables were arranged in an orderly fashion. And although the restaurant was crowded, the spaces in between the tables that were also there to divide the area ensured that there was space to walk. The interior of the restaurant was designed like that of a family restaurant. People often say it¡¯s a bit entric.

    As we walked, following the waitress, we were led to a table by the corner in the second floor. As everyone took their seats, the waitress distributed the menu, and gave us some water to drink. Then she left us and went to the other tables where other customers calling her sat.

    ¡°Now what should we eat?¡± [Ryouma]

    I forgot to ask what kind of food they were bad at, so I wasn¡¯t able to n anything beforehand except for desserts.

    I drank my ss of water as I looked at the menu.

    Speaking of which, this menu was made by printing the contents with the ink of the ink slime on the paper of the pulp slime. After which it was then enclosed in the hardening liquid nk of the sticky slime. At which point, a hole was then opened to allow the menu to be seen, and was then inserted into a leather bag, folded three times. After being folded three times, the name of the store and the word ¡®menu¡¯ can be seen on the front cover of the leather.

    I scanned the menu a little, but I already have everything in it memorized; everything except the set meals that change daily depending on Celma-san¡¯s whims and the food stocks. So there¡¯s no point looking at the menu. With that in mind, I might as well just exin the dishes myself.

    ¡°Is there anything you guys want to eat? Meat or vegetable...?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Nothing in particr. I don¡¯t really have any hates or dislikes when ites to food, so I¡¯ll take whatever you rmend, Ryouma-kun.¡± [Michelle]

    Rmend, huh? Well I like everything in the menu, so if you were to ask me, I would actually rmend most of the food in it... If I were to consider the store¡¯s profits, then I would have to rmend liquor, but... that¡¯s not really an option here.

    Also, I¡¯m going to digress a bit, but the reason this store¡¯s liquor is making such a profit is because of the world¡¯s number one adviser (The God of Wine, Tekun).

    Each time there was a banquet, I would bring food and wine to the divine realm, and Tekun would go, ¡°This food goes with this wine!¡±. Because of that, I was able to get a good reference for which food to match with which liquor, resulting in the store making a killing.

    Not that it¡¯s rted to the matter at hand or anything. Anyway, since it¡¯s like this...

    ¡°How about the Slime Den Restaurant¡¯s special made Hamburger Set? With seasoned minced meat, chicken soup, red wine, and herb sauce, it¡¯s a treat you¡¯ll never forget. There¡¯re also bread and corn soup to go with it too.¡± [Ryouma]

    There¡¯s hamburger in this world so it should be safe, although the taste ispletely different.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll have just that.¡± [Michelle]

    Michelle¡¯s decided, so next is... Kanan?

    ¡°I¡¯d like some meat too. If possible I want to eat something I can¡¯t eat anywhere else except for here.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Then in that case, I¡¯d rmend either teriyaki pork, fried chicken, or beef cutlet set. The teriyaki pork and the fried chickenes with rice, but the beef cutletes with bread.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll have that fried chicken set.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°So there¡¯s cooked rice here. I got ta say it¡¯s been awhile since I¡¯ve had some rice...¡± [Miyabi]

    The staple food of this country is bread, so rice isn¡¯t grown in these parts. This store is able to sell rice thanks to Pioro-san providing us imports along with soy sauce and miso from the dragonewt vige. I wonder if there¡¯re stores that sell cooked rice in the capital. I don¡¯t think it¡¯d be strange for the capital city of this country to have some, but the way Miyabi-san talks suggest otherwise...

    As I pushed up all the rice dishes in my head up the list, Sebasu-san suggested a dish ahead of me.

    ¡°Then in that case, how about Chahan? It¡¯s steamed rice, fried, with a taste seasoned with salt and pepper. If you were to make it into a set meal, then there¡¯s chicken soup to go with it along with crispy minced meat and fried gyoza.¡± [Sebasu]

    Because of that exnation, Miyabi-san, Elia, and Sebasu-san ordered the Chahan Set.

    Come to think of it, Sebasu-san sure likes Chinese cuisine... It seems he¡¯s beening here to eat Chahan when I wasn¡¯t around. The butler who orders Chahan every time hees here is apparently famous amongst the employees.

    Last to order was Riera-san, who ordered asagna set that had bread and soup to go with it.

    I called the waitress, and ordered. Speaking of which, my order was the special made Hayashi Rice with sesame dressing sd.

    Now all that¡¯s left is to wait... While we were waiting, Elia noticed Miyabi-san looking around the store with serious eyes.

    ¡°Miyabi, is there something the matter?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°It¡¯s rted to my family¡¯s business, so it caught my interest a bit.¡± [Miyabi]

    Apparently, Miyabi-san saw the prices from the menu a while ago, and thought them to be rather cheap considering the import costs and the seasonings. While it¡¯s true that importing a lot of goods while making it cheap isn¡¯t easy, it¡¯s thanks to the effort of thepany that it¡¯s possible.

    ¡°I go to the Great Forest of Shurus several times in a year to gather herbal ingredients. So during that time I would take the opportunity, and also harvest some pepper to use in the store.¡± [Ryouma]

    The pepper I get doesn¡¯t only grow around the vicinity of the ruins of Cormi Vige, but also near the deeper areas of the forest. People don¡¯t enter that area, so there¡¯re plenty growing. I can get as much as I want, so during that time, I would stay for as long as a week, and gather enough to have even some left overs for the store.

    The pepper I gather isn¡¯t only used in the store. I also use it to settle a part of the bill of the rice, soy sauce, and miso that I get from the Saionji Firm. In other words, I also use it to barter.

    ¡°Other than that, I also provide the magical beasts I hunt along with the vegetables grown in my house, so I¡¯m able to reduce the cost.¡± [Ryouma]

    It¡¯s not only bamboos that grow in my house. I need food to raise the goblins that I use to feed the slimes and experiment on, so I turned a part of the abandoned mine mountain into a field.

    ¡°So Ryouma-dono does even that.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Yes, but the guild master of the merchant guild warned me not to sell those as it would cause the prices of all sort of things to fall, so while they¡¯re being used, they aren¡¯t being sold.¡± [Ryouma]

    It¡¯smon for magicians specializing in wood magic to make a small change with agriculture. It¡¯s not strange either for retired magicians to work at fields. But in my case, I¡¯m using the scavenger slimes¡¯ fertilizer and the nt slimes that use wood magic to farm inrge scale, resulting in scale and yields of apletely different league.

    When I first started, there were many times when the crops turned into magical beasts, and were spoiled. But nowadays, I¡¯m able to regrly supply this store with a variety of crops. Also, it¡¯s not just crops that I¡¯m not allowed to sell. I was also warned to talk before selling any of the notebooks and papers made by the training facility.

    ¡°Today¡¯s really changed my perspective on slimes... It¡¯s really a mystery why researchers gave slimes the cold shoulder for so long.¡± [Michelle]

    When she heard my words, Michelle-san said that.

    ¡°There are plenty of people who came under my wing, and produced results, you know? The wax slimes and the ink slimes in the training facility that I showed you are some of the results of those researchers who came under my wing... The slimes were ignored, so the researchers couldn¡¯t provide results. And because they couldn¡¯t provide results, the researchers ignored the slimes even more. It¡¯s a vicious cycle.¡± [Ryouma]

    I gathered the slime researchers from Caulkins-san and his friends¡¯ former workce to work for me in myundromats. It was then that I found out that there were actually plenty of researchers who were willing to research slimes, but due to malnutrition from poverty, their health deteriorated.

    Many amongst them tried to stave off their hunger with Kofu berry. It¡¯s a kind of berry with texture simr to that of mochi, but bitter. But then even if they do manage to stave off their hunger, they wouldn¡¯t get much nutrients.

    It seems they tried topensate for theck of nutrients with the Hamide herb ¨C a kind of herb with plenty of nutrients ¨C but even then it wasn¡¯t enough. Continuing a lifestyle like that for an extended period would only leave them suffering with malnutrition or... sick. It¡¯s not a lifestyle you could call healthy.

    When I asked them why they kept eating those things, they said it¡¯s because they didn¡¯t have money. So even though the food was bad, since they were able to buy those two cheap, allowing them to buy lots, they kept eating it.

    Being in a state like that wouldn¡¯t just leave you unmotivated, it would even take away your ability to think. If anything, they already did plenty well in that they didn¡¯t copse.

    ¡°What happened to those people?¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Making them work like that would have been bad for my conscience... and besides, I wasn¡¯t even confident they¡¯d be able to work, so I first helped rehabilitate them. Nowadays, everyone is back to health, and they¡¯re either working at a branch store of myundromat, or researching at the research facility at the back of the training facility.¡± [Ryouma]

    By making full use of my knowledge in medicine, both in this world and thest, along with the help of actual doctors, after we were able to confirm that the researchers were in fact suffering from malnutrition, we crushed some soybeans and fruits, and threw them into water. Then from that solution of vitamin B1, B2, B12, and C, I used my alchemy to draw out and mix vitamin pills, which we then had the destitute researchers drink.

    From my identify skill, I found out that there were in fact little nutrients in the kofu berry. At the same time, I also found out that there were plenty of nutrients in the hamide herb, however, it wascking in Vitamin B.

    It¡¯s harmful to the body to take too much of a certain vitamin, so I made sure to only give them water soluble vitamins which are rtively easier to expulse from the body. The medicines are only something made in a jiffy, but since administering it to them, their health gradually got better.

    I had already reached the age where I was worried about my health back in my previous life, so I would often check various sites on health rted matters then... it seems that knowledge actually proved itself useful here.

    They had some other diseases on top of the malnutrition, so they weren¡¯t able to make an instant recovery. But despite that, after making them stop eating such unhealthy meals, and making them take the vitamin pills and eat food easy to digest, and then letting them rest, even the doctors were surprised at how fast they recovered.

    There are still some of them drinking vitamin pills even today, but that¡¯s only for supplement, and not treatment. Nowadays, they rarely have any health issues aside fromck of sleep.

    Back to the topic.

    When I told them that the destitute researchers had gotten better, Elia and the others smiled as they said, ¡°that¡¯s great.¡±

    ¡°Excuse me.¡± [Waitress]

    Oh, the food came. We were concentrated on talking, so it felt like the food came instantly.

    As the three waitresses called out to us, they began to ce the food on the table. When they finished, they politely bowed, went to a corner, opposite our table, and returned to the waiting area by the special staircase in the second floor that¡¯s meant for carrying food.

    When the eating began, the once lively table turned quiet. Everyone had be too entranced by the food, leaving little words to be said. Especially Miyabi-san, who waspletely focused on eating, not even speaking a single word.

    Still... I have to say... it¡¯s sort of strange seeing a butler and ady like Elia eating Chahan and Gyoza. Then again that¡¯s probably just because I haven¡¯t eaten anything back then aside from home cooking or cheap food.

    It¡¯s not really strange even for high-ss Chinese restaurants to serve Chahan. Although I wouldn¡¯t really know whether a high-ss Chinese restaurant would also serve fried gyoza. If you asked for gyoza at an authentic restaurant, they would probably serve boiled gyoza instead since apparently, fried gyoza is a way to sell leftover food.

    But the people of this world don¡¯t know that. All they know is that it¡¯s delicious, and are just eating normally. The only one who finds it strange is me due to the image I have in my mind.

    After eating, the peach-like jello that I had reserved beforehand was brought. After eating that too, our lunch concluded. I paid the bill, and we rode the monster carriage. Hearing that everyone was satisfied made me happy.

    I already knew that they enjoyed the meal from the expression they had while eating though... Ah, but I won¡¯t teach the recipe to anyone, ok?

    As I responded to the voices of the people from behind me, I ordered Rai. The next destination of the monster carriage is the training area for fighting practices.

 Volume 4 - 10

    TL Note: Hi all, here¡¯s the extra chapter. Thank you so much to all the donators!

    Site Changes: Due to my server not being able to handle the load, dark theme¡¯s currently disabled.

    I¡¯m still working on the site, so let me know if there¡¯s anything else you want changed or added.

    VOLUME 4 CHAPTER 10: TRAINING AREA

    On the way to the training area, Michelle-san said this.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, could you also give us a tour of the slime research facility? I got interested after hearing you talk about it.¡± [Michelle]

    The other four also seemed to be interested. Honestly speaking, that makes me happy, but...

    ¡°Unfortunately, the slime research facility is currently prohibited except for rted personnel. I can¡¯t promise you anything.¡± [Ryouma]

    In order to make the most of the research results of the facility we allow tours for our trusted affiliates. We are also brazenly using the abilities of the slimes in the training facility. However, there are still slimes under research and other confidential matters within the research facility, so we can¡¯t just recklessly let anyone enter.

    Information is freely shared within the research facility regardless of experience or age, and the research is done together by all the researchers. However, the flow of information to the outside is being strictly monitored.

    The facility¡¯s security is also tight. Thirty of the people Rheinbach-sama introduced was hired to guard the facility. There are several expensive magical tools set in ce. And even a barrier to defend against invasions through dimension magic or retreats through it has been put up.

    ¡°It¡¯s unfortunate, but I guess it can¡¯t be helped.¡± [Michelle]

    Michelle-san seemed to have predicted my response, and she easily gave up the idea.

    It¡¯s not strange for research facilities to prohibit entry. People who are able to tour one are considered lucky, so it seems she wasn¡¯t expecting much when she asked for a tour.

    ¡°It¡¯s because even though my parents are researchers, I¡¯m not allowed to enter theirboratory.¡± [Michelle]

    Come to think of it, her family is a lineage of researchers. I guess it¡¯s not that strange that she understands how these kind of facilities operate then.

    As we talked like that, the northern gate of the first town entered our line of sight.

    ¡°Hmm? If we keep going this way, we¡¯ll reach the gate.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Are we leaving the town?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Yes. The training area is located outside the town.¡± [Ryouma]

    The training area and the magic training area were built at a location about an hour and a half to a two-hour distance walk outside the town for safety reasons. It¡¯s a little closer to Gimuru from the midpoint between Gimuru and my house.

    The area was positioned some distance away from the Grell Frogs so as to not affect them. There the trees were cut, and a lot of 150m x 100m was created. And then a rectangr building, rounded on one side, making it look like a smart ball or a pinball, was built on it.

    As we passed the gates, I ordered Rai to speed up. At my orders he quickly sped up, and he ran like a horse. Surprised, Riera-san, couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    ¡°Ryouma-dono, aren¡¯t we going a little too fast?¡± [Riera]

    ¡°No problem. This kid has more than enough stamina for it.¡± [Ryouma]

    After 2 years, this is what Rai¡¯s skills look like.

    Rai (Cannonball Rhino)

    SKILLS LEVEL

    Stamina UP Lv7

    Vitality UP Lv5

    Strength UP Lv4

    Neutral Magic Lv1

    Qigong Lv3

    He had the first three skills right from the start, so his growth as a cannonball rhino was faster than normal. Learning neutral magic as he grew up wasn¡¯t strange either. But thest skill on the other hand...

    Qigong Lv3

    From what I gather, there¡¯s never been an incident where a cannonball rhinos was able to use qigong, but for some reason, Rai can use it. It¡¯s probably because of me and the mimic slime that Rai turned out like this. I can¡¯t think of any other reason.

    In these past two years that I¡¯ve been training the mimic slime, I¡¯ve taught it various battle techniques, allowing it to reach a level where it¡¯s able to somewhat put up a fight against me. One of the techniques I taught it was qigong.

    But I also had the mimic slime eat some of Rai¡¯s fur, allowing it to transform into Rai. Because of that there were also times when I had the mimic slime train with Rai. Some time passed, and before I knew it, Rai was also able to use qigong.

    Rai had a strong body from the start, so with qigong added to that, he¡¯s easily able to pull the monster carriage. And with him being able to maintain this speed for two hours, we arrived at the training area in no time at all.

    On the other hand, although Rai was able to learn qigong, his neutral magic level is low. It would appear that due to the higher efficiency of the qigong which has a simr effect to the neutral magic, Strengthen Body, he doesn¡¯t use his magic much, causing low levels.

    Now, going back to the topic...

    As I continued to let Rai run with the monster carriage in tow for some time, we stopped by the right side of the road going toward the abandoned mine, and arrived at the training area that¡¯s surrounded by trees.

    Before us stood the wall of a building with a number of big windows attached to it, and a boorish gate at the center that was big enough to let two carriages pass. There were four people watching over the gate. When we opened the gate, those men came over. As I called out to them, we entered through the gate.

    ¡°Thank you for your work.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s our pleasure!¡± [Gatekeepers]

    As they replied, we passed through the gate.

    Deep inside, I wryly smiled as I thought on how I just can¡¯t get used to that atmosphere... Then as I was thinking that, Riera-san asked me.

    ¡°Those people were?¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Trainees. I consulted Rheinbach-sama, Elia¡¯s grandfather, about the guards of the research facility. Because of that there are former knights amongst the instructors here. Those people back there are trainees of those former knights... Speaking of which, Riera-san, would you like to try out the training here after our match?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Thank you, Ryouma-dono. Yes, I¡¯d love to participate in the training.¡± [Riera]

    She replied immediately... Her voice remains calm, but it seems she¡¯s really happy deep inside.

    Beyond the gate was a road enclosed in walls. We proceeded 6 meters through that path, and reached a ce to stop our carriage at. I parked the monster carriage beside the other carriages that were already parked, and then I got off the carriage, and ordered Rai to wait there.

    As Elia and the others were exiting the carriage, I began exining.

    ¡°This is the training area where magic and other rted subjects are taught. The building enclosing this parking is sturdy enough to stand even against magical beasts. Moreover, there are also passages inside the walls that are connected to the workshop ahead and the rooms inside the walls that we passed by after passing through the gate.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°There are rooms inside those walls? Is there anything in those?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a kitchen where sandwiches and other simple food are made. The food made there is sold to people passing by, who are hungry after their training. The proceeds from those goes to helping out the training facility. Also, sincest year, once a year during the Grell Frog outbreak, several stores open there in those windows that we saw by the gate, selling food, drinks, deodorant liquid, and other various things.¡± [Ryouma]

    Those stores sell goods aimed at adventurers hunting grell frogs, so their profits are huge. After all, there are many young adventurers who fail to prepare adequately, and even experienced adventurers sometimes fall into unforeseen situations.

    Even though the products sold by the stores are all priced higher than Gimuru¡¯s ¨C especially the food ¨C there are still arge number of adventurers who buy food before going home due to being hungry after a day¡¯s hard work.

    Incidentally, the cooks cooking the food are the chef and baker apprentices of the training facility. The people selling the goods are merchant apprentices. And because we¡¯re allowing them to umte experience while letting them help, thebor costs are zero.

    The students themselves nned for this for several weeks themselves in order to have a ce where they can show off the skills they have learned. There are also people amongst the teachers who consider this to be a good graduation test. And more than anything, as it is a kind of event, everyone is having fun. Unfortunately, this year¡¯s is already over. It might have been better if the girls visited during the season.

    ¡°I see...¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Do any problems ur during the event?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Of course. But in cases such as that, there are students studying here who are tasked with the duty of guarding the area, so it won¡¯t be an issue.¡± [Ryouma]

    There are a lot of people whoe here to study fighting techniques, but not everyone studying how to fight is aspiring to be an adventurer.

    For example, Crais-san, who we met yesterday as a gatekeeper of the first town, is also one of the students that trained here. His job, however, isn¡¯t an adventurer, but is instead a guard. That¡¯s because aside from those aiming to be adventurers, there are also those who are studying here with the intent of one day bing knights. And as even aspiring adventurers are sometimes tasked with escort missions or missions to guard a residence or a store, the training area here can also train those aspiring to be knights.

    ¡°Now that you mention it.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Right? That¡¯s why it¡¯s not a problem even if magical beasts or evil adventurerse. Also, other than the stores, there are also the students who make carriages, operating a stagecoach. There¡¯re also the students studying how to make clothes and essories, selling clothes for adventurers to change into... Basically, the students here do whatever they can do.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°This ce is perfect for adventurersing to work, huh?¡± [Kanan]

    As the other girlsughed, seemingly saying, ¡®exactly!¡¯, I took them, and we went to a door that was in an opposite direction from the gate we entered. On either side of that door were paths leading to a kitchen, but we ignored that, and kept going until we reached a crossroad.

    ¡°Near the sides of this crossroad were two rooms. The one close to the parking area had workshops for weapons and armors, and on the other side were the changing rooms for men and women, a workshop for creating magic staves, and a medical office.¡± [Ryouma]

    If we kept going this path, we would eventually reach the training area, but Riera-san should change her clothes first. After all, she couldn¡¯t possibly want to fight looking the way she is right now, being dressed in an attire meant for a walk downtown, now would she?

    As I pointed to a partitioning screen on the left hallway, I said.

    ¡°If you enter the hallway at either side, at the end of each can be found a changing room. The girl¡¯s changing room is to the left¨C¨C¨C¡° [Ryouma]

    As I was saying that, it dawned on me. I haven¡¯t decided the rules of the match yet... What should I do? Riera-san is aiming to be a knight, so should we use the knights¡¯ rules? What do they do at their academy? If we¡¯re doing it, then if possible I¡¯d like to go at it at full force...

    ¡°Ryouma-kun?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Something the matter?¡± [Riera]

    ¡°I just noticed that we haven¡¯t discussed the rules in our match, Riera-san. What should we do? If you teach me the rules of the academy that you¡¯re used to, I don¡¯t mind going with that.¡± [Ryouma]

    I might have said that with a hint of provocation, but even if I were to fight on Riera-san¡¯s terms, I wouldn¡¯t lose. Although this might be a bit excessive, I¡¯m confident I can beat most people unless the rules are against me.

    As I waited for Riera-san¡¯s reply, I noticed Riera-san¡¯s feelings weren¡¯t hurt in the slightest as she replied with a serious face.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine with the rules that are used normally when matches are held here, but...¡± [Riera]

    Mn? Is it something difficult to say? I wonder why?

    ¡°But?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°...Please excuse my shameless request, but would it be possible to have the match between me and Ryouma-dono be held one against five?¡± [Riera]

    One on five? I don¡¯t really mind, but...

    ¡°Why?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°The gap between my strength and yours is too big. Alone, I would either lose as soon as I made my move, or lose before using up all my power if you were to hold back. I¡¯ve been feeling this way this since I saw you fight the bandits on the way to Gimuru.¡± [Riera]

    Ahh, that time, huh?

    ¡°Then what¡¯s the reason why you want a one on five match?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°There¡¯s also the difference in number, but... Since us five entered the academy, we¡¯ve been training together these past three years as one group. And although it wasn¡¯t easy, before this extended vacation, we managed to take the seat of the most excellent group. Sost night, we talked amongst ourselves, and wondered whether or not the five of us would be able to put up a fight against you.¡± [Riera]¡±

    ¡°Mn, so the other four are also in agreement then?¡± [Ryouma]

    The other four nodded.

    Then it¡¯s fine. I¡¯ve also fought against parties of two or three adventurers from time to time, and aside from Elia¡¯s magic and magic power, their fighting experience is shallow, so I should be able to manage.

    ¡°I understand. The rules don¡¯t prohibit matches of one on five. Also, although it¡¯s a bit early, anything goes in the match. Magic weapons and tools are fair game. The referee will be the one to decide on the winner.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Thank you. And sorry for just saying whatever I want.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Oh, no, no... It was just a little unexpected is all.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Unexpected?¡± [Riera]

    With the image I had of Riera-san, what she said just now was almost miraculous. I mean... she struck me as a somewhat foolhardy girl after all.

    ¡°How should I put it... straight forward? In any case, you strike me as someone who would wish for a fair match regardless of the difference in strength.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Mu...¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Pf! ...!¡± [Michelle]

    Riera-san looked like she just swallowed a bitter bug when she heard my words. All the while, Michelle-san who was behind her did her best to keep herself fromughing.

    ¡°True... I certainly do give off that sort of image, but... After seeing you beat those bandits... After hearing from Sebasu-dono about how you¡¯re strong enough to be an A Rank adventurer... And after seeing that you have a B Rank magical beast with you, even I can understand that it¡¯s impossible for me to win.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Riera¡¯s dad and her two older brothers actually warned her in the past. They told her not to be too idealistic, but¨C¨C¨C¨C¡° [Michelle]

    ¡°Please don¡¯t tell him that.¡± [Riera]

    Ah, so she had that sort of temperament.

    But on the other hand, it seems she¡¯s able to make a proper decision based on the events that unfold before her and the information that she has. She might still be a bit rough when ites to determining the strength of her opponent, but it should be fine so long as she improves that gradually.

    She¡¯s able to borrow her friends¡¯ help when she knows she can¡¯t do something by herself. I don¡¯t know if Riera-san was the one who asked for this herself, but regardless, there are also people who are too stubborn to ept other people¡¯s help... Also, my initial impression of Riera wasn¡¯t low by any means, but with this, I think I should raise my initial assessment of her.

    Speaking of which, I wonder how good Elia¡¯s gotten at her magic? That¡¯ll be another thing to look forward to.

    As I was thinking that, Elia and the others received their equipment from Sebasu-san, and I sent them off to the girls¡¯ changing room. After that, I went to prepare as well.

 Volume 4 - 11

    VOLUME 4 CHAPTER 11: [REDACTED]

    I took out my equipment from my Dimension Home, and did my preparations inside the changing room.

    My current attire consists of a jet ck inner shirt and a jet ck pair of pants. This set is leather armor made out of the leather of the cannonball rhinos.

    My adventurer friends often tell me to sew some embroidery over my shirt or pants with gold threads or silver threads, but this one doesn¡¯t have any ornaments. An armor is good so long as it can protect. It¡¯s true that this armor set might not look that good on the outside, but it¡¯s highly efficient.

    For example, this jet ck armor is made by using the bamboo charcoal that¡¯s been made at my house, separating it and purifying it into carbon. And then mixing that carbon with the sticky slime¡¯s thread in a ratio of 1:9, creating a fiber that¡¯s simr to carbon fiber. However, I don¡¯t know how this imitationpares to the real thing. After all, I don¡¯t know how close it is to the real thing in the first ce, and I don¡¯t know what their differences are either.

    Speaking of carbon fiber, at first, when I tried to create a thread out of just carbon, I couldn¡¯t create anything except for a thin, fractured, lump of carbon. When I mixed it with the sticky slime¡¯s thread using my alchemy, I managed to increase its strength to a whole another level. While caution may need to be exercised when facing fire, ice, or electric magic when using this kind of material, it¡¯s extraordinarily strong against physical attacks.

    ¡°Which weapon should I use?¡± [Ryouma]

    The weapon I normally use is the adamantite katana that my grandfather left me. Other than that I have my two magic staves. I wonder if I should use a staff as a countermeasure against Elia¡¯s magic? ...After a little more thinking, I decided to go with the katana in the end.

    ¡°As expected, let¡¯s go with this...¡± [Ryouma]

    I ced the katana I took out by my waist, and then I left the male changing room.

    When I went back to the crossroads where I talked at with Elia and the others, the only one that was there was Sebasu-san. But just as I was thinking that, the other five suddenly appeared from the other side, walking.

    Walking in the lead was Kanan-san who wore light armor. She had a silver bracelet on each hand, probably as substitute for gauntlets. She wore leather armor, and two swords could be seen hanging by her waist. Twin swords, huh? Or is the other one a spare? Well... I¡¯ll find out when we fight.

    Next is Riera-san, but...

    ¡°Sorry for making you wait.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°I just got here actually... Still... The impression a person gives sure changes with different clothes, huh?¡± [Ryouma]

    She gave off the image of a cold beauty when wearing normal clothes and with her whole face visible, but with the way she looks right now, dressed in a chainmail, she truly looks like a soldier or a knight.

    From afar, I thought she was just wearing tights over her whole body, but it seems she also has a metal te attached over her chest to bolster her defense. On her waist hung a sword, and on her left hand was a shield... As expected, her equipment gives off a strong impression of having been made for fighting.

    ¡°Ryouma-dono, the clothes you are wearing sure is different, huh?¡± [Riera]

    ¡°It¡¯s special equipment.¡± [Ryouma]

    It was here after seeing the five of them that something caught my attention, so I asked them about it.

    ¡°Speaking of which, did you all buy your equipment from the same store? They seem to be simrly made.¡± [Ryouma]

    Elia, Miyabi-san, and Michelle-san are all wearing pants easy to move in. Also, they are all wearing leather chest protectors and a set of uniform robes. Even the staves they¡¯re wielding is uniform. And as for Riera-san and Kanan-san, the swords they are using look simr... especially the sheaths and the hilts.

    ¡°These are supplied by the academy. It¡¯s included in the tuition fee we pay, so everyone receives a set of equipment for use in our sses.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°They¡¯re mass produced, but after three years, we¡¯ve already gotten used to them.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°I see.¡± [Ryouma]

    That¡¯s why it looks so simr.

    ¡°From the first year until the third year it¡¯s forbidden to use personal equipment.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°That¡¯s why from the fourth year onwards, armor of all sorts, from bad to good,e out.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Training aside... do students start seriously training from the fourth year?¡± [Ryouma]

    Isn¡¯t that dangerous?

    ¡°It¡¯s to get used to the weapons. It¡¯s also because we have the magic tools that were created for safety reasons during the founding of the school.¡± [Elia]

    Apparently, those magic tools when worn will forcefully teleport the person wearing it if it seems they¡¯re about to take a damage greater than the damage permitted during training. Because of that there¡¯s little danger to one¡¯s life during training. And even the wounds incurred during training are at most at the level of cuts.

    Honestly, I¡¯m more surprised that magic tools from during the academy¡¯s creation is still around...

    ¡°That¡¯s quite convenient.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s true they can guarantee our safety, but the sense of tension being taken away could also be seen as a minus. The knights also have something simr, but ording to my older brother, they rarely use it.¡± [Riera]

    That¡¯s true, I wonder if I should introduce it to the training in the facility here. But now that I think about it, it sure feels strange. I¡¯m interested, but I guess that¡¯s about all there is to it.

    ¡°That¡¯s also true... Anyway, we¡¯ve already finished our preparations, so... shall we go?¡± [Ryouma]

    With our conversation already done, I proposed to move to the training area.

    As we passed through the door at the end of the crossroads, the area that next appeared before us was an area that was mostly outside already, only having a roof over it. A little further ahead was a wall perpendicr the hallway, serving as a demarcation. There was no roof past the hallway, and on either side of the hallway could be heard the voices of the people training.

    ¡°¡¯Fire Ball¡¯!¡± [Mage Student 1]

    ¡°¡¯Wind Hammer¡¯!¡± [Mage Student 2]

    ¡°¡¯Rock Bullet¡¯!¡± [Mage Student 3]

    To the left of the hallway is the training area for magic. Presently, the magician students are practicing their attack magic by firing them against dummy targets. The furthest target is about 40 meters away.

    ¡°Squad one, ready! Fire!¡± [Instructor 1]

    ¡°Immediately back down after firing, and switch with the next squad!¡± [Instructor 2]

    ¡°You over there! You¡¯re too slow!¡± [Instructor 3]

    To the right of the hallway are the people practicing their bows and throws. That just now were the archers. It seems they¡¯re doing group practice, and are currently being driven hard by their three instructors.

    The girls followed me as they looked at the training area. When we passed through the boundary marked by the wall, their eyes found themselves stuck on the building before them.

    In front of us was a 4 meter wall around which many stairs were installed. The area surrounding that was a marsh. Only the hallway continuing to the building and the entrance of the building wasn¡¯t surrounded.

    ¡°This is where the match will take ce?¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Yes. This is the sports ground of this training facility. Training for non-projectile weapons, matches, and realbat drills take ce here. The building is elliptical in shape with a diameter of 80 meters. In square meters, it has an area of about 5,000 square meters.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°What are the stairs attached to the walls for?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Knights and guards have to walk up staircases a lot in castle walls and fortresses. These stairs are to prepare the students for that. The idea is to let them build up stamina by having them go up and down. Also, the marsh here is for adventurers to train their ability to search in ces with bad footing.¡± [Ryouma]

    Both exercises train the legs and loins, so sses use either exercise. Incidentally, there is a water and earth magic-using slime grazing within the marsh known as mud slime. It¡¯s taking care of the marsh, so there¡¯s no strange smell here like the one that could be smelled by the marsh were the grell frog outbreak urs.

    After that we entered the building. Inside were over 300 people training, and sounds of weapons shing and warriors yelling could be heard all over.

    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s a lot of people.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Aside from the students, the adventurers of the town alsoe here. Please wait for a moment, I¡¯ll just go and ask for a good ce.¡± [Ryouma]

    I looked around as I said that. As I did, I saw the instructor, Barbet-san, standing by the wall. I immediately ran up to him.

    ¡°Barbet-san.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Why if it isn¡¯t Ryouma-dono. What¡¯s up?¡± [Barbet]

    ¡°I¡¯m about to have a match with five others to test out their mettle. Do you know any spacious ce?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I see... Mu... By five... are you referring to the students from the Imperial Capital¡¯s Academy?¡± [Barbet]

    When I looked at the girls¡¯ direction, Barbet-san said that as he looked at them. He understands well.

    ¡°You know?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I¡¯ve also aspired to be a knight before. I recognize their equipment from the time when I went to the Imperial Capital¡¯s Academy.¡± [Barbet]

    I see, so that¡¯s how he knows. looks like that style of the equipment they¡¯re using hasn¡¯t changed for quite some time.

    ¡°There¡¯s only 15 minutes left till lunch break. At that time, the building should free up quite a bit of space. So you all should just do your warm ups till then.¡± [Barbet]

    ¡°Alright, I got it. Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I thanked Barbet-san, I went back to Elia¡¯s group.

    ¡°The people training will have their lunch break in 15 minutes, so just do your warm ups until then.¡± [Ryouma]

    When I said that, the five girls immediately went to an area near the wall with no people, and began doing some physical exercises. Seeing that, I sat at a ce somewhat distance from theirs, and closed my eyes.

    Three years ago I met the former knightmander, Shiva-san. Since then, for almost two years, I¡¯ve been training myself in my spare time with the pointers that Shiva-san gave me.

    As a result, although my martial skills may not have improved a lot, I was able to relearn the coordination between my magic and my martial arts., and I was able to feel true growth. One of the things I gained was a much more precise magic perception. After training day after day, I was able to improve this ability, and I understood just how useful it is.

    Calm the mind, and focus yourself to sense the power of magic.

    As I focused my senses on magic power, lumps of magic transformed into shapes of people, gradually appeared around me. These human-shaped masses of magic power are none other than the magic power they hold inside them. These masses of magic power is different from the magic power released when invocating magic. They¡¯re a little harder to sense, but if you can sense them, then you canpletely pinpoint the location of that person.

    I focused even harder...

    I can sense magic with greater uracy. And because of the differences in the masses of magic power, I can tell the difference in their magical strength.

    The amount of magic power changes based on the use of magic, so I can¡¯t tell who the person is based on that. I can however calcte the amount of magic power they have. The amount of concentration required isn¡¯t a joke though. I can do it right now, but it¡¯s impossible while in the middle of a battle.

    In any case, I better gather some information before I fight Elia¡¯s group... Now, I wonder just how much you¡¯ve grown in this past two years, Elia...

    After calcting the magic power of the five girls, I was able to get a precise calction of their current magic power. In numerical form, arranged from highest to low, their magic power is as follows:

    NAME MAGIC POWER (APPROXIMATE)

    Elia 250000

    Kanan 40000

    Miyabi 10000

    Michelle 7000

    Riera 2000

    ...I knew Elia had a lot of magic power, but the others too?

    In this world, normal people have about a hundred.

    Warriors who use magic in order to increase their cards have around 500 to 700.

    A normal magician has 1,000 to 5,000.

    And a royal court magician has 10,000 to 50,000.

    Even the one with the least magic power amongst them, Riera-san, has enough to pass for a magician... I mean, her aside, Kanan-san actually has 40,000!? People from the beastmen tribes shouldn¡¯t have a lot of magic power, and yet... This has to be my first time seeing one with 40,000 points of magic power.

    I can also feel some magic power from her two bracelets. Those must be some sort of magic tool. I don¡¯t know what kind of magic¡¯s been imbued into those, but I should take care.

    ¡°Ryouma-sama, it will almost be time for the match.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°Already? ...Thank you very much, Sebasu-san.¡± [Ryouma]

    At Sebasu-san¡¯s words, I noticed that the people training has already started their break. Each one of them began to leave the building either to go beneath the shade of a tree to eat their bento or to go buy some food. As I sent a sidelong nce to those people, I shifted my gaze to the five girls. My gaze met with Riera-san¡¯s.

    As we neared each other, I called out to her.

    ¡°Then... shall we?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Thank you for exchanging pointers with me.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°We won¡¯t let you beat us so easily!¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°We¡¯ll fight with everything we¡¯ve got!¡± [Elia]

    As we went against the flow of people, we walked toward the center of the training area. Elia¡¯s group and I faced each other within a space of about 6 metersr. Sebasu-san stood at the center as our referee.

    There are trainees and adventurers watching us from afar, but Elia and the others don¡¯¡¯t seem to mind.

    The girls are arranged with Riera-san and Kanan-san standing in front, protecting the magicians, Elia and the two others, at the back. They wielded their staves and swords as if it was second nature.

    Following them, I too unsheathed my katana from its sheath. At that moment, the moment when my katana left its sheath, a clear sound resounded.

    ...Since the day I received this de, I¡¯ve been using it day after day in my training and in my battles, and yet not once has the de of this katana rusted nor has its brilliance darkened.

    A magnificent swing... as always. Even though I¡¯ve seen it so many times.

 Volume 4 - 12

    VOLUME 4 CHAPTER 12: THE MATCH PART 1

    Ryouma pulled out the katana from its sheath, and confirmed that there was no damage. Not even a single sign of wear could be seen on the de.

    The adamantite used in the de of this katana is extremely tough. Unless he does something absurd, the thin de of the katana wouldn¡¯t wear down even without dding it in Ki. He could even cut iron tes. If he were to d the de in Ki, then he could cut enemies into pieces like he would an armor.

    Adamantite bes more durable and tougher the purer it is. But at the same time, its resistance to heat and corrosion also increases, making it harder to work with. The methods of forging the katana is the same as with a normal one, but there¡¯s a world of difference in the heat of the forge and the time required.

    The adamantite used in Ryouma¡¯s katana is 77% pure. The limits acknowledged by cksmiths all over the world is said to be only 75%, so Ryouma¡¯s adamantite that surpassed that limit by another 2% is a high-purity adamantite.

    But even then, that limit of 75% is what you could call a base point from where you can do anything, so there are plenty of people who create adamantite weapons by mixing adamantite with iron, creating an alloy with a purity of about 60%, to make it easier to work with. But even then, it¡¯s still a luxury, so there are barely any stores that sell them.

    When Ryouma pulled out his weapon, Elia and the others immediately noticed it. Riera was able to tell what material the katana was made out of, but although the other four weren¡¯t privy to weapons, even they could tell that Ryouma¡¯s katana wasn¡¯t just amon weapon. A sense of caution rose within them.

    Sebasu confirmed the rules.

    ¡°There are no restrictions on the magic, weapons, and tools that can be used. The winner will be decided by the referee ¨C in this case, me. When I decide that one of you girls has already lost, then you¡¯ll have to withdraw from the fight. Once all five of you has withdrawn, you lose. In the same way, if Ryouma receives a powerful attack first, then it will be his loss. Is everyone in agreement with these rules?¡± [Sebasu]

    At those words, Ryouma and the girls nced at each other, and then they all agreed.

    ¡°Then............ Start!¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡± ¡®Fire Ball¡¯ ¡± [Elia & Miyabi]

    ¡± ¡®Rock Bullet¡¯ ¡± [Michelle]

    Immediately after the match began, the three magicians from the girls¡¯ side fired their magic.

    Ryouma dodged the ball of me fired by Elia and Miyabi, and he easily cut down the rock projectile fired off by Michelle¡¯s Rock Bullet.

    But before Ryouma could begin his counter attack, Riera came shing at him.

    ¡°Ha!!¡± [Riera]

    The duel between Riera and Ryouma began, and the sound of nging metal resounded within the vicinity.

    Riera¡¯s swings were quite fast, and had a decent amount of power behind them. Seeing that, Ryouma¡¯s appraisal for her rose up.

    (Her style¡¯s a bit textbookish, but while I¡¯m holding back, she is able to respond well to my attacks... If I were topare her to the students and adventurers I¡¯ve fought so far, then... I guess she¡¯d be around the level of a D Rank adventurer? She¡¯s stillcking in experience, but that¡¯s something she¡¯ll continue to pile up from here on)

    As he thought that, Ryouma parried the descending de aimed at the crown of his head with his katana. And then using the force of the attack, he entered Riera¡¯s right nk, and he struck the backside of his katana¡¯s de at Riera. However, Riera was able to block that attack by raising her shield up.

    Immediately after, Riera took the sword that Ryouma parried, and swept with it sideways from beneath the shield, difficult to see.

    Ryouma retreated, and dodged the sword. He took some distance. But it was at that moment, that magic came flying at him from the side in the blink of an eye. The magic that came shooting at him were three fire arrows. The girls clearly had no intentions of holding back with Ryouma as their opponent.

    ¡± ¡®Water Wall¡¯ ¡± [Ryouma]

    At Ryouma¡¯s magic, a wall of water immediately rose up midair, blocking the three fire arrows. Ryouma decied to change his target. This time, he tried attacking Elia¡¯s group. As the water wall that blocked the fire arrows copsed, the moment it fell to the ground, Ryouma rushed up to Elia¡¯s group.

    ¡°You¡¯re not going anywhere!!¡± [Kanan]

    Before Ryouma could reach Elia¡¯s group, Kanan blocked his way, and kept him at bay.

    (I see, so Riera-san is the vanguard, while Elia¡¯s group is responsible for magic attacks and support, while Kanan-san¡¯s role is to stop those that get past Riera-san)

    As Ryouma thought that, Kanan began to release magic power. Having sensed that with his Magic Perception, Ryouma was able to understand that the magic power Kanan released filled her two bracelets.

    (Don¡¯t use magic tools)

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    As she said that, Kanan shot off like a bullet toward Ryouma.

    (I have plenty of margin to deal with her, but... she¡¯s a lot faster than expected)

    ¡°Ei! Take that! Ha!¡± [Kanan]

    As Ryouma deal with Kanan¡¯s consecutive attacks, he began analyzing the situation.

    (......Honestly speaking, she doesn¡¯t have a lot of skill behind her attacks. She seems to have practice the basics a lot, but as expected, she¡¯s fast. Also, on top of being a member of the dog beastmentribe known for their high physical skills, she¡¯s probably also using physical strengthening magic. Kanan shouldn¡¯t be able to use magic, so it¡¯s probably the effect of those two bracelets she has. Moreover...)

    ¡°Fuu.¡±

    ¡°O-Oops, that was dangerous...¡± [Kanan]

    Ryouma aimed for the opening in between Kanan¡¯s consecutive strikes, but just like Ryouma did awhile ago, she jumped back, and dodged. Kanan wasn¡¯t able to predict Ryouma¡¯s move, but she was somehow able to barely dodge and defend agiainst Ryouma¡¯s attack.

    (Kanan-san seems to have good eyes and reflexes. It seems she dodged my attack after seeing it. She¡¯s able to follow my attacks with her eyes. And although she¡¯s just barely managing to, she¡¯s able to deal with my feints.)

    ¡°Sora!¡±

    Here, Ryouma decided to try something out.

    He wielded his katana with only one hand, and struck it out, getting Kanan¡¯s attention to one side. As he did that, he took his remaining free hand, and struck lightly from Kanan¡¯s blind spot at her side.

    ¡°Tch, not yet!¡±

    Ryouma¡¯s fist didn¡¯t seem to have had much effect as Kanan immediately began her counter attack. But because of the attack from her blind spot easily being able to hit her, Ryouma was able to understand that Kanan¡¯s strength actually resulted from her good eyes and the magic tools that she had equipped. Moreover, although he was holding back, the fist he struck out at Kanan¡¯s side before would normally have plenty of effect. The fact that had little to no effect on her meant that she was in fact in possession of a magic tool imbued with physical strengthening.

    And then just as Ryouma expected, Kanan fought by activating the two magic tools on her arms.

    (She might have talent, but she still has a long way to go. With the magic tool she¡¯s D... No, taking her ability into consideration, she should be E Rank. Without the magic tools then F Rank. She¡¯s plenty strong enough to deal with goblins. Now let me try putting out a bit more strength from here on...)

    Five minutester.

    ¡± ¡®Ice¨C¡® ¡±

    ¡± ¡®me Lance¡¯ ¡±

    ¡± ¡®¨CLance¡¯ ! ...Again?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°That¡¯s strange... Our magic ispletely being crushed.¡± [Michelle]

    Ryouma stopped testing them a little, and started pushing harder against the five girls. The two vanguards fought tooth and nail with Ryouma, keeping him from attacking the three girls at the back. Support continued toe from the girls at the back, but... the magic they fired were all stopped by Ryouma¡¯s own magic. They were at their limits.

    ¡°I know Ryouma¡¯s crazy strong, but what the hell is that! Tch, from the right!¡±

    At Miyabi¡¯s words, the three girls who had gathered into one spot, moved to the right, dodging Ryouma¡¯s magic. Since the match had begun, these three girls hadn¡¯t separated from each other. If they were to scatter, and fight separated, then Kanan and Riera wouldn¡¯t be able to protect them.

    The one shooting the most magic amongst the three is the one with the most magic power, Elia. As soon as space is made between Ryouma and the two vanguards, Elia would fire off her magic to support the two girls. Miyabi and Michelle also used their magic, but because they didn¡¯t have Elia¡¯s magic power, they couldn¡¯t fire as recklessly as she did.

    ¡°Ha......Fu!¡±

    ¡± ¡®Stun Arrow¡¯ ¡±

    Kanan began to show signs of fatigue, while Ryouma still looked to have plenty of stamina left. Kanan reached her limits, but before she could get cut down, Riera¡¯s electric magic came flying at Ryouma, allowing Kanan to step back as Ryouma had to dodge the attack. This time it was Riera¡¯s turn to exdchange blows with Ryouma. Like this the two vanguards substituted with each other to keep Ryouma at bay.

    The power Ryouma is demonstrating is already sufficient to supress an average D Rank adventurer party, but Kanan and the others are persistently enduring. Ryouma could defeat them if he wanted, but seeing them try so hard, he decided to keep this up to see how long they would persist.

    Around that time, the people watching started cheering for the five girls.

    ¡°Do your best¨C¨C!¡± [Spectator 1]

    ¡°You¡¯re doing great, girls!¡± [Spectator 2]

    ¡°Go at him with the intention to kill!¡± [Spectator]

    At some point in the match, the spectators started cheering for the five girls. However, the only ones who could hear their cheer were the other spectators, Sebasu, and Ryouma who was fighting with strength to spare. The girls who were being cheered were far too caught up in the fight to have the luxury to spare. They couldn¡¯t hear anything from the spectators at all.

    (It¡¯s always like this, but still... no one really cheers for me, huh? Well... at least no one¡¯s booing.)

    As Ryouma was thinking that, Elia and Miyabi casted their magic, and Michelle called out Riera and Kanan¡¯s name in a loud voice. After that, she made some sort of signal with her hand, and the two girls wordlessly nodded.

    The girls were clearly nning something. Ryouma could bring out his full power here, and crush the vanguards before they pulled off whatever they were scheming, but Ryouma decided to wait and see what they would do instead.

    After a few seconds of keeping vigil, Riera¡¯s movements suddenly changed.

    ¡°Haa!!!¡± [Riera]

    (Her movement is different from before! Is she nning to finish it here?)

    She shed down, she shed up, she cut sideways, and she shed diagonally. Although she was fighting fiercely before, it still seemed steady, but right now it was as if she was desperate. It was a sort of unyielding style that seemed to want to throw everything at Ryouma.

    ¡°You would even use shield bash...!?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ei!¡± [Kanan]

    At this moment in time, Riera joined the fray to aid her, and at the same time, Elia released arge amount of magic power. Even the spectators who were seemed to have felt a part of that power. What Ryouma saw left many of the magicians glued to the scene. They couldn¡¯t help but raise amotion at what was taking ce before their eyes. In the next moment¨C¨C¨C¨C

    ¡°Wh¨C!?¡± [Ryouma]

    Elia¡¯s magic power wrapped itself around Ryouma, and then transformed itself into pressure.

    (My body is heavy. My movement is being suppressed)

    Ryouma tried to lighten the weight with his Qigong, putting emphasis on defense and evasion, but his body became heavier instead.

    (Considering Elia¡¯s continuing to release magic power, a curse? ...No. A curse would normally have a peculiar mncholy about it. There¡¯s no such thing here. Moreover, it feels like I¡¯m being held by something heavy... if so, then...)

    ¡°Telekinesis, huh?¡± [Ryouma]

    The moment Ryouma worded that, a color of impatience appeared on the faces of Riera and Kanan, who were both in front of him.

    Neutral Magic ¡ºTelekinesis¡»

    It¡¯s a kind of magic that exhibits power only on the target through the use of neutral magic power. It¡¯s generally used for transportation. The bigger and heavier the object to transport is, the greater the magic power consumption. Moreover, the consumption of magic power is extremely high as the caster needs to continuously pour out magic power to use it. Except for special situations, there are barely any people who use it.

    It¡¯s a different story for Elia who has a colossal amount of magic power. She¡¯s able to hold down Ryouma through the sheer brute force of her magic power.

    Ryouma resisted directly.

    ¡°¡®Telekinesis¡¯!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I won¡¯t lose...¡± [Elia]

    Ryouma forced back Elia¡¯s restraint with his own magic power! A battle between Ryouma and Elia¡¯s magic power began!

    Their respective magic power rivals each other¡¯s, but because Ryouma was better at controlling his magic power, he was gradually able to lift the load off his body. However, Riera who was currently in front of Ryouma wasn¡¯t just going to stand and wait for him to finish removing Elia¡¯s restraint.

    Riera rushed up to Ryouma, and she used the sword in her right hand to sh diagonally up from her left. Ryouma tried to bring up the katana he had in his left, but Elia brought her power up to maximum output, stopping Ryouma in his tracks. Moreover, the target of her attack wasn¡¯t Ryouma¡¯s entire body. Rather she focused it at Ryouma¡¯s left hand that was hodling the katana.

    (The other parts can move. The only heavy part is my left hand. In fact, it actually hurts a bit... if I hadn¡¯t used my qigong, my bones would have probably broken.)

    While Ryouma¡¯s left hand couldn¡¯t move, Riera¡¯s sword approached. Ryouma gave up on his left hand, and he softly brought down his right hand, and moved it as if he were drawing a circle. His hand met with Riera¡¯s right wrist, propping it up, and averting the sword away. As Riera swung downward, Ryouma grabbed her wrist, entered into Riera¡¯s right nk, and keeping up that momentum, he rotated around her to her back.

    In order to prevent her back from being taken, Riera turned to her right, turning counter-clockwise as she tried to face Ryouma as she pulled her right arm that was currently being grabbed. But at that moment, Ryouma went against Riera¡¯s movement. He took a step, spun his body to the left as he pushed out his arm, and as his wrist went pass Riera¡¯s shoulder, he was able to take her back.

    Meanwhile, because Riera tried to shake off the hand took that had grabbed her arm too much, her center of bnce was focused too much on her back, and her posture broke. Like that she was thrown.

    ¡°Riera!¡± [Elia]

    When Elia saw Ryouma throw Riera, her concentration was cut, and in her anxiety for Riera¡¯s safety, she screamed out. Because of this, Ryouma¡¯s left arm was freed.

    (Move!)

    The other vanguard, Kanan, was headed for Ryouma. She ahd struck out with all of her strength, but with a paper-thin difference, her attack was dodged. The next thing that entered her eyes was the backside of the de of Ryouma¡¯s katana.

    In the next instant, a dull sound resounded.

    ¡°Hau~ku!¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Kana, tch!¡±

    As Riera who was just thrown a while ago began to rose up, she sent a side nce to Kanan upon hearing her pained voice at being hit by the back of Ryouma¡¯s katana. At that moment, Ryouma came rushing at Riera. The other three girls rained magic on Ryouma, but Ryouma wouldn¡¯t stop.

    Riera managed to block two of Ryouma¡¯s attacks after fixing her posture, but the third strike came allowed her chin to meet with the pommel of Ryouma¡¯s katana. She fell to the ground.

    At that, Sebasu decalred.

    ¡°Kanan-san and Riera-san has withdrawn from the fight.¡±

    Saying only those words, Sebasu used his dimension magic, and in the next instant, he took the girls outside of the battle area, and then he returned to his spot as a referee.

    The match has yet to end. Only, now... the girls no longer have their vanguards.

 Volume 4 - 13

    TL Note: The chapters were moved a dayter for this week due to me being a bit too busy. Because of that I won¡¯t be able to post the extra chapter today either, so I¡¯ll be posting the extra chapter theseing days before I leave for my trip. if you haven¡¯t seen my tweet, I¡¯ll be gone from Friday to Sunday, so no chapter then.

    VOLUME 4 CHAPTER 13 MATCH (LAST PART)

    After losing their two vanguards, only the three rear guards were left. The girls had no chance of winning in a melee, but...

    ¡°We haven¡¯t lost yet!¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°We¡¯ll fight until the end! Elia!¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°I-I got it!¡± [Elia]

    Elia was feeling bad because she lost her focus, allowing Ryouma to break through, and defeat their two vanguards. But the other remaining two girls brought her back into the match.

    The situation was grim, but the girls hadn¡¯t lost their will to fight just yet. Seeing that, Ryouma smiled.

    (Right, right... It¡¯d be disappointing if you were to give up here)

    As Ryouma was about to engage the three, Michelle and Miyabi¡¯s voice resounded.

    ¡°¡¯Wind Cutter¡¯!¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°¡¯me Bomb¡¯!¡± [Miyabi]

    A de of wind and a ball of exploding me shot at Ryouma.

    ¡°¡®Earth Wall¡¯ ¡®Hardening¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma erected a wall of earth, blocking the wind of de. And with the wall reinforced, he was also able to block against the explosion of the me Bomb.

    Seeing that Ryouma was hidden behind the wall, the three girls decided to back off to make some distance. In pursuit, Ryouma jumped out from behind the wall.

    ¡°One more time! ¡®me Bomb¡¯!¡± [Miyabi]

    Miyabi shot a ball of me against Ryouma who was chasing after them, but Ryouma leapt to his left, avoiding the st radius.

    ¡°¡®Earth Needle¡¯¡± [Michelle]

    Michelle aimed for the moment right after Ryouma dodged, and she fired needles of stones from the ground toward Ryouma. But Ryouma only cut those down with his katana.

    As the distance between them gradually shortened, Elia, who still had plenty of magic power to spare, began to release her magic power. With the expression on her face serious, she seemed to bepletely absorbed in her magic. Sweat even seemed to trickle down her face.

    (Telekinesis again? This time, before you cast it, I¡¯ll...)

    Ryouma filled his legs with strength, but just as he was about to try and close the distance in one leap, he was intercepted.

    ¡°We won¡¯t let you¨C¨C!¡° [Michelle]

    ¡°Get any further than this! [Miyabi]

    Michelle and Miyabi who were both standing beside Elia, walked a few steps forward, and took out four wooden tes about the size of a telephone card from their bosom, and threw them. The two thrown by Miyabi dodged Ryouma, falling behind him, while Michelle¡¯s fell on the ground right in front of him.

    ¡°Magic power... Magic tools?¡± [Ryouma]

    Having felt magic power from those tes, Ryouma stopped moving. The four tes that fell on the ground began to shine red and brown. Then the two tes that fell in front of him changed the surrounding area, about a meter from where the tes were, into a pitfall. The two tes behind him shot out of balls of me, creating a sound resembling that of firecrackers. But that¡¯s all they did.

    From the strength of those fire balls and from the magic power, Ryouma immediately concluded that they were no danger to him. However, during the opening made by those tes, Elia was finally able to make her move.

    ¡°I¡¯m going. ¡®Fire Storm¡¯!!¡± [Elia]

    The fire magic she casted was the advanced fire attribute magic, ¡®Fire Storm¡¯.

    Although it was much smallerpared to her grandfather, Rheinbach, who was an expert at fire magic, it was still big enough to swallow about four or five people within the ze of its mes. As the vortex of fire began to scatter its heat into the surrounding area, it tried to swallow Ryouma into it.

    ¡°So you¡¯re now able to use advanced magic. Although it seems you¡¯re still not used to it. ¡®Blizzard¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    As Ryouma worded his thoughts upon seeing Elia cast that vortex of me, he casted a slightly weaker ¡®Blizzard¡¯.

    Fire Storm is a vortex of me, while Blizzard is a ferocious snowstorm. Beads of ice and a chill cold enough to freeze one¡¯s body shed with that vortex of me. In less than a few seconds, nothing but mist remained of the two magic.

    The three girls immediately tried to cast another set of magic, but Ryouma didn¡¯t give them a chance to.

    ¡°¡¯Teleport¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    Miyabi and Michelle were guarding the front, so Ryouma used his dimension magic to teleport right behind Elia.

    ¡°Kyau!?¡±

    As soon as he teleported, Ryouma lightly hit Elia with the back of his katana. It was only after getting hit that Elia finally realized that Ryouma was there behind her. With no methods of escape, she helplessly received the brunt of Ryouma¡¯s attack.

    It was only because of Elia¡¯s yelp upon being hit that the other two girls who were standing ahead noticed Ryouma.

    But by the time they noticed him, Ryouma had already passed by Elia¡¯s left nk, and was in the middle of attacking Michelle. The turn of events was just too sudden. Michelle couldn¡¯t react at all.

    ¡°I¡¯m not gonna let you!¡± [Miyabi]

    Miyabi was able to react a little faster than Michelle, and she intercepted Ryouma. But the most she was able to do was ram her body against Michelle to push her out of the way, resulting in her getting hit by the katana instead.

    Moreover, because she suddenly jumped in, she unfortunately took the de to her face... Ryouma immediately lessened the strength, but her face ended up hurting quite a bit.

    Anxious, Ryouma used his Mega Heal on Miyabi as he lightly hit the back of her head with the back of his katana. Right after, Miyabi was dered defeated, and treatment of her injuries began. She only had some bruises and a nose bleed, so her wounds should heal quickly.

    After that, Elia and Miyabi were made to withdraw by Sebasu.

    Ryouma looked at Michelle who had been pushed out of the way by Miyabi. Michelle came over to talk to Ryouma. No, rather than talk, it would be more apt to say that she voiced out her impressions of the match.

    ¡°As expected, you¡¯re really strong. You were fighting five of us, and yet now, the only one left is me.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯m an adventurer. I wouldn¡¯t be able to do my job if I weren¡¯t strong.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Well that¡¯s true.¡± [Michelle]

    Michelle¡¯s unenthusiastic conduct might have looked like she had already admitted defeated, but Ryouma thought different.

    (Looks like she¡¯s not going to ept her lost just yet... Now, just what is she scheming I wonder...)

    As Ryouma thought that, he spoke a few words to Michelle.

    ¡°Will you surrender?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Nope. If I were to surrender here, the other four will get mad at me. But I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to win alone against Ryouma. I don¡¯t have a n either. So...¡± [Michelle]

    As she finished saying that, she took out four more tes like the ones she took out before out of her robe. She filled those with magic power, and threw them against Ryouma.

    ¡°There¡¯s no other way than to fight and have an honorable defeat!¡± [Michelle]

    (So she¡¯s made up her mind.)

    One of the tes that were thrown caused a small explosion in midair, while the other three made sounds resembling firecrackers just like the ones from before.

    Ryouma was wary of the tes as he had seen them used just a while ago, but...

    ¡°¡¯Rock Bullet¡¯!¡± [Ryouma]

    As he had noticed that magic formations had been drawn over the surface of the tes, Ryouma d his katana in ki before the tes could even activate, and he struck them all down. Because of that the tes couldn¡¯t show their strength, and they turned into nothing but mere wooden tes.

    These cards are the one of the fruits of her research in magic formation. She created these things to be useable inbat, so they¡¯re made out of wood, and designed such that they¡¯d be easy to throw. One can activate these things by filling them magic power, and the resulting effect depends on the magic formation drawn.

    But that¡¯s only when the magic formation is safe. If the magic formation is broken before it can activate, then the magic power can only scatter away and vanish. The knowledge Ryouma got from the documents he inherited from his grandmother somehow proved useful today.

    But it seems that Michelle predicted that Ryouma would be able to see through the weakness of her tes as she didn¡¯t seem to be bothered in the slightest. As Ryouma drew closer, she threw more of her wooden tes. Of course, it was dealt with by Ryouma. But as Ryouma neared enough to reach Michelle with his katana, Michelle did something unexpected.

    ¡°¡¯Paralyze Mist¡¯¡± [Michelle]

    Michelle calmly chanted those words as she summoned a paralyzing mist with poison magic.

    Ryouma held his breath, and just in case, he chantlessly casted the antidote magic, ¡®Antidote¡¯ to counteract the poison magic. He also used the preventive magic, ¡®Vine¡¯. After that, he couldn¡¯t help but be surprised at the sudden turn of events as he muttered within his thoughts to himself.

    ¡°To think she would actually go this far...¡± [Ryouma]

    The moment the poison mist covered Ryouma, it also covered Michelle herself.

    (I did think she would fight to the end, but to think she would actuallymit suicide. At most maybe a simultaneous hit, but I would never do something like this even though I have poison resistance...)

    Normally, you¡¯d use magic in a way that it wouldn¡¯t hurt you. But Michelle used herself as a decoy, and created a poison mist while fully knowing she¡¯d get caught up in it. As a result, she was able to sessfully enshroud Ryouma within the poison mist.

    ¡°¡¯Storm¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma immediately casted an intermediate wind magic, and blew the poison mist up into the sky. When the mist had cleared up, Michelle, having inhaled the poison mist she created, fell over.

    ¡°With this you won¡¯t be able to fight anymore.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°R...ight...¡± [MIchelle]

    Michelle spoke when the referee, Sebasu, came over to confirm the situation, but because of the poison, she was visibly weak.

    ¡°The winner of this duel is Ryouma-sama!¡± [Sebasu]

    The fallen Michelle, and Ryouma who stood up on his own two legs, still able to move. The victor was clear as day, but Sebasu still dered the results in a loud voice. Upon which, a great chorus of cheers erupted for Michelle.

    ¡°You did great, girl!¡± [Spectator 1]

    ¡°Your friends too!¡± [Spectator 2]

    ¡°You all did well consider Ryouma was your opponent!¡± [Spectator 3]

    As those cheers rained down on them, Elia and Miyabi rushed over to Michelle.

    ¡°Michelle, are you alright?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°I¡¯m... alright. I¡¯m just... a bit... paralyzed.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°You don¡¯t sound convincing at all.¡± [Miyabi]

    Elia anxiously checked on Michelle¡¯s condition. Michelle tried to say she was alright, but Miyabi denied her, saying she wasn¡¯t.

    ¡°You three sure get along. I need to fix her up, so excuse me a bit.¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma interjected into the three¡¯s conversation, and with the palm of his hand, he touched Michelle¡¯s forehead.

    ¡°¡¯Antidote¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma filled Michelle¡¯s body with the poison-type magic power, neutralizing the poison she had swallowed. After a few seconds, Michelle was able to move her body freely again, so she stood up.

    ¡°Fu... Thank you. I¡¯m feeling better already. I was wondering why Ryouma didn¡¯t fall, but I guess it was thanks to this, huh?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s magic meant to remove the effects of poison type magic. Do you feel strange anywhere?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Nope, not at all. Thank you. By the way, Riera and Kanan are?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Riera lost consciousness, so she was sent to the clinic just in case.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°And Kanan went to apany her.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Then in that case, let¡¯s go to the clinic first.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Right. It¡¯ll be better to talk after Riera¡¯s woken up too.¡± [Ryouma]

    Like this they ended up meeting with Kanan and the others by the clinic. As they began to move out, Ryouma said.

    ¡°Ah, sorry about this, but could you all go to the clinic ahead of me? I need to do some light repairs on the training area.¡± [Ryouma]

    The wall of earth that Ryouma erected and the magic formation tes that Michelle and the others used to create holes could be seen here and there.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll help too. I specialize in earth magic after all.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°let me help too!¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°You allowed us to use the facility here, so let me help too.¡± [Elia]

    Ryouma didn¡¯t have any particr reason to refuse them, so he agreed to let the girls help.

    After they fixed the area a bit, they went to the clinic.

 Volume 4 - 14

    TL Note: Sorry for theck of updates guys. I¡¯ve been really busy. I still have two weeks of school left before my long break, so the schedule might still be a bit iffy. This chapter counts for the Monday chapter before my trip ¨C which was not a vaction btw, it was for school. I¡¯ll also give you guys an extra chapter topensate for the dys in the sponsored chapter, so yeah... I¡¯ll slowly roll the chapters out as I do my requirements and prepare for my finals.

    Also, I changed the theme to dark now. Please let me know whether you¡¯d rather have the site dark or bright by voting in this poll: CLICK HERE FOR POLL

    Unfortunately, the button to switch themes takes too much resources as it won¡¯t work with the cache plugin. And without the cache plugin, the site will die every time I post a chapter. Anyway, enjoy!

    VOLUME 4 CHAPTER 14: REFLECTION MEETING

    After cleaning the area, I went with the others to go the clinic. As I quietly opened the door to the clinic, the first thing I saw was the doctor in charge. After that, eight beds could be seen lined up to the right with only curtains dividing them.

    There are healers who use healing magic, but they¡¯re generally waiting by a corner of the training area ready to fix an injured person up as soon as they get injured. The patients who normallye here are either people with small wounds or people with big wounds that would take a lot of time to heal even with healing magic. Other than that, the only patients that are sent here are patients like Riera-san who fainted or emergency cases. There are a lot of students whoe to the training facility, but the beds here are barely being used.

    After asking the doctor where Riera-san was sleeping, we found out that she was sleeping at the bed furthest into the room. We also found out that her consciousness had also already long recovered. I had Elia and the others go first, telling them to call us once it¡¯s alright for me and Sebasu-san to enter as well.

    ¡°Excuse me. Oh, please don¡¯t force yourself.¡± [Ryouma]

    As we entered, Riera-san tried to get up, but I stopped her. She did just recover from fainting, so it¡¯d be best for her to remain lying down a little longer.

    ¡°Riera-san, is your body ok?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯ve dealt with something on this level plenty of times during practice with my dad and my older brothers. That aside, how did the match go after I fainted?¡± [Riera]

    I suppose thates first, huh?

    With that, I gave a detail exnation of how I won and how far the three rearguards went.

    ¡°I understand. Thank you for the exnation. Ryouma-dono, if you don¡¯t mind, could you please tell us how strong we are?¡± [Riera]

    Riera-san said that as she looked straight at me. The other four were also looking at me, so I gave my thoughts on the match.

    ¡°Honestly speaking, you all did far better than expected. Witht more experience, Riera-san¡¯s and Kanan-san¡¯s swordsmanship as well as Elia¡¯s and the other¡¯s magic together should allow you all to form a party with the strength of a D Rank.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Can I hear the reason?¡± [Riera]

    ¡°First, the three rearguards¡¯ magic had sufficient firepower behind them. Especially Elia¡¯s Fire Storm. If that were to hit, then it should be able to deal even with a C Rank magical beast. And even a B Rank magical beast, unless it¡¯s highly resistant to fire, won¡¯t get out unharmed. Unfortunately, the three girls can¡¯t fight in close quarters, and their movements are a lot slower than the other two. Because of that they have to be protected by the two vanguards just like you did in the match just now.¡± [Ryouma]

    Here, I paused for a moment, and then I continued.

    ¡°The vanguard, Riera-san, is already strong enough to be a D Rank in my opinion, and Kanan-san could also show plenty of strength with that magic tool of hers. But because they have to protect the three rearguards, they can¡¯t focus on the fight. Moreover, because of that need to protect the backline it¡¯s easy to find one at a disadvantage when fighting multiple opponents. There are humans and even magical beasts that fight in groups after all... Lastly, due to yourck of experience, despite being strong individually and being able to cooperate with each other, there are plenty of openings that can be used. Because of all that, I categorized your group under D Rank.¡± [Ryouma]

    The girls were able to assent after hearing my words. It seems they were actually prepared regarding the matter of their weakness.

    ¡°We have a simr opinion actually. We did suffer a lot during the practical tests back in the academy after all.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°But even when we tried to find a way to fix things, we couldn¡¯t really do much even with a sword on hand.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°And if we can¡¯t focus, the strength of our magic will also decline.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°You¡¯re all already plenty good as magicians, so how about stretching yourselves a bit?¡± [Ryouma]

    There¡¯s also the saying that there¡¯s a right person for every job though... And thinking about it again, Miyabi-san is a merchant, Michelle-san is a researcher, and Kanan-san is a magic tool craftsman. And although Elia¡¯s good at magic, she¡¯s the youngdy of the duke¡¯s house... The only one that really seems to be really pursuing strength among them is Riera-san who is aspiring to be a knight... Well, in any case, with this they¡¯re at least strong enough to fit a D Rank.

    ¡°It¡¯s best not to rush, and just progress at your own pace. You¡¯ve all surprised me plenty in our match just now anyway.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Really?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Yes. The two vanguards were strong too, but I was in quite a pinch when Elia sealed my movements with Telekinesis... Oh, right, there was something I wanted to tell you, Elia.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°What is it?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Telekinesis is good at stopping people, but if your control slips, it can be quite dangerous. Especially when you focused on my left arm. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that it was strengthened, my bones would have definitely broken. Also, because it uses up a lot of magic power, it can make you easy to spot even in forests where it¡¯s normally hard to see each other, so please be careful.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Really!? Is your arm alright?¡± [Elia]

    When Elia heard my words, she panicked.

    ¡°My arm was strengthened, so there was no problem. Then again, I could¡¯ve just used healing magic if it broke. That aside, weren¡¯t you aware?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°We just thought of using Telekinesisst night. Riera didn¡¯t seem to have any problems when we tried it out on her.¡± [Elia]

    So she wasn¡¯t used to it. I guess that¡¯s probably why she almost broke my arm when I resisted, and she ended up using all of her strength.

    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°It¡¯s fine so long as you take care when using it against others. Besides, it is still a fairly good way of using it after all. And it¡¯s perfect for someone like you who struggles with magic control. Aim for the neck in a real battle, and it can be a formidable weapon.¡± [Ryouma]

    By the time I finished saying that, Elia seemed to have finally pulled herself together. Seeing that, I shifted the topic to the magic formation tes.

    ¡°That issue aside, I was quite surprised by those tes that had magic formations drawn on them. To think those things could actually have that sort of effect.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I handpicked the ones that might prove to be useful from all my research. They were able to stop you for a moment, but in the end, you were able to find out their weakness.¡± [Michelle]

    I should teach her how to deal with that.

    ¡°You can use poison magic, right?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Right. I specialize in earth magic the most, but poisones next.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Can you use ¡®Smoke¡¯?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡®Smoke¡¯ is an elementary poison magic. It¡¯s a magic that summons a smokescreen to block vision. And no, it doesn¡¯t actually have any poison.

    ¡°I can.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Then I rmend you use ¡®Smoke¡¯ first before throwing your magic formation tes. If you do that, even if your opponent does sense that you threw something filled with magic power, it¡¯ll take him time to find out that what you threw was actually a te with a magic formation drawn on it. After all, I was only able toe up with a countermeasure after I found out that it was a magic formation that I was dealing with.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ah~, right. It makes it harder to aim with magic, so Ipletely forgot about ¡®Smoke¡¯. But now that you mention it, it certainly could buy more time.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°It¡¯s probable. Also, about that ¡®Paralyze Mist¡¯ you used at thest moment. There¡¯re magical beasts immune to poison and people that are resistant to it, so it¡¯s best if you refrain from using it. If you¡¯re unlucky, you¡¯ll only end up hurting yourself.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Just like a while ago, right?¡± [Michelle]

    Michelle-san wryly smiled a bit when she said that. Then continuing, she asked.

    ¡°Come to think of it, where did you learn that ¡®Antidote¡¯ spell? After thinking about it, I realize it¡¯s actually my first time hearing about it... Ah, could it be a secret magic? If so, then I won¡¯t press the issue.¡± [Michelle]

    Antidote is a rare magic, so it seems she¡¯s misunderstanding a bit. It¡¯s magic written in one of the books I inherited from my grandmother, but while it might not be the mostmon of spells, it¡¯s certainly not a secret magic by any means.

    ¡°It¡¯s just something that was mentioned in an old book. It¡¯s not a secret or anything. It utilizes poison attribute magic power by allowing it to fill the body to neutralize the poison and the bad poison magic power. The image is a bit difficult, so whether you can actually use it or not depends on you.¡± [Ryouma]

    It should be fine even if I don¡¯t teach her the preventive magic ¡®Vine¡¯ for now. That¡¯s an original magic I made based on the ¡®Antidote¡¯ magic, so if she can¡¯t use ¡®Antidote¡¯, then she won¡¯t be able to learn that either.

    ¡°And here I thought it was healing magic. To think that it was actually poison magic. If a chance ever presents itself, I¡¯d like to ask for a rematch.¡± [Michelle]

    Looks like her spirit¡¯s been roused...

    As I nced away from Michelle-san, I saw Riera-san, seemingly deep in thought.

    When I did, Riera-san almost immediately noticed my gaze.

    ¡°Is there something on my face, Ryouma-dono?¡± [Riera]

    ¡°No, it just seemed like you were thinking of something.¡± [Ryouma]

    When I said that, Riera-san said this with a serious expression on her face.

    ¡°Actually, I was thinking of receiving instruction from here during my extended vacation.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Oh, why all of the sudden? And aren¡¯t you in the middle of a trip right now?¡± [Ryouma]

    Riera-san went quiet for a moment before she slowly began to talk.

    ¡°Actually, I was scolded by my brothers just a few days ago...¡± [Riera]

    Apparently, Riera-san met up with her two older brothers who are both working as knights in the capital in order to study. She did this before leaving for Gimuru. However, right after her short time with them, her brother told her, ¡®What on earth have you been doing these past three years?¡¯

    ¡°The second son, my older brother, Reole, told me that my skills have gotten duller. He said that the way I am right now, I¡¯m better off just giving up whatever aspirations I have of bing a knight. The eldest, Riole, on the other hand, said that my skill hadn¡¯t gotten duller, and had in fact gotten better. However, there wasn¡¯t much of a differencepared to how I was three years ago.¡± [Riera]

    Looks like the training at the academy was a lot easier than the training at the Clifford House, so it wasn¡¯t sufficient for Riera-san¡¯s purposes. She doesn¡¯t seem to havecked in her self-training, but just that and continuous body training for three years with the real training only starting on the fourth... I wonder what kind of training the academy gave them.

    ¡°One of the objectives I had in this trip was to try and gain some sort of insight from watching the matches at the arena. I had heard that a tournament was going to open shortly, so I thought a lot of strong people woulde...¡± [Riera]

    I see...

    ¡°And so after challenging me to a duel, you decided to gain some training here?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes. And if you have the time, I¡¯d like to exchange pointers with you again.¡± [Riera]

    Riera-san spoke those words with a steadfast gaze.

    I don¡¯t have any particr reason to refuse her. She¡¯s not the type to stir up trouble either... Right! Then I guess I could give her a hand!

    ¡°This training facility is open to anyone that seeks training. So long as you apply, you¡¯ll able to receive lessons. I¡¯ll help you as much as I can too. Only... my lessons will be quite strict.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Thank you. A strict teacher is exactly what I want.¡± [Riera]

    As she said that, she went down the bed, stood up, and bowed her head to me.

    ¡°Thank you for your guidance and the rigorous training you¡¯ll be giving me from now on. Also, it¡¯s difficult for me to be receiving so much favors, so if there¡¯s anything I can do for you, please feel free to ask.¡± [Riera]

    I think I¡¯ll take her up on that. For starters, how about having her carry some of my luggage? It¡¯ll help build strength too.

    After that, the other four also asked to receive training, and I agreed to their request as well.

    A littleter, Riera-san mentioned that she was feeling better already, so we decided to end the tour here, and go home. I¡¯ve already shown them the ces I wanted to show them, and I also need to think of what sort of training I¡¯ll be giving them anyway.

    And although I will be training them, I have a job to do tomorrow, so I won¡¯t have time tomorrow. Every week there¡¯ll be two days where I won¡¯t be able to amodate them due to work and errands, so during those times, I¡¯ll just have them attended the lessons at the training facility.

    On the way home in the carriage, I asked them what sort of lessons they wished to take.

    ¡°I want to study swordsmanship.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Do you remember the instructor I talked to before we started our match? That person, Barbet-san, is the one in charge for teaching swordsmanship. He¡¯s a former knight, so I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll do just fine for Riera-san¡¯s training. So with Riera-san receiving Barbet-san¡¯s training, what will the other four be doing?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I want to study fire and ice magic.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°As for me I want fire and poison magic.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°For me, I guess I¡¯ll take poison magic after all... But it¡¯s a rare opportunity, so I¡¯d like to learn some other attribute as well...¡± [Michelle]

    Michelle-san seems to be anxious...

    ¡°I¡¯d like to learn how to use a twin sword fighting style.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°There are also lessons for ornament making, but...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It might not be useful for me in the future, but I want to train my fighting abilities just like everyone else. As for ornament making, I¡¯d be grateful if I could just borrow a workshop, and practice by myself.¡± [Kanan]

    If that¡¯s what she¡¯s decided, then I guess it¡¯s fine. I personally would rather that she be able to keep her good eyes after all.

    ¡°I¡¯ve decided!¡± [Michelle]

    Oh, so Michelle-san¡¯s decided?

    ¡°I¡¯ll study all the magic attributes while focusing on earth and poison magic!¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°You want to take lessons in all magic attributes?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yep. Actually, I have all magic attribute affinity, but my specialty so far only involves earth and poison magic. And then I¡¯ve dabbled a little in wind and fire magic. It¡¯s not possible to study more than three attributes back in the academy, so I¡¯d like to study them while I have the chance.¡± [Michelle]

    When I asked her if the school had such a rule, she replied with an ¡®of course¡¯. Because of the limits in magic power, studying more than one attribute would result in less practice overall, requiring more time before one is able to reach mastery.

    I forgot about that issue because I don¡¯t have that sort of problem. In my case, the problem is more in exhausting my magic power. My magic power is really big, so it¡¯s not easy to exhaust it all even if I want to.

    When I said that, everyone¡¯s gaze except for Eli and Sebasu grew a little cold.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun says the same thing Elia does.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°In the world of magicians, magicians would normally go to abyrinth to speed up their magic recovery, while the nobles would use magic recovery potions, but with these two...¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Must be nice having such luxurious worries.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Elia aside, Ryouma-kun, just how much magic power do you have? Last night, Elia mentioned you having magic power simr to hers three years ago. And since you were able to push back her Telekinesis, you must definitely have magic power proportionate to hers.¡± [Michelle]

    As I wryly smiled at the other four¡¯s words, I answered.

    ¡°It¡¯s about 280,000.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°280,000!?¡±: [Kanan]

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it bigger than mine now!?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°I put up the buildings and the roads we passed through, and I also practiced and researched on my magic a lot, so I¡¯ve always been using it to the limits. When I had some left over, I would just release the magic power.¡± [Ryouma]

    The released magic power would then be feed for the slimes, so it wasn¡¯t wasted.

    Elia was proud to hear that I had increased my magic power, but the other four were so shocked, their facial expressions stopped moving. As for Sebasu-san, he already knew of my magic power, so he was taking it quite calmly.

    A little while after that, the conversation fully shifted to magic, and then eventually, the lessons that I teach.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, you¡¯re also an instructor, right? What do you teach?¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Is it swordsmanship after all?¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Or maybe magic?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Ah... Actually, as of now, it¡¯s neither. In the past, I would teach either, but with the increase in instructors, I don¡¯t teach anymore. Nowadays, I¡¯m mostly only called to break the noses of some arrogant students that either came from some other ce, have some sort of ability, or just simply grew arrogant after some time. I mostly just help around nowadays when called. Thest time I participated in a match at the training facility was actually two months ago.¡± [Ryouma]

    Arrogant students are put in ce to remind them of their inexperience by having them repeat a match where they are defeated over and over again. The knights of this country do the same thing. But of course, It¡¯s not good to hurt them too much.

    There might be healing magic to deal with their physical injuries, tbut he agony and the fatigue left behind by the pain in their minds won¡¯t be erased. Because of that there are students who, after being beaten and healed over and over, have their mind break along with their nose, causing them toe out scared.

    All the instructors take care not to psychologically scar the students, so there¡¯re barely any such cases. But the training is harsh, so there¡¯ve been quite a number of students that were driven away.

    We don¡¯t forcefully keep students that don¡¯t want to continue anymore, so nothing exactly is stopping them from leaving. But if possible, I¡¯d like to see them all finish the curriculum... Oops, not good, I¡¯m digressing again.

    ¡°As of now, I provide lessons on how to make a magic staff once a week. Do any of you wish to take it? You¡¯ll know whether a staff is good or bad, and there are also parts rted to magic, so I¡¯m sure the knowledge you gain will serve you well.¡± [Ryouma]

    As the five of them were interested, it was decided that they¡¯ll attend the next session on magic staff making. As we approached the town, Elia suddenly remembered something as she said.

    ¡°Ryouma-san, won¡¯t you participate in the arena?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Ryouma-dono, you¡¯re good at sword and magic, so surely, you must¡¯ve also dreamt of winning a championship at an arena, right?¡± [Riera]

    It¡¯s because I don¡¯t actually have any interest in championships... Eh? Wait, isn¡¯t Riera-san misunderstanding something?

    ¡°Riera-san. Could it be that you think that the tournament being held is topare one¡¯s skill in sword or magic?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Is that not it? It¡¯s a tournament, so I figured it would be a martial arts tournament, but...¡± [Riera]

    ¡°The tournament being held this time is a tournament between conjurers and ve demon magicians. Contests of martial arts and magic aremon, so to do something different, the management of the arena gathered the people of the tamer guild.¡± [Ryouma]

    I¡¯ve broken rtions with the tamer guild, so naturally, I wasn¡¯t notified. I only found out when I went to the arena to check on my store.

    ¡°Oh...¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Well there¡¯re no cons to learning about the ecology of magical beasts, right? You definitely won¡¯t be wasting your time.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I encouraged Riera-san, who was feeling rather down, we arrived at Gimuru. We passed by the gate, and handed in the girls¡¯ application for the training facility, and then I distributed the permit to enter the facility to everyone. With this, the girls will now be able to take lessons from the facility.

    Incidentally, Sebasu-san will be teaching water magic to the students while the girls are taking their lessons.

    After that, I saw Elia and the others to their lodging.

    ¡°Ryouma-san, thank you very much for today.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°You¡¯re wee. Let¡¯s meet again the day after tomorrow.¡± [Ryouma]

    I dropped the girls in front of their lodging, and then headed back home with Rai. Tomorrow¡¯s sure gonna be a busy day...

 Volume 4 - 15

    TL Note: Finals andst week this week, so missing chapters and extra chapters will be dealt with the following week.

    I woke up when the light was still dim and the sun had yet to rise to train my body lightly. After that, I ate my breakfast, and then I took the Big Space Slime that can use dimension magic with me to a room in the house... Although it was within my house, the distance we had to travel was quite far.

    It¡¯s because I built a lot of facilities for experimenting as well as to house my slimes and help me use up my magic power each day. The lot size is about 150 hectares, but as of now, I¡¯ve already used up over half of the mountain range.

    Also, although I say ¡°use¡±, all I really did was change the tunnels that were already there into a number of square-shaped rooms. The build of the facilities I created were all in and simple. Save for the facilities that are being used for experiments, the rooms werwe mostly storage rooms.

    Another exception would be the tunnels by the sides of the house I built when I first started living at the mine. I figured the students might use the training facilities there back then, so I designed the rooms there better than the others.

    Deep inside those training facilities is a goblin farm. There are eight big rooms that are connected to passageways that can be closed and opened. Four of those are rooms are inhabited by 200 goblins each, totaling to 800 goblins. These goblins are fed, and when their poption grows, the surplus is used as food for the slimes or as experimental subjects.

    Even deeper past the breeding grounds are two demarcations. One is for experimenting and another for manufacturing. And thenstly, there¡¯s the field. So there¡¯s a workshop for me to experiment and create things, and then there¡¯s also a ce for me to store ingredients andpleted products.

    Also, around the fields there¡¯s another group of goblins that¡¯s different from the ones I¡¯m breeding. I made a deal with these goblins to let them live by the fields in exchange for their service in doing some easy work around the fields, as well as gathering the crops.

    I also tried raising orcs in the past, but unfortunately, although their sexual desire was strong, they couldn¡¯t multiply quickly. Moreover, although they were strong, they refused to listen to orders.

    I know it¡¯s a little questionable to have the goblins work for me and at the same time have them serve as feeds, but I¡¯ve already killed a lot of goblins. And I¡¯ll also have to kill goblins if my adventurer work requires it, so something like, ¡°Let¡¯s not kill goblins again!¡± is not something I can say.

    That¡¯s why I thought I should at least make the living environment of the goblins that are working better. Because of that, I¡¯ve been mostly feeding them the food from the fields. And when it¡¯s not enough, I even go out of my way to buy some leafy vegetables from the market at the town, and feed that to them. I also get some wine for them once a week. I also make sure to give the goblins that are meant for breeding enough to eat. They can live with just a little food, but I do my best to ensure they have their fill.

    ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± [Ryouma]

    The ce we arrived at is a corner in the manufacturing area where the products to be brought out are stored. By the corner of this storeroom are king grave slimes that have stored the corpses of goblins that has already had their blood drained. The king grave slimes are about the size of two drums even whenpressed, so they can still be seen through the gaps in between the luggage.

    ¡°Firstes the paper used in the research facilities and the vitamin pills. Then the dried corn used for making popcorn at the store by the arena... the potatoes, the onions, the sesame seeds... the bamboo, the iron, and the cursed ornaments... Ok.¡± [Ryouma]

    I put the items in the storeroom into the Dimension Home and the Item Box. I also borrowed the help of the big space slime. After I finished getting the things I needed, I took the big space slime and the king grave slime with me, and we headed for the research facility.

    As we entered the town, we stopped by a slime research facility at the back of the training facility.

    In front of me is a triangr building surrounded by 4m tall walls. It looked like a fortress. The building is about three stories high.

    The walls being high is a requirement by thew for magical beast research facilities inside a town. It¡¯s to ensure the safety of the citizens living nearby.

    Moreover, this building is situated 30m away from the surrounding buildings. That empty space is covered by a park. The security is made to bex as the park is also open to the public. Nothing can be done about the height of the walls, so at the very least, the security was lightened to allow the citizens visiting the park to be able to rx.

    As I greeted the security of the facility, I entered into the research facility, and stopped by the receptionist¡¯s desk where an old man was waiting for me.

