The Man Picked up by the Gods

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 become 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 slave 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 explain 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 Slave 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 successfully tamed. The foundation of Slave Magic, the Slave Monster Contract, having no effect was viewed as a problem by all the Slave Magic Users who failed. And because of the high pride of the Slave 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 been largely 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 Slave 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 black tea.

The truth is this black 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 similar 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, black 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 are coming 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, according 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 to come 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 young lady 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 flavor was jija? I thought it was only a salty medicinal plant, 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 welcome”

“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 Slave 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 slave 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 recommended”

“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”

“Oh come one, isn’t it fine? Slime conditions are something I haven’t heard about!”

“Sorry, mother is a first class Slave Magic User but, when the conversation turns to magical beasts, she becomes 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 caterpillar… Poison Slime, poisonous plants… 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 also come…”

“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 plants, green caterpillar… washed bones of beasts… Respectively… Poison Slime, Sticky Slime, and Acid Slime”

“The 3 variants Ryouma-san was recommending 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” – Rheinbach-sama

“Me too” - Rheinhart-sama

“I’m unaware, what kind of abilities do cleaner slimes and scavenger slimes possess? And what skills?” – Elize

“The reason… I am recommending… 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 a combination 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 become 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–!?”

“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’s laundry” is a popular 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 Slave 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~” –Elize

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 nonchalantly asserted that was Hyuzu-san. As he said that he turned around.

“Milday! Madam! I know the method! Incidentally, Aro-ne as well!”

Declared Hyuzu-san to the female battalion.

What is he saying!? That guy, can he say it properly?

“Is that true!?”

“Yes, milady! 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––––!! 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 will come. But for some reason slimes that can become Cleaner Slimes gather around sweat and dirty water. In order to safely become 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 become a Slave 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 being completely 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 recommending 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 was lacking delicacy. Even I who was often called to be lacking delicacy in previous life, wasn’t that bad. Shouldn’t be, anyway.

“Ah, Ryouma-kun, welcome 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 Slave 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–“

“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 place that had relatively 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 already late, 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 slave 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 isolated 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 no complaint with my… life. But I’ve started to think lately… 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 Slave 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 any complaints, 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 also come back here, won’t you come 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 have communication 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 I come travel… together with you guys?”

“I see! So you’re coming!”

“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 my common 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 Slave 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 black 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 class pelt, you see. Even if it’s quality was bad if sold, will allow commoners to live comfortably 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 by commoners 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 related matters. Like this the value becomes 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.”

Black Bear Pelt is unexpectedly expensive, I wonder how many sheets I have…

“In other words… If the Black 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 calculations this simple?

“Did I make a mistake? … A commoner 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–Yeah. It matches with the daily expenditures of a commoner of 100 suits a day for 30 days in a month”

“Wa–wait just a moment. You just calculated, 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 calculate 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 calculate at that age is amazing, you know? If you can calculate at that age, then you can become a merchant. The calculation you did a while ago also seemed to be correct”

“If you are able to calculate 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 mentally compute, 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 black 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 class”

Like this, while hearing the market price of the pelts, the weapons and other things, I activated the item box and from the black 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 much compensation. The gains don’t match with the risk that comes with killing bandits. Incidentally, a lot of bandits won’t get one compensation, 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 after coming 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 Slave Magic User to bring his own Slave 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 similar 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 place, 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 there lay 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 idolatry, 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 recommends 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 to come 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 to come back so I’m taking everything with me… in the case that I can’t come back I’ll make a new statue at a different place. Well then, I’ll see you guys later”

As I finished saying that, I stood up, opened the entrance and left the training place.

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 place to rest, I lent them a comfortable 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.