    ¡°Good morning. Sorry for making you wait.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Good morning, Chief.¡± [Old Man]

    The man who is bowing deeply right in front of me is Paul Bilkins. He is the man responsible for managing the researchers of the slime research facility. He is able to immediatelyprehend the things I teach him, allowing him to immediately distribute the work to his subordinates, gather the results, and report to me everything in detail.

    Also, because I also have other stores to deal with, I¡¯m more the investor and advisor of this research facility rather than a manager.

    The first thing to be done after arriving here is the matter regarding the things that I¡¯ve brought. The reception¡¯s desk that we are at now is the lowest part of this triangr building. Going left from here leads to theboratory that studies the practical applications of the slimes. Going right leads to theb that studies unknown slimes.

    I handed the paper and the goblin feeds to the person in charge of their storerooms.

    There are few amongst the researchers who can contract arge number of slimes like me, so they can¡¯t have the slimes fuse together and be a big version or a huge version to save on food costs. That¡¯s why a majority of the goblins I¡¯m breeding are being consumed by the research facility.

    The reason I¡¯m able to contract arge number of slimes is because Gayn and the others set my talent in ve magic to adapt to my interests. I¡¯m extremely interested in slimes, so my talent in ve magic adapted itself for slime contracts. Thanks to that, I¡¯m able to contract what is pretty much an infinite number of slimes.

    But I can also contract with other beasts, and am often told that I¡¯m better than themon man at it. Also, ording to Gayn, I¡¯m apparentlypatible with magical beasts that have a tendency for crowding together. I¡¯m alsopatible with magical beasts that are weak individually.

    When I asked Kufo why, he said, ¡°Weren¡¯t you always bad with people back in your previous life? Then isn¡¯t your affinity something that came about because of your admiration for those that are able to form bonds with crowds?¡± His words hit right at the heart of the matter of how I thought back in my previous life, so I couldn¡¯t deny it at all. I¡¯ve always been envious of people who could get together happily with other people after all.

    Being told the truth with no malice behind it is a lot more painful than some poorly made lie. It was also in the middle of the banquet when I was told that, so I ended up drinking more liquor than normal. I couldn¡¯t get drunk at all though...

    Going back to the topic...

    My job isn¡¯t only to transport the goods to the storeroom.

    ¡°Here are the documents sincest week¨C¨C¨C¡± [Researcher 1]

    ¡°Oil Slime, Wax Slime, Mold Slime, and Copy Slime. These four types of slimes all possess the ability to generate lubricant liquid. Wepared the liquids they produced, and as expected, although they all possess the same Lubricant Liquid Generate skill, the characteristics of the liquid produced varies per type. Also, the abilities exhibited of two slimes of the same type apparently vary depending on the food they are fed before evolution. For example¨C¨C¨C¡± [Researcher 2]

    ¡°The slime evolutions are really varied. We are currently in the process of drawing up a tree-chart for their evolution¨C¨C¨C¡± [Researcher 3]

    ¡°We¡¯ve discovered another new slime!¡± [Researcher 4]

    I took the opportunity to go around theboratories, receiving the reports of people as I did. The bureau director, Paul, has also written it down in the document he gave me, but I also wanted to see the actual results myself.

    ¡°Another one? There sure has been a lot of new slimestely.¡± [Ryouma]

    I looked at the slime that was presented before me. This slime had just evolved, so the research surrounding it has only just begun as well. From the outside, it looks no different from a normal slime, so I used my Monster Identify skill.

    Jelly Slime

    SKILL NAME LEVEL

    Digestion Lv 4

    Absorption Lv 3

    Split Lv 2

    Oh, a jelly slime...

    Wait a moment, just how on earth did they distinguish it from the others!!?

    ¡°...It¡¯s rather difficult to distinguish from other slimes from just the appearance. What did you feed it?¡± [Ryouma]

    Slimes can look simr to each other despite being a different variant, so it¡¯s quite troubling...

    ¡°We fed it the bones of magical beasts and animals. We were looking to see if there were any other evolutions aside from the acid slime and the bone slime, and the result is this, the Jelly Slime.¡± [Researcher 4]

    It probably evolved from the cogen inside the bones.

    When this research facility was first founded, the first researches that were done were based mostly on my findings, which stated that slimes evolved differently depending on the food they ate. (At this time, the researchers in the facility were only the people working at theundromat)

    But then when the researchers tried it out, they were able to evolve slimes of different variants despite feeding them the same food. For example, slimes that were fed bones evolved into either an acid slime or a bone slime. And today, there¡¯s even the jelly slime.

    While it seems it¡¯s possible to make the slimes evolve, directing the slimes¡¯ evolution with 100% certainty is quite difficult.

    To make matters worse, arge number of variants can apparently transform into the same type. A good example would be the slimes inside the monster carriage, the heater slime and the cooler slime, as either of those two slimes can transform into an aircon slime.

    This diversity in the evolution path of the slimes is one of the causes of the researchers¡¯ headaches.

    Still... A jelly slime, huh? It¡¯s probably going to be used for food...

    ¡°As one would expect, the jelly in the jelly slime is the same jelly that¡¯s eaten. I¡¯ve heard that jelly is generally made out of animal bones.¡± [Researcher 4]

    ¡°It¡¯s the cogen from inside the bones of animals. That ingredient is heated, which then turns it into gtin, which is then used as the main ingredient for jellies.¡± [Ryouma]

    Well... gtin isn¡¯t only used in sweets though.

    As I was thinking that, Paul talked to me.

    ¡°So you really don¡¯t want to see slimes used as food ingredients.¡± [Paul]

    ¡°Not really. It¡¯s not like they¡¯ll die anyway, so it¡¯s fine.¡± [Ryouma]

    The meat slime that Caulkins-san evolved in the past is also present in this research facility. It¡¯s a slime that evolved after being fed the meat of magical beasts continuously.

    The meat slime has two abilities, Change Meat Quality and Remember Meat Quality, allowing them to transform into a meat with simr quality to that of the meat they ate. The meat can be taken from them without killing them so long as their nucleus is left untouched. They can also regenerate their body so long as they don¡¯t eat poisoned meat. They can do this even with meat not consumable by people. It takes about two weeks for them to regeneratepletely.

    Although I¡¯ve been hunting other prey, I was a bit hesitant to use the meat slimes as food at first. But then I found out that the meat slime apparently doesn¡¯t feel any pain from it, so nowadays, I¡¯m not really against it anymore. It¡¯s also better to just eat the meat that¡¯s already been gathered so as not to waste it.

    ¡°Not at all. It¡¯s because you don¡¯t see them like we do. You see them as your family or your friends, and not just as research subjects, so it probably can¡¯t be helped. It¡¯s also because of that that you have a different point of view regarding slimes, right? We couldn¡¯t even think of any other use for the meat slime other than for food supply... It was truly shameful on our part then.¡± [Paul]

    As soon as they found out that the meat slime¡¯s meat could be eaten, the researchers all thought to breed and study them in that light. But because I was against the idea of using them as food, I fed them the muscle of magical beasts, had them change their meat quality, and with the help of the bone slime, I found out that it was possible to use them to supplement muscles that weakened due to age.

    The effects were huge, and people became able to move like they did in their younger days. Because of that a lot of people helped out in the experiments. The researchers all thought to use the meat slimes for food at first, but that¡¯s probably because they¡¯re still affected by the values of the research facility they worked at before.

    ¡°Because the perspective is different¨C¨C¨C¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°N-No Ah AHHHHHHH!!!¡± [Girl¡¯s Voice]

    While I was in the middle of talking, a girl¡¯s screaming voice suddenly reached our ears, cutting my speech midway. Her scream was so loud it must¡¯ve reached the entire facility. Of course, Paul, me, as well as everyone else in the surrounding area stopped in our tracks.

    ¡°This voice...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s Alicia again!¡± [Paul]

    ¡°For the meantime, let¡¯s follow the direction of her voice!¡± [Ryouma]

    We knew who it was as soon as we heard the voice. The owner of that voice was none other than the famous trouble maker of a female researcher, Alicia. She was the type to cause trouble wherever she went. And not because of ill will or anything, but because she¡¯s merely unlucky. It¡¯s not on purpose, so she doesn¡¯t get punished, but...

    ¡°Just what is it this time, I wonder.¡± [Paul]

    ¡°Well for the meantime, let¡¯s hurry.¡± [Ryouma]

    If I recall correctly... The first trouble she caused was when she tried to confirm my findings, and she tried feeding the slime rotten foods to turn it into a scavenger slime. But the result she got instead was that of a mold slime that ate molds. As a result, mold grew all over the storerooms in theboratories.

    Then thest trouble she caused was when she fed the slimes bamboo charcoal, and discovered the carbon slime. But then that carbon slime spit out powdered carbon, causing a dust explosion inside the facility... After the mold slime incident, we put her inside a room that couldn¡¯t be entered in order to prevent casualties, but apparently, that backfired on us.

    Fortunately, the explosion was small, and because Alicia-san was taken aback from the carbon slime spitting powdered carbon, she inadvertently took some distance, allowing her to get by with only some wounds. However, because of the loud noise from the explosion, everyone inside the facility went into an uproar. Moreover, the windows in theboratories were blown away and the other slimes were damaged so badly you they were pretty much wiped out.

    We headed to Alicia-san¡¯sb as I recalled those things. By the time we got there, a crowd had already formed, and was being kept in check. When we went through that crowd to take a look at the situation, what we saw were the cramping faces of the security.

    ¡°Is anyone injured!?¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that in a loud voice, the crowd immediately parted, opening a way for us. At the end of that path was a guard who answered my question.

    ¡°Just two researchers who fainted. There¡¯s no danger to their life. There¡¯s also no danger as of now.¡± [Guard]

    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear... What¡¯s the cause of all this?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°...If you take a look inside, you¡¯ll understand.¡± [Guard]

    Just as the guard had said, I took a peek inside the room, and I immediately understood the reasoning behind that scream a while ago as even my face couldn¡¯t help but cramp.

    Yeah... if it¡¯s something like this, you¡¯d definitely want to scream...

 Volume 4 - 16

    TL Note: Lure Prey -> Lure Carnivore. Also, there were a loooooooooot of spams when I opened my site again, so I put up some measures to stop them. I made a tweet about approval being required, but as the plugin seems to be working well, I put a stop to that. You can justment as usual now.

    RYOUMA¡¯S BUSY DAY 2

    The scene inside the room was nothing short of shocking.

    Bugs of all sorts were crawling all over the walls and the ceiling. Now, I may not be that bad with insects, but with these many, even I can¡¯t help but feel sick.

    To make things worse, amongst the many insects crawling in theb, one of them was that dreaded insect that was feared even in my world, the cockroach! And not a paltry number either! Of course the girls wound faint! In fact, with this many even a guy would scream! But, hmm... why did something like this happen I wonder.

    ¡°U-Ugh...¡± [Alicia]

    ¡°Alicia-san! Have youe to?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°T-The insects... Huh? The insects...¡± [Alicia]

    Amongst the two fainted girls, Alicia-san appears to be the first to regain her consciousness.

    ¡°Are you alright?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°The guards entered theb when you fainted, and brought you guys out.¡± [Paul]

    ¡°Thank you... for saving me.¡± [Alicia]

    Alicia bowed her head toward the security guards as she offered a word of gratitude.

    ¡°So... how did thingse to this? If I recall correctly, you should be currently researching on the fluff slime and other nt-type slimes, correct?¡± [Ryouma]

    Her face went pale as soon as I asked her that. Looks like she remembered.

    ¡°I was feeding and observing the slimes that preferred to eat vegetables as always when a sticky slime began to evolve, so I went to see what food it liked. But then just as I was in the process of studying it, insects suddenly poured in through the windows and the venttion that were added since thest incident... I lost consciousness shortly afterwards.¡± [Alicia]

    Upon hearing her story, I steeled myself, and entered the insect infestedboratory.

    The slime was seated on the observing pedestal with countless insects swarming it.

    The windows were open and even the door I entered from was open, yet the insects refused to leave... Chances are this slime is the reason behind this invasion. Still... I must say... this slime looks awfully disgusting. It looks just like the other slimes, but because of its high transparency, I can see the insects that it¡¯s swallowed wriggling inside it as it digests them.

    As I looked at that slime, I used Monster Identify.

    Insectivorous Slime

    SKILL NAME LEVEL

    Sticky Liquid Lv3

    Lure Insects Lv3

    Digestion Lv4

    Absorption Lv3

    Split Lv1

    The moment I saw its stats, it was clear that the slime was the reason behind this incident.

    ¡°The Lure Insects skill... Yep, this is definitely the culprit. This skill should be the same type as the Lure Carnivores skill of the takeostrich and the Lure Ghosts skill of the grave slime. Oh, right... this slime used to be a sticky slime... I did use the sticky slimes like a flypaper in the past... And this one eats just like one.¡±Taking a better look at theb, I can see some insectivorous nts. I guess that¡¯s what it must¡¯ve eaten then.I asked Alicia-san to confirm, and apparently, those nts really are what she fed it. In any case, it would appear that there¡¯re no problems aside from the insects.

    I informed the security and the researchers outside that everything was safe now, and they all went back to their respective jobs as they heaved sighs of relief.

    The people working at thisb are all making troubled faces though. In that case, it might be a good idea to concoct some insect repent for them. Alternatively, I could also have some mosquito screens put up.

    ¡°W-Well for the meantime, it seems useful for pest control. There are plenty of interesting points to study though. Such as the effects on the useful insects, and whether it can resist against magical beasts despite being an insect-type.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I¡¯ll prepare a report as soon as we finish investigating.¡± [Lab Manager]

    ¡°Thank you very much. Also please make sure to tend to the two injured girls.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Please leave it to me.¡± [Lab Manager]

    ¡°Then, pleasee this way.¡± [Paul]

    After the matter, I left everything to Alicia-san¡¯sb manager, and left with Paul-san.

    The ce we were headed to was the area above the reception desk, to one of the several small conference rooms. As we entered the rectangr room, what first entered our eyes was a big window that could be seen outside, covered by a thick curtain. On the left was space for documents to be posted ¨C for announcing them ¨C and on the right was an aquarium in which slimes of various sizes swam.

    ¡°I¡¯ll bring the documents. Please wait here for a moment.¡± [Paul]

    As Paul-san said that, he left the conference room. In the meantime, I decided to watch the slimes swimming in the aquarium as I waited.

    The slimes swimming inside the aquarium are a type known as the Fin Slime. It¡¯s a kind of slime that evolved from eating fishes. Half a year after I opened aundromat at Skoom, the hometown of the Bridge of Skoom ¨C an adventurer party I know from way back ¨C the employees that I sent there in their hometown to tend to the store as well as research discovered this slime.

    The members of the Bridge of Skoom all work as adventurers to provide for their families¡¯ unstable life that depended on their catch for the day. Despite that, however, they all still had their own responsibilities regarding fishing work. Which as a result led to them having good rtions with plenty of the fishermen in the town.

    It was through the good graces of the Bridge of Skoom that I was able to put up my store in that town, and have plenty of customers through the fishermen who dropped by every day. Moreover, some of the researchers I¡¯d sent also apparently knew some of those fishermen, so because of that, they would drink together from time to time, and the fishermen would even sometimes give them some of their catch that could not make the quality check. They got along really well in other words.

    Because of that, the researchers were able to feed the slimes saw-edged perch every day. And before they knew it, the slime evolved into the fin slime.

    Unfortunately, although they had been hoping for a slime that could create fish meat, the fin slime was merely a small slime with fins and gills of various sizes. It couldn¡¯t be eaten, and it didn¡¯t have the strength to carry things or pull boats either. Its body wouldn¡¯t grow even after feeding it more fish, and neither could a fish slime be born.

    As of now, the only use we could find for the fin slime was that of entertainment. It doesn¡¯t swim fast. It swims at a leisurely pace, and couple that with the different colors and sizes of its fins, there are many who thinks of it as cute or interesting, so they¡¯re quite popr in theb for being soothing.

    Because of that there are aquariums filled with fin slimes all over theboratory. There are aquariums on the other conference rooms too. And there¡¯s also a big one in the dining hall in the third floor. And then there¡¯s also one in the guest room and the reception desk. And then there are also people who keep aquariums in theirbs.

    The fin slimes generally prefer being in the water, but they¡¯re not fishes, so they can still live onnd. Lately, people have been building hills andnd in their aquariums. And then they would put their aquariums by the window, letting sunlight shine on the aquarium. After which, some of the fin slimes would then climb the hills they made, and sunbathe under the sun¡¯s light. Watching the fin slimes sunbathe has be really popr amongst the researcherstely.

    The fin slimes just might be a huge hit in the near future.

    ¡°Excuse me. I¡¯ve brought some tea.¡± [Employee]

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    Tea was served, so I sat down, and drank as I waited. After a while, Paul came in with two other men, a bundle of papers in their arms. They sat themselves by the same four-sided table that I was sitting by.

    In front of me was Paul-san. To the left was a man in the prime of his life, wearing armor, Crank-san. And to the right was a slender man wearing a pair of sses who was in his thirties, Pete-san. He is the manager of this research facility, and is usually the one who handles its funds.

    I go here once a week to hear the reports of these three men. From Paul-san, the results of the slime research, from Crank-san, issues regarding the facility¡¯s security, and from Pete-san, a general report regarding the operation of the facility. The meeting is quite long, so we usually eat lunch together as we discuss things.

    Paul-san wanted feeds from distant areas to be imported for use in research. Following that, Pete-san gave a report on the costs needed to make that happen.

    Crank-san¡¯s report was mostly on minor issues. Issues such as arguments from people arguing on the use of a slime or so... There was nothing that couldn¡¯t be solved with some good mediation, so save for the earlier incident, there were no pressing issues to attend.

    As the meeting continued, we came to ourst topic.

    ¡°Now on thest topic we have to discuss today... Are you aware of the magic beast tourna that will be held in the arena?¡± [Paul]

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard of it.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that, Paul wordlessly and deeply nodded.

    ¡°The participation conditions include B Rank magical beasts, so the cannonball rhino can participate. But I¡¯d also like for you to consider having the slimes participate too.¡± [Paul]

    ¡°If the opponents are B Rank magical beasts, then the only ones who could put up a fight are the big variations up.¡± [Ryouma]

    I¡¯ve already revealed most of my findings to the researchers of the facility, so they¡¯re already aware that big slimes are an aggregation of many slimes. However, this fact is yet to be publicized.

    The matters of this research facility is being kept confidential, so I make sure to avoid doing anything eye-catching in public. When a big slime is needed, I have the slimes shorten the transformation time by having them use thepress skill. At the same time, I also have them slip into other slimes to hide the transformation. The only ones who are in the know regarding the big slime¡¯s secrets are the people of the Jamil Household, Raypin-san and the other adventurers, and the rest of the people I trust. And of course, they¡¯re keeping a tight lid on it as well.

    We¡¯ve been nning to announce the results of our research to the public once we find a good opportunity, but... has the time alreadye? At the very least, it seems that Paul-san wants to use the magic beast tourna to announce our progress. In any case, I better ask what I need to ask... Although, he¡¯s probably already prepared for this.

    ¡°How much are you nning to reveal? And have youpleted your preparations?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Only the big slime. The evolution conditions and the practical applications of slime will remain confidential. The announcement of the results of slime research should be announced slowly and carefully. The documents have already been prepared. The people who will be exining and demonstrating has also already been chosen.¡± [Paul]

    Paul-san spoke fluently, without the slightest pause, but then he asked me a question.

    ¡°...But is it really alright for you not to announce it yourself? All we did was verify your findings. The one who unveiled the mystery behind the ecology and contract of the big slime which had eluded countless researchers was you, Takebayashi-sama.¡± [Paul]

    ¡°Please announce it as the results of the research facility. I have other jobs to do.¡± [Ryouma]

    Hearing that, Paul-san couldn¡¯t help but sigh to himself as he shrugged his shoulders.

    While I won¡¯t say that acknowledgement doesn¡¯t bring me happiness, my goal in my research is neither glory nor fame. That¡¯s why I¡¯d rather let other people handle the public. And besides, all sorts of trouble woulde if I were to announce it as my own.

    ¡°I understand. We will take responsibility for the publication and announcement of the research.¡± [Paul]

    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯d like to ask though, why now?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°First, because the magic beast tournament is a good ce to announce that it is now possible to contract with the big slimes. And second, because if our researchb can aplish not just to unveil the ecology and contract method of the big slime, but even win with it, then the achievements that our research facility will gain will be huge!¡± [Paul]

    Paul continued.

    ¡°Showing the big slime in the tournament will attract a lot of attention from ve demon magic users and other rted people. If they ask for the particrs, then we can just have them inquire the facility. What¡¯s more is that we¡¯ll be able to pile up achievements. If we can pile up achievements, then we should somehow be able to gain some sort of benefit from it. But unfortunately, we are only researchers, fighting is outside of our expertise, so...¡± [Paul]

    ¡°Unless the slime fights in an annoying way, the slime won¡¯t have much of a chance to a win.¡± [Crank]

    ording to the information from the previous tournament, while the magical beasts will be treated when injured, it¡¯s not something that can guarantee the safety of the magical beasts. It¡¯s the same for the tournaments meant for people, but the chance for injury or death isn¡¯t zero. If an inexperienced slime were to fight, then it might just suffer grave injuries.

    ¡°If the championship could be won, then the value of someone such as ourselves who is affiliated will also increase. And Takebayashi-sama, if you win, you will also gain the prize money. Over half the costs of this facility is currently being covered by you, so it¡¯s most likely a small sum to you, but... Pete.¡± [Paul]

    At Paul-san¡¯s call, Pete-san continued.

    ¡°The prize money is 50,000 suits. That¡¯s more than enough for a person to get by without working for a year.¡± [Pete]

    While it¡¯s certainly a lot of money, with theundromat stores currently totaling to about 10, the current ie of the stores altogether reaches to about 200,000 suits daily.

    And while I¡¯m not able to use that entire sum due to the construction expenses ¨C as I am no longer building the branches myself, and mostly left with people... Moreover, with the money being spent to improve the working environment of the employees, and a chunk of it being deposited in the bank in case of emergency, the spendable ie I have is actually only about 20% of that 200,000. But even then that¡¯s still 40,000 suits daily, so the prize money just doesn¡¯t look attractive to me.

    I¡¯ve spent a lot of my ie in investing on the training facilities, training areas, research facilities, and employees, but I still have 50 big gold coins, which totals to about 5,000,000 suits saved up. That¡¯s why I have no problem at all in regards to money... If there¡¯s anything I¡¯m worried about, it¡¯s preventing information leaks.

    As I was about to ask Crank-san, he replied before I could say anything.

    ¡°We currently have 30 guards and crime prevention magic tools installed. If we were to ask for support from the training facility, we can increase that to 50. We could also talk to Gimuru¡¯s guards before the tournament.¡± [Crank]

    If they¡¯re people from the training facility, then it should be safe. We also have good rtions with the Gimuru¡¯s guards because of the training facility, so they¡¯ll definitely listen if we were to ask them to be vignt when patrolling.

    ¡°Things might get noisy after the information regarding the big slime is revealed to the public. And with the slimes currently able to create food and help out in manufacturing and other industrial processes, it might be a necessity to acquire a good social standing for the facility, and increase our influence.¡± [Paul]

    We can just release the information normally. but right now this research facility is unknown. It doesn¡¯t have an amazing title such as ¡°national¡± attached to it, and neither does it have any sort of achievement. To put things briefly, it doesn¡¯t have any sort of brand, so it¡¯s easy to look down on.

    It¡¯s sponsored by the Jamil Household, so while they may not be able to openly speak out against us, if we were to continue like this without any sort of achievements whatsoever, people might talk behind our back and say that we¡¯re only using our influence with the Jamil Household.

    And if we¡¯re continued to be looked down on, nasty people mighte once we start talking about the practical uses of slimes. That¡¯s why it¡¯s a good idea to pile up some achievements with the big slime at the magic beast tournament. After all, there are definitely people who make their decisions after seeing one¡¯s title and achievements.

    With that in mind, if the big slime were to make a shy appearance in the arena, then the appeal in being able to contract with the big slime should also increase. But that¡¯s not all.

    If for argument¡¯s sake, we decided not to make an appearance at the magic beast tournament, then if we wanted to reveal information regarding the big slime, we would have to bring a thesis to a research facility or academic conference somewhere. But if we just went up and showed the big slime at the magic beast tournament, then the inquiry wille pouring in from their side, and we won¡¯t have to go anywhere.

    With that, the time it takes will be greatly reduced, and the position we have in the discussion will be better. I am, after all, also a researcher, and I¡¯d rather not sell the information on the slimes cheaply. Having a position where I am able to refuse divulging information I don¡¯t want to release is best.

    As I ascertained that it would be best for us to gain some achievements, I came to the conclusion that it would be best to participate in the magic beast tournament.

    ¡°...I understand. Let¡¯s participate in the magic beast tournament.¡± [Ryouma]

    Like this my participation in the magic beast tournament was decided.

 Volume 4 - 17

    VOLUME 4 CHAPTER 17: RYOUMA¡¯S BUSY DAY 3

    After it was decided for me to participate in the magic beast tournament, the meeting ended.

    I handed the vitamins I brought from my house to Paul and the others, and left the distribution to them. Then after I received the vinyl bags (used for the crushed ice in my store by the arena) and a bundle of rectangr paper with the mark of the slime on them, they sent me off, and I left the research facility.

    The next ce I¡¯m headed to is the training facility. If you walk straight ahead from the entrance of the research facility, there¡¯s a backdoor leading to the courtyard and the entrance used for transporting goods.

    Everything except for the pir was removed in that area to allow carriages to pass through, so it feels simr to the area under the girders of a railway or a highway.

    As I entered from that backdoor, and into the courtyard, what greeted me was the figure of the merchant guild¡¯s guildmaster watching over some kids.

    ¡°You¡¯re quitete today.¡± [Gris]

    ¡°Sorry. I made you wait.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s my rest day today anyway. That aside, why don¡¯t you go ahead and settle your business here.¡± [Gris]

    The guild master of the merchant guild, Gris-san, has been living here in the training facility since half a year ago. In here, she¡¯s not a guild master, but just a grandmother who¡¯s watching over the children. So when she¡¯s here, she¡¯s just Granny Gri.

    The reason she ended up living here all started because of one particr day half a year ago when I went to the merchant guild, and received some tea from her.

    It was then that I found out for the first time that Granny Gri had been living in the nap room provided for the guild master, and hadn¡¯t beening home at all. Although she might have had a big house in the residential district of Gimuru, it was mostly being taken care of by a person she hired.

    She didn¡¯t have any rtives there, so even if she dide home, she¡¯d still be alone, so she¡¯s always been staying at the guild is what Granny Gri said when I asked her about it.

    It finally made sense to me when I heard that.

    Granny Gri was almost always at the guild whenever I dropped by. There were plenty of times when I couldn¡¯t meet her right away because of a guest or a meeting, but that¡¯s all. There¡¯s never been any other reason for me to be unable to meet her. She was always at the guild, and she always made time for me whenever I visited... it struck me as a bit odd then, but it never urred to me that she lived in the guild.

    We talked a bit more after that. And since it just cost her money to have a house and have someone watch over it, it was decided that she¡¯ll be moving to the training facility.

    The people of the merchant guild were grateful when they found out. Apparently, the employees of the guild were also worrying about Granny Gri. But because of her age, they figured it was still better than hering home just to be alone since at least with her there, someone could attend to her if something were to happen.

    The training facility has plenty of people in the dorms, and there¡¯re even doctors amongst the employees, so it was a lot more reassuring to have Granny Gri stay there. I went to help move Granny Gri¡¯s things from her house, but surprisingly, there were people from the guild who came to help as well. They even bowed their heads to me in gratitude.

    Nowadays, Granny Gri would watch the children on her rest days. She would also teach math and how to read from time to time.

    ¡°Oi, what are you spacing out for? Let¡¯s go.¡± [Gris]

    ¡°Ah, right!¡±

    I headed to the storeroom with Granny Gri, and left the paper with the slime mark on it that I just got from the research facility. In exchange, I took the paper bags that had the slime mark imprinted on them.

    ¡°This is quite a lot.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s because the kids are full of spirit and arepeting with each other.¡± [Gris]

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to thank themter. Ah, should I bring them some sweets?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°They¡¯ll be delighted.¡± [Gris]

    After that short conversation, I started gathering things again.

    The children help out with light chores around the facility such as drawing water and sweeping. Amongst those light chores, one of the jobs they do is the production of these paper bags. It was me who suggested that the children do these light chores.

    The paper bags they make are used in the store by the arena, so their work doesn¡¯t go to waste. And the kids are really happy when I praise them when we meet. I wonder what I should make as thanks this time. Cookies are fine, but... Well, I think I¡¯ll take my time thinking about itter.

    After I finished gathering everything, I exited the storeroom, and went to a room, where I chatted with Granny Gri for a while as we drank some tea. It¡¯s already be a habit for me to take a break from anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour like this after gathering all the paper bags.

    After we talked about the news of some historic ruins being discovered in a forest called Resaruba, we began to talk about my participation in the magic beast tournament. Granny Gri is a trustworthy partner of mine, so after we talked about the details that led to me participating, she encouraged me, saying, ¡°Go win!¡± After which, Granny Gri said this.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯d be a good idea to make your own guild soon?¡± [Gris]

    ¡°By guild you mean something like the merchant guild?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Right. If you were to make a slime guild and partner with the merchant guild, it¡¯ll be hard for others to meddle with your matters. And I¡¯m sure the merchant guild will readily agree as soon as they hear about your slimes.¡± [Gris]

    Ahh, so there was that method too... But how do you even make a guild? I tried to ask that, but Granny Gri was already lost in her prattling.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it great having such a high production rate? It can be troublesome when you just make things as you please, but if you were to properly use that productivity, the price of goods can be reduced. For example, food. When the harvest is bad, the price of food increases. And although it¡¯s slight, the effect on the people can be big. Moreover, an imprudent fellow could buy up the supply, and then sell them for... well, you understand, right?¡± [Gris]

    I think you said everything already though...

    ¡°When all the supplies are bought, shortage wille, and the prices will rise. Because of that, there¡¯re people who won¡¯t be able to afford their own share. And that¡¯s where the slimese in, right?¡± [Slime]

    ¡°Exactly. Fortunately, however, this country is rich. So even small viges should have some reserve stock. But with your slime, they¡¯ll be able to get by before using that all up.¡± [Gris]

    ¡°And since that¡¯ll be sold at the right price, the others who are selling at a higher price will have to sell lower if they want to sell at all.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Even if the price jump isn¡¯t fully mitigated, enough food reaching the people is more than satisfactory. As you can see, I¡¯m already an old woman. In this long life that I¡¯ve lived, I watched how the imprudent took advantage of others plenty of times... I can¡¯t forgive them. That sort of hical practice.¡± [Gris]

    While I don¡¯t know for sure what it was that Gris-san was thinking, thest words she said were heavy.

    ¡°...There¡¯s that method as well. In any case, it¡¯s good enough for you to keep this in your mind for now. You need some achievements before being able to put up a guild anyway, so your course of action hasn¡¯t really changed.¡± [Gris]

    ¡°Really?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°But of course. You didn¡¯t really think you¡¯d be able to make a guild so easily, did you? There¡¯re plenty of things needed to make a guild. Having achieved something is one of those.¡± [Gris]

    Now that she mentions it, that does make sense.

    Around this time, I noticed that I¡¯ve spent too much time already, so I decided to excuse myself.

    ¡°Thank you for the delicious tea.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Do your best in your work, alright?¡± [Gris]

    Granny Gri saw me off outside her room, then I went to Serge-san¡¯s shop.

    ¡°Wee to the Morgan Firm. Pleasee this way.¡± [Employee]

    The employee tending to the store greeted me, and brought me to a room. The ce I was brought to was not guest room, but the storeroom. I have a lot of goods with me, so the first thing to do was to store these into the storeroom.

    First were the ingots that weighed a total of 100kg. Then the strainers and the baskets, the bamboo ear cleaner (the soft part is made with the fluff of the fluff slime), the various bamboo products... and then just as I was taking out the bamboo charcoal, Serge-san arrived. We exchanged greetings, then after I finished unloading everything, the employees came to check the quality of the goods.

    I waited at the guestroom while the employees ran their checks. Sitting in front of me was, of course, Serge-san. There, I took out several small boxes from my Item Box and handed them to Serge-san.

    ¡°These are this week¡¯s portion. Please confirm the goods.¡± [Ryouma]

    Serge-san took the small boxes, piling the contents by the edge of the desk one by one.

    The contents of these small boxes are all ornaments that were handed to me to be uncursed. Of course, they¡¯re no longer cursed now, and are just mere ornaments.

    Serge-san gathers cursed goods, and hands them to me, allowing me to practice my skills. And in exchange, I uncurse the goods he hands me for free. The goods can¡¯t be sold when cursed, but once uncursed, they can be sold like normal.

    ¡°I¡¯ve checked everything. Thank you very much. Well then... pleasee this way.¡± [Serge]

    A new set of cursed goods was given to me. I hid those in my Item Box. With this I¡¯ve finished most of my business here in the Morgan Firm today. I chatted with Serge-san for a while as I waited for the employees to finish the checking of the goods. When they finished, I got mypensation, and I left the firm.

    The next ce I¡¯m headed to is the store I have which is located by the arena. My goal is to bring the potatoes, the dried corns, the bags to be used for the crushed ice as well as the paper bags, and finally, to rece the strainers. The strainers I¡¯m using for my store are different form the ones I sell to the Morgan Firm.

    I¡¯m going to be at the arena anyway, so I figured I might as well register for the tournament, but then as I passed by the gates of the second town, I saw someone I didn¡¯t want to meet.

    It was the guild master of the tamer guild, Matthew.

    He was partially bald, being bald only at the top of his head, while the remaining hair he had was gray as ash. He had hollow cheeks and a pale, sicklyplexion. And a mncholic aura seemed to linger about him as he muttered to himself.

    The streets would normally be packed with people, but the area around Matthew was empty. Apparently, people found Matthew ghastly, and were avoiding him. Matthew didn¡¯t seem to notice me as he only passed by me, and left for the direction of the first town.

    ¡°...He¡¯s gotten even more haggard in the time I haven¡¯t seen him. But since he doesn¡¯t look anything like he did 3 years ago, regardless how much more haggard he bes, not much changes...¡± [Ryouma]

    Whenever I see Matthew, I can¡¯t help but remember how haughty he was when I first met him. The Matthew that passed by me and the Matthew then don¡¯t resemble each other at all. He¡¯s like a zombie nowadays.

    From what I¡¯ve heard, an assistant sent by the head office is now the one who¡¯s actually in control of the guild. And Matthew is now being made to run from ce to ce to deal with the ruffians appearing in the second town as well as to handle various routine duties.

    I¡¯ve never met the assistant who is now in control of the guild, so I don¡¯t know much about him. Speaking of which, this is now actually the second assistant. I know a little about the previous assistant, but I don¡¯t know anything about this one at all.

    It¡¯s hard to talk about the first one, but he was persistent in asking me to work for the tamer guild. Every time he woulde, he wouldmbast Matthew and praise me. Thanks to the demon king¡¯s influence, however, I could tell that he was lying. So aside from the first time we met, I never struggled with dealing with the guy.

    But the man was persistent, and he woulde three to four times every month to theundromat to try and convince me. He suddenly stoppeding after a few months. When I thought he¡¯d given up, I heard he apparently disappeared.

    Because of his sudden appearance, the guards visited my store since he was alwaysing there. I was really surprised. They just came to hear the details, but it was still really bad for my heart.

    Incidentally, this story spread rtively quickly throughout the town. Rumors spread like wildfire, and people began wondering whether Matthew had something do with the man¡¯s disappearance. Matthew was also investigated, but in the end, it was decided that he had nothing to do with the case. However, since then, I hear Matthew¡¯s gotten extremely ufortable from then on.

    As I thought those things as I walked, I passed by arge barn. It¡¯s the inn where a lot of ve demon magicians stay at.

    ¡°That was back when the ruffians were really going wild...¡± [Ryouma]

    Around the time when the ve demon magicians and conjurers of the tamer guild started going wild, people were arrested. I thought for sure Matthew would also get arrested due to mismanagement, but because of the advocacy of the assistant that came, Matthew was spared.

    Granny Gri says that the reason that assistant saved Matthew is so that he himself could avoid taking the me all by himself. It¡¯s only a matter of time before Matthew gets the short end of the stick.

    ¡°...Mn? Come to think of it, what did Matthewe to do here?¡± [Ryouma]

    I wonder if there¡¯s something going on in the town? Hmm... but whatever. Anyway, I better hurry to the arena.

    I went to the store in the arena, and delivered the goods. I asked whether they needed more hands to help out with the work, and then I decided to add one more worker just to be safe.

    I informed the manager that I¡¯ll be getting another worker from the training facility once I get back, and will have him work at the store starting tomorrow. Then afterwards I went to register for the magic beast tournament.

    When I went to register, the employee in charge exined to me the details regarding the tournament. The summary is as follows:

    1. The tournament will start 10 dayster.

    2. There are two phases. First, are the qualifiers, and then the main tournament.

    3. Each phase will take a day each, but the semifinals and the finals will be held on the third day alogn with the award ceremony, so all-in-all, the tournament will be three days long.

    4. The qualifier is a free-for-all battle royal. Each participant can have up to five magical beasts.

    5. The main tournament will be held like a standard tournament, and there will not be any set limitation on the number of magical beasts that one can bring. One can also refrain from sending all of his beasts in a certain round if he wishes to save some strength for the next round. Also, a participant can send out another beast once if the beast he has out in the battle is defeated.

    6. A Rank and S Rank magical beasts are prohibited so as to ensure the safety of the spectators.

    7. The participant must acknowledge that he or she will be responsible if his or her own beast is injured or killed.

    8. Participants are forbidden from attacking other participants directly. Only the beasts may attack each other.

    9. Participants are also not allowed to attack their opponent¡¯s magic beast directly. Participants are free to protect themselves, however.

    10. The first ce prize is 50,000 suits. The second ce prize is 10,000 suits.

    Up to five beasts for the preliminaries... Is a big slime considered ¡°one¡±? Or is it considered ¡°one-hundred¡±? It should still be considered as a single magic beast for now, but... I don¡¯t want to be stingy when ites to the public unveiling regarding the big slime too, so I think I¡¯ll have toe up with something.

    In any case, I finished registering already, so I left the arena. When I got out, I noticed that the sun had already set.

    I hurriedly went to the Slime Den Restaurant, and delivered the remaining potatoes, onions, and sesame seeds. I was there already, so I had my meal there as well, then I went back home. Along the way, I bought five barrels of wine from a store I frequented. I stored them in my Dimension Home. When I got out of the town, I used my dimension magic, and went home in an instant.

    After gave the goblins some wine and some snacks as thanks for their work, I went to read the books my grandmother had left me before going to sleep, and studied medicine. After that, I decided to retire for the day... Ah, I forgot to think about the contents of my lesson with Elia¡¯s group... I guess I still can¡¯t sleep after all.

    TL Note:

    I haven¡¯t forgotten about the chapters I owe guys. There¡¯s a construction going on right next to my room right now, and the fumes and the light from welding are apparently bad for me ¨C not to mention it¡¯s noisy as all hell ¨C so I can¡¯t use my PC as much as I¡¯d like to. The construction will finish in just a few more days, so please wait a bit.

 Volume 4 - 18

    TL Note: Sorry for the dys~ House is being overhauled. They said just a few more days, but now they¡¯re nning to tear down the walls :(... anyway... i¡¯m not sure what¡¯s going to happen, so trantions might be a bit iffy. I¡¯ll start releasing faster once everything settles down~ hopefully they can finish everything by next week.

    Today I¡¯ll be teaching Elia¡¯s group for the first time. I am currently waiting in front of the gates to the training area. They said I didn¡¯t have to pick them up, and to just wait here, so that¡¯s what I did. I might¡¯vee a little too early though, ah... they¡¯re here.

    I saw Sebasu-san driving the carriage from the direction of the town, so I asked the gatekeeper who happens to be a student of mine to open the gate. Then I went ahead, and waited by the stable. After the girls¡¯ carriage finished parking, the first one to go down was Elia.

    ¡°Sorry for making you wait, Ryouma-san.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s alright, I didn¡¯t wait long at all. You¡¯re also earlier than the appointed time.¡± [Ryouma]

    Elia came up to me and said that as soon as she got down from the carriage. The other four also went down the carriage one by one, and went up to me to say hi. Today, everyone¡¯s wearing simple clothing and only have their weapons and staves with them. We don¡¯t have any ns of using those today though.

    ¡°Good morning, everyone. Umm~ I¡¯ll be in your care today. And since today¡¯s the first day, we¡¯ll be having our lecture in the ssroom. The first thing I¡¯ll be teaching is the role of a magic wand and how to make it. After that, I¡¯ll have you make a simple wand. A lot of the things you¡¯ll learn here can be applied to your magic, so I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll benefit from it.¡±

    ¡°Please take care of us!¡± [Elia, Miyabi, Kanan, Michelle, Riera]

    Good, there doesn¡¯t seem to be any problems. After all, there are plenty of magicians who know how to use staves, but don¡¯t know how to make them. But a good understanding of magic is also required in order to make a good staff, so it¡¯s really a good subject to study.

    ¡°Ryouma-sama, I leave the youngdy and the others in your care.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°Same here. Please take care of the students.¡± [Ryouma]

    I exchanged some words with Sebasu-san, then when we got to the crossroads, we went our own ways. I took Elia¡¯s group with me to the magic wand workshop, while Sebasu-san went to the magic practice area as an instructor.

    When I opened the doors to the workshop, the first thing that greeted us were the bundles of lumbers to be used as ingredients for making wands and the storages for the tools. Right next to that was the workce that had a number of windows through which the outside could be seen. The walls blocking the stray magic from the magic practice area are near the windows, but despite that, there¡¯s plenty of venttion and light.

    I invited the five girls inside, and had them seat besides the workshop stand.

    ¡°Shall we start?¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that, I took five new notebooks from my Item Box as well as five bottles of ink and pen. I distributed them to the girls.

    ¡°Please use them when needed. These¡¯re given to all the students as presents, so please don¡¯t¡¯ hold back.¡± [Ryouma]

    The five girls each took their own notebook and pen. Then they immediately opened them, and readied themselves for the start of ss. When I had confirmed that they were all ready, I began the ss.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s start... To start off, let me ask you all this question ¨C what do you think makes a good wand?¡± [Ryouma]

    The three magicians amongst the five girls answered.

    ¡°A wand with a high-quality magic jewel?¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°From what I¡¯ve heard it¡¯s the wand that conducts magic the best.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°The longer the better¡¯s what I hear in my case.¡± [Miyabi]

    I see...

    ¡°None of your answers are wrong, but none of them are right either. I¡¯ll begin today¡¯s lesson by tackling around that topic, so we¡¯ll be starting with the basics.

    Magic wands are supplemental tools for using magic. They¡¯re not an absolute requirement to casting magic. But they can increase the force of one¡¯s magic, make it easier to cast magic, and even reduce the magic power consumption. They have various effects, but why? Why are they able to do this? In order to exin that, let us first review how to use magic.¡± [Ryouma]

    When using magic, one must first release magic power outside of his or her body. Then through visualization transform that magic power into an attribute, maintain it, and then finally, cast the magic. Each and every one of these three processes is necessary when casting magic. Fail one of them, and the magic will not be casted.

    Amongst these three processes, the most important process ¨C and the process to which magic wands are rted ¨C is process number two, the transformation and preservation of magic power.

    ¡°You are all aware that magic power tends to disperse when released outside the body, yes?¡±

    The girls who were diligently taking notes nodded. Magic dispersing is basic magic knowledge. It¡¯s written in every textbook, so of course they know.

    ¡°When released, magic power disperses. It¡¯s because of this that Magic Maniption is necessary... If the magic power can¡¯t be maintained, then it¡¯ll disperse. It is also harder to maintain magic power after converting it to an attributepared to when it¡¯s just magic power, so it¡¯s a lot easier for it to disperse.¡± [Ryouma]

    This is the reason why in the past, when I evolved a slime to an earth slime after feeding it earth attribute magic power, Elia and the Madam couldn¡¯t do the same thing.

    ¡°Which is why the faster a magician can convert the attribute of magic power, the faster he¡¯ll be able to cast magic. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve been taught so when you first started learning magic. The faster the invocation, the less waste in magic power, so it¡¯s also more advantageous duringbat.¡± [Ryouma]

    I paused for a moment, and checked whether the girls understood or not. After that I spoke again.

    ¡°With this I believe you¡¯ve nowe to an understanding regarding the loss of magic power when invocating magic. Going to the main topic ¨C which is the use of magic wand ¨C it can be summarized into this one sentence: ¡®To reduce the wasted magic power¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°In other words, because there is less magic power wasted when using a wand, the magic power consumed by the spell is reduced, and at the same time, the strength of the magic is also increased, right?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Precisely. To add to that, it is because magic wands help the magician deal with the two main issues that cause magic power waste. Those two points are the conversion and retention of magic power that I just mentioned.¡± [Ryouma]

    The first point is that magic disperses when the magician fails to control the magic power. Moreover, this magic power needs to be maintained even after converting it, all the way until the magic is finally invocated.

    The other point is the loss thates when magic power is converted. Humans might be able to convert magic power from neutral to another attribute, but some magic power is lost during the process.

    ¡°A student I had before likened the loss of magic power during conversion to the withdrawal fee charged by the bank when withdrawing. I think it¡¯s a great analogy. Now, how exactly do magic wands supplement this loss in magic power? With this wee back to the first question, and that is ¨C what makes a good magic wand?¡± [Ryouma]

    I had to talk about magic dispersion first as it has a lot to do with the quality of a magic wand.

    ¡°When ites to choosing the material for the magic wand, it is best to choose a good conductor of magic power. A good example would be treant lumber. Treants have magic power flowing through them just as blood would in a human, so they are exceptional conductors. However, being a good conductor isn¡¯t the only criteria one should take note of.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°What else is there?¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Inside of the trees used to make magic wands, there¡¯s actually a pipe inside that transports the water and the nutrients that were absorbed from underground. This is called the fibrovascr bundle. This fibrovascr bundle has the property of being able to store magic power. When magic power passes through this, the wasted magic power is reduced. Moreover, due to the magic power being managed, the magic power then bes easier to handle.¡± [Ryouma]

    They¡¯re all showing faces of shock. I guess they didn¡¯t know about this then.

    ¡°But while the material might have the property to contain magic power, the amount of magic power the material can retain depends on the kind and quality of the material being used. There are also materials that do better with certain attributes.¡±

    As for what lumber works for what kind of wand, that¡¯s not something I can teach in a short time.

    ¡°So in regards to Elia¡¯s previous answer of ¡°The wand that conducts magic power the best¡± it¡¯s sort of right. However, if the material chosen is a good conductor for magic power, but in exchange, happens to have poor retention of magic power, then the magic power will slip away from the wand, and it¡¯s possible that the wand created could have no effect.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I see...¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°As for Miyabi-san¡¯s ¡°The longer the better¡± this has to do with the quality of the craftsman making the wand. What retains magic power inside the wand is the fibrovascr bundle, so when the material is cracked during the manufacturing process, then magic power will slip away easily.

    If a skilled craftsman were to work with good material, then the longer magic wand will excel at preserving and rectifying magic power.¡± [Ryouma]

    This is my personal opinion, but if one were to use cheap materials, then I think it¡¯s better to just throw away the concept of retaining magic power with the wand, and just make it short, focusing on a wand that simply controls magic power. A shorter wand will be easier to carry. And besides, making a wand unnecessarily long will just increase the holes from where magic power can slip out.

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is.¡± [Miyabi]

    Michelle-san then asked me a question.

    ¡°Teacher, how about the quality of the magic jewel used?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Magic jewels don¡¯t deal with magic dispersion, instead they make it easier to convert magic power. We¡¯ll be talking about magic jewels next. So first, let me ask: how do you use magic jewels?¡± [Ryouma]

    The ones who answered this question were Kanan-san and Elia.

    ¡°Magic power flows from the body into the magic jewel, rolling it in the magic power within the jewel, and pushing it out.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°That magic power is then mixed with one¡¯s own magic power, and used to invocate magic.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°There is also that method. Usually used when one is out of magic power, but still needs to fight. However, this isn¡¯t the original purpose of magic jewels affixed to wands.¡± [Ryouma]

    The magic jewel is affixed to the wand, so the part about magic power about flowing into it is right. But the real purpose of a magic jewel isn¡¯t to use the magic power inside it, but to simply let magic power flow through it.

    ¡°Just let magic power flow through it? Then how is the magic power wasted reduced?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°As you all know; magic jewels can have any kind of magic power attribute in them except for space magic. Now, neutral attribute magic power is easily influenced by other attributes, so by letting it pass through the jewel first, one can make it easier on himself to convert that neutral magic attribute to another attribute. As a result, the sess rate of conversion goes up, and the wasted magic power is reduced.¡± [Ryouma]

    Michelle-san¡¯s eyes opened wide when she heard that. The other four also expressed faces of shock.

    Looks like they didn¡¯t know about this too. Then again none of the people I¡¯ve taught so far knew about this, so I suppose it¡¯s more or less umon knowledge. A lot of masters know from their experience that the better the magic jewel the better the wand, so they pass that knowledge down to their disciples. There aren¡¯t many craftsmen who know about this tidbit, so it really can¡¯t be helped that few know about it.

    But in my case, well... my master is like that, so of course, I was able to learn of it.

    ¡°Come to think of it, I might¡¯ve heard something simr from my grandpa...¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Oh? Kanan-san, you knew about this?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°My grandpa is a magic tool craftsman. And he once mentioned that if one were to put a magic jewel of the same attribute as the magic imbued into the tool, then the magic power will flow better. He also said that it is when I¡¯m able to feel that change in flow that I¡¯ve truly graduated.¡± [Kanan]

    As she said that, she went ¡°Ah!¡± as if she remembered something.

    ¡°Could it be? Is it also easier to convert the attribute the better the quality of the magic jewel?¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Spectacr. That is indeed the case. Magic power converts easier when it passes through high-quality magic jewel.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that, Kanan-san made an expression that said ¡°I knew it!¡±

    ¡°Also, your grandpa was most likely referring to the same thing I mentioned just now, and that magic jewel your grandpa was talking about is being used to better the conversion rate of magic power. After all your grandpa said ¡°a magic jewel of the same attribute as the magic imbued into the tool.¡±

    If one wants to use fire magic, then that person should use a magic wand with the attribute of fire. Other attributes can also be used, but the efficiency will be reduced.

    ¡°So it¡¯s not only the quality of the stone that one needs to pay attention to, but also the attribute that one specializes in. Aside from that, there¡¯s also the ease of carrying, as well as other things. But overall these are the important points when choosing a magic wand. In my opinion, it¡¯s best to select a wand based on its overall stats rather than just one point.

    ...Now going back to the initial question of what is a good wand... truth be told, there¡¯s no actual answer to this. The ideal wand changes depending on the attribute one specializes in and how one uses wands, so if you want something strong, it¡¯s best to go for something order made.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Then how about this wand we¡¯re using now?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°It¡¯s good enough for beginners. But from what I¡¯ve seen in the fight a few days ago, it doesn¡¯t suit you girls anymore... If you don¡¯t mind, could I have a look at it for a bit?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Sure.¡± [Miyabi]

    Miyabi-san handed me the wand. Immediately, I examined the flow of magic power and the hue of the magic jewel attached.

    The wand is made out of treant lumber, but not with the branch which is most suited for wands. Instead, it¡¯s made out of a tree trunk that was crushed, and then cut... It¡¯s not a bad conductor, but it has poor retention. The magic jewel is also just barely passable. Its attribute is neutral... that has a lower effect than the others, but it¡¯s the best choice when you don¡¯t know what attribute the user specializes in. So it¡¯s the best choice for beginner students. In any case, this wand definitely gives off the feeling that it was made for mass production.

    I examined Michelle-san¡¯s and Elia¡¯s wands too, and the make and quality of the wands were the same.

    ¡°As expected you three should use wands more fitting for yourselves... You¡¯vee all the way here, so why don¡¯t I teach you all how to make a wand, and then you can go make your own. There¡¯re plenty of materials here, so let¡¯s make them together.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that I began preparing the treant¡¯s branches, which we will be using to make the wands, as well as the tools that we will be using.

 Volume 4 - 19

    Beside me are eight pieces of lumber and tools enough for six people. What we¡¯re about to make is the most basic of wands, having only a magic jewel affixed at its end with no special ornaments.

    I distributed the lumbers and the knives to the girls, one for each, and then I started the exnations as I worked on mine.

    ¡°The creation of magic wands can be divided into four stages. Drafting, Refining, Coating, and Installing. The first is drafting, so please begin by shaving your branches using your knives to create the body of your wand.¡± [Ryouma]

    The knife in my hand moved from one end of the branch to another, shaving ityer byyer, slowly molding the branch into the rough draft of a wand¡¯s body. The girls followed suit, and began shaving theirs as well. This part¡¯s fairly easy, so even if they¡¯re not used to it, they should finish in 20 minutes or so.

    ¡°Nextes refining. This part also uses knives or files to shave the branch, but this time, we¡¯ll be pouring magic power as we shave the branch. Please shave the branch ording to the flow of magic power.¡± [Ryouma]

    This part¡¯s a bit more difficult. If the branch is poorly shaved, the fibrovascr tube could be damaged, so it¡¯s imperative that the craftsman ascertain where the fibrovascr tube is by pouring magic power into the branch as he shaves it. But what¡¯s more is that a craftsman must shave the branch as much as he can. This stage is a crucial factor in deciding the quality of the wand.

    As I exined that to the girls, I focused my Magic Perception, and worked on mine while I kept a watchful eye on the girls.

    ¡°...¡± [Riera]

    ¡°...¡± [Michelle]

    Riera-san and Michelle quietly shaved their branches. They¡¯re not bad for beginners, but they seem to be having difficulties feeling the flow of magic power, causing them to stop from time to time to check the position of the fibrovascr tube.

    ¡°Is it here?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Ah! I did it again...¡± [Miyabi]

    Elia and Miyabi-san are having a hard time shaving, but they¡¯re doing a decent job of feeling the flow of magic power. They¡¯re shaving too much though... I¡¯ll give them some advice to help them out.

    And finally, there¡¯s one person who¡¯s having a better time than everyone else. It¡¯s Kanan-san.

    ¡°...¡± [Kanan]

    She works quietly just like Riera-san and Michelle-san, but her hands move fast. Moreover, she¡¯s barely damaged the fibrovascr tube. That¡¯s a rare sight amongst beginners.

    ¡°Kanan-san, you¡¯re doing a really good job. Please keep it up.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Really?¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Yes. I thought you¡¯d have a harder time since it¡¯s your first time, but you¡¯re actually doing pretty well. By any chance, is Magic Perception your specialty?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It is. I can only repair magic tools and use Enchantment Magic, so I naturally became good at it... Wait, you¡¯re making a second one?¡± [Kanan]

    Kanan-san said that out when she saw what was in my hands. Just as she mentioned, I¡¯ve began working on a second branch. This stage is actually easy so long as one is good at Magic Perception. Moreover, I¡¯m sharpening the knife with my ki, so I¡¯m able to shave the branch really fast.

    I¡¯m already used to it, so if it wasn¡¯t for me having to teach them, I could refine a branch up to the Refining Stage in five minutes. Of course, the quality is also good. If I use Qi Gong I can go even faster, and get better results. I don¡¯t have to put a lot of strength when the knife cuts well, so I don¡¯t end up shaving more than I should either.

    Kanan was a bit surprised by my skill in wand making, but after that, she continued to work quietly along with the rest of the girls. By the time it was almost noon, the girls finallypleted the Refining Stage. At that moment, Sebasu-san dropped by.

    ¡°Excuse me.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°Thank you for your efforts, Sebasu-san. You came at a good time; we were just about to take a break.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Thank you for your efforts as well, Ryouma-sama. I came to deliver thedies their lunch.¡± [Sebasu]

    Sebasu-san took out a parcel that looked like a bentou, and began preparing the girls¡¯ meal.

    Meanwhile, I opened the window, and blew away the shavings with wind magic. At that, air entered from the outside, recing the dusty air, and gathering the fallen woodchips. I gathered those and hid them away. As for Elia and the others, they cleaned up the workshop, and wiped the ce clean with a cloth.

    Apparently, Sebasu-san had also prepared my portion as he lined up enough bentou for six people.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be taking my leave now.¡± [Sebasu]

    Sebasu-san said he had to go back immediately. It seems there¡¯re still plenty of students who want to learn from Sebasu-san.

    ¡°The students here are all passionate, so there¡¯s value in teaching them. I¡¯ll have my lunchter, so please don¡¯t mind me.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°Thank you very much. Please take care.¡± [Ryouma]

    s

    I sent off Sebasu-san, then I sat before my workbench where I¡¯d left my bentou, and began eating.

    ¡°Let¡¯s eat.¡± [Ryouma]

    When I opened the bentou, what was inside was a meat and vegetable sandwich with some fruits on the side. As we ate our sandwiches, I talked about the concepts we touched when refining the branch. After 30 minutes, we finished eating, and we went back to working.

    ¡°We¡¯re done with the Drafting and Refining stages, so up next is the Coating Stage. First, you need to prepare a soft paint brush and paint. Then you need to mix powdered magic jewel, and coat your brush with it. With this, you¡¯ll be able to let magic power flow easier, and reduce leakage.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°The mixing of the powdered magic jewel with paint is the same as the ink used in magic formations, right?¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Yes, after all, the purpose is the same as the ink, which is to let magic power flow better. So there¡¯s not much of a difference.¡± [Ryouma]

    There¡¯s also the quick drying property in the ink for the lesson¡¯s sake, but I¡¯ll just put that aside.

    ¡°Try to make the magic jewels as thin as possible when crushing them. And please ensure that the mix is even all over when coating. Otherwise, the flow of magic power won¡¯t be equal throughout your wand, and it¡¯ll be harder to use it.¡± [Ryouma]

    After that, I continued to observe the work of the girls. The one who excelled the most was Michelle-san. You could really feel her experience from her speed in pulverizing and mixing magic jewels.

    After the Coating Stage ended, we left the wands leaning against a wall to dry them. Then I took out magic jewels with a diameter of 3cm along with some bowl-shaped pedestals split in half, and distributed them to the girls.

    Supposedly, if one is aiming to be a wand craftsman, even the cut of the magic jewels and the creation of the pedestal should be studied, but today¡¯s lesson¡¯s focus is on the practical so side, so I¡¯m omitting that for now. They can just these things that were made beforehand.

    ¡°The next stage is thest, and is the instation of the magic jewel. Once the coating dries, glue is melted in water at 60 degrees Celsius. Upon turning liquid, it is then mixed with the powdered magic jewel mix. The wand ispleted when the magic jewel is sessfully installed to the wand. The trick to installing the magic jewel lines in the pedestal, the wand itself, and in gluing the wand. Please make sure to cover every nook and cranny in glue. After that is...¡± [Ryouma]

    I pull a drawer from one of the shelves in the storage room for tools, and pull out a cloth that looks no different from a white bandage. This cloth will be used to affix the wand to the pedestal while the glue is still drying.

    After that, as we waited for the wands to finish drying, I talked to the girls about the different qualities of magic wands.

    ...I think it¡¯s about time for the wands to finish drying.

    After confirming that all of the wands were done drying, we proceeded to the next stage.

    I took out a pan, and we heated the glue and the water together. The six magic jewels might not be big, but there¡¯s still six of them being cooked, so it couldn¡¯t be helped that the room grew hot.

    We endured that heat, and sessfully affixed the jewels to the body of the wand. Now all that¡¯s left is to leave these here to dry overnight. In other words, today¡¯s ss is done for the day.

    At this point, I suddenly felt like hearing what Elia and the others thought of my lesson. We just finished affixing the jewels after all, so I guess it wouldn¡¯t hurt.

    ¡°Good work, everyone. With this, today¡¯s lessones to a close. How was the ss?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It was really interesting.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°It was thorough, easy to understand, and really beneficial.¡± [Michelle]

    I asked the other three, and they all seemed satisfied with the lesson.

    ¡°I¡¯m happy to hear everyone enjoyed. Actually, this ss is really unpopr. Only one student attends.¡± [Ryouma]

    He has some errands to do for his family today, so he¡¯s absent. But, normally, only Toll, who¡¯s going to inherit his family¡¯s business of woodcraft, attends. From time to time, a new student woulde, but aside from that, he¡¯s my only student.

    ¡°So normally, it¡¯s just Ryouma-dono and another student?¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Yes. Even though it¡¯s an important subject for magicians. But since most magicians would rather use their time to practice their magic, barely anyone attend the ss a second time... Continuing the ss would be beneficial for them too. But still... I won¡¯t force them.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Benefits? What sort?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°You had to use Magic Perception, right? That¡¯s why if you keep making wands, your Magic Perception will be trained. That in itself has plenty of benefits.¡± [Ryouma]

    I told the girls about how I was able to use Magic Perception right before our match a few days ago. They were suspicious at the start, but after I told them their respective magic power, they had no choice but to believe me. After all, I hadn¡¯t heard about anyone else¡¯s magic power aside from Elia.

    ¡°Being able to measure other people¡¯s magic power aside, I¡¯m sure we can all agree that the ability to sense magic power nearby is beneficial even to people who don¡¯t use magic. And excelling at Magic Perception will also prove beneficial to someone wishing to excel at Magic Maniption and Magic.¡± [Ryouma]

    It¡¯s difficult to manipte what you can¡¯t see.

    Putting aside the training regime for magic in this world, it¡¯smonly epted that magicians be better at magic the more they use it. Of course, magicians receive instructions on manipting magic when training, but they¡¯re also often told that Magic Perception can be naturally trained by using magic a lot.

    That¡¯s not wrong. However, because it takes a long time to train one¡¯s Magic Perception, people often think it¡¯s better to just train their magic, and train their Magic Perception in that way. And to be honest, I actually agree with them to an extent. But once the future and the casting of advanced magic is taken into consideration, I think it¡¯s better to train Magic Perception by focusing on it.

    ¡°And so... I¡¯ll be adding Magic Perception training on your menu starting tomorrow. Results are hard toe by in a short time, so I¡¯ll have to ask you girls to continue training even after getting back to your academy.¡± [Ryouma]

    There¡¯s a way to train Magic Perception even without magic power, so they can train it so long as they have time. They should be able to train it without it getting in the way of their studies, right? Of course, it¡¯d be great if they could get some results while they¡¯re here, but I doubt they¡¯d able to get any during their long vacation.

    If everything goes well, they might get some results, but the whole vacation is five months. If you take away the time they used to get here, and the time going back, and the time to prepare for the next semester, they¡¯ll have three months of vacation at most... I doubt that¡¯s enough time to get results. I¡¯ve been worrying about this sincest night, but unfortunately, there¡¯s nothing I can do about their time.

    Which is why I told them about what sort of things they can do after training their Magic Perception. Now, all that¡¯s left is to leave it up to their determination. As long as they keep it up, I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll get results.

    As we were cleaning up after that, out of the blue, Kanan-san suddenly asked me a question.

    ¡°Speaking of which, Ryouma-kun, do you have a girlfriend?¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Why all the sudden?¡± [Ryouma]

    Being suddenly asked that, I couldn¡¯t help but pause in my tracks for a moment.

    ¡°We were asked so when we got to the training facility yesterday.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, you rarely get seen around with women, so seeing you together with us was apparently a strange sight. Well, students and teachers aside, you being with female friends is apparently rare.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Kanan and Miyabi sure drew a lot of attention.¡± [Riera]

    Michelle-san and Riera-san said as they continued to sweep the floor.

    ¡°I¡¯m not seeing any girls as of now.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°While I was studying swordsmanship, some hopeful guys came, and asked if Ryouma-dono preferred men...¡± [Riera]

    ¡°That¡¯s a definite no. Also, if you could tell me the names of those who¡¯re asking, I¡¯d be much obliged. I have to make sure to keep some distance after all.¡± [Ryouma]

    I don¡¯t have that sort of hobby!

    ¡°How about you guys? Since you¡¯re all going to school, I¡¯m sure you all must¡¯ve more opportunities to mingle with the opposite sex near your own age.¡± {Ryouma}

    The girls shrunk when I asked that.

    ¡°Well I¡¯m usually either in my room or at the workshop except for during ss hours or when I¡¯m with Elia and the others, so no one¡¯s asked me out.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Well if it¡¯s someone we know, and the rtionship bes like that, then it¡¯s another story.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Most people just look at the family name, so I don¡¯t think something like that could happen.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°For most noble children, the academy¡¯s just a ce to meet or rendezvous with others, so it can¡¯t be helped... In other words, the world of love is also far away from us.¡± [Michelle]

    Suddenly, Michelle-san remembered something, and she looked at Riera.

    ¡°But Riera¡¯s different though, right?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°If you¡¯re going to ask whether there¡¯s love, well it¡¯d be troubling, but... I do have a fianc¨¦.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Really?¡± [Ryouma]

    Well that¡¯s news to me.

    ¡°I¡¯m aspiring to be a knight, so my parents worried that I might end up marrying toote. Because of that, they went ahead, and got the son of a long distant rtive, and, well... you know. As for what kind of person he is, he¡¯s a quiet, serious guy.¡± [Riera]

    Riera-san¡¯s expression was calm and quiet. It would appear she¡¯s not against her engagement. When I heard that she¡¯s engaged, I thought her parents pressured her into it... I even imagined a situation where she would run away because she doesn¡¯t want to be engaged, but apparently that doesn¡¯t seem to be the case for her.

    As I was thinking those things, the conversation stopped, and silence visited the room for a few seconds. The next few words that Michelle-san said next quickly changed the topic.

    ¡°...Hey, Ryouma-kun, could it be you¡¯re bad with women?¡± [Michelle]

    Mn? I don¡¯t think so, but... why all of the sudden?

    ¡°I don¡¯t so, no, why? Have I done anything strange?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Mn~... Rather than strange, it¡¯s more like you¡¯re keeping distance.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Distance?¡± [Ryouma]

    I couldn¡¯t quite pick up what she was saying, so I ended up asking that, but everyone else aside from me seemed to understand. Michelle-san exined.

    ¡°It¡¯s not to the extent that you¡¯re cold or anything, but... It¡¯s more like it always feels like you¡¯re just focused on work.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Right, right, that¡¯s exactly it. Our ages aren¡¯t that apart to begin with, so it¡¯s fine to speak your mind.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Oh, I see. I understand.¡± [Ryouma]

    I wonder if it¡¯s because I¡¯ve never had any rtions with women in my past life? I wasn¡¯t doing it on purpose, but it seems I¡¯ve unconsciously put up a wall... That¡¯s definitely not a good thing...

    ¡°While you don¡¯t have to force yourself to change immediately, it¡¯d be great if you could get used to it slowly.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Then you should start by removing the ¡°-san¡± from my name. I¡¯m not used to being called with ¡°-san¡± you see.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°I understand, Kanan]

    ¡°Although it doesn¡¯t feel as distant anymore, the way you say it sounds a bit strange.¡± [Kanan]

    I can see that myself actually. It¡¯s probably because it¡¯s already be a habit.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to hurry. I also know very well that Ryouma-dono isn¡¯t the type to hurt women. Moreover, Ryouma-dono is also our teacher, so please don¡¯t hold back. Feel free to call me Riera.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°I understand, Riera.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget me.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Of course, Michelle.¡± [Ryouma]

    ...It definitely feels off. Get used to it!

    Next is Miyabi-san, no. I will also refer to Miyabi as just Miyabi.

    Like this the distance between us lessened, and as we chatted while sweeping the ce, thest thing we talked about was the Magic Beast Tournament.

    ¡°Ryouma-han, are you entering the tournament?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say before that you¡¯re not interested?¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Yeah, but I need to attend.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Then wouldn¡¯t you need to prepare? When¡¯s the tournament?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°In nine days.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Hey, there¡¯s no time left at all.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Will you be using that kid that pulls the monster carriage?¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°No, only my slimes will be fighting.¡± [Ryouma]

    After this, the girls told me that preparing for the tournament¡¯s more important, so it¡¯s fine even if we put the training forter.

    I can feel the girls¡¯ concern from their words, so I decided to use the days until the tournament for the slimes¡¯ training and strategizing.

    TL Note: Sorry for theck of chapters, and thanks for being patient with me. I¡¯ll start posting chapters as usual now as the construction near me is mostly finished. Same sched as before. Extra chapters will be released normally now too, except that the queue won¡¯t be reduced until I¡¯ve released the makeup chapters.

 Volume 4 - 20

    9 Dayster

    Putting my all into it, I took my slimes to the arena early in the morning. The second town¡¯s always hustling and bustling with people, but today seems to be especially busy. But then again, that¡¯s only to expected. After all, today¡¯s the opening of the Magic Beast Tournament.

    A lot of people havee to spectate or participate in the matches theseing three days. I walked through that busy town, and when I finally arrived at the arena, the guards shouted me words of encouragement.

    ¡°Do your best!¡± [Guard 1]

    ¡°Treat us out if you win.¡± [Guard 2]

    ¡°Be careful, alright.¡± [Guard 3]

    Those people who called out to me are the adventurers working here as guards. There are a lot of magic beasts gathered here because of the tournament, so just to be safe, the organizers sent out a request. And apparently, it was the adventurer¡¯s guild of Gimuru who took on that request.

    The guild directly notified adventurers B Rank up. They also called out to me, but I¡¯m going to be participating in the tournament, so I refused.

    Because of that, familiar faces called out to me as I walked until I finally turned at the entrance used for transporting goods. There¡¯s another entrance aside from this which is the normal entrance, but that entrance is only big enough for people. Magical beasts can¡¯t enter through it, so participants like me have to use this entrance. This is something that I learned when I registered.

    ¡°Fushuu!¡± [Beast 1]

    ¡°Gururururu...¡± [Beast 2]

    ¡°Gieee!¡± [Beast 3]

    ¡°Kyun...¡± [Beast 4]

    On the other side of that entrance that was now forbidden except to rted personnel, was arge crowd of magical beasts and participants. There were all sorts of magical beasts from different sizes to different types. Some were excited, eager to fight, and others were visibly scared. The participants could also be seen giving off sparks from time to time.

    ¡°In any case, I should first report my arrival.¡± [Ryouma]

    I walked to a tent near the entrance that¡¯s been temporarily ced there to serve as a reception desk.

    ¡°May I know your name?¡± [Receptionist]

    ¡°Ryouma Takebayashi.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Can I see your proof of participation? ...Yes, thank you very much. Please wait a moment.¡± [Receptionist]

    After I showed the proof of my participation that I got after registering, the male receptionist looked through his register of names.

    ¡°I¡¯ve confirmed your registration. I am returning this proof of participation. Takebayashi-sama, your match is number 24.¡± [Receptionist]

    ¡°I¡¯ve been informed that participants need to have his personal belongings checked. Do I need to have my things checked now?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s possible to have it now, but the participant won¡¯t be able to leave. Takebayashi-sama, your match is still in the afternoon, so it should be fine even if you have the body checkter. Please feel free to enjoy yourself until noon.¡± [Receptionist]

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    Then I guess I should watch my rivals until noon... I¡¯ll probably have to watch standing, but being able to watch even a little should be good.

    So I entered the arena through its entrance, and headed for the spectators¡¯ seats. As expected, waves of people crowded the area, and there was no ce left to sit. I was somehow able to find a spot to stand on, but from time to time, a head would pass by and block my vision.

    ¡°Elia and the others said they¡¯de to cheer on me, but... there¡¯s no way I could tell where they are with this.¡± [Ryouma]

    It was here that a man suddenly stepped into the center of the stage, and the sounds of music erupted, drowning the noise of the crowd. With the flourish of trumpets out, the tournament was about to begin.

    <>

    The man¡¯s voice echoed throughout the arena as he announced the opening of the tournament. After that, he lightly exined the rules of the tournament, but this time, he talked a lot calmer. Also, I can feel some hint of magic power in his voice... is this magic? Come to think of it, I do recall making magic like that in the past...

    As I was thinking that, the exnation regarding that voice of his came.

    Apparently, it¡¯s because of the magic tool that was excavated from some ruins some few months ago. A lot of the same magic tool was found, so they were distributed to the various researchbs and to the magic guild. After analyzing them, a portion of those magic tools flowed into the market, and was sold. That same artifact is being used In the exnations of this tournament now.

    Even though they¡¯re artifacts, they actually flowed into the market that easily... Well, it¡¯s probably because all it does is amplify the voice so it wasn¡¯t valued much. Or maybe they can mass produce it? I¡¯m not that familiar with magic tools though, so I wouldn¡¯t know. I should ask Kanan when I have time.

    The participants for the first round seemed to have been waiting while the man on stage was greeting the audience, since as soon as he finished, those two participants immediately entered. At their entrance, two voices belonging to the host and thementator sounded. They started talking about the participants and their respective magical beasts.

    <>

    A young man entered the stage, riding on what appeared to be a reindeer with two ck horns that resembled pitchforks, growing out of it. Rather than magnificent though, I¡¯d say he looks more nervous since he looks so stiff that he seems to be having a hard time moving. Or maybe his entrance is magnificent because he¡¯s visibly trying to keep his back straight to avoid looking nervous?

    <>

    <>

    <>

    They continued in that manner, introducing and exining the participant. When both sides were finally gathered, the match started. After the match ended, the participants left, the arena was repaired, and then the tournament proceeded on to the next match. It was in this way the matches continued.

    Incidentally, the winner of the first match was Podro and the Barbell Reindeer. That reindeer was really strong. It struck its foe with its horns. It roasted it with electricity. And then it trampled it underfoot its seemingly hard hooves. Also, apparently, when that reindeer uses its electric magic, its horns turn head, and be really hot. The original purpose behind that was apparently for it to melt the snow and drink it, but when used during battle, it proves to be a formidable weapon. I¡¯ll need to watch out for that.

    As for how the battle was, well... How should I put it?

    ¡°To sum it up briefly: it was a brawl.¡± [Ryouma]

    Seeing tens of magical beasts go wild at the same time is certainly amazing, but on the other hand, it could also be said to be the picture of hell. After the sixteen matches ended, I quickly ate my meal, and then I took the slime that I¡¯ll be using from my Dimension Home. From what I¡¯ve seen, the other participants also wielded some weapon and shield for self-defense, so I also took out my de, and sheathed it at my waist.

    After I finished my preparations, I let a slime ride over each of my shoulders, one over my head, while I carried onest slime in my arms, then I entered the entrance to the participants¡¯ area. Participants are limited to a maximum of five magical beasts in the preliminaries. As for how I¡¯m going to fight... thanks to Elia and the others, I was able to get enough time to think up a strategy, so I¡¯ll be going for the win!

    When I lined up for the body check, the voices of other participants fell on my ears.

    ¡°Hey, hey, look at that guy.¡± [Participant 1]

    ¡°He¡¯s actually going to fight with those slimes?¡± [Participant 2]

    ¡°Is he looking down on this tournament?¡± [Participant 3]

    These people came from a different town. Moreover, they came from one quite some distance away. As for why I know that, well that¡¯s because¨C¨C¨C¨C

    ¡°Ah, that guy¡¯s the cleaner.¡± [Participant 4]

    ¡°That guy fighting with slimes is an adventurer? Can his slimes really fight?¡± [Participant 5]

    ¡°Weren¡¯t the cleaner¡¯s slimes just pets? From what I hear, it¡¯s the cleaner himself who¡¯s strong, and the slimes just eat the unneeded parts of magical beasts.¡± [Participant 6]

    It¡¯s because the people living near Gimuru give that sort of response. They¡¯ve heard a little of the rumors about me, so they¡¯re only half-convinced. As for the people who know me well¨C¨C¨C

    ¡°...¡± [Participant 7]

    ¡°Uwa...¡± [Participant 8]

    ¡°What a pain... But then again, he¡¯s only using five slimes, so he might actually lose in the preliminaries...¡± [Participant 9]

    These guys are from the tamer guild... probably. Because there aren¡¯t a lot of people capable of forming a contract with a B Rank magical beast, and because of all the bandits I¡¯ve been catching plus the contract I¡¯ve formed with my cannonball rhino, Rai, these sort of people have increased.

    I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because they¡¯re guilty or what, but from time to time, I can see these guys avoiding my gaze. I mean sure it¡¯s not exactly nice being underestimated, but being treated like cancer isn¡¯t very nice either... But then again, they are from the tamer guild, and matters rted to them being pleasant is rare, so I guess it¡¯s just as usual.

    The line proceeded gradually until finally it was my turn. In front of me were a woman and four rough men.

    ¡°You are Ryouma Takebayashi-sama, correct? We will be inspecting the magic tools you have with you. Do you have any?¡± [Female Personnel]

    ¡°No, there¡¯s nothing.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Then please excuse me...¡± [Female Personnel]

    The moment the woman before me said that, the magic power she exhaled wrapped itself around me. After which, she smiled that usual business smile of hers as she informed that the inspection was over.

    ¡°What was that just now?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Enchantment magic to detect whether or not you have magic tools or weapons on your person.¡± [Female Personnel]

    Apparently, that magic was meant to confirm whether I had any magic tools with me, so she knows for sure whether or not I have. And in case I do have, she would investigate.

    Magic tools can be imbued with the ve demon magic or conjuration, so anyone with magic powr can use them. And even ve demon magic users and conjurers use them. The purpose of this inspection is to find out whether a participant is using a magic tool. In which case, he or she would immediately be expelled.

    ...Furthermore, there are many defects amongst magic tools imbued with ve demon magic or conjuration, making them prone to idents, so they¡¯re currently prohibited, and are not being sold. Just being in possession of them is plenty bad.

    ¡°But even then, it can still be found if one looks hard enough, so we still have to check. It¡¯s also in the rules.¡± [Female Personnel]

    That¡¯s true. This woman in front of me is checking just in case. She also has a magic tool imbued with dimension magic, so they have more than enough countermeasure to deal with one in case there is.

    ¡°Thank you for your work.¡± [Ryouma]

    I didn¡¯t have any magic tools on me, so the inspection immediately ended. Following the instructions of the personnel in charge, I entered into waiting room. If I¡¯d brought arge-type magical beast with me, I would have been shown to the storehouse, but since all I have with me are my slimes, I was just brought here.

    When the person who would being out in the same match as me entered into the waiting room, he red at me. However, he immediately lost interest, and averted his gaze. Seemingly unconcerned, he lightly greeted me, and then sat at a corner in the room as he looked around the area. There were water and snacks prepared in the room. There were also people chatting and people loitering around.

    But none of the faces belong to any of my acquaintances, so no came to talk to me. I just quietly sat in my seat while caressing my slimes until my turn finally came.

    And after some time of waiting, my turn finally came.

    ¡°Sorry for the wait. All participants for match number 24, pleasee.¡± [Personnel]

    At those words, everyone in the room including me, stood up, and we followed the personnel in charge.

 Volume 4 - 21

    <strong>Volume 4 Chapter 21: Preliminaries</strong>

    At the instructions of the official, the participants went out to the arena one after another with their magical beasts. The cries of beasts resounded within the dim path, but upon nearing the exit, the cheers of the spectators along with the light from outside drowned their cries away.

    Ryouma¡¯s debut was getting closer and closer.

    The first one to go out was a woman with four of the same beautiful magical beast.

    <<How beautiful!! Just what sort of magical beast is that?>> [Host]

    <<That¡¯s a¡­ C Ranked magical beast, a Spore Butterfly. It¡¯s a terrifying magical beast>> [Analyst]

    <<Terrifying?>> [Host]

    <

    > [Analyst]

    <<T-That is quite terrifying¡­ To think she actually has four of those¡­ Which beast will these Spore Butterflies feast on? Or will they, instead, be feasted on?>> [Host]

    Ryouma also heard the exnation, but he wasn¡¯t panicked in the slightest, only thinking to himself that there wasn¡¯t much of a difference between that and acid slimes. Although Ryouma waspeting as well, he wasn¡¯t nervous at all, and was instead exceedingly calm.

    The next participant came out, and what he brought with him was a magical beast capable of even defeatingrge-type magical beasts. With the terrifying prowess of poison and three heads, it was the Trident Snake.

    After that finally came Ryouma¡¯s turn.

    ¡°Takebayashi-sama, please.¡± [Official]

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma leisurely carried his slimes as he approached the exit. Havinge from the dim path, Ryouma couldn¡¯t help but narrow his eyes. He walked straight toward the elliptical-arena to one of its sides where an official carrying a g stood.

    There are 19 opponents for this round. And they all stood along the shape of the arena, some distance away from the wall separating them from the spectators. Ryouma walked toward his spot as thementators talked about his magical beasts.

    <<Entering now is participant Ryouma Takebayashi! And with him are the first slimes to make an appearance in this entire tournament! What an odd participant!!>>

    When those words resounded in the arena, the spectators all voiced out their disbelief.

    Can he win?

    Is he seriously trying?

    Isn¡¯t he just trying to hype the crowd?

    Such impressions could be heard here and there, but¡­

    ¡°Uooooooo!¡± [Spectator Fan 1]

    ¡°Do your best!!¡± [Spectator Fan 2]

    In one part of the spectator seats was a group of people fervently cheering for Ryouma. These people are all either members of the research facility or the training facility, so when Ryouma decided to participate in the tournament, word got out, and they decided to make a cheering squad. They are all cheering for Ryouma from the bottom of their hearts. But even then, the slime researchers in particr were especially passionate.

    The spectators were feeling disappointed because of the slimes, but because of the cheering squad, some of the spectators became excited. Gradually, the difference in hype between the spectators caused confusion to spread.

    <<It seems he ns to participate with slimes, but¡­ What do you think?>> [Host]

    <<Well¡­ they are slimes¡­>> [Analyst]

    The analyst amongst the twomentators meant no ill will, butpared to the other contestants, he was clearly biased against the slimes. Still¡­ In order to keep the crowd hyped, he chose to keep his opinion vague. For the same reason, the host tried to reveal Ryouma¡¯s information, but¡­

    <<Umm¡­ From what I¡¯ve heard, participant Takebayashi is a C Rank adventurer, and has many high ss slimes under hismand>> [Host]

    <<Being a C Rank at that age is certainly an admirable feat, but in this tournament, only the magical beasts will be fighting, so¡­ And even if the slimes are of a higher ss, well¡­ I just can¡¯t help but wonder exactly how he ns to fight with them>> [Analyst]

    <<¡­Participant Takebayashi, what a mystery! Will his battle be short-lived! Or is he the dark horse of the tournament,dies and gentleman, please keep your eyes peeled, and decide for yourselves!>> [Host]

    As the host finished introducing Ryouma, Ryouma arrived at his spot, and the host and analyzer moved on to the next participant.

    After that, participants steadily entered the arena one after another, and Ryouma brought down his slimes as he did his preparations for the match. When he did so, he saw some familiar faces almost directly behind them, there in the second floor, above the entrance

    ¡°So that¡¯s where Elia¡¯s group was¡­¡± [Ryouma]

    Elia and her friends were sitting on the special seats for nobles. They were sitting especially near the arena, and walls separated them from other seats. Their seat was clearly of the highest ss.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s them after all, so it¡¯s no surprise.¡± [Ryouma]

    It¡¯s a group with the daughters of a duke and a count, so there¡¯s nothing odd at all about them sitting in the noble seats. As Ryouma was wondering about the other two sitting on that room-like seat but weren¡¯t nobles, the participants all finished lining up on the arena.

    Ryouma steeled himself, and went to the center of the arena as he waited for the signal to start sound.

    <<It is now the 24th match of the preliminaries¨C¨C¨C>>

    With the start of their match right before their eyes, the re of the participants grew fiercer.

    <<In this 24th match, who will be the one to proceed?¨C¨C¨C>>

    The magic beasts entered into battle mode as an intimidating aura greater than anything they¡¯ve released yet burst.

    <

    >

    ¡°¨C¨C¨C!!!!¡±

    Howls echoed within the arena as the chains keeping the brawl at bay were released. Immediately, several of the beasts rushed for Ryouma¡¯s slimes.

    Ryouma instantaneously responded, ordering his five slimes ording to their practice these past 9 days.

    The slimes Ryouma brought out today are 3 Iron Slimes, a Mimic Slime, and a slime known as the Portion Slime.

    ording to the rules of the preliminary, every participant can only bring out a maximum of 5 magical beasts, so Ryouma decided to hold back on the announcement of the big reveal of the Big Slime just yet. Instead, he came up with a n to win.

    Following Ryouma¡¯s instructions, two of the three iron slimes transformed into a t nk upon which a mimic slime and a portion slime were, who were then taken by the remaining iron slime into its body as they all transformed into a seamless iron ball.

    Attacking them was a native of the Shurus Great Forest, the Galmos Alligator. Although it wasn¡¯t particrly fast, but because it was standing near Ryouma, it was able to close the distance in no time at all.

    ¡°Get rid of the small fries first!¡± [Male Participant]

    The galmos alligator followed the instruction of its master, and right before it crashed into the slimes, it stopped in its tracks, twisted its body, and whipped its fat tail against the slimes, lightly flicking them away. After which, it changed its target to one of the magical beasts also aiming for Ryouma¡¯s slimes.

    To the galmos alligator and its master, Ryouma and his slimes were no longer an issue.

    <<Oh no! Takebayashi¡¯s has been sent flicked off! No, actually, they¡¯ve been sent flying!>> [Host]

    <<That¡¯s most likely it for participant Takebayashi>> [Analyst]

    Around this time, Ryouma, who just had his ve demons sent flying, quietly muttered, ¡°Not yet.¡±

    Ryouma ordered the slimes inside his mind as the slimesnded near the center of the battle between the other beasts.

    In that ce that was almost the center of the battle, the slimes bared their fangs!

    <<W-What is that!? A purple mist suddenly came out of nowhere! The mist is swallowing the other beasts in it. Their movements are getting worse, and ¨C¨C¨C they fainted!? Participant Horizon¡¯s galmos alligator has been paralyzed!?>>

    The host gave a y-by-y of the battles as the other magical beasts ran away from the mist. Unfortunately, for those who were snarling at others or for those who were too slow to react, they couldn¡¯t run away in time. The galmos alligator was one of those.

    It was here that the analyst then exined the situation.

    <<This is definitely poison magic. I do believe we have seen other beasts use magic in the tournament, but I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any who can use poison in this match¡­>> [Analyst]

    <<Ah!? There is! I-It¡¯s actually the slime! The beast responsible for this mist is none other than the slime that was sent flying by the galmos alligator¡¯s tail whip a while ago!>> [Analyst]

    Amotion stirred within the spectators when the analyst said that, and they tried to make out the slime from within that purple mist.

    <<How could a slime be responsible for this?>> [Host]

    <<¡­It¡¯s true that it¡¯s rare for a slime to be able to use magic, but there are definitely those that can. For example, poisonous marshes where poison-attribute magic jewels can be found are inhabited by poison slimes, and although rare, the slimes that can use poison magic, the portion slimes. It seems that inside that dazzling, silver-colored slime is a portion slime. As for what that silver slime is, it¡¯s most likely a slime that possesses a metallic body, a metal slime.>> [Analyst]

    <<I see! I see! So the portion slime is hidden inside the metal slime, which is why it was able to endure the attack of the galmos alligator, correct?>> [Host]

    <<There¡¯s no other exnation.>> [Analyst]

    Hearing the exnation of the analyst, the host immediately exaggerated the facts, hyping the crowd even more.

    <<What an unexpected development! Participant Takebayashi¡¯s slimes are actually putting up a good fight! More and more magical beasts are falling to the slime¡¯s magic. This is truly a fight you can¡¯t keep your eyes off!>> [Host]

    Just as the man had said, the magical beasts were falling one after another due to the poison of the portion slime. If they weren¡¯t inside the arena, they would¡¯ve long been able to run away, but unfortunately for them, the area they could run to is limited, so there were some who couldn¡¯t find a ce to run to anymore.

    On the bright side, the portion slime¡¯s mist only contained a strong sedative, so there was rtively no danger to the beasts¡¯ lives.

    ¡°Forfeit! I¡¯m forfeiting!¡± [Participant 1]

    ¡°Me too!¡± [Male Participant 1]

    Because of this, the opposing beasts received damage that couldn¡¯t be ignored. And some of their owners even started forfeiting. But, of course, not everyone did.

    ¡°Bite it!¡± [Participant 2]

    As that voice echoed out, a three-headed snake attacked the slime. It was the Trident Snake who entered into the arena right before Ryouma. This magical beast possesses strong resistance against poison, so it can move freely even inside the poison mist.

    ¡°Sha!!¡±

    ¡°GUoOO!¡±

    The trident snake coiled around the slime, and its three heads bit at it. But because its fangs literally couldn¡¯t prate through the iron slime¡¯s iron skin, it failed to poison the slime. This is despite the fact that the trident snake wasn¡¯t just a poisonous magical beast. Around this time, another magical beast jumped in. It was like a stripe-less leopard, and its sharp ws ferociously struck out.

    ¡°Kisha! ¡­a.¡±

    But what got hit wasn¡¯t the slime, but the trident snake coiled around it. The slime it was really aiming for was left unhurt. On top of the fact that slimes couldn¡¯t be killed unless their nucleus was directly harmed, because of the hardness and the roundness of the iron slime¡¯s metallic body, the magical beast¡¯s attack could only slip.

    Moreover, because of Ryouma¡¯s straining, the metallic body of the iron slime was now impervious to pration. Even des couldn¡¯t cut it unless struck properly, only being able to slip on its iron skin. On the contrary¡­

    ¡°GIaUn!?¡±

    When the magical beast thought to crush the slime underfoot, it ended up breaking its own bnce, hitting its own nose hard against the floor.

    Physical attacks came one after another after that, but they all could only slip on the slime¡¯s skin. If not slip, then dodged by the slime with a mobility unlike any normal slime. At one point, the slime¡¯s poison strongly affected arge-type magical beast, causing it to jump back, and hit itself on the head of another magical beast¡­ All the magical beasts aside from the slime were umting damage after damage.

    ¡°GAa¨C¨C!!?¡±

    <<Now what!?>> [Host]

    <<Ah, that looks painful¡­>> [Analyst]

    At the cry of a magical beast, the spectators and thementators turned their heads. Without having noticed it, apparently, that iron slime and portion slime that have be the center of attention have managed to find themselves at the edge of the arena with the bear magical beast, the ck bear.

    The ck bear was tumbling and standing on its two legs, restlessly rampaging around. As it opened its mouth wide, a silver-colored ball could be seen inside with thin needles protruding out of it, prickling the corners of the ck bear¡¯s mouth.

    <<Erm¡­ This too is because of Participant Takebayashi¡¯s slimes.>> [Host]

    <<Indeed. That ck bear tried to bite the slime, but instead, it changed its form into needles. To have a ball of needles inside of one¡¯s mouth¡­ what a terrifying magical beast.>> [Analyst]

    <<Who would¡¯ve thought slimes could actually be capable of that¡­>> [Host]

    <<It¡¯s my first time seeing such a thing too actually. They must¡¯ve practiced a lot.>> [Analyst]

    Every spectator within the arena couldn¡¯t help but change their appraisal of Ryouma¡¯s slimes. But even then, for Ryouma, this was just the beginning. When Ryouma gave his next instruction, the iron slime that had been protecting the mimic slime all this time changed its form.

    That form that could be said to be a chestnut¡¯s cupule suddenly jumped.

    ¡°Huh?¡± [Spectators]

    All the spectators fixed on the now midair slime. Then without any warning, it suddenly shot off. It danced about in the air, dodging the poison mist and the attacks of other magical beasts as it attacked the spore butterflies who were busy spraying digestive liquids. Because of these the four spore butterflies were heavily damaged by the iron slime¡¯s needles, and they all fell to the ground.

    <<Can you exin exactly what just happened?>> [Host]

    <<Unfortunately, I don¡¯t understand either. Why is a metal slime able to fly¡­?>> [Analyst]

    Looks like even the analyst is at a loss. But then a different analyst suddenly showed up.

    <<That¡¯s a mana slime¡¯s magic!>> [???]

    <<Mana Slime? Do you know anything about it? Or¨C wait a moment, who are you anyway?>> [Host]

    <

    > [Raypin]

    <<Thank you for your service. So¡­ what is this about mana slimes?>> [Host]

    <<Just as the analyst had exined with the portion slime a while ago, the mana slime is a slime that uses magic. Only, it doesn¡¯t use poison magic, but neutral magic. I believe that needle ball of a slime used neutral magic to fly.>>

    <<I see.>> [Analyst]

    <<Thank you for exnations.>> [Host]

    Hearing that Ryouma said to himself, ¡°The magic is certainly telepathy, but the type of slime is wrong¡­ Or rather, Raypin-san, just what exactly are you doing there?¡±

    Ryouma was surprised when he suddenly heard an acquaintance¡¯s voice, but he shrugged it off, and gave his slimes another order, causing the crowd to go crazy.

    This match is a battle royal. Even if Ryouma doesn¡¯t directly fight the other magical beasts, the number would naturally decrease.

    Also, while Ryouma is indeed raising the mana slime that Raypin spoke of, the slime Ryouma brought out in this tournament is not the mana slime, but the mimic slime. As for why, it was for insurance in case the portion slime ran out of magic power. In which case, the mimic slime would then transform into Rai to secure the victory.

    But seeing this situation now, there was no need. He didn¡¯t really want to use that method anyway, so this situation is favorable for him. As he was thinking that, a dull sound vibrated throughout the arena.

    That was the sound of the biggest magical beast falling. No matter how big a magical beast may be, and no matter how difficult it might be to poison, once enough toxicity has umted, it would certainly fall. This is true even for Ryouma who has poison resistance.

    And then¨C¨C¨C

    <<After a hard fought battle, the winner for the 24th round of the preliminaries is ¨C who would¡¯ve thought ¨C none other than the slime user, Participant Ryouma Takebayashi!>>

    Like this cheers were showered on Ryouma as his advancement to the main tournament was decided.

 Volume 4 - 22

    After securing the victory, I waved to the audience as I left the arena. The official led me to a different room from the waiting room awhile a go. Inside the room was a chair and a desk.

    The official offered me a seat, so I sat facing him.

    ¡°Congrattions for breaking through the preliminaries.¡± [Official]

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I will be taking a sheet of paper from this box for Takebayashi-sama.¡± [Official]

    As the official said that, he slid a box with a hole on top of it just big enough for a hand to fit in. He then took a huge sheet of paper from underneath the desk and spread it before me. On it were 32 boxes, 23 of which were already filled. I had an inkling of what was going on as soon as I saw the box, and as expected, it really was drawing lots to decide the opponent for the main tournament.

    After the official exined the details surrounding the box, confirming my suspicions, I drew a lot. Number 32 was written on the paper I drew. I handed it to the official, and as soon as he saw it, he wrote my name on the right most box.

    The semifinals and finals will be held the day after tomorrow, so if everything go well tomorrow, I¡¯ll be participating in three matches all in all.

    ¡°Takebayashi-sama, your match will be thest match of the first round, and will be against Podro-sama.¡± [Official]

    Podro... That should be the winner of the first match. Looks like I¡¯ll be fighting with that reindeer... It should be fine. I can think of several winning strategies and there¡¯s no limit to the number of ve demons I can use, so I¡¯ll be able to go all out.

    Besides, my goal is to publicize the big slime anyway. So long as I¡¯m able to expose it to as many people as possible, it doesn¡¯t really matter who I fight. Even just showing the big slime in the main tournament is enough toplete my goals to some extent.

    I don¡¯t n on easing up on my opponents, but my main goal was still to break through the preliminaries. Since I¡¯ve already aplished that, it could be said that I¡¯ve already climbed the mountain. While I was being optimistic, I took a look at the names of the participants written on the paper.

    I know the first 16 since I was watching them, but there are also names that I don¡¯t know. Those ones are probably the ones who had their matches while I was in the waiting room.

    ¡°Hmm? ......Why is he?¡±

    As I was reading the names of the participants near my turn, a certain name caught my attention. It was facing directly opposite my name. It read: Matthew.

    ¡°Excuse me. This Matthew here, is this the same Matthew as the tamer guild¡¯s...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s correct. That is certainly Matthew-sama of the Tamer Guild Gimuru Branch. He won the 22nd match, 2 matches before Takebayashi-sama¡¯s.¡± [Official]

    So it was him. Why exactly is that guy even participating?

    ¡°Is there something the matter?¡± [Official]

    ¡°Oh, uh, it¡¯s nothing actually. I was just wondering how someone as busy as the guild master would be able to find time to join the tournament.¡± [Ryouma]

    When I said that, the official wryly smiled and answered.

    ¡°From what I¡¯ve heard, Matthew-sama took a three-day leave. It¡¯s great for us since it¡¯ll hype up the tournament, but the person himself seems really troubled...¡± [Official]

    ¡°I see...¡± [Ryouma]

    Well considering his current situation, I guess it¡¯s not too strange... I¡¯ve also had my pay cut in my previous life. And when I tried to petition it, they just got mad at me... That¡¯s not to say that I¡¯m nning to save him or anything, but I can at least sympathize.

    After that, I finished up on the rest of the paper work, had the exnations exined to me again, and then went back on stage for the spectators where someone suddenly called out my name.

    ¡°Ryouma-san!¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Elia?¡± [Ryouma]

    I looked toward the source of the voice, and there I saw Sebasu-san and Elia. They congratted me on my victory.

    ¡°Thank you very much. But why are you guys here?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°We came here to invite you. If you feel like watching the tournament, how abouting to watch with us?¡± [Elia]

    Oh, I see. She¡¯s sitting in the noble seats where many rich people and nobles are. That being the case, the security must be quite tight. If so, then even if we tried to meet up, it should be a difficult task if I were to be the one to look for them.

    I epted Elia¡¯s favor and watched the tournament from the noble seats. When I entered into the noble section, the other four girls congratted me as well. After that, the next match started, so all our attentions moved toward the stage.

    And as usual, the arena from up top looked no different from hell. Seeing all these magical beasts lined up sure is interesting though. What¡¯s more, the noble seats are apletely different experience from the time in the morning when I was just standing. In here, I can really focus on the match. Thanks to that, time flew by quickly... I only got to watch four matches from the noble seats, but it was fun.

    After all the matches finished, we decided to have supper together. So as usual, we went to the Slime Den Restaurant, but...

    ¡°We¡¯re really sorry, but the waiting time is ¨C¨C¨C Ah! Owner!¡± [Waiter]

    We didn¡¯t have any prior reservations. I wonder if the wait is going to be long.

    ¡°Is something the matter?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Matter? Of course there is! I heard all about your deeds, owner! I heard you broke through the preliminaries! Everyone¡¯s already ready upstairs, you know?¡± [Waiter]

    ¡°Eh? What are you talking about?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Huh? Didn¡¯t youe for the victory party?¡± [Waiter]

    It felt like we were talking about two different topics, so I asked him about the details for a bit, and apparently, the researchers who came to watch my match called the people around them, and prepared a victory party. So the entire second floor has apparently been reserved.

    Focusing my ears a bit, I do actually hear a lot of voices from the second floor. It¡¯s almost as if they were the ones who fought and won... They¡¯re as lively as those foreigners I see on TV back in my previous life who would drink in a pub and watch ser.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. Let¡¯s go to a different store.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ryouma-san, it¡¯s your party though. Is that alright?¡± [Elia]

    There¡¯s no way I could peacefully eat if I went into all that ruckus. With that excuse, we left the Slime Den Restaurant. The ce we headed to was a restaurant in the northern part of the first city. It¡¯s the store beside the liquor store from which I buy barrels of wine from every week. Their stews are really good.

    After ordering some bread, stew, and one or two more items the others liked, I asked Kanan-san about the magic tool that caught my interest this afternoon.

    ¡°Mass producing magic tools? Well, it¡¯s not impossible.¡± [Kanan]

    In order to recreate a magic tool, the original first needs to be analyzed. After finding out how the original magic is used, the magic craftsman then needs to learn the same magic. After which he¡¯ll then be able to create a magic tool just like the original. Analyzing and researching takes a lot of time though.

    ¡°In my house¡¯s case, we put a lot of effort on every product, so we don¡¯t mass produce. But for the army and noble-marketed manufacturers, they make things in bulk.¡± [Kanan]

    So that¡¯s how it is... As we were talking, our orders arrived. The stew and the soup are both dishes that¡¯ve already been prepared in advanced, so our order came quickly.

    When the food arrived, we changed our topic. We talked about my match instead.

    ¡°So, what do you think your odds are tomorrow?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°There¡¯s no telling unless I get to it. But I do have a n.¡± [Ryouma]

    My opponent tomorrow is that barbell reindeer. There are three things I need to keep an eye out for. Its horn, its electric magic, and its hooves.

    I can use the electric slime to deal with the electric magic. The electric slime has such high resistance against electric magic that it nullifies it, but in exchange, it¡¯s weak against physical attacks. But as long as it uses its magic it should be fine.

    Moreover, my electric slime is able to use my personally created magic to defend against electric magic. It¡¯s called ¡®Ground¡¯. In this magic, the practitioner covers himself in electric magic power to create a path of electricity overwriting the trajectory of the original electric magic, allowing him to dodge it.

    It¡¯s a magic I happened upon when after practicing Magic Perception I realized that there was a small difference in sensing the differing attributes. I can¡¯t quite put it into words, but I was finally able to figure it out in these past two years. Moreover, I¡¯ve also be able to sense the magic power floating in the air or in the surroundings so long as I use Magic Perception.

    And then one day, when the electric slime used its electric magic to hit against a practice target, I coincidentally noticed that the electric attribute magic power follows a path.

    To give some examples. The intermediate magic ¡®Thunder Bolt¡¯ follows a straight path ntil impact, whereas the elementary magic ¡®Stun¡¯ doesn¡¯t, but in exchange, it can¡¯t be shot.

    After some thinking, I wondered, wouldn¡¯t it be possible to create the same effect that electric magic power does wherein it calls lightning via the electric potential difference? My mind on fire, I experimented for several days with my Magic Perception. The object of my experimentation was the electric slime along with my personally created light bulb and vacuum tube (diode).

    I once created a radio using a vacuum tube in my previous life, so using that knowledge, I took a metal pipe and a fment created from bamboo. I took the sticky slime¡¯s hardening liquid nk, changed its shape, and then I set it inside the pipe. Then using alchemy, I made the pipe airtight, creating myself a diode. I then let electricity pass through it to confirm my theory. When I saw the movement of electricity inside I was able to confirm the movement of electric attribute magic power.

    But then again, considering the fact that the elementary magic ¡®Stun Arrow¡¯ would create the shape of an arrow with electricity, this result is only natural. If anything, the bigger question should be why I didn¡¯t realize it until now. Is it because I got used to it and just epted that it works? Hmm... It seems themon sense of this world in regards to magic has also affected me.

    Going back to the topic.

    In any case, my point is that thebination of the big poison slime and the electric slime which can defend against long range attacks and electric magic should prove an interesting matchup against that barbell reindeer.

    I talked like this we Elia and the others as we had our supper. After we finished eating, we went our separate ways.

    The Next Day.

    In the summer heat when the sun¡¯s rays were at their peak, the spectator¡¯s fervor burned even fiercer. The matches proceeded one after another, and when the sun was finally at its highest, my turn came.

    <>

    Those words were a signal, so I went ahead and walked toward the stages, leading my 20 big poison slimes, each of which was wielding a spear upon which an electric slime was riding on.

    <>

    <<...>>

    Shocked, the host couldn¡¯t help but exim as his gaze turned toward the analyst. But the analyst was staring stiff at the big poison slimes, not a word leaving his lips. Seeing that, the host tried to shake the analyst awake.

    <>

    The host tried to whisper the words, but he was using a magic tool, so his voice still resounded throughout the arena. Because of this, the spectators all noticed the oddity in the analyst¡¯s behavior. The crowd was silenced.

    <>

    <>

    <>

    <>

    At those words, all eyes gathered on me. The host didn¡¯t seem to have any knowledge on big slimes, so he asked the analyst.

    <>

    <>

    <>

    <>

    <>

    An audible gulp could be heard from the analyst as he prepared to drop the bomb.

    <>

    <>

    <>

    At those words, the host finally understood the situation. With a grave voice, he slowly spoke.

    <>

    <>

    The crowd exploded. The hype spread like fire as the crowd chanted one after another, ¡°World First!¡± After having calmed himself, the analyst added, ¡°although their might have been other cases that just weren¡¯t publicized...¡± but no ears heard him. Well, this turn of events is really good for us though.

    <<¨C¨C¨C¨C!? ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C!!!!>>

    In the hype, even the host couldn¡¯t help but cheer out loud. But with the magic tool by his mouth, the resulting cheer drowned out the entire arena, and everyone had to block their ears. When the echoes finally stopped, the whole arena had gone quiet.

    <>

    The host gave a few words of apology, and then he went ahead and introduced my opponent. I wonder if he¡¯s still not used to the magic tool. But then again it would¡¯ve been hard for him to introduce my opponent if those cheers continued... was it calcted?

    During this time, the introduction of my opponent, Podro, and his barbell reindeer continued. Darn, snap out of it, me! I came here to win!

    After fixing my attitude, I waited for my opponent. But I couldn¡¯t see him at all. I thought he¡¯d already entered after the host spoke, but he¡¯s nowhere to be seen. Gradually, the crowd started to noisy.

    <>

    Huh? What is this announcer saying?

    <>

    The crowd went silent. Then in the next instant, jeers filled the arena.

    ¡°Bullshit!¡±

    ¡°Get up the stage and fight!¡±

    ¡°Give me back my money! I bet on you!¡±

    ...Well, this was unexpected. And here I was talking all confident to Elia and the others. Who would¡¯ve thought I¡¯d get a free win.

    I even fired myself up. Following the official¡¯smand, I left the arena with the slimes. They looked disappointed too.

    ¡°And we even practiced our spearst night. Sigh...¡± [Ryouma]

    ...But the slimes remained silent. Sigh... just more pointless stuff.

 Volume 4 - 23

    After I got a free win in my first match, I was given a room to wait in until my next match. I still have two matches to go for the day. Maybe I should have the big poison slimes and the electric slimese out in the next match since they weren¡¯t able toe out in thest match.

    There aren¡¯t a lot of people participating in the match, so apparently I can go outside so long as I¡¯m willing to go through a search again... It¡¯s a bit early, but maybe I should go out.

    Someone knocked on the door.

    ¡°Please enter.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Excuse me.¡± [???]

    Might be rted to the big poison slime... I replied while being a little wary, and a man about 20 years old opened the door. As soon as he entered the door, he paused in his tracks. The room¡¯s full of slimes, so I can understand. That aside, what is he up to? Hmm?

    ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, you should be my opponent for my first match.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes, my name is Podro. I am truly sorry for what just happened!¡± [Podro]

    What is he going on about?

    After talking for hi m a bit, I found out that he came here to apologize because of all the booing in the stage. I don¡¯t really mind though...

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind it, after all, it¡¯s because your ve demon got sick. And besides, it¡¯s not like they said anything to me.¡± [Ryouma]

    The ones they were booing at were the management and Podro-san. It¡¯s not like I was a target or anything. Podro-san looked relieved when I said that, although he also looked tired.

    ¡°That aside, how¡¯s your side doing?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Riguris should also be able to move again after a little rest.¡± [Podro]

    By Riguris he probably means the reindeer. If he¡¯s already feeling well then that¡¯s good. Podro-san mentioned he¡¯d be leaving for home tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, and when I asked him, ¡°Isn¡¯t that a little quick?¡± his face darkened.

    From thereon, Podro-san started exining why he joined the tournament in the first ce.

    Podro-sanes from the northernmost areas of the country, high up in the mountain ranges where thends are always covered in snow and ice. Ice-attribute magic jewels could be mined there, so despite it being remote, there¡¯s a tradingwork connecting their vige to a lot of other viges.

    Podro-san works as a courier with his ve demon, travelling to different viges all the way to the foot of the mountain.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been working as a courier with my dad ever since I was kid, but two years ago after I contracted with Riguris, the area I¡¯ve been covering has grown bigger. So I thought I¡¯d try going down the mountains.¡± [Podro]

    So he doesn¡¯t just look young, he also thinks young... Or rather, the farthest he¡¯s gotten to all his life was actually the base of their mountain?

    ¡°So you decided to go to Gimuru?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes. When I heard there was going to be a magic beast tournament, I thought it was a good opportunity. But it was a lot hotter here than what I¡¯ve heard, and my body got worse and worse ever since the preliminaries ended... This morning, I decided I couldn¡¯t continue with tournament... I¡¯ve unnecessarily pushed Riguris too far.¡± [Podro]

    I think I heard from somewhere before that the temperature drops by 0.06C every 100m ascended. Since it¡¯s winter all year, the mountain might be as high as Mt. Fuji. I don¡¯t know how big the difference is, but there should be a huge differencepared to Gimuru.

    Yeah~ It¡¯s definitely better for him to go home as soon as possible. But at this rate, he might faint along the way, and more than anything, he¡¯s in no condition to fight if he were to encounter some bandits or magic beasts. He¡¯s a bit reckless, but he seems to be a good person, I can¡¯t just leave him alone... Oh, I know!

    I took out a memo paper and pen from my luggage, and wrote a request to the training facility asking for a bed and help from an ice magician. I¡¯m in the middle of the tournament right now, so I can¡¯t help directly, but I can at least introduce him to someone who could help.

    As I exined that to him and handed the letter, Podro-san bowed his many times, thanking me. When he first heard I was a tamer, he had immediately thought of the ruffians of the tamer guild. The tamer guild Podro-sanes from has apletely different atmosphere from the one in Gimuru, so he was a bit prejudiced.

    I asked him if it was really that different and he said that in the tamer guild hees from, no one would make fun of you just because you have a weak ve demon. Of course, there were also the guild master¡¯s policies, but it was in a remote ce after all, so if you were to do something like that your life would be difficult. They had a strong sense of camaraderie.

    After that, an official informed me that there are some people wishing to talk about the big slimes, but I couldn¡¯t talk on just my own discretion, so I had her inform them to talk to the research facility instead.

    I left the arenater to pick out the slimes I will be taking with me, then after going through the inspection again, I went back. I drank tea and sat cross-legged to focus my mind while waiting for an official to call me.

    My opponent this time went up the stage before me. He was a pretty boy named Jano, who practiced conjuration and is poprly known as the ¡°Heavenly Noble¡±. I¡¯ve also heard of him before. He only uses flying-type magical beasts. In the preliminaries he used the C Rank bird-type magical beast, Nip Bird. This time, on top of his Nip Bird, he also has a wyvern with him. It¡¯s currently arching over him as if to protect him.

    I¡¯ve seen wyverns before, but it¡¯s my first time seeing the nip bird. Its beak is sharp like a dril, and it moves like a kingfisher. It fights by rushing to its foe and piercing it with its beak. ording to the analyst, it has a kind of poison in its saliva that prevents blood from coagting. Wild nip birds apparently feast on the bled carcasses of their preys.

    Aside from the bleeding there¡¯s no other effect. It¡¯s enough to use healing magic to block the wound so as long as one takes care not to get wounded again. So it¡¯s not too hard to deal with when there¡¯s a healer.

    <>

    Taking the 20 big poison slimes with me that I intended to showcase in the previous match along with 10 electric slimes, 10 me slimes, and 10 wind slimes, all of which was wrapped with an iron slime, totaling to 80 slimes all in all, I entered the stage.

    Our opponent this time is flying, so we¡¯ll have to focus on using magic attacks. The big poison slimes are here just in case it bes a melee, but I doubt they¡¯ll have much of a role here.

    The analyst and the host grew noisy when I entered, but I already knew that they¡¯d react to some extent considering how many slimes I have with me, so I didn¡¯t really mind. Like that I took my position, and readied myself for battle.

    My slimes were arranged with the magic-using slimes at the center, while the big poison slimes have them surrounded, forming a circle around them. With this, the poison slimes will be a wall, protecting the magic slimes from all direction except from above. The magic slimes are being defended by the iron slimes, so I¡¯ll just have them use magic to protect themselves from above.

    As the host¡¯s voice resounded throughout the arena, the time for the battle to begin neared. The wyvern of the enemy pped the wings attached to its forelegs, blowing the wind as it hovered up in the sky. Flying beasts are limited to flying only as far as the arena goes. They¡¯re not allowed to fly over the spectators, so the ce might be a bit narrow for it. I wonder if this counts as an advantage... Hmm, or is too minor? Oops, the match is starting.

    <>

    Immediately after the announcement, several nip birds flew to restrain my side. Before I could even give outmands, the big poison slimes swung their spears, but the nip birds were able to dodge, and hit them. After stabbing through the big poison slimes, the nip birds returned to the sky. As for the others who tried to prate the magic slimes, they couldn¡¯t get pass the iron slimes¡¯ armor, so they also returned to the sky.

    <>

    <>

    Just as the analyst said, the nip birds were about to be hit by the spears, so they had to change the directions to attack. The big poison slimes were able to avoid a fatal hit by moving their nucleus inside their body, but they weren¡¯t able to counterattack.

    ¡°But you know...¡± [Ryouma]

    A few seconds after I mumbled to myself, the nip birds that attacked the big poison slimes all suddenly lost momentum. In the next moment, they fell to the ground, one after another.

    <>

    Well yeah, because... you know~

    ¡°The ones they hit just now are the big poison slimes.¡± [Ryouma]

    They¡¯re slimes that generate poison, so in essence, they¡¯re actually lumps of poison. Attacking them with magic or poison aside, piercing into them with your head is bound to hurt. I did order them to only use paralyzing poison beforehand though, so I don¡¯t think the birds are going to die.

    ¡°Guo!¡± [Wyvern]

    The sound of wings being pped resounded as the wyvern dived for the magic slimes. Immediately, I ordered the sliems to fight back with magic.

    ¡°GyA!?¡± [Wyvern]

    <>

    <>

    Just as the analyst said, the other side is waiting for us... But if this keeps up, we¡¯ll end up ring at each other the whole time. It can¡¯t be helped, we¡¯ll be the first to attack.

    I put the wind slimes that haven¡¯t attacked yet on standby as I ordered the me slimes and the electric slimes to attack. Their targets are the wings of the nip birds and wyvern nearby. The magic slimes moved around as they shot magic, making it impossible for the enemy to figure out which slime was casting which magic.

    <>

    <>

    Except, I evolved them. For people who don¡¯t know that, they could only see the slimes as something I searched all over for.

    After suffering some losses, Participant Jano finaly made a move. The nip birds flew from all directions. From the side, from above, they surrounded the slimespletely. And in between opening of that formation, the wyvern attacked the magic slimes covered by iron slimes.

    <>

    <>

    We can just leave the nip birds alone. As for the wyvern, the slimes are hitting it with magic, but it¡¯s being careful and not attacking. It¡¯s only skillfully dodging the slimes¡¯ attacks. If this keeps up, this battle will never end.

    The slimes will have to use up a significant amount of magic power, but it¡¯s necessary for this battle to be concluded before they run out of magic power.

    So I ordered the me slimes and the wind slimes to match their timing, and use their magic. The magic I want them to use is the intermediate fire magic, ¡®me Bomb¡¯, and the my original wind magic, ¡®Sound Bomb¡¯.

    As for why I want them to use these two magic at the same time, that¡¯s because ¡®Sound Bomb¡¯ can easily suppress the enemy when properly used. But it¡¯s easy to misuse, so I don¡¯t n on spreading it. It could easily catch on, so I have to be prudent with using it. That thought grew stronger in me as I continued to use it against bandits. When I¡¯m using it before people, I make sure to hide it behind the explosive noise of ¡®me Bomb¡¯.

    At my orders, one of the me slimes used ¡®me Bomb¡¯, aiming for the wyvern up above. The wyvern tried to dodge, but the wind slime casted ¡®Sound Bomb¡¯ at the same moment the ball of fire detonated, giving rise to a thunderous roar that resounded throughout the arena.

    <>

    <>

    Good! It¡¯s a sess!

    Participant Jano called out to the wyvern, but the wyvern couldn¡¯t move as it wanted to. Nothing letting this opportunity pass, I ordered the big poison slimes to pursue.

    <>

    <>

    Exactly as the analyst said, the wyvern was now moving poorly. The big poison slimes were making full use of their flexible body. They bent down to the ground like a puddle of water, they changed their shapes, and dodged the enemy wyvern¡¯s attacks.

    And the slimes that doged the wyvern¡¯s attacks immediately struck back with their spears. The wyvern¡¯s scales blocked the spear, but the slimes kept hitting. Once, twice, thrice... Enraged, the wyvernshed out and broke free from thebo, but the slimes readied their spears once again.

    <>

    The host¡¯s voice resounded throughout the arena, hyping the crowd, but as the slimes continued their attacks, gradually, a crack started to form at the wyvern¡¯s scales. Wyvern scales were light to begin with for the sake of flight. They were not like the dragons, their scales were brittle. If they were to be hit in the same spot over and over again, the spear would eventually reach the flesh. But even then, it wouldn¡¯t be easy to defeat the wyvern.

    The deadlock continued for about two more minutes. And as everyone was focused on the movements of the wyverns, the big poison slimes, and Participant Jano¨C¨C¨C

    <>

    After the spear struck at the wyvern relentlessly one after another, the poison entered the wyvern¡¯s body, and eventually it fainted. When the wyvern fainted, Participant Jano immediately raised his hand and resigned.

    <>

    The host quickly announced my victory, and the crowd showered me with cheers. After I waved back to the crowd, I walked over to Participant Jano and shook his hand.

    We exchanged a few words, but Participant Jano was not a disagreeable pretty boy. After we shook hands, I returned to the waiting room and prepared for the next match.

    And then the third match came.

    <>

    Before me were 40 ghouls and 20 wraiths. My opponent for the third round utilized arge number of undead-type magical beast. He was the type to use his advantage in numbers to bulldoze his way to victory. I got information beforehand that he was an undead user, so I had already prepared 20 big grave slimes for him.

    <>

    How? Eh... Against the grave slimes all these undead are just sitting ducks. Ghouls attack with their nails or with their teeth, melee, in other words. Wraiths on the other hand are immune against physical attacks. The wraiths flew over my slimes, but as soon as they did, my slimes just swallowed them.

    My opponent panicked and seemed to want to order them to stop, but my big grave slimes were using the Attract Ghosts skill. The contracted ghouls didn¡¯t gather around the sliems, but it did have some effect, causing their movements to be poorer.

    I guess they want to gather around the slimes, but they can¡¯t because of the order ¨C that sort of feeling? The ghouls now were no faster than zombies because of the grave slimes. That was more than enough for the big grave slimes to start hunting the ghouls.

    With their numbersrgely reduced, my opponent panicked, and he had the B Rank magical beast, duhan, enter the fray, but it just had its weapons taken away from it, and then its legs, waist, torso, neck... were all swallowed one-sidedly.

    The magical beast, roam weapon, was mixed in with the duhan¡¯s weapons, and it tried to take the slimes by surprise, but it too was one-sidedly swallowed by the grave slime. The only things left were the duhan¡¯s unmoving armor and the few surviving wraiths that managed to run away to the sky before being swallowed.

    The spectators, the host, everyone was shocked. They never expected this sort of development. Suddenly, the big grave slime made a ¡®pe!¡¯ sound as it spit out the roam weapon. The roam weapon was no longer able to move.

    At this point, my opponent just copsed to his knees, and the match ended.

    <>

    After collecting himself, the host announced my victory. While bathed in the cheers of the crowd, I left the stage. My opponent this time waspletely shocked and didn¡¯t look like he was in the mood to shake hands, so I just left.

    When I got back to the waiting room, I casually mumbled.

    ¡°...I knew I was fighting with an advantage, but who would¡¯ve thought it would be this one-sided...¡± [Ryouma]

    When I think about it, aren¡¯t the slimes the strongest when ites to tournaments?

    Getting information became a cinch after passing through the preliminaries. And the slimes themselves have such great variety. Unless my opponent hides their cards, I could just easily use the information to pick the bestbination of slimes, and use that to win... but am I the only one who can pull off that sort of fighting style?

    Well, whatever. In any case, the point is that I managed to win. With this, the tournament for today is over. Next is the semifinal tomorrow. I won¡¯t be able to have as big of an advantage as I did in thest match where I was able to take advantage of the opponent¡¯s affinity, so thisst fight will be a head-on confrontation.

 Volume 4 - 24

    TL Note: Makeup chapter. Also, error in the previous chapter. Ryouma did not WIN, he ADVANCED to the semifinals.

    VOLUME 4 CHAPTER 24: SEMIFINALS

    On the morning of the third day of the magic beast tournament when the semifinals and finals were to be held.

    ¡°We¡¯re cheering for you! Beat ¡®em in one hit!¡± [Fan 1]

    ¡°Do your best!¡± [Fan 2]

    ¡°Be careful!¡± [Fan 3]

    News of Ryouma¡¯s advance to the semifinal had already spread all over town. More and more people were calling out to him now even he was just taking a walk.

    ¡°Thank you very much! I¡¯ll do my best! I¡¯ll be careful!¡± [Ryouma]

    As Ryouma honestly replied, he left the first town. He entered the second town while eating his skewered meat. Then with his dimension magic, he teleported to the service entrance of the arena. Onee by one, he brought out of his ¡®Dimension Home¡¯ five king sticky slimes. He also took out a poison slime and a medicine slime.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be relying on you guys today.¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma caressed each and every one of his slimes as he said that. After that, he called out to the official inside the service entrance.

    ¡°Good morning.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Good morning, Takebayashi-sama. Please put on a good show for us today as well.¡± [Official]

    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best. Will you be searching me?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I¡¯ll call the person-in-charge, so please wait for a moment.¡± [Official]

    As the official went inside, Ryouma caressed his slimes and waited. While he was waiting, Ryouma suddenly noticed a particr man entering through the service entrance.

    (...An annoying one came.)

    That man was none other than the tamer guild¡¯s top senior ¨C although it was only on paper ¨C Matthew!

    ¡°You¡¯re...¡± [Matthew]

    ¡°Good morning, Branch Head Matthew.¡± [Ryouma]

    Matthew gritted his teeth when he saw Ryouma, but Ryouma continued to act civil on the outside. After a few seconds of staring at each other, Matthew weakly spoke.

    ¡°So even a bastard like you managed to get through the main tournament...¡± [Matthew]

    ¡°Fortunately. Speaking of which, I hear you¡¯ve been busytely. Is everything alright at work?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I¡¯m taking a break!¡± [Matthew]

    Ryouma quickly changed his way of thinking when he saw Matthew since, after all, it wasn¡¯t strange to meet him here. Instead, he wanted to ask him why he would show up in the tournament, but before he could, Matthew overreacted when Ryouma mentioned hms being busy at work. That topic was apparently a taboo for Matthew right now.

    ¡°I see.¡± [Ryouma]

    It¡¯s not like Ryouma was really that interested, so he just left it alone. Silence continued on again for some time, but before long, Matthew started grumbling as if he was cursing someone or something.

    ¡°Annoying... When I think about it... I¡¯ve gotten this far... What assistant? If I don¡¯t win... I won¡¯t have anything left.¡± [Matthew]

    (...Him grumbling like that coupled with how dark the service entrance is sure makes for a creepy atmosphere. And what does he mean by ¡®If I don¡¯t win I won¡¯t have anything left?¡¯... The winning prize is only enough to cover some living expenses, right? Did he do something desperate?)

    Inside that unfavorable atmosphere, Ryouma looked up ahead, praying for the official toe faster. And as luck would have it, perhaps his prayer did have some effect, as the official came not long afte.

    ¡°Sorry for the wait.¡± [Official]

    ¡°Please take care of us.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Then let¡¯s begin.¡± [Official]

    Having felt the dangerous atmosphere, the official quickly searched Ryouma. After confirming that Ryouma didn¡¯t have any magic tools on him, he ordered another official to lead Ryouma to a waiting room.

    ¡°Now then...¡± [Ryouma]

    After having been brought to the waiting room, Ryouma first ced his poison slime and medicine slime above the desk. Before the slimes were the dishes upon which the light meals meant as service for the participants of the tournament were.

    ¡°How is it?¡± [Ryouma]

    The poison slime and the medicine slime didn¡¯t react.

    ¡°So there¡¯s no poison in the food then, huh. Good, then next is the water.¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma is using the poison slime to test for poison and his medicine slime to test for medicine. One of the two slimes will react if there¡¯s any mixed in.

    As Ryouma was having the slimes test for poison and medicine, Ryouma checked the room for anything suspicious. Ryouma decided to do this mianly because of three reasons. First, because of the reveal of the big slime yesterday. Two, because he reached the semifinals. And three, because Matthew was participating.

    Ryouma was also keeping a watchful eye on the officials. After he and the slimes finished their respective searches, Ryouma was finally able to heave a sigh of relief. There were no poisons or anything out of the ordinary.

    ¡°So the schedule for today... first is the semifinals, after which is rest and if needed treatment for the beasts. Then there¡¯s the exhibition match until the afternoon where the participants and their magical beasts fight against other magical beasts... And, ah! Right, there¡¯s also the deciding match for the third ce. Then after all of that is the finals.¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma checked the movements of his king sticky slimes as he waited for match time. When the official called him, he left the waiting room, and went toward the stage.

    <.

    The host hyped up the crowd.

    <>

    ¡°Waa!!!¡± [Crowd]

    The crowd cheered as a man bulging with muscles like a bodybuilder walked up the arena, leading several ogres.

    <>>

    ¡°Uoo!!!¡± [Crowd]

    Just like the cheers for Roodman, the stage shook at the sound of Ryouma¡¯s name. Ryouma walked up to the stage, leading five king sticky slimes, and a poison slime and medicine slime on each of his shoulder.

    Up the stage, the two participants quietly faced each other. They sent their magical beasts forward at almost the same time.

    <>

    <>

    At the analyst¡¯s words, most of the spectators looked at the ogres.

    <>

    Moreover, the tower shield the ogres have equipped are magic tools. They can defend against magic so long as there¡¯s magic power remaining in the embedded magic jewel. It¡¯s because of these shields that Ryouma didn¡¯t bring any of his magic slimes. With these shields around, any slime not suited for a melee would be nothing but a sitting duck.

    <>

    <>

    >

    After confirming that the two participants were ready¨C¨C¨C¨C

    <>

    At those words, the ogres that were lined up raised their shields and advanced forward. The ogres only have a little space in between them as room for their attacks. They skillfully kept their distance to cover each other, not even a single one of them going out of line.

    Facing them, Ryouma¡¯s king sticky slimes were lined up like the character ¡®V¡¯.

    <>

    The ogres moved slowly, but steadily. They gradually closed in on the slimes. There were no fierce movements; the arena was quiet as the audience watched over the two sides. And then the ogre passed the center of the arena; the two sides now a step away from each other¡¯s range.

    (Now!)

    The moment an ogre took that step, Ryouma ordered his slimes to surround the ogres. Just as the ogre was about to attack the slimes, the slimes suddenly moved. The ogre chased after them with its eyes, but...

    <>

    There is a gap between the mobility of the ogres and the slimes. Because of that, Ryouma is having his slimes fight by luring the opponent and attacking the moment the opponent is about to attack. It was a battle n that had a king sticky slime attack an ogre showing its nk or an ogre covering for one of its own.

    When the weapons were drawn, the arena underwent a heaven-revolving change, the spectators¡¯ cheers resounded throughout the arena.

    <>

    At the left edge ogres¡¯ line, the ogre struck with its hammer against the slime, but the slime twisted its body clockwise, dodging the hammer strike by a hair¡¯s breadth, causing the ogre¡¯s hammer tond on its own defenseless knees. Although the ogre grimaced, it didn¡¯t break posture.

    £¨The slime made the ogre aim for its knees because it was defenseless, but as expected, just once isn¡¯t enough to deal a winning blow. There¡¯s no other way but to fight an upfront battle. Fortunately, the slimes have the upper hand in skill, so they¡¯re able to fight one on one against the ogres!£©

    This time an ogre swung the great sword it had in its right hand. It tried to send a slime flying, but at that instant, the slime raised its stick up and dodged the sword. Its body turned into a shape simr to that of a horse¡¯s hooves as it stretched out a tentacle from its left side and grabbed the sword. Then without letting go, it swung its stick down against the ogre.

    The ogre pulled its body, trying to dodge the attack, but the king sticky slime spit sticky slime on it, so it had no choice but to bring its shield up.

    <>

    <>

    As the analyst started to digress, the match continued.

    (It¡¯s been equal so far, now what... Mn?)

    Suddenly, the ogres¡¯ movements changed. The ogres that have been maintaining their distance until now, gradually spread. It¡¯s slight, but the gap from in front has widened. They¡¯re slowly splitting up.

    (It doesn¡¯t seem like they¡¯re doing it unconsciously... so they must have a n of some sort. It might be best if I assume they¡¯re trying to lure us in.)

    During training, Ryouma would instruct his slimes on what formation to use and the timing to go with it, but after that, he would just let them train by themselves. Because of this, they¡¯ve grown such that Ryouma doesn¡¯t have to order them on every single detail. Because of that Ryouma was able to keep a watchful eye on the enemy, allowing him to immediately notice the slight change in their movements.

    Ryouma focused his mind, and informed the slimes that the opening the ogres were showing was dangerous. Although he couldn¡¯t predict what they were nning, with this, the slimes could at least exercise caution.

    But a few secondster. At the center of the five slimes, the king sticky slime that was fighting closest to that gap was forced to dodge toward that dangerous spot.

    At that instant, the ogre to the left of the slime bashed its tower shield against its nucleus. At the same time, the ogre to the right also bashed its shield against the slime. The two ogres are trying to crush the slime¡¯s nucleus!

    (Dodge it!!)

    ¨C¨C¨C¨CAs soon as Ryouma ordered that, the body of the slime scattered. The sound of water scattering and the sound of two metal shields nging, shortly followed by a staff falling to the ground, resounded.

 Volume 4 - 25

    <>

    Just as the host said, the two ogres crushed the king sticky slime, but¡­

    (Safe!! The king sticky slime was able to get away safely¡­)

    The slime was narrowly able to escape death. Its body was crushed, but its nucleus was able to dodge through the gaps of the two shields.

    Slimes were originally weak creatures. Because of this their ability to sense danger came to be greater than that of humans or other magical beasts. Unfortunately, normal slimes were so weak that despite their ability to senseing, they still failed to run away as they were just too slow. But Ryouma¡¯s slimes were an exception, and they were much faster than wild slimes.

    Ryouma¡¯s king sticky slimes were not strong, but they were extremely proficient at dodging and defending. With their exceptional ability to sense danger coupled with their heightened mobility, these king sticky slimes are able to escape even from the most perilous of situations.

    But that¡¯s not all. Just as the saying, ¡®Chance appears in the peak of danger¡¯ goes, the situation took an earth-shattering change as the match turned favorable for Ryouma.

    ¡°¡­? ¡­!? Let go!¡± [Roodman]

    <>

    Just like Ryouma, Roodman usually only gave orders through telepathy, so usually, no one else hears him givemands. The number of times Roodman has ordered out loud could be counted by hand.

    Seeing Roodman order out loud, the host couldn¡¯t help but be curious. But just as Roodman¡¯s ogres tried to release the slimes¡­

    ¡°Gu!?¡± [Ogre]

    ¡°Uga!!¡± [Ogre]

    <>

    The two ogre slimes that tried to crush the king sticky slimes in between their shields had their shields covered by the king sticky slime¡¯s body. Because of that, even their hands were bathed in the king sticky slime¡¯s bodily liquids. Suddenly, the two ogres realized they could no longer let go of the shield. They tried to pull, but no matter how hard they tried, the shield wouldn¡¯t budge away! In their attempts, the painful sensation of skin being torn off jolted through their bodies.

    <>

    Ryouma¡¯s slime wasn¡¯t a big slime, but a king slime. Of course its sticky liquid would be even stickier. That¡¯s precisely why the situation became like this. For these two ogres to bepletely unable to tug away the shields, if the sticky slime weren¡¯t a king slime, such a thing couldn¡¯t be possible.

    (That¡¯s enough! Come back!)

    At Ryouma¡¯s order, the sticky slime that was clinging to the ogres, took advantage of themotion, and picked up the staff on the ground.

    <>

    (The nucleus jut out under the two shields and was hidden by the ogres¡¯ body, so it was difficult for the crowd to see. The opponent figured it out much quicker than I expected though. As expected of a semifinalist. But with this, although the two ogres won¡¯t go down just yet, we¡¯ve at least greatly reduced their fighting strength.)

    As soon as the slime picked up the staff, it resolutely attacked the two ogres. The ogres tried to resist, but the slime was the only one attacking. But that was a given. After all, one of their hands waspletely sealed. With their movements sealed like that, they were in no condition to fight. Moreover, when the king sticky slime picked up its staff, it also stretched for the gap between the two shields, and forcefully pulled away their weapon. So on top of being stuck, they were also emptyhanded.

    Suddenly, Roodman¡¯s voice echoed.

    ¡°Those two ogres are retiring!!¡± [Roodman]

    Ryouma stopped his slime¡¯s attack on the two ogres, and then he ordered it to meet up with the rest of the slimes still fighting.

    <>

    <>

    Was the analyst truly able to discern Roodman¡¯s ns? The unrelenting flurry of Roodman¡¯s ogres said otherwise.

    (¡­It¡¯s hard to read their movement. We should prioritize evading their attacks. Endure.)

    Although Ryouma ordered that, it¡¯s not as if the ogres became faster or stronger. They¡¯ve just changed from moving like trained soldiers, to randomly picking whatever they cany their hands on, and attacking the slimes. But that¡¯s precisely why ogres are ¡°beasts¡±. There was no strategy this; this was a mindless and unadulterated battle of strength.

    <>

    <>

    <>

    Although the attacks of the ogres also hit from time to time, the slimes were able to protect their staves and nucleus. The king sticky slimes were able to dodge the ferocious attacks of the ogres with the evasiveness and defense they take so much pride in.

    5 minutes passed with that deadlock continuing.

    <>

    <>

    After continuing to persist, the ogres¡¯ fierce attacks finally exhausted them, and a small opening was made. The slimes aimed for that opening, and gradually, they were able to hit back.

    10 more minutes passed¨C¨C¨C

    <>

    The ogres¡¯ breath was ragged. They also handled their weapons rtively poorly nowpared to when the match just started.

    <>

    Rushes like that can¡¯tst long. Short battles and long battles have their own respective fighting styles. If ogres could go at full power for 15 minutes without getting tired, then they would already be B Ranked magical beasts.

    <>

    In a battle of endurance, slimes have the advantage. With the ogres slower, the staves of the slimes were of course able tond. The attack behind each one might not be much, but after receiving blow after blow in one part, even the ogres¡¯ body won¡¯t be able to help, but swell. Especially the lower body and the fingers of the hands holding their equipment as they¡¯re rtively easier to aim because of their movements and the close-up battle. This is another reason why the ogres¡¯ movements have gotten worse. From here on, the ones on the offensive are the slimes.

    <>

    Ryouma spurred the slimes on as the ogres had no choice but to defend. They tried to fight back, but they couldn¡¯t catch the slimes who just hit back with their own staves.

    ¡°Gaa!¡± [Ogre]

    In the midst of the slimes¡¯ relentless attack, one of the ogres bellowed out a howl as it swung its great sword diagonally down to the right. The slime dodged that sword¡¯s point, entered right to the ogre¡¯s feet, and swung its own staff opposite the direction of the great sword, swinging it diagonally down to the left, uratelynding on the ogre¡¯s right wrist.

    At impact, the staff bent, and the slime rebounded the staff up right, crashing it into the ogre¡¯s chin, and sending the ogre¡¯s head back. But the slime did not stop its rush just yet.

    After hitting the ogre¡¯s chin, the slime lifted the opposite side of the staff, and thrusted it diagonally up. Because of the difference in stature and the angle, the staff sunk into the armor by the waist, piercing right at the ogre¡¯s groin.

    ¡°GUAAA!!!?¡± [Ogre]

    The ogre who just had his chin hit, suddenly screamed and squatted right there and there. The males of the crowd that had been watching from start to finish, all grimaced and held their crotch as they empathized

    But even then, the slime did not relent. The slime that had just cruelly struck at the ogre¡¯s crotch, went for the finishing blow. Aiming for the back of the head of the squatting ogre, the slime vigorously attacked as itnded a jumping strike. The ogre no longer had the strength, but it still weakly iled its now empty hands.

    <>

    <>

    (Sorry to the ogre, but the slimes are just too weak, there¡¯s no other choice but to go for the fatal spots!)

    After a few seconds pause, one of the two pairs of slimes fighting against an ogre, made their move. The ogre moved toward one of the two slimesing at it; it swung its hammer on its right. But the moment it tried to¨C¨C¨C¨C

    ¡°GUWA!?¡± [Ogre]

    The ogre¡¯s elbow was pierced by one of the slime¡¯s staff. The ogre screamed and the hammer fell behind the ogre.

    <>

    What the slime¡¯s staff hit was none other than the upper condyle of the humerus in the elbow. When this location is hit, the nerves will be pressured, and paralysis will ur. Because of that, the ogre couldn¡¯t properly hold the weapon it dropped.

    This is a bit off topic, but because the sticky slime was weak and couldn¡¯t properly fight against magical beasts with strong bodies, Ryouma focused on training them to fight against humans. Because of this, the sticky slimes are the best choice against human-shaped magical beast. This is the main reason why Ryouma chose to roll with them against the ogres.

    Going back to the main topic.

    As for the remaining two ogres, while one was weaponless, the other was already full of scars. Its knees were shaking; its movements were dull. But even then, it didn¡¯t lose its resolve. It kept swinging its great sword. The moment it took a stance with its sword on the side, aiming for the two slime¡¯s staves, the slimes made their move. The two slimes pierced their staff into the ground, and jumped like a pole vault athlete would. In that moment, the ogre swept with its great sword. The staves are going to be cut! Is what anyone would think upon seeing that sight, but¡­

    The staves weren¡¯t cut.

    <>

    At the staves peak, the slimes jumped, their tentacles stretched, and they retrieved their staves as they fluttered about in midair. Seeing that, the crowd was left speechless.

    Of course, the enemy ogre couldn¡¯t have possibly predicted that. The ogre stared dumfounded at the two slimes. As the two slimes fell, they used all of their strength along with all of their weight tond a full-powered blow against the ogre¡¯s head. Like a marite whose strings had been cut, the ogre fell to the ground.

    <>

    At the slime¡¯s gaudy victory and the host¡¯s hyping,mentators and spectators alike grew endlessly excited. The five slimes all gathered around the only remaining orc: the orc that lost its weapon! The paralysis of its arm gone, the ogre properly picked back up its hammer. But at this moment, Roodman raised his hands and loudly said.

    ¡°We lost!¡± [Roodman]

    The host immediately epted Roodman¡¯s resignation as he announced Ryouma the winner. At the end of the match, the crowd apuded both Roodman and Ryouma.

    ¡°Thank you, it was a good mach.¡± [Roodman]

    ¡°Same here. Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    After Roodman spoke a few words to Ryouma, he quietly left the stage. As Ryouma watched Roodman¡¯s back, Ryouma wordlessly returned¡­ But 10 minutester, the tournament staff asked Ryouma if he could remove the sticky liquid on the weapons and shields, so Ryouma ended up meeting Roodman a second time.

    TL Notes: Aight, site update. Also this was a makeup chapter, so queue remains untouched.

    1. Dark feature now avable. Look to the right if your inndscape mode (desktop or your phone/tablet isndscaped) or to the bottom if your on mobile mode/vertical mode. There should be a dropdown menu there. Select dark23 and it¡¯ll give you a dark theme. Select bright, and it¡¯ll give you the old theme. Dark theme is no longer scary jiggly so no worries, none will get a heart attack this time around. Also, note that using firefox with the themes kind of fell like sticky rice, so I rmend using chrome. ording to Pariah, it also works well on opera; so there¡¯s that option too. Haven¡¯t tested with edge or safari, please do check andment. Let me know what you think of the dark theme too.

    2. Chatango is back. If the site dies, it¡¯s probably not chatango¡¯s fault or because there¡¯s a lot of people. The server just sometimes derps. Give it an hour or two and it¡¯ll be back. It rarely happens nowadays though.

    3. TOC for both series will now ALWAYS be updated since they¡¯re now automated. Of course, I¡¯m referring to the TOC in jigglypuff¡¯s diary, so be sure to bookmark that one and not my blogger TOC.

    4. GK skills for the older chapters are currently broken, they¡¯ll be fixed tomorrow. It¡¯s because the skills were put inside those pacman thingys, so wordpress thought they were codes.

    5. Older chapters have now beenpletely moved to this website

    6. Not really a site update, but are there any series you guys are interested in? Dropped or not yet tranted, but you¡¯ve heard rumors of or have read in MTL? Looking for another series to take as my side project, but I¡¯m not sure what you guys like. I¡¯m thinking of Ashes and Kingdom, but I don¡¯t know how much people like heavy novels. For the record, ashes and kingdoms reads more like an actual novel than one of the usual japanese isseka story. Prose, plot¡­ you know. And yes, the bandit thingy was dropped. Dropped it cause it was basically a nocturne novel written with an R15 rating. I mean sure it has some other interesting elements down the line, but what¡¯s the point of all the ¡°action¡± when they¡¯re not shown? Other than that I also just didn¡¯t like the plot.

    7. Oh andst, sorry about the spamfilter. I was wondering why there were lessments. It turns out a lot of yourments were getting caught! I¡¯m going to check them every morning now so I can unblock somements, so uh, yeah¡­ yourments will eventually show up this time.

 Volume 4 - 26

    The match ended and the exhibition match was in full throttle. After Ryouma finished removing the sticky slimes from Roodman¡¯s ogres, he quickly went back to his waiting room, and ate as he thought to himself.

    (I thought it might be possible when I met him this morning... No, actually, I¡¯ve thought of it ever since I won the preliminaries ?¨C that as long as I keep winning I might end up meeting Matthew along the way, but... who would¡¯ve thought I¡¯d actually have to fight him in the finals. To be honest, I didn¡¯t think he would be able to remain in the tournament for this long. He put on a lot of airs in the past, but he didn¡¯t really give off a strong image... But then again, there¡¯re also people who¡¯re weak, but have strong magical beasts. And it¡¯s a fact that Matthew got through all of his matches so far, so I might¡¯ve been underestimating him...)

    ¡°Right! In the next match, I¡¯ll have the slime I can show in public fight as hard as possible. The slime also has goodpatibility with the opponent, so there should be no problem!¡± [Ryouma]

    Around the time Ryouma resolved himself, the man at which that spear was aimed at was currently...

    ¡°Just one more win, just one more win and I¡¯ll be able to recover.¡± [Matthew]

    He was assigned a waiting room just as Ryouma was. After eating his meal, he quietly mumbled to himself, caressing his left shoulder with his right hand repeatedly as he sat on a chair. The image of him mumbling and caressing like that resembled nothing like a tamer guild branch¡¯s guildmaster. Of course, he was actually only the big man in name and wasn¡¯t actually the one in charge, but let¡¯s just put that aside.

    Besides, being on paper meant that he wasn¡¯t actually that far off from the top seat. But what Ryouma doesn¡¯t know is that Matthew had actually already received a notice of dismissal. One weekter, Matthew would officially lose his position.

    Matthew entered this tournament to gain fame and wealth. If he could attain the prestige of the magic beast tournament¡¯s champion, his personal worth would increase. If so, then with enough luck, he might just be able to keep his status; it was the desperate hope of a man in dire straits. As for the alternative of turning over to a new leaf and starting anew, he did not think of it. In fact, he probably doesn¡¯t even have anything else on mind except for chasing after his status.

    Meanwhile, the finals were drawing ever closer.

    The exhibition match and the deciding match of the third ce left the spectators lifeless as they eagerly waited for the finals. Amongst the eager crowd, within the noble seats, was one of the groups cheering Ryouma: It was Elia and the others.

    ¡°It¡¯s finally the final match!¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°It sure feels strange watching someone you know make it to the finals.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything, yet I still feel so proud.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°But still... Who would¡¯ve thought that Ryouma-han would actually make it to the finals with just his slimes? How frightening.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°It¡¯s just as usual though.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°It is exactly as the Ojousama said, Ryouma-sama is always exceeding our expectations.¡± [Sebasu]

    Sebasu-san who has visited Ryouma several times since parting three years ago and has personally seen his research and experiments that were either based on his previous life¡¯s memories or things he¡¯d thought up, heartily talked about Ryouma. The five girls wryly smiled when they heard Sebasu talk like that, but then suddenly, the trumpets sounded, and everyone¡¯s attention were gathered onto the stage.

    The resound of trumpets indicated the beginning of the finals. The extravagant, heroic performancested for a short 30 minutes. After which, the announcer spoke.

    <>

    At the announcer¡¯s call, Matthew entered the arena with his magical beast from the entrance below Elia and the other¡¯s seat.

    He had 12 beasts all in all. 11 of which resembled the raptors inhabiting the Great Forest of Shurus. From a nce it didn¡¯t look much different from a small carnivorous dinosaur, but its whole body was bigger than a raptor. Its jaws and legs were more developed and in between its ws were membranes, drawing its limbs, webbed. As for thest remaining beast, it was a giant over two-meters tall, possessing a rocklike carapace and shears, it was a giant crab.

    When Ryouma saw Matthew going up the stage, he thought to himself, ¡°Did he always have a name like that? Then again, I think he might have said something like that when we were registering...¡± Ryouma was more interested in Matthew¡¯s family name than his magical beasts.

    <>

    <>

    <>

    After Matthew¡¯s entrance ended, it was Ryouma¡¯s turn to enter, but suddenly... The audience stiffened.

    <>

    What entered was not Ryouma, but a lone slime. Only, that slime was so big it filled the entrance, and it seemed like it had to forcefully push itself out just to get out. But what¡¯s more is that not all of its body was out just yet. Of course, the spectators knew that that slime was Ryouma¡¯s magical beast, but no one knew what kind of slime could possibly be so big that it would fill the entire entrance. No one, except for Ryouma¡¯s friend, Sebasu.

    ¡°So he¡¯s bringing out that slime.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°It¡¯s big... Very big...¡± [Elia]

    ¡°That¡¯s the emperor scavenger slime.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that too big?¡± [Kanan]

    The emperor scavenger slime is thebination of 10,000 slimes; its special trait is its overwhelming size. It¡¯s a league bigger than the king variation, and even its nucleus has a diameter of 60 centimeters. Ryouma tried a lot of things, but despite all his effort, he couldn¡¯t get the emperor scavenger slime smaller than a ball with a radius of 3m.

    Moreover, today was a time to battle, so rather than make the slime small, Ryouma made it a little bigger. And because of that, it ended up filling the entrance. After the slime was finally able to get through, Ryouma appeared.

    <>

    Ryouma had ordered the slime to take care not to crush the official that signaled for him to enter, so Ryouma only went up after confirming the official¡¯s safety. As for why he¡¯s riding the slime, there¡¯s not much reason behind it. He just thought it¡¯d look good, so that¡¯s what he did.

    After entering, Ryouma ordered his slime, and the slime immediately depressed the part Ryouma was sitting on, throwing Ryouma high up through its sticity. It was as if Ryouma had jumped on a trampoline. All eyes gathered on Ryouma. Some imagined Ryouma falling, giving rise to voices of shock and surprise, but¨C

    ¡°¡®Telekinesis¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    As Ryouma was falling, he casted ¡®Telekinesis¡¯ on himself to soften the fall, and hended safely without even a sound.

    <>

    <>

    <>

    <>

    A normal slime is G Rank, a big slime is F, and a huge slime is E. Each size change increases their rank, so a king slime is D. Naturally, the 10,000 slime, emperor slime, despite not having been discovered before yet, would be a C Rank. If the slime is a higher type, then it would go up by another rank. No matter how favorable one ranks the slime, it would still stay within the B Rank, so it won¡¯t go past the tournament limits.

    <>

    <>

    The twomentators were filled with a mix of admiration and astonishment while Ryouma felt a bit shy as he quietly caressed his emperor scavenger slime¡¯s big body.

    This is off topic, but before Ryouma got 10,000 scavengers, he actually wondered whether to call the next slime after king, god. But because of the strong faith of the people of this world, a problem might ur if he were to do so, so the gods stopped Ryouma. Naturally, after finding out the possible repercussions, Ryouma thanked the gods.

    Going back to the topic.

    Ryouma and Matthew sent their respective ve demons forward. Matthew positioned his river crab right in front of him, beside which, he then positioned the 11 river raptors. After he finished positioning them, he looked up, and red at Ryouma¡¯s emperor scavenger slime as well as Ryouma who was hidden behind and had his eyes closed

    The reason Ryouma¡¯s eyes were closed was because the emperor scavenger slime was too big. Ryouma couldn¡¯t see in front of him, so he decided to abandon his sight and just rely on his Magic Perception to ascertain the enemy¡¯s position.

    <>

    Immediately, the group of river raptors split into two groups of six and five as they surrounded the emperor scavenger slime. The river raptors ran in two circles, one inner that ran clockwise and another outer than ran counterclockwise. The river raptors ran like that without stopping once.

    <>

    <>

    The river raptors are running around the slime, but they¡¯re not attacking. As for Ryouma and the slime, they¡¯re just waiting for the opponent to make a move. The scavengers¡¯ fighting style focuses on the use throwing techniques, so it¡¯s easier for it to fight when the aggressor is the enemy.

    <>

    <>

    At the host¡¯s joking words,ughter filled the arena. Whilementator and spectators alike wereughing, the battle between the river raptors and the slime continued.

    TL Note: So I narrowed down your suggestions to three. Now, please vote so I can see which one you guys want the most: CLICK HERE TO VOTE

    For the record, yomgaeri no maou wasn¡¯t considered because ording to the trantor he was contacted by thepany and asked not to trante it. So yeah... that¡¯s that. (Even though no one¡¯s officially tranting it to English smh.)

 Volume 4 - 27

    A minute passed since the slime was surrounded. Just as people were starting to wonder when the fighting would start, Matthew¡¯s river crab casted a Water Ball. At the same time, the two river raptors that were right in between Ryouma and his slime, lifted their forelegs and thrusted with their ws.

    The emperor scavenger slime did not dodge the Water Ball. It used its body and received the attack head on, causing it to move back a bit. Then it stretched out its tentacles and grabbed at the limbs of the iing river raptors.

    The moment the river raptors were about to thrust their ws, the part of the tentacles that would touch the ws depressed, and the tentacles grabbed at the ws and the heads of the river raptors. The river raptors were made to slide to the tentacles, upon which the volume of the tentacles suddenly increased. When it did, the tentacles swelled, and coupled with their sticity, the tentacles lifted up the river raptors. The whole thing looked as if the slime went under the river raptors.

    With the slimes nimble movements, the two river raptors had their limbs caught before they could dodge, and immediately after, they were thrown high up above the slime¡¯s giant body.

    <>

    Whates up muste down, that¡¯s an unchangeable truth. As the river raptors fell, the slime pulled the legs of the two falling river raptors, and it threw them against the river raptors running around it.

    ¡°Ge!?¡± [River Raptor 1]

    ¡°Gya Gya!?¡± [River Raptor 2]

    ¡°!!?¡± [River Raptor 3]

    ¡°!!?¡± [River Raptor 4]

    <>

    <>

    As the crowd grew loud, Matthew¡¯s face turned ugly. Immediately, Matthew ordered the river raptors, and five of them came jumping while the other six thrusted at the slime.

    (Did you think that if you increase the number we won¡¯t be able to defend?)

    Just as the slime did a while ago, it grabbed one of the river raptors by the leg.

    Now, if the surface of the slime that was facing Matthew was the front, and the surface of the slime facing Ryouma was the back, then it could be said that it was from the front that that river raptor attacked. At the same time, three other raptors jumped from the back.

    Just like the slime did before, it threw the river raptoring in from in front. And because at that moment the other river raptors were jumping, they weren¡¯t able to escape like they did a while ago. The river raptor that was thrown fiercely crashed into one of the river raptors that jumped, and then fell to the ground. No matter how agile river raptors were onnd, they couldn¡¯t change their direction while in midair.

    But the river raptors¡¯ attack wasn¡¯t about to end with just this.

    <>

    The slime tripped the river raptorsing in to thrust at it with their ws, while it positioned its tentacles to where the jumping river raptors wouldnd. After the river raptors that jumpednded, the slime scooped them up and threw them. But this was different from when the slime threw the raptors from a high ce. With this method, the damage was much lower, and the river raptors were able to immediately pick themselves back up and attack.

    But the river raptors were still being led around by the slime, and that very scene was reflected on the eyes of all spectators. That pissed Matthew off.

    As Matthew¡¯s face went red, he ordered his ve demons to stop attacking and distance themselves. The river crab that was waiting at the back summoned up a huge amount of water enough to be thought of, a river. It manipted thatrge volume of water in the air.

    (What is that magic? It doesn¡¯t have the same vigor as the advanced magic ¡®Water Fall¡¯. There¡¯s a lot of water, but it only seems like it¡¯s generating lots of water and manipting it... It doesn¡¯t really look like it¡¯s about to attack. The flow of magic power is also too quiet for an attack. Is this the special water magic of a river crab? Magical beasts sometimes have strange ways of using magic that have strange effectspared to people, so I can¡¯t look down on it, but... Mn? Ah! I get it!)

    As Ryouma inferred what the river crab¡¯s aim was from its movement, the river crab covered the giant body of the slime with the water it summoned, creating a room about 2m thick. After which, the river raptors started jumping in.

    <>

    <>

    For humans and magical beasts that need to breathe, not being able to escape that would prove to be fatal. Fortunately, slimes didn¡¯t need to worry about suffocating though their movement would still be hindered. Compared to that, the river raptor was now in their home court. Aside from having barely any differences in speed when onnd here, the river raptors would also be able to attack in ways that they couldn¡¯t onnd.

    As Mathew continued to give orders, the river raptors swam as they pleased within the water room as they aimed for the slime¡¯s nucleus. Water sshed out as the river raptors and the slime inside moved, flooding the surrounding area. Ryouma in particr was given quite a shower, and he looked like someone who had been running in the rain.

    But Ryouma wasn¡¯t concerned with that; he kept his focus at the match on hand.

    (As expected, the slime is moving slower underwater. It doesn¡¯t look like they¡¯ll let us get out either. And even if we could, I¡¯d rather do something about that crab first. The slime won¡¯t suffocate and they won¡¯t be able to reach the nucleus, so...)

    What the river raptors had were not gills, but air sacs. So Ryouma wondered, wouldn¡¯t they drown if those run out of air? As Ryouma ordered the slime, the slime tried to catch the river raptors, but they managed to barely slip away every time.

    (...Let¡¯s go with brute force then.)

    As Ryouma gave out the next order, the emperor scavenger slime¡¯s giant body suddenly shook. In the next moment, all the tentacles returned to the slime¡¯s body, and the slime stopped attacking. The water room gradually thinned, but as the river crab added more water, the room grew thick again. However, if the river crab were to stop adding water, the volume would once again decrease.

    <>

    Just as the analyst said, the emperor scavenger slime was allowing the water to pass through its defenses to allow it to drink up the surrounding water and get rid of the water room. But the speed of the emperor scavenger slime drinking and the river crab adding water looked to be equal. The emperor scavenger slime continued to drink like that while protecting its nucleus for some time.

    Five minutester.

    The water the river crab was generating finally slowed, and the water room was growing thinner and thinner. Matthew ordered the river crab to release more water. But no matter how much he ordered the river crab, the volume of water added couldn¡¯t increase.

    <>

    <>

    Ten secondster, the analyst¡¯s conjecture was proven right, and the river crab had no choice but to stop generating water. The water membrane still covered the slime, but there were already holes in it, causing the water to overflow to the ground. The river crab has clearly reached its limit. Seeing that, Matthew spat out loud as he raised his hands.

    ¡°Damn it! So annoying!¡±

    <>

    (It¡¯s the finals, so I thought he¡¯did down all his cards already... Does he still have a card to y? I wonder what¡¯s going toe... I don¡¯t have any info about this at all.)

    Matthew raised his right arm up to his shoulder and chanted. Matthew was a conjurer, so he used conjuration to summon his beasts. After a sh of light, a giant appeared. Though tt resembled a human in shape, it was obviously not a human.

    (Huge! It¡¯s even bigger than the emperor scavenger slime!?)

    <>

    When the giant appeared on stage, everyone including Ryouma was shocked. But that wasn¡¯t surprising. After all, a giant just appeared. It stood almost 5m tall. Its limbs were thick like the pirs of a building. On its right hand was a handle that was almost like a tree. It was a bundle of rocks fastened by the vines wrapped around it; it was bigger than even an adult¡¯s height.

    At the end of the bundle of rocks was an axe on one side and something that looked like a pickaxe on the other side. The weapon looked crudely made, too crude for a human to have made it. Perhaps that giant might have enough knowledge to make a weapon out of stone, but those four blood-lusted eyes of it said otherwise; for not even a sliver of reason could be seen in them.

    <>

    <>

    The host and the spectators were all focused on the magical beast, but as the analyst was about to exin, the color of his face and his voice went stiff.

    <>

    <>

    <>

    The portrait giant is a B Rank magical beast when young and anywhere from A to S when fully grown. It¡¯s a magical beast that grows in rank as it grows older. And the way to discern its rank is from its height.

    <>

    <>

    <>

    <>

    As if agreeing to the words of the host, the whole arena voiced out words of praise toward Matthew. Hearing that, Matthew seemed to regain his cool. For a moment, he even boastfully nced at Ryouma, but when he moved his gaze toward the portrait giant, his expression went grim.

    As the slimes and the river raptor were continuing to battle and the river crab was approaching its limit, the portrait giant moved out.

    (It¡¯s fast! Dodge!)

    The portrait giant ran. Due to its height, every single one of its steps was wide. It instantly shortened the distance between it and the slime. As it neared, tt swung the axe in its right hand down. The slime managed to dodge, but when the axended, it hollowed the ground, whirling up grit and stones.

    Moreover, as the portrait giant pulled back the axe on its right, it mmed its left fist against the slime. Although the slime¡¯s body contorted more than any attack yet, it was definitely able to handle that fist. However, the attack that came next was different.

    After the portrait giant pulled back its axe, it swung it from the right down to the left. The slime also tried to dodge this, but because of the previous attack, it couldn¡¯t dodge in time. The axe grazed the surface of the slime¡¯s body, tearing open a slight wound on the slime.

    When Ryouma saw that, he unconsciously wrinkled his brows.

    (A direct hit¡¯s no good even with the physical attack resistance. He sure brought out a crazy one at the veryst moment... But there¡¯s definitely still an opening. I was wondering why he hadn¡¯t brought this one out until now, but it seems he does have a proper reason.)

    Ryouma¡¯s eyes were not on his slime. He was looking at the river raptors and Matthew as he thought to himself. The portrait giant was attacking proactively, but because it wasn¡¯t paying attention to its surrounding, there were many cases where the river raptors would get caught up in its attack.

    The ones who were actually fighting were only the slime and the portrait giant. Even when the river raptors tried to join the fight they couldn¡¯t. Every time, they would just end up distancing themselves, looking for an opening to go in. Meanwhile, Matthew was once again ring at the portrait giant¡¯s back with a stern look. He tried to order the giant.

    ¡°Tch... So I can¡¯t connect with it after all...¡±

    Seeing Matthew¡¯s expression go sour after giving out orders, Ryouma finally confirmed it. Matthew couldn¡¯t control the portrait giant. Although Ryouma wasn¡¯t sure about this, Ryouma hypothesized that Matthew could only give three kinds of orders to the portrait giant.

    1. He could order it not to attack him.

    2. He could order it who to attack.

    3. He could order it to stop attacking and other standbymands.

    Because there were a lot of parts that would be left to the portrait giant, he could not let it fight alongside other magical beasts. They also couldn¡¯t see this giant as their ally. Which is why Matthew has not brought out this beast until now. More precisely, he couldn¡¯t bring it out. After all, there was a possibility that his rtionship with his ve demons would get crushed underfoot by its appearance.

    It could also be said that Matthew bringing out a magical beast that he couldn¡¯t control, just goes to show how much he¡¯s been driven to a corner. And it was because of that fact that Matthew¡¯s face went grim, and the wrinkles on his brows grew even deeper.

    Tl Note: Thank you for voting in the poll Kaetekitte mo Fantasy won, and the 1st chapter has been posted today. Please check it out here: CLICK HERE

    If you have a better idea on how to trante portrait giant, please let me know. The giant is a given, so only the portrait is an issue. The romaji is: putoreito.(¥×¥È¥ì¥¤¥È)

    Chatango is not just a chatbox and not a ticker. is it still annoying?

    In other news, I¡¯m surprised at theck of ¡°That¡¯s what she said...¡± jokes in thest chapter. Or maybe I¡¯m the only one who finds it funny. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. No chap for tom btw; also, this was a regr chapter. Yesterday¡¯s was makeup.

 Volume 4 - 28

    The sound of the wind being cut as the portrait giant swung its axe and fist showed just how much power was behind them, but the emperor scavenger slime managed to barely dodge its attack, and throw the portrait giant.

    ¡°Uk!?¡±

    The slime intentionally received the fist of the portrait giant, letting it prate its body as it took its arm. The moment the portrait giant¡¯s center of gravity inclined forward, the slime slid beneath the portrait giant and grabbed its neck. As it erged its body, it threw the portrait giant in a manner simr to a judo throw.

    As the portrait giant¡¯s colossal body mmed into the stage, a heavy dull sound resounded, and the cheers of the crowd echoed throughout the arena.

    The slime tried to choke the portrait giant, but its arms weren¡¯t strong enough. As the portrait giant jumped up, it fixed its posture and red at the slime.

    <>

    <>

    While the analyst was exining, Ryouma gave out orders to the slime. After receiving the order, the slime extended out two tentacles.

    <>

    <>

    As all eyes gathered on the slime¡¯s two tentacles, the tentacles drooped down. And as the slime twisted its body, the tentacles started swaying. Seeing that, the portrait giant that had been attacking all this time stopped. It carefully watched the slime.

    Then in the next instant.

    ¡°GUOu...!¡±

    Left, right, left, right. The tentacles that were stretched out on both sides attacked the portrait giant along with the slime.

    <>

    <>

    The emperor scavenger slime twisted it body as at itshed out its tentacles. With the added power of centrifugal force and its weight, its whipping tentacles had enough power behind them to send a human flying. Moreover, with the long reach of the tentacles, the slime¡¯s attack was outside of the portrait giant¡¯s range.

    The left tentacle struck against the axe and then as it came back, the right tentacle whipped against the left shoulder of the portrait giant. Continuing, the left tentacle swung about, and then after revolving once, it went for the giant¡¯s face from the right. Although the giant was able to dodge, the tentacle ended up hitting the giant¡¯s right arm. After which, the right tentacle went for the giant¡¯s armpit.

    The portrait giant tried to shield itself with its arm and shield as it looked for an opening, but the slime¡¯s attacks seemed to be effective as anger could be seen on the portrait giant¡¯s face.

    ¡°OoOOO!!!¡±

    When the giant roared, it covered its face with its left arm and swung its axe against the slime. At the same time, for whatever reason, whether it was because the slime wanted to pressure the giant further or whether it just did so without any particr thought behind it, the slime strongly stepped forward with its right side, and the axe descended on it.

    But before it could hit it, the slime dodged to the left, and then it whipped back against the back of the giant¡¯s knees with its left tentacle, causing the giant to fall down to its right knee.

    The portrait giant looked like it was about to fall, but it managed to endure. But then the slime whipped with its tentacles again. The right tentacle whipped against the right shoulder, forcing it backward, while the left tentacle wrapped itself around the giant¡¯s neck, pulling it down.

    As one might expect, the portrait giant wasn¡¯t able to endure the slime¡¯s attack, and it finally fell to its back. Immediately, the slime went to hold it down.

    (Attack with the tentacles from the middle and long, and then throw the enemy when in closebat. Maintain this situation. There¡¯s no need for a strong attack. Just fight carefully like this. If you could get the giant to drop its axe, that¡¯d make the fight a whole lot easier. But since the giant seems to be hell-bent on maintaining its grip on its axe even when thrown, then it¡¯s fine even if you don¡¯t. Don¡¯t push yourself. I¡¯ll step further back so as not to get in the way.)

    Because the portrait giant kept pushing forward, the position Ryouma was standing in was rtively close to the center of the fight. Not to mention the river raptors trying to surround the slime from afar. Because of all this, Ryouma stepped back a little further, back down toward the entrance.

    But then something unexpected happened.

    ¡°Mu...

    ¡°Stop!!¡±

    ¡°GIGIi!¡±

    One of the river raptors surrounding the two magical beasts in a fierce battle from afar ran toward Ryouma and attacked him. Seeing that, Matthew panicked and immediately ordered it stop. When the crowd heard Matthew¡¯s words, all eyes focused on Ryouma and the river raptor approaching him. Shrieks of dread and voices telling Ryouma to run away resounded. At the same time, the adventurers that were positioned by the entrance in case of emergency showed themselves.

    The river raptor thrusted its ws against Ryouma, but Ryouma was like a willow¡¯s leaf as he easily dodged the attack and unsheathed his katana. But because the river raptor didn¡¯t attack again, Ryouma didn¡¯t attack.

    <>

    <>

    Matthew bowed his head to the announcer and to the surrounding crowd, but he didn¡¯t bow to Ryouma, and even stealthily red at him.

    (Was it really an ident? Or was it just made to look like an ident? I don¡¯t know, but in any case, I should take some distance. I know he¡¯s been warned that there won¡¯t be a second time, but still...)

    As Ryouma sheathed his katana, he distanced himself from his slime, and ordered it to take its time and fight at the center of the arena.

    Although an ident urred, the crowd remained on fire. The emperor scavenger slime was currently pushing back the portrait giant with technique, but if its nucleus were to be hit, the portrait giant would immediately be dered the winner. With the battle close enough that either side winning wasn¡¯t strange, the crowd couldn¡¯t help but watch with abated breath.

    When the excitement of the crowd reached its peak, the slime¡¯s tentacles caught the face of the portrait giant.

    Having been hit at the nose, the portrait giant faltered. It held its nose with its left hand as it stepped back. But the slime wasn¡¯t about to let that chance go, and it caught the giant¡¯s right arm with its tentacles.

    Immediately, the giant jumped back, but because the slime didn¡¯t resist the giant¡¯s attempt, the giant ended up jumping back more than it expected and it jumped back one or two steps back. After the giantnded, the slime rammed its body against it, broke its posture, and then threw it from its back.

    ¡°KAFUu GOFUu...¡±

    <>

    <>

    The portrait giant was able to immediately stand back up, but now it was right beside Matthew just like when it was first summoned out. As Matthew nced at the giant who was catching its breath and not attacking, Matthew instigated the river raptors against the slime and yelled at the river crab.

    ¡°What are you doing! You can still fight, right? Then fight!¡±

    Matthew¡¯s voice was neither petitioning nor jeering, if anything, it was desperate. But the portrait giant wouldn¡¯t move. It was his own magical beast, so of course, he knew that the portrait giant couldn¡¯t just attack rashly after being thrown time after time again. But Matthew still ordered it to. He couldn¡¯t help it, after all that was the only thing he could order it to do.

    While the portrait giant was at a loss on how to continue, the slime waved its tentacles as if it were shadow boxing, threatening and pressuring the enemy. But as it did that, Ryouma felt something amiss.

    (Hmm? ...What¡¯s with this magic power? ...Moreover, what¡¯s with this anxiousness that¡¯s reminiscent of beginner magicians failing at control?)

    Because Ryouma excelled at Magic Perception, he was able to sense that trace of magic power. When he focused his senses to search for its source, he was able to find out that it was leaking from Matthew¡¯s left arm.

    As Ryouma was wondering what that was, the trace of magic power suddenly burst and vanish just like a balloon. Ryouma continued to observe Matthew, but as nothing seemed to change, he ordered the slime to continue attacking the portrait giant as always, but then in the next moment¨C¨C¨C¨C

    ¡°Ha¨C¨C¨C¡°

    ¨C¨C¨C¨CMatthew¡¯s body was blown to the back. The portrait giant had kicked him. Its action was a lot closer to someone kicking a bug by their feet rather than an attack, but with the portrait giant¡¯s thick leg, Matthew spun two times, and when he stopped, he was right by the entrance. Matthew was still alive, but he didn¡¯t look like he was about to wake up anytime soon.

    Commentators and spectators alike felt as if a dull sound had reached their ears as they went silent for a moment. Then¨C¨C¨C

    ¡°Gya!!¡±

    ¡°Oi! Is he alright!?¡±

    As the crowd started to panic, the match was put to a halt. The announcer tried to calm the crowd down, saying there are barriers and equipment installed, but the crowd still panicked. The crowd near the portrait giant in particr were especially panicked. People standing up to run away even just a moment sooner could be seen here and there. In the midst of themotion, the tournament staff and the hired adventurers began to move. At the same time, a great voice loud enough to hurt one¡¯s ears erupted.

    ¡°o, ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C!!!!!¡±

    That was none other than the cry of a wild magical beast meant to instill fear into those who heard it. The crowd that tried to flee all came to a halt as they looked toward the portrait giant. What happened next caused them all to gulp.

    The portrait giant lifted its axe and affixed its eyes on its prey. But its target was not the slime. Instead it was its very own master, Matthew!

    Not only did the portrait giant kick its own master, it¡¯s even nning to finish the job. No matter how you look at it, this portrait giant was going wild. The hired adventurers went to save Matthew, but the axe swung down toward him ¨C¨C¨C¨C Right before itnded, something stopped the giant.

    ¡°GUU...!¡±

    The slime hit the back of the portrait giant, causing it to turn toward it.

    Although Matthew was an annoying guy, Ryouma didn¡¯t really mind him as long as he didn¡¯t get in his way. Ryouma didn¡¯t hate Matthew to the extent that he would quietly watch him be killed by a magical beast right in front of his eyes. Besides, if this magical beast were to go wild, things would get dangerous. So Ryouma didn¡¯t hesitate to order the slime. At the same time, he also unsheathed his de.

    Because of its battle with the slime so far, all of the portrait giant¡¯s attention was now focused on the slime. As the portrait giant rushed toward the slime, the adventurers saved Matthew, and carried him back to the passage used by participants when entering the stage.

    The slime and the portrait giant were fighting at the center of the stage just as they did a while ago, but the river raptors and the river crab were different. A while ago they were just surrounding the slime while watching from afar, but now they¡¯re all scrambling to run away, attacking all those in their way.

    (There¡¯s no reason for them to fight without an order, so they¡¯re running away before they get caught up in the mess. This is about expected, I guess... Coming toward here are 11 river raptors, while the river crab¡¯s headed for the adventurers... Wait a moment, isn¡¯t that Glen-san and Raypin-san? The adventurers over there are pretty much just my acquaintances.)

    The reason they¡¯re here is because the organizers for the tournament predicted that some high ranking magical beast mighte out ¨C especially, in the finals ¨C so they made sure to get some high-quality adventurers. So it isn¡¯t strange for someone like Glen, who is an S Rank, or Raypin, who is an A Rank, toe out.

    More adventurers came out from the passage behind Ryouma, but this time, they weren¡¯t Ryouma¡¯s acquaintances. They advised Ryouma to withdraw, but Ryouma couldn¡¯t just leave his slime who was fighting with the giant by itself. The portrait giant wasn¡¯t about to let the slime leave either.

    Ryouma told the hired adventurers that he would take care of himself, so the adventurers left him and went to deal with the river raptors. The river raptors were already heading their way, so they didn¡¯t have the time to talk things at their leisure.

    After that, the six adventurers attacked the river raptors, and after reducing their numbers, the danger was averted. The river crab also fell after having several of its limbs cut. And with it having run out of magic power, it was right at death¡¯s door. With the situation having changed for the better, the adventurers reallocated their forces, and Glen and Raypin along with other adventurers headed for the portrait giant. Seeing that, the panicked crowd finally calmed down, and some even started cheering on the adventurers.

    Ryouma ordered his slime to separate from the portrait giant. And although the portrait giant tried to pursue it, the adventurers stopped it. With a group of adventurers that had an S Rank in it as its opponent, the portrait giant¡¯s prospects were grim.

    Raypin used his magic to grab the portrait giant¡¯s attention, while Glen crushed its knees and feet. After that was a one-sided ughter. The portrait giant kept its body up with its left hand as it iled about its axe, but it was only a matter of time now. However, just as everyone was thinking that, the portrait giant¡¯s axe broke.

    Regardless of whether it broke because of long usage or because it was damaged in the fight, when the portrait giant lifted its axe up, it broke, and the vines keeping the rock axe together was cut, allowing the de made out of rock to slip.

    The crowd was even more relieved when they saw the portrait giant¡¯s weapon break.

    (Not good!)

    But Ryouma who was watching from a distance, lightly panicked, and he immediately bolted off toward the direction of the detached de. A few breathster, the other adventurers finally noticed, and Glen¡¯s voice resounded.

    ¡°Someone do something about the axe!!!¡±

    The de was still going up. At this rate, the de would eventually draw a parab and fall right into the noble seats. Elia and the others were there. There¡¯s a barrier to protect against projectiles (physical attack), but there¡¯s no guarantee that it¡¯d be able to stop that de of rock. Having thought of that, Ryouma immediately moved his body.

    At the same time, in the noble seats¨C¨C¨C

    ¡°Ojousamas! Let us take shelter now just to be safe!¡±

    Having also thought of their safety, Sebasu persuaded Elia and the rest of the girls to leave.

    Ryouma reinforced his legs with ki as he ran toward the emperor scavenger slime. As Ryouma ordered the slime, the slime wrapped itself around Ryouma as it pushed Ryouma up without hindering his momentum, then it threw him.

    ¡°¡¯Big, Ice, Wall¡¯!¡±

    Ryoumaunched up into the air, forming the shape of an arch different from the axe, as he headed straight for the noble seats. That figure of his beingunched was no different from a trebuchet catapulting a rock. Ryouma has practiced this motion with his slimes thousands of times, which is why they are able to pull of this method. As Ryouma tore through the wind, Ryouma focused his mind despite the resistance of the air against his body. He invocated his magic.

    ¡®Big Ice Wall¡¯

    Afterbining the two defensive spells, the water magic, Water Wall, and the ice magic, Ice Wall, the result is a wall of ice more durable on one side than the other.

    As Ryouma neared the noble seats, he casted the wall of ice with Elia and the others as the center. In this moment, his eyes met with Elia¡¯s group, but they didn¡¯t have the time to chat.

    ¡°¡¯Telekinesis¡¯!!!!¡±

    Using the neutral magic, Telekinesis, Ryouma stopped his momentum, preventing himself from crashing into his own wall of ice as he descended into the ground away from the falling de. Immediately after, the de of rock crashed into the wall of ice. Large cracks appeared on the wall, but the de couldn¡¯t prate. The noble seats managed to get off safely

    ¡®O-!¡¯

    The crowd cheered and apuded when they saw that, but then because of the impact, the wall of ice began to copse.

    ¡°Uo!!¡±

    Ryouma wouldn¡¯t get off unhurt if he were to get hit by the crumbling fragments of the ice wall, so he immediately tried to run away. But then¨C¨C¨C

    ¡°¡¯me Bomb¡¯¡±

    Raypin blew away the fragment with his fire magic. And as Ryouma¡¯s slime approached him, it extended its tentacle and stood in front of the copsing wall, protecting Ryouma.

    Ryouma looked toward Raypin and the slime. Then after catching his breath, he bowed to them. At nearly the same time, Glen finished off the portrait giant. After that, the adventurersmunicated with the host with some signals, and then...

    <>

    With the danger averted, the crowd all apuded for Ryouma, the slime, and the adventurers. The announcer waited for the apuse to end, then he continued.

    <>

    The announcer said a few words before finally dering the victor.

    <>

    The crowd that was quietly listening all simultaneously cheered at the announcement, and they all praised Ryouma. In the midst of their praises, Ryouma waved his hand back and answered to their cheers, then he went back to the waiting room.

 Volume 4 - 29

    After the match ended, I was made to wait in my room until the awarding ceremony. But before going to the room, I went outside first to put back the Emperor Scavenger Slime into the Dimension Home. It¡¯d get in the way to leave it just like that after all.

    It wasn¡¯t until an hourter when they called me out to the stage again. When I went back to the stage, there was a winner¡¯s podium at the center of the stage.

    Including me, there were three of us all-in-all who would be going up the winner¡¯s podium. At the highest ce was me. Then for the second ce should be Matthew, but I¡¯m not sure whether he¡¯lle or not if he is still receiving treatment. But contrary to my expectations, Roodman was the one to take the 2nd position instead. The management said a few words in regards to this.

    <<While Participant Matthew was receiving treatment, it was found out that he was in possession of a ¡°Magic Tool of Conjuration¡± which is forbidden both by thew and by the regtions of the tournament ¨C not to mention the fact that said participant¡¯s magical beast also went wild ¨C As such, Participant Matthew has been disqualified.¡±

    At those words, the crowd grew noisy. They spat hateful words filled with disbelief, anger, and contempt, not trying one bit to hide their anger. They couldn¡¯t believe that of all people to cheat, it would actually be the guild master of the Gimuru branch¡¯s tamer guild himself.

    Within thatmotion, the officials of the tournament all appeared to apologize for theck of security and their incapability to prevent foul y. They also expressed their regrets for Matthew as well as the tamer guild.

    ording to their exnation, apparently, the reason the magic beast went wild was because of the magic tool breaking. At first, Matthew couldn¡¯t move right after the match, but after being treated with some healing magic, he was again able to move his arms a little, and he started acting odd.

    Matthew tried to casually hide his left arm, but the healer found Matthew¡¯s wound suspicious, so he investigated the matter. When the healer did, what he found was the broken magic tool. The illegal use of a magic tooling to light instead of some injury could be said to be Matthew getting his just desert.

    Without the time to hide the evidence through injury or even the time to run, Matthew was immediately handed to the guards, who are now investigating where he got the magic tool from and how he managed to get pass through security.

    When the awarding ceremony began, the atmosphere in the arena immediately changed, and the crowd apuded the three of us standing at the winner¡¯s podium. The ceremony here wasn¡¯t much different from back in Earth. The officials said a few words, then we were handed giant wooden nks where the amount of money won was written along with ceremonial swords that had no de attached.

    The ceremonial swords are the equivalent of a medal or trophy back in Earth. Likewise, the color also differs depending on one¡¯s position. Mine was gold, Roodman¡¯s was silver, while the third cer was bronze. On the body of the sword was engraved, ¡®Champion of the First Magic Beast Tournament¡¯.

    After that was mostly just us waving back to the crowd and bowing our heads as we answered back to the cheers until the ceremony finally ended.

    When I got back to the storehouse, I answered some questions from the officials. The first question was in regards to how I would be receiving the prize money. I could apparently get it in cash if I were to just wait a bit, but I just told them to deposit it via the merchant guild.

    The next question was in regards to the slimes, but I just told them to talk with the research facility like I said before.

    Thest question was about whether I would like them to get rid of the people outside since they would probably crowd me if I were to just go out like this. There are some people who are able to go home while being surrounded, but I don¡¯t want the trouble, so I decided to have them buy me time while I escape via dimension magic.

    After that, I was informed that Elia and the others asked them to inform me to wait. So for the time being, I couldn¡¯t go home. Times like this make me wish I had a cellphone. For a moment, I wondered whether I couldn¡¯t do the same thing with magic, but it probably wouldn¡¯t work out well. Ah, wait a moment, right...

    It wasn¡¯t rted to cellphones, but while waiting, I decided to write a letter. Before ten minutes could even pass, however, Elia and the others came. We didn¡¯t meet elsewhere, they just went directly here in the storehouse.

    ¡°Ryouma-san, congrattions!¡± [Elia]

    ¡°You did it!¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Good job. And thanks for a while ago.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°I was really surprised when the axe came flying.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°I was more surprised when Ryouma-kun flew though.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Congrattions on winning the tournament, Ryouma-sama.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    Around this time, Elia noticed the object in my hands.

    ¡°Hmm? Oh, were you writing something? I hope we didn¡¯t disturb you.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Oh, no, it¡¯s nothing like that. I just thought I should ask an acquaintance of mine to find out what would happen to the tamer guild¡¯s guildmaster from now on.¡± [Ryouma]

    It seems like it¡¯d take a lot of effort to walk around the town myself after all.

    ¡°Are you curious?¡± [Ri]

    ¡°Well, it was a big incident. And Matthew isn¡¯t a stranger either.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Are you close?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Nah.¡± [Ryouma]

    I firmly rejected the idea.

    ¡°More like enemies if anything. It¡¯s mostly one-sided from him though... Regardless, I am curious about what¡¯ll happen from now on.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that, the officials who cleared the people outside went back to tell me the people were gone. So with that, we decided to leave through Dimension Magic.

    When we got out of the service entrance, I asked a rimel bird to take the letter. Then we teleported through Dimension Magic to the front of the town gate. Before it grew noisy, we teleported again until we got to my house.

    ¡°We¡¯re here!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That¡¯s fast.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Is this Ryouma-san¡¯s house?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Huh? Elia, you haven¡¯t been here yet?¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Ah... Now that you mention it, it was only after Elia left that I built the house. So it should be Elia¡¯s first time here as well.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°At that time, this ce was nothing but tunnels.¡± [Elia]

    But now there was a house and even a bamboo thicket. I had to work hard in order to use up my magic power after all.

    ¡°For the meantime, let¡¯s go inside.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that, I invited Elia and the others inside. I wonder what their impressions will be.

    ¡°How to put it...¡± [Riera]

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel like it¡¯s been lived in...¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°I think it¡¯s really clean.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Erm, wasn¡¯t it just made to be simple?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°It feels like a house no one¡¯s lived in.¡± [Elia]

    I guess it¡¯s only natural. After all, there aren¡¯t even any chairs or desks or even shelves. Actually, I don¡¯t use this ce much.

    The ce I really live in is actually in the hidden path ahead of the kitchen. So inside the tunnel in other words. From the outside, this house looks like the ce where I rest at, but it¡¯s actually only being used to catch intruders.

    The spears of the metal slimes would pour in from the gaps between the ceiling or the sleeping mist of the portion slimes would fill the house. There¡¯s nothing to worry about though as I can easily order the slimes lurking at the ceiling to release the effects of their attacks, and they also won¡¯t attack without my orders, so it¡¯s safe.

    As I told Elia and the others that the house is just being used to ward off against criminals and that this ce could also be entered through the passage in the training room in the cave to the side, I used ¡®Teleport¡¯, and I brought them to the hidden passage leading to the kitchen.

    I thought of making some sort of hidden trick to open the hidden passage, but unfortunately, my so-called secret passage is just a passage behind a wall. It¡¯s simple, but it¡¯s hard to find. And it¡¯s no inconvenience to someone like me who can use Dimension Magic too.

    After a short walk with the Light Magic, Light, illuminating our path, we arrived at the living room I usually used. On the four sides of this room were rectangr papers pasted over rectangr-shaped bamboo. There were magic stones meant for lighting inside, so there¡¯s plenty of light in the room.

    After we sat on the couch made from a magic beast¡¯s hide and filled with the fluff of the fluff slime, I paused to catch my breath.

    ¡°Fuu...¡±

    Somehow, I feel burnt out after the tournament ended.

    ¡°Oh, right. I should bring out tea.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°In that case, please let me make it.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°Ah, thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    Just when I thought of making tea, Sebasu-san went ahead of me before I could even stand up; he left the room. Sebasu-san hase here many times before, so he already knows his way around. It¡¯s alreadyte anyway, so I might as well leave it to him...

    ¡°Oh, speaking of which, what about supper? Should I make something?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Please don¡¯t mind, Ryouma-san¡¯s tired after all, so...!¡± [Elia]

    As Elia answered, she suddenly made a face that seemed to say that she thought of something. I wonder what she¡¯s thinking.

    ¡°Ryouma-san, if it¡¯s no trouble, how about letting me make supper?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°You will?¡± [Ryouma]

    I was a bit surprised, but the other girls started agreeing. I¡¯m happy to have a girl cook for me, but ¨C and I¡¯m sorry for being a bit rude ¨C can Elia cook? As I was wondering whether I should ask that out loud or not, Elia sensed what I was thinking, and she glumly spoke.

    ¡°Please rest assured, Ryouma-san. I might not be able to cook as well as you, but I can definitely cook something edible. Even if I¡¯m like this, I¡¯ll have you know that I¡¯m good at Girl Power ss.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Girl Power ss?¡± [Ryouma]

    It¡¯s been awhile since I heard Elia say something unique to this world, so for a moment, I was dumbfounded. I mean, it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t understand what she¡¯s trying to say, but what exactly is ¡°Girl Power ss?¡±

    After asking them for a while, apparently, ¡°Girl Power ss¡± is close to the so-called ¡°Home Economics¡± in Japan. Also, while the girls are having that ss, the boys are apparently having martial arts training. The words ¡°Girl Power¡± sounds like something students or alumni would use, but it sure feels odd in modern context.

    But whatever. In any case, Elia will be making supper for today. I exined to Sebasu-san, who was busy making tea, what happened. After that, we went to check the ingredients in the kitchen.

    ¡°You can use any of the ingredients here as you please.¡± [Ryouma]

    The ingredients heree from the harvest in the farm, and then there¡¯s also the huge stock of ingredients that were bought to feed the goblins, so there should be more than enough.

    ¡°Ryouma-han, there seem to be things here I don¡¯t see even in my family¡¯s store... Like this pot for example. What exactly is inside it?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°That¡¯s a still experimental chili.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I was studying medicine from my grandparents¡¯ books, I came across a certain antidote for a poison nt. When I learned that its taste and smell was simr, I wondered to myself, ¡°Couldn¡¯t I use this as chili if I just got rid of the poison?¡± So like that, I ended up researching it in my spare time.

    But just because I thought of it, doesn¡¯t mean things would proceed smoothly. And as it turns out, because of the medicine mixed into to remove the poison, there¡¯s a bitter taste left in the mixture. The jar Miyabi is holding now is the best one I¡¯ve made yet, but it¡¯s too sour and tastes odd, so it¡¯s still notplete.

    For now, I usually just use it as sauce when cooking yakiniku or yakitori or as an insect repent after mixing with alcohol.

    ¡°How about this wood-like thing?¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Riera, that¡¯s a meguribushi.¡± [Miyabi]

    Meguribushi is this world¡¯s katsuobushi. Riera doesn¡¯t seem to know about it, but Miyabi seems to know. But then again, there¡¯s nothing odd about that since I bought it from her family.

    Speaking of which, this meguribushi is made from fish caught at a certain season once a year in the vige of the dragonewts. They seem to be using migratory fishes. The amount exported depends on the amount of fish caught and the local demand. And with the production time taking more than half a year, the price is fairly expensive. Which is why the Slime Den Restaurant rarely brings it out.

    But I have more than enough for my own purposes, so there¡¯re always some at home.

    As I answered their questions one after another like this, I left them to Sebasu-san as I exited the kitchen. I¡¯m looking forward to what they¡¯ll make.

    TL Note: Katsuobushi = perserved fish kes.

    It¡¯s the brown kes thingy in the video below. Btw that¡¯s just an onion katsuobushi rice meal down there. It¡¯s literally onion + katsuobushi + rice + sweet soy sauce.

 Volume 4 - VOLUME 4 END: HOME COOKING

    Just as I was wondering what to do while Elia and the rest were busy preparing the food...

    ¡°What happened with you two?¡± [Ryouma]

    When I looked behind me, I saw Kanan and Michelle exit the kitchen.

    ¡°Not getting in the way is also a form of support, you know.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Kanan is bad at cooking, you see. And as for me, well I¡¯m bad at all the topics taught in Girl Power.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s something to be proud of though.¡± [Ryouma]

    So that¡¯s why they¡¯re here. Then in that case, how about I give them a tour of the house? After all, these two do seem like they¡¯d be interested in the prototypes I have in the workshop and in the storeroom.

    Thinking that, I tried to call out to them, but before I could, Sebasu-san walked out of the kitchen.

    ¡°Ryouma-sama, are you still here?¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°Yes, what¡¯s the matter?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Do you have any ymore corns? The youngdies wish to use it for the sd.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a bit early for harvest, but just a few pieces should be fine. Should I get some?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes, please.¡± [Sebasu]

    As Sebasu-san said that, he lightly bowed, and then he went back to the kitchen.

    ¡°Can wee too?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°We¡¯ll help out.¡± [Kanan]

    Like that I ended up taking the two girls, and we teleported through my dimension magic. Our destination was the passage near the experimental district where the ymore corn fields were being cultivated.

    ¡°Please wait a moment. ¡®Exchange¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    In an instant, I immediately changed into my work outfit that was stored inside my Dimension Home through the dimension magic, ¡®Exchange¡¯. As my body and my arms grew heavier and my field of vision grew narrow, I knew that my magic was a sess.

    When the two girls saw that, they were shocked. Although it was only added protection over my body, from the outside, it still looked like I just transformed.

    ¡°I just changed my clothes with dimension magic.¡± [Ryouma]

    I gave a rough exnation, but apparently, that¡¯s not what they were shocked about.

    ¡°...Are those supposed to be work clothes? It just looks like an armor to me though.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°It really doesn¡¯t look like something you¡¯d wear to pick some corns. You look like you¡¯re about to go to war. I mean you even have a shield with you¡± [Michelle]

    Well, it is true that this outfit covers the entire body from head until the tiptoes in metallic armor. And then there¡¯s even a shield, which I made by transforming a lump of adamantite and then burying a nk of a king sticky slime¡¯s hardening liquid to create a window I could peek out of. Aside from the basket on my back and the sickle I have in my right hand, everything else could be considered odd for someone going out to harvest crops. But that only holds true for normal crops.

    ¡°This much is needed in order to safely harvest ymore corns.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Seriously? Is that really still a vegetable?¡± [Michelle]

    When I said that, Michelle frankly replied.

    I replied back that ymore corns are just regr corns that¡¯ve mutated from too much fertilizer from the scavenger slimes, but I guess it¡¯s only normal for her to be at a loss after hearing that.

    Because ymore corns have been affected by magic power, the portion that could be eaten is about 1m long, making them look just like great swords. Moreover, ymore corns don¡¯t even need a month to grow to a consumable size. It can even be eaten raw. So with all that and how delicious it is, it¡¯s only natural that the duke and his family would praise it lots. At the same time, however, due to its faster growth, it also spoils faster. When that happens its kernels will be hard and will be unsuitable for eating.

    Once the kernels harden, every individual piece will be sharp. Should pressure greater than what it can handle be applied to it, the ymore corn will blow up and scatter to the surroundings with enough force to kill a man. I tried it out with some store-bought shields and armors once, and the kernels actually managed to prate them. In fact, they were so tattered that anyone could tell that repair was impossible.

    When I saw the strength behind those kernels, I couldn¡¯t help but liken them to the guns and rifles back in my previous world. If it weren¡¯t so delicious, there¡¯s no way I would bother cultivating such dangerous crops.

    When I exined that to the two girls, they were finally able to understand why I would wear such heavy armor.

    ¡°In any case, I¡¯ll go and harvest some now. I¡¯lle back immediately, so I¡¯ll be needing your help then.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that, I gripped the shield, and I teleported to the isted room or the experimental room where the ymore corns were being grown. What appeared before me was a room with no entrance as wide as two ssrooms, inside of which were full of giant corns.

    There were several small holes above in the ceiling just like the ones you¡¯d see on the walls of a music room, and several lights from the light magic, ¡®Light¡¯, could be seen here and there, keeping the room bright. Behind the ceiling were a number of light slimes, who poked their body out of the small holes, shining their light over the ymore corns. There were also water slimes who would water the crops in ce of the sprinklers.

    As I reinforced my shield and armor with ki, I approached the ymore corns. When I was close enough, I swung my sickle at one of the bigger crops.

    ¡°And safe! Now, I¡¯ll just take this...¡± [Ryouma]

    After I cut the ymore corn, I put it inside the basket on my back through ¡®Telekinesis¡¯. I did the same thing after that until I was able to gather 3 ymore corns. Then I went back to the Michelle and Kanan.

    ¡°Sorry for the wait.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ah, wee back. Did you get some?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°As you can see here, I¡¯ve gotten some splendid ones.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Uwa~ that¡¯s really big. It¡¯s my first time seeing corns so big.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°You sure those won¡¯t explode.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°As long as you pick them before they spoil, they won¡¯t explode.¡± [Ryouma]

    After that, we teleported back to the kitchen. They didn¡¯t want the surprise to be spoiled, so Michelle and Kanan were the ones to bring the ymore corns.

    Afterwards, we went to the workshop and to the storehouse just as nned. First, we went to the workshop which I used for smithing and crafting. When we got there, a certain tool caught Kanan¡¯s interest.

    ¡°Uwaa, what is this chisel? Not even my family has a chisel this luxurious...¡± [Kanan]

    What caught Kanan¡¯s attention was none other than the chisel I use for engraving. Chisels were normally made out of steel, but mine was made out of adamantite. It might look expensive, but since I was the one who gathered the materials and crafted it, it didn¡¯t cost me a single penny. I did have to work hard though.

    As for where I got the adamantite, I got it from the mining spot written in my inheritance. But since I was able to mine it from a shallower area, it was rtively easier. Well, at leastpared to mining orihalcum and mithril anyway.

    When I first went to the mining spot, I identally stepped near an undead snake¡¯s nest, and over 10 of them came rushing at me. Naturally, I ran away. After I learned the advanced ice magic, ¡®Blizzard¡¯, I was able to freeze the undead snakes, and was finally able to arrive at the shallowest area in the deeper parts of the Great Forest of Shurus... The danger in the deeper parts is seriously no joke.

    Going back to the topic.

    A special hearth was needed in order to process the adamantite, but that was no issue.

    The special hearth would normally require using a dragon¡¯s scales ¨C which is known to be impervious to fire ¨C for its interiors, making it extremely expensive. But in my case, I was able to get some scales from Rheinbach-sama¡¯s ignis dragon. As thanks, I would send some produce from time to time. Although he did tell me not to, since the dragon would apparently shed its skin periodically anyway.

    After that I took aluminum oxide from the earth in the mine through the use of alchemy, and mixed it with the king sticky slime¡¯s concentrated hardening liquid nk. I molded the resultingpound into bricks, then I used those to build the hearth. For the interiors, I pasted the scales I received in threeyers. And with that, the hearth was ready to go. I thought of using aluminum because I recalled it being resistant to fire and heat. When I tried it out for real, it was able to endure the heat, and it didn¡¯t show any signs of breaking.

    After that, all that was left was an issue of patience and endurance. In any case, as I continued to process the adamantite, the end result was a durable and extremely easy-to-use chisel provided ki was used. But as a lot still relied on having good materials, it was still necessary to continue patiently practicing.

    When I brought the two girls to the storeroom, Michelle noticed the magic formation drawn inside the garbage, and she immediately started talking fervently. It was especially fiercer when she found out about my prototype that made use of a magic formation that generated wind.

    The magic formation only really gathered the surrounding air and sent it upwards. I¡¯m only really using it to work as venttion by bringing in air from the outside. As for the prototype model...

    ¡°I see. So by using the power of the wind, you were able to create a transportation device.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°It¡¯ll probably still take a year to finish though... Ah, please don¡¯t turn it on. You¡¯ll just end up crashing into the roof.¡± [Ryouma]

    In front of us now was the prototype model, the magic-formation-based hovercraft that I created. However, on top of me just creating this based on some faint memory, the effect of the magic formation is too specialized and is also iplete.

    When Michelle saw the hovercraft, she fell into a deep thought. Kanan and I distanced ourselves a bit to give her some space as we talked about our own respective inventions.

    Surprisingly, I found out that Kanan was actually able to make magic tools.

    ¡°I thought you couldn¡¯t make magic tools?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Actually, although I¡¯m an enchantment magic specialist, there¡¯s still a way for me to create magic tools. Since I can¡¯t rely on my own magic, I just have to borrow someone else¡¯s.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°In other words, you¡¯ll be imbuing the magic tool with someone else¡¯s magic?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Right. But the only ones who can use this method are enchantment magic specialists. Moreover, the person cooperating with me can¡¯t be just anyone. If mypatibility with my partner isn¡¯t good enough, then it¡¯s not possible. Finding such a person is really difficult, so most people either give up or die before finding one.¡± [kanan]

    Dying before finding? Is it really so difficult to find? When I said that, she replied, ¡°That¡¯s why I decided to go to the academy.¡± Apparently, she was hoping to meet a magician who could be her partner.

    ¡°But when I went to the academy, my partner aside, I couldn¡¯t even enter a group. So I was really shocked when Miyabi invited me to join hers. After I joined them and talked about my situation, we tried it out with me and Elia, and as luck would have it, we actually seeded... I really couldn¡¯t believe my eyes back then.¡± [Kanan]

    Kanan embarrassingly admitted that she actually cried because of how shocked and touched she was.

    As we continued to talk like that, Sebasu-san entered the storehouse. Apparently, supper was ready so he came to call us. Michelle was still immersed in her thoughts, so Kanan had to forcefully shake her awake, and then we teleported back to the living room. The three girls, Elia, Miyabi, and Riera were setting up the table, waiting for us.

    After a short exchange, we went ahead and started eating. The menu was simple, including items such as sd, soup, and pasta, but regardless, they all looked delicious.

    First, I tried out the soup.

    ¡°...Delicious and rxing.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I¡¯m d you liked it.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°We made a lot, so go ahead and eat as much as you want.¡± [Riera]

    Looks like the ones in charge for this soup were Miyabi and Riera. If I¡¯m correct then they should¡¯ve boiled some vegetables along with some dashi made from cut jerky. In other words, it¡¯s the meat and potato stew of this world. If one tried, I¡¯m sure it could be made even while camping outside. It¡¯s somewhat reminiscent of minestrone soup, but there seems to be something different...

    ¡°Hmm... did you add some meguribushi?¡± [Ryouma]

    When I asked whether they made the dashi out of the meguribushi, it turned out my conjecture was correct.

    ¡°You did well finding out. We heard from Miyabi that Ryouma-dono likes dragonewt food, so we tried using meguribushi.¡± [Riera]

    After Riera¡¯s response, I took another sip. As I thought, it¡¯s really delicious.

    Next let¡¯s try the sd.

    On the dish before me were vegetables and ymore corn stir-fried in butter, mixed with croutons. The texture of the vegetablesplemented well with the croutons¡¯. And the aromatic dressing made from seeds roasted sour did a wonderful job bringing out the taste of the vegetables, resulting in an otherworldly delicious sd.

    When I gave my thoughts on the dish, Sebasu-san bowed his head. Apparently, Sebasu-san was the one in charge for the sd.

    Then finally came the pasta¡¯s turn. ording to Sebasu-san, he didn¡¯t help out at all except for some final tasting, the whole dish being done solely by Elia, who worked on it full of devotion from start to finish. The dish doesn¡¯t look bad at all, but...

    ¡°Meat sauce?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I based it on the pasta you served during your store¡¯s opening party.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Now that you mention it, I did bring out something like that... I can¡¯t believe you still remember that.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It was delicious after all. That aside, please go ahead and taste it before it gets cold. I¡¯ve seasoned it well.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Then in that case, I¡¯ll help myself.¡± [Ryouma]

    It looks exactly like a meat sauce spaghetti. But how¡¯s the taste? As I thought that, I twirled the pasta around my fork, and I took in a mouthful. When I chewed, I received a shock that left me speechless.

    ¡°R-Ryouma-san? Does it not taste good? I did taste it, but...¡± [Elia]

    Elia panicked when she saw my appearance, but it didn¡¯t taste bad at all. But with my current state, I was only able to say a few words.

    ¡°How nostalgic.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Eh?¡± [Elia]

    Although it looked exactly like a meat sauce spaghetti, the taste was a lot closer to the dandan noodles served at the Chinese restaurant near thepany I worked at in my previous world. It was cheap, delicious, and had plenty of serving, so I dropped by frequently to buy that 400\ dish. Unfortunately, the ce was shut down some time ago before I left my world, so I stopped being able to eat there. I¡¯ve alreadypletely forgotten about it actually. Eating this sure takes me back...

    As spiciness and sourness with a hint of umami mixed together, nostalgia stirred within me as I gradually tasted the pasta. Of course, I ate it along with the soup and the sd. Seeing me like that, Elia and the others heaved a sigh of relief, and they continued eating.

    After eating...

    ¡°I-It hurts...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Well you did eat yourself full.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°You even had two more helpings of Elia¡¯s pasta.¡± [Kanan]

    After eating a little bit too much, we rested for a while and drank some tea. I didn¡¯t really feel like drinking, but there was still a cup of tea before me.

    ¡°That sure was delicious... and nostalgic.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I¡¯m d you enjoyed it.¡± [Elia]

    The overallbination was a bit odd, but it was definitely delicious. After I asked them how they made it, I figured I could put it on the restaurant¡¯s menu if Elia doesn¡¯t mind.

    Actually, didn¡¯t she just use that chili-like ingredient I came up with in that dandan noodle-like pasta? If Elia could easily use an ingredient she tasted for the first time ande up with something delicious, wouldn¡¯t that mean that she¡¯s actually really talented at cooking?

    After that, we talked a bit longer regarding various topics such as the tournament the cooking, the girls¡¯ training, and what they¡¯ll be doing from tomorrow. When Elia and the rest were about to go home, I thanked them again for the delicious supper, and I sent them off.

    ¡°See you tomorrow. Take care.¡± [Ryouma]

    Elia happily waved back to my words with a smile, and then she went back with Sebasu-san and the rest of the girls through dimension magic.

    Now then... My stomach¡¯s finally calmed down a bit, so I think I¡¯ll do some light training before calling it a day...

 Volume 4 - VOLUME 4 END STATUS & CHARACTERS

    TL Note: Strength ¨C> Hit Points.

    Ryouma¡¯s Status at the End of Volume 4

    The parentheses by the hit points and the magic power show the numerical difference since the previous update.

    Name: Ryouma Takebayashi

    Gender: Male

    Age: 14

    Race: Human

    Hit Points: 12000 (+600)

    Magic Power: 284000 (+64100)

    Power: A

    Speed: A

    Defense: A

    Mind: SSS

    Resistance: A

    Dexterity: SS

    Luck: B

    Basic ss Skills

    Housekeeping Lv10

    Etiquette Lv7

    Arithmetic Lv5

    Control Lv4

    Torture Lv4

    The Power of Life and Death Lv5

    Guidance Lv3

    Battle ss skills

    Taijutsu Lv7

    fencing Lv7

    Spear Technique Lv4

    Hunting Lv6

    Staff Arts Lv6

    Assassination Technique Lv7

    Body Control Lv7

    Qigong Lv5

    Magic Battle Technique Level 5

    *The ¡®Hunting¡¯ Skill is the synthesization of the two skills, ¡®Trap¡¯ and ¡®Archery¡¯.

    Magic ss Skills

    ve Demon MagicLv5

    Barrier Magic Lv3

    Healing Magic Lv5

    Alchemy Lv4

    Potion Making Lv5

    Construction Magic Lv5

    Fire Magic Lv4

    Water Magic Lv4

    Wind Magic Lv4

    Earth Magic Lv5

    Neutral Magic Lv4

    Electric Magic Lv3

    Ice Magic Lv5

    Poison Magic Lv4

    Wood Magic Lv5

    Light Magic Lv4

    Dark Magic Lv5

    Dimension Magic Lv5

    Precise Magic Control Lv6

    Increased MP Recovery Lv5

    Chantless Invocation Lv5

    Cursed Song Lv4

    *Precise Magic Control is the synthesization of Magic Control and Magic Maniption.

    Production ss Skills

    Pharmacy Lv7

    Smithing Lv3

    Engraving Lv2

    Resistance ss Skills

    Physical Resistance Lv8

    Mental Resistance Lv9

    Wellbeing Lv7

    Stench Resistance Lv3

    Charm Resistance Lv3

    *Wellbeing is the synthesization of Poison Resistance, Disease Resistance, Sleep Resisstance, Cold Resistance, Heat Resistance, and the skill that led to the synthesization, Weakness Resistance.

    Special Skill

    Oracle Lv6

    Survival Technique Lv5

    Life Reinforcement Lv3

    Super Recovery Lv5

    Resistance Reinforcement Lv7

    Mule Reinforcement Lv1

    Mental Concentration Lv6

    Titles

    Gekokujou (Note: A junior who overtakes his seniors.)

    One who has ovee a life of misfortune.

    The Gods¡¯ Favorite Child

    Disciple of the Sage

    Disciple of the Martial God

    Divine Protection

    The God of Creation, Gayn

    The God of Life, Kufo

    The God of Love, Rurutia

    The God of Wine, Tekun

    The God of Sleep and Death, Meltrize

    Volume 4 Characters

    This list includes the new chracters who have been introduced in V4. Even those who¡¯ve only been mentioned once have been included.

    Training Facility.

    Dolt, Delt, Told

    Teachers and veteran candle-makers.

    Training Area

    Grandpa Harold

    Taijutsu teacher of the training facility. A former A Rank adventurer.

    He is also a ve demon magician, having three B Rank magical beasts, the ogres, under him.

    Barbet

    Swordsmanship Teacher of hte training facility. A former knight.

    Slime Research Facility

    Paul Bilkins

    Head of the Slime Research Facility. Formerboratory chief of the national magical beast research facility.

    Alicia

    A researcher of the research facility. The troublemaker of the facility.

    Affiliated with the vegetation division that studies slimes like the fluff slime.

    Crank

    The man in charge of the security at the research facility. A former soldier.

    Pete

    General Manager of the Slime Research Facility

    Magical Beast Tournament Participants

    Horizon

    Was in the same group as Ryouma in the preliminaries. He uses the trident snake, a snake-type magical beast.

    Podro

    The man should¡¯ve fought against Ryouma. Uses the B Rank, Barbel Reindeer.

    Jano

    Ryouma¡¯s opponent in the second round. Known as Heaven¡¯s Noble, he is a pretty boy who prefers flying-type magical beasts. He has a good personality.

    Roodman

    Ryouma¡¯s opponent in the semifinals. He uses five ogres who are armed to the teeth. He has a steady fighting style.

    Gimuru Guards

    Crais

    18-years-old; Man

    A guard in Gimuru.

    He graduated from the training facility and is already married.

    He calls Ryouma, ¡°Dad.¡±

    Others:

    Riole ¨C Riera¡¯s oldest brother.

    Reole ¨C Riera¡¯s older brother; the second son.

 Volume 5 - 1

    The Next Day

    Maybe it¡¯s because the tournament just ended, but I¡¯m feeling a bit slow today. I need to ready myself before Elia¡¯s group arrives, so I quickly made breakfast, and ate.

    While I was eating my breakfast, a slime suddenly appeared in the room, teleporting over the table. It was a space slime, a slime that could use dimension magic. It spit out an envelope on the table, then it left just as quickly as it appeared.

    Thank you for delivering it.

    ¡°It¡¯s about yesterday¡¯s incident...¡± [Ryouma]

    After taking a look at the summary on the envelope, I found out that it was regarding my request to gather information about Matthew and the Tamer Guild. I broke the seal and read its contents. From that I found out that things have developed far more than I could imagine. My eyes glued themselves to the letter as I continued to eat.

    ...on the post script, it read, ¡°The slime researchers are doing fine.¡± I didn¡¯t really ask for this extra tidbit, but I¡¯m grateful nheless.

    While I was reading the letter, the gong ¨C which I use as a recement for a door bell ¨C rang, indicating that Elia and the others were here.

    ¡°Already!?¡± [Ryouma]

    Panicked, I gulped down the remaining bread and bacon egg with a ss of water, then I teleported outside, and invited Elia and the others inside. The girls were dressed lightly, just like on the day of our duel.

    ¡°Sorry for making you wait.¡± [Ryouma]

    When I greeted them, the girls quickly realized that I wasn¡¯t the same as usual.

    ¡°Ryouma-san, is something the matter?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, I¡¯m fine. I just forgot the time because of a letter I was reading.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Letter? Could it be about the tamer guild?¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Eh, how did you know?¡± [Ryouma]

    Riera nced at the others before speaking.

    ¡°Well, we saw you writing the letter yesterday, right? And besides, an incident like that would naturally cause amotion.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Ahh, well that¡¯s true...¡± [Ryouma]

    If the contents of the letter are true, then it¡¯s not really strange for them to know. In any case, I should invite them inside, then I¡¯ll ask them what¡¯s going on in the town.

    The contents of the letter could be split to two main parts. One, was in regards to the guards¡¯ movement after arresting Matthew, and the other was in regards to Matthew¡¯s punishment.

    Apparently, after the guards arrested Matthew, they forcefully investigated the tamer guild. There were already a lot of problem regarding the tamer guild. One matter was obviously its unnecessarily rowdy members, and then there¡¯s the issue of the aide who suddenly went missing. So when Matthew was caught, the guards used that as a pretext to investigate the entire guild.

    As a result, they found out that Matthew was involved in a whole slew of other crimes, and that the shady aide was apparently connected with the dark guild. At that, the guards arrested the two people who, despite paper saying otherwise, were the current leaders of the guild.

    Details surrounding the charges were not publicized, but the part about the guild working with the dark guild to make money off illegal goods was.

    The illegal goods were confiscated from the members. As for the members who didn¡¯t acquire said goods on their own volition, they were made to exin what happened and return the item to prove their innocence. Originally, these goods should¡¯ve been handed over to the guards alongside a written report. But what happened instead was that Matthew and his cronies hid the goods, and then they gave them to the dark guild to make a profit.

    Incidentally, the magic tool that Matthew used in the tournament was apparently something that he obtained after threatening a conjurer from outside to hand it over to the guild and pay up.

    If it was someone from Gimuru, things might¡¯ve gone differently, but with the conjurer being an outsider, he was afraid of Matthew¡¯s title as a tamer guild branch guildmaster, so he just quickly left as soon as he handed over the magic tool along with the money.

    Going back to the topic.

    With all these added up, the odds Matthew would be given the death penalty was high. Having realized that he could no longer escape, he decided to confess and cooperate with the authorities to crack down on the criminals, and reduce his sentence. (Mainly in regards to his bosses and the people he knew to be doing something simr.) Even though Matthew was so brazenly refusing to give up thiste in the game, I actually surprisingly found myself admiring him...

    But with how big everything has be, with Matthew¡¯s scandal and the tamer guild¡¯s, it¡¯s likely his request will simply be drowned out. Not to mention, even if he does get his sentence reduced, he¡¯ll still be getting a life sentence. In the near future, he¡¯ll be thrown into the capital gaols, never to see the light of day again.

    With the winds blowing against the tamer guild growing fiercer than ever, the troubling ones have already ran away. It seems there¡¯re also some people amongst the participants of the tournament who are involved. Finally, the letter ended with these words, ¡°More and more of these sort of people will probably appear from now on.¡±

    The source of this information was none other than Crais-san who entered the guards, so its definitely reliable. Of course, he didn¡¯t tell me everything, but that¡¯s only expected.

    Save for the informer being Crais-san ¨C to protect him ¨C I divulged the contents to Elia and the others. When I did, they all simultaneously took a deep breath.

    ¡°Ojousama, may I borrow a rimel bird? While I do believe that the guards must¡¯ve already sent a messenger, I¡¯d still like to send a report to the duke just to be safe.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°I understand, I¡¯ll prepare it now.¡± [Elia]

    As Elia began her preparations, Sebasu-san took out a small golden envelope along with a set of writing tools, then he started writing his report.

    Putting those two aside, I asked the remaining four girls.

    ¡°By the way, what happened to the town? You mentioned there¡¯s been amotion...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°There¡¯s a group that¡¯s transporting a lot of magical beasts from the second town, right?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°The road¡¯s congested thanks to them, and the guards by the north gate even had to help.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Rumors of the tamer guild have also be the talk of the town, so you can hear people talking about it everywhere.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Even now some of the guards are still interrogating the people of the tamer guild.¡± [Riera]

    It¡¯ll probably take a while before things can calm down... As for me, people know me, so I think I¡¯ll be fine, but... Well, whatever happens, happens.

    Besides, it¡¯s not my fault, and there¡¯s nothing I can do about what¡¯s already done. As I was thinking that, Sebasu-san and Elia finished sending the letter. Now then, I should start the training.

    We started off with some light running. This was nothing new for the girls, they did this sort of exercise regrly too. The goal here is just to warm up the body. After that, I split the girls into two groups. Kanan and Riera for swordsmanship, while Elia, Miyabi, and Michelle, for magic training.

    First, I took the sword team and Sebasu-san to the bamboo thickets in front of the house. There, I took out the heal slime, the big space slime, a mimic slime that¡¯s mimicked my image, and three iron slimes, totaling to six slimes all in all.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s start the training. First, take these.¡± [Ryouma]

    I handed an iron slime that¡¯s transformed into the shape of a sword to Riera, and another two of those to Kanan.

    ¡°The first part of your training is ¡®Bamboo Cutting¡¯.¡± As the name implies, the both of you will be cutting the bamboos here. It might seem simple, but cutting one cleanly isn¡¯t easy. And also¡ª¡± [Ryouma]

    With a flick of ¡®Exchange¡¯, I took out my katana, and shed it at a nearby bamboo diagonally up to the right. The bamboo was immediately cut, but with its support gone, the upper part of the bamboo inclined, falling toward me. Twisting my body to the left, I dodged. Then as I took a half step back, I cut the falling bamboo¡¯s tip to smoothen it. Without breaking my momentum, I followed up with another swing, and I lopped off the other end of the now standing bamboo.

    Leaving the edges sharp is dangerous, so it¡¯s best to cut them off.

    ¡°Well, as you can see, sometimes bamboos would fall like that. And they can likened to an attack you¡¯d need to defend or dodge.

    There¡¯s a heal slime on standby so you don¡¯t have to worry about wounds. Also, the iron slime swords can recover itself, so there¡¯s no need to worry about the swords wearing out, and you can dedicate all of your focus to cutting bamboos.

    Oh, and the mimic slime and the big space slime are just here to gather the cut bamboo. You don¡¯t have to worry about them.¡± [Ryouma]

    I¡¯m having the slimes gather bamboo, so I can make some charcoalter. But I also gave them instructions to defend the girls in case a magical beastes out.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be able to cut them at first, but I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll eventually be able to as you get used to it and get stronger.¡± [Ryouma]

    The two girls were full of resolve as they nodded. Then they distanced themselves from each other a bit, and then they started cutting at the bamboos. Kanan¡¯s attack only managed to peel the bamboo, but Riera¡¯s was at least able to dig halfway in.

    Anyways, this training area is right in front of the house, so I can still see them from a distance.

    ¡°Sorry for the wait.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ryouma-han, will Kanan and Riera be fine?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°They¡¯ll be continuing that for a while. Let¡¯s start your training while they¡¯re doing that... Ah, but before we start, I¡¯ll have to exin something real quick.¡± [Ryouma]

    The main goals of the magic team¡¯s training is to improve their ability to sense magic and their ability to manipte it. In order to achieve that, I¡¯ll be teaching them a new magic and a personally created magic of mine.

    After that, I asked them their respective specialized attributes and the magic they wished to learn. Elia¡¯s specialties were fire and ice. She could use neutral magic although she doesn¡¯t specialize on it. Her issue is on control.

    Miyabi¡¯s are fire and poison. She doesn¡¯t have anything she¡¯s particrly bad at, but she also doesn¡¯t have anything she¡¯s good at. That¡¯s a problem in and of itself.

    Michelle¡¯s mostly earth and poison. But because she has All Attribute Affinity, she also wishes to study other attributes. Since that¡¯s the case, we¡¯ll work on fire today. I also have a magic we can use for training that¡¯ll also be useful in day to day life.

    Having made my mind, I had the three girls wait for a bit while I took out three slimes and arge barrel from inside the mine. I filled the barrel with water. And then using earth magic, I created 3 containers about the size of a small pot, and distributed them to the three girls.

    ¡°What¡¯s this for?¡± [Michelle]

    As Michelle asked with eyes overflowing with curiosity, I exined their training.

    ¡°What I¡¯ll be teaching to you three today is the fire magic, ¡®Heat¡¯, a magic for the purpose of heating things. You will be using this to boil water. And these three slimes will judge the temperature of your water.¡± [Ryouma]

    I took each of the three slimes and ced them before the containers. These small slimes are known as the hotty slime. They¡¯re me slimes ¨C slimes that can use fire magic ¨C that evolved after being submerged in water for an extended period. Now, they can use both fire and water magic.

    Hotty slimes generally prefer water about the temperature of a hot bath. Most of time, they could be seen floating on water they¡¯ve heated to a level they like. Or if not, then that¡¯s probably because they¡¯ve assimted with the water and can¡¯t be seen. They look simr to normal slimes, but they¡¯re smaller and are a bit more watery.

    During winter, I can put them inside the futons to warm them up. But back when they¡¯d just evolved, they kept spurting hot water while I was sleeping, so the futon would be super wet by the time I woke up, making it really cold.. If it weren¡¯t for my resistance to cold I would¡¯ve probably shriveled up and died.

    But that¡¯s not really relevant right now...

    ¡°This ¡®Heat¡¯ is rtively easy to use. Just imagine your fire attribute magic power mixing with water, heating it up, as your magic power flows into the wand¡± [Ryouma]

    The fire-attribute magic power is concerned with heat and not with fire, so there¡¯s rtively more fire-attribute in the magic power in the air during summer time or in hot ces. In the same vein, the reason why the temperature of water can go up is because fire-attribute magic power is actually being added to it. But if you put too much magic power in, the temperature will be too hot, and if too little, then the water will remain cool.

    ¡°Which is why you¡¯ll need to control the amount of magic power you release in order to keep the temperature within the hotty slimes¡¯ preference. In this way, you¡¯ll get used to controlling your magic power.¡± [Ryouma]

    After finishing the exnations, I drew water from the barrel, and filled up the containers. With the hotty slimes beside the containers, the preparations wereplete. Once the temperature meets the requirements of the hotty slimes, they¡¯ll enter the container themselves.

    For a container this small, it won¡¯t even take the magic power required to cast a single elementary spell. The three girls were shocked when they heard that, but magic power being efficient heaters was never a joke. After I demonstrated how to do it, Elia and the others began their training.

    ¡°Not enough?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to hold back...¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Ah... I put too much in again...¡± [Elia]

    The three girls quickly learned how to cast ¡®Heat¡¯, but the control after that was difficult. The hotty slimes are hard to please, so no one¡¯s seeded yet, but the one doing the best was currently Michelle, then Miyabi, and then at thest, was Elia.

    Elia even boiled the water once out of the five times she tried. The magic power required is just too small, so she¡¯s having a hard time... And then there¡¯s also the fact that the container¡¯s about as big as a stockpot, so she really has to manage the amount of magic power put in. As various aspects of their abilities were being challenged, the training continued.

    TL Note:For those who¡¯ve voted for KmF, please note that I will be working on the series with Sylvie, and will be tranting it ording to release date. (AKA author¡¯s post order). It¡¯s the way the author intended it to be read so that¡¯s the way we¡¯ll roll.

    For more details please take a look at thestest chapter: CLICK HERE

    For Sylvie¡¯s site ¨C the trantor I will be working with ¨C you can check it here: CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT SYLVIE¡¯S WEBSITE

    Finally, please take note ¨C in case you guys think that the next untranted chapter is still ways off ¨C that a ¡°new¡± chapter will be released in the next release this Sunday. (I won¡¯t set a schedule for now as I¡¯m still fixing my schedule IRL.)

    Also, V4 STATUS END & Characters which list Ryouma¡¯s current skill and the characters introduced in V4 has been tranted. It¡¯s the chapter before this one. I¡¯m mentioning it here because I tranted it after I posted this one, after I posted this one, so you might¡¯ve missed it. Yes, it¡¯s the post before this one.

 Volume 5 - 2

    VOLUME 5 CHAPTER 2: THE END OF TRAINING¡¯S FIRST DAY

    After I gave instructions to the two teams, I quietly watched over their training. Then one hourter...

    It was time to move on to the next training.

    On the sword team, Riera managed to cut 33 bamboos, while Kanan cut 18 bamboos. The edges were tattered because of the number of attempts they needed to cut it, but with this many bamboos cut, it¡¯s more than good enough for their first time.

    They¡¯re not used to this kind of training, so they¡¯re visibly exhausted with their bodies drenched in sweat and their breath ragged. I gave them five minutes to rest, before we moved on to the next part of their training where I had them alternately spar with the mimic slime.

    As for why sparring, well... I use a katana for my weapon, so there¡¯s not much I can teach them anyway. And besides, I think what they really need right now is experience. So I figure I would just let them fight again and again to let them umte that experience. They could also learn while doing that. For that I asked Sebasu-san to be their advisor. Of course, I also encouraged them to exchange opinions as they take turns sparring.

    As soon as the break ended, they immediately started sparring. I watched their battles for a little while.

    The mimic slime is strong enough to be their partner, and the heal slimes are also there. I also forbade the use of magic and ced some limitations on the mimic slime to be safe, so everything should go well. It¡¯s still too dangerous for the mimic slime to spar with them in the same way it does with me.

    After that, I went to the magic team. They need to preserve their magic power for afternoon¡¯s training, so the training this time won¡¯t use their magic power.

    ¡°The next training will train your ability to sense magic.¡± [Ryouma]

    I prepared some wooden cups alongside roundly cut magic jewels. What they need to do is simple. They just need to find where the magic jewels in the cup are hidden. The three girls were able to do this easily, so I decided to raise the difficulty.

    I took out five cards over which several figures were drawn, and another five cards over which were nothing but nk white space. Magic jewels were mixed within the ink that was used to draw on these cards, so magic power can be faintly sensed from it. Sensing whether something is drawn over the card or not through that faint presence of magic power is their trainingd. They¡¯ll be doing this until they are able to perfectly distinguish which is which.

    This training might seem simple, but it¡¯s undoubtedly effective. The girls couldn¡¯t perfectly sense the faint magic power in the cards, so they¡¯ll have to continue this training for some time.

    ¡°Next... how about this card?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°...¡± [Elia, Michelle, Miyabi]

    ...As the girls wordlessly focused, the training quietly continued.

    After helping them train for some time, I told them to take ces, asking and guessing which card, then I left to prepare lunch.

    ¡°Hmm... what¡¯ll be today¡¯s menu? ...Ah, I know!¡± [Ryouma]

    When I entered the kitchen in the tunnels, what caught my attention was the pot of that chili-like ingredient. Maybe it¡¯s because of Elia¡¯s Dandan Noodles Pasta(?), but I suddenly thought of a dish I could use it in.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see... corn flour, minced meet, onions, garlic, cheese, salt and pepper, and other various stuff...¡± [Ryouma]

    First, I added water to corn flour and kneaded it into the size of my palm. Then I fried it in the frying pan until it was fried yellow, where I turned it over, and then continued frying it. This is a dish I¡¯ve made several times back in my previous life. It¡¯s the mexican dish, torti. A bread made from lightly frying corn flour.

    It¡¯s been a while, so why don¡¯t I take a bite off the edge.

    ¡°...It smells and tastes great, but it¡¯s a bit hard, no? It¡¯s only faintly hard though... I could still bring this out saying it¡¯s a test product, I mean ¨C after all ¨C it is softer than preserved food. Or if it¡¯s really no good, then I could make that slightly thinner crunchy thing... what was it called again? Nachos? Anyway, I could also do that.¡± [Ryouma]

    It needs to be deep fried, right? While I was thinking of irrelevant things, I stir fried the minced meat in finely-cut garlic with salt and pepper for seasoning. I also cut some flowery vegetables normally used for sds.

    Next, I turned the remaining pasta and garlic into paste. Then while tasting, I added herb, tomato, that chili-like ingredient, and mixed them together to create the salsa. I squeezed in a tiny wincy bit of lemon-like fruit juice for the aroma. The sourness of the tomato should cancel out the odd sourness in the chili-like ingredient...

    ¡°Something like this, I guess.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I made it ording to my memory, I managed to create something akin to a Mexico dish¡¯s sauce. Then I folded the tortis I was making a while ago, and stuffed the vegetables and the fried minced meat inside it. After I topped it with salsa and grated cheese, the special taco waspleted! After a quick taste test, there¡¯s still room for improvements, but it¡¯s definitely a delicious taco.

    I should make at least two for everyone in case they want more, so I made 15 all in all, then I put it all over a big te, and brought it over to where Elia and the others were.

    On the way, I dropped by the medicine room, where I took out a pill from the cabs, threw it into my mouth, and as a bitter and yet fresh aroma filled my mouth, I crunched and swallowed the pill.

    ¡°...It¡¯s bitter alright...¡± [Ryouma]

    This pill is a herb pill. It¡¯s made out of the mixture of the fragrance extracted from several mint-like herbs, and mixed in candy made out of one variety of this world¡¯s sugar known as ¡°Mumito¡±. It¡¯s a breath freshener of sort, but it can also be treated as a kind of medicine. Either way, it¡¯s great to have after eating garlic dishes.

    Every time I see this, I can¡¯t help but think of how strange ¡°Mumito¡± is... Just as its name implies(?), it really is a sugar with no taste. It¡¯s a sugar used throughout the world to help bread and wine ferment. But aside from its taste, everything else is exactly like sugar... Its color, the reaction it makes when exposed to fire, and even its caloric content. Its taste being the only thing different is a mystery, but I guess it can¡¯t be helped.

    ¡°¡¯Tasty with no calorie¡¯ is a catchphrase I¡¯ve heard before, but in mumito¡¯s case, it¡¯s ¡®Calorie with no taste¡¯...¡± [Ryouma]

    Mumito can be produced inrge quanties, making it cheap, so it¡¯s really unfortunate that it¡¯s not sweet.

    ¡°Oh, I almost forgot the time. I have to bring this for lunch.¡± [Ryouma]

    I took the te of tacos and several herb tablets, and went to where Elia and the others were.

    I set up the table, serving the tacos alongside barley tea, then I went outside, and called everyone for lunch.

    ¡°Lunch is ready! Take a break for now!¡± [Ryouma]

    At my words, everyone stopped what they were doing, and they looked toward my direction. After I invited them inside, we had our lunch.

    ¡°This is delicious.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°It¡¯s easy to eat too; just like a sandwich.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°It¡¯s a lot better than having to eat course menu.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°It seems like the kind of food you¡¯d see at a stall.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Ahh, now that you mention it it does give that impression.¡± [Riera]

    The girls don¡¯t seem to hate the food, and seem to be epting of stall food. I might add this on to the menu if I ever put up a stall again.

    And then the topic moved to the practice. Actually, it was more because I was curious, and I asked them what they thought.

    ¡°So how¡¯s the training?¡± [Ryouma]

    The first to answer were the two members of the sword team.

    ¡°Cutting bamboo is so hard, but it¡¯s definitely new.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°I have my hands full just blocking the mimic slime¡¯s attacks, but it definitely feels like a real fight.¡± [Riera]

    They seem motivated. There also doesn¡¯t seem to be any danger of them pushing themselves too hard.

    How about the magic team...

    ¡°It¡¯s a kind of training we¡¯ve never done back at the academy, so yeah, I¡¯m the same, I think it¡¯s new.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°I never thought it¡¯d be so difficult to release such small amounts of magic power.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°It might be difficult, but I¡¯ll definitely show you that I can do it.¡± [Elia]

    These girls also seem motivated, but it looks like magic control¡¯s a lot harder than they expected it to be. Especially, Elia. She has a lot of magic power, so it¡¯s a lot harder for her to hold back her strength... I should prepare them a routine they can do even back at their academy.

    ¡°You¡¯ll gradually progress as long as you keep it up, so please don¡¯t give up. Controlling your magic will also be easier as you progress in your ability to sense magic.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Really?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Being able to tell how a certain amount of magic feels... Even if you¡¯re only able to do it roughly, it¡¯ll still make things easier when controlling magic.¡± [Ryouma]

    Elia fell into a deep thought for a few seconds, then she vigorously nodded to me several times.

    We continued to eat after that. It didn¡¯t take much longer to finish everything up though. After which, the girls took a short break, then they started their training again.

    ¡°Ryouma-san, what¡¯ll we be doing for the afternoon.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°We¡¯ll continue your magic perception training for a while, and then we¡¯ll do some basic target practice.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I had them train their magic perception for a little longer, I went to the two girls of the sword group.

    ¡°Are you ready?¡±

    ¡°Yes! Please take care of us!¡± [Riera & Kanan]

    As the two girls greeted me in keigo(?) ¨C probably because it¡¯s training period ¨C I started exining the contents of their training for the afternoon. Their next training is a bit special.

    ¡°You two will be fighting against each other next, but...¡± [Ryouma]

    When I cut my words, the two girls looked at me. But almost immediately after, they moved their gaze to the small box I took out of my Item Box. Inside were several sets of thin chains and dog tags upon which were engraved a flower and a number. I took out one.

    ¡°In this afternoon¡¯s spar, Riera will have to wear this around her neck as she fights.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°What is that?¡± [Riera]

    ¡°This is imbued with a weak ¡®Weakness¡¯ curse that¡¯ll induce your body to be weak. ¡®Weakness¡¯ changes depending on the strength of its caster. A strong caster could use it to weaken his opponent to death. But the curse imbued within this dog tag is weak. The most it can do is restrict your movements.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°...So in other words, the bamboo-cutting in the morning was to train our strength. And now, what we will be training is our technique?¡±[Riera]

    Riera asked to confirm her conjecture. It seems she¡¯s already guessed my intentions.

    Fighting with this dog tag equipped will weaken one¡¯s strength. But in exchange, that person will be able to train his technique. Fighting or defending with just brute strength will be difficult, so the parts where one is relying too much on strength will be apparent. Incidentally, this can also serve as training for when one can¡¯t fight.

    This method of training can only work on someone with actual strength and an ambition to improve. Otherwise, even with this on, that person won¡¯t notice the mistakes he is making. Or he¡¯ll notice them, but he won¡¯t ept them. But Riera should be able to do it. And if there¡¯re things she can¡¯t see, then I¡¯ll just point them out to her.

    ¡°I¡¯ve always lost to Riera, but with that around her neck, I might just be a match for her.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°That¡¯s not all. If your body is exposed to a curse for an extended period. Then if your lucky, you might just develop a resistance toward it. That¡¯s also another aim of this training.¡± [Ryouma]

    Speaking of which, when I was cursed, I gained the skill, weakness resistance. That skill merged with the rest of my other resistances, giving birth to the skill ¡®Wellbeing¡¯. Thanks to that though the resistant-ss section of my status board now feels so lonely, but let¡¯s just put that aside...

    Riera equipped the dog tag, and she started sparring with Kanan.

    ¡°...My body and my shield are a lot heavier than I thought...¡± [Rirera]

    Because of the curse, Riera¡¯s movements were a lot slower, so Kanan who was still able to move nimbly was able to force her into a defensive position. But Riera wouldn¡¯t just so easily ept defeat. She carefully watched Kanan¡¯s movements, waiting for an opportunity to strike. Their sparring session continued in a stalemate like that.

    This¡¯ll be good training for both of them.

    10 minutester, Riera¡¯s tenacity finally paid off, and she was able tond a strike at Kanan¡¯s body. A narrow victory. Well, I should be going to the magic team now...

    I took the three girls of the magic team to a slightly distant ce where they could safely cast their spells. There, they did their usual routine. However, Michelle and Miyabi ran out of magic power surprisingly quick. There¡¯re some ingredients avable anyway, so I might as well prepare some magic recovery potions starting tomorrow.

    In any case, the first day of training for the magic team was finally over. Elia and the two others said they¡¯ll make supper again tonight, so I left it to them, and I went to the two girls who were still training. After we all ate together, we all said our goodbyes.

 Volume 5 - 3

    The Next Day

    ¡°The training today¡¯s the same as yesterday, so please split yourselves into the two groups before, and then begin your training.¡± [Ryouma]

    After Ryouma instructed the girls, he excused himself to make some medicine, and then he went to the medicine room. This was because Ryouma had not yet finished concocting Michelle and Miyabi¡¯s magic recovery potions.

    Ryouma tried making themst night, but after finding out his ingredients were nearing their expiry, he decided to use those particr ingredients to create the potion.

    Unfortunately, one of the ingredients nearing their expiry, the root of a tree known as tolmandor, needed to be soaked in alcohol overnight to bring out its effects. So until then Ryouma was left with no choice but to do other preliminary work or mix other medicine. Which is why, Ryouma could only make the medicine now.

    As Ryouma entered the medicine room, he went to the center where the workbench was, and he quickly prepared the tools he needed such as the pots and the containers. Then he took out a vial in which splinters of wood taken from the floor of the medicine room could be seen submerged in liquid.

    ¡°¡®Identify¡¯... OK.¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma poured the contents into the pot, filling it with the brown alcohol that had absorbed the medicinal efficacy of the tolmandor. Ryouma then added distilled water twice the amount of the brown alcohol, cooked the pot with the me slime, and then the unnecessary water started evaporating.

    ¡°I¡¯ll just leave this for a while...¡± [Ryouma]

    Next he took out two of the three medicinal nts he prepared prior, and cut them. Then he grinded them with the pestle & mortar while keeping an eye out for the boiling pot.

    As he quietly continued his work, he noticed that the amount of liquid in the pot had finally returned back to the levels before he added the distilled water, so he stopped the fire, and he took out a transparent vial from the cupboard.

    Then he poured exactly 1 liter of that transparent liquid into the pot, and then he mixed it with a spat as he added a little bit of the medicinal nts he grinded.

    Speckles of dark gray and green started to float up the brown liquid in the pot, making the liquid inside look like muddy water. He let that liquid cool down until it reached the temperature of a bath¡¯s waters, then Ryouma added thest medicinal nt.

    That medicinal nt was light pink all over, while its petals were a beautiful color of vivid orange and a hue of red reminiscent of fire. Ryouma lifted the lid off the pot, then he added this nt into the mixture. A few secondster, the color of the liquid changed to amber, and it started to shine a gentle light.

    ¡°This reaction is always so beautiful...¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma gazed at that light for a while, then he filtered it with a clean cloth, and then he called over a big medicine slime, (In the past three years, his medicine slimes grew to number 150.) who then brought with it small bottles and caps that looked much like the ones used for cosmetic samples.

    After that, Ryouma grouped the magic potions he finished making into batches, and then he filled the small bottles with the mixture he made. After the slime covered the bottles with their caps, it took them away. Ryouma and the slime continued to work like this for a while, until¨C¨C¨C

    ¡°Good! It¡¯s done~...¡± [Ryouma]

    Right after filling up thest bottle, Ryouma rubbed the area in between his eyes as he muttered that. He currently had 250 potions. Each of which was able to restore 5000 magic power. Ryouma gave 50 potions to the big medicine slime, while he stored the remaining 200 into his Item Box. Then he left the medicine room.

    ¡°Thank you for your efforts.¡± [Elia]

    The first one to realize Ryouma¡¯s return was Elia, and she called out to him while still in the middle of her practice. Following after her were Miyabi and Michelle who thanked Ryouma for the magic potions. But as it was already noon, Ryouma suggested to have lunch first. After they called the sword team over, they had their lunch.

    Elia and the others didn¡¯t want to impose too much on Ryouma by asking him to make them lunch every day, so this time around, they had bentous ordered from the inn. Of course, Ryouma¡¯s portion was included in that as well. As they ate, they talked about medicine.

    ¡°Ryouma-han, about the potion...¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Putting it bluntly, exactly how much would all those potions run for?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Hmm... I used ingredients near their expiry, so I don¡¯t think you really have to worry too much over it, but... Excluding the ingredients which were homegrown and thebor costs... The potions I made for the two of you ¨C 200 potions all in all ¨C would go for about 16,000 suits.¡±

    After hearing the cost, Miyabi started thinking. Seeing that, Ryouma spoke.

    ¡°Miyabi, you really don¡¯t need to worry about it.¡± [Ryouma]

    If they need it, they should just use it. Ryouma made sure that they knew that he didn¡¯t have any intentions of trying to forcefully make money from them.

    ¡°No, I¡¯ll pay. These sort of things need to be properly handled. Besides, 200 potions for 16,000 would mean 80 suits per bottle. That¡¯s cheaper than if I were to buy some normally.¡± [Miyabi]

    The price of magic recovery potions depends on the amount restored and the quality of the potions, but even 100 suits is considered cheap for a potion that could restore 500 to 1000 magic power. Since the market price could be thought of as equal to an adult¡¯s daily wage, Ryouma¡¯s proposed price could be said to be cheap.

    ¡°If you insist, I¡¯ll take it, but...¡± [Ryouma]

    Do you really have that much spare money? Is what Ryouma wanted to say but hesitated to. Regardless, however, Michelle was able to sense what he was thinking, so she said.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry since we made some money thanks to you.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Money?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°We betted on you back at the magic tournament. Didn¡¯t we tell you?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Not at all, actually. And didn¡¯t you say you didn¡¯t gamble?¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma recalled hearing that when he first brought the five of them to the arena.

    ¡°It¡¯s because we were seating in the noble seats. There, we could easily call for an official to make a bet without standing... One of the officials said to Elia, ¡°Betting on the participant is also a form of support,¡± and so she betted on your victory, Ryouma-dono. Although she did bet the least amount she could.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Because of that, we figured we¡¯d also bet ourselves.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°And because Ryouma-san won, our money came back.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°We also informed the official to ce all the winnings into your next match should you win. Which I¡¯m sure he didn¡¯t expect as you only use slimes. But as a result, we made quite a profit.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°The profit¡¯s good and all, but it¡¯s a bit much to waste it on just random stuff, so just take some of it aspensation.¡± [Miyabi]

    After hearing the five girls and Sebasu¡¯s exnation, Ryouma thought, ¡°Then in that case, I shouldn¡¯t insist on refusing.¡± Then he agreed, and they continued to happily eat together.

    ¡°Is it hard to make magic recovery potions? Medicine¡¯s outside my specialty, but I do have an interest in it.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°There¡¯re all sorts, and easier ones just need to be mixed in the right amounts, while the harder ones need preliminary work and will take lots of effort to make, right?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Right. And as you¡¯d expect, the more effective potions have a tendency to be harder to make. Although, of course, there are also those that still work well despite being easy to mix.¡±[Ryouma]

    ¡°How about the medicine you made just now?¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°The preliminary work needed a night to finish, but the concoction itself is easy. Unfortunately, because the ingredients it uses can usually only be found in dangerous areas, gathering the ingredients is actually the harder part.¡± [Ryouma]

    Aside from Michelle who had a medicine researcher for her mother, the rest of the girls weren¡¯t familiar with medicine, so they asked a lot of question. Michelle and Ryouma answered each and every one of them.

    Then this question came.

    ¡°Ryouma-dono, where did you study how to make medicines? Since you didn¡¯t go to the academy, then did you study at the medic guild?¡± [Riera]

    Medic Guild, as the name implies, is a guild for researchers who study healing magic and medicine. It¡¯s also the guild responsible for raising doctors and nurses, as well as providing them should their services be required. £¨There are also people who register to the guild after learning under a registered doctor or nurse.£©

    There aren¡¯t any special qualifications needed to call oneself a doctor. But in order to be registered to the guild, one must at least have some knowledge and ability rting to medicine, so the patients can be assured. It¡¯ll also be easier to manage them if they¡¯re registered. Which is why in most bigger towns, over half of the doctors and nurses in the hospitals and medical centers are registered with the guild.

    ¡°No, it wasn¡¯t the guild, but my grandmother who taught me. My grandmother was the vige¡¯s doctor and was also a researcher herself, so around that time I learned a little from her... Nowadays, I¡¯m studying to continue my grandmother¡¯s research.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°What kind of research?¡± [Michelle]

    When the word ¡®research¡¯ came out, Michelle responded faster than anyone else. Ryouma was already used to Michelle¡¯s attitude, and he responded with his usual response.

    ¡°The recreation of my grandmother¡¯s old medicines. Have you heard of the Silt Kingdom?¡± [Ryouma]

    All the girls except for Michelle shook their heads. As for Michelle, she squeezed out the knowledge she had, and she slowly answered.

    ¡°That¡¯s the ruined country, right? ording to my mother, that¡¯s the country that excelled the most in medicine. But that¡¯s about all I know regarding it...¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Then let me give a quick exnation.¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma took a few seconds to put his thoughts together, then he spoke.

    The Silt Kingdom was a small country, but because of a gue that once spread, the townsmen, the nobles, and even the royalty suffered greatly. Moreover, because the surrounding countries all feared the spread of the gue, they cut off all connections, and refused any calls for support or trade. Thus, the country drew ever closer to ruin.

    But although their oncerge poption had been greatly reduced, the remaining aristocrats and royalty of the Silt Kingdom worked hard to raise healers and doctors. Even townspeople started gathering knowledge for themselves regarding medicine. As much as possible they took care, and made preventing even requiring treatment in the first ce a priority.

    Because of that, Silt Kingdom¡¯s golden age was a time of prosperity in healing magic and medicine. They became number one in the world, both in paper and reality, when it came to medicinal knowledge and healing techniques.

    ¡°So what grandma was researching was the knowledge and technique of the world¡¯s most advanced country in medicine. Their medicine was supposedly able to not only heal wounds, but even restore lost body parts. The name of their medicine is unknown, so for the sake of convenience, it¡¯s currently called, ¡°Elixir¡±.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Could such a dreamlike medicine actually exist?¡± [Michelle]

    Half interested and half dubious, all eyes gathered on Ryouma. Being on the receiving end of such gazes, Ryouma responded as expected.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped if you think such medicine is dreamlike. After all, there¡¯s no definite proof of its existence... But there are old documents found in the ruins as well as the descriptions suggesting at their existence written in the medical certificates of the patients written by the doctors then. There¡¯s also the theory that suggests that other countries might¡¯ve heard from somewhere of the Silt Kingdom¡¯s elixirs, and attacked their country because of them.

    Which is why grandma says that the possibility an elixir or a medicine with proportionate effect is high.¡± [Ryouma]

    Even if an elixir can be made, it still remains a question whether it could actually be given to the suffering people. It wouldn¡¯t be strange for it not to be given if it is a medicine too difficult to acquire.

    Moreover, if there¡¯s a way to be cured, and yet that way can¡¯t be provided to the suffering people, then conflict might arise out of that suffering. But despite that, grandma still wanted to recreate that elixir.

    Said Ryouma as he read out aloud the note left by his grandmother and the information he got from his inheritance, while Sebasu and all the six girls listened carefully to his words.

    ¡°What a splendid person.¡± [Riera]

    As Riera muttered that, the other people also agreed.

    ¡°So Ryouma-kun, you¡¯re continuing that same research then?¡± [Michelle]

    Ryouma could only smile bitterly to Michelle¡¯s next words.

    ¡°Whether you could actually say that is a difficult question... After all, even with just recreating grandma¡¯s iplete medicines, I can¡¯t create anything else except for medicines loaded with horrible side effects, making them no different from poison.

    I also can¡¯t find a betterbination of medicinal, poisonous nts, and other ingredients to create a better medicine. Even with just improving, my knowledge iscking.¡± [Ryouma]

    The main points of her research have all been consolidated in the inheritance. If it weren¡¯t for that, Ryouma would¡¯ve taken much longer just to recreate her medicine. That was how deep the knowledge that the ¡°Sage¡±, Melia, left in those books.

    Ryouma did consider bringing the books to the medicine guild, but because of the possibility of the books being taken away to a ce he couldn¡¯t reach, he instead, decided to spend night after night, studying the contents of the inheritance.

    Himpleting the medicine aside, at the very least, Ryouma could definitely ensure that the research results and materials could reach a suitable ce before he dies. But before that, although a little, Ryouma also had in him the desire to personallyplete the elixir with his own two hands. Because of that, Ryouma remained firm on his decision not to borrow the medicine guild¡¯s help.

    ¡°Something like this can¡¯t be rushed after all... So for now, I¡¯ll just continue to store up knowledge. Looking at it long term, at the very least, 10 years.¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma chuckled as he said that, then that gentle atmosphere for talk ended. After they finished eating the remaining food in their bentou, the girls rested for a little, then they returned to training.

    Later, in the magic training after this, all eyes will gather on Ryouma¡¯s magic potion as his potions¡¯ efficacy prove to be far higher than anything Miyabi or Michelle could¡¯ve thought. But as for now, the girls were still unaware.

 Volume 5 - 4

    One weekter

    In the mines north of Gimuru, we are once again hard at training. However, the master of the mine, Ryouma-kun isn¡¯t around. He had work today, so we borrowed the ce, and are training hard by ourselves.

    He did suggest to take a break for the day, but we wanted to learn as much as we can while we¡¯re here, so we rejected the offer. Because of that, we¡¯re working hard, training by ourselves. Oh, but it¡¯s currently break time though. All work and no rest wouldn¡¯t do us any good, so we have to make sure to take ample rest.

    I drank the tea before me, then I rested for a breath or two.

    ¡°Fuu...¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°You seem to be doing well today, Michelle.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°It took me a week, but I think I¡¯ve finally gotten the hang of it. I¡¯m still failing once every five times though.¡± [Michelle]

    The magic called ¡®Heat¡¯ is really efficient. It can quickly heat up an object with just a small amount of magic power. But that¡¯s also the reason why it¡¯s easy to use too much magic power... Ryouma-kun said it¡¯s convenient since he no longer needs to go to the kitchen just to make tea, but because it¡¯s so efficient, it¡¯s actually quite difficult to use. It¡¯s a lot faster than boiling water normally, so if I could get used to it, it could be really useful. Unfortunately, I¡¯m still ways off... Still, it¡¯s undoubtedly interesting.

    Ever since a young age, I¡¯ve always been more knowledgeable at magicpared to other noble children. My grades in theory and practical ability are all exceptional. At the very least, I¡¯m top 1 in ss. It might be because of my father¡¯s influence, but somehow someway, I naturally turned out like this. So when I see a magic I¡¯ve never heard of before, I can¡¯t help but be interested.

    But at the same time... that begs a question. Just who in the world is Ryouma-kun?

    He is Elia¡¯s friend and a year younger than me. He is a master magician and martial artist, and at the same time, there is also the possibility that he knows Alchemy. He is also a slime researcher, and a skilled merchant. He¡¯s good at inventing things... These are the first things thates to mind when I think of him. I guess it can¡¯t be helped. The more I try to think of a way to ask him about Alchemy, more and more questions pop out.

    ¡°Michelle? Is something the matter?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Are you thinking about something again?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Right... I just can¡¯t help but wonder, just who exactly is Ryouma? I know he¡¯s not a bad person, but there¡¯s no doubting that he¡¯s really mysterious...¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s true. Although, it is a bitte to be saying that.¡± [Elia]

    There is one thing thates to mind though... And that¡¯s that Ryouma is actually a ¡°Child of God,¡± just like those from the legends. (?) If Ryouma-kun is actually a Child of God, then his abilities and strength could be attributed to his power as a Child of God. While that doesn¡¯t really exin anything, I could at leaste to terms with it. Also, from what I¡¯ve been told, Elia first met him in a forest where he¡¯s been living all alone by himself. That matches the description spoken of when the Children of God appears before humans.

    But the Children of God only appear once every few hundred years. Moreover, only one. Though in some extremely rare cases, two. Regardless, the chance of meeting one in this world is absurdly low. The nobles once put up an orphanage after finding out the Children of God appear as orphans, but in the end, they couldn¡¯t find any, and they suffered great losses. Some say that they even went bankrupt.

    But from that, is it even realistic to think that there could be someone with talentparable to that of a Child of God? The Sage, Melia-sama, and the Martial God, Teagle-sama... Those two exceptional people were born, so it¡¯s certainly not impossible for people rivalling the power of a Child of God to appear. I don¡¯t know how urate the legends regarding the Children of God are, but...

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t really matter who Ryouma-kun is though.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Like hell it doesn¡¯t matter!!¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Bringing up a topic, then going silent, while your brain catches fire as you start thinking a lot.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Ah, sorry, it¡¯s my bad habit again. Still, you sure understand me well, Riera. As expected, I guess.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Well, there were plenty of instances before, so... Anyway, what has you thinking so much?¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Hmm... Well, I am curious who Ryouma-kun is, but I think it also doesn¡¯t matter after all. More than that, I¡¯m more curious about his magic.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°You¡¯re the same as ever, huh? Being concerned about Ryouma-kun¡¯s magic.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°If I were to put it simply, it¡¯s the way he conceptualizes things. He¡¯s only a bit different from normal magicians, but that¡¯s also what makes him interesting.¡± [Michelle]

    For example, when he first thought us ¡®Heat¡¯, he did not heat the target with a fire made of magic, but simply focused on increasing the temperature itself. Normally, a person would immediately think of fire when he wants to heat something ¨C which, by the way, I would find perfectly reasonable.

    He also showed us several different magic yesterday, but each and every one of them were intriguing.

    Aside from heat, he also had various other magic, such as ¡®Crack¡¯, which applied the earth magic, Break Rock, to create a fissure inside stone walls, allowing him to dismantle buildings. He also had the magic, ¡®Stone Cutting¡¯, a magic that allows one to cut out stone useable for construction from boulders. Or the magic, ¡°Ridge¡¯, which controls the earth in the fields, allowing one to create a ridge.

    Those were all magic meant for either farm work or quarry work... It¡¯s true that there are certainly people who use magic in that industry, but even a magician wouldn¡¯t bother to create everything with magic. Besides, farm work and quarry work can both be done even without magic. There¡¯re rarely anyone who would purposely go out of his way to create a new magic just to do those things.

    And that¡¯s exactly why I can¡¯t help but see him as an entric man.

    ¡°You know I could actually listen to you guys forever.¡± [???]

    As I was speaking my thoughts to the others, I heard a voice from the entrance.

    ¡°I¡¯m home~¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Huh? Ryouma-kun?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Are you in the middle of your break? You must¡¯ve been training hard. (?) I finished my work earlier than expected, so I took a stroll around town, then I went back home.¡± [Ryouma]

    As Ryouma said that, a trace of fatigue could be seen on his face.

    ¡°Is there something the matter?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°A little. I dropped by the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, and somehow, I ended up being scheduled for my B Rank promotion exam.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Oh! Congrattions!¡± [Elia]

    ¡°So you¡¯ll be a B Rank adventurer soon. Congrattions, Ryouma-dono. It seems you¡¯ll also be joining the ranks of the first-ss adventurers.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°You¡¯re all going too fast, I¡¯m still a C Rank, you know.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Since it¡¯s you, Ryouma-sama, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll past the test just fine. Here, have some tea.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    The reason behind his fatigue didn¡¯t seem to only be because of the promotion exam, but Ryouma-kun didn¡¯t look like he wanted to talk about it, so no one pursued, and Sebasu-san offered him tea.

    ¡°Are you done for the day?¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Ah... I¡¯ll be resting for a while, but I¡¯ll be making food for the goblinster. So I¡¯ll have to gather some ingredients.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Then in that case, let me help.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°If there¡¯s anything I can do, let me help too.¡± [Michelle]

    The other three also said the same thing as they offered their help.

    ¡°Is it really alright?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You¡¯ve helped us a lot, after all.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Thank you.¡± [Ryouma]

    And after Ryouma finished drinking tea, the first job he left to us was to gather the mutated crops.

    ¡°Mutated Crops? That doesn¡¯t sound very good. Surely, you¡¯re not talking about the ymore corns, right?¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll gather the ymore Corns myself. You five will be handling the weaker ones. They¡¯ll only be running away when you try to gather them, so at most, it¡¯ll just be a bit annoying.¡± [Ryouma]

    Crops that can run!? What in the world¡¯s that supposed to be!?

    ¡°Sebasu-san knows the ce, he¡¯ll take you there.¡± [Ryouma]

    As Ryouma-kun said that, he used dimension magic, and vanished.

    ¡°Let us be on our way then.¡± [Sebasu]

    Sebasu-san used his dimension magic as well, and he took us to Ryouma-kun¡¯sboratory. The room was wide, and there was no ceiling. Wind would blow in freely as the sun¡¯s rays lit the ce bright... In fact, with the surrounding walls, the ce looked a lot closer to a courtyard. On the soft earth could be seen verdant flowery vines extending a meter forward and backward. There were too many vines to count, but they were clearly over a thousand of them.

    ¡°Are these the crops that Ryouma-san was talking about?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Yes, this is one of the crops Ryouma-sama mutated. He calls it, the Snake Gobo. (?) If this magical beast were to be ranked, it would be F Rank. It¡¯s always extending vines out of the ground, so it¡¯s easy to fight. It¡¯s fighting power is also virtually nil.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°Do we just pull it out?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Yes. It¡¯ll try toe back under the ground once you do, but as long as you cut at the boundaries of the vines and the roots, then it¡¯ll stop moving.¡± [Sebasu]

    As Sebasu-san said that, he nimbly caught a vine, and pulled it out. At the end of the vine was a snake-like wriggling object that resembled a tree¡¯s roots. No, actually, those ARE roots. As soon as Sebasu-san took that vine, the surrounding vines all ran at the speed of an adult human.

    ¡°They can really run...¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Ladies, please use these baskets.¡± [Sebasu]

    Who knows where he pulled it out from, but Sebasu-san brought out some baskets. We carried those on our backs, and we started chasing after the vines. When we caught one, we would put them in the basket. Time passed, and we continued to work, but...

    ¡°Haa... Haa...¡± [Elia]

    ¡°This job is really simple, but... It¡¯s actually quite difficult...¡± [Miyabi]

    Elia and Miyabi didn¡¯t have much strength, so they¡¯re having a hard time. We can¡¯t surround the vines with the six of us, so even I¡¯m starting to get tired... On the other hand, Riera and Kanan are treating this like exercise as they caught vine after vine. Sebasu-san¡¯s also having an easy time with his dimension magic.

    We naturally split the work of processing and catching. Then after continuing this process as we took turns¨C¨C¨C

    ¡°Well done. It seems you¡¯ve caught quite a bit.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ryouma-kun!? Since when did you¨C¨C¨C¡° [Michelle]

    ¡°Oh, sorry. Did I surprise you? I used dimension magic.¡± [Ryouma]

    It looks like he wasn¡¯t trying to scare me, but if you call out to me from behind, of course, I¡¯ll be scared... I couldn¡¯t even hear your footsteps too... As I said that, he lightly bowed his head to me. Then after taking a look at the Snake Gobos we¡¯ve caught, he called out to the others.

    ¡°This is enough! Thank you very much for your help!¡± [Ryouma]

    I tried counting the total number of Snake Gobo, and it turned out to total to about 400. Ryouma-kun took all those into his Dimension Home, then he teleported to the tunnel he uses as a wine cer. Apparently, Ryouma¡¯s been buying an amazing amount of liquor.

    He took barrel after barrel from his Dimension Home. It came to a point when he went past 20 barrels.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, just how many did you buy?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°I bought about 50 barrels today. The owner of the liquor shop needs some help maintaining his storehouse, so he sells these to me for cheap.¡± [Ryouma]

    Even then, I think you¡¯re still buying too much... Around this time, a bottle made out of rock that was sitting in a corner of the wine cer on a shelf caught my eye. This is also probably wine, but is there a store that sells wine in rock bottles?

    ¡°That¡¯s the wine Ryouma-sama makes as a hobby.¡± [Sebasu]

    Sebasu-san said that when he noticed me looking toward the rock bottle on the shelf.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, you can even make wine?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°I make them with a mixture of the slime¡¯s alcohol and fruit juices or medical liquor. I also sometimes make them with magic, but then the taste is a bit unpredictable.¡± [Ryouma]

    Making wine with magic!? I¡¯ve heard of people making wine as their family business, but I¡¯ve never heard of anyone making wine with magic!

    ¡°What kind of magic is that?¡± [Michelle]

    My voice clearly resounded in the tunnel, and Ryouma, having finally finished unloading all of his baskets, answered.

    ¡°It all started a few years ago when I fought against a magical beast that could use a kind of dark magic that would cause metal to rust. I tried recreating its magic, and from that, I found a way to spur the reaction to ur.¡± [Ryouma]

    Magic that makes metal rust can make alcohol?

    ¡°...In other words?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Hmm... How should I exin it... Even if I don¡¯t use magic, as long as I leave metal around it¡¯ll rust. But with the magic, ¡®Reaction¡¯, I can make it rust faster. But the only thing that¡¯ll rust is metal. Meat and vegetables on the other hand will¨C¨C¨C¡°

    If you leave meat and vegetable lying around... I know! They¡¯ll rot! So in their case, they¡¯ll rot faster. And spoge and fermentation ¨C just like medicine and poison ¨C is only a question of how the person uses it.

    ¡°So in other words, you¡¯re using that magic to ferment the ingredients and brew alcohol.¡± [Michelle]

    When I said that, Ryouma replied with a ¡®Correct¡¯ as he pped his hands.

    ¡°The taste changes with the extent of the fermentation. Sometimes, a bad odor would be left too. I¡¯ve tried out different ingredients, but the results were all a matter of luck. I can¡¯t make a lot, so I only work on it when I feel like it. I¡¯ve also tried making liquor with ingredients other than grapes...

    There¡¯re also products I was able to make well once, but couldn¡¯t make again.

    ...Even though if I included that in in the ingredients when I made it, I could¡¯ve made more.¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma seemed frustrated as he remembered something, but after that, he snapped himself back, and he talked about his magic. Apparently, there¡¯s another magic opposite of ¡®Reaction¡¯. A light magic known as ¡®Preservation¡¯ which fights against deterioration. Miyabi¡¯s curiosity was also piqued when she caught wind of the topic, so she also joined in the conversation.

    Meanwhile, the three girls, Riera, Kanan, and Elia, were quietly waiting on the side while Ryouma was exining. When Ryouma finished exining, he remembered them, and he quickly apologized, but the three didn¡¯t really mind.

    ...Ah,e to think of it, I¡¯m also a culprit. Looks like I also lost myself when the topic turned to magic. But I still have a lot I want to talk about. I wonder if we¡¯ll have enough time during our stay...

 Volume 5 - 5

    After storing the wine in the wine cer, Elia and the others went with Ryouma to a particr room where the atmosphere was reminiscent of that of a school cafeteria. As for why the girls followed him into this room, that would be because they said they also wanted to help with the cooking. In the oval room they entered, could be seen a kitchen counter at the center, and several giant stoves and iron tes along the edges of the room.

    ¡°You sure brought out another amazing room.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°I think the five of us could actually ride on this curved frying pan.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Can you even lift this thing?¡± [Michelle]

    What Elia and the other four girls were looking at were the cooking utensils Ryouma created to be used with Qi Gong. And by curved frying pan, they were of course referring to the wok. These giant utensils were made for times when Ryouma needs to create arge amount of food such as when traineese or when he needs to feed the goblins. Without paying much attention to the girls, Ryouma took out the giant utensils and ingredients he¡¯ll be using today one after another, cing them on top of the kitchen counter. After which, he then took out of the Dimension Home the slimes he picked up after he separated from Elia¡¯s group.

    The slimes he took out are as follows:

    Big Cleaner Slime x9

    Big Metal Slime x10

    Big Water Slime x1

    me Slime x10

    Mimic Slime (Transformed into Ryouma) x1

    Total: 31 Slimes

    As Ryouma gave out orders to the slimes, the big cleaner slimes washed the tools and ingredients over the kitchen counter, while the big water slimes filled the water tank in the room with clean water, and the me slimes entered the stove ready to light a me at any moment.

    ¡°First, let¡¯s prepare the vegetables.¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma¡¯s menu for the day is fried rice, Gyoza, and Chopped-Burdock Root. He chose these dishes after thinking of what¡¯s easy to make inrge volumes. After he taught the girls how to cut the vegetables ¨C Finely chop the cabbage. Cut the Snake Burdock into thin strips... etc. ¨C the girls spoke.

    ¡°Making so much food seems so hard... I can¡¯t believe you actually prepare all these by yourself.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Yeah, but I manage somehow with the help of the slimes. As you can see, the big cleaner slimes are working hard, and the me slimes can start a fire at a moment¡¯s notice.

    There¡¯s also the mimic slime who¡¯s helping me out. And more than anything, the big metal slimes are a huge help.¡± [Ryouma]

    As Ryouma said that, he took a ball of cabbage, cut it with a knife, and removed the pith. Meanwhile, a cleaner slime was cleaning a big metal slime. After being cleaned, that big metal slime extended its body vertically, and then it protruded out two tentacles from its sides.

    At that, Ryouma set a giant bowl, and he ordered that same big metal slime to transform its body¡¯s upper part into a 40cm x 30cm oval. On the edges of that oval shape appeared a row of de and holes simr to that of a ne used for woodwork. In front of which a sharp de, facing up, would appear periodically.

    After transforming, the hollowed tentacles of the big metal slime stretched towards the bowl that Ryouma had earlier set.

    ¡°With this, everything¡¯s good to go.¡± [Ryouma]

    Elia and the others looked like they wanted to ask Ryouma what exactly it was he had prepared, but Ryouma just ignored them as he ced the pith-less cabbage over the transformed big metal slime.

    ¡°Please watch carefully.¡±

    Ryouma smoothly pushed the cabbage into the des, and as the vertical de entered the cabbage, the de at the side cut the cabbage off, causing it to fall and enter the holes. As it entered the holes, the cut cabbage passed through the slime¡¯s tentacles, sliding itself smoothly into the bowl, splendidly and finely chopped.

    Ryouma continued this process at a good pace, changing the way he held the cabbage from time to time. Then in a twinkle, the whole ball of cabbage had already been finely chopped.

    ¡°Something like this... I guess. The speed changes depending on the strength of the user, but in general, slimes can be used like this to cut soft and light things easily. So it¡¯s really convenient to have a slime like this in one¡¯s home.¡±

    Ryouma puffed his chest out as he gave that salesman-like talk, while the girls reacted.

    ¡°It¡¯s certainly convenient.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t this tool look simr to the tool used to cut meguribushi?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°With this even I can do it!¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°...Isn¡¯t this technically just another application of ve demon magic?¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Does it matter? With this, everything¡¯ll be easier.¡± [Riera]

    Understanding, happiness, curiosity, the emotions the girls felt were all different from each other, but regardless, they all understood what the tool did.

    After that, Ryouma had the big metal slimes split. Then he had one of the slimes transform into a peeler, and he showed the girls how to use it to peel off the skin of vegetables. He showed several various goods from his previous life to the girls, teaching them how to use them.

    As the five girls were cutting the vegetables, Ryouma ordered the mimic slime while he was steaming the rice to prepare the wrapping of the Gyoza. After which, he started preparing for the Gyoza¡¯s red bean paste.

    What he needed to prepare were the cut meat, the cabbage, the garlic, the other finely chopped vegetables, the sesame oil, the salt and pepper, and the rest of the various seasonings he needs. After gathering all of those he took them and put them all inside one giant pot. Then he used magic.

    ¡°¡®Food Processor¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    In that instant, a small tornado summoned up inside the closed pot as des of wind whirled about inside, cutting and mixing the ingredients within the pot. This is an original magic Ryouma created, taking inspiration from the advanced magic ¡®Storm Cutter¡¯. The killing potential of this magic is certainly there, but overall, it¡¯s a magic not catered toward battle, but for cooking.

    With the help of the slimes and his magic, and even the girls¡¯ help, Ryouma did his best to make the rest of the menu.

    As a result, Ryouma and the girls cooked until the sun was down. After cooking, Ryouma ordered the mimic slime and the space slimes to distribute the food. As for what Ryouma did during that time...

    ¡°...My arms are so heavy...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°After all that, it¡¯s not surprising.¡± [Elia]

    Because Ryouma¡¯s load was lightened thanks to the girls offer to help, he decided to add Gyoza and fried rice to the menu. As a result, he¡¯s been doing nothing but shake the wok all day long.

    After this, Ryouma and the others had the remaining food for supper, then Elia¡¯s group went back home. With the fatigue from making so much food and the sense of having aplished something, Ryouma and the girls had a good night¡¯s rest.

 Volume 5 - 6

    THE MAN PICKED UP BY THE GODS ¨C VOLUME 5 CHAPTER 6: FINDING SOMETHING IN AN UNEXPECTED PLACE

    Today, the girls were once again training at Ryouma¡¯s house.

    ¡°Five more minutes!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes!¡± [Riera & Kanan]

    Riera and Kanan replied to Ryouma as the sound of their swords striking against the bamboo grew even fiercer. If it were only that, then it would be no different from normal. But mixed in with the sound of their swords was the sound of bamboos falling one after another.

    ¡°Fu, Fu, Fu, Fuu...¡±

    As for why there was also that sound mixed in, that¡¯s because Ryouma ¨C who usually only gave them advice ¨C was also cutting along with them. Unlike Riera and Kanan, Ryouma could cut at a significantly faster pace than the two. He could cut a bamboo every second, sometimes, even two. At Ryouma¡¯s inhuman pace, the surrounding bamboos slowly thinned out until eventually, only a barrennd was left.

    ¡°...That¡¯s about it. The bamboo cutting training ends here.¡± [Ryouma]

    At those words, the two girls who were whole-heartedly cutting the bamboos stopped.

    ¡°Fu... I¡¯ve gotten used to it already, but... I¡¯m still a long way off.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°No worries though, we¡¯re cutting more bamboo than before, so we¡¯re definitely improving.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Exactly, keep it up, you two.¡± [Ryouma]

    As Ryouma said that, he took some towels out of his Item Box, and handed it to the two girls. The two girls used those towels to wipe their sweat as they spoke to Ryouma.

    ¡°Still... Ryouma-kun, I didn¡¯t expect you to also train.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°But of course, it¡¯s not like people are born strong or anything.¡± [Ryouma]

    But as an otherworlder, it also wasn¡¯tpletely wrong to say that Ryouma was strong from the start. Because of that, he unintentionally spoke vaguely.

    ¡°Well, in any case, it¡¯s my first time seeing you train, Ryouma-dono.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Now that you mention it, you never really trained in front of us when going back and forth here and the magic team¡¯s side, huh?¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°You¡¯ve advised us and shown us examples of how to do things, but I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve ever seen you train. Did something happen?¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Well, the promotion exam¡¯s tomorrow, so I wanted to do something.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Oh yeah, you did say something like that yesterday.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°What¡¯s the exam going to be about?¡± [Riera]

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fighting an adventurer above the B Rank that the guild has chosen, while the guild master watches. I don¡¯t really need to win though. As long as my strength is good enough, I¡¯ll be promoted. So basically, a simple power test. It seems my opponent will be decided before the day ends.¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma exined the details to the two girls.

    ¡°It would be great if we could help you train.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Just say it if there¡¯s anything we can do to help.¡± [Kanan]

    Hearing that, Ryouma thought for a moment, then he suggested this.

    ¡°Then in that case... How about the both of you spar with me at the same time? There¡¯s a new fighting style I want to try out.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Alright.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Please let us help you.¡± [Riera]

    Ryouma thanked the two girls, then after taking a five-minute break, they left the bamboo thickets.

    ¡°What I¡¯ll be using now is abination of magic and martial arts, a technique known as: Magic Battle Technique.¡± [Ryouma]

    As Ryouma said that, he lifted his hands, and fire wrapped around them.

    ¡°To put it simply, it¡¯s the same thing as wrapping one¡¯s body or weapon with magic power. It¡¯s quite effective against undead-type magical beasts, and also easy to use once you¡¯ve gotten used to it.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°...Isn¡¯t that hot?¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°I¡¯m maintaining it with magic power, so there¡¯s no problem. It¡¯s also making use of the concepts of magic barrier. That aside, I¡¯m surprised neither of you are shocked. People are usually shocked whenever I show this to them.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°We¡¯ve just gotten used to you. That aside, can I also learn how to do that?¡± [Riera]

    With the two girls¡¯ simple reactions, it seemed this wouldn¡¯t take long to exin. Ryouma answered their question.

    ¡°Right away¡¯s impossible. Magic Battle Technique requires exceptional control of magic power and technique. And if you can¡¯t fight naturally while wrapping the magic power around your body or weapon, you¡¯ll be left chock full of openings. But that¡¯s only a matter of ¡®now¡¯. If you train, it shouldn¡¯t be impossible to learn in the future.

    I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll also be a great help for an aspiring knight, so right... I guess I¡¯ll add it to your training menu then.¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma noticed that he was starting to digress, so he moved the topic back on course.

    ¡°Anyway, what I want to try out is a fighting style that employs neutral magic. It¡¯s already been three weeks, but when I fought the five of you before, an idea came to mind. I got caught up with a lot of other things, so I wasn¡¯t able to try it out, but I think now¡¯s a good time. This isn¡¯t that dangerous of a magic so please spar with me.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Understood!¡± [Riera & Kanan]

    Riera and Kanan unsheathed their swords, and Ryouma readied his fists. As they took their distance, the battle began. The first to attack was Kanan.

    ¡°Ha!¡± [Kanan]

    As she approached Ryouma, she swung her sword diagonally down from her right. The results of her training were already showing, as the sword she swung was faster than when she first fought Ryouma in their duel. That sword of hers aimed for Ryouma¡¯s neck.

    But Ryouma reflexively took a step back, dodging the sword¡¯s tip by a hair¡¯s breadth. But Kanan expected that, and she had already stepped in, twisting her hips, and sweeping with her right sword. At the same time, she struck with her left de diagonally up. It was a two-hitbination!

    Ryouma once again jumped back to the left, dodging her attack. However, this time he didn¡¯t just dodge, he also moved his right hand toward the direction of Kanan¡¯s sword to parry her attack. Then as if drawing a circle, he moved his body clockwise.

    ¡°Eh¨C¨C¨CUwa!?¡±

    As Kanan¡¯s sword missed Ryouma, her body flipped and she fell on her back. From the outside, it looked like she put in too much power in her swings, and ended up falling into the ground, but in truth, this wasn¡¯t her fault. As she immediately went back up on her feet, Riera made her move.

    ¡°Shi!¡±

    A sharp thrust came headed for Ryouma¡¯s chest. But as if he was expecting her to make a move, Ryouma leapt to the right. At the same time, his left grabbed Riera¡¯s sword, and his right hand went for Riera¡¯s body. His body turned like a circle being drawn, and as Riera¡¯s sword was pulled down, her body was lifted.

    Thrown into the air, Riera flipped, but just before she hit the ground, her body stopped moving. As she was floating in the air, positioned to take a fall, she muttered.

    ¡° ¡®Telekinesis¡¯ huh? ...Mind putting me down?¡± [Riera]

    After Ryouma responded to Riera, the Telekinesis that held her body in the air slowly vanished, and Riera¡¯s body fell to the ground. After that, Ryouma started to exin.

    After Ryouma had his movements sealed by Elia and the others in their duel before, he started wondering whether ¡®Telekinesis¡¯ ¨C which normally wasn¡¯t used inbat ¨C could be used for that purpose. What he showed the two girls just now is the result of that, a throwing technique based on ¡®Telekinesis¡¯.

    Lifting a person up with ¡®Telekinesis¡¯ by relying on the sheer strength of one¡¯s magic power, and then mming that person into the ground is definitely possible. But that would result in needless waste of magic power. So instead, Ryouma thought to break the posture of his opponent, and then apply ¡®Telekinesis¡¯. With the concepts of his Taijutsu which he learned from his previous life, breaking an opponent¡¯s posture should be more than possible. And once one¡¯s posture has been broken, ¡®Telekinesis¡¯ should be much easier to use, allowing him to conserve magic power.

    After the short battle between him and the two girls, it would appear that his conjecture was indeed correct. Ryouma was able to spectacrly throw his opponents without even touching them once by relying on ¡®Telekinesis¡¯. He was also able to confirm that the magic power consumed with this method was far lesser than when relying on just ¡®Telekinesis¡¯. If he uses this technique discretely, he should be able to catch his opponent off guard.

    After that, Ryouma continued to train with the two girls as he practiced using ¡®Telekinesis¡¯ with the fundamentals of Taijutsu to pull off all sorts of feats. For example: stealing the enemy¡¯s weapon, stripping the enemy of his weapon, or even using ¡®Telekinesis¡¯ to wield a weapon.

    After lunch, Ryouma watched over the magic group¡¯s training as he trained his own magic. Just like Riera¡¯s group, Elia and the other two girls also asked to help Ryouma, so they ended up having a magic spar. Elia used her ¡®Telekinesis¡¯ to move the wooden scarecrow targets, while Michelle and Miyabi defended them from Ryouma¡¯s magic.

    ¡°¡®Sleep Shot¡¯!¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°¡®Earth Needle¡¯!¡± [Ryouma]

    As Ryouma dodged Miyabi¡¯s poison-type elementary magic, ¡®Sleep Shot¡¯, which had the effect of inducing drowsiness on its target, Ryouma casted ¡®Earth Needle¡¯ toward the wooden scarecrows that Elia was moving around.

    ¡°¡®Earth Wall¡¯!¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°¡®Stun Arrow¡¯!¡± [Ryouma]

    Right before the ¡®Earth Needle¡¯ hit the target, Michelle summoned up an ¡®Earth wall¡¯, blocking Ryouma¡¯s ¡®Earth needle¡¯. Ryouma immediately followed up with an electric-type magic, ¡®Stun Arrow¡¯. But just when everyone thought it would hit the wall¨C¨C¨C

    ¡°!?¡± [Elia, Michelle, Miyabi]

    The Stun Arrow suddenly changed its trajectory, and it went a long way around the wall, then hit the target.

    ¡°¡®me Carpet¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ahh!?¡± [Elia, Michelle, Miyabi]

    While the three girls were still shocked, Ryoumapletely destroyed the wooden scarecrow with his ¡®me Carpet¡¯.

    ¡°We lost...¡± [Elia]

    After the round ended, Elia and the others went to where Ryouma was.

    ¡°How did you do that with electric magic?¡± [Michelle]

    When offensive electric-type magic is casted, normally, it would follow a straight line. Controlling its trajectory slightly is certainly possible, but Ryouma¡¯s ¡®Stun Arrow¡¯ didn¡¯t just change its course slightly. It took a long way around, dodging the wall, and hitting the target from the other side.

    This was possible because Ryouma used the electric magic that could avert electric magic power, ¡®Ground¡¯. This allowed him to dictate the path of the stun arrow, allowing him to make it hit the target from behind.

    As Ryouma said that, Miyabi asked another question.

    ¡°Being able to move it is fine and all, but don¡¯t you also need to know the location of the target? [Miyabi]

    ¡°Of course, but I¡¯m able to easily pinpoint its location with my Magic Perception.¡± [Ryouma]

    Because the things of this world have magic power, and because Elia needed to use ¡®Telekinesis¡¯ to move the target ¨C meaning she had to wrap the target in neutral magic power ¨C Ryouma was able to easily pinpoint where the target was.

    ¡°You could even do something like that with Magic Perception?¡¯ [Elia]

    ¡°Once you¡¯ve gotten used to it, you could even tell what magic your opponent¡¯s going to use. For example, by inferring from the shape of their magic power, like the spear-shaped magic power of the spell ¡®me Lance¡¯ or the ball-shaped ¡®me Bomb¡¯, you can easily dodge spells with good Magic Perception. Especially when ites to nce¡¯ spells since they tend to just follow the direction of the spearhead.

    If you get even better at it, you could even tell whether your opponent¡¯s about to use an elementary, intermediate, or advanced spell, by inferring from the amount of magic power they¡¯re releasing. And if you can tell what element the magic power they¡¯re releasing is, then you can predict their next move even better, and deal with their magic even more easier.¡±

    As I added on that exnation after Elia asked me, the three girls spoke.

    ¡°So that¡¯s why it seemed like you could tell what we were thinking.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°I guess this is why you were able to easily dodge everything we threw at you then, huh?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°In any case, we should train our Magic Perception and Magic Maniption even more.¡± [Miyabi]

    As the three girls finally understood a piece of the puzzle behind Ryouma¡¯s strength, they grew even more determined to train. The three girls¡¯ training resumed, and Ryouma joined them as well. Of course, they took care not to overdo things.

    And then... evening came. After training, Sebasu made supper for Ryouma and the five girls. Then they rxed around while having some barley tea. It was here that Kanan sighed deeply.

    ¡°Fu~...¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Something the matter? What¡¯re you sighing for all of the sudden?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°We got so fired up, my body¡¯s itching all over now.¡± [Kanan]

    Although they didn¡¯t train to the point of breaking their bodies, they still trained much fiercer than normal, so the other girls couldn¡¯t help but agree with Kanan.

    ¡°They say you should have something sweet when you¡¯re tired, but there¡¯re no sweets at all anywhere. All the sugar were used up making supper.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Sweet things sure are expensive, aren¡¯t they?~¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Would be nice if sugar were cheaper though.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°If that were so, we would be able to make more things too.¡± [Michelle]

    It seems even girls are fond of sweets in this world as they suddenly started talking about them. But once they start talking about sweets...¡±

    ¡°Talking about sweets is making me hungry...¡± [Elia]

    ¡°All the more so, since we¡¯re so tired.¡± [Riera]

    As everyone chuckled a troubledugh, they drank the barley tea in their cups. A minute or two of idle chatter passed, when Ryouma suddenly started thinking of something.

    ¡°...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ryouma-san, is something the matter?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Mn? Ah, it¡¯s nothing. It just felt like I was about to remember something about sweets...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Like something you have in your house that you forgot about?¡± [Riera]

    ¡°No, I shouldn¡¯t have it.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Something you have to harvest then?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°That¡¯s also not it, I think... But there¡¯s definitely something... Hmm... It sure feels weird having something at the tip of your mind, but not remembering.¡± [Ryouma]

    A few more minutes passed after that, and the girls continued to ask Ryouma questions as he answered them. Then just when Ryouma was on the verge of exhaustion from thinking, as soon as he took another sip of that barley tea in his cup, he suddenly remembered it.

    ¡°Ah!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°What?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Wait here!¡± [Ryouma]

    As Ryouma said that, he immediately ran into the kitchen, desperate not to forget again. And when he came back, he had with him some tools and ingredients. Michelle asked him.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, what is it all of the sudden? We don¡¯t get what¡¯s going on at all, so can you exin things a bit?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°I think I might just be able to make some sweets with this.¡± [Ryouma]

 Volume 5 - 7

    VOLUME 5 CHAPTER 7: RAISE YOUR SPIRITS AND TAKE THE PROMOTION EXAM!

    What was in Ryouma¡¯s hands was a bag filled with wheat. Other than that, he also brought with him some cooking utensils and rice.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that just wheat?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Can you make anything sweet with that?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°You¡¯ve never heard of mizuame? (?) This can be used to cook, and in fact, you can give this a lick without cooking it.¡± [Ryouma]

    Elia and the others were confused.

    ¡°I guess it tastes sort of like sugar.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Hmm... As far as I know, the only ingredients used to make sweets are sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, and honey. And then, I guess there¡¯re also fruits... As for this one, I¡¯ve never heard of it.¡± [Miyabi]

    Hearing their responses, Ryouma was sure now that mizuame didn¡¯t exist in this country.

    ¡°Well, in any case, I¡¯ll just exin to you guys while I prepare it.¡±

    Ryouma lined up the various wares he¡¯d brought with him. Amongst those were two medium-sized pots with two handles, a cloth used for concocting medicine, a mortar and pestle, and several bowls. First, Ryouma filled one of the pots with water.

    ¡°After filling the pot with water, we add the grinded rice grains. ¡®Heat¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    As the wheat started boiling, the pot started blubbing and blurping.

    ¡°We¡¯ll keep this boiling until it turns into a porridge. In the meantime...¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma filled a bowl with wheat, but then he poured its contents back into the bag. Then he added it back into the bowl, and then back to the bag, and again, and again...

    ¡°Have you forgotten the amount you¡¯re supposed to put?¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Grandma made it for me before, so I can just barely remember how to make it... I only just remembered about it a while ago too, so... Well, the amount of rice should be right, but... Ah, jeez, who cares anymore! Let¡¯s just try it out. ¡®Water¡¯, and ¡®Grow¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma filled a third of the bowl with wheat, and then he casted water magic on it. Normally, he would leave this bowl of wheat and water for several days, changing the water from time to time to let it germinate, but Ryouma used wood magic to forcefully speed up the process.

    Not long after, Ryouma threw away the water, took the germinated wheat, and grinded it with the mortar and pestle. Elia and the others were still dubious, but they helped out nevertheless.

    And 20 minutester.

    The rice that was being boiled in boiling temperature finally started to lose its shape as it turned into a thin porridge. Ryouma added the grinded malt into this pot, causing a reaction between the starch in the rice and the enzyme in malt to create sugar.

    But the temperature most suited for sugar was 60 degrees Celsius. The current temperature was too high, so Ryouma used water magic first to gradually cool the rice porridge.

    ¡°Well then, shall we start? After adding the malt, we lightly stir it, and then... I hope this works: ¡®Reaction¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    Converting the starch to sugar would normally take a day, but with Ryouma¡¯s dark magic ¡®Reaction¡¯, he forcefully sped up the process. As he continued to stir the contents of the pot while casting magic, the thin porridge-like state of the contents gradually turned into liquid.

    ¡°I-It¡¯s starting to smell sweet!¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Wow...¡± [Miyabi]

    The two girls from the beast tribe had better noses, so they immediately noticed the slight change in the aroma. And just as they said, the smell was indeed sweet. Moreover, there weren¡¯t any rotting odors. But just to be safe, Ryouma still used ¡®Identify¡¯ on the new substance. After confirming that it wasn¡¯t poisonous, Ryouma filtered the contents of the pot with the cloth he brought. Then after removing any residue left, the mizuame waspleted.

    ¡°It¡¯splete!¡±

    The finished product was like honey. There was also enough to fill an entire ricebowl. Ryouma then wrapped the finished product around some bamboo chopsticks.

    ¡°¡¯Freeze¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma wasn¡¯t sure whether it was because he hadn¡¯t boiled it enough, but the resulting product wasn¡¯t viscous enough. So Ryouma had to use ice magic to lower the temperature and harden the syrup to make it stick to the chopsticks. Then he distributed it to Sebasu and the five girls. Of course, he also took some for himself.

    ¡°So this is mizuame...¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°It¡¯s made from rice, so it¡¯s also called komeame. Anyway, give it a try. First, you knead it like this, and then you let it breathe in the air like this...¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma kneaded his own mizuame covered chopsticks. causing the mizuame to turn white. As he did, he was reminded of the mizuame candies back in Japan. The mizuame was hardened with ice magic, so the more hekneaded it and the hotter it got, the softer it would be. So it¡¯s best to eat it quickly.

    ¡°Delicious! So nostalgic...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ah, it really is sweet.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°It has a unique taste, but it¡¯s not bad.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°It has a tender sweet taste to it.¡± [Elia]

    The sweetness of the mizuame left Ryouma in a state of nostalgia. The girls on the other hand, enjoyed the sweetness of the mizuame. While Ryouma was still immersed in nostalgia, Miyabi called out to him.

    ¡°Ryouma-han, since this is made with just wheat and rice, can I make some too?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Ah, right... Well, if it¡¯s just for personal use I don¡¯t mind. But if you want to sell it as a product, I¡¯d like to have some special privileges to be able to use as much as I want both for my Slime Den Restaurant and myself. And also, you should make it not with rice but with potatoes.¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma stated his conditions for a short while, but Miyabi knitted her brows when she heard them.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure dad won¡¯t have any problems with those conditions, but... Won¡¯t your share be too small?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Nah, that¡¯s more than enough.¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma isn¡¯t a merchant who specializes at handling ingredients, so he¡¯s the same as a beginner in that field. Because of that he mostly relies on Gimuru¡¯s stores and Miyabi¡¯s family to stock up on ingredients. So when ites to selling the mizuame, he doesn¡¯t have anyone else to turn to except for the Saionji Firm.

    To begin with Ryouma didn¡¯t even make the mizuame with the intention of selling it. He just ended up remembering it because of the flow of the conversation. So monopoly was thest thing on his mind. And that is exactly why Ryouma doesn¡¯t mind letting the Saionji Firm sell the mizuame as long as the Saionji Firm guarantees him and his me Den Restaurant enough mizuame to use as they please.

    Ryouma exined that to Miyabi.

    ¡°I think that instead of trying to monopolize mizuame or hiding it, it¡¯s better to continue my good rtionship with the Saionji Firm. Besides, I¡¯ve gotten a lot of help from Piero-san too.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Well let¡¯s just leave it at that. Anyway, dad¡¯s the one who¡¯ll be deciding. I¡¯ll just send him a letter.¡± [Miyabi]

    Suddenly, Sebasu suggested something.

    ¡°How about going home instead of sending a letter? Renauph isn¡¯t that far from here, so I can send you home with my dimension magic.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°Ah, now that you mention it.¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma can¡¯t overlook their training tomorrow either because of his promotion exam, so when he heard Sebasu¡¯s suggestion, he was inclined to agree. As they continued to talk like that, in the end, it was decided that the girls will be visiting Miyabi¡¯s family in Renauph.

    ¡°See you tomorrow.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Good luck on your promotion exam.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Show us your B Rank guild card after we get back, alright?¡± [Riera]

    ¡°We¡¯ll buy you some souvenirs.¡± [Kanan]

    In front of the house in the tunnels, everyone spoke words of encouragement to Ryouma before leaving. Then after everyone was gone, Ryouma muttered to himself.

    ¡°...The promotion exam, huh? Come to think of it, how long has it been since myst exam? I got one when I registered for the first time, but the results then didn¡¯t really matter... Anyway, I should move my body a bit before sleeping.¡± [Ryouma]

    What people do in that peculiar time period known as ¡°The Day Before the Exam¡± differs between every individual. But in Ryouma¡¯s case, he started training high-level magic such as the magic battle technique and shadow maniption. But of course, as the exam was tomorrow, in the end it was just light training to get his body in perfect condition.

    Although whether that training could be called light for a normal person is another story altogether. After training, Ryouma was only slightly exhausted. So he took a dip in the bath first, then he retired for the day.

    The Next Day

    When Ryouma woke up it was already almost noon. After eating and preparing, he went to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild to take the promotion exam. The receptionist, Meilin, told him he had to wait a bit, so they ended up chatting. Most of the adventurers had already gotten their requests in the morning, so Meilin was rtively free.

    ¡°Sorry, but it looks like your opponent for today suddenly fell sick, so he couldn¡¯t inform the guild in advance. We¡¯ll look for a new opponent for you within the day, so just wait a bit, alright?¡± [Meilin]

    Hearing that, Ryouma grew anxious.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind, but you will find someone, right?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°We¡¯ll there aren¡¯t really a lot of B Rank adventurers. And if we get someone strong but has a horrible personality, they¡¯ll get mad when they end up losing... You wouldn¡¯t like that, would you?¡± [Meilin]

    ¡°Well, yeah.¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma nodded as if to say, ¡®Obviously¡¯, while Meilinughed.

    ¡°Anyway, there shouldn¡¯t be any problems as long as we weed out the bad bunch. But there¡¯s really just too few adventurers who are B Rank up, especially when we limit it to Gimuru. Not to mention, how short notice this is.

    Actually, there¡¯s also the option of just subjugating a magical beast, but in the end, we still need to hire an adventurer B Rank up to act as an inspector. And on top of that, you¡¯ll both have to go out to look for a B Rank magical beast. So not only will it cause more work, it¡¯ll cost even more money too.¡± [Meilin]

    ¡°Wait a moment, Meilin-san, aren¡¯t there people who would fit the bill? Like Jeff-san or Miya-san?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Well that¡¯s true, but they¡¯re not here right now. They¡¯re working on a request somewhere.¡± [Meilin]

    ¡°Oh.¡± [Ryouma]

    Around this time, another female receptionist who looked like new hand went up to Meilin.

    ¡°Meilin-san, can I borrow you for a bit?¡± [Female Receptionist]

    ¡°Sure, what is it? Ah, Ryouma-kun...¡± [Meilin]

    ¡°I¡¯ll wait over there. If you can¡¯t find anyone, just let me know.¡± [Ryouma]

    Meilin is still on duty after all, so there¡¯s no way she could keep chatting with Ryouma. In the meantime, Ryouma decided to kill some time by the notice board.

    30 minutester, Meilin called out to Ryouma who was still staring at the notice board.

    ¡°There sure are a lot of transport and escort jobs.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, we found someone!¡± [Meilin]

    As soon as Ryouma heard that, he immediately replied, and Meilin brought him to the examination hall where the guild master, Wogan, and a pair of a man and a woman were.

    ¡°Sorry about that, we made you wait a bit. Are you ready?¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll be in your care today.¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma had already equipped his armor over his special battle clothes which were made with slime thread. A de could also be seen by his hips. Ryouma was fully ready so he greeted Wogan and the pair of man and woman, but...

    ¡°Sorry, but you¡¯re mistaken.¡± [Man]

    ¡°The person you¡¯ll be fighting isn¡¯t us.¡± [Woman]

    ¡°Ryouma, those two are healers. They¡¯re here in case either you or your partner gets injured.¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°Ah, so that¡¯s how it is. Sorry about that, though I¡¯ll still be in your care.¡± [Ryouma]

    Because of this the atmosphere between Ryouma and the pair became cheerful, but then... Who was Ryouma¡¯s opponent?

    ¡°Umm... could it be that I¡¯ll be fighting you today, Guild Master?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Nope. I¡¯m only here to observe.¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°Then in that case, who¨C¨C¨C¡° [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± [???]

    Before Ryouma could finish speaking, a voice reached him from the entrance of the examination hall. When Ryouma turned around, what greeted him was a giant of a man with an adamantite hammer over his shouoder. His pair of eyes looked at Ryouma with a ferocity like those looking at one¡¯s prey. Smiling, he walked toward Ryouma.

    ¡°I see... He certainly is above B Rank, isn¡¯t he?¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma¡¯s opponent is none other than the S Rank adventurer, Glen.

    TL Note: Mizuame if you¡¯ve never seen one: £¨This is actually neriame, but... eh, it¡¯s close enough. mizuame should just be a bit less stickier.)

 Volume 5 - 8

    Smiling, Glen walked over to where Ryouma was, and Ryouma greeted him.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be in your care today, Glen-san.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Sure, leave it to me! So it looks like we can finally fight, huh. You know, I¡¯ve always wanted to see how strong you are.¡± [Glen]

    ¡°We only happened to pass by each other. I¡¯m amazed that you actually remembered me.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ain¡¯t easy to forget a guy calmly walking through thend of death. Especially, when that ¡°guy¡± happens to be a kid. In fact, I would¡¯ve actually fought you right there and there if it weren¡¯t for my job!¡± [Glen]

    Glenughed as he recalled back to their first meeting. Seeing that, Ryouma again realized how much he liked to fight.

    ¡°But why is my partner Glen-san?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I only came here to try my hand at the arena, and didn¡¯t do any jobs, so I ended up being strapped for cash. I dropped by the guild to get a job to hunt some A Rank beast and make some money, but I ended up being dragged here instead.¡± [Glen]

    ¡°From the perspective of the guild though, we enjoy having strong adventurers work for us... Of course, I¡¯m not just talking about Glen, but you too, Ryouma.¡± [Wogan]

    While Ryouma and Glen were talking, Wogan interjected. From the guild¡¯s perspective, Ryouma who goes to and fro the Great Forest of Shurus to gather ingredients isn¡¯t that much different from Glen when ites to their achievements.

    ¡°We¡¯ll start as soon as you¡¯re ready. If you are, you can go ahead and enter the arena.¡± [Wogan]

    As Wogan said that, Glen happily obliged. As for Ryouma, he seemed to be thinking for a bit, but not longter, he entered the arena as well. As soon as both of them entered the arena, they took some distance from each other.

    Glen started swinging his hammer. Meanwhile, Ryouma did not touch his sword, but instead took out a rod with his dimension magic. That rod reached up his shoulders from the ground, and had a golden color on both ends. Other than that, it also had a faint blue luster to it. It was a metallic rod.

    ¡°Is that mythril and orichalcum?¡± [Glen]

    Glen guessed what materials the rod was made from as soon as he saw it. Just as he said, Ryouma¡¯s rod was indeed made out of mythril and orichalcum. However, it was made by creating a hollow adamantite tube first, and then filling it with mythril to serve as a stuffing. On top of that, the exterior was further reinforced by coating it in mythril, and then orichalcum was furnished on both of its end, resulting in a product much more durable than something just made out of mythril. On top of that, it also has the same effects of a wand.

    On top of the ingots Ryouma received from his inheritance, he also used the mythril and adamantite he mined himself to make other weapons and wands, but in terms of function and ease of use, there¡¯s nothing better than this staff. If there¡¯re any weak points that would be¨C¨C

    ¡°Never knew you had the same taste as those old nobles...¡± [Glen]

    ¡°Don¡¯t say it. Please.¡± [Ryouma]

    Because of its golden hue and faint blue luster, the staff looks conspicuously expensive. So despite its ease of use as a weapon, Ryouma normally keeps it inside his Item Box, only bringing it out when absolutely necessary.

    Ryouma decided to bring it out this time because of Glen¡¯s hammer. While Ryouma¡¯s sword might also be made from adamantite, making it extremely resilent and unlikely to break, the possibility for it to break under the force of an adamantite hammer wielded by someone like Glen can¡¯t be denied. Of course, Ryouma would of course do his best to dodge, but there¡¯s no doubting that he would definitely end up crossing weapons with Glen. So in order to lessen the odds of losing his weapon during the battle, Ryouma decided to change his weapon to a staff.

    ¡°Well... as long as you¡¯re able to fight, it doesn¡¯t really matter.¡± [Glen]

    Glen didn¡¯t care much about minor details such as one¡¯s choice of weapon, so after Wogan finished exining the rules, the signal to start was given.

    ¡°Are you both ready? I¡¯ll be the one to decide on the result of this exam, so please don¡¯t die. That goes for the both of you, alright? So don¡¯t try and fight with the intention of killing each other or something. We¡¯ve also prepared two healers for the two of you. They can use advanced healing magic, so most injuries shouldn¡¯t be a problem. The battle willst until one of you admits his defeat or once I give the signal to stop. Understood? Good. Then in that case, let¡¯s start the exam! Ready!? Fight!¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± [Glen]

    As soon as the signal was given, Glen bolted for Ryouma with his hammer raised. In response, Ryouma gripped his staff, tight, and took a step forward. The two weapons looked to sh.

    ¡° ¡®Ha!¡¯ ¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Oof! Huah!¡± [Glen]

    Although it was only a short cry it caused Glen¡¯s movements to slightly dull, allowing Ryouma to make the first strike. This is a small trick Ryouma thought of by applying the spell, ¡®Cursed Song¡¯. Though only a moment, the fear and anxiety roused by the spell allowed Ryouma to take a small advantage.

    But the reason he was able to take only a ¡°small¡± advantage was because of Glen himself. Whenever Ryouma used it with other normal adventurers and bandit, they always ended up showing a huge opening. Just as one would expect of an S-Ranked, he wasn¡¯t someone to be taken lightly.

    Moreover, Glen is a man who¡¯s ovee many bloodbaths himself. So although his movements have been dulled, he hasn¡¯tpletely stopped. After Glen dodged Ryouma¡¯s staff, he immediately went on the counter attack. The fierce exchange between the two fighters resulted in opening some space between them. On Glen¡¯s face could be seen a huge smile. He truly looked like he was enjoying himself.

    (...I never expected it to have much of an effect, so I just used it to take the initiative, but... It looks like I dug my own grave instead.)

    Ryouma¡¯s hypothesis was correct. People who have been inflicted by Intimidate and Cursed Song normally stop in fear. But Glen is different. To him such tricks have apletely opposite effect. Of course, it goes without saying that the spell did have an effect, but the only thing it induced was that very fear that Glen himself wanted. As someone who has fought time and time again with magical beasts, there is nothing more Glen could ask for than to have a fight with someone who could instill in him a sense of dread.

    Which also means to say that if Glen had instead not felt any threat from Ryouma, his appetite for battle would have probably been smothered. But with the current situation, Glen¡¯s appetite for battle couldn¡¯t have been any more whetted.

    From here on Glen¡¯s attacks became fiercer. In contrast, Ryouma continued attacking calmly. Because Ryouma avoided meeting Glen¡¯s hammer with his staff, the sound of wind being cut filled the examination hall.

    Ryouma focused on dodging while looking for an opening, but Glen wouldn¡¯t let up. There were some openings, but because Glen was aware of them, Ryouma couldn¡¯t make a move. If anything it looked like Glen was purposely leaving some openings to bait Ryouma, so Ryouam couldn¡¯t just rashly attack. On the other hand, because Ryouma refused to make a move and was focused on dodging, none of Glen¡¯s attacks managed tond.

    Suddenly, Glen took a step back and casted magic.

    ¡° ¡®Rock Rain¡¯ ¡± [Glen]

    The Intermediate Earth Magic ¡®Rock Rain¡¯.

    It¡¯s a spell that creates several rocks in the air to fall onto one¡¯s target.

    Because of Glen¡¯s ¡®Rock Rain¡¯ rocks of various sizes appeared in the air. As they fell down to the ground, clouds of dust whirled up as the sound of crashing filled the hall. But because Ryouma was able to calmly predict were the rocks would fall after inferring from the magic power, he was able to safely run away. After a few seconds, the rain of rocks finally came to a stop. But now, there were obstacles littered all over the arena.

    When Ryouma saw that, his brows immediately furrowed. Meanwhile, Glen resumed his attack. His hammer was the same as before, but from time to time it would crash against a nearby rock, causing the exploding fragments to hurl toward Ryouma. Moreover, because of all the rocks, Ryouma¡¯s movements were being hindered, making it hard for him to dodge.

    With his staff and his ki-strengthened body, he¡¯s been able to barely dodge everything so far, but at this rate, the situation will only get worse. So with that in mind, Ryouma passed through the gap between two rocks, and he casted his magic toward Glen who was chasing after him.

    ¡° ¡®Earth Needle¡¯! ¡± [Ryouma]

    3 thick rock needles lined up, and flew diagonally toward the ground. Ryouma wasn¡¯t the only one affected by the rocks, Glen¡¯s movements were also being hindered. So with a rock on each nk, and rock needlesing in from the front, Glen had no choice but to jump back and dodge.

    In that moment, Ryouma focused hi ki on his legs, and he bolted off toward Glen. Glen swung his hammer again, but Ryouma jumped off of his needles and hended on one of the nearby rocks that blocked Glen¡¯s movements. Ryouma kicked that rock, dodged Glen¡¯s hammer, and then swung his staff.

    ¡°Tch!¡± [Glen]

    As Glen dodged Ryouma¡¯s attacks, he realized that the battle would be much harder with Ryouma on the offense, so he swung his hammer diagonally up, and left that area with the rocks and needles.

    ¡°This is fun!¡± [Glen]

    As he yelled that, he ran. Ryouma followed after him.

    (Never expected Glen-san to actually run away.)

    Ryouma chased after him while being wary of any schemes, but before he could think of anything, Glen stopped before a rock as big as an adult, and then he suddenly dropped his weapon. Ryouma immediately understood the reason behind that ridiculous move.

    ¡°Take this!!!¡± [Glen]

    ¡°Haa!?¡± [Ryouma]

    Glen took the giant rock in front of him, and in a sh, he threw it at Ryouma.

    Although Ryouma was still shocked by Glen¡¯s disy of strength, he immediately concluded that he wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge the flying rock. So he made the decision to crush it with his staff which he imbued with the earth magic ¡®Crack¡¯, pulverizing the rock and destroying even the smallest fragments.

    However, this was the wrong choice.

    ¡°Got ya!¡± [Glen]

    ¡°!!¡± [Ryouma]

    While Ryouma was caught up with defending against the rock, Glen had already picked up his weapon and rushed toward Ryouma. Ryouma might have managed to defend against the rock, but in exchange, he left a huge opening. Glen wasn¡¯t going to let this chance pass by. He immediately bashed his hammer into Ryouma¡¯s left shoulder. Not even magic could make it in time now.

    (I can¡¯t dodge.)

    Unable to dodge, Ryouma moved his staff to block the path of the hammer, while reinforcing his shoulder, his arms, his staff, and his whole lower body with ki.

    ¡°Gu!¡± [Ryouma]

    Receiving the full impact of the hammer with his body and staff hurt, but Ryouma didn¡¯t have the time to think about the pain.

    (¡®Magic Hand¡¯!)

    ¡°Not good¨C¨C¡° [Glen]

    The magic power that Ryouma released took on the form of a giant hand. Glen noticed it, but in the next moment, that hand had made a fist and buried itself into his stomach. Then under Ryouma¡¯s breath, Ryouma muttered some magic words, and Glen¡¯s giant body was blown almost five meters away.

    ¡°¡¯Rocket Punch¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°!?¡± [Glen]

    ¡®Magic Hand¡¯ is the magic Ryouma created yesterday in the training with Riera and the others. Ryouma then used the spell ¡®Rocket Punch¡¯ with ¡®Magic Hand¡¯, resulting in Glen being flicked off almost five meters away. Both these spells rely on the application of the neutral magic ¡®Telekinesis¡¯.

    ¡° ¡®Mega Heal¡¯ ...Whew. I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d actually end up using something I just created yesterday... Well, a man¡¯s gotta do what he¡¯s gotta do I guess.¡± [Ryouma]

    As Ryouma muttered that, he used healing magic to restore his shoulder. As he wielded his staff again, he looked toward the area Glen was blown off to. From over there could be seen Glen standing up while rubbing his stomach. He seemed impressed by the fact that Ryouma could counterattack despite the position he was in.

    ¡°That one was good. Wait a sec... didn¡¯t I just break your arm? How are you still using that?¡± [Glen]

    ¡°I healed it.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°The heck? So you can keep on fighting even after being injured? Damn, kid, you a zombie or something?

    Hah? What are ya making that face for? It¡¯s apliment; apliment. You know I fought with a C Rank before, and he cried so much from the pain that he couldn¡¯t focus on casting magic.¡± [Glen]

    (Since when was being called a zombie apliment?)

    Ryouma wasn¡¯t sure what to think of Glen¡¯s pliments¡±, but their conversation didn¡¯tst long.

    ¡°Anyway, our battle ain¡¯t over yet, kid. Time for round two!¡± [Glen]

    Their battle was just beginning.

    TL Note: Chapter forstst week (orst week if it were posted yesterday). Chapter forst week on Sat. KmF is still being tranted guys. But next chapter isn¡¯t on me, but my partner. I¡¯m just making sure you guys know that it isn¡¯t dropped.

    Also, what ads do you guys find super annoying on mobile? The infolinks intext ads? The ones were something pops out of the words when you highlight them? Or the one that covers the whole screen when you enter the site for the first time?

 Volume 5 - 9

    The boulders were crushed, the wind cried, the dust stirred, and the rocks grazed upon their skins.

    Glen¡¯s hammer crushed another boulder as his hammer came swinging toward Ryouma.

    ¡°You really like to keep things interesting, huh!!!¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma¡¯s magic sent Glen flying.

    After their battle resumed, the training hall that was filled with boulders had once again changed shape, and was now an empty lot. But the flow of the battle hadn¡¯t change. Glen continued his fierce attack while Ryouma calmly defended as he aimed for the openings in Glen¡¯s defense.

    ¡°Take that!¡± [Glen]

    (¡®Magic Hand¡¯) [Ryouma]

    Ryouma dodged Glen¡¯s attack. His two hands were upied with his staff, so he used ¡®Magic Hand¡¯ to throw Glen on his back.

    ¡°Tch! ¡®Rock Bullet¡¯ !¡± [Glen]

    But right before that, Glen jumped up in the air. Then he used his earth magic and summoned a rock toward himself. He caught that rock, then he threw it toward Ryouma.

    ¡°!?¡± [Ryouma]

    Glen only threw the rock with his arms, but it was actually faster than if he had just used his magic. Confused by the sudden turn of events, Ryouma managed to dodge, but he inadvertently cancelled his Magic Hand, and Glen somersaulted down to the ground.

    Ryouma rushed up to Glen and counterattacked, but Glen blocked him with his hammer as a shield. Then with his bigger stature and strength, he pushed Ryouma away. After recovering his posture, he rushed up to Ryouma. The battle was yet to end.

    The battle between the two continued, but the situation started to change.

    ¡°Not good!?¡± [Ryouma]

    The hammer that Glen swung with all his might took Ryouma¡¯s staff with it, causing Ryouma to let go. The sound of a grating metallic sound resounded near the edge of the arena as the staff crashed into the wall. With this Glen had taken the upper hand, but Ryouma wasn¡¯t going to ept his loss just because he¡¯s lost his weapon.

    As Ryouma dodged Glen¡¯s attacks, he wrapped his already ki-reinforced body with magic power. Then as a slight opening appeared, he thrust his palm toward Glen and used ¡®Fire Ball¡¯.

    ¡°!¡± [Glen]

    Glen managed to barely dodge the palm thrust, but he couldn¡¯t dodge the fireball that shot out of Ryouma¡¯s palm. Because of that he couldn¡¯t get out uninjured, and Ryouma pressed on.

    As ¡®Fireball¡¯ shot out from Ryouma¡¯s palm, ¡®Earth Needle¡¯ shot off from the ground as he sent a kick flying toward Glen. Then right before Ryouma regained his footing from the kick, he casted ¡®Wind Cutter¡¯. When he got back his footing, he immediately rushed toward Glen again and thrusted out his palms. None of the magic he used were above elementary level, but because they were casted alongside his Taijutsu, and because of how fast and close he casted them, they were quite effective.

    ¡°That¡¯s an odd way of fighting, but... That¡¯s exactly what makes it amusing!¡± [Glen]

    Glen was forced to either dodge or parry every single one of Ryouma¡¯s attacks with his hands or his hammer. It was clear that he wasn¡¯t in an easy position, but despite that, Glen¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change. In fact, he was evenughing as if he was having the time of his life, not an ounce of distress could be seen on him. Only the joy of fighting could be seen on his face.

    (It¡¯s probably because he¡¯s like this that he¡¯s so strong.)

    Although Glen was born with a strong body, he wasn¡¯t always an S Rank. He suffered plenty of losses too. But because of how much he loved fighting, his heart never broke regardless of who he fought or how big the gap was in their strength. It¡¯s also because of his love for fighting that he was able to endure many situations he would¡¯ve otherwise not. So Ryouma¡¯s hunch was indeed correct.

    As Glen survived Ryouma¡¯s onught of magic, he went behind Ryouma, and he swung his hammer. Ryouma dodged to the right, but Glen¡¯s hammer followed Ryouma. In response, Ryouma focused his magic power behind him and he casted the electric-type magic, ¡®Stun Arrow¡¯.

    Right before he could cast his magic, however, Glen had already retreated, leaving the ¡®Stun Arrow¡¯ without a target to hit. Not letting himself be disadvantaged, Ryouma took the opportunity to use his dimension magic to take back his staff.

    A dent could be seen on his staff after having been sent flying, but it could still be used as a weapon. Ryouma gripped it tight as he met Glen once more.

    (Since he could dodge my magic even at point-nk, he might also be able to sense magic. Should I use an area-of-effect spell then? I did get my staff back, so...)

    ¡°¡¯Ice Spear¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    Using ice-elemental magic power, Ryouma d the edge of his staff and transformed it into a de of ice, then he executed a triple thrust. That ever changing staff of his could thrust, sweep, and even bash.

    ¡°So it¡¯s a spear this time!¡± [Glen]

    (You might be stronger, but I¡¯m faster!) [Ryouma]

    Disoriented, Ryouma shot a Wind Cutter spell at Glen¡¯s feet as he thrust his spear. Then immediately after, he casted his original earth magic, and distanced himself from Glen.

    ¡°¡¯Earth Fang¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    In the next instant, the area 3 meters around Glen started shooting out countless earth needles. Unfortunately, barley any of them hit. Seeing that, anyone would think that Ryouma failed, but Glen felt something was off, so he swung his hammer, and destroyed the surrounding needles.

    ¡°¡¯Earth Bite¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    At Ryouma¡¯s voice, the surrounding ground bulged and tried to bite Glen. It was as if the earth with needles sticking out of it was trying to swallow his entire being. In response, Glen bashed his hammer against the ground.

    Earth and sand blew up as his hammer descended, and rocks of all sizes shot all over the arena. But this time, Ryouma didn¡¯t defend. Instead, he attacked. With his ki protecting his body, Ryouma rushed through the earth and sand with his wind magic, and he pierced his staff into Glen¡¯s stomach.

    That blow contained in it a force strong enough to make any man faint, but right before it could bury itself into Glen, it was stopped.

    ¡°¨C¨C¨C!!¡± [Ryouma]

    What stopped the staff was the handle of Glen¡¯s hammer. Apparently, Glen had reflexively moved his hammer, allowing him to stop Ryouma¡¯s attack in the nick of time.

    To think the thrust of a staff could actually be stopped with something as thin as the handle of a hammer, as expected of an S ss. If this were a public duel, shouts of praises would surely have filled the hall.

    But at that moment, what shouted was not the voice of praise, but of the guild master.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough! Drop your weapons!¡± [Wogan]

    As Wogan¡¯s voice resounded, so did the signal to end the match. As Ryouma sheathed his weapons, he took a deep breath. The match now over, Glenughed and went over to talk to Ryouma.

    ¡°You really are strong! Especially thatst one. Man that gave me the chills. It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve had this much fun, if you¡¯re up for it, we can still continue...¡± [Glen]

    ¡°No, that¡¯s enough. Also, if this keeps up, the bill for the repairs is gonna be ridiculous.¡± [Wogan]

    Wogan informed the two with his hand on his forehead, his head seemingly in pain. When Ryouma and Glen heard that, they looked around them, and what they saw was a cracked, unevennd that had been lifted up. Countless traces of the battle could also be seen on the door and the walls around the area. The whole ce was now a destendpletely unlike that of its earlier appearance.

    (And naturally, the people responsible for this are none other than me and Glen, with my magic and those rocks and that hammer of his.)

    ¡°And so, because of various reasons, the battle can no longer continue. This duel is over.¡± [Wogan]

    Wogan firmly reiterated that, and Glen had no choice but to shrug his shoulders, saying, ¡°I guess it can¡¯t be helped then.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for today, Glen-san¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Don¡¯t sweat it. It¡¯s been a while since I got to fight this much. That aside, what about the results?¡± [Glen]

    Glen and Ryouma both looked toward Wogan. In response, Wogan spoke in a tone that seemed to say, ¡°Don¡¯t ask the obvious.¡±

    ¡°Ryouma¡¯s strong enough, so of course he¡¯ll be promoted to B Rank. Besides, if I don¡¯t pass him here, people are going to start questioning me.

    Anyway, you¡¯ve both suffered some wounds, so go ahead and get yourselves healed. I¡¯ll get the papers done in the meantime.

    Ryouma, you can go home if you want, but make sure you get your B Rank guild card from the receptionist first.¡± [Wogan]

    ¡°I understand, Wogan-san. Thank you very much!¡± [Ryouma]

    As Wogan said that, he took Ryouma¡¯s guild card, and went back into the guild ahead of everyone.

    Meanwhile, Ryouma and Glen received treatment for their wounds and bruises. Suddenly, Glen asked Ryouma his ns for the day.

    ¡°Oi, Ryouma, you free today?¡± [Glen]

    ¡°I don¡¯t have anything in particr nned, so yes.¡± [Ryouma]

    As Ryouma replied, Glen heartilyughed.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s drink! We¡¯ll toast to your promotion!¡± [Glen]

    ¡°I-Isn¡¯t it a bit too early for that?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Who cares! Besides, once we start drinking, it¡¯ll be dark before you know it! You twoing along?¡± [Glen]

    Glen started gradually putting together a drinking party by himself, even dragging with him the two healers. Ryouma was a bit confused by the sudden turn of events, but in the end, he happily epted Glen¡¯s invitation. However...

    ¡°Let¡¯s drink! Let¡¯s drink! All you bastards who want to drinke! We¡¯re celebrating this guy¡¯s promotion, so all drinks are on me!!¡± [Glen]

    When Glen entered the guild, he started calling out to the adventurers. Seeing that, Ryouma couldn¡¯t help himself but ask.

    ¡°Glen-san, weren¡¯t you having financial difficulties?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°What? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m gonna turn into a beggar or anything¡¯. I can easily just go hunt some magical beast, so the store will just put it on my tab. This celebration is for you, you know. Let¡¯s make a bang!

    For that we¡¯ll need people. Lots and lots of people! Anyway, don¡¯t sweat the details, and just get that card of yours.¡± [Glen]

    So Ryouma went to the receptionist to get his B Rank guild card. When he got back there were almost 20 adventurers in their party.

    ¡°Glen-san, can wee too?¡± [Adventurer 1]

    ¡°Yeah! Don¡¯t mind the money, I¡¯ll pay it all!¡± [Glen]

    ¡°This is turning into a banquet!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Perfect! Oh, hey, you¡¯re back. Oi, you lot, since our celebrant is back, let¡¯s go out and drink ourselves drunk!!¡± [Glen]

    ¡°Yeah!!¡± [Adventurers]

    Surrounded by a crowd of adventurers way bigger than he expected, Ryouma followed alongpletely dumbstruck as Glen led the crowd to the pub, where they all celebrated Ryouma¡¯s promotion. Many people congratted Ryouma, but they also talked about other things.

    From what Ryouma gathers, apparently, it isn¡¯t strange at all for Glen to take adventurers or arena participants out to drink. To add to that Glen also has a huge appetite, and he always pays whenever he goes out with lower ranked adventurers.

    With that Ryouma finally understood why Glen was having money problems. And immediately after, as if to further prove his suspicions, the great feast started.

    Incidentally, when the feast began, people started trying to out drink each other. So since Ryouma was already here, he figured he might as well join. Because of this Ryouma secretly gained a reputation of being a strong drinker of the likes of Glen.

 Volume 5 - 10

    The next day.

    ¡°...Is it morning... I gotta... get up.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I rubbed my eyes, I got off the bed. It¡¯s been a while since I drank so much, but thanks to Tekun¡¯s divine protection, I don¡¯t feel sick at all. Actually, I¡¯ve never had a hangover sinceing to this world.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do our best today too!¡± [Ryouma]

    As I fired myself up, a voice suddenly echoed within my mind. This is... from a god!

    ¡°Ryouma, can you hear my voice?¡± [Gayn]

    The owner of the voice, was this world¡¯s God of Creation, Gayn. Because of all the banquets we¡¯ve been having, my Oracle skill has been levelling up a lot. Before I knew it, I¡¯ve be able to talk with them without having to go to the church. So, whenever Gayn and the others want to talk to me, I use the Oracle skill. We don¡¯t really talk about anything else outside of the banquets though... Is he calling about that this time too?

    ¡°Yup, loud and clear. It¡¯s been a while since youst contacted me though. Is everything alright, Gayn?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°But of course, we¡¯re all doing splendidly. We just had a difficult job, and it was quite taxing. Everyone¡¯s exhausted.¡± [Gayn]

    His voice is cheerful, but there¡¯re clearly traces of fatigue.

    ¡°If you¡¯re all finished with your work, how about I cook you guys something again?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°We were actually hoping you would. Is that alright?¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll go in the evening after preparing everything.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I¡¯ll be looking forward to it then. See youter night.¡± [Ryouma]

    After thosest words resounded in my head, everything went silent again.

    Incidentally, although I have to go to a church to enter the divine realm, there¡¯s a church east of the mines. It¡¯s built like those famous historical churches that I saw in my textbooks back in my previous world. It¡¯s really amazing. In fact, Gayn and the others thinks so too. It¡¯s a lot closer than the church in town, so I can take my time.

    While I was thinking about what to cook, Elia and the others came.

    Didn¡¯t they go to Renauph? Are they back already? Miyabi¡¯s family is there, so they should¡¯ve enjoyed themselves more...

    I greeted them at the entrance of the house, talked a bit, then I invited them in. Apparently, it was restless back in Miyabi¡¯s house, so they couldn¡¯t get much rest. In the end, they decided to just go back after an overnight stay.

    ¡°That aside, we bought you some souvenirs.¡± [Miyabi]

    Oh, right. They did mention about buying me some.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± [Ryouma]

    As I said that, Miyabi and Sebasu-san nced at each other. Then Sebasu-san took out a bag as big as a watermelon from his Item Box. And then, as if Miyabi was waiting for me to ask, she answered.

    ¡°This is a Milequilis Fruit.¡± [Miyabi]

    Milequilis... I¡¯ve never seen nor eaten one, but I have heard of it. If I recall correctly, this fruit is...

    ¡°Is this the famed Milequilis Fruit that¡¯s delicious but hard to cultivate and quick to spoil?¡± [Ryouma]

    Miyabi nodded, then she took out a fruit from the bag. The fruit was as rough as a pineapple and as big as a basketball. It feels hard, and it seems to be hollowed in just one spot. This fruit grows from trees, so this hollow spot is probably where the calyx used to be.

    ¡°Thanks. I like it.¡± [Ryouma]

    Since it spoils fast, I should probably go ahead and use the light magic ¡®Preservation¡¯... Good. It¡¯s too much to eat by myself, so I guess I¡¯ll cut it for lunch, and serve it as dessert.

    As I was thinking that, Miyabi spoke.

    ¡°There¡¯s still more, ya know! Next up¨C¨C¡° [Miyabi]

    There¡¯s more?

    ¡°This one¡¯s from my dad.¡± [Miyabi]

    As Miyabi said that, this time she took out a rectangr wooden box that looked heavy. It was stuffed full of meguribushi.

    ¡°Oh, so this is a part of the payment for the production of the mizuame.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ya did say that you wouldn¡¯t mind us making and using them in the store, so dad wants me to tell you that we¡¯ll be stocking up on ¡®em to study. We¡¯re looking forward to work with the Saionji Firm from here on.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Not at all. It¡¯s my pleasure.¡± [Ryouma]

    Being able to get meguribushi for so little is so awesome! But while I received the box of meguribushi, the souvenirs weren¡¯t done just yet. Elia and the others still had a mountain more to give me. Most of them were food and imported clothes though. I¡¯m not that particr about my clothes, but these clothes were imported from the dragonewt vige, and looked like nagajuban, kinagashi and samue. These¡¯re seriously some good stuff.

    When I told the girls that I liked their presents, their faces blossomed into smiles. Apparently, they had a hard time deciding what to buy in just one day.

    When you think about it, Renauph is close enough to teleport too, so these aren¡¯t really souvenirs, but things that I could enjoy or use. I should happily wear these.

    After I received all of their souvenirs, Elia and the others resumed their training in full spirits. Then after checking up on their training, I went to prepare lunch.

    ¡°Ryouma-san, aren¡¯t you making too much?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°I¡¯m going to be meeting up with some acquaintancester evening, so there¡¯s quite a bit.¡± [Ryouma]

    Elia¡¯s curiosity was piqued seeing all of the food, but she didn¡¯t pursue the matter any further, and she asked about my promotion exam instead. Whew, good thing she didn¡¯t ask. If she went ¡°Acquaintance? From where? And who?¡± I¡¯d be really troubled.

    After eating, we had the Milequilis for dessert. I asked Sebasu-san how to cut it.

    ¡°First cut it in half, then hollow out the seeds inside. After that, just cut it, and distribute.¡± [Sebasu]

    ...Is what he said. I guess it¡¯s no different from cutting melon.

    Following Sebasu¡¯s advice, I reinforced my kitchen knife with ki, then I effortlessly cut the Milequilis in two, causing white liquid to gush out. At that, an intoxicating sweet smell suddenly filled the room. It probably seeped outside too. Can a fruit really emit this sort of fragrance?

    ¡°This fragrance is proof that it¡¯s ready to eat. When it¡¯s still too raw or too ripe, the fruit won¡¯t emit this smell.¡± [Sebasu]

    As I listened to Sebasu-san¡¯s exnation, I removed the crescent-moon-shaped seeds from the two halves, then I cut them into portions. After that, Sebasu-san distributed them across different tes.

    ¡°Well then, it¡¯s time to serve.¡± [Sebasu]

    I took a bite... In that instant, the fragrant earlier ago spread within my mouth, and the fruit¡¯s juices overflowed. I don¡¯t¡¯ really get the taste, but it¡¯s like a mixture of various fruit juices.

    As I ate, everyone else started eating. It was delicious, and everyone ate with relish. Apparently, the Milequilis Fruit is rare even amongst nobles, so everyone happily ate.

    After eating, the training in the afternoon was cancelled, and the girls helped me prepare the food for the banquetter evening instead. They said it was to improve their cooking, but either way, it¡¯s a huge help for me.

    I put the food we made into a magic box, then I stored it in my Item Box. After Elia and the others went home, I went to the church East of my house.

    Stone columns stood in a row, and in between was arge b of rock for a wall. As soon as I passed through the entrance of the temple, I found myself in the chapel. This whole ce could amodate about 200 people, but aside from me, barely anyone everes here. Directly opposite the entrance could be seen an altar and a pedestal, as well as some statues shaped after the gods lined up.

    The moment I stood in front of the altar, that familiar light immediately shone, and I closed my eyes. It seems they¡¯ve been waiting. When the light ceased, I opened my eyes, and I found myself standing in that white space. The room wasn¡¯t empty. There was a table and some chairs. And more importantly, there were plenty of familiar faces.

    ¡°We¡¯ve been waiting, Ryouma! Take out those snacks!¡± [Tekun]

    ¡°Can¡¯t you wait for a bit?¡± [Fer Noevir]

    As soon as I appeared in the room, Tekun immediately asked for the snacks, leading him to meet Fel Noevir¡¯s rebuke.

    All the gods I know are present. Even the one who¡¯s usually absent, Fer Noevir, is here. As for why he¡¯s usually absent, it might be because he¡¯s bad at rowdy stuff like this.

    ¡°Long time no see~¡± [Kufo]

    ¡°Sorry for always troubling you.¡± [Gayn]

    ¡°Gayn, Kufo, it¡¯s been a while. Everyone seems to be here today.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°We just finished an important job, after all. Everyone wants to rx.¡± [Rurutia]

    Speaking of important jobs... there¡¯s only one thing thates to mind...

    ¡°Did you figure it out?¡± [Meltrize]

    ¡°The Demon King¡¯s Fragments?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Precisely.¡± [Meltrize]

    The goddess of sleep and death, Meltrize, spoke. She¡¯s always somewhere near every time I notice her presence... Well, I¡¯ve gotten used to it already though. That aside, they were apparently still looking for them. I¡¯ve heard them finding those fragments so many times, so I thought they found them all already.

    ¡°This time, we found three.¡± [Grimp]

    ¡°That many?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Two were at the bottom of the sea. One was underground. There are more elsewhere too. He sure hid them well.¡± [Grimp]

    ¡°That guy¡¯s body burst and scattered a lot when we were fighting him. Shouldn¡¯t have let him. That just gave him a chance to hide himself.¡± [Kirilel]

    This time the God of Farming, Grimp, and the God of War, Kirilel, spoke. Erm, wait... So, you guys made the demon king blow up several times? I¡¯m impressed he managed to run away... If a human were in his shoes, he would¡¯ve died long ago.

    Apparently, the demon king¡¯s power seems to be hidden. But on top of that, because they¡¯re just fragments, their power is weak. And with all the magic power all over the world, it¡¯s like looking for a needle in a haystack. As a result, they end up taking a lot of effort just to find one to destroy.

    ¡°That¡¯s not all. The power to extinguish a fragment is really dangerous, so the surrounding area ends up being destroyed. So, we have to keep it in check to ensure that we do as little damage to the ecosystem as possible. We also have to monitor the area afterwards.¡± [Kirilel]

    ¡°The point is that it¡¯s really exhausting, so it makes us want to drink.¡± [Grimp]

    ¡°Makes sense... Here, more snacks.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Thanks.¡± [Grimp]

    This time the Goddess of Land, Willieris, changed the topic, and Kufo joined in.

    ¡°That¡¯s enoughining, you guys.¡± [Willieris]

    ¡°Right, right. By the way, Ryouma, what have you been up totely? We didn¡¯t have the time to watch recently, so we¡¯re a bitte on the happenings.¡± [Kufo]

    The gods all looked at me as I recounted my time in the magic beast tournament and with Elia¡¯s group. The topic this time was a lot more cheerful.

    ¡°Oh? So, you¡¯re teaching those girls now?¡± [Willieris]

    ¡°Yes, everyone¡¯s doing really well. For example¨C¨C¡° [Ryouma]

    I happily talked about my time alone and with the girls¡¯ training. I even had a ss in one hand and snack in the other as I talked, but there¡¯s a limit to how long I can stay here.

    ¡°It¡¯s almost time.¡± [Meltrize]

    ¡°Already?¡± [Grimp]

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s continue this next time. I think you¡¯ll have more stories to tell us then.¡± [Kirilel]

    ¡°I look forward to it.¡± [Tekun]

    Meltrize reminded us of the time, so we started to end the banquet. After we finished, the light shone again. Suddenly, however, Willieris handed a map to me.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, you¡¯re already free from thest fragment, right?¡± [Willieris]

    This is a map of Troll Canyon... That¡¯s the canyon where the Execution Grounds is located, the ce where I found the fragment. On the map, there¡¯s a point that shows where I can excavate magic jewels.

    Ever since I took the demon king¡¯s fragment from the canyon, all the magic power that was being sucked by it spilled into the surroundings, resulting in an explosive increase of undead-type magical beast. Magic jewels have also be a lot moremon. With this map, I¡¯m guaranteed to find a lot of jewels.

    It¡¯s a map from the Goddess of Land herself after all. Naturally, the number of magic jewels you could find with it would be way over the top aspensation for some food. I didn¡¯t really know what else to say, so I just gratefully epted it.

    ¡°Thank you very much. I¡¯ll gather some when I go out to feed the grave slimes.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind it. We¡¯ll ask you to prepare a banquet for us again, so set those aside for the food costs then.¡± [Willieris]

    ¡°Sure. Then, until next time.¡± [Ryouma]

 Volume 5 - 11

    The days passed and the girls¡¯ training never ceased just as the people hustled about their daily lives. Until finally, a month passed. Countless researchers dropped by during the time, pestering us to no end about the slime research.

    Fortunately, Director Paul was able to handle them. There were some pushy ones, sure. But Paul says they¡¯re still way easier than his old superiors back at his oldb. I don¡¯t know whether he enjoyed his time there or not, but he certainly learned a lot.

    Oh, speaking of which, it¡¯s actually been awhile since Ist showed my face at theb. But then again, I was never really one to show my face much because of my adventurer work. And they would just send me a letter whenever there¡¯s a problem, so I guess it¡¯s not really anything new. I would just end up drowned in proposals if I show my face anyway, so I guess it¡¯s best that I keep my distance for now.

    Recently, more and more people have been wanting to work at theb. Apparently, they caught wind of ourb¡¯s favorable amodation from the employees when they ate together during their visit.

    We were actually already expecting people to apply since we knew the slime research would inevitably lead to people gettingid off, and have already made preparations, but the turnout was much more than what we could¡¯ve expected. Hiring is a delicate process. We can¡¯t just carelessly hire people, we also have to watch out for corporate spies. Because of that, applicants have to work at theundromat first, where they¡¯re monitored for any unusual behavior. After which, they are then ran through some further background checks.

    In the process, some people end up just working in theundromat instead, being fully content there, and no longer pushing to apply for theb. Regardless, the sudden influx of new workers resulted in us abruptly opening a new branch.

    The girls¡¯ training is going splendidly too. They¡¯re getting better and better by the day.

    Elia can now consistently use the advanced fire magic ¡®Fire Storm¡¯, and she¡¯s also learned a plethora of other fire and ice spells. She¡¯s particrly skilled at ¡®me Carpet¡¯. She¡¯s also gotten much better at Magic Maniption.

    Miyabi also specializes at fire magic, but she¡¯s also able to handle poison magic. She¡¯s been training her advanced spells along with my originals for both, but it seems she¡¯s more interested in poison than fire. Well, she is going to be a merchant, so I guess it¡¯s not really surprising that she¡¯d favor something more practical. If we have time, I¡¯d like to teach her ¡®Antidote¡¯.

    Kanan¡¯s reactions have improved a lot. She¡¯s now much better at dodging, and her attacks are a lot heavierpared to before. Sometimes when she has the time, she also teaches me how to make essories.

    Riera¡¯s also doing well, Usually, she¡¯s either sparring with Kanan against me or against the slimes. And I don¡¯t mean with just one kind of weapon, but every kind from swords to spears, to staves, to daggers, and even hand-to-handbat. Her improvement is really amazing. Especially when ites to gauging distances and her defense. I guess having her fight against a gloop of slimes, and against my underhanded tricks really polished her defense. We should probably start some livebat soon... Well, I¡¯ll talk to Sebasu about it.

    As for Michelle, her growth¡¯s the most varied of the lot. She¡¯s been studying so many things after all, like Alchemy, for example.

    Apparently, she¡¯s had her suspicions about my identity as an Alchemist for a long time now, but just didn¡¯t know how to bring it up due to the nature of the subject. So, when I made a passing remark about how I could use Alchemy, she jumped at me like a hungry shark.

    I don¡¯t know about other alchemists, but the only reason I keep quiet is to keep away from strange looks. So, when ites to people who don¡¯t mind or people I can trust, I don¡¯t mind showing off one bit. Besides, Serge-san, Granny Gri, and the members of the Jamil family already know about it.

    In any case, the point is Michelle ended up studying Alchemy, among other things... Not that there was much to teach or anything. Aside from the magic formation and its effects, the only other things I could teach were the chemical elements from my previous life, and the basic precautions one should take. Michelle had a lot of questions after the lesson, but I was able to fool her by saying, ¡°What I¡¯ve taught you are the basics of Alchemy. From here on out, you should look for the answers yourself.¡±

    Michelle also often converses with me regarding my original magic. In fact, even now...

    ¡°Picking up fromst time, Ryouma, I think you¡¯re needlessly oveplicating your magic. For example, ¡®Dig Tornado¡¯ uses the elements: Earth, Wind, and Water. That¡¯s three elements, you know? There¡¯s not many people who could cast that. Considering what you¡¯re trying to achieve with the spell, don¡¯t you think just earth and wind is enough?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Water is needed to keep the dust under control when digging.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°If it¡¯s just about managing the dust, then isn¡¯t having another water magician use water magic to spread water enough?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°It¡¯s not enough, and if youbine the spell with ¡®Hardening¡¯¨C¨C¨C¡°

    ¡®Dig Tornado¡¯ is one of the construction magic I used in the tunnels. When casted, it gives off the image of water and rain swirling together to shave boulders and rocks to create a valley. With the earth magic ¡®Break Rock¡¯ it¡¯s a magic made specifically to dig. Things get quite dusty in the process, so the water element is needed to keep them down.

    I¡¯ve beening up with new magic to aplish my tasks more efficiently, and one of the spells I came up with was exactly this ¡®Dig Tornado¡¯. With this I can efficiently dig holes, and even shallow ones without dirtying myself. When you add ¡®Hardening¡¯ on top of all that, the walls of the dug hole can even be strengthened at the same time. As a result, it¡¯s efficiency is no less than that of tunnel boring machines.

    But because it¡¯s a three-element spell, most magicians won¡¯t be able to cast it. Which is why Michelle¡¯s been wondering whether or not there¡¯s a way to simplify it into a two-element spell.

    It¡¯s a difference in priorities. Well, we both understand where the other ising from, so...

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you two have some tea first?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Ah, t-thank you.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Being eager is good and all, but it¡¯s already afternoon, you know?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°I know. Anyway, as I was saying, Ryouma¨C¨C¨C¡° [Michelle]

    ¡°Sigh... I wonder if she really understands... Then again, it¡¯s just as usual.¡± [Elia]

    We tend to lose track of time when talking like this, so there¡¯ve been times when we were scolded by Elia and the others. I wonder why she came this time? Was it just to bring the tea? Or is she perhaps trying to remind us not to forget lunch? Well, whatever.

    As I was thinking to myself, I saw Elia off. Speaking of which, they just randomly helped me whenever I cooked before, but recently, they¡¯ve put together a proper schedule for cooking duty.

    After seeing Elia off and a short moment of pondering, I went back to my conversation with Michelle.

 Volume 5 - 12

    After lunch.

    After eating, I consulted with Sebasu about what I was thinking about a while ago.

    ¡°I see, livebat training... It¡¯s certainly a good way to see their actual strength, but the bigger question is who they¡¯ll be fighting against.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°The magical beasts around this area are really weak... More and more people have also been frequenting the area to hunt, so I think we¡¯ll have to first find a good hunting sp¨C¨C Huh?¡± [Ryouma]

    It seems we have a visitor.

    Elia and the others noticed that we¡¯ve stopped talking.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Someone came. It¡¯s probably Rheinbach-sama.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Grandfather?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°It could be anyone, I mean the guy didn¡¯t even make an eek... Wait a moment, how did you know someone came?¡± [Riera]

    Simple, because the slimes I¡¯m contracted to contacted me. And by ¡°contact¡±, I mean they told me someone came. That¡¯s about the most we canmunicate with each other. But while it could certainly be anyone, considering there are flying beasts at the airpad ¨C ording to the slimes there ¨C then it¡¯s probably Rheinbach-sama.

    The airpad is fully functional with the tower and gs formunicating, but as far as I know, only Rheinbach-sama can use those.

    ¡°There¡¯s an area here in the mines rarely frequented by people where tree slimes live. They can¡¯t move, but I canmunicate with them like with the other slimes, so I¡¯ve ordered them ahead of time to inform me when someonees.

    Also, because they can¡¯t move and look no different from other normal trees, no one will notice them. Other than the tree slimes, there¡¯re also the stone slimes that look like stones, and the weed slimes that hide in the surrounding greeneries.¡± [Ryouma]

    The tree and stone slimes arepletely indistinguishable from normal trees and stones. And the weed slimes aren¡¯t just useful for watching the house, but also for camouge. After I turn one into a big variant, I can have it wrap itself around me to act as a Ghillie suit. I can also order it to eat the weeds in the fields, effectively removing them for me. I¡¯ll need to be careful though, or I¡¯ll find myself growing lots of weeds. But aside from that, the weed slime is a really useful slime.

    ¡°A slime again? Ryouma-kun, just how many slimes are you raising?¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°It¡¯s cause I also end up raising the slimes that are hard to raise from theb. They research them first, then when they¡¯re done, I take them back home with me. The tree slimes, the stone slimes, and the weed slimes, are examples of that.¡±

    I mentally counted the slimes I have with me.

    ¡°Most of it are made up of the scavenger slimes and the grave slimes, but it¡¯s currently about 50,000 slimes.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I¡¯m impressed you were actually able to contract that many.¡± [Elia]

    Elia muttered to herself in a fed-up tone.

    Well, it is a bit much, I suppose.

    ¡°And just so you know, me being able to tame this many magical beasts is limited just with slimes.¡± [Ryouma]

    Although it barely even mattered at this point, I followed up with that anyway, and then we headed for the airpad. When we got there, waiting for us was Rheinbach-sama¡¯s Ignis Dragon, as well as the person himself.

    Hmm? I can sense someone else in here... But because of the Ignis Dragon, I can¡¯t see him... Is it another butler?

    As I was thinking that to myself, Elia approached Rheinbach-sama.

    ¡°Grandfather!¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Oh, if it isn¡¯t Elia, it¡¯s been a while, hasn¡¯t it? I heard you¡¯ve been practicing at Ryouma-kun¡¯s ce. How is it?¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°It¡¯s been going splendidly, Grandfather. I can use a lot more spells now including Firestorm.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°I see, I see. Ryouma-kun, thank you for taking of my granddaughter. And sorry for the sudden visit.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Not at all, you¡¯re wee anytime, Rheinbach-sama. But why all of the sudden? Normally, you¡¯d contact me first...¡± [Ryouma]

    At that moment, a certain familiar female voice reached my ears.

    ¡°Rheinbach-chan had nowhere to go.¡± [???]

    When I turned toward the source of that voice, two familiar faces appeared by the shadow of the Ignis Drago. They were none other than the royal court magician, Remiri-san, and the former knightmander, Shiva-san.

    ¡°Long time no see~ Ryouma-chan, Elia-chan.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Remiri-oneesama!¡± [Elia]

    Elia¡¯s shocked too... Wait, does she know Remiri-san? Oh,e to think of it, I do recall hearing something about that before... Or rather, it seems Remiri-san is having her call her ¡®onee-san¡¯ too. She¡¯s given up on me ever calling her that though.

    ¡°Remiri-neesan, Shiva-san, it¡¯s been a while. Are you doing well?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Of course, I take care of my health, and any injuries hear in no time at all.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°We¡¯re having the time of our lives adventuring all over.¡± [Remiri]

    Shiva-san became an adventurer after our time in the Town of Departed Spirits. He knew he was still plenty strong despite his age, but he couldn¡¯t go back to being a knight anymore as he¡¯s already once retired from being a knightmander. So, he became an adventurer instead.

    Well, actually, he was asked if he wants toe back, but since he wanted to fight in the frontlines, he turned them down. Besides, if he were to go back there and do the same work he did before, he might end up depressed again...

    So, he and Remiri-san became adventurers... Or wait, actually, Remiri-san was an adventurer to begin with. Only, she stopped being one after bing a royal court magician, so in her case, it¡¯s more of a reinstatement than a new job. In any case, because of their history and strength, they were both made S Ranks. And they spend their time travelling and adventuring all over the world.

    To be more specific, they¡¯re travelling around the world while lending a helping hand to those in need. I¡¯ve also coincidentally met them several times.

    After we went inside and talked, I found out that the Jamil Family has been very busy because of the tamer guild incident with Matthew.

    ¡°It¡¯s because I reacted fast.¡± [Rheinbach]

    It seems he¡¯s had his eye on them for a while now due to their recent behavior. So, as soon as Matthew was apprehended, they went straight to the tamer guild. Apparently, they were already warned that if something were to happen again, they would be investigated even by force. Of course, that was never mentioned officially, so I never knew about it.

    And apparently, because of how urgent the situation is now, Rheinbach-sama had to ride his dragon to deliver the order and report of the current head, Rheinhart-san, as soon as possible.

    Seeing as how Rheinhart-san has his hands full dealing with the aftermath, it would seem that Rheinbach-sama haspletely passed the baton, and is now a full retiree. Shiva-san and Remiri-san went to visit him. And Rheinbach-sama figured that they should go out.

    ¡°Going out is great and all, but there¡¯s just nowhere to go. So, I thought I¡¯d drop by your ce, and take a look at my granddaughter.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°I see. As I said before, you¡¯re wee anytime. If you¡¯d like, please see for yourselves just how much Elia¡¯s grown.¡± [Ryouma]

    In other words, it¡¯s a parent observation day. Sebasu-san¡¯s always here, so he doesn¡¯t count, but... With Rheinbach-sama, I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll feel a bit more nervous.

    Speaking of which, while we were talking like this, 4 of the girls could be seen visibly jittering. Riera was especially nervous. In fact, she was so nervous, she stood attention and stammered when Shiva-san called her.

    Then after Shiva-san heard herst name, it turned out that he¡¯s apparently familiar with her father and her 2 siblings. He praised them and encouraged Riera, and she cried tears of joy.

    Then after seeing the girls¡¯ progress, everyone including Shiva-san and Remiri-san, were impressed. And they decided to teach the girls too. Remiri-san taught the magic group, while Shiva-san went to teach the sword group. That fired the girls up even more.

    I know it¡¯s for their sake, but... I should go make sure they don¡¯t push themselves too much. Especially, Riera, as she¡¯s way too fired up.

    After I discussed my ns for livebat training with the three others who arrived today, we decided to hold it in Trail Canyon. Zombies are magical beasts in the shape of humans, so with them as their partners, they¡¯ll be able to practice both anti-personnel and anti-beast fighting styles. And with the help of my grave slimes, finding enemies will be a cinch. The whole trip will be a lot safer too.

    Well, with that, I found myself a great opportunity to find some feeds for the grave slime and to pick up the gods¡¯pensation for all the food. Gonna need to do a lot of preparations though. Things are about to get busy again.

    TL Note: Sorry for all the dys, and thank you for being patient.

    In any case, regr releases for TMPG is back again. At least 1 chapter a week will be released, and it will be posted either on SAT or SUN.

    Also, Trail Canyon is the Troll Canyon in the past. I must¡¯ve misread it.

 Volume 5 - 13

    VOLUME 5 CHAPTER 13

    The Next Day.

    After deciding that the girls¡¯ livebat practice would be against the undead, I started making preparations for our trip to Trail Canyon. Because of that I¡¯ve been making medicine since this morning but because there were so many, I still haven¡¯t finished yet despite already being past afternoon.

    ¡°Rai, I¡¯m filling up the next batch.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Kyuhon.¡± [Rai]

    In front of me was a giant saucer on top of which was a giant mortar, and on that mortar¡¯s side was a metal rod connected to Rai.

    I¡¯m standing on the crane situated above that. A simple crane looks exactly like the nks seen in movies that pirates use to push people out of the ship. Anyway, I took a pot full of cut and dried centipedes, and threw it into the mortar. Rai started grinding that down, and I went to prepare the next batch.

    The sound of grinding and knife chopping filled the room. Their sounds rang together at a steady pace. Gradually, the knife slowed down, until eventually, it finally stopped. A monotonous job, but it¡¯s not bad.

    It was then that Riera, Kanan, and Shiva-san came.

    ¡°Ryouma-dono, we got that thing you asked us.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°We¡¯ve already brought it to theb.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Thank you.¡± [Ryouma]

    The girls said they¡¯d help out during their spare time, so I asked them to pick out some stuff for me.

    More specifically, I asked them to gather the moss and the mold of the moss slimes and the mold slimes growing in a room in the tunnels. They like ces that are dark and damp, so I¡¯m raising them there where it¡¯s dark and has plenty of magic power. In exchange, they can grow me lots of blue molds and slimy luminous moss.

    Once I finish filling five barrels of pulverized centipede, I¡¯ll go work with those. These centipedes are big and hard, and even small ones would take an adult some time, so it¡¯s going to take a while.

    It wasn¡¯t until it was almost evening when I finished pulverizing the centipedes. Before taking the barrels of powdered centipede, I thanked Rai by feeding him some hay and branch from the tree slimes, then I went to theb.

    ¡°I should... start with the easier one first.¡± [Ryouma]

    I picked out the barrels full of blue mold from the barrels at the corner of the room, and used Alchemy to separate it into itsponents, and produce penicillin.

    Penicillining from blue mold ismon sense back in my previous world. I used Alchemy again, and¨C¨C

    ¡°It¡¯s done! All the penicillin I need, and I barely broke a sweat.¡± [Ryouma]

    Normally, it¡¯d take a lot more knowledge and work to make one, but with Alchemy, everything bes so much easier. Although, finding the right mold took a while since they all look simr.

    Oh, don¡¯t get me wrong, I¡¯m notining or anything. In fact, easy work is great since it¡¯s convenient, but the God of Magic, Fer Noevir, doesn¡¯t seem to like Alchemy. I think it¡¯s because Gayn just randomly made it up. And with him being a serious Godpared to Gayn and the others, the rushed job probably rubbed him the wrong way.

    We¡¯re not very close, but he is a god, and he¡¯s never really said anything unreasonable. He never told me not to use Alchemy or warned me about it.

    Our rtionship? I guess it¡¯s of kind like a boss and his employee? Oh, but of course, he¡¯s not as cold as the bosses back in my previous life.

    As I was thinking that to myself, I finished making the penicillin. And then I used that penicillin to make all sorts of ointments from ones that stop bleeding to ones that treat burns, and even shallow wounds like scratches and grazes. I always bring these with me whenever I go to the Trail Canyon.

    They¡¯re necessary especially since the undead at the canyon have started picking up the weapons left by other adventurers, and because they can¡¯t maintain their weapons, their weapons are all rusted and covered in mud, making catching tetanus highly probable.

    Anyway, I¡¯ll just seal the remaining penicillin, and store it somewhere cold for when I make more ointments.

    ¡°Now, where¡¯s that slimy luminous moss¨C¨C¨CHmm?¡± [Ryouma]

    As I was just about to get to work on the next one, Michelle, Shiva-san, and Remiri-san entered theb.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, is there anything we can help with?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Training¡¯s over for the day, so let us help out.¡± [Kanan]

    Oh, I guess the other ones are making supper then.

    ¡°You came at a good time. Crush these chopped mosses until they¡¯re all syrupy.¡± [Ryouma]

    They won¡¯t be using the giant mortar for this, and will instead be using a simple mortar and pestle. I take one for every person, and they start crushing moss. Meanwhile, I grab my cauldron, and start the fire.

    While working, Shiva-san asked me what kind of medicine I was making.

    ¡°I¡¯m making potions of all sorts from antidotes to ones that recover health. Also, because of this moss¡¯ special trait of storing mana from the air to glow, the resulting potions willst longer than normal.¡± [Ryouma]

    It¡¯s like a preservative for potions.

    When Shiva-san heard that, he asked.

    ¡°Does it matter that the moss stores mana? I¡¯ve also used a lot of potions back in my days, but I¡¯ve never paid much attention to the ingredients.¡± [Shiva]

    It¡¯s outside of his specialty, so it can¡¯t be helped.

    Medicine in this world is divided into three categories: Medicine, Magic Medicine, and Potion.

    Medicine is medicine, its effects are solely dependent on thebination of ingredients, and has nothing to do with magic.

    Magic medicine is simr but uses ingredients brimming with magic power to create various effects.

    Potion is actually a kind of magic medicine, but it¡¯s only the ones that have instant effect that are truly known as potions.

    In a sense, a potion is really just healing magic that utilizes the magic power of its ingredients. Which is why its effects wane as time passes, until eventually, it bespletely useless.

    In other words, it has an expiry date.

    ¡°So, adding the liquid of the moss to the form will give the potions a longer expiry date.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°So, that¡¯s how it is.¡± [Shiva]

    Around this time, the water started boiling. So, I gathered the liquid moss, and added it into the cauldron. There¡¯re some slimy parts, but those¡¯ll coagte in the heat. So, I just wait a little bit, then I scoop them out, wring them, and then throw them away. Meanwhile, Michelle started asking a bunch of questions.

    ¡°Can you only use that liquid for potions?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Of course, not. You can also use it for other stuff like killing undead, for example. Since the stored mana is light mana, having one or two vials with you can be a lifesaver.¡± [Ryouma]

    Michelle thought for a while then she spoke.

    ¡°Can you use that in ce of magic jewels?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°In ce of magic jewels?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°If it stores magic power, then it¡¯s the same as magic jewels. Can¡¯t you use the magic power that normally gets used for healing for something else?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°It¡¯s possible but it¡¯s not easy.¡± [Ryouma]

    The moss certainly stores magic power, but that magic power is gradually vanishing. So, unlike magic jewels it has an expiry date. It won¡¯tst long in liquid form either, as it¡¯ll only get worse with usage. And there¡¯s no point in storing magic power into it yourself since that¡¯ll just be wasting your own magic power.

    Frankly speaking, it¡¯s much better to just go and buy some actual magic jewels. It¡¯s way more convenient and will save a lot of hassle, but apparently, Michelle had a different opinion.

    ¡°Can I get some of that liquid? I want to try something.¡± [Michelle]

    Michelle said that with a serious face. And as she got three vials from me, she thanked me.

    ¡°I¡¯m borrowing the magic training room for a bit! I¡¯ll report my findingster! Sorry, I couldn¡¯t help out today!¡± [Michelle]

    As she left theb with those words, Remiri-san spoke.

    ¡°Ara ara... Seeing Michelle-chan like that sure reminds me of my days as a royal court magician.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Really?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°There were a lot of people like her back there... She¡¯s talented too, so who knows? She might actually be a royal court magician one day.¡± [Remiri]

    Sheughed as she said that.

    By the time we were done working, Sebasu came to let us know supper was ready. So, we went to get Michelle, and when we entered the training room, Michell was there drawing magic formations with sparkles in her eyes.

    Along the way, she told me that she tried to use the moss liquid in ce of magic jewels for the ink, and she seeded. Alchemy had to be used to bnce the water content, but with this discovery, the cost of magic formations would greatly go down. Michelle had a huge smile as she happily reported that.

 Volume 5 - 14

    5 Days Later

    After preparing for 3 days, we rode on Rheinbach-sama¡¯s Ignis dragons, and headed for the Trail Canyon. Right now, we¡¯re taking a breather somewhere in the mountain roads, but it won¡¯t be long before we reach Teressa, the town closest to the canyon.

    Everyone¡¯s carrying an item or two with them, but most of our luggage is being stored in mine and Sebasus-san¡¯s Item Box and Dimension Home. I¡¯ve especially packed plenty of medicine, weapon, equipment, and other tools in mine.

    There¡¯s enough that we can afford to stay in the canyon for a long time and still have enough to sell to other adventurers. It¡¯smon courtesy for adventurers to help the ill-prepared. Of course, that¡¯s provided that there¡¯s material to spare.

    Two of our party¡¯s members are S Rank Adventurers, and Sebasu-san and I can fight pretty well too. And when you add the grave slimes on top of that, there¡¯s no question that we have more than enough to watch over the girls¡¯ training. I mean if anything, this much is overkill.

    Anyway, setting up the camp defenses at the canyon was my job. So, I¡¯ll be doing just that while selling to the passing adventurers and digging out magic jewels. The ce hasn¡¯t really changed much in the past years. And with the grave slimes being the undead¡¯s natural predator, there won¡¯t be much for me to do.

    ¡°Should we head out now? We should be able to reach Teressa soon.¡± [Rheinbach]

    It¡¯ll probably take another 2 hours, which means... We¡¯ll be arriving at noon.

    And so, we rode on the two dragons, and headed for Teresa. The dragon I¡¯m riding on will listen to orders even if Rheinbach-sama¡¯s not riding it, so I¡¯m sure we won¡¯t fall, but it¡¯s still nerve wrecking.

    And I¡¯m not sure why, but for some reason, these Ignis dragons don¡¯t seem to like me. They don¡¯t hate me, but they have their guard up... Ah, whatever. Rheinbach-sama did say that it¡¯s fine, so I¡¯m sure it¡¯s safe. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll eventually get used to me. And people back at my previous life did say that animals can feel when people are nervous, so... Ah, wait, can I even put dragons and animals in the same basket?

    A strong wind blew as we passed over the mountains, but the dragons continued on, unfazed, About an hourter, the walls of Teressa finally came to view.

    ¡°What a big town!¡± [Elia]

    ¡°It¡¯s gotten a lot bigger these past two years! It was so small back then too!¡± [Ryouma]

    The sound of the wind drowned our voices, so we had to yell at each other to talk even though Elia was right behind me.

    Teressa¡¯s no Gimuru but it¡¯s a lot bigger nowpared to when I first visited it. A lot of undead had started appearing at the canyon, and when adventurers went to investigate, they happened upon a magic jewel vein. From then on, a lot of adventurers and diggers starteding, resulting in the town¡¯s exponential growth.

    The town walls that appeared from a distance grew closer in the blink of an eye, a testament to the dragons¡¯ speed. We¡¯d cause a ruckus if we were tond in town, so wended some ways away from the town, and then walked. They were already expecting us, so when we got to the gates, there were eight guards all-in-all ready to receive us.

    We did ride in a dragon after all, two no less. So, of course, they¡¯d be able to prepare even without us asking them too. Thanks to that, the process went a lot smoother, and we were able to get into the town quickly.

    It was then that Shiva-san spoke.

    ¡°We should be staying at the inn tonight, but we can also go ahead if you¡¯re all fine with it. Is everyone tired already or...?¡± [Shiva]

    It¡¯s almost noon but we¡¯ve already eaten, so there¡¯s not really any reason to walk around town...

    ¡°I¡¯m still fine. I was just riding at the back of the dragon, after all.¡± [Riera]

    Everyone nodded. And so, we¡¯ll be pushing our ns forward a bit. But before that...

    ¡°Can I drop by the adventurer¡¯s guild? I figured I might as well get some simple requests.¡± [Ryouma]

    No problem, they all said. Like that we headed for Teressa¡¯s Adventurer Guild. The Town of Teressa is situated at the western edge of the country, a frontier, so to speak. Yet despite that the streets were hustling and bustling with people and carriages.

    ¡°There¡¯s so many people even though it¡¯s the border. Oh, by the way, would it be alight to dig some magic jewels myself?¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°As long as you give a part of it or pay the corresponding tax, then there shouldn¡¯t be any problems.

    I don¡¯t know whether the lord in charge of this ce is just tolerant or because he needs that much money, but he seems to be just watching how many the people can actually dig... He might also just decide to monopolize everything one day. Yeah, there¡¯s a lot of rumors going around now, good or bad, but for now it should be fine.¡± [Ryouma]

    The future is a mystery. Even if you can right now, that doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯ll be able to in the future, so you should take your chance now! ~Is what everyone else is thinking which is why there¡¯s so many people here... Oh, we¡¯re here.

    We saw a couple of adventurers when we entered the guild. It¡¯s noon, so most of the adventurers are either out working or eating. It¡¯s a lot quieter here than outside, but as soon as we entered, all eyes focused on us.

    ...Most are just ncing, but a fifth of them are outright staring at us. Well, we do stand out, so it can¡¯t be helped. Ah, it seems there are people who know of Remiri-neesan and Shiva-san. I¡¯m sure they must¡¯ve been trying to be hush about it, but it¡¯s really quiet, so they can still be heard.

    After I greet everyone, I walk up to the request board. Let¡¯s hurry and find something Elia and the others can do, and then get out of here. And just as I was thinking that, I found something suitable.

    An investigation of the Trail Canyon that can be epted anytime by E Rank adventurers up. The pay¡¯s cheap but they¡¯ll pay more if the info is good. It¡¯s really more of a patrol than an investigation, so it¡¯s really easy.

    Also, because a lot of monsters appear in the night, it¡¯s rmended that only C Ranks above go. And as such, they¡¯ll also be paying more for those who can investigate in the night.

    We were nning to stay at the canyon for a long time anyway, so we might as well. But was there always such a warning? While I¡¯m sure it¡¯s necessary since lots of undead frolic in the night, a D-Rank should be enough. I should ask the receptionist first.

    ¡°Excuse me, I was thinking of epting the Trail Canyon request but there¡¯s something I¡¯d like to ask first.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes, what is it?¡± [Receptionist]

    The receptionist was a young woman. From my conversation with her, I found out that there¡¯s a lot of people who have been going missingtely.

    ¡°It¡¯s unfortunate but the issue isn¡¯t just the undead. The footing in the area isn¡¯t stable, and a lot of people have already disappeared in some ident. Because of that, we¡¯re rmending that C Ranks go. Also, a lot of the people whohave gone missing are low rankers who pushed themselves too hard in that investigation request.¡± [Recipe]

    The receptionist was a bit sad when she spoke, but it shouldn¡¯t be an issue as long as we take care...

    ¡°I understand. I¡¯d like to sign up for this request. Oh, and do you have a list of the missing people? We¡¯re nning to stay at the Trail Canyon for a while, so...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Very well.¡± [Receptionist]

    The receptionist immediately processed the request, and then came back with the list of names. The genders, ages, and other special characteristics were also written in the list. As for the time they went missing, well that wasn¡¯t really important.

    After that we left the guild, and then the town through the gate close to the Trail Canyon. The guards asked if we were going on a trip, and I said we were going camping. I¡¯m sure they¡¯re talking to me because it¡¯s too hard to talk with the others.

    ¡°We n toe back anywhere from one to two weeks.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That¡¯s a long trip, please be careful. A lot of people have been going missingtely.¡± [Guard]

    Might as well ask them about it...

    ¡°Are there really that many?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Well...¡± [Guard]

    The guard made a troubled face as he looked at a particr direction.

    ¡°It¡¯s because there are people like those, so...¡± [Guard]

    At the end of that direction was¨C¨C¨C

    ¡°Let¡¯s make lots of coin today too!¡± [Adventurer 1]

    ¡°Should we try going a bit deeper this time?¡± [Adventurer 2]

    ¡°That¡¯s dangerous.¡± [Adventurer 3]

    ¡°Nah, it¡¯ll be fine. We¡¯ve beaten plenty of zombies, right?¡± [Adventurer 1]

    ¡°But¨C¨C¨C¡° [Adventurer 3]

    It was a group of three young, inexperienced adventurers.

    ¡°It¡¯s great that the city¡¯s flourishing, but a lot of reckless people have beening too... But then againg, there¡¯ve always been reckless people around here, so if anything, I guess they¡¯ve increase.¡±[Guard]

    The guard whispered those words while watching the three leave. He was trying to keep up appearances, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s really necessary.

    ¡°You mean like those people?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes, like them. It¡¯s especially dangerous the day after they make some bank. It¡¯s safe around here unless they go in deep, so everyone who goes missing usually brought it on themselves...¡± [Guard]

    I thanked the guard that seemed to have a lot on his mind, and then we left.

    We traversed the mountainous roads and entered into the canyon.

    People walked beside and above the now barren cliff, and people dug holes left and right, but as we continued, the people around us grew less and less. After an hour of walking, there were still no zombies in sight.

    ¡°The undead still hasn¡¯t shown up.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I thought they¡¯d be more proactive.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°There sure are a lot of civilians here though.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°It¡¯s still close to the town, so it¡¯s not just adventurers who¨C¨C¨C¡° [Ryouma]

    While I was talking, a man dressed in blood-drenched clothes with vacant eyes walked up to us. Most of the man¡¯s neck had been hollowed out, and his body was clearly rotting. It was a zombie. When the girls noticed that, they immediately assumed stance.

    In contrast, Remiri-neesan casually spoke.

    ¡°There¡¯s just one zombie, so rx. You¡¯ll do fine as long as you follow your training.¡± [Remiri]

    The girls nodded to her words. A rotting smell filled the area as the zombie approached, and the girls¡¯ countenance visibly soured. Seeing that thing face-to-face is quite a shocker... Though I think they¡¯d be nervous either way.

    ¡°¡®Strengthen Body¡¯... Let¡¯s go!¡±

    After a deep breath, Riera used her strengthening magic. She matched the speed of the zombie, then she swung down her sword. That sh embodied all the efforts she had spent training her sword. And it cut down the zombie¡¯s left arm so quickly that it didn¡¯t even have the time to cry. Then she followed up by bashing her shield against the zombie¡¯s face.

    ¡°Elia!¡± [Riera]

    ¡°¡®Fire Ball¡¯!¡± [Elia]

    As Riera called out to Elia, Elia casted a fireball, and the zombie was no more.

    ¡°Huh? That¡¯s it?¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Well that was easy.¡± [Michelle]

    Comined Kanan and Michelle who didn¡¯t have a chance to fight. Miyabi hadn¡¯t said anything, but she seemed to think the same.

    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s easy. You kids aren¡¯t so weak that you¡¯d have a problem offing one zombie.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Zombie flesh is a lot softer than a human¡¯s, and their bones are brittle too. You girls cut a lot of bamboo back at Ryouma¡¯s ce, right? Then it¡¯s only a given that you¡¯d be able to cut one down with ease.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Your magic has gotten stronger too, and the one who shot that fireball just now was Elia who has the strongest magic of you lot. The real practice starts way deeper into the canyon. Being able to kill a few zombies is a given.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°You¡¯ve always been fighting against Ryouma-sama¡¯s slimes, so you might not be aware of just how strong you are.¡± [Sebasu]

    Zombies are D-Ranked magical beasts but they can be beaten even by E-Rank Adventurers when toppled over, so it¡¯s obvious that the girls would be able to kill one. That¡¯s also the reason why there¡¯re so many greenhorn adventurers in the town.

    Killing a few zombies won¡¯t be an issue for them, so we¡¯ll be leaving the fighting to them from here on out.

    ¡°This time I¡¯ll be the one to finish it!¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Riera, Kanan, stop them!¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Understood!¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Leave it to me!¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Be careful, there¡¯s a lot of them!¡± [Miyabi]

    As their movements had got better over time, Riera and Kanan was able to quickly cut off the limbs of the zombies to stop them in their tracks, while a barrage of magic was unloaded on them to stop them from regenerating. And just like that, the girls offed seven zombies.

    Meanwhile, we were nonchntly watching the girls fight.

    ¡°They can still handle more.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Should we up the difficulty?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°We should give them more to fight with...¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°How about ghouls and wraiths? The grave slime can bring them.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I suggest allowing the ojousamas to get used to the zombies first.¡± [Sebasu]

    We discussed like we were watching a sports tournament.

    Then after some more walking, we made camp beside a cliff that was roughly 6 meters tall. Time for work, I guess.

 Volume 5 - 15

    The next day.

    I¡¯m awake now, so I might as well make breakfast.

    Last night I made camp by digging out a part of the cliff. I built an entrance and a lobby, left of which is a narrow passage that leads to the kitchen, washroom, and further in, the men¡¯s sleeping quarters. There¡¯s a stair right next which leads to the female sleeping quarters.

    There¡¯s no difference in their design, I just segregated them. The rooms are reinforced by stone columns made by my ¡®Hardening¡¯. There¡¯re also windows so we can see what¡¯s going on outside, and enough venttion so that we don¡¯t suffocate. Finally, Holy Space was used to ensure that the undead don¡¯t attack our camp.

    I¡¯ve already been living in this world for 6 years. If you exclude the time I¡¯ve spent travelling, that¡¯s 5 years that I¡¯ve spent living in caves, so naturally, making something like this is a cinch for me. It only took me an hour to make camp, and I even had enough time to make tables and chairs. Naturally, no one was unhappy with my work.

    ¡°Fuffufuffufuffu, fuffufuffufuffu, fu~fuffufufuffu, fufufufufu~tto.¡± [Ryouma]

    I hummed a nostalgic song from my previous life to myself as I wrapped ham and vegetables in fried light wrapping, and poured hot water into a bowl of powder and hard food stuff. With this the Crepe and the Instant Soup was finished.

    Crepes are delicious and easy to make. As for the instant soup, I made it by freezing it with ice magic, and then moving it into a clean vessel, and then sealing it in a vacuum. A magical freeze-dry, so to speak.

    Freeze-dry can preserve food and medicine for a long time as long as one takes care with stuff like moisture.

    Hmm... Breakfast is ready. I wonder if Elia and the others are too?

    I take a peek at the living room, and I find that everyone¡¯s ready. With that I bring out the food. The four adults are just as always but the girls aren¡¯t as lively as usual.

    ¡°Good morning, are you still tired?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Good morning, Ryouma-san. We were able to rest well thanks to you, so it¡¯s no problem.¡± [Elia]

    I asked Elia that while I set the table, and when she answered, the other girls agreed with her. It didn¡¯t look like she was putting up an appearance, and she is eating well, so she¡¯s probably telling the truth. Since that¡¯s the case the reason they look so tired must be because they¡¯re still not used to the undead. I end up gloomy looking at those things too, so it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t understand. Anyway, I hope they do their best until then.

    As I encouraged them in my mind, I began eating my portion.

    After eating and making sure all of our equipment and luggage were ready, we went deeper into the Trail Canyon. The girls fought the undead as we travelled, but the deeper we went, the more undead came. The least they¡¯d fight would be about 10 to 15 at a time, and the most at about 40 at a time.

    ¡° ¡®Fire Storm¡¯!¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Elia, is your mana still ok?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Though if possible I¡¯d like to conserve them for a bit.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°We¡¯re almost at our next camp site, so just brace yourself until then.¡± [Miyabi]

    There were about 43 zombies, so Elia had to start with Fire Storm. It¡¯s good that we chose to rest in a ce where it¡¯s easy to avoid being surrounded. We can easily beat them as long as we react quickly. But this sort of tactic puts a lot of burden on Elia. She has a lot of magic power, and the magic in the air here is thick, so she can quickly recover her magic. But if it were anyone else, he¡¯d long have exhausted himself. The adults seem worried too.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it about time we joined?¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Those kids should still be able to handle it. Why not wait for a bit?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s true that they still seem to have some leeway, but...¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°It might be best to join before things get more dangerous.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°Harris Crows will start appearing just a little further. We can join then.¡± [Ryouma]

    Lately, monsters other than zombies have started appearing in the Trail Canyon. Harris Crows, crow-like magical beasts, are one of them. I¡¯ve seen plenty of them drop down from the sky in murders to feed off the zombies. That¡¯s probably the reason why they¡¯ve started appearing here. There are much more of them now, and they are bigger as well. The girls won¡¯t be able to handle it if the undead attack them with the crows.

    While we were talking, I suddenly felt someone staring at me. Immediately, I looked behind me.

    ¡°Someone¡¯sing.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°A member of the bird tribe.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°Just one?¡± [Remiri]

    When I heard that, I focused my eyes. What I saw was a familiar face.

    ¡°That man is an adventurer from around here.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°An acquaintance?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°A familiar face, but that¡¯s all. I¡¯ve traded with him countless times whenever I¡¯ve had to feed my grave slimes here. I don¡¯t know his name.¡± [Ryouma]

    We¡¯re not even close enough to be called acquaintances.

    The bird tribe is one of the many tribes of the beast tribe. They look simr to humans, but

    they have wings behind them that let them fly. I hear there are also birdmen who have wings

    for their arms, but because there¡¯s not a lot of birdmen in this country, I¡¯ve never seen one. In fact, this guy is the only birdman that I know.

    Sharp eyes and falcon-like wings, yeah, that¡¯s definitely him.

    He spread his arms as he descended to indicate that he meant no harm.

    ¡°Greetings, my name is Oslo. I am patrolling these parts for the missing people.¡± [Oslo]

    So his name¡¯s Oslo. I didn¡¯t know.

    Apparently, he¡¯s heard about Elia¡¯s group from the other adventurers.

    We¡¯ve passed a lot of people, so of course, we¡¯ve been noticed. Apparently though, he didn¡¯t hear anything about us. All he heard was that there were five girls frolicking. He thought the ce too dangerous for five girls, so he went to look for Elia and the others.

    It¡¯s like that game, Chinese Whispers. Somewhere along the way the story changed, and now we have this version of the story.

    The Fire Storm caught his attention, and he found out that the girls weren¡¯t alone, so the reason he showed up was just to make sure we don¡¯t misunderstand him or anything.

    ¡°Sorry for the trouble.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°I did everything on my own ord. You don¡¯t have to me yourselves. And besides, I have business with him too.¡± [Oslo]

    When the girls apologized, Oslo turned to me.

    Eh? What does he need from me? But before I could ask, he spoke first.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already exhausted the supplies I¡¯ve brought for the search. Would it be possible to purchase some food from you?¡± [Oslo]

    Oh, a customer. Didn¡¯t expect him to remember me.

    ¡°I understand. How much will you be needing? I also have goods other than food.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°There¡¯s 11 all-in-all in my team, myself included. Would it be possible to purchase enough food supply to support that? I¡¯d also like to buy more of that salve I boughtst time. It was quite effective.¡± [Oslo]

    ¡°I can give you enough tost for a week. I have potions too aside from salves.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°...In that case, I¡¯ll have to rendezvous with my team first. I can¡¯t carry that much by myself.¡± [Oslo]

    So he can¡¯t fly when he¡¯s over encumbered. Oslo-san brought out a map, and we talked from a bit. From that it was decided that we¡¯ll meet again at our next camp site.

    It¡¯s not that far from here, so he should make it by night fall.

    After we went our own ways, we went deeper into the canyon.

    As expected, the fights from here on out was a lot harder, so we finally had to join the fight. We joined alternatingly but sometimes we also had the girls take a breather while they watched us fight in their ce.

    It sure is a pain having to fight these many undead. The girls seem to know it well. Especially, the magicians among them. I decided to talk to them for a bit.

    ¡°This ce is crawling with undead. We¡¯re here too but you should still be careful.¡± [Remiri]

    Ah, Remiri-Neesan also advised them. The reason she said that is because it would be a problem if they be negligent and forget their surroundings... It¡¯s a good topic to discuss so I threw in my two cents too. But because the girls were holding their head, the atmosphere didn¡¯t have any sense of urgency at all. Well, it¡¯s better than being too nervous.

    We continued like this, and when it was past afternoon, we finally reached our next camp site.

    A rocky area several hundred meters wide with no cover could be seen extending up a full kilometer. The area beneath that was level and wide, so there was plenty of room. There¡¯s a valley nearby and there¡¯s also a river below the cliff, so we can get water even without magic. The magic jewels I¡¯m going to excavate are also nearby, so it wasn¡¯t a hard decision to make.

    Speaking of which, everyone knows that I have a map pointing me to a magic jewel dig site. Of course, I kept the part about a goddess giving me this map a secret, so everyone just thinks that I marked some ce that¡¯s likely to have magic jewels.

    ¡°I¡¯ll make camp now, so please wait a bit.¡± [Ryouma]

    I looked up the sky as I said that, and I noticed that the sky was dark. It looks like it¡¯s about to rain. I should hurry... There¡¯s no cliff I can dig out this time around, so I¡¯ll have to do something different.

    ¡° ¡®Earth Wall¡¯ ¡° [Ryouma]

    Somewhere near the valley, I started creating rooms using Earth Wall. I filled the wall joints with earth, and used the magic ¡®Rock¡¯ to cover them. Then I cut out doors and windows using ¡®Stone Cutter¡¯, while I used ¡®Hardening¡¯ to reinforce the structure. Finally, I covered the rooms with a nk cut out from a boulder to serve as the ceiling.

    The floor n is roughly the same asst night¡¯s. What¡¯s different is that the second floor is now situated to the right, and there¡¯s now a firece and chimney. Next is to cast the magic, Holy Space, to keep the undead from attacking. Oh, and I should also put up a fence with my earth magic to serve as a barricade andnd slide protection.

    ¡°It¡¯s done!¡± [Ryouma]

    It was mostly just me putting the pieces together, so the whole ce looks like a prefab hut. It took me 30 minutes to finish everything.

    Everything¡¯s done. I should call Elia and the others...

    ¡°Fast as ever, I see... The camp is ready!¡± [Rheinbach]

    When Rheinbach-sama saw my work, he called out to everyone. Remiri-neesan and the girls we¡¯re talking when he called out, while Shiva-san and Sebasu-san we¡¯re keeping watch. In any case, when called out to them, everyone gathered.

    I was about to ask what they were talking about when a cold drop of water fell on my head.

    ¡°Rain...¡± [Elia]

    Elia and the others also noticed the rain, so, we all hurried into the camp. Gradually, the rain grew stronger. And in less than a minute, what seemed to be some light evening rain turned into a full downpour of bullfrogs.

    I peeked through the windows, and I saw the sky covered in dark coulds. The world was dark, and not a thing could be seen.

    ¡°I¡¯m d I hurried, but what about Oslo-san? Hmm... Maybe I should at least put up a sign.¡± [Ryouma]

    Closing the window through which the cold wind and the sound of falling rain entered, I took out my rain gear made out of waterproof cloth from my Item Box, and left the shed.

    I quickly installed a glowing magic stone onto a pir of stone modeled after themp posts in my previous world, and put it up. Then I hurried back into the shed.

    ¡°Good work.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Ah, thanks.¡± [Ryouma]

    Kanan poured me a cup of hot tea.

    As I sat in the living room, I took a mouthful. The honey and the ginger entered my body, and warmth filled me. I continued to drink tea like that as I spoke to the girls about the things that could be improved on in their tactics.

 Volume 5 - 16

    In the room brightly lit by magic stones, we patiently waited for Oslo¡¯s group, but they were taking too long. We¡¯ve had our supper, and yet we still haven¡¯t heard from them. They might have found themselves in some trouble, but searching wasn¡¯t an option right now. The most we could do was to prepare some soup to warm them when they arrive.

    The cold wind blew with the pouring rain. Raingears could keep the water off the skin but it can¡¯t stop the cold. Going out now was a sure trip to sicktown.

    The soup was instant, so all that was needed was to ready a bowl and some water. Of course, I didn¡¯t make it now. I just readied the ingredients. Anyway, that didn¡¯t take much at all and there¡¯s nothing else to do while waiting, so I took out the list of names and went through it.

    I¡¯ve skimmed through it once before entering the canyon, but that was just a quick read, a nce, in fact. There¡¯s nothing else to do, so I might as well give it a proper read through. Hmm... I don¡¯t think we came across any of these amongst the undead we fought.

    ¡°I can¡¯t think of any leads... Hmm? Most of the people that have gone missing are in their tens or early twenties. I guess the young ones really are just too energetic.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°*Cough!?¡± [Remiri]

    Remiri-neesan choked on her tea, spurting out what she had in her mouth.

    ¡°Ryouma-chan, what are you talking like an old man for? Aren¡¯t you the same age? Sheesh, it¡¯s precisely because you talk like that...¡±

    Even if you tell me that it¡¯s not like I canpletely forget the fact that I¡¯m a 40 year-old man. Although, there are times when it happens.

    Anyway, I changed the topic and we talked about the list. I asked her if she had any leads, and she said she hadn¡¯t.

    It¡¯s expected though. It¡¯s not easy to distinguish between one undead and another unless they have some odd feature that really sticks out. The zombies are rotten and the skeletons are just bones, so how are you supposed to tell which one¡¯s which? The only way to tell is based on their possessions, but...

    ¡°The equipment of new adventurers are mass produced, so... It¡¯s not much help. It would be great if they had some unique equipment on them, but...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yeah...¡± [Remiri]

    Unless they¡¯re as rich as nobles or have received some gift from someone, almost all the adventurers have the same equips. In fact, a lot of those mass produced equips can be seen in town... It wouldn¡¯t be so bad if there were serial numbers imprinted onto them, but unfortunately, there aren¡¯t any.

    ¡°I guess that leaves us with no choice but to make out their features and pray that we notice one that matches the descriptions.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°We have to do it before we kill them too, otherwise, the undead will turn into a puff of smoke, and we won¡¯t have anything left to examine.¡± [Remiri]

    And that¡¯s one more reason why this search is so difficult.

    As we continued to talk like that, the sound of people walking and talking reached our ears through the continuing downpour. There¡¯s also the sound of metal mixed in.

    We stopped talking to make out the sound better, and the source was indeed getting closer.

    ¡°It¡¯s them, I think.¡± [Ryouma]

    It could be the undead, so I looked out the window to be sure. There I saw a group of people in armor carryingnterns for light. Leading that group was a birdman dressed in raingear. It was Oslo-san.

    Remiri-san knocked on the door of the sleeping quarters, and she called out to the other eight who were fixing their equipment. The visibility here is poor, so just to be safe, we should make it easier to move in.

    I pray there¡¯ll be no need for it though.

    I opened the door. ¡°Oslo-san! Over here!!¡± [Ryouma]

    Oslo-san raised his spear and called out when he heard my voice. He took his men with him as they went past the barricade, sheathed their weapons, and entered the shed.

    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯mte. The road copsed, so we had to take a detour.¡± [Oslo]

    ¡°For the meantime, pleasee inside. It¡¯s cold out there.¡± [Ryouma]

    So, that¡¯s why they¡¯rete. Anyway, they should go in first, so I invited them in, and offered them some seats. They took off their raingears as they took my offer. It¡¯s a bit cramped now with 11 more people, as I did build this shed for us 10 to live in, but we¡¯re all still fitting in.

    5 of Oslo-san¡¯s group are men while 6 are women. Their ages all seem to range from the 20s to their 50s. There¡¯s probably more than one party here, and they¡¯re coborating for a job.

    After Remiri-neesan called Sebasu-san, he showed up, and I went to the kitchen. I boiled the water with ¡®Heat¡¯, and then I emptied the pack of instant soup into it.

    ¡°We can talk while eating, so please warm yourselves up with this first.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Thank you.¡± [Oslo]

    I went back to the living room, and distributed the cups to the guests. They gratefully took them. Of course, they didn¡¯t drink right away. They still had to check whether it¡¯s beenced with some medicine or poison. A littleter, they all started to drink. It seems that they were able to confirm that it¡¯s not poisoned.

    ¡°Good soup.¡± [Oslo]

    ¡°Thank you. So, what¡¯ll you do about the food supply?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Right. Talk to Nell-san, she¡¯s the one in charge of our food.¡± [Oslo]

    The middle-aged woman sitting at the corner of the long rectangr table waved at me.

    ¡°Nell-san, I take it?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yep, that¡¯s me. And you¡¯re Ryouma-kun, right? I¡¯m also running a small inn at Teresa, so drop by there too when you have a chance.¡± [Nell]

    I did get her name from Oslo a while ago, but...

    ¡°You run an inn?¡± [Ryouma]

    I asked as it made me wonder whether there were also other merchants working as adventurers other than me, but her response took me by surprise.

    ¡°Oh, no, I¡¯m just thendy. It¡¯s my husband who actually runs the inn.¡± [Nell]

    ¡°Eh!? Landy!?¡¯

    Why is thendy in a ce like this!?

    ¡°I actually retiredst year and opened the inn with my husband but I¡¯m working again temporarily.¡± [Nell]

    Apparently, her daughter is also an adventurer but she went missing aftering here. Every one of them including Oslo-san has lost a family member or an acquaintance.

    ¡°I want to put a stop to it. I don¡¯t want anyone else to suffer anymore, so I came here. Every one of us came here with those feelings. So, we¡¯re like a vignte group of some sort, and we¡¯re patrolling here and there.¡± [Nell]

    ¡°I see...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°...Anyway, let¡¯s talk about those supplies.¡± [Nell]

    The conversation was starting to get heavy, so Nell-san changed the topic. I also didn¡¯t ask anything else, and settled our business.

    They want enough for one week just like Oslo-san mentioned. The contents include dried meat, smoked meat, hard bread, and baked sweets. It was mostly a bunch of preserved foods they were used to. She also asked for vegetables and medicine preserved with a magic tool. There¡¯s 11 of them, so three times of meal a day for a week would mean 231 meals all in all. I opened my Item Box, and took out enough to satisfy their request.

    It¡¯s 30 suits per meal back at the restaurant, so 231 would be 6930 suits all in all. I offered to sell everything to them for 6,000 suits. With that we closed the deal.

    ¡°Thank you for your purchase.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Thank you too for selling it cheap.¡± [Nell]

    ¡°By the way, what¡¯ll you be doing from here on?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°We¡¯re nning to make camp with our tents somewhere¨C¨C¨C¡° [Nell]

    ¡°Then in that case, why don¡¯t you spend the night here? It¡¯s fine, right, Ryouma-chan?¡± [Remiri]

    Remiri-neesan who had just been watching from a corner of the room all this time suddenly interjected. I said I didn¡¯t mind, and apparently, she¡¯s already gotten everyone else¡¯s permission, so like that everyone spent the night here.

    The next day.

    At the onset of dawn, the sun¡¯s rays entered through the window into the bare living room, waking Oslo-san and his men, upon which, they immediately prepared for departure.

    ¡°Good morning. I know it was a bit cramped, but did you have a good rest?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°More than good actually. It¡¯s been a while since I had a good night¡¯s rest.¡± [Oslo]

    ¡°You even had your slimes wash our clothes, we¡¯re really grateful. Slimes are so convenient, I wish we had one at the inn.¡± [Nell]

    The other members felt the same way. It might be a good idea to put up a branch in Teressa.

    After they finished their preparations, I sent them off.

    ¡°We¡¯ll go now¡± [Oslo]

    ¡°Please take care.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You too.¡± [Oslo]

    After Oslo-san and his group left, a man from their group came back. He named himself Barrack.

    ¡°Sorry, but can you sell me that thing you mentionedst night.¡± [Barrack]

    ¡°Last night? Ah! Right, here. That¡¯ll be 50 suits.¡± [Ryouma]

    I took out a roll of tobo from my Item Box. Adventurers kept asking me for tobo when I came here before, and I couldn¡¯t meet the demand, so this time, I came prepared. It¡¯s still not that much though. And I don¡¯t smoke myself, so I actually even forgot about it. I only remembered itst night when Barrack-san asked.

    It¡¯d smell if I sold him somest night, so his friends told him to wait until morning since there¡¯s no way he was not going to smoke with a roll in his hands.

    ¡°Yeah, this is the stuff. I can fight another week with this.¡± [Barrack]

    ¡°Please be careful not to smoke too much.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I know, I know. You take care too.¡± [Barrack]

    Is he talking about tobo?

    ¡°I don¡¯t smoke though.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°No, not that.¡± [Barrack]

    ¡°You mean the undead, then?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°There¡¯s that too, but...¡± [Barrack]

    He hesitated. But after seemingly battling with himself, he spoke in a hushed voice.

    ¡°...I¡¯m here because of a friend that¡¯s like a younger brother to me who went missing. It¡¯s strange, you know?¡± [Barrack]

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Nothing weird about a greenhorn pushing too hard and finding himself in a ditch, but that guy wasn¡¯t the type. He was real cautious that one. There¡¯s no way he would¡¯ve died over something like that.

    ...I can only think of one reason for that guy to die: something crazy must¡¯ve happened. There¡¯s plenty of ces to hide out here.

    Not just for the undead but for people too. In fact, people found a suspicious cave whose entrance was hidden.

    The guild¡¯s investigation didn¡¯t turn anything up, but it¡¯s not an undead. There¡¯s some weird bastard out there lurking...

    Sorry. I¡¯m just worrying you like this.

    I don¡¯t have any proof for it. It might just be my imagination.¡± [Barrack]

    Barrack started off really strong, but for some reason, that conviction suddenly went weak.

    ¡°No, thanks for letting me know. I¡¯ll take care.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yeah, you do that. If you find anything out, let the guild know. Later.¡± [Barrack]

    As Barrack-san said that, he left with Oslo and the others.

    Anyway, there¡¯s no proof, and he¡¯s right about that, but it¡¯s definitely possible that something else other than the undead is responsible for the missing people. So, I informed the others about Barrack¡¯s tip.

 Volume 5 - 17

    After seeing Oslo¡¯s group off, we had breakfast, and then we began training.

    After some light warmup and sparring, I took out 20 big grave slimes and 8 Rimel birds from my Dimension Home, and then I took out my guitar from my Item Box. Sitting myself in front of our camp, I strung the guitar once.

    ¡°Is everyone ready?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°We¡¯re ready!¡± [Elia and the other girls]

    Seeing the girls ready to fight, I looked to the four adults who were also sitting on a chair for confirmation, and then I strung the guitar.

    Dark magic erupted as I yed the Cursed Song, and the undead began to gather in troves toward us.

    Today¡¯s training is to have the girls fight to exhaustion. We don¡¯t need to move anymore, and our base here is plenty secured, so an injury or two won¡¯t be an issue. Today, neither me nor the four adults will be joining the fray. This one¡¯s all on them. Of course, we¡¯ll save them if things turn for the worse.

    As I yed the Cursed Song, the girls¡¯ long battle began.

    20 minutester...

    ¡°Just where did these thingse crawling out of? I¡¯vee here loads of times with fresh recruits, and I¡¯ve never seen these many in one ce.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Indeed...¡± [Rheinbach]

    The number of undead shocked Shiva-san and Rheinbach-sama. I just yed a few songs, and there¡¯s already over 200 of them, so it¡¯s not surprising.

    Realizing that they won¡¯t be able to handle these many without a n, the girls created a barricade with earth wall and earth needle, slowing down the undead, then they took turns suppressing them.

    A good decision. Being surrounded in an open area like this with that number would be fatal.

    Riera and Kanan are fighting the zombies and skeletons, while the other three are taking care of the monsters immune to physical attacks like the wraith or flying magical beasts like the Harris crows, but the enemy just keeps oning. Well, it¡¯s partly also because I¡¯m calling them, but this is certainly a bit much. Even I¡¯m surprised.

    ¡°...Now what?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Nothing. Just keep it up.¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°If we leave this barricade we¡¯ll end up surrounded.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°That¡¯s true. I could use my fire storm to clean them up, but...¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Don¡¯t bother. They¡¯ll juste again.¡± [Kanan]

    Even if they clean one group up, another one wille to take its ce. The most important thing in this training is to endure for a long time, so it¡¯s best to conserve stamina and magic power.

    If one runs out of steam during a long battle, the odds of one falling into a bad situation greatly increases. The purpose of this training is to train their body to get used to this pace.

    While I was thinking that, I sent the Rimel bird to scout our surrounds to make sure no passerby gets caught.

    3 hours passed since then, and the undead just kepting endlessly. The mental strain and fatigue on the five girls gradually built up.

    ¡°Tch!¡± [Riera]

    ¡° ¡®Earth Needle¡¯ !¡± [Michelle]

    After being surrounded by the undead, one of the barricades in front broke, and an undead slipped in. Riera instantly killed that one while Michelle shot out another Earth Needle, prating several zombies at the same time like some dumplings on a stick, effectively fixing the broken barricade.

    ¡°You ok, Riera?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Yeah, you saved me.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Not really... Look.¡± [Michelle]

    The two girls turned toward the Earth Needles she¡¯d just shot out, and small cracks could be seen on them.

    It wasn¡¯t any worse than the earth needle before it, but behind the zombie they killed was a zombie, and behind that was another zombie, and behind that was a skeleton... With such a huge horde of undead crowding onto them, the earth needles can¡¯tst long. And it¡¯s not just the barricade, Riera¡¯s sword is starting to dull after having cut so many too. In fact, she¡¯s even started punching the undead with her gauntlets from time to time.

    ¡°Then, in that case, I¡¯ll¨C¨C¨C¡° [Elia]

    ¡°Elia, you should rest a bit more.¡± [Miyabi]

    Elia wanted to cut down on the undead¡¯s number again, but she was visibly tired, so Miyabi told her to stop as she took her ce, and casted her own fire magic. Elia has a lot of magic power, so she¡¯s been casting advanced magic one after another to clear the undead, but after all that, she¡¯s almost out of juice.

    I asked the adults.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it about time?¡± [Ryouma]

    Shiva-san immediately agreed.

    The grave slimes are ready to go anytime. I was thinking of waiting another 30 minutes before intervening, but...

    ¡°Uwa!? Let go!¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Kanan!?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°No!¡± [Riera]

    The undead crowding the barricade tripped over themselves, and the skeletons behind used them as scaffold to cross the barricade. The fatigue must¡¯ve caught up to the girls as they noticed it toote.

    The skeletons fell down the barricade and were damaged, but they were able to surround Kanan, and throw themselves at her. The three magicians hit the skeletons with their staves in a panicked attempt to save Kanan, but by doing so, they left the barricade wide open, and their defensepletely fell apart.

    The undead poured in, pushing Riera down to the ground, and¨C¨C¨C

    ¡°That¡¯s enough! ¡®Sanctuary¡¯!¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°¡¯Holy me Carpet¡¯¡± [Ryouma]

    Remiri-neesan casted the advanced light magic ¡®Sanctuary¡¯, extinguishing the undead inside the barricade.

    ¡®Sanctuary¡¯ is like a strengthened version of ¡®Holy Space¡¯. Zombies and skeletons that enter its affected region will instantly be extinguished.

    After Remiri-neesan saved the girls, I took care of the nearby undead while I left the ones further away to the grave slimes.

    ¡°Good work.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°...Haa~...¡± [Girls]

    When I said that, the girls lost all of their strength, and they sunk to the ground. As expected, they¡¯re really exhausted. But as long as it¡¯s just fatigue, then it¡¯s still alright. We did help them, so there shouldn¡¯t be any major injuries. At most, there¡¯ll be some light wounds. A little rubbing medicine, and they¡¯ll be fit as a fiddle.

    After the girls took a bath with the cleaner slimes, we talked about their performance while they ate. After resting for a bit, they fought with the undead again. This time though, they didn¡¯t need my Cursed Song and the grave slimes. They just walked around, and normally hunted the undead. Shiva-san was supervising, and it was simr to what the knights did when they trained.

    In the morning, they fought by the camp. In the afternoon, they fought while patrolling. When you think about it like that, it¡¯s a pretty bnced menu.

    I¡¯m not needed anymore since they¡¯re just patrolling, so I set off to mine those magic jewels. The grave slimes are really useful. Not only can they easily take care of the undead, I can even leave my back to them so I can focus on mining.

    Come to think of it, if I leave the grave slimes here, won¡¯t they be able to wipe out the undead? I won¡¯t do it though, since they¡¯ll probably end up getting hunted by other adventurers without me around.

    ¡°We¡¯re here. Although, it¡¯s just a random ce I chose that¡¯s near the designated location on my map. I gave a lot of food to Oslo¡¯s group, so I¡¯ll have to go back to get more supplies in a week or two. Maybe I should have the girls go then?¡± [Ryouma]

    Going to the camp from town means having to face more undead when you¡¯re tired, while going back means facing less undead when you¡¯re tired since you¡¯re getting closer to the town.

    There¡¯s some time before we need to replenish our supplies, so they can get stronger in the meantime. Then when the timees, we¡¯ll leave them on their own to replenish supplies. If they make it without me and the adults interfering, then we can bring their training up another level.

    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s do that.¡± [Ryouma]

    I opened my Item Box, and took out a mask for mining and a pair of protective goggles (Made with the sticky slime¡¯s hardening liquid). Then I started digging out the cliff in front of me with my ki-infused pickaxe. The cliff was rtively soft, and I was able to steadily dig.

    ¡°Umph!¡± [Ryouma]

    I couldn¡¯t dig out any magic jewels even after I dug out nearly half of it, and instead, some odd translucent stone came out. I used identify on it.

    ¡°Barium Sulfate?¡± [Ryouma]

    The rocks around here all have various kinds of metals mixed in them. It¡¯s probably because a child of god used this ce for magic practice that the topography of the ce haspletely changed. Anyway, as far as metals go, I know of aluminum, chromium, nickel, quartz, crystals, titanium, silica, limestone, etc., but I¡¯ve never heard of barium.

    ¡°Barium Sulfate... Ah, it¡¯s that. That thing they make people drink to prevent illness.¡± [Ryouma]

    I remember now. Barium sulfate is also that mineral known as barite, so it shouldn¡¯t be poisonous. It¡¯s mainly used for preventive medicine and paint, and... Was there anything else?

    ¡°There¡¯s no point mining this thing. Did I make a mistake? There¡¯s no point drinking it, and I don¡¯t want to drink it anyway...¡± [Ryouma]

    It doesn¡¯t really taste good, so...

    ¡°...There¡¯s no point mining something I have no use for, so yeah. I should just leave this spot alone.¡± [Ryouma]

    I hardened the soil I¡¯ve dug out so far with earth magic, preserving it as a sample forter use. I¡¯lle again when I can think of a use for it. I took out my map, and looked for that spot written on it again. Suddenly¨C¨C¨C

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    It was just for a moment, but it felt like I was being watched. I¡¯m pretty sure there¡¯s nothing around me though. I had the grave slimes use its ability to call the undead, but only normal undead came.

    ¡°...Was I imagining it?¡± [Ryouma]

    Something was off, but I pulled myself together anyway, and walked through this rocky road.

    TL Note: This is the chapter for this week. Last chapter was forst week. Also, the title presence is šÝÅä kehai, which usually pertains to the presence of a living being, and by living being that means something that moves and stuff... you know. Anyway, something like that. I thought I¡¯d rify that since presence alone doesn¡¯t really seem to give the same feeling as kehai.

 Volume 5 - 18

    When the sun began to set, I went back home. The girls had already started making supper by the time I got back.

    I talked to the four adults that apanied them, and there weren¡¯t any major problems aside from their battles with the higher variation of zombies, the ghouls.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t bad enough that we had to step in, but it took a while for them to subjugate the ghouls.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°They were just caught off guard since ghouls are much faster than zombies. They¡¯ll be fine as long as we throw ¡®em a ghoul or two to practice.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°I¡¯ll have the grave slime catch some then. Anyway, what do you think about that suggestion?¡± [Ryouma]

    After hearing Shiva-san¡¯s and Remiri-san¡¯s thoughts, I talked to them about my idea to have the grils go back to town by themselves.

    ¡°Hmm... Even if we overestimate the time it would take them to go back and even with the time they¡¯d spend resting added, I don¡¯t think it¡¯d be a problem..¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°They made it here in 2 days with our help, so the five of them together should only take about 3 or 4 days at most.¡± [Rheinbach]

    Shiva-san and Rheinbach-sama seemed to like my proposition.

    ¡°How about you? How¡¯s it going on your side?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Nothing special. I¡¯ve been digging magic jewels here and there. The grave slimes took care of all the undead, so there weren¡¯t any particr... Ah-¡± [Ryouma]

    As I started to talk, I remembered that feeling I got in the afternoon.

    ¡°Did you guys experience something simr?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Nope... And we would have realized it if someone were watching since we had our guards up just like you did.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Right... I called the undead, but I didn¡¯t find anything unusual. Nothing came up either even after casting a search spell. Maybe it really was my imagination after all.¡± [Ryouma]

    You get it from time to time. You know that feeling where while you¡¯re washing your head you suddenly go, ¡°Ah! Someone¡¯s watching me!¡± But then, considering the situation, I don¡¯t really think that¡¯s it.

    Suddenly...

    ¡°Kyaa!!!¡±

    A high-pitched scream resounded outside. We immediately ran out of the house, and when we looked around, we saw Elia, Kanan, and Riera on their bottoms with their swords out.

    I thought someone fell into the river, but their swords are out so I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case. Around this time, Michelle and Miyabi also came running here. So, at the very least, if someone fell, it wasn¡¯t someone we knew. Anyway, their swords are out, so it could be a magical beast or an undead, but... I don¡¯t see any.

    ¡°What happened!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°We were trying to draw water from the river, but when we pulled the bucket up, something was inside.¡± [Elia]

    Elia pointed to the fallen bucket to which a long rope was affixed. Something ck was definitely there.

    ¡°Is that a fish? Or maybe a magical beast? It doesn¡¯t look hostile though.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Could go either way, but... That¡¯s really creepy.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Sebasu, do you know something?¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°No, unfortunately.¡± [Sebasu}

    The adults discussed among themselves the identity of the unidentified mysterious animal. I have some idea myself what it is, but the bigger question is why it¡¯s here...

    ¡°It could be a goosefish... or maybe a flounder. No, maybe it¡¯s a stingray? Hmm... it could also be a catfish...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Ryouma-kun, do you know what it is?¡± [Riera]

    ¡°No, but parts of it resemble some of the fishes I¡¯ve heard of.¡± [Ryouma]

    The fish had a t body, and at its center was a bulge that resembled a dome. It had a pair of big eyes and a mouth like a goosefish, whiskers like those of a catfish, five on each side, and a tail behing it just like that of a stingray. The thin part of its body and its whiskers fluttered about as it squirmed on the ground.

    It¡¯s all jumbled up, I have no idea what it is anymore. Besides, aren¡¯t catfishes supposed to live in the ocean? What is this thing doing in a river?

    ¡°...In any case, you girls were just scared by this thing, and you weren¡¯t in any danger, right?¡± [Ryouma]

    The girls nodded, apologizing for the trouble they¡¯ve caused. I let them off, saying it¡¯s good they¡¯re not hurt.

    ¡°So, what to do with this?¡± [Michelle}

    Michelle pointed to the fish crawling on the ground.

    ¡°...Eat it?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You can eat that thing!?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°We did get a request from the guild to investigate... And there¡¯s not a lot of other reports we could give right now, so we might as well see if we can actually eat it. Identify says it¡¯s neither poisonous nor being fed on by parasites, so there shouldn¡¯t be any problems.¡± [Ryouma]

    It looks like the fish in my previous life too, so it¡¯s probably edible. Chances to eat fresh fish are rare in this country. In fact, I¡¯ve never actually been able to eat fresh ocean fish sinceing to this world, so I really want to eat it.

    I took the fish and spread it over a workbench outside made with earth magic. The girls were using the kitchen inside, and everyone seems to find the fish disgusting, so I¡¯m working here. I don¡¯t really see what¡¯s so disgusting though. I mean it is a bit grotesque, but it¡¯s not that bad.

    Anyway, I used Identify on the mysterious fish.

    The first thing I cut was the tail since I thought it might have poison, but apparently, it didn¡¯t have any. There¡¯re no parasites in its body either, but there¡¯s a lot of trash in its stomach and intestine. The stomach should be safe to eat as long as I run it through the cleaner slime first, but I think I¡¯ll have the scavenger slime take care of the trash inside the intestine.

    After dissecting the fish, I found out its teeth had threeyers. They were really sharp, and when broken, they could cut even better than knives. They could probably be used to make arrowheads.

    I turned the fish around. The thin part of the fish¡¯s body resembled engawa. Looking good. I hope it tastes as good as it looks.

    After inspecting the fish, I preserved most of its edible parts with ice magic. The girls had already made supper, so we won¡¯t be able to eat most of this, but I¡¯d at least like to have some of the engawa.

    I heated the engawa for a bit until it was crunchy, then I took a bite... Delicious! It was like butter as it melted in my mouth, filling every corner with its vor. My body came undone.

    ¡°Ryouma-san, supper¡¯s almost ready.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Eh? A-Ahh! Right!¡± [Ryouma]

    When I looked to the direction of her voice, I noticed she was calling me from a sizable distance. Does she hate this thing that much?

    After heating the engawa, I served it to everyone as part of the day¡¯s supper, and they all seemed to like it. But, for some reason, everyone except the two formers soldiers, Rheinbach-sama and Shiva-san, mentioned that they didn¡¯t want to eat it frequently despite being delicious.

    This fish tastes good but it looks weird. Their disgust for it must be on a psichological level.

    I¡¯m happy the fish is delicious, but it¡¯s too bad they don¡¯t like it that much. Like this the night passed.

 Volume 5 - 19

    The sun high above shone on me as I looked down the flowing river below the cliff, at which I used the neutral magic ¡®Search¡¯.

    ¡°There¡¯s a lot especially on the riverbeds... It¡¯s easier to count them during this time as they move slower than in the morning.¡± [Ryouma]

    I wrote down the information I got on a piece of paper padded underneath by a stone nk. This is a journal I started to record my findings on the goosefish-like fish.

    I perform my investigation twice every morning, noon, and evening, which totals to six times. I¡¯m studying their habitat, their mode of life, and the time of day they¡¯re most active. From my investigation, I¡¯ve found them to be most active early in the morning when it¡¯s still dark, so I figure they must be nocturnal. I should put more effort in studying them during early morning and evening.

    I wrote down my thoughts and estimations on the corner of the paper, then I put away my writing tools in my Item Box.

    I then took out a rope woven out of the sticky slime¡¯s thread and arge fishing hook I¡¯d hurriedly made with Alchemy. I hung a piece of smoked meat on the hook along with some weight, then I let it down the cliff into the river, tying the other side of the rope around a stake created from the earth through earth magic. It¡¯s a setup meant to catch more of those fishes.

    I tried it earlier this morning, but the fishes just bit through the rope. This time I¡¯m using a rope made out of the sticky slime¡¯s thread, so they shouldn¡¯t be able to bite through it as easily.

    After ensuring everything was working, I walked back to camp.

    When I turned around, I saw a giant slime swallowing hordes of undead that systematically walked toward it to be eaten.

    Meanwhile, my rimel birds were peacefully sunbathing.

    The giant slime was of course my grave slime in emperor form. The emperor slimes have already been made public in the tournament, so I don¡¯t mind brazenly using it like this, where it¡¯s swallowing undead after undead while in its biggest form.

    Being over 10 meters in diameter, it looks just like a hill.

    The emperor grave slime looks really happy but I¡¯m actually doing this to find the missing people. Sure looks like horror though; all those undead being swallowed one after another with only an arm or a skeleton¡¯s head poking out of the slime¡¯s mouth from time to time.

    Speaking of which, the undead won¡¯t attack me since I¡¯m inside a holy space. Although with the emperor grave slime using its skill to lure them, they won¡¯t attack me even if I stepped out.

    Still...

    ¡°...You¡¯re doing this again?¡± [Ryouma]

    I looked toward another group of undead. From an otherworlder¡¯s perspective, the movements of those undead couldn¡¯t be anything else but that famous dance from my previous life.

    Actually, it¡¯s just one part of the dance... In any case, it¡¯s not like they¡¯re dancing on their own volition, it¡¯s the grave slime that¡¯s making them do it. It¡¯s been doing this ever since it learned ¡®Ghost Rule¡¯ after bing a king slime.

    Under ¡®Ghost Rule¡¯ the undead move slower and clumsier, so it can¡¯t be used to make the undead fight other enemies. It¡¯s mainly a skill to keep undead from running away when they somehow manage to resist the effects of ¡®Attract Ghosts¡¯.

    I thought the skill might improve after some training, so I had the grave slimes practice the skill by making the undead move like that dance from that promotional video I once saw. But even after the slimes managed to control 20 undead, the movements of the undead never improved.

    For reasons unknown, the grave slimes would sometimes make the undead dance like that on its own.

    If they like it that much, I¡¯d like to teach them the whole dance, but unfortunately, I¡¯m not that familiar with dancing, and I don¡¯t remember the whole dance to begin with. Because of that the undead just keeps dancing the same part over and over.

    I went back to the shed at the camp, and brought out a chair with me. I sat by the holy space outside, then I ordered the slime to stop gathering undead and show me the undead it¡¯s gathered one by one.

    ¡°Let¡¯s start!¡± [Ryouma]

    With the list of the missing people on one hand, I started searching.

    ¡°Fuu...¡±

    After quietly working some time, I breathed out a sigh and stretched my body, then a voice came from the direction where the emperor grave slime had started gathering zombies again.

    ¡°Ryouma-chan, we¡¯re home!¡± [Remiri]

    Remiri-neesan is home already? It was then that I noticed that the sun had already started to set. Looks like I worked longer than I thought.

    ¡°Wee home, Remiri-nee... huh? Where are Elia and the others?¡±

    I had the slime move out of the way, so I could better see them, but the girls were nowhere to be seen. It doesn¡¯t seem like they ran into any sort of trouble. Did they go somewhere?

    The four adults began exining.

    ¡°The youngdies are still training.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°I thought it was about time to stop for the day, but they still wanted to train some more.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°They said they won¡¯t go far away, and if anything were toe up, they would just throw a fire bomb up to the sky, so there shouldn¡¯t be any problems.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°They¡¯ll be fine with their current strength.¡± [Remiri]

    They have been making great progresstely. When we first met, they were about as strong as a newly promoted D Rank party. And now, they¡¯re only a step behind a C Rank. Their progress really rocketed after Shiva-san and Remiri-neesan started teaching them.

    Shiva-san and Remiri-neesan mentioned that my training menu was like fertilizer for the girls. And because they were hardworking and talented from the start, it was really easy to teach them. So it¡¯s not strange to see how they were able to make such great progress.

    Even if they do get surrounded, they can just blow them away with their magic. In the worst case, they can just run away.

    ¡°True, they have gotten strong enough to walk near the camp unaided.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°So what are you calling your rimel birds for then?¡± [Remiri]

    Just to be safe I called the Rimer birds over. Remiri-neesan¡¯s sharp eyes didn¡¯t miss that, and sheughed. She asked me why, but it seemed to be rhetorical as she just went ahead and teased me without hearing my reply, saying, ¡°Ryouma-chan likes to spoil them, huh.¡±

    ¡°That aside, did something happen? You seem a bit down.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Nothing in particr. It¡¯s just that I¡¯ve been looking for the missing people for a while now.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I see... And? Did you find one?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Just two.¡± [Ryouma]

    But that was from dozens of undead... Looking for them is a chore, and yet even if we do find one, all we get is a corpse. It¡¯s pretty disheartening.

    Remiri-neesan and the other adults looked worried about me, so I put a stop to the search today.

    When the three Rimel birds arrived, I used Sensory Link with one of them to look for Elia¡¯s group. They were right next to us just as Rheinbach-sama mentioned, so I found them almost immediately.

    I continued to watch over Elia¡¯s group with the Rimel bird I¡¯d linked with, while the other two birds patrolled the surroundings.

    The girls were surround with twelve of the undead. But there was a narrow path in between two cliffs which they entered, severely reducing the number they had to face at a time. A good move. With this they¡¯ve also secured a path of escape. There was a ghoul among the undead but Riera managed to defeat it while protecting the others.

    After finishing off the rest of the undead, they left.

    As I continued watching them, I saw them use a magic I hadn¡¯t seen before.

    ¡° ¡®Spike Carpet¡¯ ¡° [Michelle]

    Was that an earth version of the fire magic ¡®me Carpet¡¯? I¡¯ve never heard of it, but countless barbs with small sharp stones sticking out of them came out of the ground, hurting the legs of the rushing undead. Those barbs were like caltrops, but they seemed totch on for when the zombies and the ghouls stepped on them, their movements went wonky, and they came tumbling down. The spell didn¡¯t seem effective against the skeletons, but with a gap between the undead made, the girls could now fight a smaller clump.

    Elia then casted a ¡®Firestorm¡¯ just as she did whenever they would find themselves surrounded. Only, this firestorm was different.

    Her usual firestorm was literally a cyclone of fire that consumed her foes, yet this firestorm was summoned around the entire group, turning into ash all of the undead that surrounded them.

    Where and when did she learn something like that?

    ¡°Elia and Michelle both used a magic I¡¯d never seen before. Did you teach them? That firestorm wall and that bed of nails?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That¡¯s something they came up with themselves after plenty of trial and error.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Elia-chan improved a lot at controlling her magic power, so she tried toe up with other ways to use it. As for Michelle, she figured she could create her own magic too after watching you.¡± [Remiri]

    Rheinbach-sama and Remiri-neesan said that as they happily drank their tea. So they came up with that themselves... Somewhere when I wasn¡¯t watching, they suddenly grew up all on their own.

    As the girls continued to practice, I quietly watched over them through the rimel bird. But then a murder of Harris crows suddenly attacked the rimel bird.

    When the murder of Harrris crows attacked, the Rimel bird used a wind spell to scare them away. It was the wind spell, ¡®Sound Boom¡¯. A spell I¡¯d taught it,.

    The booming sound scared the Harris crows away, but the sound also reached the girls, and they decided to stop for the day.

    They must¡¯ve thought something strange was going on. It¡¯s a ce where people frequently went missing after all, and they¡¯ve never seen me use Sound Boom either, so it¡¯s no wonder they decided to go back.

    I feel bad for scaring them.

    I waited outside for the group toe back. When I saw the five girls trotting back, I waved at them, to which they waved back with a sword in hand, a staff, or just their hands. After they confirmed there were no undead nearby, they ran back to our camp.

    ¡°Wee home.¡± [Ryouma]

    I weed the girls back when they arrived, but they immediately started talking about a booming sound they¡¯d heard. When I told them what that sound actually was, they all promptly lost strength in their legs.

    They didn¡¯t feel like going back to train again after that, and they just went and rested while they tended to their equipment.

 Volume 5 - 20

    It¡¯s been exactly one week since I found that goosefish-like fish. Right now, I¡¯m walking through the canyon, watching over the girls as they attempt to go back to town on their own.

    ¡°Last one!!¡± [Kanan]

    ¡± ¡®Rocket Punch¡¯ !¡± [Elia]

    Elia¡¯s magic pulverized the three skeletons in front of them. After confirming the skeletons gone for good, Kanan spoke.

    ¡°...It¡¯s over. Let¡¯s rest for a bit.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°ording to the map there¡¯s a ce we can rest at just a little up ahead. And since we¡¯re resting anyway, we might as well have lunch early.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Sounds good. And in fact, since it¡¯ll take time to prepare the food, we¡¯ll probably end up eating just in time anyway.¡± [Michelle]

    Our training these past few days involved me gathering ghouls for the girls to fight in the morning, while Shiva-san would instruct them on marching in the afternoon. Thanks to that they can now end their battles safely.

    The battles became even easier when Elia learned my original magic ¡®Rocket Punch¡¯. Don¡¯t get fooled by the name though. Despite being called Rocket Punch, the spell doesn¡¯t actually have anything to do with punching stuff. It¡¯s actually just bashing a lump of magic power against something, so even someone like Elia who¡¯s rtively untrainedpared to their group¡¯s two vanguards or me, can knock the undead down. In fact, she¡¯s more than able of taking out up to six targets at a time.

    On top of that, it also works against creatures immune to physical attacks like wraiths. And with the magic consumption being only about the level of an intermediate magic, for someone like Elia who¡¯s used to handling advanced magic like Firestorm, handling this spell is a cinch. I only taught it to Elia because she asked after seeing me use it, but it seems to suit magicians like her who have lots of magic power.

    The battles aren¡¯t a problem anymore, but the girls still aren¡¯t used to moving with their guards up. They get tired easily, so they end up having to rest a lot, which in turn slows down their pace. In fact, it¡¯s already the third day since we left.

    After a little walk, we reached a partially caved cliff. Looks like we¡¯re stopping here for a break. Riera, Kanan, and Michelle spread out into a fan-shaped formation, covering each other¡¯s blind spots. They kept a lookout like that as they called out to us.

    ¡°Fuu... We¡¯d like to rest here.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Well, don¡¯t mind us.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Right. You should just go on your own pace, Elia-chan.¡± [Remiri]

    Elia seemed apologetic when she said that since we had to match their pace, but Shiva-san and Remiri-neesan just told her and the others that they didn¡¯t mind. It¡¯s true that they¡¯re slower than us, but it¡¯s not like we¡¯re in a hurry. We really don¡¯t mind.

    When I told her that, she quietlyughed and took out the magic tool that could pour water, and some dried meat. Looks like Elia and Miyabi will be prepring our food. They already learned this from school, so they could already do it well.

    The undead would frolic into our camp from time to time, but the three girls that were keeping watch made short work of them, so we just passed the time waiting for food by patrolling the area and making light talk.

    ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s go!¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°We might even make it to town today. Though we¡¯ll definitely make it by tomorrow as long as we proceed carefully.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Just a ¡®lil bit more, we¡¯ll definitely get there.¡± [Miyabi]

    After eating and resting in turns, then confirming the route they would take, the girls excitedly resumed their journey. The four adults and I followed from behind.

    The girls still found themselves running into an undead or two, but their numbers were clearly decreasing. We¡¯re getting nearer. Thanks to that, the girls were able to increase their pace without straining themselves.

    Then evening came¡ª

    By the time the sky was red, we could see holes dug by adventurers here and there. They must¡¯ve left before it got dark. There were no people in sight, but we were definitely close. A nce at the map proved that. We should be able to reach town before it gets really dark.

    It was then that Kanan suddenly spoke.

    ¡°Huh...?¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Is something the matter?¡± [Elia]

    The girls immediately went on guard. I did too, and I even asked the adults with a nce whether they could sense something, but their response indicated a no. Then Kanan inhaled deeply through her nose.

    ¡°I knew it! The adventurers we met a while ago are somewhere nearby.¡± [Kanan]

    A while ago?

    ¡°You mean Oslo-san?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Right. I can smell the same perfume from the wind.¡± [Kanan]

    The woman with them didn¡¯t take baths while in the canyon because the rotting smell of the undead would just stick, so she just put on some perfume instead. That¡¯s probably what Kanan is picking up, though I can¡¯t say for sure. Beast tribe people sure have amazing noses. Ah, but it seems Miyabi has no idea either, so I guess it¡¯s just the dog tribe that has amazing noses.

    ¡°I can¡¯t pinpoint exactly how far they are, but I can tell they¡¯re right on our course.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°They bought a week¡¯s worth of suppliesst time, and it¡¯s almost a week already. They must be on their way home too.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Since we¡¯reing from the same direction, we might as well say hi.¡± [Ryouma]

    No one opposed the idea, so we went ahead and headed for Oslo¡¯s group. After a ten-minute walk, 11 figures entered our sight. They were resting against some rocks by the corner of a road that was about as wide as four adults standing side-by-side with their arms spread. One of them had wings extending from his back. This was undoubtedly Oslo¡¯s group, but...

    ¡°Something is off.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Maybe something happened.¡± [Remiri]

    They made small movements like shaking or scratching their head, but they weren¡¯t saying anything. They¡¯re just standing with their backs against the stones like that with their heads down. From the faces I could make out, their eyes seemed to be closed. I can¡¯t figure out whether they have their guard up or are just resting.

    They could also just be tired. But they¡¯re supposed to be veterans. They should¡¯ve long been used to this kind of work. Yet a group of people like that actually ended up so fatigued that they can¡¯t talk? If that¡¯s true, then something big must¡¯ve happened.

    I walked ahead of the group, while the four adults kept the girls from following. They must¡¯ve thought the same thing. As I approached the odd group, I stealthily braced myself before greeting them.

    ¡°Good day-!¡± [Ryouma]

    When I greeted them, all of them took their weapons out and headed toward me. It was as if they hadn¡¯t noticed me a while ago, and were just now realizing my presence.

    ¡°It¡¯s me. I sold you food. Remember? And-¡± [Ryouma]

    While I tried to break the hostile atmosphere, I put my left hand on my katana just in case. But just as I was trying to talk to them, seeing their faces made me stop.

    ¡°...¡±

    There were no wounds on their bodies. They were no different from a group of extremely cautious adventurers. But their expressions... It was as if they¡¯d lost all emotion as every one of them wore the same expressionless face.

    Something is very wrong! I thought. Then I realized that a blunt, shiny object was thrusting for my throat. It was Oslo-san¡¯s spear. I immediately leaned back and retreated, as I unsheathed my katana, and fended off the spear.

    I¡¯d intended to cut the spear, but Oslo-san managed to retreat... There¡¯s no doubting it. Just now, he was aiming for my neck. That could¡¯ve been fatal.

    ¡°Step back!¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Get ready to move whenever!¡± [Rheinbach]

    The four adults stepped forward as they warned the girls to protect them. Shiva-san and Rheibach-sama walked up to my side.

    ¡°...That was a bit dangerous. I could¡¯ve died if it hit, you know?¡± [Ryouma]

    While our rtionship wasn¡¯t deep, it still felt bad getting attacked like that. So, I ended up saying something lighthearted.

    ...I don¡¯t think they¡¯re bad people though. They might be able to fool me with some good-guy act, but there¡¯s no way they could fool the four veterans with us. So does that mean they really have turned into undead? But they¡¯re uninjured. There are no wounds or anything on them. The only thing off is that paleplexion of theirs, but it¡¯s not so bad that they look like corpses or anything. Yet there¡¯s no denying that Oslo-san really did try to kill me just now. Moreover, there¡¯s that issue with their expressions and theirck of response. They don¡¯t feel human at all... Looks like we¡¯re gonna have to fight.

    Oslo-san stepped back and regrouped with 10 of his other members. They stood in formation as they set their sights toward us. Then Rheibach-sama, who was standing to my left, suddenly spoke solemnly.

    ¡°These people are being controlled.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Controlled...!¡± [Ryouma]

    Like brain washing!?

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen it many times back in the army. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s good fortune or not, but they¡¯re not dead. We can treat them after catching them. There¡¯s quite a bit, but it should be doable, no?¡± [Shiva]

    This time Shiva-san spoke grimly from my right. The way he spoke seemed to suggest I could expect much from the battle. At the same time, he seemed to be asking, yet the way he said it seemed less a question and more a conclusion.

    Not that it matters anyway. If they¡¯re alive then there¡¯s only one thing to do!

    ¡°Sorry about this! ¡®Rusty Mist¡¯!¡± [Ryouma]

    I took the first move and casted the dark and water spell ¡®Rusty Mist¡¯.

    With its wide area-of-effect and a cliff on either side of the path here, there¡¯s no way for them to dodge. And like that a thin, ck mist shrouded them. However, there was a wind mage on their side, and it only took the mage a spell to blow away the mist. But that was more than enough. Because now the three vanguards of theirs have had all their metallic equipment rusted. Even Oslo-san¡¯s spear couldn¡¯t escape that fate.

    The three vanguards attacked regardless of their rusted equipment.

    ¡°Amateur!¡± [Shiva]

    Shiva-san thrust his halberd toward the woman armed with a mace and a shield. The woman raised her shield to protect herself, but that was exactly Shiva-san¡¯s aim. With the rusted shield already weakened, it could not stand the ki-infused attack. The shield broke, and its fragments fell to the ground. During which, Shiva-san brought his halberd back, then struck the woman with the halberd¡¯s butt, breaking her legs and arms, effectively incapacitating her. As expected of the former knightmander and a current S-Rank adventurer.

    The woman wasn¡¯t the only enemy, however. And a man came swinging with a battle hammer from his left. It was then that Rheinbach-sama appeared, shing his sword as he passed the man, cutting the man¡¯s leg as he turned around. He didn¡¯t cut the whole leg, only the tendon. That was enough to render the man incapacitated. As the hammer fell to the ground, the man came tumbling shortly after.

    I can¡¯t be standing around, doing nothing either. Let¡¯s see, the next one is also a man... Ah, it¡¯s Barrack-san.

    I struck out with the back of my katana toward his shoulder, and Barrack-san tried to block with his rusted sword, only to have it break as my katana crushed his shoulder. As he fell to the ground, I struck his left shoulder one more time, then I broke his left leg. With this he¡¯s out. That makes three! Next!

    Their group¡¯s mage also casted magic against us, but Remiri-neesan and Sebasu would either repel with their own magic or keep the mage from casting, so it wasn¡¯t a problem. After two minutes, we were able to safely suppress everyone without killing.

    ...The battle was a lot easier than expected, though that was mostly because they moved poorly. It was probably because they were being controlled that they couldn¡¯t bring out their full strength. In terms of undead, they¡¯re actually worse than the ghouls. Even their teamwork was poor.

    ¡°U, u, u...¡±

    ¡°Save... me...¡±

    ¡°Ru...n...¡±

    After taking away their weapons, tying them up with a rope, and handcuffing them with cuffs made with earth magic, we started their treatment. It didn¡¯t take long before this group that had been quiet all this time started groaning. Remiri-neesan examined them.

    ¡°Is everything alright?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be any problem. They¡¯ve just finally recovered their consciousness.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°I see... So, what is all this about?¡± [Ryouma]

    Finally able to ask the question that¡¯s been bothering me since the battle, I asked with no reserve. Remiri-neesan and Shiva-san frowned before appearing worried, then they looked toward Elia¡¯s group. They were standing some distance away, but they were clearly concerned about our discussion. Is this something they want to keep from the girls?

    In that case...

    ¡°I have plenty of ways to keep others from listening in our discussion, you know?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Nah~, it¡¯s fine even if they hear. As long as they know just enough anyway.¡± [Remiri]

    So it really is a bad topic... Well it¡¯s no surprise I suppose, I¡¯d already thought it would be ever since brain washing came to mind.

    ¡°These guys were definitely under the influence of a dark spell, the Curse of Obedience. And just as the name implies, those under the spell have no choice but to obey whatever the caster ordered them to do.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°So it really was that sort of magic...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Right. But the only ones who can use it are those few permitted by the country. And even then it¡¯s usually only used as ast resort in some criminal investigations or against some major criminal. I don¡¯t know who would use something like that here, but I find it hard to believe they would just use it to attack people...¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Either way it¡¯s a big problem.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Exactly! Ugh, my head hurts... We might find something out if we undo the spell, so let¡¯s focus on that first. You¡¯ll help out too, right, Ryouma-chan?¡± [Remiri]

    Naturally.

    ¡°So, what do I do?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You can undo the curse with either the light magic, Dispel, or the dark magic, Curse Transfer. If it looks like you¡¯re about to get cursed yourself, you can just use Anti Curse or Return Curse. So the same as usual.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Alright.¡± [Ryouma]

    I thought we would be working separately, but Remiri-neesan stopped me.

    ¡°It would be better to work together. Lifting this kind of curse puts a lot of strain on the afflicted, so they might go wild. There¡¯s no telling what¡¯ll happen after the curse is lifted either. Lifting the curse as quickly as possible is the best way to minimize the strain.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°...Sure is an annoying curse.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That just how dangerous of a spell it is.¡± [Remiri]

    Well, it is a brain-washing spell. It¡¯s not hard to imagine it having bad side effects.

    Elia and the other adults kept watch while Remiri-neesan and I went to work.

    After talking a bit more, it was decided that I would be using Curse Transfer while Remiri-neesan used Dispel. Image-wise, I would be pulling the curse from their body while Remiri-neesan would be pushing the curse out from behind.

    ¡°N-No more...¡± [Oslo]

    The first patient was Oslo-san. Among the patients he babbles the most. That was proof that he was regaining his consciousness, so Remiri-neesan chose him to be the first.

    Oslo-san, I¡¯ll do my best.

    I pulled out a pitch-ck wand from my Item Box. The wand itself was gloss-less, but the hexagonal, ck, crystal prism attached at the end of it, sparkled brilliantly. I bowed to Oslo-san before starting.

    ¡°Are you ready?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Yes!¡± [Ryouma]

    This wand is made from the branch of the elder treant we defeated a long time ago and the fragment of the demon king. I applied the method of using Evesting Darkness (Herb) that I learned from Remiri-neesan with the skill of wand-making learned from Tekun to create this magic wand that specializes in dark magic.

    It¡¯s a product that has received Tekun¡¯s seal of approval, so you could imagine just how powerful it is. In fact, I rarely use it because it¡¯s usually overkill to use with offensive dark magic. I even feel guilty every time I recall trying it out on those poor bandits once... But I digress.

    This time around, I¡¯m just going to be using it to lift a curse, so it doesn¡¯t matter how powerful the wand is. I can go all out.

    ¡°I¡¯m starting, alright? Match my timing... 1... 2... 3... ¡®Dispel¡¯ ¡± [Remiri]

    ¡± ¡®Curse Transfer¡¯ ¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°...R...¡± [Oslo]

    When we started, Oslo-san abruptly shook then stiffened. Then he started shaking again, but this time he was clearly in pain.

    ¡°R... u...¡± [Oslo]

    ¡°Run!!!¡± [Oslo]

    Oslo-san suddenly screamed. I was warned of the patient possibly going wild, but this patient sure isn¡¯t hesitating even a little.

    ¡°!?¡±

    There shouldn¡¯t have been anything above my head, but out of the blue, I felt magic power gather in that supposedly empty space.

 Volume 5 - 21

    THE MAN PICKED UP BY THE GODS ¨C VOLUME 5 CHAPTER 21

    I wasn¡¯t the only one to notice the gathering of magic power over my head, Rimiri-neesan noticed it too, and we both looked up. When we did, what greeted us were the bones of a human covered in tattered rags and some confusing clothing, floating there about 10m above the ground.

    What¡¯s a skeleton doing up there? And why didn¡¯t I notice it until now?

    It was curious, but I knew without a doubt that the source of that magic power I felt was none other than that floating skeleton. I could also tell from the eerie feeling emanating from it that that magic power was the same kind as that used in curses.

    Remiri-neesan thought the same, and we both stopped Oslo-san¡¯s treatment at the same time as we both tried to erect our own defensive spells, but¡ª

    ¡°Ka ka ka...¡± [???]

    The faint sounds of what seemed to beughing bones reached my ears. The target was me.

    No! It¡¯s already begun casting!

    Please make it in time! I prayed as I poured all of my strength into my defensive magic.

    Time slowed to a crawl, and it felt like I could see everything as it all unfolded before me.

    The other eight who were keeping watch all started casting their magic toward the skeleton. The adults first, then the girls, who were only a moment slower, but the skeleton had a head start.

    In the midst of that chaos and confusion, only one spell fired.

    From my shadow...

    ¡°Ka!?¡± [???]

    ...stretched out a ck pir that reached for the heavens, grazing past the skeleton¡¯s cheeks as it did. But that only happened because the skeleton dodged. If it hadn¡¯t that pir would have gone right through its forehead.

    ¡± ¡®Return Curse¡¯ !¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡± ¡®Cutter Storm¡¯ !¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡± ¡®me Bomb¡¯ !¡± [Shiva]

    ¡± ¡®Water Cutter¡¯ !¡± [Sebasu]

    The ck pir vanished like mist blown as it missed its target, while the skeleton cast its magic toward me. But dodging that pir dyed it, and my Return Curse made it in time. As the skeleton¡¯s spell deflected, Rheinbach-sama, Shiva-san, and Sebasu-san simultaneously shot their spells.

    The skeleton tried to dodge the onught of spells, but it failed, and the three spells smashed into it. However¡ª

    ¡°It¡¯s still alive!¡± [Ryouma]

    The three spells definitely hurt the skeleton, but they weren¡¯t enough to finish it off. I¡¯m not sure exactly how, but this thing isn¡¯t like the rest of those weak skeletons!

    ¡°Ka!? Kaka!¡± [???]

    ¡°Hmm?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It ran...?¡± [Riera]

    I braced myself for an attack, but the skeleton just flew higher and higher before finally bolting off. When Riera spoke, the skeleton had already vanished toward the cliff.

    ¡°Are you ok? Sorry for letting that thing get through.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. These slimes saved me.¡± [Ryouma]

    I ordered the slimes to show themselves, and 10 shadow slimes came out of my shadow. The earlier spell was none other than these guys¡¯ Shadow Needle.

    Looks like it finally paid off having these shadow slimes shadow me all the time. I would¡¯ve been in a pretty bad spot had they not been here. I¡¯ll feed them plenty of magic powerter as a treat.

    ¡°Still, just what in the world was that skeleton?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°That was a lich.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Lich, as in that lich?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Naturally.¡± [Remiri]

    Liches are a higher variation of wraiths that specialize in magic. Their magic and fighting style vary from specimen to specimen, but their strength is enough to get them at the very least a B Rank subjugation request.

    I¡¯ve heard of liches, but it¡¯s my first time seeing one.

    ¡°It probably used the dark magic, Hide, to shroud its presence while it quietly approached us from the sky. Considering, the timing and the fact that it tried to curse you just now, it might have been the one responsible for the curse behind Oslo¡¯s group.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Ex...act...ly¡± [???]

    ¡°!? Oslo-san!¡± [Ryouma]

    While Remiri-neesan was exining her hypothesis, I heard a weak voice from behind. I impatiently turned to that voice, and what I saw was none other than Oslo-san. We stopped the treatment halfway through, yet he actually managed to regain consciousness!? Is his body alright!?

    ¡°Oslo-san, how are you feeling?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Can I have some... water?¡± [Oslo]

    I quickly prepared a ss of water with the right bnce of water and sugar added into it, and gave it to Oslo-san, who thoroughly emptied the ss.

    ¡°Thanks... I¡¯m feeling better now.¡± [Oslo]

    ¡°How about your mind? Are you able to think straight?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I still... have to focus... or else... ugh.¡± [Oslo]

    As he suddenly lost strength in his legs, I hurriedly went up to support him.

    ¡°Oslo-san! ...He¡¯s fainted.¡± [Ryouma]

    He¡¯d fainted, but there wasn¡¯t anything odd about his breath or his countenance.

    ¡°Ryouma-chan, please cast Curse Transfer again. His condition should change for the better so long as wepletely undo the curse.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°It¡¯s also best that we leave this ce as soon as possible. Sorry to hurry you, but please quickly finish the treatment for the others as well.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°I¡¯m on it!¡± [Ryouma]

    I want to leave here too, but we have to undo their curses first or they might suddenly go crazy... We have to hurry.

    After that Remiri-neesan and I did our best to quickly treat Oslo and his group. One small mercy is that while Oslo and his members seemed weak, there was no danger to their lives.

    After hiding them in Sebasu-san¡¯s Dimension Home, we resumed our trip back to town.

    We walked through the narrow path surrounded by cliffs until we reached an open space, where we all entered the Dimension Home.

    Inside were Oslo¡¯s group, who were all still cuffed for safety¡¯s sake. Oslo-san, Barrack-san, Nel-san, and another woman seemed to have regained their consciousness.

    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Your... that guy from...st week... ugh.¡± [Woman]

    The woman tried to stand up as she weakly spoke, but she lost strength in her legs and fell down.

    ¡°Don¡¯t force yourself.¡± [Remiri]

    Remiri-neesan quickly reacted and distributed the sses of water Sebasu-san had prepared. It seems they haven¡¯t realized that they¡¯re safe now.

    ¡°...I thought I was dreaming.¡± [Oslo]

    ¡°Looks like you saved us again.¡± [Nell]

    ¡°Enough about that already. You¡¯ve been cursed and your bodies are still weak, so just rest.¡± [Remiri]

    Oslo-san and Nell-san seemed to finally understand the situation, but Remiri-neesan just told them to rest. But Barrack-san ignored Remiri-neesan¡¯s orders, and he forced himself up.

    ¡°Thanks, but... we need to get word... to the guild as soon as possible.¡± [Barrack]

    ¡°You can¡¯t even move without hurting. We¡¯ll inform the guild ourselves, so don¡¯t worry about that. Rather, how about telling us what happened instead?¡± [Ryouma]

    After hearing their story, it turns out that that lich cursed them about two days ago and brought them to its base. And apparently, there are people other than them being controlled.

    ¡°There were a couple of times when I got my consciousness back... Usually when there¡¯s no orders or when I try to go against the orders. And sometimes even in cases other than those... In the end, I couldn¡¯t escape, but I did manage to see another person.¡± [Barrack]

    ¡°Before we were caught, we came across a two-man party being attacked by seven masked adventurers. We saw both groups when we were finally caught, but it turns out, all of them, the people being attacked and the people attacking, were being manipted.¡± [Nell]

    ¡°We tried to save the two adventurers when we saw them under attack, but then that bony bastard came out of nowhere and attacked us.¡± [Oslo]

    So there¡¯s still at least 10 people still being manipted...

    In any case, our circumstances are really simr... A group of adventurers under distress as bait, then a surprise attack from the lich while in the middle of trying to help. Has that lich been doing this for a long time?

    When I said that, Oslo-san agreed.

    ¡°That¡¯s probably it. After all... we were also turned into decoys after falling into a trap.¡± [Oslo]

    His face twisted and his nails buried into his hands as he his spoke with regret. The other four seemed to share his regret.

    Did they...?

    ¡°...Did you end up baiting someone else before meeting us?¡± [Ryouma]

    It¡¯s painful, but it¡¯s something that needs to be confirmed, so I steeled myself to ask.

    No one said anything. Oslo-san just nodded his head.

    ¡°Do you remember how many members their party had?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Five. There¡¯s no mistaking it.¡± [Oslo]

    ¡°I remember them too. Everyone was around the age of my daughter. I didn¡¯t want to, none of us did, but we couldn¡¯t resist the spell. After that, I don¡¯t know what happened to them.¡± [Nell]

    ¡°When we finally came to our senses, they were gone. None of us could remember what exactly happened, so there wasn¡¯t anything we could do. It would be great if they managed to escape, but... No, rather than worrying about them, there are still others alive! We have to send someone to- *cough!¡± [Barrack]

    ¡°Please have some water.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°S-Sorry...¡± [Barrack]

    Having gotten too heated, Barrack-san ended up choking. Elia quickly gave him a ss of water to drink. Barrack-san realized how poorly he was behaving when she did, so he quickly changed his behavior, and then Elia went back quietly to a corner in the Dimension Home.

    After that the other four girls stood alert, ready to provide water and a towel at a moment¡¯s notice. Remiri-neesan and I can cast healing magic and undo curses, but I¡¯m sure they want to help too somehow.

    Our discussion ended after I asked them about the location of the lich¡¯s headquarters. We then removed their cuffs and left Remiri-neesan and Elia¡¯s group in the Dimension Home to nurse them, while the other adults and I left.

    The first one to leave was me, then Shiva-san, then Rheinbach-sama, and when the coast was clear, Sebasu-san finally stepped out.

    No one can tell what¡¯s going on outside while inside a Dimension Home, so it¡¯s important to be cautious. Moreover, while the magic itself is convenient, should the caster die, the contents of the spell can never again be taken out.

    So although unlikely, we made sure that the coast was clear before letting Sebasu-san step out. After all, if something were to happen to him, that¡¯s 17 people who won¡¯t be seeing the light of day again.

    ¡°I shall focus on casting magic, so please keep an eye out.¡± [Sebasu]

    We all nodded to Sebasu. There was a chance that the undead could appear at our destination, so the three of us, me, Rheinbach-sama, and Shiva-san, turned our backs to Sebasu-san as he invoked his space magic to teleport us.

 Volume 5 - 22

    THE MAN PICKED UP BY THE GODS ¨C VOLUME 5 CHAPTER 22

    After returning to town through space magic, we split into two groups. Paying the magic jewel tax to the gatekeepers and reporting to the guild would take a lot of time, so the other group split off from us to bring the weakened to Nell¡¯s inn.

    Fortunately, Oslo-san wasn¡¯t that weakened. He was up and running as soon as he got a drink of the potion Remiri-neesan gave me. He also personally asked toe as he was the leader of their group. I didn¡¯t mind since I also preferred having someone who actually saw what happenede with me to exin.

    Passing through the mor and food of the many restaurants and stalls, against the flow of peopleing back home from work, we headed to the adventurer¡¯s guild. When we entered the guild, we saw a lot of people preparing to go home. It was that time of day.

    I really don¡¯t want to do this, but it¡¯s an emergency. There¡¯s a B Rank magical beast out there and at least 10 people still kept prisoners. I have to report this even by force.

    But just as I resolved myself to do so, and stepped toward that line of people preparing to go home...

    ¡°Oslo-san!¡± [???]

    The young female receptionist raised her voice, and all eyes gathered on me and Oslo-san. Then that young woman left her pose to wade through the crowd of adventurers and reach us.

    ¡°Are you alright? Where are your members?¡± [Female Receptionist]

    ¡°We ran into some problems, but we¡¯re all safe. We want to make an emergency report regarding what happened.¡± [Oslo]

    ¡°I understand, please make the report inside... And this is?¡± [Female Receptionist]

    ¡°He¡¯s the one who saved us.¡± [Oslo]

    ¡°I see. Then pleasee together.¡± [Female Receptionist]

    After being brought to the quest room, the supervisor in charge of the reception greeted us. We exined everything to him ¨C from Oslo¡¯s group being caught until the part where brought them back to town.

    ¡°I understand the situation. Please wait a moment.¡± [Supervisor]

    The man left for a moment, but he came back in less than 5 minutes with a rolled up paper in his hands.

    ¡°There were some points that concerned me. That lich was situated in a fortress surrounded by walls of stone, you say?¡± [Supervisor]

    ¡°And the size of the fortress is about 2 or 3 normal-sized houses. The walls seemed particrly well built.¡± [Oslo]

    Does he know something?

    The man abruptly spread the paper over the desk. It was a map. The man pointed to a certain area.

    ¡°Is this the fortress you¡¯re talking about?¡± [Supervisor]

    Oslo-san answered after thinking about it.

    ¡°...Most likely. We were searching around that area when we were caught, and we shouldn¡¯t have walked that much before reaching the fortress.¡± [Oslo]

    Oslo-san circled his finger on the area where he and his group were searching. The area the man was pointing to was slightly deeper into the canyon from the center, while Oslo-san and his group were almost right at the center. That area is near the area I was frolicking in search of magic jewels... If so then the presence I felt then must have been that lich.

    When I shared that experience with the other two men, they concluded that the supervisor¡¯s hypothesis was probably correct.

    ¡°Did you know there was a fortress around here?¡± [Ryouma]

    When I asked that, the man made a pensive face.

    ¡°Back when we just started to findrge numbers of magic jewels, the feudal lord in charge of this region sent an expedition to investigate the area. It was then that we found out that there was a base nearby.¡±

    ¡°Was a base?¡± [Ryouma]

    Past tense?

    ¡°An order was given to destroy that base so as to keep the undead from settling in it. I thought you might have been referring to a different ce, so I wanted to confirm it.¡± [Supervisor]

    The lich ran away as soon as its surprise attack failed. It won¡¯t start thinking of using the people it¡¯s caught to heal itself, right? The possibility is real though.

    ¡°Information on the enemy¡¯s base is a huge help. Thank you. The guild shall inform the adventurers on this matter as soon as possible. Is there anything else I can help you with?¡± [Supervisor]

    It¡¯ll take some time to muster a force to help the prisoners. He probably won¡¯t be able to answer even if I ask him how long it would take... Oh, right.

    ¡°I have something else to report. A matter aside from the lich.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Let¡¯s hear it then. Did something unusual ur?¡± [Supervisor]

    ¡°We stayed in the canyon for about a week. During that time I found five of the people in the ¡®Missing Person List¡¯ zombified. There¡¯s nothing of particr note in the canyon aside from the unusually high number of undead. More interestingly, I found an odd fish during our stay in the canyon.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°The missing adventurers and a... fish? Those certainly are new information. Can you tell me the details?¡± [Supervisor]

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind, but¡ª¡± [Ryouma]

    I took out the report on the fish and the missing people, and handed it to the supervisor.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re busy with everything going on, so I¡¯ve taken the time to write everything here.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You¡¯re well prepared. Thank you for taking the time to write a written report.¡± [Supervisor]

    The man seemed surprised when he saw the written report. Most adventurers reported orally; very few reported in writing. In fact, I¡¯ve never seen anyone hand a written report.

    But then again, all I really did was submit the writings I used to organize my thoughts that also happened to be a report... Anyway, let¡¯s go ahead and submit those fish I caught as samples.

    I took out the box filled with that fish from my Dimension Home, and was about to hand them. But because the man screamed upon seeing them, the guards of the guild entered, and amotion ensued.

    He was just taken aback by how weird the fish was, so themotion was settled not long after.

    It will take a while to decide how much the reward will be, so I won¡¯t get my reward untilter.

    After that we left the guild.

    ¡°Takebayashi-sama.¡± [Supervisor]

    Or at least we were supposed to, but then the man stopped me and bowed deeply. Apparently, he wanted to thank me for saving Oslo¡¯s group.

    Oslo-san waited outside while I spoke with the man. We kept things short so as to not make Oslo-san wait too long. I found out that among the requests Oslo¡¯s group had taken, some where from rtives who wanted to find their missing rtives but couldn¡¯t because they didn¡¯t know how to fight.

    The request they¡¯d posted were cheaper than other requests as they were mere search missions. Moreover, with the town brimming with magic jewels, there were lots of requests to dig out magic jewels that paid a lot, leaving low-paying search requests to rot on the postings.

    This resulted in friction between those who wanted their rtives found and the adventurer¡¯s guild. It was thanks to Oslo¡¯s group that that issue was settled. If it weren¡¯t for them, the guild would have suffered much losses.

    ¡°I¡¯m also one of those people who posted a request. I am deeply grateful for their efforts.¡± [Supervisor]

    So this man was one of their clients... After I thanked the man, I left the guild with Oslo-san.

    Oslo-san led me to Nell-san¡¯s inn. We¡¯re supposed to meet Elia¡¯s group anyway, and I¡¯m also concerned about how the other members are doing. We walked briskly through the town, stopping at a house in the north-west part of town.

    ¡°Is this the inn?¡± [Ryouma]

    The house was built in a simr fashion as those around it. The sort of fashion that made one wonder if it was built with the stones of Troll Canyon. It stood two-stories high and a sign was written above the door. It read: ¡®Rufto Inn¡¯. To the side of the door was another sign that indicated if there were rooms avable. Now, I know this is rude, but frankly speaking, if it weren¡¯t for the sign, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to tell this house an inn. At most, I would¡¯ve thought it a bigger house. There is an extension to the house, however. And a closer look shows that it¡¯s longer than it appears, but that¡¯s not something you can tell when looking at it from in front.

    Opening the wooden door to enter the inn, an inverted L-shaped counter greeted us. There was no receptionist, so Oslo-san rang the small bell above the counter. I heard the sound of a door opening and closing from the stairs to the left of the counter. That must be an employeeing down to greet us.

    It was then that it finally urred to me. This inn was built much like a house. Even its interiors were decorated so, as the supposed reception area felt less like a hotel¡¯s, and more the entryway of a simple house¡¯s. I kept thinking of a hotel when I heard ¡®inn¡¯, but now that I¡¯ve gone here, it feels a lot closer to a guesthouse. This is good too in its own way.

    ¡°Ah, Oslo-san. Sorry for making you wait.¡± [???]

    While I was caught up with my thoughts on the inn¡¯s design, a slender man called out to Oslo-san. His eyes opened wide upon seeing me, and he quickly climbed down the stairs to hold my hand.

    ¡°You must be the person who saved my wife. Thank you! Thank you so much!¡± [???]

    The sudden turn of events left me mildly confused, but it didn¡¯t take long for me to understand what was going on. Oslo-san further exined when I looked at him.

    ¡°I think you¡¯ve figured it out already, but this man here is Nell¡¯s husband.¡± [Oslo]

    ¡°Oh, pardon me. My name is Heckard, Nell¡¯s husband. I believe you must be Takebayashi-sama? My wife and your friends have filled me in on the details. Truly, from the bottom of my heart, thank you, Takebayashi-sama.¡± [Heckard]

    His smile was full of relief as he thanked me for thest time. The lich case was far from over, but seeing someone this happy, makes all that trouble of saving them worth it.

    After that Olso-san went to the room his members were staying, while I met up with Elia¡¯s group who had gone here ahead of me. We sat in a corner of the guest room that was also being used as a dining hall to exchange information.

    We decided to ept Heckard¡¯s offer to stay at the inn, then we started to discuss our course of action regarding the lich.

    ¡°Obviously, we need to get rid of that lich as soon as possible.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°I agree. We can¡¯t leave a lich that¡¯s using a curse of obedience walking around. All the more so when there are yet people under its control.¡± [Remiri]

    The former knightmander and a former royal court magician, both currently S Rank adventurers. But though they¡¯ve long retired from their duties, the missions they took still focused on altruism than profit. I figured they wouldn¡¯t let that lich off. Looks like I was right.

    I turned to Rheinbach-sama and Sebasu-san next.

    ¡°Let mee too. We managed to save Oslo¡¯s group just now thanks to the food and water we had, but they were definitely weakened. What more those people who are yet under the lich¡¯s grasp? We need to save them before it¡¯s toote. Let mee, I¡¯ll be plenty of help.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Sorry for the trouble.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± [Rheinbach]

    Rheinbach-sama and Shiva-san seemed to have some sort of tacit understanding.

    ¡°How about you, Ryouma-chan?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯lle.¡± [Ryouma]

    If the four of them are going, then I¡¯ll go too... Putting it that way might seem like I can¡¯t think for myself, but there¡¯s a reason behind it. The lich can use the spell, Hide, to erase its presence. Moreover, it has at the very least 10 people under its control. With those cards under its sleeves, attacking alone is foolish. After all, a surprise attack followed by a curse of obedience would be game over right there and then.

    The grave slimes can¡¯t absorb those humans the lich has control of either. The risk is really too high for me to go by myself.

    ...That being said though, we definitely can¡¯t take Elia and the other girls with us.

    We all turned our gazes to the young girls. They all tacitly understood what it was we were saying, and they all nodded. Although it was only for a short time, they did also face the lich, so it seems they coulde to terms with it. It¡¯s vexing, but there¡¯s nothing else to it when youck the strength.

    Then the time for supper came, and other guests started arriving. Eyes started to gather on Remiri-neesan and Shiva-san, so we put off supper for another time.

    ¡°Ryouma-chan, can I have a moment with you?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Yes, what is it?¡± [Ryouma]

    I was nning on passing the time feeding the shadow slimes, but then Remiri-neesan called out to me in front of the stairs. She invited me to her room. Looks like she wants to talk about something that can¡¯t be said to others, so I put up a sound-concealing barrier too.

    ¡°You can talk now.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Thank you, Ryouma-chan. Do you have the anti-curse magic tool with you?¡± [Remiri]

    I still have the magic tool for Return Curse that I bought back when I started learning about curses in my Item Box, but...

    ¡°From your face, I suppose you have it but haven¡¯t been using ittely, huh.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Right. It was fine back when I first bought it, but nowadays, it¡¯s just better for me to use my own magic.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I know. I saw you cast it myself.¡± [Remiri]

    Ah, right.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s get to the point... Would you be interested in a powerful magic tool?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°A powerful magic tool? Considering who we¡¯ll be fighting, of course I want one, but can we even procure such a tool?¡± [Ryouma]

    Only a handful of magic tool artisans can create an anti-curse magic tool. On top of that, the nobles are constantly fighting for those few products, leading to exorbitant prices.

    Even the magic tool I have was ordered by Serge-san, and while it¡¯s effects were only somewhat on the high side, the price still reached 700,000 suits. There¡¯s no way we could easily get something better than... Wait.

    ¡°You have one, don¡¯t you?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Nope. But there¡¯s a chance to get one. With the five of us, that is.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°You¡¯re not thinking of something dangerous, right? Like something illegal...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°No worries on that end. But it will be a bit troublesome if the nobles or the magic tool artisans catches wind of what we¡¯re doing. And besides, it¡¯s not guaranteed that we actually could get one.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°...In other words, it¡¯s fine as long as keep it a secret, huh.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes~ It¡¯ll be fine as long as no one finds out.¡± [Remiri]

    I¡¯d rather not get involved with anything annoying, but if procuring such a tool means lowering the mission¡¯s risk, then...

    ¡°So, what¡¯s the n?¡± [Ryouma]

    Her response was...

 Volume 5 - 23

    ¡°We¡¯ll need Kanan-chan¡¯s help, since we¡¯ll be making it together.¡± [Remiri]

    When I asked Remir-neesan what her n was, that was her response. Now, I know Kanan can imbue magic tools with other people¡¯s magic, but...

    ¡°You know it won¡¯t work unless she¡¯spatible with the person, right?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I know. That¡¯s why I told you we might not seed. But you know, if it¡¯s you, then I think it¡¯s doable. I don¡¯t have much of a basis for it, but you know that Kanan-chan can make a magic tool with Elia-chan, right?¡± [Remiri]

    Right. Kanan did mention that the bracelet she¡¯s using is a magic tool she created with Elia.

    ¡°Right.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°And this isn¡¯t directly rted, but among my coworkers back at the pce was a royal court magician who could create and maintain magic tools. ording to that person, the first people who could use enchant magic was a child of god.¡± [Remiri]

    The founder of enchantment is an otherworlder?

    ¡°Really!?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That¡¯s one exnation. Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t until many generationter that enchantment magic started to spread. There aren¡¯t a lot of documents about that person, and his existence is apparently something closer to a rumor than fact. But there¡¯s more to it...¡± [Remiri]

    I listened closely to Remiri-neesan.

    ¡°As the story goes, it turns out that the child of god who might have been an enchanter had a follower, who helped him create magic tools. As it turns out, that follower was also apparently a child of god.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°The follower too?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Right. But unlike his master who could only enchant, the follower was blessed with the power to use all sorts of magic. For the record, there are other stories too where there were two children of god in the same era.¡± [Remiri]

    There was also that story about the otherworlder who became this country¡¯s king and the otherworlder who became a hero. Two children of god, one era.

    ¡°Two possible children of god worked together to create a magic tool. And now someone with the talent and disposition like Kanan-chan was able to make one with Elia-chan who has a child of god¡¯s blood running through her veins.

    A method to create magic tools that can only work with anotherpatible person. Moreover, the requirements for thatpatibility is exceedingly hard to meet. Don¡¯t you think that the reason why it¡¯s so hard to find someonepatible might be because it¡¯s a method that could only work with another child of god?¡± [Remiri]

    The logic... I can follow, but... When you think about it...

    ¡°The only people who can enchant are those who have the blood of an enchanter, right? I¡¯m pretty sure I heard something like that before.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Right! There¡¯s that story too! The number of enchanters have been increasingtely, so it¡¯s no surprise for nobles to start asking where they were born. The magic really might be inherited.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°That is probably the case.¡± [Ryouma]

    It might be worth trying out. But if that¡¯s the case, then I might have to reveal my identity as a child of god.

    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be right to just ask her to try without any reason why I think it might seed. And if we¡¯re working together, we¡¯ll have to discuss the risks too, or it¡¯ll be bad after we do create a magic tool.¡± [Ryouma]

    If we¡¯re doing it, then we might as well do it consensually.

    ¡°So what are you going to do?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell her.¡± [Ryouma]

    That was my conclusion after thinking about it.

    ¡°You sure?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°If it was just someone you introduced to me, I¡¯d refuse, but I know Kanan, so it¡¯s alright. Let¡¯s tell the other girls too. If it¡¯s them, then I don¡¯t mind. I trust them. And besides, Kanan is a horrible liar, so we might as well get this out of the way.¡± [Ryouma]

    She might try to protect my secret, but she¡¯s not really good at lying. And I¡¯m sure Elia and the others would be curious if I ask her help. Of course, they won¡¯t pursue the matter much if Kanan doesn¡¯t want to talk, but then the atmosphere between them will be tense.

    If it¡¯s those girls, I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be fine. Besides, Elia will find out about it one day anyway. The rest of her family already know about it.

    After that we discussed up to how much we should talk about and what kind of magic to imbue the magic tool with. During that discussion, someone knocked hard on the door.

    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Finally!¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°We¡¯ve been calling you since a while ago, so we thought you weren¡¯t in.¡± [Michelle]

    When I opened the door, Kanan and Michelle were standing right outside. I suppose it was Kanan knocking?

    ¡°Sorry about that. We had a barrier up, so we couldn¡¯t hear.¡± [Remiri]

    Remiri-neesan said as she came up from behind.

    ¡°What in the world is a man and a woman doing in a small room with a sound-concealing barrier?¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°I hope you¡¯re not thinking of anything strange. We were just discussing how to defeat the lich.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Well it is you we¡¯re talking about, so I suppose... That aside...¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°There aren¡¯t a lot of people in the dining hall now, so one of the servants came to ask if we¡¯re going to eat. It was looking pretty bad though.¡± [Kanan]

    Looks like our talksted a lot longer than I thought. Hmm... Looking bad?

    ¡°People were pestering Shiva-san a while ago.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Word of the lich has apparently already gotten around, and lots of adventurers have starteding, asking Shiva-san to fight with them. Heckard tried to stop them, but they wouldn¡¯t let up. In the end, the adventurers even started to cause a ruckus.¡± [Michelle]

    So they called us just in case. The other three: Elia, Miyabi, and Riera apparently went to call Seabsu-san and Rheinbach-sama.

    Now that they mention it, it sure is noisy downstairs.

    Putting our talk forter, Remiri-neesan and I came downstairs, where a furious voice shook the inn.

    ¡°Enough!!!¡± [???]

    Uwo!? Who was that ¨CHuh, Shiva-san? Wow, he looks mad.

    ¡°¡ªWanting to work with me is one thing, but causing trouble for the inn, uninvited, is not! And to think you would even raise your hand against a mere citizen! What is wrong with you!?¡± [Shiva]

    Looking through the opening in the crowd of people, I saw Heckard-san bleeding from the corner of his mouth. I saw the servants help him back up before the opening closed.

    From the attire these people are wearing, it seems everyone here is an adventurer. There¡¯s twelve of them all-in-all. Shiva-san¡¯s earlier yell seems to have left them as meek asmbs.

    ¡°B-but the enemy is a lich. That¡¯s a B-Rank magical beast.¡± [Adventurer 1]

    ¡°Exactly! We need to get rid of it before anyone else gets hurt! That¡¯s why we came here! To ask you to lend us your strength, so¡ª¡± [Adventurer 2]

    ¡°I refuse. I¡¯ve already exined why many times. Or do you still not understand?¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°You¡¯re going with your friends, right!? Then let mee too! It¡¯ll be better with more people!¡± [Adventurer 2]

    Unfortunately, that didn¡¯tst long, as some persistent adventurer lit the me anew. That fire spread until it eventually reached me.

    ¡°Ah! That¡¯s him! That¡¯s the guy traveling with the former knightmander!!¡± [Adventurer 3]

    The man in front of the group did a double take when he saw me, then he yelled that out, causing the rest of the adventurers to turn toward me.

    Damn. That baldy with his loose lips and that twisted timing... I ended up ring at him because of that.

    ¡°Oi, you sure this is the guy?¡± [Adventurer 4]

    ¡°Wow, he¡¯s young. I definitely have more experience than him.¡± [Adventurer 5]

    ¡°He probably has skill to show for since the former knightmander is taking him along, but...¡± [Adventurer 6]

    And now they¡¯re saying whatever they want. Well, it is true I¡¯m not even past 20, so I am pretty young for a B Rank adventurer¡ª

    ¡°You said you have people you¡¯re going with, and it turns out to be some kid! You¡¯re better off with someone like me than that!¡± [Adventurer 7]

    That one sneered when he looked at me, then he started to try and convince Shiva-san.

    ¡°Oi! You!¡± [Adventurer 8]

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to get an inch over us!¡± [Adventurer 9]

    ¡°We¡¯re definitely better than that guy¡ª¡± [Adventurer 10]

    ¡°We have more experience than some greenhorn kid¡ª¡± [Adventurer 11]

    The moment one of them made a move, the rest followed. I ran into people like these a lot when I was under the influence of the demon king¡¯s fragment, and I¡¯ve sort of gotten used to dealing with them.

    ¡± ¡®What did you say about me?¡¯ ¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Eek!?¡± [Adventurer 12]

    My voice, brimming with magic power, blew away the fight from the noisy adventurers. And their bodies shook as if cold water had been poured over them. Some of them fell down and some turned around, their faces pale.

    Ah~... Was that a bit much? Perhaps just the pressure or the Cursed Song would have been enough, but eh... whatever. If I don¡¯t go this far, the noisy ones among them won¡¯t shut up, and they won¡¯t listen. Shiva-san¡¯s earlier yell didn¡¯t work either, so it should be fine. Besides, it¡¯s not like they¡¯re dying or anything.

    ¡± ¡®You people are causing quite the ruckus, you know? Do you perhaps need help or something?¡¯ ¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°N-No...¡± [Adventurer 1]

    ¡°T-That¡¯s...¡± [Adventurer 2]

    ¡± ¡®From what I¡¯ve gathered, it seems you¡¯ll be taking my ce against the lich?¡¯ ¡± [Ryouma]

    My voice, brimming with magic power, fanned their fears as I slowly, yet carefully interrogated them. Though terrified, they tried to justify their earlier actions.

    ¡°D-Don¡¯t get mad. We were desperate, you know. We just wanted to share fortune with the knightmander.¡± [Adventurer 3]

    ¡°R-Right. We just slipped a bit. Sorry if it seems like we were making a fool out of you.¡± [Adventurer 4]

    ¡± ¡®Seems? Oh, I¡¯m fairly sure you were ¨C in fact ¨C making a fool out of me.¡¯ ¡± [Ryouma]

    I spoke more and more as I pointed out various, petty points. And when I¡¯d finally pushed them into a corner, Shiva-san spoke.

    ¡°Unfortunately, you people just aren¡¯t strong enough for us to trust our backs to.¡± [Shiva]

    Those words blew thest of the ebbing ember, and the adventurers all apologized. Heckard-san warned them that the guards would be involved should something simr happen again, and they all left, afraid. Surprisingly, most of those people weren¡¯t even guests.

    We let out a breath of relief when thest person finally left.

    ¡°Dear guests, please ept my apology for this disturbance.¡± [Heckard]

    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault, Heckard-dono. The one who should be apologizing is me, since I¡¯m the one who caused this whole mess.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Thank you, hearing that puts me at ease. I shall prepare your supper then, please just wait for a moment.¡± [Heckard]

    ¡°Before that we should heal you. ¡®Heal¡¯ ¡± [Ryouma]

    Heckard-san apologized to Shiva-san and me. I healed him before letting him go. His lips were cracked and his face was swelling a bit, so a single cast of Heal should immediately fix him up. He thanked me before leaving to prepare our supper.

    ¡°That was a mess.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It happens a lot. Sorry for getting you involved.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°I don¡¯t really mind. I¡¯m also used to it. So, this happens a lot?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°This bad is rare, but yes. People who want me as their master, people who want to join my party, all sorts.¡± [Shiva]

    Remiri-neesan joined in the conversation while Shiva-san was talking. Behind her were Kanan and Michelle. Further behind were Sebasu-san, Rheinbach-sama and the three girls who called them.

    Just where and what were these people doing all this time?

    ¡°It would have been bad if they saw me too, so I used Hide to run away. Sorry for leaving everything to you.¡± [Remiri]

    So that¡¯s what. Well, they did react like that just seeing me.

    After that we sat ourselves at a corner of the now empty dining hall, and talked about what had happened before we arrived. It turns out everything was just a series of unfortunate events.

    Shiva-san had gone to the dining hall ahead of us, only to end up meeting an adventurer who had forgotten his belongings, who then turned out to be one of Shiva¡¯s diehard fans. That was all it took to start a fire apparently, as people suddenly started crowding him, some of which were the people who wanted to join his party. It seems Shiva-san and Remiri-neesan being here has already be a rumor in the town.

    ording to Shiva-san, most of those pushy people weren¡¯t actually B Rank in ability, but C Rank. And what they really wanted to do was to fight with Shiva-san, defeat the lich, and perhaps continue to journey together and gather achievements, so they could eventually be promoted.

    Apparently, stuff like this started happening ever since Shiva became an adventurer. Normally, he just refuses, but the group this time just wouldn¡¯t take no for an answer. And eventually, the fans and the people wanting to join with Shiva started arguing, one of which started using the other of just wanting to bask in Shiva-san¡¯s glory.

    Heckard-san tried to stop them, but being a lone man, who was also weaker than them, he was pushed aside. This led to Shiva-san to finally lose his temper, and he yelled at them.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind grouping up with someone, but people like those are no good.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Someone understanding would be nice.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Fame has its own problems too, I see.¡± [Ryouma]

    Rheinbach-sama suddenly remembered something, so he asked me.

    ¡°Speaking of which, Ryouma-kun, just how many of your ve demons can participate in the lich hunt?¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°There¡¯s one mimic slime and emperor grave slime. There¡¯s a thousand for the metal and iron slimes. A hundred for the scavenger slimes. 10 for the shadow slimes and the other elemental slimes.

    In total, if you count the emperor grave slimes as 10,000 grave slimes, then that¡¯s 12,231 slimes all-in-all. Oh, and there¡¯s the 8 rimel birds.¡± [Ryouma]

    My Dimension Home is already full of slimes, so I left the sticky slimes and acid slimes to watch the house back in Gimuru.

    I left Rai too because of the narrow road and the stiff cliffs, as he wouldn¡¯t be able to move much. Which is why the number ended up bing like that. It would be great if I could learn the advanced spell, Another World, soon.

    After that supper came, so we put off all the gloomy and dangerous stories forter. Our supper consisted of bread, stew, sd, and a big, fat, delicious steak. To make things even better, we could eat as much as we wanted.

 Volume 5 - 24

    After a hearty meal fit for an adventurer¡¯s inn, I waited for Remiri-san and the rest of the girls in my room. We could not talk about the magic tools there in the dining hall, so we had to wait until after when they could speak in private to bring it up.

    After waiting for a while, I heard the footsteps of six people approaching. They were here.

    ¡°Ryouma-san, are you in?¡± [Elia]

    When the footsteps stopped, the person behind the door knocked four times, then I heard Elia¡¯s voice. I invited them all in as I opened the door. There were six of them all-in-all, and with me, there were seven of us in the room. That¡¯s a lot of people for just one room, so it came as no surprise that we all felt cramped. To make things morefortable, we decided to use my Dimension Home instead. No one can hear what we¡¯re talking about inside and there¡¯ll be way more space to move around in too.

    ...Though it¡¯s certainly not that spacious anymore.

    ¡°Wow...¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Like 80 to 90 percent of this whole ce is slime.¡± [Riera]

    There was a hint of both shock and admiration when they muttered that.

    Incidentally, the remaining 10% of the ce was taken up by preserved food, tools for making medicine, weapons, and armors.

    ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s go sit somewhere.¡±

    I ordered the slimes to make way for us, then I distributed floor cushions made out of the fluff slime¡¯s fluff for us to sit on. After that I made tea for everyone, and Remiri-neesan and I talked to the girls about why we think I might be able to make a magic tool with Kanan. And of course, we told them that I¡¯m a child of god.

    ¡°¡ªAnd that about sums it up.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°...¡± [The Girls]

    Sensing the atmosphere around me and Remiri-neesan, the girls kept quiet despite the surprising news of my being a child of god. They kept quiet until the end, not interjecting even once.

    ¡°Umm... If there¡¯s something I can do to help, then by all means please!¡± [Kanan]

    The first one to break the silence was Kanan.

    ¡°You sure?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You did go out of your way to tell me everything, and I also want to help defeat the lich, and... More than anything, if there¡¯s anything that might allow me to create a magic tool, then by all means... And while I¡¯m surprised to hear that Ryouma-kun is a child of god...¡± [Kanan]

    Kanan looked to the other girls sitting nearby, and they all nodded with a smile on their faces.

    ¡°We¡¯re surprised, of course. But when you think about it all makes sense.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Like how many slimes you have contracted or how strong you are, and all those crazy stuff you do. But when it turns out that you¡¯re actually a child of god, then it finally clicks like ¡®Ah! So, that¡¯s why!¡¯¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Besides, we¡¯ve all gotten used to it by now. You being out of the norm, that is.¡± [Riera]

    It was a bit disappointing that they weren¡¯t all that surprised, but Remiri-neesan was just, ¡®That makes everything easier then,¡¯ and pushed us to hurry up and try make that magic tool.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be in your care, then.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Same here.¡± [kanan]

    I asked what we needed to do. And it turns out that we just have to prepare the weapon to imbue my magic into, and then for me to use my magic.

    ¡°Since you¡¯re doing this to subjugate a monster, then I rmend using an essory. It won¡¯t get in the way of your hands, and you can attach it easily to your body.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go with that.¡± [Ryouma]

    So I took out the ring and the ne I made from working on my engraving skills from my Item Box.

    ¡°To raise the quality, we should use something that was made with silver or gold.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Silver and gold, huh... If you¡¯re just looking for a better conduit of magic power, then I have some mythril or orihalcum.

    I had some left over material after forging some weapons with them, so I used them to make three simple rings. When I showed those rings to Kanan, she sighed.

    ¡°The best material there¡¯s ever been. But you know it would be nice if you refrained from taking out something like that like you would a piece of candy, because I¡¯m seriously starting to question mymon sense.¡± [Kanan]

    Apparently, the reason she suggested to use gold or silver was because magic tool artisans normally can¡¯t get any mythril or orihalcum.

    ¡°Can we use these for our first magic tool?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°No problem.¡± [Kanan]

    Magic tools are usually referred to as just magic tools as if they were all made the same way, but there are actually various ways to make one. The method we¡¯re going to use this time is the easiest and most popr method.

    ¡°Let¡¯s put the mythril and orihalcum forter, and start out with something simple.¡± [Kanan]

    Kanan appeared nervous as she lifted up the gold ring among the essories I¡¯d taken out. She ced the ring on the palm of her right hand, and brought her hand toward me.

    ¡°When I give the signal, use the water magic ¡®Water¡¯ over the ring.¡± [Kanan]

    Magic power began to emanate from her left hand as she said that. That magic power gathered into a lump of magic over the ring, then a part of it stretched and wrapped itself around the ring. It didn¡¯t feel ominous or anything, but it looked like a curse. Looking around, Elia and the other girls looked at Kanan with seemingly praying eyes. Then the signal came.

    ¡± ¡®Water¡¯ ¡± [Ryouma]

    I used water just as she told me, but no water appeared over the ring.

    ¡°The magic power is...¡± [Ryouma]

    I could feel Kanan¡¯s magic power wrapping around mine, stopping the spell just before it invocated. And as that magic power passed through Kanan¡¯s, it flowed into the ring. It was just like a funnel pouring medicine into a vial.

    When my magic power made contact with the ring, a blue light began to emanate from the ring, and it gradually grew brighter.

    It was at that moment that I realized that the founder of enchantment was truly an otherworlder. Because that light was the same light I saw whenever I went to the divine realm or came back, or when I used alchemy. Did some god make enchantment too? And did the otherworlder anger the gods? Because I can¡¯t imagine them including some demerit of being unable to use any magic other than enchantment.

    As my thoughts began to digress, the light emanating from the ring sparkled beautifully. With a face full of resolve, Kanan put the ring on her right index finger, and allowed her magic power to flow into it. When she did, a small amount of water appeared, which she stopped with her left hand.

    ¡°It worked! It really worked!¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Then we should be able to make an anti-curse magic tool, right?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes!¡± [Kanan]

    Great! With this we can guarantee a safe hunt!

    Just finding someone like Elia with whom she could create a magic tool with was plenty miraculous. She did not think she would find another such person. After that we created ten more magic tools out of the spells, Return Curse and Dispel, creating enough for everyone.

    ¡°Thank you, Kanan-chan.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°I¡¯m d I was able to help. And more than anything, I¡¯m d I was able to touch a material I¡¯ve only seen in books. It was a great experience. So, thank you!¡± [Kanan]

    After Kanan bowed deeply, our business for the day was over.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go back and rest. Make sure to keep all of this a secret, alright? It would be troublesome it the other nobles caught wind of Ryoum-chan and Kanan-chan being able to mass produce the otherwise rare magic tools.¡± [Remiri]

    Elia and the others made a stern expression as they again promised to protect the secret. Satisfied with their response, Remiri-neesan hugged the one with the grimmest expression of them all, Riera, and patted Elia on the head as she told them not to worry.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. Shiva-chan and Rheinbach-chan know about this too, so if anyone ever asks you about those magic tools, you can just bring up the name of the Jamil Family, mine, or Shiva-chan¡¯s, and say that you don¡¯t know anything since you were just given the tools. As for the details, just make up a story you all know, like the tools being a family heirloom or something.¡±

    The girls¡¯ faces lightened up when Remiri-neesan reassuringly said that. She tends to be really touchy, but that reassuring atmosphere of hers is really something.

    After that we left the Dimension Home, and all the girls, including Remiri-neesan, went back to their own rooms.

    ¡°Fuu...¡± [Ryouma]

    With everyone gone, there was nothing left to do. I could just go and sleep like this, but I don¡¯t feel sleepy at all. Trying to forcefully sleep at times like these is usually a waste of time... I wonder if there¡¯s something I could do to pass the time.

    It¡¯s not thatte. The early ones are probably at bed already, but people who work at bars are still working around this time. I don¡¯t really feel like going to a bar though... Oh, speaking of which, Heckard-san just left after he said he would prepare our supper, and we never got to talk about the reparations for the trouble caused by the adventurers. There¡¯s nothing else to do, so I might as well ask.

    After making sure that I was wearing clothes fit for going outside, I filled a small bag with money, and left the room. When I got downstairs, I saw Heckard-san working at the books in the counter by the entrance.

    ¡°Heckard-san.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°! Ah, Takebayashi-sama. Is there anything I can help you with?¡± [Heckard]

    ¡°Actually, I wanted to talk about¡ª What happened to your cheeks?¡± [Ryouma]

    Heckard-san didn¡¯t notice me until I called out to him. Then because the room was dark ¨C the only source of light being some candles ¨C I didn¡¯t notice it right away, but there was apress stered onto one of his cheeks.

    I healed his wounds earlier already, and the side it¡¯s stered on is the other side, so that shouldn¡¯t be it.

    ¡°Could it be that when you got hit, you¡ª¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°No, please don¡¯t misunderstand.¡± [Heckard]

    Heckard-san replied in a panic.

    ¡°My wife did this...¡± [Heckard]

    ¡°Your wife? You mean Nell-san?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°When she found out what happened, she told me I should have called her. She says it¡¯s the duty of the wife to stop quarrels between adventurers.¡± [Heckard]

    Ahh... So that¡¯s why. Well, Heckard-san does seem pretty weak.

    ¡°Also, please don¡¯t worry about the reparations. This inn is frequented by adventurers, so we¡¯re no stranger to such quarrels. Besides, I was the one who asked everyone to stay here. I couldn¡¯t possibly ask you to pay.¡± [Heckard]

    ¡°I see...¡± [Ryouma]

    He beat me to the point.

    ¡°Gardak-sama also dropped by a while ago, and he gave me permission to put up a sign that says ¡®The inn where the former knightmander stayed¡¯ in exchange for the payment. That¡¯s more than I could ask for.¡± [Heckard]

    So that¡¯s how Shiva dealt with the situation after seeing money wasn¡¯t going to be epted. I¡¯m not sure how much of an effect that will have, but it should akin to a really famous celebrity giving his sign for the store to show off.

    It wouldn¡¯t do to force the issue, but I think I can give them something else to thank them.

    But then just as I was about to open my Dimension Home, I realized something. Won¡¯t they just end up hating me if I actually give them that fish?

    As that thought was running through my mind, Heckard-san spoke.

    ¡°Is something the matter?¡± [Heckard]

    ¡°Huh? Oh, I was thinking of giving Nell-san this delicious fish I caught from the canyon, but it looks pretty bad appearance-wise, so I was wondering whether it would just cause you trouble.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°A fish, you say?¡± [Heckard]

    When I said that, Heckard-san showed interest.

    ¡°Do you like fishes?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes. I used to eat a lot when I was still peddling. I¡¯d love to eat fresh fish again, actually.¡± [Heckard]

    ¡°It¡¯s fresh, but it looks... weird.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, then I¡¯d love to have a taste.¡± [Heckard]

    ¡°Are you sure? Everyone I showed it to before has hated it.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I¡¯m sure I won¡¯t mind a little ugly on the outside. I¡¯ve always been good with stuff like that.¡± [Heckard]

    Heckard-san led me into the kitchen, where I took out the fish from my Dimension Home.

    ¡°This is...¡± [Heckard]

    When Heckard-san saw the fish, his eyes opened wide.

    He¡¯s not eating it, is he?

    ¡°But, no...¡± [Heckard]

    Is what I thought at first, but then it seems he¡¯s really scrutinizing the fish.

    ¡°Are you alright?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve seen plenty of stuff like this when I was a kid.¡± [Heckard]

    He¡¯s seen a fish like this before? When I asked him that, he happily answered. Apparently, when he was a kid, there were plenty of fishes like this one in one of the caves of Troll Canyon.

    Troll Canyon did not have a lot of undead back then, and Heckard-san worked as a garbage man, who would frequently go to the canyon to throw away the trash. That cave was near the ce where he and his coworkers threw the trash, so his seniors would usually take him there.

    ¡°If you go deep into the cave, you¡¯ll find a ce with a vast pool of water, where you can find fishes like this one. There¡¯s just one thing though. Back then, I¡¯m pretty sure those fishes didn¡¯t have such sharp teeth, and I¡¯m also pretty sure they were really small. About this much.¡± [Heckard]

    Heckard-san showed the size with his right hand¡¯s index and thumb finger. It was really small. At most, it would only be as big as the palm of one¡¯s hands.

    ¡°That sure is small.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Indeed. And there were so many of them crawling under the water that you couldn¡¯t see them. We got chills when we saw that back at that cave.

    The kids nowadays or the people that came from elsewhere don¡¯t know about that though. The cave itself wasn¡¯t dangerous, as there weren¡¯t any beasts back then and it had only one path, so you couldn¡¯t even get lost, but kids frequented it. And so, for some reason, some parents thought it too dangerous to let children frolic at a ce like that, so they sealed up the entrance.

    I was one of the kids who yed there when I felt like ying adventurer, so I remember the ce well.¡± [Heckard]

    So that sort of thing happens even in another world.

    After that Heckard-san taught me how to prepare and eat the fish.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be going then.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Please have a good night¡¯s rest. Not just today, but if possible, please visit us whenever you drop by this town. I¡¯ll do my best to ensure that we prioritize you.¡± [Heckard]

    I couldn¡¯t help but ask when I noticed how good he was treating us.

    ¡°Is it really alright to treat us so favorably?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes. I cannot thank you all enough for what you¡¯ve done for us. I couldn¡¯t take it if my wife left me too.¡± [Heckard]

    Too? Oh, right! Nell-san went with Oslo-san because her daughter went missing. Obviously, her daughter would also be Heckard¡¯s daughter.

    I didn¡¯t know how to reply to his smile, so I just bowed and left.

    I¡¯ve only seen that lich once, but I¡¯ll definitely defeat him.

    Silently, I resolved myself to defeat the lich.

    It¡¯s the only thing I can do for them.

    TL Note: Slower chapter releases this week, as I¡¯ll be a bit busy.

 Volume 5 - 25

    The next day.

    By the time it was afternoon, the five of us each were riding on the back of an ignis dragon with 8 rimel birds leading in front.

    We would be reaching the fortress where the lich was supposed to be in less than five minutes. I thought it would take us longer to be honest. We¡¯re not going as fast as we could, as we¡¯re being wary of any possible surprise attacks, but the ignis dragon and the rimel birds are still so fast.

    We specifically picked out a time unfavorable to the undead. This morning after readying our equipment, we had a meeting, then we left right after an early breakfast, but I didn¡¯t think we would actually arrive in less than an hour.

    I¡¯m grateful for my allies. Their fire and wind magic whenever we encountered a battle was invaluable.

    Moreover, I hear Rheinbach-sama has a magical beast under him that excels at detecting enemies. It¡¯s called assassin snake. With it¡¯s help we¡¯ll be able to find where the victims are. An excellent tool both for ambushing and defending against ambushes.

    We tested the magic tool I created with Kanan before leaving, and we found out that It¡¯ll break after extended use, but it¡¯s newly built, so it probably won¡¯t fail us during some crucial moment. At least unless it gets destroyed.

    ¡°Oh?¡± [Shiva]

    The fortress is nowhere to be seen, but the ignis dragons have already started to descend. Rheinbach-sama seems to have ordered them to. Did something happen?

    Uponnding I asked Shiva-san if something happened.

    ¡°The ignis dragons saw the fortress on alert. It looks like some adventurers have attacked ahead of us. There were also two living wyverns and the corpse of arge bird-type magical beast you don¡¯t normally see around here. A saddle was attached on both of the wyverns, so an adventurer must¡¯ve been controlling them. The area surrounding the fortress is crawling with undead, so the lich is definitely in the fortress.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°It¡¯smon for a lich to use the undead, but to think it could also use wyverns.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°If it can control ve demons too, then the beasts on our side might end up under its control.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°High-ranked magical beasts and magical beasts with a lot of magic power have a natural resistance against contracts and curses, but yes, they might still end up controlled anyway.¡± [Rheinbach]

    It seems the reason Rheinbach-sama had usnd was to discuss whether to continue with our n or not.

    We discussed a bit after that, and in the end, we decided to revise the n we made this morning.

    The original n was to split into two groups. Onend and one air. With me, my slimes, Shiva-san, and Sebasu-san in thend group, while Rheinbach-sama and his ignis dragons would fight from the air with Remiri-neesan and the rimel birds.

    It was a n we originally came up with in case the lich tried to run away by flying again, so this time we revised it to prioritize dealing with the wyverns.

    The ve demons would be fine as long as we found the lich first, and not give him the leeway to cast the Curse of Obedience. As for the undead, the grave slimes should be able to handle them. I¡¯m sure not even the lich would have the magic power to try and usurp control over a horde of more than 10,000 slimes.

    After making those changes to our n, we rode on the ignis dragons, and once again made way for the fortress.

    After flying for a while, a cliff that had been roughly leveled to create a crossroad came to view. At the center was an open space shaped like a deformed circle, outside of which was a wall that only reached up to one¡¯s hips. Beyond that wall were the castle walls, and then past that was a clumsily built one-story structure.

    The walls were made from the stones of the cliff. The stones used were not uniform, and each and every single one of them were littered with earth and sand all over. In contrast, the gate on the castle walls was cleanly built, and the undead could enter in and out as its two doors opened outwards.

    It¡¯s time...

    In that tense atmosphere, Rheinbach-sama gave the signal tond, and those of us in thend groupnded in one of the paths of the crossroad.

    The unfortunate undead in thending zone were either roasted by the dragons or squashed uponnding, while the undead that didn¡¯t get killed, sluggishly ran away from the ce.

    Good! They¡¯re not attacking us!

    I quickly unfastened the metal fixtures needed to ride the dragons, and got off. Everyone else aside from me, the dragons and the rimel birds included, were tensed and extremely wary.

    I took out the slimes from my Dimension Home, instantly filling the road extending to the fortress.

    ¡°Go!¡± [Ryouma]

    As soon as I gave themand, the iron and metal slimes jumped out to lead the charge, with the grave slimes following from behind. Among the slimes were also 120 magic-using slimes that were covered in metal slimes. The mimic slime was behind me, transformed in my figure, and equipped with an iron slime katana.

    As the horde of slimes pushed on, they turned into a wave of force that gradually took down the slow undead that couldn¡¯t run in time as they made way for the frotress.

    When we neared the fortress¡ª

    ¡°I found some survivors! There¡¯s three of them in front!¡± [Rheinbach]

    Rheinbach-sama found some of the survivors, and he pointed them out from above. In front of me stood three men with expressionless faces just like Oslo-san and his group. They cut a road through the undead as they made their way toward us. When they got past the undead, they started cutting the iron slimes at the lead. When Sebasu-san saw that, he said.

    ¡°They¡¯re attacking everything.¡± [Sebasu]

    I don¡¯t know what order they got, but they¡¯re attacking the zombies, who should be their allies, all the while, also attacking the slimes... But this isn¡¯t really the time to be wondering.

    ¡°Sebasu-san.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s ready.¡± [Sebasu]

    We decided beforehand to throw the survivors into Sebasu-san¡¯s Dimension Home after catching them, so I checked with Sebasu-san if he was ready.

    After hearing his response, I ordered the slime to open a path. Then I ran for the adventurers.

 Volume 5 - 26

    ¡°Kahyui!¡± [Mind Controlled Adventurer]

    With an iprehensible shout, one of the adventurers brandished his sword, and shed down in a straight line. But I kept running at full speed, reaching up to his chest before he could fully sh down, andnded a blow onto his open side with my fist d in poison magic.

    The man bent into a < shape before falling to the ground and convulsing.

    As soon as he fell, two swords had reached for me from behind the now fallen man, but turning on my left heel, I easily avoided them. At the same time, I was able to grab the wrist and arm of the man who came at me from my left. Slightly stooping, I ced his elbow over my shoulder, and broke his posture as I took him from the back. Then as I stretched my legs, I pushed all of my weight onto the man, pushing his dominant arm opposite the direction it normally bent. The pain too great, the man had no choice but to let go of his sword, but I kept going until I clearly felt his bone snap. Then I kicked him toward Sebasu-san and Shiva-san before turning to face the next adventurer.

    This one came at me from right in front. He shed down diagonally, and in response, I stepped forward, and took his arm, taking it all the way to throw him on his back, where Inded the finishing blow.

    No more adventurers came after that, but when we reached the circr open space something happened.

    ¡°Are they nning on holing up?¡± [Shiva]

    There were scores of undead, but just when we thought they would alle hording out of the fortress, the gate suddenly shut itself tight. And the undead that did get out before the gate closed, only stood there to protect the gate. I also noticed the two wyverns flying in the sky, but that was Rheinbach-sama¡¯s job. And he left with his two ignis dragons as soon as he saw them.

    ¡°Leave the skies to me! The rest of the surviving adventurers are in the fortress!!¡± [Rheinbach]

    Like that Rheinbach-sama set off to fight with the wyverns... It¡¯s more like a game of tag though... With the wyverns¡¯ lives on the line.

    Anyway, let¡¯s get to work. With this turn of events, the best course of action would be...

    ¡°Shiva-san, Sebasu-san.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Right.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Please leave it to us.¡± [Sebasu]

    Leaving Shiva-san and Sebasu-san to stand watch, the slimes entered the open area, and spread out into a fan as I ordered them to clear the undead.

    Then I used my earth magic to create a pir of stone as thick as a log, with one end a slightly rounded stake and the other end t. I attached handles to the center, and fortified the stake part with the construction magic, Hardening, then further reinforced the whole thing with ki.

    We¡¯ve already considered that the enemy might try to close the gate and hole up, so we thought up a n during the meeting. ording to Shiva-san, the best response in a scenario like this is none other than a battering ram. This was the best tool we could use considering ourck of man power and time.

    ¡°It¡¯s ready!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Good! Do it just like we nned!¡± [Shvia]

    As Shiva-san said that, he stepped forward, and fired off a spell of wind magic toward the area in front of the slimes.

    ¡± ¡®Storm Cutter¡¯ !¡± [Shiva]

    The raging wind blew countless des into the surroundings, wreaking havoc upon the undead as they were minced to pieces.Even the fence and the castle walls didn¡¯te out unscathed. By the time the storm of des started to settle, over half of the undead were gone.

    This was where we came in. We cut down the remaining undead to cut open a path, while Sebasu-san protected our back as he followed from behind. Remiri-neesan also supported us from above, so it didn¡¯t take us long before we finally reached the gate.

    Now!!

    Having calcted the exact moment when the undead wouldn¡¯t be there to stop me, I overtook Shiva-san, and used all of my strength to ram the battering ram into the gate!

    The giant rock of a stake mmed into the gate of the fortress, and the sound of something being crushed filled the area along with the sound of something creaking, yet only a crack at most was left upon the fortress¡¯ gate. But I already knew just one blow wouldn¡¯t be enough.

    ¡± ¡®Rocket Punch¡¯ !!¡± [Ryouma]

    Gathering magic into a lump, I mmed that great power into the t part of the battering ram to propel the ram forward. With my shoulder in ce of the stand, the stake mmed into the gate a second time, just like an improvised pile bunker.

    Again the sound of creaking and crushing resounded as the battering ram pierced the gate. I don¡¯t know whether the hinges were the first to break, but the gate mmed open, and the undead on the other side came flying as the battering ram prated into the fortress.

    ¡°Good!¡± [Shiva]

    Shiva-san entered as soon as the gate broke open to cut down the undead. And I followed after him along with Sebasu-san, while the slimes split into two groups. One half dealt with the undead outside, while the other half dealt with those inside.

    But just as we were approaching the building where the adventurers were...

    ¡°Strange...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You think so too?¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Yes.¡± [Ryouma]

    The slimes were enough to deal with the undead, so it didn¡¯t matter even when they tried to chase us. What¡¯s weird is that the ce seemed too quiet. Neither the lich nor the mind controlled adventurers have made an appearance, yet there didn¡¯t seem to be any traps in sight either. Even though we caused such arge ruckus breaking the gate like that...

    Not having to face much resistance is great, but on the other hand, it makes it seem more likely for there to be a trap, so we can¡¯t just carelessly enter the building.

    Just as I was thinking that¡ª

    ¡°GUoON!¡± [Wyvern]

    The death throes of one of the two wyverns resounded high up in the skies. The both of them were roasted well done by the ignis dragons. And apparently the other one couldn¡¯t even so much as scream in itsst moments. As the two wyverns fell from the sky, they crashed into the castle walls, tumbling down into the ground as they left a mark upon the walls they sought to protect.

    Then it happened...

    ¡°!!!¡± [Ryouma, Shiva, Sebasu]

    I was notx. I was carefully paying attention to all of our surroundings, but at that moment, something still managed to grab my legs. When I looked down, what I saw was the white bone of an arm. The hand of a skeleton was for some reason sprouted from the ground. But that was not all, for there was an uncountable number of undead from within the fortress that ¨C in no time at all ¨C suddenly managed to surround us.

    Ugh! Disgusting! Where are theying from!?

    I spat bitterly in my mind, but I didn¡¯t forget to react. Light magic d around my legs to disperse the skeleton¡¯s arm wrapped around it. Shiva-san and Sebasu-san were also caught by their feet, but they managed to deal with the skeletons easily too.

    ¡°He¡¯s on the roof! ¡®Light Shot¡¯ !!¡± [Remiri]

    As we looked up, we saw the lich on the rooftop battling with Remiri-neesan.

    ¡°Fall back!¡± [Shiva]

    ¡± ¡®Water Cutter¡¯ ¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡± ¡®Holy me Carpet¡¯ ¡± [Ryouma]

    We would only be in danger if we kept this up, and if things turned for the worse, we might even find ourselves caught. So I followed Shiva¡¯smand, and casted my magic along with Sebasu-san, then we all used our respective weapons to cut open a path out through the hordes of undead. I¡¯ve already ordered the slimes beforehand to protect the gate in case of a situation like this, so¡ª

    Why!? Did the lich do this too?

    When we reached the fortress gate, the gate that should¡¯ve been destroyed was standing there without a scratch, almost as if the time had been wound back.

 Volume 5 - 27

    With no time to deal with the gate that should have been destroyed, we huddled together at the center of the slime¡¯s encirclement and battled the undead.

    We struck them dead one after another, but they just kepting no matter how many we killed. In fact, it felt like there more of them now. I know it¡¯s a fantasy world here, but this is just crazy. An endless zombie mission? Give me a break. We¡¯re somehow holding up thanks to the slimes, but this is still the first time I¡¯ve been pushed to my back by sheer number alone sinceing to this world.

    ...What¡¯s going on outside? The mimic slime should be there...

    Linking my senses with the mimic slime battling outside, I found out that the slimes have overwhelmed the undead there. It looks like the undead are only spawning from inside the castle.

    While I was relieved to know that the monsters were only spawning inside, some roam weapons in the shapes of hammers or spears came flying at me. I promptly shot them down with light magic, but at this rate, there won¡¯t be an end to this!

    ¡°The undead don¡¯t seem to be spawning outside. Shall we retreat for now?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°At this rate, we¡¯ll just end up exhausting our strength and magic.¡± {Shiva]

    ¡°Indeed, regrouping with the slimes outside seems to be our best bet.¡± [Sebasu]

    Seeing our anti-air group doing well as they battled the lich in the skies, we opened the gate and went out with the slimes.

    Fortunately, the gate didn¡¯t end up having some weird power that kept us from opening it, and we were able to easily open it from inside. I erected a pir of stone to keep the gate open before we left. We didn¡¯t bother destroying it anymore since it seems it would just get fixed anyway.

    The undead chased after us, and though the slime numbers have doubled, the battle seemed like it would still continue. But then when we got far enough, pirs of fire rained from the sky around the castle gate.

    ¡°Uuu...¡±

    The wind took with it the heat of the mes as it blew the rising smoke and spread the smell of scorched and rotting flesh. I couldn¡¯t help but frown upon getting a whiff of that, then a voice called out to us.

    ¡°Is everyone alright?¡± [Remiri]

    It was Remiri-neesan, who had been battling the lich. Afterwards, Rheinbach-sama flew to where we were as well.

    ¡°What happened to the lich?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°We couldn¡¯t kill it. It was really tricky, and it managed to run into the building.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t for naught. It turns out that lich isn¡¯t very strong in a straight up fight. The only thing it¡¯s good at is backstabbing and running away. It can¡¯t use anything other than dark magic too.¡± [Rheinbach]

    Weak in a straight up fight... huh. That¡¯s not something you hear a lot. But if that¡¯s the case, then...

    ¡°The adventurers that attacked ahead of us were probably caught.¡± [Shiva]

    As the billowing wind scattered the rising smoke, Shiva-san solemnly looked toward the castle gates. And out of the fire and the smoke did the undead appear, seemingly unperturbed, as if nothing at all had happened.

    There¡¯s no way there¡¯s really no end to them, right? They must have a limit.

    ¡°This is a problem... Does everyone still have magic to spare?¡± [Ryouma]

    My magic is fine, but I should drink some magic recovery potions just to be safe. The others also drank some before the undead came. As for the slimes... Well, they seem to be alright.

    ¡°Now what? At this rate, we¡¯ll take up too much time.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°My dragons could just cook them all, but we should save the surviving adventurers first.¡± [Rheinbach]

    We might have to abandon them if the situation turns for the worse, but for now, we have to prioritize saving them, as we still haven¡¯t been pushed that badly yet. The undead aren¡¯t strong, but they¡¯re really annoying.

    To begin with, just where is all that undeading............Huh?

    After having gotten some distance and seeing the way the undead appeared, it suddenly felt like I¡¯ve seen something simr before... Ahh!

    ¡°I¡¯ve got it!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°W-What is it all of the sudden?¡± [Remiri]

    That moment of eureka ended up surprising Remiri-neesan, bringing the attention of the other three to me.

    ¡°I was wondering why the way the undead appeared felt simr, and I finally realized that it¡¯s because it¡¯s exactly the same with the grave slimes.¡± [Ryouma]

    The other four became thoughtful.

    ¡°Now that you mention it, it does seem like it.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°And that would also exin where all those undead were hiding, but...¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Even if there is a magical beast with a simr ability, the question is where?¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Honestly, I can¡¯t see anything but undead.¡± [Rheinbach]

    It was here that I shared something I thought of.

    ¡°But what if that entire fortress is that magical beast?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°...The gate we destroyed was fixed after all. And there is precedence for objects turning into magical beasts, like the roam weapons for example.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°It just might be then.¡± [Remiri]

    We all looked toward the fortress.

    ¡°We can find out for sure if we use ¡®Monster Identify¡¯. Remiri, I¡¯m going to approach the fortress. Back me up.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Gotcha. We¡¯lle back right away, so you guys just wait here, ok?¡± [Remiri]

    Like that the two rode on the backs of Rheinbach-sama¡¯s dragons and approached the castle. After a few seconds, they came back.

    ¡°Ryouma-chan¡¯s right. The fortress is a magical beast.¡± [Remiri]

    Status

    Name Ghost House

    Skills Spawn Ghosts Lv7; Enshrine Remains Lv9; Mimic Lv9; Regenerate Lv7

    After hearing the results of Rheinbach-sama¡¯s Monster Identify, there was no doubting it.

    That fortress was definitely the one responsible for all those undead. That Enshrine Remains skill proves it. It¡¯s exactly the same as the grave slime¡¯s.

    That Spawn skill of it has also got to be rted with the undead, just like the Attract Ghosts and Absorb Ghosts skill are. It says spawn, so I suppose it¡¯s an ability that creates undead? Wait a moment, wouldn¡¯t this mean that this thing might be the reason for the sudden increase of undead in the troll canyon?

    I see it has a Regenerate skill. That¡¯s probably what fixed that gate. It¡¯s an ability that the undead also possess, so I checked with the grave slimes whether the fortress was also foodundead, and it gave me a ¡®Now that you mention it!¡¯ feeling in response. It looks like they were fooled too.

    After that we tried breaking the castle walls, but it just fixed itself again. As for light magic, the ghost house was originally a fortress, so it didn¡¯t work. Although it seems that the undead stoppeding for a moment when the ghost house had to regenerate itself.

    Observing the ghost house through the slimes, it seems that when we destroyed a part of the castle walls, those parts stopped being a part of the magical beast for a moment, but only until it regenerated. So the fortress can fix itself and there¡¯s no end to the undead... Isn¡¯t there an easy way to kill this thing? Like a nucleus or something like the slimes?

    Also, we¡¯re still investigating, but it seems highly probable that this ghost house doesn¡¯t have any way of attacking aside from spawning undead.

    If so, then I wonder if the lich was born from this ghost house? Or perhaps they¡¯re benefiting from each other instead?

    In any case, I¡¯m d I had the grave slimes with me. Not just for their fighting power, but also because we probably wouldn¡¯t have figured out that fortress itself was living if not for them having simr abilities.

 Volume 5 - 28

    In the canyon, at the edge of the open square where a rotting stench filled the air, were Ryouma and his friends battling the undead.

    ¡°There¡¯s... too many!¡± [Shiva]

    The analysis of the grave slime brought Ryouma and his friends to barrage the castle walls with light magic, causing the ghost house¡¯s walls to turn into mere walls. Given time the walls would turn back to being a part of the ghost house, but the barrage of light magic scared the ghost house into spawning more undead.

    The ghost house spawned as much it could, but the great horde just outside the gates kept the undead from leaving. With nowhere to go, the undead kept growing in number inside the fortress, until eventually, they started appearing even above the walls and gates. Then in their pushing and pulling of each other as their numbers grew too great for the castle walls, they spilled into the square like a waterfall of rot and bones. They would have surely died if they were yet alive, but being undead, the greater half of them only picked themselves up before walking again.

    The undead horde did note from only one direction, but from all four directions of the fortress. At that, it no longer mattered how many the slimes ate or how many the dragons cooked. This was already far beyond the number they could handle. Even the wyverns the dragons once felled became undead... Not that theysted long though, as the dragons killed them as soon as they saw them.

    The ghost house is a living creature, so it spawns more undead near the area where it feels pain, while spawning less in other areas. When Ryouma¡¯s group saw that, they figured that the rate the undead was spawning must be the fastest the ghost house could... But knowing that alone wouldn¡¯t put a stop to the undead.

    As the ghost house rampaged with the power of number, the slimes sent a message to Ryouma, and he called out to the others.

    ¡°The full grave slimes areing out!¡± [Ryouma]

    Although full, that only really meant that they needed time to digest all the undead they¡¯d eaten before they could eat again. The problem, however, was that there were just too many undead. The slimes¡¯ rate of digestion was not fast enough to reduce the undead¡¯s number.

    At this rate, the undead would surely manage to break through the front lines. Realizing that, Ryouma thought up a new n.

    ¡°Remiri-neesan! We can still hold if the grave slimes fuse to be an emperor slime, but!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You¡¯re worried about the lich, right? Don¡¯t worry, just leave it to me! I¡¯ll protect the slimes, so you just deal withe undead right in front of you!¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Understood! Slimes, retreat!¡± [Ryouma]

    The emperor grave slime is much more powerful than a mere grave slime, so it should do better than the grave slimes. That¡¯s the reason why Remiri agreed to Ryouma¡¯s n and went off to fight the lich.

    As soon as the grave slimes received Ryouma¡¯s orders, they ran as fast as they could to fuse while Shiva, Sebasu, and Ryouma protected them. As the slimes fused together, the fused body grew bigger and bigger until it filled the road.

    After seeing the grave slimes fuse sessfully, Ryouma gave them his orders.

    ¡°Fun!!¡± [Shiva]

    Shiva swept the zombies away with his weapon. More zombies came from the right, but the emperor grave slime was waiting for them; and it crushed them into the ground with its tentacles.

    Moreover, with the emperor grave slime able to move its nucleus into its tentacles, turning what would normally be a mere extension into its main body, the emperor grave slime was able to move faster than anyone.

    After that the emperor grave slime gathered the undead with its Attract Ghosts skill, and then crushed them one after another with its tentacles. With the magic using slimes and the rimel birds added, Ryouma and his friends were finally able to start pushing the undead back.

    ¡°Can the slimes keep this up?¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°The way they are now they can digest just fast enough to match the undead, so it should be fine. We have to do something about the ghost house though. The ghost house can be eaten, but it¡¯s too big.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I see... Let¡¯s prioritize the survivors first. If we can just do something about them, it won¡¯t even matter even if we don¡¯t defeat these monsters here.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Well this is a bit much for a party of five to handle.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°If we knew about this beforeing here, the adventurer¡¯s guild could have gathered the adventurers with an emergency request. Even the army and the knights might have moved.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Right, but... Since we¡¯re here anyway, we might as well try... Rheinbach-sama! What¡¯s the location of the survivors!?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°They¡¯ve all been gathered at the center of the fortress! There¡¯s 16 of them, but they haven¡¯t been moving at all!¡± [Rheinbach]

    Excluding the castle walls, the row house in the fortress was about 60 meters wide and 20 meters long with three doors. As for the interior, Ryouma didn¡¯t know either. But the fact that the surviving adventurers were all gathered into one spot without moving sounded very much like a trap.

    Still... they had to try save them.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!!¡± [Shiva]

    At Shiva¡¯s words, the emperor grave slime led the charge with Ryouma, Shiva, and Sebasu as they plunged into the horde of undead. The other two who were flying in the air covered them until they reached the castle walls, where Ryouma gave the slime a new order.

    ¡°Hide!¡± [Ryouma]

    The door thrown open, the slime extended two of its tentacles to hook the castle walls above. Then using that as support, the slime thinly spread itself over the castle walls like a banner.

    It spread itself further over thend until the door of the row house. And after Ryouma and his friends entered through the gate, the slime kept the gate from closing, while taking the opportunity to catch the nearby undead after turning what remained of its body into tentacles.

    The undead frequently came from down the road, but because of the slime catching the iing slimes, the undead could never manage to make it up.

    Like this Ryouma¡¯s group was able to make a safe road; and after reaching the row house, they took out their magic tools and used them.

    As Sebasu warily opened the door...

    ¡°uAA...¡±

    ¡°OOo¡ª¡±

    A room packed with undead was waiting for them.

    ¡± ¡®sh Grenade¡¯ ¡± [Ryouma]

    With the flick of his fingers, Ryouma threw a ball of light into the room full of undead, and Sebasu hurriedly closed the door. As light spilled from inside through the narrow gaps of the door, everything went silent. The group waited for the light spilling through the gaps to cease, then¡ª

    ¡°Go!!!¡± [Shiva]

    The first to charge was Ryouma, who ran into the room with his whole body wrapped in light magic, then when the coast was clear, the rest of the group followed. What greeted them then was a room 20 meters wide and 10 meters long. There were pirs erected here and there for support, but overall, it was a long and narrow room with a lonely atmosphere to it.

    There were no undead left when they entered; and the sixteen adventurers were right there on the ground next to the wall facing them.

    (So that¡¯s why... The reason we didn¡¯t see anymore adventurers other than those first three was because they couldn¡¯t move anymore.) [Ryouma]

    The 16 adventurers were yet alive, but they could no longer move because of all the injuries and fatigue they¡¯ve incurred.

    Even mind control couldn¡¯t make a broken body move.

    Ryouma went quiet upon seeing their situation, then¡ª

    ( ¡®Light Shot¡¯ !) [Ryouma]

    He casted a beam of light above his head.

    ¡°¡ª!? Kaka!!¡± [Lich]

    Suddenly, out of nowhere, was a set of bones wrapped in robes floating above him.

    The Light Shot hit its right arm, and the lich squirmed in pain up there by the ceiling before spinning down opposite Ryouma¡¯s direction like a ne crashing, but somehow it managed to sessfullynd on the ground. It might have been because of the pain of losing its arm or it might have been because of the frustration of having its surprise attack foiled, but regardless what the reason may be, the lich red angrily at Ryouma.

    (Don¡¯t think the same trick will always work.) [Ryouma]

    Ryouma and the lich red at each other, then as they took a step toward each other, Shiva and Sebasu bolted for the surviving adventurers. Fighting in a narrow room with many people could cause undesired results, so they had decided beforehand for Ryouma to deal with the lich should it appear while Shiva and Sebasu would help the adventurers.

    ¡°Ka¡ª¡± [Lich]

    ¡± ¡®Light Shot¡¯ !¡± [Ryouma]

    The lich floated in the air and tried to cast a spell toward Shiva and Sebsau, but Ryouma stopped it, and he stood between the lich and them. The undead couldn¡¯t appear yet because of the trace of light magic left from the earlier spell, but it was only a matter of time. The danger will greatly increase once theye, so they couldn¡¯t waste time. They needed to save the adventurers as soon as possible.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get in the way! ...Not that you can understand me.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°KA KA KA KA.¡± [Lich]

    As the lichughed, it casted the dark magic ¡®Dark Ball¡¯ toward Ryouma, which Ryouma met head-on with his own ¡®Light Ball¡¯. As the two spells canceled each other out, Ryouma closed in on the lich and he struck out his fist covered in light magic.

    The lich slipped away again far from his fist¡¯s reach, but...

    ¡± ¡®Light Shot¡¯ ¡± [Ryouma]

    Light magic burst out of Ryouma¡¯s fist like a buckshot, leaving the lich with little room to maneuver. It still managed to get off unhurt, but a part of the spell prated its robes. Seeing the part that got hit melt, Ryouma was able to confirm that his spells could indeed hurt the lich. The lich retreated once more, and Ryouma pursued after it relentlessly, not letting it have the leeway to cast a higher tier of dark magic.

    Just as Remiri had mentioned, the lich was weak in a straight up fight, and Ryouma didn¡¯t have any difficulties fighting the lich.

    But the lich¡¯s swaying and irregr movements that it could do because of its inhuman body allowed it to dodge any fatal attacks.

    (It¡¯s tenacious but it¡¯s not strong... Hmm... At this rate, won¡¯t this guy just run away?) [Ryouma]

    In the short time they had been fighting, the undead has been attacking less and less and not even regenerating. It was clearly weakened. If he were to keep pushing it like this, wouldn¡¯t it just run? With that thought in mind, Ryouma decided to push the lich hard. But no matter how much he hurt the lich, it just wouldn¡¯t run.

    (Either it really doesn¡¯t want to let the captive adventurers go, it¡¯s nning something, or there¡¯s something else going on here... Anyway, I shouldn¡¯t attack it carelessly. The captive adventurers are the priority. All I have to do is to ensure that this thing doesn¡¯t get past me.) [Ryouma]

    And so, Ryouma fought his hardest to keep the lich at bay.

    Then as they continued to fight...

    ¡°Ku.¡± [Lich]

    ¡± ¡®Wind Cutter¡¯ !!¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Ka!?¡± [Lich]

    Having finished securing the adventurers, Shiva casted a wind magic against the lich.

    Fighting Ryouma alone was one thing, but fighting all three by itself was another. The odds it would just straight up lose was high. Even the lich understood that. And so this time it decidedly tried to run away.

    Stripping off its robes and throwing them to Ryouma, then casting a dark ball toward Sebasu, it ran away with all its might for the wall from where Ryouma¡¯s group entered even as it had to endure a heavy wound from Shiva¡¯s wind magic.

    (Think we¡¯re going to let you run?) [Ryouma]

    ¡± ¡®Light Shot¡¯ !¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma casted a buckshot of light magic toward the back of the weakened lich.

    (!?) [Ryouma]

    But then three zombies appeared right above Ryouma and the path of the Light Shot, blocking the magic and keeping it from reaching the lich.

    (To think they¡¯d starting now! Are we out of time?) [Ryouma]

    Without the time to feel vexed about letting the lich run, undead began to rain from the ceiling. And in no time at all, the whole ce was packed with undead, especially the exit.

    ¡°Over here!!¡± [Sebasu]

    Ryouma and Shiva immediately ran toward Sebasu when they heard his voice, and when they reached him, Sebasu chanted just one word.

    ¡± ¡®Teleport¡¯ !¡± [Sebasu]

    And all of the sudden, Ryouma and his friends vanished from that room now crawling with undead.

    KMF Update: 03-09 won¡¯t be out until the end of the month as my partner is too busy with IRL stuff. Anyway, you can expect two chapters then, as previously mentioned. One from my partner and one from Jiggly.

 Volume 5 - 29

    Going back in time a bit, back to the moment right after Ryouma¡¯s group charged in, was Remiri going all out on the ghost house in an attempt to lessen the burden on Ryouma¡¯s group even a little.

    She showered the castle walls in magic while the slimes and the rimel birds would lure the enemies¡¯ attention, letting the two dragons roast them ck.

    Rheinbach and his two ignis dragons knew where Ryouma¡¯s group and the surviving adventurers were, so they could fight as they pleased without fear of friendly fire.

    Remiri would¡¯ve joined them as well, but she had her hands full protecting the emperor grave slime from the lich¡¯s mind control. Not to mention, she also needed to conserve her magic to heal the captive adventurerster.

    As she watched the emperor grave slime that was shaped like a te, the ghost house in the backdrop caught her attention, and she became thoughtful.

    (How can we defeat this ghost house? My attacks don¡¯t really seem to be working. Does it have a nucleus after all? But if so, how are we supposed to find something like that?... Hmm?)

    While deep in thought, she noted the roof by the edge of her vision, and all of the sudden, a lich came flying out of the castle walls.

    (It¡¯s here!)

    ¡± ¡®Light Shot¡¯ !!¡± [Remiri]

    ¡± KAHI!?¡± [Lich]

    Immediately, Remiri fired off her magic which prioritized speed and uracy over raw power, but the lich already knew from their previous battles that she would be waiting for it.

    Twisting its bones, the lich jumped right into the onught of light magic, but it could note out unscathed from the flurry of light magic, and as the light magic crashed into a part of its ribs, the lich came out several bones short.

    Remiri wasn¡¯t done yet, but just as she was about to cast another spell, something else approached the lich.

    ¡°!?¡± [Remiri]

    The lich was almost near enough to touch the ground when that something stopped over the lich¡¯s head, bringing with it the cold of the wind to blow over the lich¡¯s head. That something was none other than a tentacle of the emperor grave slime.

    When the lich passed through the wall beside the door Ryouma¡¯s group entered, it just so happened that the emperor grave slime was right there, on the other side of that wall, spread thin to create a path just as Ryouma had ordered it. And with the lich within its attacking range, the emperor grave slime attacked.

    Dodging one and then another, the lich had no time to rest, as five tentacles now chased after it.

    It was curious whether the emperor grave slime attacked because of Ryouma¡¯s order or simply because it saw the lich as food no different from the rest of its bony delights, but regardless, the slime relentlessly pursued the lich. And when it managed to catch a part of the lich, it mercilessly took away the femur bones its tentacles managed totch onto, leaving the lich with no lower body as it flew away to the sky.

    But as fortune would have it, there would be no rest for the lich for the girl on dragon-back had been patiently waiting for its inevitable return to the skies.

    ¡°Ka!?¡± [Lich]

    ¡°You¡¯re full of holes. ¡®Beam¡¯ !¡± [Remiri]

    A vast amount of magic power gathered at the tip of Remiri¡¯s wand before she set it loose upon the undead as a destructive force of light.

    ¡°¡ª!!!?!?!!?!?!?¡± [Lich]

    By leaving the lich to be attacked by something else, Remiri was able to take the lich by surprise and seal it within a pir of light.

    The lich tried to run away, but it couldn¡¯t move its body; the most it could do wasnguidly move its arms. Gradually, its arms began to melt, and smoke began to rise from its body just as its strength quickly waned.

    Having resigned itself to its fate, the lich turned its head to look straight at Remiri. There were no traces of pain or peace or sorrow or pleasure on the lich¡¯s face. There were no emotions at all on that skull face of it. It looked at her, and that was all it did as it weed death. And then like a puppet whose strings had been cut, the lich¡¯s head fell over, and the lich was no more.

    After that Ryouma and the others were able to safely rendezvous with the aerial group. After they exchanged information and healed the captive adventurers, they rested in the safe zone secured by the emperor grave slime.

    They finally managed to rescue the adventurers, but their countenance remained grim. That was not only because of the fatigue built up, but more so because of the horrible condition of the captive adventurers.

    ¡°Ryouma-sama, please have some.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Can I have some too?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Of course.¡± [Sebasu]

    Ryouma and Remiri treated themselves to a cup of ck tea with plenty of sugar. They had put up a field hospital of sorts with the use of all the matting they had, over which theyid down the captive adventurers, where they then removed their curses and treated their wounds.

    There were 16 adventurers all-in-all that they had rescued. Half of those had wounds that would heal with enough rest, though they would have to ovee their fever and fatigue first. As for the other half, six of them would have to retire, and the remaining two breathed theirst the moment they undid their curse.

    With the three adventurers they had rescued earlier, they were able to save seventeen adventurers all-in-all. They didn¡¯t beat themselves up or anything with some thought like ¡®if only we came earlier!¡¯, but they did feel down. Though given the circumstances, feeling down was to be expected.

    Ryouma looked around him as he drank the ck tea, starting with the ever blue sky unfit their current situation, then to the ve demons, and then to his emperor grave slime.

    He watched as the emperor grave slime would release an undead through one of its tentacles to m into another undead, ten the slime would take the surviving undead into its body and repeat the process, mming undead against undead one after another to kill them all.

    (I never taught it that... Did it learn from the ghost house?)

    As Ryouma¡¯s mncholic countenance cheered up at that thought, Rheinbach spoke.

    ¡°What next? Are we going back already? Or are we going to try and beat this ghost house?¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be best to return first to let the captive adventurers recuperate?¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°Ryouma-chan and I healed them lots. They¡¯ll be fine as long as we leave them in the Dimension Home.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°It would be best if we got some info first though. This thing isn¡¯t something we can beat with just numbers. And there should be plenty of information if we just report to the guild.¡± [Shiva]

    After hearing Shiva, Remiri suddenly remembered something.

    ¡°Speaking of which, while you guys were still inside, there was something that caught my attention when I saw the burning ghost house¡¯s roof... What was it again?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°You forgot?¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Well, the lich came out right as it came to mind, so...¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°May I propose setting a time limit until which we would be gathering information then?¡± [Sebasu]

    No one had anyints to Sebasu¡¯s proposal, so we decided toe back for the time being. To be honest, even if we go beyond the time limit, it won¡¯t really matter if we still don¡¯t have a n.

    Five minutester, everyone was on dragon-back high up the sky, looking down the ghost house from above.

    ¡°Remiri, it was the roof that caught your attention, right?¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Yes, there are burn marks on it from the dragons¡¯ mes.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Hmm... Might as well, I suppose. Let¡¯s try burning it down.¡± [Rheinbach]

    With the captive adventurers now saved, there was no chance of identally hurting someone, so Rheinbach went ahead and ordered the five ignis dragons to line up, and then breathe out a powerful me toward the center of the ghost house. The heat emanating from the dragons¡¯ mes was so great that a shimmer in the air appeared, and when that great heat descended upon the ghost house, it was not just roasted ck, but some parts of it were even melted.

    ¡°I guess it¡¯s not very good with fire.¡± [Rheinbach]

    The ghost house regenerated itself again after the fire, but something seemed to have caught Remiri¡¯s attention, as she inclined her head and said.

    ¡°...Isn¡¯t there something off?¡± [Remiri]

    Remiri felt that odd sense of mise once more, and as she pointed it out, Ryouma and Sebasu agreed with her.

    ¡°Now that you mention it, it does seem odd...¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°How about trying it again?¡± [Ryouma]

    After several tries of burning the castle and it regenerating, Shiva added.

    ¡°...Rheinbach, this time try separating the dragons into two groups, and then burning the castle walls and the roof at the same time. The ghost house just might regenerate slower.¡± [Shiva]

    At that, the gears in Ryouma¡¯s head suddenly clicked together.

    (When I attacked the lich to keep it from running, I noticed the undead came out faster than when we tried attacking by the castle walls, but I thought I was just imagining it since I was caught in the middle of a fight, but... Maybe they really did appear faster.)

    Ryouma looked closely as hepared the tenement houses and the castle walls being burnt.

    The two structures were exactly the same at first, but as they regenerated, a difference could gradually be seen. And then 15 secondster, the tenement houses could clearly be seen regenerating faster than the castle walls.

    They tried this again several times, but no matter how much they repeated it, the tenement houses always regenerated first. They even went as far as topare the regeneration speed of the other walls and even the ground with the tenement houses, and it seemed that the farther something was from the tenement houses, the slower it regenerated.

    At this point, it wasn¡¯t hard to arrive at the conclusion that the ce that regenerated the fastest was either the nucleus itself, or if not, then at the very least, it was something very close to it.

    With that new revtion, Ryouma and the others all used their magic, focusing fire on the tenement houses. As they did, they found out that their target was located in the room to the right of the room Ryouma¡¯s group had earlier charged in.

    ¡°The weak point seems to be inside the room.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s obviously not affected by our attacks from outside, so attacking from inside would be our best bet.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Looks like we¡¯ll have to charge into that castle again.¡± [Shiva]

    Although they reached that conclusion steadily, they all still felt like they¡¯d taken the long way around.

    (This magical beast is seriously a pain... I¡¯m so tired already... mentally speaking.)

    Ryouma didn¡¯t say that out loud, but if he did, the other four would have surely agreed with him.

    Then Ryouma thought of something.

    ¡°Remiri-neesan, we¡¯ve already defeated the lich, right?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Hmm? Oh, yes. I properly confirmed it was gone before your group came out. Is something the matter?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Well, since there¡¯s no lich and no captive adventurers to save, I thought we could just have the emperor grave slime charge into the room.¡± [Rymoua]

    The other four all nodded when Ryouma said that.

    With no lich around, there was nothing to threaten the slimes. And with no captive adventurers to save, there was no chance of the slimes identally hurting someone they shouldn¡¯t.

    ¡°Then the next problem would be how to get them in.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°It should be fine, as the tenement houses are mostly empty. If that still doesn¡¯t work, then we can have the slime spit out some of the undead it¡¯s swallowed until it fits in.¡± [Ryouma]

    And so Ryouma and the others charged into the ghost house once more.

    After the charge...

    Everyone was on the back of the dragons again, but this time they were either wryly smiling or sighing.

    ¡°Too quick...¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Sorry...¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma inadvertently apologized at Shiva¡¯s grumbling. Not one of them was feeling down because they failed to hunt the ghos house. Rather, the problem was that the hunt went too well.

    Everything went exactly as it didst time after they broke through the gate, except this time Ryouma didn¡¯t clear the room with light magic, and instead ordered the emperor grave slime slime to ¡®swallow all the undead while spreading its body to every inch of the room¡¯.

    Ryouma had only intended to have the slime clear the room of undead, but the slime ate everything in the room, including the pirs that supported the ce.

    It turned out, however, that one of those pirs was the very nucleus they¡¯d been looking for. But it was only after the slime had swallowed the pir, and the undead stopped spawning that they realized that.

    The ghost house that had been pushing them all this time was actually such a weak magical beast.

    Ryouma and the others made their way back home after an anti-climatic ending.

    ¡°Ryouma-chan¡¯s not at fault, you know. And besides, it¡¯s good that we managed to beat it so easily, Shiva-chan.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m not ming him. It was anti-climatic, sure, but at least we¡¯re all safe. Nothing¡¯s more important than that.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°That aside, what do you guys want to eat? I¡¯m sure you¡¯re all tired, so we should all have a hearty meal with Elia and the others after we hand all these injured children to the guild.¡± [Remiri]

    With the danger gone, the atmosphere between Ryouma and the others gradually turned warm. And after an hour of flying in the reddish sky, they arrived at the city gates.

    The gatekeepers and the adventurers who saw the dragons went alert for a moment, but when one of the gatekeepers saw that there were people riding them, he waved his hands to signal and lead Rheinbach to thending zone. Then the party entered the town after going through the usual procedures.

    ¡°Ryouma-kun!¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Huh? Michelle?¡± [Ryouma]

    Waiting by the gate was a girl dressed in man¡¯s clothing. It was Michelle, and when she passed through the gate, she called out to Ryouma.

    ¡°I¡¯m back... What¡¯s wrong?¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma thought she was just out to pick them up, so he was about to say ¡®I¡¯m back¡¯, but then he noticed Michelle¡¯s grim countenance, not to mention the fact that the others weren¡¯t with her, so he asked out ¡®what¡¯s wrong¡¯ instead.

    And then Michelle said back.

    ¡°Elia... is gone.¡± [Michelle]

    Those words clearly resounded despite all the ruckus in town, and when Ryouma and the others heard it, their faces all stiffened. Trouble hade.

 Volume 5 - 30

    ¡°What happened?¡± [Rheinbach]

    Rheinbach asked, and Michelle exined.

    After Ryouma and the others went to subjugate the lich, the girls stayed in the inn, but with nothing to do, they started to worry. They then decided to go to the church to pray for Ryouma and the other¡¯s well-being. After praying Elia went to the toilet before they left, but she never came back.

    ¡°We searched in the church and along the road to the inn, but she¡¯s nowhere to be found. Riera and the others are working with Oslo-san¡¯s group right now to find her.¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°I see...¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°What are the odds of her leaving town?¡± [Ryouma]

    Rheinbach sighed, then Ryouma asked thatst question, but Michelle quietly shook her head before answering.

    ¡°We checked with all the gatekeepers of the town, but no one saw her. And besides, it would be really dangerous for her to exit town now. I¡¯m sure she understands that too. We also checked her equipment just to be safe, and everything was still there in the inn. I doubt she would have left unarmed. At least, I don¡¯t think she would on her own volition...¡± [Michelle]

    Michelle¡¯s voice gradually grew smaller as she grew more and more worried.

    ¡°...Well, there¡¯s no point talking here. We¡¯ll go look for her too. Good job letting us know!¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Y-Yes! Ah, but first you should go to the inn! Everyone is reporting to Heckard to make it easier to share info, so we might learn something new if we talk to him.¡± [Michelle]

    At Shiva¡¯s words, Michelle naturally lifted her downcast face, then she suggested that we go to the inn.

    ¡°In that case, I shall bring the captive adventurers to the guild.¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡°I¡¯ll go too, someone needs to exin what kind of treatment they¡¯ve received.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll leave that to you two then.¡± [Shiva]

    Like that Remiri and Sebasu teleported to the guild while the rest of us went to the inn.

    One hourter¡ª

    Ryouma ran through the dimly lit town in search for Elia.

    ¡°Excuse me, did you see¡ª¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Nope, nothing like her.¡± [Viger]

    ¡°I see, thanks anyway. Just where in the world did you disappear, Elia?¡± [Ryouma]

    They had gone back to the inn, hoping word of Elia might have arrived, but unfortunately, only the regretful face of Heckard was waiting for them. Ryouma sent the rimel birds to search for her, but there were many corners in town the birds couldn¡¯t go to, like the inside of the buildings, so Ryouma had to go himself in the end and ask whoever he could for a clue on Elia¡¯s whereabouts.

    But in the end, the only info he could get was that she wasst seen entering the church. Even Oslo¡¯s group who frequently got their info from this town couldn¡¯t find a lead other than the church.

    ¡°...Fuu...¡± [Ryouma]

    Slowing down after running nonstop, Ryouma looked around him as he caught his breath and pondered.

    (...If Elia had really gone somewhere by herself, there should be a lot more info on her than this. There are a lot of adventurers and merchants in this town because of the magic jewels, it¡¯s not easy to slip by unnoticed. Was she kidnapped then? It would be likely, but there¡¯s nothing pointing to that at all.)

    Ryouma found himself by the corner of a heavily trafficked path.

    (Barrack-san mentioned that the missing people might have been kidnapped, and he and the rest of his group seem to think it¡¯s the lich behind it... I mean when you think about it, I only found five people after a whole week of searching. A whole week where I used Cursed Song and the grave slimes to lure the undead, gathering several thousands of undead just to find a paltry five people. That¡¯s just too few.

    ...I don¡¯t know about the lich kidnapping people though, there¡¯s no proof of it, even though it was indeed gathering people... But darn it, what¡¯s the point of all this thinking!?)

    With the odds growing increasingly higher that Elia was in fact kidnapped, Ryouma¡¯s patience started to grow thin.

    (If she was kidnapped, then the culprit either ran away already or is hiding somewhere. Either way we need to find her quick... But how!?)

    Ryouma grit his teeth as he thought of a way to find Elia, but in the end, he couldn¡¯te up with anything aside from continuing the search.

    (Should I send the rimel birds again? Maybe ask people one after another, or... No, there¡¯s no other method left. If there were I would have used them ages ago.)

    Ryouma decided to search the town again, but just as he was about to run off, something caught his attention.

    (Is that¨C!?)

    That something was like a ray of hope, and Ryouma immediately went after it.

    On the others side of the byway of the main street was a small path which led to a building annexed to a church.

    Ryouma caught his breath before entering the church, then as he entered into what seemed to be a former chapel reconstructed into a hall, a middle-aged man who seemed to be a priest greeted him.

    ¡°Oh, a new face? How may I help you?¡± [Priest]

    ¡°I would like to pray.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°...Please.¡± [Priest]

    ¡°Thank you.¡± [Ryouma]

    The middle-aged priest must have sensed something from Ryouma¡¯s stiff face, as he asked no more and opened the door to the chapel. The ce seemed to still be under construction, but the chapel was alreadypleted, and there were even several people praying inside.

    Ryouma bowed his head to thank the priest, then he took a seat in one of the many chairs of the chapel and prayed.

    (Please! Someone hear me out!!)

    And then light wrapped around Ryouma.

    The hope Ryouma saw was none other than this opportunity to ask one of the gods. A plea to a god, so to speak. A normal person might not receive any reply even if he asked, but Ryouma¡¯s close rtionship to the gods meant that he would surely receive some sort of reply.

    Only, as to how much that reply would help him was not guaranteed. For it was up to the gods whether they would answer, and how much they would say.

    For example, if the god to greet Ryouma would be the God of Liquor, who cared little about minor details, the odds are high that he would give Ryouma a more specific location. But on the other hand, if it were someone like the God of Magic, Fer Noevir, the odds of being rejected would shoot up.

    Ryouma also rarely asked the gods for such help. This would be a first, for this time he was truly at his wits¡¯ end.

    Gradually, the light grew faint. Ryouma knew that it was nothing more than for his own selfish reasons that he wished to find Elia, but even then, he hoped it would be Tekun on the other side¡ª

    ¡°...¡±

    Wrapped in a jet-ck dress, the god to greet Ryouma was the stolid God of Sleep and Death, Meltrize.

 Volume 5 - 31

    Ryouma was troubled to see Meltrize. She was not as stiff as Fer Noevir nor asx as Tekun, but she was the hardest to read among the gods. One reason for that being that she was usually expressionless.

    (She looks mad.)

    There was a faint shadow over her in the same color of her dress that one would not see unless one paid attention.

    (I was pretty sure we were getting along, but I wonder if it was just my imagination...)

    ¡°Sit.¡± [Meltrize]

    ¡°Hmm? Ahh. Sorry.¡± [Ryouma]

    Unsure how to start the conversation with the current mood of the god before him, Ryouma was beaten to the punch when Meltrize asked him to take a seat. Ryouma epted her offer, and he sat himself opposite the goddess at the small table reminiscent of those used by nobles during teatime.

    ¡°I know why you¡¯re here, but there¡¯s not much I can tell you.¡± [Meltrize]

    ¡°I came here knowing that might be the case. Really, if I can just get a hint of some sort, I would be really grateful.¡± [Ryouma]

    Meltrize nodded and Ryouma listened as attentively as he could.

    ¡°This incident is as you¡¯ve feared, a kidnapping.¡± [Meltrize]

    ¡°Was it nned?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes.¡± [Meltrize]

    ¡°Is this the same person responsible for the missing people?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes.¡± [Meltrize]

    ¡°Why did they kidnap Elia? Did they mistake her for an adventurer?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°...No.¡± [Meltrize]

    ¡°Can you tell their goal? No? Alright.¡± [Ryouma]

    Unable to say any further, Ryouma¡¯sst question was only met with silence.

    ¡°This is really what I want to know: is Elia safe?¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma asked anxiously, and Meltrize nodded.

    ¡°She¡¯s safe. Her life isn¡¯t in any danger, and neither has she been injured. Of course, her chastity too.¡± [Meltrize]

    ¡°Thank goodness! Thank goodness...¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma was greatly relieved to hear that, but Meltrize continued.

    ¡°You won¡¯t have to worry about her safety until morning, but I can¡¯t guarantee her safety if you don¡¯t find her soon.¡± [Meltrize]

    ¡°So she¡¯s still being held captive then?¡± [Ryouma]

    Meltrize nodded and Ryouma¡¯s face turned slightly grimmer.

    ¡°Where is she being held captive?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Outside of town.¡± [Meltrize]

    ¡°Can I get something more specific?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°...They moved. It doesn¡¯t matter even if I tell you where, as you¡¯ve never been there before.¡± [Meltrize]

    ¡°I suppose the Oracle Skill doesn¡¯t allow me to ask a specific location?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That is asking too much from the skill.¡± [Meltrize]

    In the end, he couldn¡¯t figure out exactly where she was, but there wasn¡¯t any point in panicking, so he told himself to calm down.

    ¡°I heard the gatekeepers didn¡¯t see anyone suspicious. Was that a lie?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°...¡± [Meltrize]

    (I don¡¯t know what criterion she¡¯s basing when to answer or not, but it seems keeping silent means she can¡¯t talk in detail but that the question does have some rtion to the issue at hand.)

    ¡°Hom many are the kidnappers?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°...¡± [Meltrize]

    Silent again. Ryouma thought, but as soon he did, the shadow over Meltrize grew a little darker.

    ¡°...There are only 2 kidnappers, but they have some friends.¡± [Meltrize]

    The tone of her voice was the same as ever, but Ryouma was concerned with the dy in her reply and that shadow. He thought he probably shouldn¡¯t ask any further, but then, noticing his reaction, Meltrize drew away the shadow.

    ¡°Just ask what you want. I will be the one to decide whether to answer or not. And I¡¯m not mad at you.¡± [Meltrize]

    ¡°Then why are you angry?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Because the kidnapping took ce in church.¡± [Meltrize]

    (So that¡¯s why. But then again, considering how I need a church or something like it to meet the gods, I suppose it really is a special ce for them... Anyway, at least it¡¯s confirmed now that Elia was in fact kidnapped in the church.

    Michelle¡¯s group and Remiri-neesan did go to the church to investigate, but they found nothing... These are the same culprits as the ones responsible for the kidnapping of the missing adventurers, however, so there¡¯s probably an organization behind them. If so, then there might be a trail I can follow.)

    Ryouma felt the urge to run out to town to look for Elia this very instant, but he had to wait until his time in the divine realm expired, so he spoke to Meltrize again.

    ¡°Thank you. Just knowing that Elia¡¯s no longer in town and is still safe is a huge help to me. Is there anything I can do back outside to show my gratitude? I¡¯ll do it as soon as I settle this business.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. In fact, I want to thank you too.¡± [Meltrize]

    ¡°Thank me? Why? Did I do something?¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma thought back to these past few days, but he couldn¡¯t recall doing anything to be thanked for. There was the matter with the undead, but he was always having the grave slime eat and store them forter consumption, so surely she wouldn¡¯t take him for that.

    But it turns out that really was what she was thankful for.

    ¡°Ghost House.¡± [Meltrize]

    ¡°Sorry if I¡¯m always asking stuff, but why exactly does that beast matter?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That magical beast was a pain.¡± [Meltrize]

    Then Meltrize started talking.

    The Ghost House was a magical beast that fed on magical power and spawned undead, and the ce it was settled at was one of the greatest concentrations of magic power in Troll Canyon.

    ¡°After you found the fragment of the demon king and gave it to Gayn, we went to change the flow of magic at Troll Canyon.¡± [Meltrize]

    When the fragment of the demon king that was sucking all the magic power was suddenly removed, the magic power that was being absorbed all this time by the fragment overflowed into the abandoned execution grounds, so the gods had to change the flow to ensure that magic was equally distributed throughout the canyon. This is the reason why there are so many magical jewels and weak undead now.

    When the investigation team went to investigate the area, they went to areas where the concentration of magic power was greater. After all, the greater the magic power, the faster the recovery of one¡¯s magic power, and thus, the more undead and magic jewels in the area. So they put up a fortress in one of the ces where the magic concentration was the greatest, but after they were done with their investigation, they took it down and left it there, allowing it to eventually turn into a Ghost House.

    ¡°I see. But since they¡¯re birthed from magic, and are there because of the great concentration of magic, then the spawned undead should be...¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Infinite. They would keep on being spawned, each time exhausting the world¡¯s supply of mana.¡± [Meltrize]

    ¡°Ahh...¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma let out an ¡®Ahh¡¯ as he inadvertently pped his forehead with his hand. No wonder she thought the Ghost House annoying. There was already so little magic in this world already that the gods had to borrow magic from Earth, and yet here was a magical beast that added to that problem like a tumor. Then while Ryouma was quietly listening to her like this, a thought suddenly came to mind.

    (...When you think about it, the Ghost House was born because of the investigation team, but the reason the investigation team came to investigate was because of the scattered magic power, but the magic power was only scattered because I removed the demon king¡¯s fragment, so... erm... Doesn¡¯t that basically mean that I¡¯m the reason the Ghost House was born? Hmm... I probably shouldn¡¯t think about it too much. I mean the fragment was pretty bad and had to be removed anyway.)

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± [Meltrize]

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s nothing. By the way, it¡¯s our first time talking like this, huh. Just the two of us, I mean. We don¡¯t really get to meet aside from the banquets.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a first. We have plenty of spare time except for when searching for the demon king¡¯s fragments, so you shoulde more frequently. Kufo is particrly annoying when there¡¯s nothing to do.¡± [Meltrize]

    The image of a god who looked like a small boy smiling shed through Ryouma¡¯s mind.

    ¡°Did you imagine it?¡± [Meltrize]

    ¡°Easily. I¡¯ll think of something fun for the next banquet.¡± [Ryouma]

    As Ryouma said that, a faint light started to shine.

    ¡°It¡¯s time.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Good luck. It¡¯s a battle of time from here on out, so hurry. And make sure to have someonee with the four young girls, either you or someone else.¡± [Meltrize]

    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma added.

    ¡°There¡¯s a high chance I¡¯ll find the culprits responsible for the kidnapping in the church, especially those guys who kidnapped Elia.¡± [Ryouma]

    As he said that, Meltrize went quite for a few seconds before saying.

    ¡°Ryouma-san, ¡®punish them well¡¯.¡± [Meltrize] [1]

    ¡°Did you learn that from a certain show at a nursing home!?¡± [Ryouma]

    Meltrize¡¯s sudden switch to that drama-like phrase caused Ryouma to inadvertently pull a tsukkomi, but the god in question just cutely inclined herself as if all was right with the world.

    ¡°It¡¯s a phrase I learned from another Earthling like you. Is something wrong?¡± [Meltrize]

    (Come to think of it, Asagi-san also spoke in that drama-like manner, so by Earthling she¡¯s probably referring to Asagi¡¯s ancestral master.)

    ¡°That Earthling apparently really liked Japanese literature and studied it a lot.¡± [Meltrize]

    ¡°You don¡¯t really use it in day-to¡ª Wait, he likes Japanese literature?¡± [Ryouma]

    That phrasing caused Ryouma to feel a bit of mise.

    ¡°Was that person Japanese?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°No, but he said his heart was Japanese. He looked up to the samurai and said that he wants to be like them.¡± [Meltrize]

    (His image of Japan is a bit off, almost like a foreigner otaku of Japanese culture. But I don¡¯t get it, if he¡¯s so knowledgeable as to even know how to make soy sauce and miso soup and pass it on to his sessors, how could he possibly be so off with such basic knowledge?

    Come to think of it, there was also that foreigner client who loved Japanese culture and could even speak Japanese fluently, but for some reason had ¡°±ã×ù¡± (Toilet) tattooed on his arm. That client mentioned he had it tattooed because he thought it was cool. I wonder what the tattooist thought while he was working on that guy.)

    When Ryouma noticed Meltrize still looking confused, he said.

    ¡°We don¡¯t actually... talk like that outside of dramas or ys.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°I see.¡± [Meltrize]

    As they had that exchange, the light gradually grew stronger, and when Ryouma said goodbye, his consciousness returned to his body.

    Upon returning to the mortal realm, Ryouma refocused his mind, then stood up from his chair and left the chapel. His conversation with Meltrize was really a load off his back, such that when the priest saw him again, he told Ryouma that his countenance seemed better now. In response, Ryouma just said that praying calmed him down, and then left after leaving some offering. When he got out, he ran through the dimly lit roads of the town once more.

    (There are a lot of rocky areas and cliffs around these parts, so the paths one can take should be limited. Anyway, I should first go back and talk to the others. They know I¡¯m a child so having the Oracle Skill shouldn¡¯t be a big deal, but Oslo¡¯s group...)

    Ryouma pondered to himself how he should share the information he received, but then something blocked his way.

    ¡°!!¡± [Ryouma]

    Running through a path so narrow it would be difficult for people to pass each other in it, when Ryouma turned right to a path rarely visited by people, he noted a man whose face was wrapped in a cloth 20 meters away from him. Just a cloth wasn¡¯t enough to rouse suspicion, he would still be just a passerby, but the fact that the man had his bow aimed at Ryouma left no room for doubt.

    Having already made the turn, there were only walls in Ryouma¡¯s nks, so he prepared to pull out his katana upon noticing the man. But when he did, the man let loose the arrow, then vanished without a trace.

    Ryouma pulled out his katana as he pushed down his sheath, unleashing the de into an upward sh to meet the descending arrow in its path. It didn¡¯t matter that the path was as dark as could be, Ryouma cut down the arrow as wlessly as he could in the light of day. There was a piece of paper attached to the arrow, and it came floating down the air when Ryouma struck the arrow down.

    ¡± ¡®Search¡¯ ! A magician that uses dimension magic?¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma did not only invoke the neutral-magic, Search, but he also sharpened his ears and eyes to search the surroundings for his mysterious assant, but the man was already gone. Ryouma silently sheathed his katana, then headed for the paper attached to the arrow.

    He¡¯d only realized there was a paper attached to the arrow right before striking the arrow down, but it was clear as day that that paper contained a message regarding Elia.

    Gathering the pieces of the paper ¨C four all-in-all, as it must¡¯ve been folded when the arrow was cut in two ¨C Ryouma pondered to himself.

    (That man was definitely one of Elia¡¯s kidnappers, but why now? What¡¯s the point of showing themselves? And what¡¯s the point of sending a letter through an arrow while aiming for the vitals?)

    Fortunately, as there was no wind, Ryouma was able to safely recover all four pieces of the letter and read it.

    Dear Ryouma Takebayashi,

    Elialia Jamil is in our hands.

    If you want to save her,e to the designated location alone at the appointed time.

    If you tell anyone about this letter, you can consider her life forfeit.

    (Whether I follow this letter¡¯s order or not, if the others find out anyway and they catch wind of it, Elia will be killed all the same. Where and at what time do they want to meet?)

    After reading the threatening letter, Ryouma scratched his head in confusion.

    (That¡¯s odd, why are they calling me out personally? Wouldn¡¯t you normally want to call someone from Rheinbach¡¯s family instead? And this ce is...)

    The meeting ce designated was in Troll Canyon, and it was quite far. In fact, Ryouma normally wouldn¡¯t be able to make it by the time set by the kidnappers, if not for his dimension magic. Clearly, the kidnappers knew about his ability to use dimension magic.

    ¡°So their real aim is to call me out?¡± [Ryouma]

 Volume 5 - 32

    ¡°*Huff *Huff *Huff...¡± [Ryouma]

    Aided only by the light of the moon and the light in his hand, Ryouma quickly moved through the dim paths of the canyon. Only a few minutes has passed since he left the city after receiving the threatening letter. Adventurers passed him from time to time as he traversed the canyon. They were probably still out because of the lich case, but regardless, Ryouma passed by them without sparing a nce as he hurried on his way.

    The farther Ryouma ran, the less adventurers passed by and the more undead appeared. Yet he ran quickly through such a perilous canyon, avoiding needless fights to avoid needlessly expending his energy, as he knew that this was probably a trap.

    Of course, there were times when he couldn¡¯t avoid a fight too.

    ¡°U...¡± [Zombie 1]

    ¡°A...¡± [Zombie 2]

    Two zombies appeared before him, blocking his path.

    ¡°Fu!¡± [ryouma]

    But with a swing of his ki-reinforced adamantite katana, he cut the two zombies in half with a single stroke. That alone wouldn¡¯t kill the zombies for good, but it was enough to keep them from moving until they regenerated, giving Ryouma ample time to leave them in the dust, which he did.

    Ryouma madly rushed through the canyon likes this, but unbeknownst to him, he was being watched.

    ¡°*Aho...¡± [Harris Crow] [1]

    A lone harris crow was flying up in the skies, hidden behind the veil of darkness, as it watched Ryouma running through the canyon. This harris crow was not here by coincidence. It was here precisely to watch Ryouma, as it sent everything it saw back to someone far away.

    Beneath the shade of a rock in a ce not too far from the city, were a man dressed in metal armor from head to toe and a man dressed in leather armor. They were both members of the group responsible for the kidnappings. The leather-armored man was watching Ryouma through the Harris Crow.

    ¡°Has he made any suspicious movements?¡± [Metal-Armored Man]

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t look very happy, but he¡¯s following our orders alright. Only, he¡¯s moving a bit too fast. at this rate, he¡¯ll arrive ahead of schedule... How¡¯s the city?¡± [Leather-Armored Man]

    ¡°No word yet... Never mind, he¡¯s here.¡± [Metal-Armored Man]

    A man wielding a bow suddenly appeared from the shadows. He was obviously one of their friends.

    ¡°Yo, how is everyone?¡± [Bow-Wielding Man]

    The man covered in armor asked in a jovial tone.

    ¡°You¡¯rete. Has there been any movements in town?¡± [Metal-Armored Man]

    ¡°None. The guy called Ryouma did as instructed, and left town after getting some random request from the guild. He did go to the toilet once, but he just went to relieve himself and wash his face. He didn¡¯t contact anyone.¡± [Bow-Wielding Man]

    ¡°You sure you didn¡¯t overlook anything? No one¡¯s following him, right?¡± [Leather-Armored Man]

    The bow-wielding man responded in a voice slightly more serious than earlier.

    ¡°I had people in ce to watch the guy. There¡¯s no one following him. Preparing everything was a pain, but he definitely vanished into the crowd properly. There¡¯s no point investigating the toilet either. I mean no slime or rimel bird came out, and there¡¯s nowhere to hide there anyway.

    Anyway, enough about me, what about your side? You made sure to watch him, right? One of the orders given was to not use dimension magic until after he gets far enough from the vige.¡± [Bow-Wielding Man]

    ¡°Everything is clear on our end too. He looks vignt, but he can¡¯t do anything anyway, so it¡¯s fine. It would be great if he just kept running and ran out of gas, but that¡¯s probably not happening. Can¡¯t even buy time...¡± [Leather-Armored Man]

    After the leather-armored man said that, the bow-wielding man startedining.

    ¡°...You know I said this before but that old geezer is really dangerous. I really don¡¯t wanna face him in a straight-up fight. If the n changes any more than this, I¡¯m out.¡± [Bow-Wielding Man]

    ¡°Yeah, if he arriveste, he can kiss the woman goodbye...

    ...I can monitor him while he¡¯s running, but once he starts teleporting, my harris crow won¡¯t be able to follow. You know, something really just might happen before he arrives...¡± [Leather-Armored Man]

    The metal-armored man interjected.

    ¡°...Stop it. And there¡¯s no need for dimension magic anyway, since it¡¯s not that far. Besides, it¡¯s better than his allies finding out.¡± [Metal-Armored Man]

    ¡°Right, someoneing to support him would indeed be worse... We left someone to watch the town, so we¡¯ll just have to brace ourselves.¡±

    Not long after the leather-armored man said that, Ryouma teleported. With that the duty of the leather-armored man was finished, and they also teleported away.

    One hourter¡ª

    Directly south of the center of the canyon was Ryouma, standing at the top of a tall cliff, looking down the staircase-like path of the cliff that led to the location designated in the letter.

    (There¡¯s something there...)

    In the designated location was a pir of stone as high as one¡¯s waist, upon which was a scrap of paper. When Ryouma unfolded the paper, he found out that it was a map.

    (They didn¡¯t tell me about this. They¡¯re really being cautious.)

    Climbing up and down the staircase-like cliffs and passing through some thickets here and there took him all-in-all about 20 minutes.

    (...So they are nning on ambushing me. I¡¯m surrounded...)

    As the wind blew throughout the canyon, the sound of clothes ruffling resounded along the sound of weapons being readied. The enemy didn¡¯t seem to have any intentions of attacking, but Ryouma could sense their numbers growing as he drew deeper the designated location.

    When the location pointed out in the new map came to view, what he saw was a level area about as big as a basketball court, around which was a fence with uneven height reinforced by earth magic, blocking any other paths of escape. Further up ahead was another cliff, atop which was a lit torch surrounded by several men.

    When Ryouma took a step further, a young man seemingly still in his 20s called out to him.

    ¡°Walk to the center! Don¡¯t make any unnecessary movements!¡± [???]

    Ryouma did as he said, though he did so while making sure there were no traps buried under the ground. When he reached the center, magic wrapped around Ryouma, and 40 people showed themselves. They were mostly men with a ratio of four men for every woman.

    Most of them wielded ranged weaponry like bows. They looked down on Ryouma from atop the cliff, where his katana couldn¡¯t reach them. As Ryouma braced himself, he focused his senses to unravel the purpose of the magic he felt earlier.

    ¡°¡ªA magic barrier.¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma said that in a weak voice, but the earlier man managed to pick it up.

    ¡°It would trouble us if you ran, after all. These guys have their weapons out just to be safe, but they won¡¯t do anything as long as you listen to me.¡± [???]

    When Ryouma heard the man say that, he started analyzing the situation. Ryouma had no intention of just blindly doing what he was told.

    (He says that after going out of his way to secure a hostage? He doesn¡¯t trust me at all, does he? Though it is true that I can¡¯t use my dimension magic. Judging from the flow of magic power, it¡¯s scope is quite big... I don¡¯t think a person casted this. More than likely they used a tool or a magic jewel. It¡¯s a barrier pretty much meant to be used for buildings. Since they¡¯re able to prepare something like this, I suppose there really is someone behind them.)

    Magic tools that could erect barriers were by no means cheap. Your run-of-the-mill bandit couldn¡¯t possibly procure them.

    Upon realizing that these bandits weren¡¯t just bandits, Ryouma sent an order to the shadow slimes hiding in his shadow.

    (Since the magic tool is turned on, it should be emitting magic power. Use that magic power to find the tool, then hide yourselves in its shadow.)

    At his orders, 8 shadow slimes began to move to all four directions without anyone noticing.

    (The slimes can take care of the barrier, so I should just focus on confirming Elia¡¯s whereabouts...)

    ¡°I came as you asked, but you are the people responsible for kidnapping Elia, right? While I do want to know why you had to go out of your way to call me out like this, there¡¯s something I want to know first. Is Elias safe?¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma firmly asked.

    ¡°It would have been troublesome if she made a fuss, so we put her to sleep and gagged her, then stuffed her in a bag.¡± [???]

    ¡°I want to see she¡¯s safe.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Oh, then it that case... Oi! Bring the bag!¡± [???]

    (Is this young man the leader? Sure is different from all the chief heads I¡¯ve seen until now. He¡¯s quite young too. Actually, it¡¯s not just him, they¡¯re all young.)

    The kidnappers all looked fairly young. Even the oldest among them looked no older than their twenties.

    (...Will they really bring Elia?)

    ¡°The ce where we keep the hostage is a bit far, so it¡¯ll take a bit of time until they arrive. Why don¡¯t we talk until then?¡± [???]

    Ryouma¡¯s gaze became sharp at those words.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that. It would be a waste to just wait without doing anything, right?¡± [???]

    (Well I do want to know why they called me out here...)

    ¡°Let¡¯s hear it then.¡± [Ryouma]

    And so the young chief head told Ryouma his demands.

    [1] The cry of crows are said to sound like ¡®Aho¡¯, which means idiot.

 Volume 5 - 33

    ¡°Join us.¡± [Bandit Leader]

    Ryouma thought for sure the man would ask for wealth or goods. Never did he think that the man would actually ask him to join them.

    ¡°We work in the ve industry for the Dark Guild. We¡¯re responsible for the securing and selling of ves and people who know how to fight. Strong people are really important, you know?

    We¡¯ll have to put a magic tool on you to keep you from rebelling, but we can promise you food and treatment no different from us. It would be a pain if you couldn¡¯t fight when needed, after all.¡± [Bandit Leader]

    ¡°I thought the Dark Guild saw me as a thorn in the foot? I heard it from time to time from the bandits I¡¯ve caught.¡± [Ryouma]

    The bandit leader chuckled when Ryouma said that.

    ¡°A message did go around saying to avoid recklessly messing with you, but that was only because there was no point in those small fries attacking you.

    There are people in the guild who dislike you, yes, but everyone acknowledges your strength, which is why there is value in enving you.

    Many would rather sell you afterwards, but we have no such intentions. In the Dark Guild, money and achievements are everything. No one can take another person¡¯s achievements, doing so means either a beating, emunication, or even worse, the cer. As your captors, you belong to us, Ryouma Takebayashi. No one can force us to sell you.¡± [Bandit Leader]

    The man said as he made a cutting motion to his neck.

    Ryouma, however, did not understand what he meant by the ¡°cer¡±. Sensing that, the man called out behind him.

    ¡°Ahh, by cer, we¡¯re referring to that... Oi! Bring that old man over!¡± [Bandit Leader]

    ¡°Yes!¡± [Henchman]

    The thin-haired man behind the leader entered a small path, then when he came back, he was dragging a hooded man. The man brought that hooded man to the leader.

    ¡°Those whomit an unpardonable crime end up in the cer. They be ves of the Dark Guild.¡± [Bandit Leader]

    When the leader took off the hood covering the man¡¯s face, Ryouma twitched.

    The man¡¯s face was covered with wounds clearly inflicted by another man. There were scars even on the hands that peeked out of his long sleeves, but despite all that, what really bothered Ryouma was those pair of eyes that were full of hostility as they red at Ryouma.

    ¡°He won¡¯t be able to get in town with all those wounds, and if he does run, we¡¯ll be able to easily bring him back. People who fall into the cer aren¡¯t given any opportunities to redeem themselves. They are made to work minor jobs away from prying eyes. Many of those who fall into the cer never make it out, only quietly dying, never to be heard of again. That¡¯s why we call it the cer.

    Well, they do sometimes get lucky and end up getting transferred. If they¡¯re really lucky, they get put to use instead of just letting them rot in the cer. This man, for example. I heard he once fought with you before, so I brought him here with me. It¡¯s thanks to him that I found out all about your fighting style and your weird magic.¡± [Bandit Leader]

    After saying all that the man looked at the scarred man with a mocking face. Ryouma also woke up from his pondering to look at the scarred man.

    ¡°If you want to say a word ofint or two, I won¡¯t mind.¡± [Bandit Leader]

    ¡°Thank you.¡± [Scarred Man]

    As the scarred man thanked the leader, he looked down on Ryouma from the top of the cliff.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a while... Do you remember me?¡± [Scarred man]

    Ryouma became thoughtful for a moment, but...

    ¡°...Who are you?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Heh... Don¡¯t remember, huh.¡± [Scarred Man]

    The man startedughing in self-derision, then with a voice full of rage, he bellowed.

    ¡°You forgot me... But I didn¡¯t forget you. Not once! Did I forget you, Mr. Takebayashi! It was because of you that I ended up like this. Because of you that I ended up in the cer! All because you had to squeal about the Dark Guild branch!¡± [Scarred Man]

    ¡°Dark Guild branch? ...¡± [Ryouma]

    It was then that Ryouma finally began to recall the man.

    It was such an old story that Ryouma had already forgotten about it, but some bandits once attacked his home (Tunnels) out of vengeance for catching theirrades. Of course, Ryouma took care of them, but he let a few of them go to find their base, which he did. The man before him is one of those men that he let escape. He doesn¡¯t know his name, though.

    ¡°So you¡¯re that guy!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You remembered, huh.¡± [Scarred Man]

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t the branch destroyed? Why weren¡¯t you caught?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Apparently, the others you caught helped him, so he wasn¡¯t there when the raid happened.

    In his ce, those who were in the branch at the time were caught, and even the deal previously agreed on was broken.

    After some investigation, we found out that this man here is the reason behind everything, so we threw him into the cer.¡± [Bandit Leader]

    It was the leader who answered Ryouma¡¯s question. The scarred man didn¡¯t say anything more, and just smiled creepily in agreement to the man¡¯s words. He walked back behind the leader while grumbling.

    (They make me sick. So this guy leaked information? The magic I used back then was an original if I recall correctly... But I specifically picked out the ones I let escape, so this guy shouldn¡¯t know about my secrets either.)

    Around this time, Ryouma received word from the shadow slimes that they had sessfully hidden in the shadows of the magic tools responsible for the barrier.

    (Good. All that¡¯s left now is Elia... Since they kept talking about some cer, there¡¯re probably a lot of hidden ces here... She¡¯s probably in one of those. And this so-called ¡®leader¡¯, he seems to be hiding something. Let¡¯s try poking around a bit.)

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard your story, but Eliaes first. Where is she? Are you really nning on bringing her?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It ain¡¯t easy carrying another person safely up the steep slopes. It¡¯ll take some time. I¡¯ve said it time and time again, we haven¡¯tid a hand on her. So as long as you obediently be a ve, we¡¯ll let her go home.¡± [Bandit Leader]

    ¡°Why do you have to go out of your way to make just me your ve? Wouldn¡¯t it benefit you more to have both of us as your ves?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°You¡¯re plenty enough. After all, you¡¯re the man responsible for all that ruckus with the Tamer Guild and the Dark Guild. Those incidents really made you famous, you know. Anyway, being too greedy isn¡¯t good.¡± [Bandit Leader]

    When the leader spoke this time, the tone of his voice seemed far more serious than before.

    (The tone of his voice suddenly changed... Is this guy the type to needlessly take care of his subordinates even when no one asked him to?

    There were those types back in my previous life. The newers sometimes had a tendency to hide their mistakes, but doing that only exacerbated the problems, so these subordinate-caring types would pester them to avoid that, only to be shunned. In the end, they get tired, and... Wait, that has nothing to do with the situation right now.

    Anyway, these types don¡¯t really like getting tangled up with problems and unnecessaryplications.

    Now, he might not notice if I just outright change the topic, but it would probably be better if I change the topic shrewdly.

    The reason he gave wasn¡¯t a lie, but it was a bit too weak.)

    Ryouma continued.

    ¡°Even though you already kidnapped her? From the letter you gave me, it seems you already know Elia¡¯s identity. You should know, right? They¡¯re not going to stop looking for you even if you send her back.¡± [Ryouma]

    The leader didn¡¯t reply, but he didn¡¯t look perturbed either. Compared to him, however, the rest of his men were clearly agitated. It was a mystery whether they simply felt guilty or were fearful of having made enemies with a duke, but there was no doubting that they were restless. The leader red at them, then he spoke.

    ¡°I know it¡¯s a bitte, but we actually didn¡¯t have any intentions of kidnapping the youngdy of the Jamil Household. We were originally supposed to just kidnap another adventurer or two, then run away. Of course, we did consider kidnapping those girls with you. But our targets would have been either one of those two from the beast tribes.¡± [Bandit Leader]

    (That¡¯s still plenty bad though... I¡¯d feel bad even if it were Kanan or Miyabi who were kidnapped. Although, it is true that it wouldn¡¯t blow up as much if they were the ones to be kidnapped.)

    ¡°Then why did you kidnap Elia?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°The two beast girls just wouldn¡¯t leave the others while they were waiting for you toe back. When the kidnapper assigned saw the Jamil youngdy leave the group, he saw an opportunity he couldn¡¯t let go.¡± [Bandit Leader]

    When Ryouma heard that he remembered the Ghost House.

    ¡°If it were just the lich we were dealing with, we probably would have gotten back earlier, but there was another annoying magical beast thatplicated things.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Another magical beast? I never heard about that... But if we knew about that we probably wouldn¡¯t have kidnapped the youngdy.¡± [Bandit Leader]

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just give up on the kidnapping?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°That should have been the case. I also chose someone who normally wouldn¡¯t have done anything unnecessary. I even warned him time and time again not to, but... in the end, greed got to him.¡± [Bandit Leader]

    (So that¡¯s what happened. His subordinate¡¯s mistake is what got Elia into this mess. But that¡¯s not really the reason behind why that subordinate of his made that mistake. The real reason is that this ce demands you to cough up result quickly or else...

    But wouldn¡¯t that kidnapper end up in the cer if the search for Elia ends up implicating the dark guild?)

    While Ryouma was thinking that, a man carrying a bag came with several people equipped with spears. That was the man the leader ordered to bring Elia. Spears were constantly pointed at the bag even as the man carried it; a little weight was all that it would take to puncture a hole into the bag.

    The man walked away after leaving the bag beside the leader, but the spears remained.

    ¡°Open the bag.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Before that I want you to throw away your weapon and armor. Ah, just the armor on your upper body is fine. Then I want you to put this on. It would be really problematic if you ran away the moment you saw her.¡± [Bandit Leader]

    The leader threw a pair of metal rings to Ryouma. They were handcuffs, and a chain connected them. There was also a trace of magic power emanating from them. The handcuffs were clearly cursed.

    (¡®Identify¡¯. A curse that blocks magic power. The counter to this is¡ª)

    ¡°Put it on now!!¡± [Bandit Leader]

    The leader grew impatient when he saw Ryouma move so slow, and he stepped on the bag.

    ¡°Nnn...¡± [Bag]

    ¡°What are you doing!?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Put the cuffs on! If you don¡¯t behave...¡± [Bandit Leader]

    Even when Ryouma reacted when the leader stepped on the bag, the leader just hurried him even more.

    (This is a good chance. And besides, a curse like this doesn¡¯t really matter to this body. Shadow slimes, ready yourselves.)

    Ryouma ced his katana on the floor, and removed his armor along with his bracers. But he didn¡¯t remove his other upper armor, the knife-proof vest that didn¡¯t look like an armor, and was made from the stickly slime¡¯s thread.

    Everyone watched with rapt attention as Ryouma put on the cuffs.

    ¡°Happy?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°...Yes. Open the bag! Look!¡± [Bandit Leader]

    As the leader yelled and opened the bag¡ª

    (Break the magic tools!)

    Arrows, knives, and magic fell one after another toward Ryouma.

    ¡°Fuu!¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma jumped to the side to dodge the first wave, but more came shooting at him.

    (Were they expecting this?)

    As Ryouma thought that, he threw a projectile toward the leader.

    ¡°What!?¡± [Bandit Leader]

    The leader immediately reacted, as he bended his upper body down, allowing the projectile to only graze past his cheek. But when he saw what Ryouma had thrown, he was shocked. That was none other than one of the very rings that should have been attached to Ryouma¡¯s wrist.

    ¡°Storm¡± [Ryouma]

    As a cyclone was summoned, all the knives and arrows were blown away.

    Ryouma stood at the center without any cuffs on his wrists.

    Tl Note: Erm... I said we¡¯ll finish this this week, but that doesn¡¯t seem to be happening. Well, either way, we¡¯re finishing it this week for sure. I¡¯ll post another chapter tomorrow.

 Volume 5 - 34

    ¡°Don¡¯t stop!¡± [Scarred Man]

    The one who said that was not the leader, but the man who was thrown into the cer. He didn¡¯t have the right to give orders, but it was the right order nheless. His ghastly voice kept the other henchmen from stopping fire.

    Magic and projectiles rained from above, and while Ryouma was able to dodge them with his magic and his nimble movements, he still ended up getting hit. Fortunately, his inner vest was able to block them all, but several arrows were now lodged into it.

    The outpour of magic and various projectiles continued until one arrow finally manage to make its way to the back of Ryouma¡¯s head.

    ¡°Got him!!¡± [Henchman 1]

    The henchman rejoiced when he saw his arrow sessfully hit Ryouma, but for some reason, Ryouma didn¡¯t fall down.

    ¡°¡ª!!¡± [Ryouma]

    Right after Ryouma made that sound that wasn¡¯t a word, the man that prematurely celebrated was struck by lighting.

    ¡°Kento!¡± [Henchman 2]

    ¡°Forget him! Don¡¯t stop shooting! Kill him!¡± [Leader]

    ¡°He¡¯s... alive!?¡± [Henchman 3]

    ¡°You¡¯re kidding!? He was hit right at the back of his head¡ª¡± [Henchman 4]

    When the kidnappers saw Ryouma keep fighting despite the arrow sticking out of his head, they all started having second thoughts. Those second thoughts caused a dy in their attacks, allowing Ryouma the leeway to cast another lightning spell, this time knocking out several people.

    It was then that the leader realized something, and he yelled after turning.

    ¡°The hostage is¡ª He¡¯s behind us!¡± [Leader]

    But it was toote. Of the three guards who were watching over the bag, the man in the middle had his neck cut off.

    The person responsible for that was none other than another Ryouma.

    When they heard the leader call out to them and saw the head of theirrade flying, the other two guards tried to kill the hostage, but they were too slow.

    ¡°!? KyAaA!!!¡± [Hostage Guard 2]

    ¡°Tch! Ga...¡± [Hostage Guard 3]

    The female guard attempted to prate the bag with her spear, but before she could, Ryouma kicked her down the cliff. The remaining male guard then tried to thrust his spear into Ryouma, but Ryouma pushed the tip of his spear with his left hand, letting it hit nothing more than the empty air over his right shoulder, then with his iron slime katana, broke the spear in half.

    The katana didn¡¯t stop, however, and it kept going into the man¡¯s chest until blood spurted out, and the man was no more.

    ¡°aGU!¡± [Henchman 5]

    Meanwhile, more and more people were being knocked out by the other Ryouma¡¯s lightning magic. Unbeknownst to them, however, the Ryouma that was fighting below was none other than a mimic slime transformed into Ryouma¡¯s appearance.

    Ryouma had already switched with the mimic slime beforeing here, and was controlling the slime through Sensory Link. The mimic slime itself wasn¡¯t actually able to talk past the level of a baby, but with Ryouma¡¯s help, it could easily pose as the real thing. Moreover, with the mimic slime being a slime, handcuffs had no effect on it, and it wouldn¡¯t die unless its nucleus was hurt. With all that in mind, the mimic slime was indeed the best decoy Ryouma could have asked for.

    While the kidnappers were busy with the fake Ryouma, the real Ryouma had followed the mimic slime, and was sneaking around the barrier, while he ordered the slimes to position themselves.

    And now, with his sneak attack a sess, Ryouma took the bag and invoked his magic.

    ¡°Wait¡ª¡± [Bandit Leader]

    (¡®Teleport¡¯)

    ¡°¡ªTch!¡± [Bandit Leader]

    As Ryouma vanished with his dimension magic, the mimic slime and his weapons also vanished. The leader bit his lips upon seeing that, but...

    ¡°He¡¯s above!¡± [Bandit Leader]

    He immediately found where Ryouma and the mimic slime were. When he shouted, the rest of the gang followed, and a storm of arrows came shooting at Ryouma and the mimic slime. But with the ce Ryouma and the mimic slime were at being above the kidnappers and a blind spot to many, the arrows shot, but they never managed to get past the mimic slime.

    As the kidnappers continued to shoot at Ryouma and the mimic slime, Ryouma ordered the mimic slime to defend while he confirmed Elia¡¯s safety. Upon opening the bag, he saw a girl with blonde hair, but it wasn¡¯t Elia. It was someone else.

    ¡°Figures.¡± [Ryouma]

    (I couldn¡¯t sense Elia¡¯s vast magic power, so I already thought this would be the case...

    Shadow slimes, return.

    Emperor Grave Slime and Rimel Birds, deal with those who try to escape.

    Magic Slimes, Metal Slimes, and Iron Slimes wait at the designated location.

    You may attack if the runaway kidnapperse your way, but don¡¯t kill them yet.

    It looks like I¡¯m gonna have to make that leader talk.)

    After Ryouma was certain that the fake hostage wasn¡¯t in any state to fight, he gave orders to his slimes and stood up.

    ¡± ¡®Vine¡¯ ¡®Smoky Fire Ball¡¯ ¡± [Ryouma]

    After casting some anti-poison spell on himself, Ryouma threw down a fire ball that emitted ck smoke, upon which, the leader screamed.

    ¡°Don¡¯t breathe that smoke!! If you breathe it, it¡¯s over!¡± [Bandit Leader]

    Smoky Fire Ball was abination spell of the magic attributes: fire and water. The fire ball would emit a strong poison, which would scatter to the surrounding. The leader knew this beforehand thanks to the scarred man, but...

    ¡°*Cough *Cough... I breathed some...¡± [Henchman 5]

    ¡°*Cough!¡± [Henchman 6]

    A direct hit from the spell could certainly knock someone out, but even without that, the smoke emitted could paralyze when inhaled. Many of the surrounding people ended up doing just that, and they fell down to the ground, unable to move. As the wind scattered the ck smoke, more and more people fell to the ground.

    ¡°Well I¡¯m not just gonna stand here, doing nothing! ¡®Wind¡¯!¡± [Henchman 7]

    ¡°Don¡¯t blow the poison here!¡± [Henchman 8]

    ¡°Oi! Hurry and run!¡± [Henchman 9]

    ¡°Get out of the way!¡± [Henchman 10]

    The poison had no effect on Ryouma, who casted an anti-poison spell on himself, or the slimes, who didn¡¯t need to breathe in the first ce, but the effects on the kidnappers were catastrophic. Half of them were either knocked out or forced to run, while the remaining half were led by the leader in an attempt to climb up to where Ryouma and his mimic slime were.

    They still didn¡¯t seem to understand what Ryouma not running away meant, as the female mage among them casted Earth Wall to lift them up, only for them to end up being bombarded by Ryouma¡¯s poison while he waited for them up top.

    By the time they got up, there were only 8 of them left along with the scarred man. If an outsider were to see this situation, he would surely think that Ryouma and the mimic slime were the ones being driven into a corner, but in truth, it was the other way around.

    ¡°You sure not running was wise?¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma asked, to which the leader answered.

    ¡°Either way it¡¯s over for us unless we kill you!¡± [Bandit Leader]

    As soon as the leader said that, four of them attacked Ryouma and the slime. Each one of them brandished their sword or axe, but the mimic slime used its electric magic ¡®Spark Ball¡¯ to knock them out.

    As soon as it did, however, the leader came running in to sh his sword diagonally down at Ryouma. In response, Ryouma spun on his right feet to dodge the oing attack, while striking the leader¡¯s gauntlet with the back of his katana. Unfortunately, the leader managed to pull back in the nick of time, causing Ryouma¡¯s attempt to hit nothing more than the leader¡¯s sword.

    The leader clicked his tongue as he tried to retreat, but Ryouma struck again with the back of his katana, this time toward the leader¡¯s chin, but then...

    ¡°OoOOOO!!!¡± [Scarred Man]

    The scarred man let out a great cry as he made a valiant charge for Ryouma. In his hands were a small sake bottle with cloth hanging out of its opening.

    (That thing is dangerous!)

    But right at the very moment Ryouma thought that¡ª

    ¡± ¡®Fire¡¯ ¡± [Scarred Man]

    It was not an attack-type magic, but a simple spell that lit something ame, yet that was more than enough. The scarred man ran for Ryouma while holding the sake bottle that was now stuffed with a cloth lit in mes.

    (Fire? ...A bomb!? ¡®Magic Hand¡¯ !!)

    ¡°!?¡± [Scarred Man]

    As soon as Ryouma thought that, he used Magic Hand to push away the man and the bomb.

    In the next instant, the sake bottle that had started to burn inside was pushed away, causing cracks to appear on the bottle, and thus, making it explode. While it didn¡¯t explode right away, it still exploded near enough the scarred man for him to suffer severe burns. The scarred man writhed on the ground away from Ryouma.

    (He actually ran at me with a bomb! Is he mad!?)

    Ryouma looked at the leader as he thought that, but for some reason, the leader was also surprised. It appears the scarred man was moving on his own ord.

    While all of this was happening, the slime knocked out another three, allowing the leader to finally be captured.

    ¡°Can you exin what¡¯s going on?¡± [Ryouma]

    Their positions reversed, this time the leader was the one being interrogated by the mimic slime ¨C who was still in Ryouma¡¯s shape ¨C with his hands cuffed by the magic sealing handcuffs and his whole body restrained by a metal slime. As Ryouma looked at the fake hostage, Ryouma asked the leader to exin the situation.

    The leader seemed to have resigned himself to his fate, as he started talking honestly like a criminal in some B-Rate detective flick.

    ¡°We handed her to a ve trader.¡± [Leader]

    ¡°Where?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°The Dark Guild has many hiding ces used to either store dangerous goods or be used as a ¡®cer¡¯. So I guess she¡¯s either being held in one of those ces, or being smuggled through the tunnels.¡± [Leader]

    ¡°Tunnels?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It¡¯s a story from long ago, but supposedly, the people responsible for making the hiding ces found a cave near Teressa, which they used as the starting point to dig the tunnels. Nowadays, adventurers visit that cave to look for magic jewels, but it used to be an unpopr spot that was useful for hiding.

    The tunnels allow us to transport hot goods quickly, while the smugglers are responsible for transporting them.¡± [Leader]

    After a brief pause, Ryouma continued.

    ¡°Were you trying to buy time by calling me out here? Or were you actually aiming for me?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°...We could get another lease on life if we could just get your attention and buy some time. Not doing anything meant either execution or the cer.

    If we could make you one of us, well... that would be great. But magic tools that can really bind one¡¯s magic are too precious, and without any, we figured it would be easy to just kill you.¡± [Leader]

    (In other news, these guys are basically disposable pieces.)

    When Ryouma asked the next question, he asked with a colder, more solemn voice.

    ¡°That¡¯s why you brought someone else? Because you had no intention of giving back the hostage?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°...If this werest month, we might have brought the real hostage. At that time, we still had a dark mage with us who could cast the Curse of Obedience, but his heart suddenly stopped before turning into a lich.¡± [Leader]

    Ryouma¡¯s face twisted when he heard that.

    ¡°That thing was one of yours?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Used to be.¡± [Leader]

    ¡°...Well, there¡¯s no point talking about that now. Tell me how to get to these hiding ces of yours.¡± [Ryouma]

    After getting everyone to spill the beans, the rest of the captured kidnappers included, Ryouma sent a Rimel bird to contact the others, while he quickly went south the canyons with the emperor slime and the fake hostage girl on his shoulder.

    ¡°You¡¯re sure this is the right path?¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°Yes! Now, please! ...Stop! ...this thing ...I¡¯m ...Going to die!¡± [Leader]

    ¡°We don¡¯t have time for that!¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma ignored the leader that was being flung around beside him, while they hurried south.

    ording to the man, the tunnels were dug so deep that one could not go down it, but it allowed one to quickly reach the borders of the country. If one were to go slow, one could be there by tomorrow afternoon, but if fast, one could be there as early as morning.

    With it beingte into the night, Ryouma hadn¡¯t the time to dally, so he had the emperor grave slimes throw them up whenever they needed to climb up, passing through the tentacles of the slime, while the slime then climbed up by bringing its nucleus and body up the cliff. Then whenever they needed to go down, the slime would go down first, then they would jump onto the slime, using it as cushion.

    Using this method, Ryouma could directly go South without any detours, but in exchange, the whole process felt like an endless ropeless bungee or reverse bungee. Such a feeling could make even a big man cry, but Ryouma persisted while the leader cried as they made their way like this to the nearest hiding ce of the Dark Guild.

    Meanwhile...

    Inside a carriage that rumbled as it drove was a lone girl.

    It was Elia.

    When she opened her eyes she looked around her surroundings.

    ¡°...Huh?¡± [Elia]

    There were no windows in the carriage, and the paltry light in her vicinity was barely enough to see anything.

    Looking down to her hands, she noted that an iron ring was attached onto the both of them, connected by a metal chain. When she looked beside her she noted that there were two others just like her, who wore the same cuffs. Looking around, she noted that there were even more people, and everyone was cuffed.

    When Elia moved a bit, the chains rustled, causing the other two in front of her to take notice.

    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re awake?¡± [Girl on Elia¡¯s Right]

    ¡°Are you ok? I can¡¯t see, but since you were sleeping all this time, you must be in bad condition.¡± [Girl on Elia¡¯s Left]

    ¡°Ah, umm... yes. I don¡¯t think, there¡¯s anything wrong with my body...¡± [Elia]

    At most, she felt a bit lightheaded, but that was to be expected since she just woke up. There was nothing else other than that. She checked her body and her clothes again, but with nothing amiss, she heaved a sigh of relief.

    ¡°That¡¯s good... But then again, considering where we are...¡± [Girl on Elia¡¯s Left]

    ¡°Where are we?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°We¡¯ve been kidnapped.¡± [Girl on Elia¡¯s Right]

    ¡°I see...¡± [Elia]

    ¡°You¡¯re not surprised... That¡¯s good. Nothing would change even if you made a fuss, after all.¡± [Girl on Elia¡¯s Left]

    The one who told her that they were kidnapped was the girl to her right, while the one who praised her was the girl to her left.

    ¡°You should probably sleep some more. I think they made you inhale some medicine.¡± [Girl on Elia¡¯s Right]

    ¡°You were sleeping all this time, after all.¡± [Girl on Elia¡¯s Left]

    ¡°Umm, you two are...¡± [Elia]

    ¡°We¡¯re adventurers. We belong to a party known as Flowers of Famize. Doesn¡¯t ring a bell though, huh.¡± [Girl on Elia¡¯s Right]

    ¡°Sorry...¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind. We¡¯re an up-anding three-girl party. It would be strange if you¡¯ve heard of us.¡± [Girl on Elia¡¯s Left]

    Suddenly, a man banged on the front door.

    ¡°Shut up! You¡¯re noisy!¡± [???]

    ¡°!¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he won¡¯t do anything. He¡¯ll just yell, at most.¡± [Girl on Elia¡¯s Left]

    ¡°We feared he would do something to us too, but after he brought you, everything suddenly became lively, and they forgot about us.¡± [Girl on Elia¡¯s Right]

    The two girls spoke tofort Elia.

    ¡°We¡¯ve been on the road all this time without a break, I think they might be running from someone.¡± [Girl on Elia¡¯s Left]

    ¡°Someone might being to rescue us. It would be bad, if we couldn¡¯t move then, so you should get some more rest.¡± [Girl on Elia¡¯s Right]

    When Elia heard about someone possiblying to save her, the face of four people came to mind.

    ¡°...Can I ask something?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°What?¡± [Girl on Elia¡¯s Right]

    ¡°Did you see them bring another girl other than me when they brought me here?¡± [Elia]

    The two girls shook their heads.

    ¡°We were in a jail-like ce before being stuffed into this carriage, so I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anyone else.¡± [Girl on Elia¡¯s Right]

    ¡°You were thest one. Were you with someone?¡± [Girl on Elia¡¯s Left]

    ¡°Yes.¡± [Elia]

    As Elia said that, she meekly leaned onto the wall behind her.

    (If the others aren¡¯t here, then they¡¯ll definitely know that I¡¯m missing. Gramps will surelye to save me. These two girls are right. I shouldn¡¯t do anything stupid.)

 Volume 5 - 35

    While Ryouma was moving as fast as he could to save Elia, the rest of the squad except for Shiva and Remiri were with Oslo¡¯s group in the emptied halls of the inn¡¯s cafeteria.

    The atmosphere was solemn, so solemn in fact that they had barely taken a sip from the tea Heckard prepared for them. They waited and waited in that tense atmosphere, leaving their cups to cool, until finally, the people they had been waiting for came: Remiri and Shiva entered the cafeteria.

    The girls all rose up upon seeing them enter, while the adults remained sitting.

    The first to speak was Rheinbach.

    ¡°Any news?¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°A couple of rted items, but nothing that could pinpoint exactly where Elia is.¡± [Remiri]

    While feeling vexed, Remiri caressed the space slime atop the table.

    After the girls managed to catch some people that were watching them, Remiri stepped in to make them talk.

    ¡°The curse of obedience?¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°They¡¯re all pawns. They don¡¯t know anything, so it¡¯s useless.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Wait, they might be just pawns, but they¡¯ve got to have a boss or something. We could just catch that person and then make him talk.¡± [Riera]

    Remiri just shook her head at Riera¡¯s suggestion, while it was Shiva who actually answered.

    ¡°Unfortunately, they really don¡¯t know anything. You¡¯ve heard of ¡®dark gold¡¯, right?¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s an illegal moneylending business operated by the Dark Guild.¡± [Riera]

    ¡°Right, these people dabbled with dark gold without knowing what they were getting into. When the time to pay came, they were very troubled.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°The Dark Guild used that as an opportunity to get them to help in their business. They were eager to help since it meant reducing their loans. One way they were used was to manipte information. They would spread rumors of finding a mysterious corpse or a magic jewel mine.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°...And I guess they would be very eager to kidnap adventurers, since they would be able keep the belongings of their victims, and it would be a simple matter to bring their guild card and say they stumbled onto their corpse. If that adventurer was reported missing, he would quickly be marked ¡®KIA¡¯, and that would be the end of it. As for the body, they could just say they burned it to keep them from turning into an undead. No one would think it odd for some financially troubled adventurer to go out of town either.¡± [Oslo]

    After hearing Shiva and Remiri, Oslo spoke out his thoughts. Anger could be felt from every word he spoke, but no one remonstrated him, as everyone felt the same.

    ¡°There are plenty of people who would do anything as long as it benefited them. The Dark Guild specifically picks out such people to walk in to the guild and hand out the guild card of a missing adventurer. Even the leader of these people we¡¯ve caught would be such a person, so there¡¯s not much point in¡ª¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Everyone!¡± [Heckard]

    It was then that the master of the inn, Heckard, suddenly entered the cafeteria.

    ¡°Dear, please calm down. What happened?¡± [Nell]

    ¡°Nell, a bird came with a letter. It¡¯s from Ryouma-kun!¡± [Heckard]

    ¡°Give it to me!¡± [Shiva]

    Shiva quickly read the letter, and after gulping, he spoke the contents to everyone.

    ¡°He¡¯s found the kidnappers!¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Really!?¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°What happened to Elia and Ryouma-han!?¡± [Miyabi]

    ¡°Ryouma¡¯s safe, but it seems the deal was a diversion. He managed to catch the kidnappers and made them talk. ording to them Elia¡¯s being taken west through a hidden route.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°West!? They¡¯re headed for the border!¡± [Nell]

    ¡°They¡¯ve thought about this... If they manage to take her out of the country, we won¡¯t be able to follow her!¡± [Barrack]

    Everyone tensed when Nell and Barrack pointed out that fact. Shiva continued to talk about the details written in the letter, but when he got to thest parts, he turned to Heckard.

    ¡°It says here to ask you about the location of the cave. The entrance to the underground passage is supposedly somewhere near the city in a sealed cave.

    If I recall correctly, you spoke to Ryouma about some cave near a dump site a few days ago. If you know please tell us where that cave is.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°I know that ce! That¡¯s where the entrance is?¡± [Heckard]

    ¡°ording to this Ryouma got them to spill the beans after tying them up. The dump site in Troll Canyon is one of the entrances they gave. The other entrances aren¡¯t very far from the dump site either.

    I know from experience that these sort usually prefer some ce that¡¯s neither too far nor too close to carry out their vile deeds. I n to propose a search around the dump site, but yes, we do at least have one sure lead.¡± [Shiva]

    As Shiva said that, Heckard took out a map to give directions to the cave.

    ¡°Will you also be departing for the cave? Everyone seems like they¡¯re about to go.¡± [Sebasu]

    Sebasu said as he faced Oslo¡¯s group.

    ¡°The 6 of us here have already recovered.¡± [Oslo]

    ¡°ording to your story, those bastards have something to do with my little girl. Well, if that¡¯s the case, I can¡¯t be standing around here, doing nothing.¡± [Nell]

    ¡°I won¡¯t be satisfied unless I beat them all up myself.¡± [Barrack]

    Oslo¡¯s group seemed like they woulde even if refused, but before the group could respond, the four girls also voiced their desire toe.

    ¡°Please let us fight too!¡± [Riera]

    ¡°We might be inexperienced, but we¡¯re willing to learn!¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°We want to save Elia no matter what!¡± [Kana]

    ¡°Please take us along!¡± [Miyabi]

    The decision was up to Rheinbach¡¯s group.

    ¡°Hmmm... Jumping into the fray is a bit... Considering you¡¯re doing all this for my granddaughter, I¡ª¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Why not just bring them?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Remiri!?¡± [Rheinbach]

    Just when Rheinbach was thinking of refusing them, Remiri suddenly interjected. At that Rheinbach decided to take Remiri and Shiva to a corner to discuss for a moment.

    ¡°What are you thinking?¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Those girls know how to fight. And besides, you know just as much as I do from that earlier talk that there are enemies among the guards and adventurers here. These six adventurers here are fine, but we don¡¯t know how far the Dark Guild¡¯s influence goes. Do you really think it wise to leave these girls in such a dangerous city?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°ording to Ryouma¡¯s letter, we¡¯re not in a situation where we can afford to split our forces. I agree it¡¯s dangerous to leave them here, but... If we¡¯re taking them, they¡¯ll have to obey every order. They can¡¯t be allowed to do as they please.¡± [Shiva]

    Shiva had a stern face on him, but he agreed to take them along. In the end, Rheinbach reluctantly agreed.

    ¡°Alright, we agreed to take you along. But before we go, I want to absolutely make sure that you know what you¡¯re getting into. This trip will be dangerous. Are you willing to go despite that?¡± [Remiri]

    The four girls grit their teeth as they nodded to Remiri.

    ¡°If you¡¯ve made up your minds, I won¡¯t ask again. But before we leave, you¡¯ll have to leave a will. Write on it that you¡¯reing on your own volition regardless of the risks. Got it?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Rheinbach, lend me Sebasu.

    Sebasu, I need you to bring me to the border patrol. I need to tell them about the Dark Guild and the criminals trying to run through the borders, and have them tighten security. If these kidnappers our headed there, they might just catch them somewhere along the way, who knows.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Understood. Are we going right away?¡± [Sebasu}

    ¡°Yes. As for everyone else, please finish whatever preparations you need. We won¡¯t take long.¡± [Shiva]

    At those words Oslo¡¯s group left the cafeteria with Heckard, while the girls went to their rooms to write their wills, and Shiva and Sebasu left through dimension magic.

    The only ones left in the cafeteria were Rheinbach and Remiri.

    ¡°...Remiri, what¡¯s the point of writing a will?¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°I just figured if they were going to get cold feet, they might as well now. I don¡¯t actually have any intention of putting those wills to use. Think I¡¯ll let them die? Not under my watch.¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Right. I think I better double check my preparations.¡± [Rheinbach]

    The two left in the cafeteria quietly hardened their resolve.

 Volume 5 - 36

    Not far from the city in Troll Canyon was the hastily made rescue group of Elia. A tall cliff was before them, and in one corner could be seen a giant rock as tall and as wide as several adults put together.

    ¡°Is this the ce?¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Yep, no doubt about it. That¡¯s the cave that leads to the underground passage. The entrance should be at the end of this opening here...¡± [Shiva]

    Shiva¡¯s gaze was upon a crack in the cliff beside the giant boulder that was barely big enough for a person to pass through.

    ¡°ording to the letter this opening here should lead to a passage after opening it with earth magic. Rheinbach, Sebasu...¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Alright.¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Understood.¡± [Sebasu

    Rheinbach and Sebasu went through the narrow crack with Rheinbach¡¯s Assassin Snake, while the others kept watch for any bandit that might attack the moment the path opened.

    ¡± ¡®Break Rock¡¯ ¡± [Rheinbach]

    As Rheinbach signaled with his hands, he invoked his earth magic, causing the deepest part of the crack to copse and opening a path big enough for people to pass through one at a time. There were no signs of enemy even after the path was opened, so Rheinbach checked his surroundings for a bit, and after confirming that the coast was clear, he called out.

    ¡°It¡¯s clear!¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°Good! Let¡¯s go!¡± [Shiva]

    The first to follow were Oslo¡¯s group, followed by the four girls and Remiri, and then, Shiva.

    ¡°It¡¯s... huge.¡± [Oslo¡¯s party member]

    Just as one of Oslo¡¯s friends said, the interiors of the cave were huge. The Dark Guild had removed almost everything unnecessary to create a path big enough to fit several carriages side by side. If not for the untouched ceiling and the narrow stones extending from it, it would be almost impossible to tell that the ce was a limestone cave.

    ¡°Wind is blowing from the other side.¡± [Oslo]

    The direction Oslo pointed to was none other than the direction toward the deeper parts of the cave, a path made from clearing the stctites in the cave.

    ¡°Wait, let me get our transport ready.¡± [Rheinbach]

    Rheinbach summoned two magical beasts with a body 10-meters long and the shape of a crescent moon, upon which were ruffled thorns, and a tail at the back.

    ¡°Spike Armor Armadillo, huh.¡± [Oslo]

    ¡°They don¡¯t look good and aren¡¯t veryfortable to ride on, but they¡¯re much faster than horses. Just sit yourselves in between the scales and lean your back onto them.¡± [Rheinbach]

    Everyone took on Rheinbach¡¯s suggestion and rode on the back of the spike armor armadillos except for Oslo, who could fly. Like that they rode through the passage as fast as they could, tearing through the humid air as they did.

    After a few minutes of following the path, the interiors changed from the natural look of a cave to something man-made. The width and height of the road remained unchanged, but the ground and the walls were now clearly man-made, magic jewels faintly lighting the path from the walls just enough to see through the dimly-lit tunnel without needing extra light. The road nted downwards and air could sometimes be felt through the holes in the walls to the sides.

    No enemies came, not even undead, despite the whole ce being seemingly built for an attack. They followed the crooked tunnel like that until Kanan suddenly said out loud.

    ¡°This smell...! I smell explosives up ahead!!¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Kanan-chan, are you sure?¡± [Remiri]

    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s the same smell I smelled when I was brought to observe Drilling and sting as part of my magic tool artisan training.¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°Ryouma did mention the enemy being in possession of gunpowder... Can you tell where the explosives are?¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°The smell is strong, but...¡± [Kanan]

    ¡°I see... We¡¯ll just have to keep an eye out for it. Rheinbach!¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°I¡¯ll slow down a bit.¡± [Rheinbach]

    After Rheinbach ordered his magical beasts to slow down, and then proceeding down the tunnel for a good minute or two, the smell of explosives became apparent not just to the dog-tribe member, Kanan, but also to everyone else.

    ¡°....It seems to be up ahead.¡± [Sebasu]

    Just as Sebasu said, after continuing down the path, they reached a dead-end. The lights were gone, and the tunnel was copsed, leaving behind only the strong scent of explosives.

    It takes a great deal of specialized knowledge to handle explosives. The slightest mistakes could lead to an unfortunate ident. Moreover, with fire and earth magic being much easier to use, not to mention cheaper and safer, explosives were really only used in mining and in the army.

    But right now that very explosive was used to copse the tunnel, forcing Elia¡¯s rescuers to a standstill.

    ¡°I don¡¯t hear anything and the dust hasn¡¯t been stirred up. It¡¯s safe to say that the tunnel was copsed long before we got here. I don¡¯t know how much of the tunnel¡¯s been copsed, but we don¡¯t have any other lead other than this. We¡¯ll have to clear out the rubble.

    But just to safe, let¡¯s first dig out another path to ensure we have a way out. Be careful not to cause a cave-in.¡± [Shiva]

    As Shiva gave orders with a stern face, the group started to dig. But it was then that the girls did something they didn¡¯t expect.

    ¡± ¡®Dig Tornado¡¯ !¡± [Michelle]

    The spell Michelle casted was essentially ¡®Break Rock¡¯ mixed with a tornado. With a single cast she immediately managed to cut open a path 7 to 10 meters ahead. Having lost their support, the rocks started to copse, but it was a good distance away, so they didn¡¯t get caught up in Michelle¡¯s tornado.

    Some rocks still blocked the path, so Michelle casted another spell.

    ¡± ¡®Crack¡¯, Miyabi!¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Leave it to me! ¡®me Bomb¡¯!¡± [Miyabi]

    After Michelle created a crack inside the rocks, Miyabi blew them up. Rheinbach and Oslo¡¯s group ensured that the road would hold up, and because they were working together, they were able to spread out the consumption of magic power among them.

    While all of this was happening, Kanan and Riera were digging out another path outside just to be safe. When they managed to dig out a path leading outside, some undead appeared, which they quickly subjugated to keep the others from wasting their strength.

    ¡± ¡®Dig Tornado¡¯ ...We did it!¡± [Michelle]

    After casting the spell ceaselessly, a hole could finally be seen in the rubble leading to the rest of the tunnel. Barrack and Shiva went ahead to check for enemies, and when they were sure that the coast was clear, they called out to the others.

    ¡°Good job! We wasted a good 20 minutes or so because of this, but if it weren¡¯t for you, I¡¯m sure we would have spent longer here. Block the alternate route we made, and bring everyone here. We¡¯re continuing our chase!¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Yes!¡± [Michelle & Miyabi]

    After gathering everyone and passing through the rubble, they all drank some potions to recover their strength, and then they continued through the rest of the tunnel in pursuit of Elia.

 Volume 5 - 37

    Elia¡¯s rescuers continued through the tunnels until eventually the sound of hooves galloping about reached their ears.

    ¡°This sound...¡± [Michelle]

    ¡°Can¡¯t see them yet, but that¡¯s definitely them, right?¡± [Oslo]

    The spike armor armadillos ran side-by-side through the tunnel as it curved to the right.

    With the sounds echoing in the cave, the other side must¡¯ve surely heard them as well, so Shiva told everyone to ready for battle.

    As the curve ended and the path once again turned straight, two rows of escorts and a carriage came to view. There was a good distance between them, so Rheinbach ordered his armadillos to hurry.

    The enemy wore a cloth over their nose and mouth, and had a shield on each of their backs. The two carriages weren¡¯t alone. They were being escorted by a group of horsemen, who after seeing Elia¡¯s rescuer approaching, ran up to inform the carriage to hurry. As the carriage hurried, the horsemen fell back to fight Elia¡¯s rescuers.

    ¡°11 horsemen! They¡¯reing!!¡± [Shiva]

    ¡± ¡®Fire Arrow¡¯ ¡ª !!¡± [Enemy]

    As the groups neared each other, the enemy simultaneously casted a volley of fireballs, which the group blocked, responding in kind with offensive magic. But the enemy was surprisingly well trained, and with 6 horsemen in front, they would switch with the five behind, alternating between defense and offense. Like this the enemy steadily blocked the path while defending against the rescue group.

    ¡°They¡¯re surprisingly well trained, but unfortunately for them... Rheinbach-chan!¡± [Reimiri]

    ¡°I know!¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡± ¡®Shadow Needle¡¯ ¡± [Remiri]

    As the two groups neared each other, Remiri chanted.

    ¡°What!?¡± [Horseman 1]

    ¡°Impossible!?¡± [Horseman 2]

    ¡°AhHHH! Aaaahhh¡ª¡± [Horseman 3, 4, 5]

    Two of the horsemen running in front coughed out blood as they fell from their horse. Rheinbach¡¯s armadillos dodged them, but the enemy horsemen weren¡¯t as fortunate, as three of them ended up either crashing onto the horses or tripping on the riders.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Witch of Deathly Shadow! We¡¯re too close! Get away ¨C*Cough!¡± [Horseman 6]

    The horseman tried to give out orders, but it was toote, and a shadow needle was already lodged into his throat.

    ¡°I never liked that name... How long has it been since I wasst called that? 70 years?¡± [Remiri]

    Thest thing the horseman saw was a ck needleing out of his own armor as it buried itself into his throat. When he looked around him before he lost thest of his consciousness, he saw hisrades dying in the same way.

    Slipping through the onught of spells, the rescue group broke through the horsemen to approach the two carriages. But just when they right at the two carriages¡¯ heels¡ª

    ¡°!?¡±

    The magic power emanating from the enemy side made the members and the armadillos stiffen.

    Anyone could feel how dangerous that vast amount of magic power was. The source of it was amp-like object that was hanging from an entric-looking man¡¯s neck, wrapped around him by a chain. As soon as Remiri saw the man¡¯s lips move, she yelled.

    ¡°Block it!! ¡®Shadow Wall¡¯!¡± [Remiri]

    Immediately after, a shadow wrapped itself around the entire rescue group as a blizzard blew in the tunnel.

    As the two armadillos stopped, hail rained against them from the summoned blizzard, but the wall of shadow protected them. The blizzardsted less than a minute, taking all the ice with it as it ceased, but while the group managed to endure it thanks to Remiri, she came out spent.

    ¡°Remiri...¡± [Rheinbach]

    ¡°I¡¯m fine! That spell just now was a bit strong, but you don¡¯t have to worry about me. Focus on directing the kids.¡± [Remiri]

    Remiri drank a potion to recover her magic power while Barrack spoke.

    ¡°Hey, one of the carriages is stopping.¡± [Barrack]

    ¡°They¡¯re 300 meters ahead of us. They have 12 guards with them, one of which is that magician from before. It¡¯s been moving unsteadily for awhile now, there are probably people inside!¡± [Oslo]

    ¡°If the kidnapped children are inside that carriage, then are they trying to provoke us? Either way, they don¡¯t look like they have any intention of running.¡± [Nell]

    The group that stopped ahead seemed to have no intention of running away. It was curious whether it was because they wished to avoid having their men trip on each other like they did awhile ago, but even the mage that casted that blizzard just now went down the carriage and started encouraging the other bandits.

    ¡°The enemy looks like they¡¯re itching for a fight too, but we a battle onnd suits us just fine!¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Yeah!¡± [Oslo¡¯s party]

    Barrack along with two others and Shiva-san went down the armadillos with their best weapons as they approached the enemy. Not long after the sound of battle echoed in the tunnel.

    Meanwhile, inside the dark carriage, the chains binding the victims rustled. They knew that help hade, but...

    ¡°Damn it! I can¡¯t get it off!¡± [Male Adventurer 1]

    ¡°No way it¡¯s going to go off just by hitting it, dumbass!¡± [Male Adventurer 2]

    ¡°Can the two of you shut up?¡± [Girl on Elia¡¯s Left]

    ¡°What¡¯s your problem? Can¡¯t you tell from that magic just now!?¡± [Male Adventurer 1]

    ¡°Of course, but that¡¯s all the more reason why it¡¯ll be harder to run now. At the very least, you should keep your voices down.¡± [Girl on Elia¡¯s Right]

    ¡°Tch, then why don¡¯t you do something?¡± [Male Adventurer 2]

    ¡°The carriage has stopped, and it¡¯s probably a mess outside right now. If we let a chance like this go, who knows when we¡¯ll get another? Besides there¡¯s a chance the rescue squad might lose.¡± [Male Adventurer 1]

    ¡°...You think you can actually run from people like that just by removing those cuffs?¡± [Girl on Elia¡¯s Left]

    ¡°Tch... Then what do you think we should do!?¡± [Male Adventurer 2]

    A pair of male adventurers against a pair of female adventurers. It wasn¡¯t the time for it, but the two groups couldn¡¯t help but argue. It didn¡¯t help that the two men were shaking in fear because of theirck of experience and the magic from awhile ago.

    ¡°Umm... Can I say something?¡± [Elia]

    While the two pairs of adventurers were arguing pointlessly, Elia, who was sitting between the two female adventurers, suddenly spoke.

    ¡°The one who came to save us is none other than Shiva Gardak-sama. I heard his voice just now, so I¡¯m sure it¡¯s him.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°The former knightmander?¡± [Male Adventurer 1]

    ¡°No way... Wait, actually, there was that rumor going around saying he was in Teressa.¡± [Male Adventurer 2]

    ¡°It¡¯s not a rumor, it¡¯s true. Which is why he must¡¯ve heard about us from somewhere, and came to rescue us. The former royal court magician also seems to be with him...¡± [Elia]

    ¡°The former royal court magician...¡± [Male Adventurer 1]

    ¡°Yes, so I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll easily lose. I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be fine.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°H-huh...¡± [Male Adventurer 2]

    ¡°We¡¯re really actually going to be rescued?¡± [Male Adventurer 1]

    The two male adventurers finally calmed down after Elia brought up Shiva¡¯s and Remiri¡¯s titles.

    ¡°Pathetic! I can¡¯t believe a younger girl is actually moreposed than a pair of fully grown men!¡± [Girl on Elia¡¯s Left]

    ¡°Marol...¡± [Girl on Elia¡¯s Right]

    ¡°Yeah, yeah, I know, I¡¯ll think of something.¡± [Marol]

    Although Marol¡¯s words were harsh, the two men didn¡¯t say anything in retort.

    ¡°But seriously... what are we going to do? We can¡¯t break these cuffs with brute force.¡± [Marol]

    ¡°If we could just use magic...¡± [Girl on Elia¡¯s Right]

    ¡°These cuffs are a kind of magic tool, huh.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Yep, which is why you can¡¯t use magic with them on. Try casting a spell, you¡¯ll find it¡¯s not possible.¡± [Marol]

    Marol curtly replied when Elia asked. When Elia tried to use her spell just as she suggested...

    ¡°Hmm?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°What is it?¡± [Girl on Elia¡¯s Right]

    ¡°This thing is certainly obstructing the flow of magic, but... I can still wring out a little.¡± [Elia]

    ¡°!!¡± [Everyone Else]

    All eyes gathered on Elia when she said that, and for a moment everything went quiet, but not long after, everyone started talking in hushed voices.

    ¡°Youngdy, could it be that your cuffs are broken?¡± [Male Adventurer 2]

    ¡°Who cares? What matters is that she¡¯s free to use magic.¡± [Marol]

    ¡°Elia-chan, what kind of magic can you use?¡± [Girl on Elia¡¯s Right]

    ¡°I can only wring out a little bit of magic power, so nothing more than an elementary fire or ice spell.¡± [Elia]

    Everyone dropped their shoulders when they heard that, but Elia thought of a good idea. A magic she can use even with a little bit of magic power. When she told everyone about it, they were incredulous, but with no other option, they decided to try it.

    ¡°Let¡¯s check what¡¯s going on outside first. There¡¯s a chance they might detect even that little bit of magic power.¡± [Girl on Elia¡¯s Right]

    No one voiced anyints against the female adventurer¡¯s words. Everyone went quiet and sharpened their ears.

    ¡°¡ª!!¡±

    ¡°...!¡±

    What they heard were the sound of jeers and the cries of people dying. The fierceness of the battle could be felt even through that simple wall that separated them.

    ¡°If we go now¡ª Wait.¡± [Marol]

    But then the sounds suddenly went silent. Everyone was on tenterhooks as they wondered what was going on, when¡ª

    ¡°Persistent, aren¡¯t we?¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°I could say the same for you, former knightmander... I can¡¯t believe you can actually fight that well at that age. I know our men are a bit tired, but...¡± [???]

    ¡°Your goal...¡± [Shiva]

    For a brief moment, people started talking outside, but then someone suddenly cried out in a loud voice, and then the battle resumed.

    ¡°Looks like they were just taking a breather...¡± [Marol]

    ¡°To think that an S Rank really came...¡± [Male Adventurer 2]

    ¡°It¡¯s alright now, Elia-chan. Let¡¯s do it.¡± [Girl on Elia¡¯s Right]

    As Elia prayed for her magic not to be detected, she struck out her hand and casted a spell.

    ¡°¡®Heat¡¯¡± [Elia]

    The spell she casted was none other than the spell she casted ceaselessly to the point of being sick of it during her training with Ryouma. Just like in her training, she emitted weak fire magic power, which she focused onto the chains connecting her cuffs, slowly but surely raising the temperature.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± [Marol]

    ¡°Can you not use your magic after all?¡± [Girl on Elia¡¯s Right]

    ¡°...It¡¯s working, but the magic power is so little, it¡¯s going to take some time.¡± [Elia]

    Calming herself, Elia mustered more magic power than the tool could ever hope of stopping. Only a little bit came out in the end, but she focused that small bit of magic power into a single point, and gradually, the temperature rose. The heat emanating from the spell along with the fatigue of concentrating made Elia sweat.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to push¡ª Is that...¡± [Marol]

    Marol was about to tell her not to push herself, but then Elia¡¯s magic finally bore fruit.

    ¡°Just a little bit more...¡± [Elia]

    As the chains went red from the heat, the magic tool¡¯s effect on Elia began to wane. Elia stopped for a moment, then casted Heat again, but this time, with less magic power than before. As time passed, the chains began to soften, until finally, the chains fell to the ground. Fire looked like it was about to spread, but a swift cast of ice magic settled that problem easily.

    ¡°Anyway, I guess we can call this a sess.¡± [Elia]

    Although she had some trouble at first, in the end, Elia managed to take her first step in preparing for their eventual escape.

 Volume 5 - 38

    ¡°Tch, ¡®Blizzard¡¯!¡± [Mage Leader]

    ¡± ¡®Shadow Wall¡¯ !!¡± [Remiri]

    Shiva swung his halberd, and the man before him tottered back, forcefully casting a spell in the nick of time, which Remiri blocked.

    After the raging blizzard calmed down, the two sides red at each other.

    ¡°Sigh... I know it¡¯s wrong to cry foul during battle, but seriously... just where the heck did they get this absurd magic tool that can absorb magic power? Our offensive magic disappears before it can hit them, our defensive magic is weaker... Man, what a pain, seriously...¡± [Barrack]

    Barrack grumbled and themp-using mage that was fighting Shiva spoke.

    ¡°And yet we¡¯ve already lost three men while only one of you is injured.¡± [Mage Leader]

    Despite the overwhelming advantage of the enemy thanks to thatmp of theirs, the ones currently winning were none other than the rescuers. That being said, however, the situation was no less grim thanks to the enemy mage. Remiri hypothesized the source of his strength being themp, and so, Shiva tried to destroy it, but the mage was no slouch and was able to protect themp.

    The chain connected to thatmp rustled as the man looked to the rescuers¡¯ only injured member, who was taking refuge under the cover of the armadillos while the girls nursed him. It was only for a moment, however, as he was immediately forced to turn back his gaze at Shiva.

    He couldn¡¯t keep his attention away for long lest he left himself open to an attack, but what really caught his attention was Shiva talking.

    ¡°It seems you have some skill... So why? Why are you wasting your strength in a ce like this?¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°What are you...¡± [Mage Leader]

    ¡°You people are soldiers, aren¡¯t you?¡± [Shiva]

    Those few words shocked both groups, then Shiva continued.

    ¡°To be more precise, you¡¯re former soldiers. Former soldiers who once aspired to be knights.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Why...¡± [Mage Leader]

    ¡°The way you handle your sword is something I myself have been trained in when I was once a trainee; it is also the same technique I drilled into my subordinates. I may be putting on the years, but I haven¡¯t gone senile yet to not notice that.

    With skills like that there shouldn¡¯t be any need for you to turn to banditry. If you use them properly, even riches and honor isn¡¯t far off.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Don¡¯t lump us in with bandits...¡± [Bandit 1]

    ¡°We haven¡¯t been so sullied by money as to have ever attack a defenseless woman!¡± [Bandit 2]

    ¡°Stop it! The only thing that matters is our justice.¡± [Mage Leader]

    The enemy did not take kindly to Shiva¡¯s words; they cried out with bitterness in response, and it was themp-using mage who stopped them. At which point, this time Barrack cried out.

    ¡°Justice? What justice would scum like you know!?¡± [Barrack]

    ¡°The concept of justice might differ from person to person, but... I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any justice to be found in kidnapping people.¡± [Oslo]

    ¡°I don¡¯t expect you to understand.¡± [Mage Leader]

    Themp-using mage did not bother to argue as the situation reached a boiling point, and then¡ª

    ¡°!¡±

    It was curious who it was that moved first. Was it Shiva, the former knightmander, or the mage, with his seemingly twisted sense of justice... but regardless, the curtains were once again drawn, and the battle resumed.

    ¡°Ha!¡±

    ¡°Ra!¡±

    The enemy attacked with a ferocity that suggested they were ready for death, while the rescuers battled them calmly. Still, the battle was no walk-in-the-park, as the enemy mages made the battle that much more difficult.

    ¡°Ugu!?¡± [Bandit]

    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate us!¡± [Nell]

    ¡°Ka!?¡± [Barrack]

    Nell wrapped her whip around the neck of one of the bandits when he let his guard down, pulling him down to the ground, and allowing Barrack to finish him off.

    Themp-using mage grit his teeth when he saw that, then he yelled to the four mages supporting them from the back.

    ¡°It¡¯s gotten to this point! Do it!!¡± [Mage Leader]

    In that instant, two of the mages at the back unsheathed their swords and ran to the carriage.

    ¡°!! ¡®Water Cutter¡¯ !!¡± [Sebasu]

    ¡± ¡®Fire Arrow¡¯ !!¡± [Rheinbach]

    When the rescue group saw what was happening, Sebasu and Rheinbach casted their magic, but it had no effect. Shiva then stepped out to try and break through, but...

    ¡°Gu!! You¡¯re not... going anywhere!¡± [Mage Leader]

    Themp-using mage ran after Shiva to stop him despite the wound in his body, but then all of the sudden¡ª

    The sound of explosion resounded throughout the tunnel as the carriage was blown away, giving rise to dust and smoke.

    ¡°You¡¯re... kidding...¡± [Kanan]

    The carriage her friend was riding on just exploded. It was only natural she would be anxious, and in fact, it wasn¡¯t just her but the whole group whose countenance had gone pale.

    ¡°They¡¯re making a run for it!!¡± [Bandit]

    ¡°Damn, they saw us! Hurry!¡± [Male Adventurer 1]

    ¡°Tch, doing whatever he wants...!¡± [Marol]

    ¡°Let¡¯s go already!¡± [Girl who was sitting on Elia¡¯s Right]

    One of the bandits running to the carriage was blown away, while the remaining one managed to survive. When he saw the two male adventurers running from the carriage unarmed along with the three girls, he called out in rm. Elia was among the runaways, but the rescuers did not have the leisure to heave a sigh of relief upon seeing her safe.

    With the runaways having no armor on, a single blow was all it would take to fatally injure one of them. The remaining 2 mages at the back casted strengthening magic on themselves before giving chase, while the rescuers attacked even fiercer to try and stop them, but themp-using mage would not let them pass.

    ¡± ¡®Fire Wall¡¯ !! ¡± [Elia]

    ¡± ¡®Thunder Bolt¡¯ !!¡± [One of the runaways]

    The unarmed runaways had no choice but to run where there were no enemies. They casted a spell or two as they ran, but it had little effect past annoying the bandits.

    There was not much distance between the runaways and those fighting next to the carriage to begin with, so it came as no surprise that the bandits were able to close the distance in no time at all.

    The runaways prayed as they ran. Every step they took, every breath they took... echoed loudly in their ears. When they turned around to look, they saw two men bring their swords up. Elia red at them as she inadvertently braced herself for death, then one of the men struck her with his sword¡ª

    ¡°Huh?¡± [Pursuing Mage 3]

    ¡ªBut before he couldnd that blow, an arrow had suddenly found its way through his head.

    As Elia saw the man tumble to the ground after losing his life, she tripped over herself and fell as well. When she turned to look at her remaining pursuer, she noted that he too had stopped. And in the next instant, a man wielding a blood-smeared katana stood between her and her pursuer.

    ¡°GYaAAAAA¡ª-¡± [Pursuing Mage 4]

    That man cut down her pursuer with a stroke of his de, at which point Elia finally realized who it was that saved her.

    ¡°Ryouma... san?¡± [Elia]

    ¡°Looks like I made it.¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma ignored the wary gazes of the female adventurers with Elia, looking instead to where the rest of the battle was unfolding. Ryouma was relieved to have finally caught up to Elia, but themp-using mage was not happy; he yelled as he crossed swords with Shiva.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get in our way!!!¡± [Mage Leader]

    Seeing the pursuing mages be defeated finally pushed themp-using mage past the end of his patience, as he cast another blizzard and left the frontline to rush to where Ryouma was.

    ¡°Step back!¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma implored the female adventurers and Elia to move back while he fought with themp-using mage. He crossed swords with him once, then twice, and then thrice. When their swords locked, themp-using mage cursed.

    ¡°Cleaner! If it weren¡¯t for you!!¡± [Mage Leader]

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll get in your way. That¡¯s the very reason why I came here, Alphodo!¡± [Ryouma]

    Themp-using mage did not expect Ryouma to know his name, and so for one moment, he froze. Ryouma did not let that opportunity pass, as he made full use of it to send the man flying. Themp-using mage quickly picked himself up, but he was clearly more vignt now than ever.

    ¡°Why... do you know that name?¡± [Alphodo]

    ¡°I learned a lot of things beforeing here. I know that you nned all of this, and I know your goals too. Really, who would¡¯ve thought that a member of the Dark Guild would try to crush the very organization he serves.¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma knew from the kidnappers he interrogated that the tunnel had been blown up, so he took a different route and went via one of the other hideouts of the Dark Guild to meet Elia¡¯s convoy from the other side. Thanks to that Ryouma managed to gain a lot of information after crushing said hideout.

    When Alphodo heard that, his grim countenance became even grimmer.

    ¡°The Dark Guild is a den of evildoers. An organization like that that torments the innocent without cause deserves to be destroyed.¡± [Alphodo]

    ¡°Which is why you targeted Elia. By kidnapping the duke¡¯s daughter you nned to incite a cmity upon the guild, which is also why you went out of your way to contact me, so that you could leave proof that Elia was in fact kidnapped.¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°It had to be done. The Dark Guild has supporters even among the nobles. The only way to call a cmity upon it is to taint its name with a sin so grave it couldn¡¯t be pardoned.¡± [Alphodo]

    ¡°In other words, the bigger the issue became the better it would be for you... And you found a way to do just that. You made it so that the kidnappers that contacted me would eventually lead to the discovery of the Dark Guild¡¯s storehouses, allowing you to push all the me onto the kidnappers. You sure used them well, didn¡¯t you, Alphodo? Even me... Unfortunately...¡± [Ryouma]

    Ryouma suddenly looked toward themp dangling at Alphodo¡¯s chest as Alphodo chantlessly casted an ice spear toward Ryouma. Ryouma managed to dodge by a hair¡¯s breadth thanks to detecting the trace of magic power, but Alphodo continued with a sword strike to his neck. Again Ryouma dodged, but this time an ice arrow came flying at Ryouma, which he canceled out with his own fire arrow.

    In the next instant, Alphodo lifted his sword and shed down at Ryouma. In response, Ryouma stepped diagonally to the left as he raised his katana up vertically to meet Alphodo¡¯s descending sword. The moment their swords shed, Ryouma¡¯s katana vanished from Alphodo¡¯s sight, leaving him with nothing to hit but thin air, then the katana that vanished suddenly descended on his head.

    ¡°aA!!!¡± [Ryouma]

    ¡°¡ª!!¡± [Alphodo]

    Right before their swords shed, Ryouma twisted his body, and as he supported his right hand that was holding his katana, he drew a circr motion with his katana as if he were rowing a boat.

    The slight movement of his left hand lifting inclined the katana downwards, allowing him to hit back after shifting his stance.

    Alphodo had no backups left. And with his body wounded from his battle with Shiva, though he pushed his body back as soon as he noticed Ryouma¡¯s descending katana, he could not make it in time. As the ki-reinforced katana descended, shing diagonally downwards until his right side, the chains holding themp were cut along themp and his armor.

    ¡°Huff, huf...! A...¡± [Alphodo]

    Blood spurted as the chains fell down. Alphodo kept his sword facing Ryouma, but being wounded, his gait remained unsteady.

    It was then that two shadows suddenly came¡ª

    ¡°*Cough!?¡± [Alphodo]

    ¡ªPiercing through Alphodo¡¯s neck and heart.

    ¡°Ryouma¡¯s not the only one you¡¯re facing.¡± [Shiva]

    ¡°Surely you expected this, right? I mean you did turn your back on us.¡± [Oslo]

    ¡°Ah...A....¡± [Alphodo]

    The two shadows were none other than Shiva and Oslo.

    Following after them were Barrack and Nell.

    In the midst of all that as the rest of the rescue group gathered their weapons and stood in row, Alphodo quietly took thest of his breath.

    Tl Note: And with this we¡¯ve finally finished the first version of TMPG.

    To all my readers, thank you for your continued support, the donations, for reading, and for sticking with the series despite the trantion sometimes slowing to a crawl. ??

    There are still some leftover donation in the bar, but rest assured, those donations will be carried on to the revised version of TMPG. For the record, I did post some extra chapters after receiving those, but I never counted them against the donation bar because of theck of a regr schedule...

    TMPG Revised: For those of you who don¡¯t know, TMPG or The Man Picked up by the Gods was prematurely ended here due to writer¡¯s block. The author has been writing a reboot, which I will be picking up. If I recall correctly there shouldn¡¯t be a lot of changes in the reboot until Volume 3, at which point, the series will begin to branch off. As of now, there are 113 chapters, 40 of which belong to the 3rd volume. From the date of postings, the series seem to be updated monthly.

    Schedule Change: Now, with TMPG finishing there will be a change in schedule. I¡¯m going back to my old schedule of having one main project, which I will be updating frequently. TMPG will be continue to be tranted along with KMF, but they¡¯ll be both relegated to side projects until I finish with GK, at which point, I¡¯ll be looking for a new main project.

    New Schedule:

    1.) GK 4 chapters weekly + at least 3 extra chapters; (For GK fans more info tom. Donations are still closed, I need to fix some stuff.)

    2.) TMPG 1 chapter monthly (Note: the chapters are a lot longer than thesest chapters. Really.)

    3.) KMF 1 chapter monthly + nadenadeshitai¡¯s trantions

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!