chapter 41

「My b.u.t.t hurts」

There were some proper roads when we went to that large monster outbreak subjugation last time . That is not the case this time though since we’re headed for a swamp inside a forest .

Manning the roofless carriage was a person called Stillo who is a part of Fader’s party . This person is a calico cat-like cat-eared beastkin who’s also pretty good looking like his companion . If he was just a regular cat back in my previous world, he would most certainly end up in a research center because of how rare he is but when I asked him about it, it seems like there are a lot of males with calico pattern fur .

Well, this isn’t earth but trying to do a bit of surveying of the cats while I’m in town would probably alright .

Incidentally, it seems like he and Fader-san came from the same village and as adventurers, they take on subjugation requests from the guild .

「IyaーI try to choose a better lane as much as possible butー」

Since the carriage is shaking so much that it’s changing your voice, it might be better if you focus on the road to make sure things advance smoothly even just a bit .

「I can’t ride a horse so I won’t complain . And besides, after acquiring an undamaged slime’s core, we have to put it in a bucket full of water so we need to use a carriage . Rather than resent Stillo-san, I’m grateful to you for being our coachman」

While laughing, Fader-san, who is seated in front, kept checking on the rope that’s holding the barrel every time the carriage shakes .

Judging from the sun’s position, it’s about to be noon soon . Are we just going eat our lunch after reaching the designated area I wonder?

Well, I’ll just let them decide .

「Fader, it’s about to be noon soon . What should do we doー?」

Stillo-san looked over for a moment and said loudly .

「What does Caam-san think?」

「I can still bear my hunger so I don’t really mind whether we continue forward or eat now to let the horses rest」

In my previous life, I used to spend long holidays training myself to survive for 3 days with only a layman’s knowledge, a day’s worth of food and 8 liters of water in a situation where a huge disaster happens and the supply lines get unexpectedly cut off . Compared to the hunger I experienced at that time, getting lunch delayed by just a few hours is no problem .

「Then, I’m really sorry about this but can you wait until we reach the forest? With our speed right now, the sun would have lowered two spots from where it is right now by the time we arrive」

「Understood」

「Did you hear that?」

Stillo just raised his hand in response .

A few hours later, a forest could finally be seen . Is that the forest with the slimes I wonder?

「Ahー . We might have arrived later than planned because of the rough terrain but we have plenty of time to hunt before it gets dark . Well then, let’s start preparing our meal immediately」

After eating my rye bread and dried meat then washing it down with water, I started preparing my equipment . Since we’re not dealing with humanoids this time, I just wore my armor normally without turning it into my improvised ghillie suit then waited for the two to finish .

Even if we’re just trying to get an undamaged core, as expected, it would be rude if I don’t take any equipment . 1

「Uhmー, why did you just take the shovel out from the carriage? Is that perhaps your weapon?」

Stillo-san came and asked me with a curious look .

「Eh? Is there something wrong with it?」

「「Eh?」」

「Eh?」

I’ll just have to show these guys how great the shovel is later .

As for the two’s equipment, Fader-san has a long sword while Stillo-san has a short spear . Well, although I say short, it’s still 1 . 5 meters long .

Fader-san entered the forest first as a vanguard . Meanwhile, Stillo-san’s going to stay behind to guard the carriage . I want to get along with Stillo-san a bit more so I’ll just chat with him at dinner .

The inside of the forest isn’t what you could call thick since the sunlight can pa.s.s through the trees and you can even hear the birds chirping . There are hardly any monsters around so it’s not really that different from the forest that’s close to our village .

Also, you probably use this place to look for medicinal herbs if you took on that kind of quest since it seems like there are a lot of them growing here . I don’t know what kind of medicinal herbs these are though .

「Please stay vigilant because we’re going to reach the swamp where the slimes are dwelling in just a bit」

「Roger」

Saying that, I equipped my shovel as we continued to walk . I’m told that slimes are slow moving beings so we’ll be safe as long as we don’t receive a surprise attack from the shadows or it falls on us from above the trees . Still, the probability isn’t zero so it would probably be better if we just remained cautious .

After advancing for a bit, something that’s a meter in diameter was bouncing around as it blended with the background . Even though it was bending with the background, you could immediately tell that it’s there because of its translucent green color .

「That’s it, right?」

It can form some kind of shape but it can’t maintain it . If I had to compare it to something then it looks like a water balloon that’s been placed on the floor I guess .

「Yeah, that’s right . The thing we’re after that red core in its center . We need to get it without damaging it」

「Got it . I don’t know how you would normally defeat those though so please teach me」

「Sure, no problem . Those guys immediately move their cores around once they get hit so it would usually require a really quick attack or two people attacking it from both sides . Well, just watch」

After saying that, Fader-san pulled out his long sword and swung it sideways while aiming for the core of the slime but the core just shifted upwards . He did it again but it just avoided it again .

After that, he came back to where I was in a hurry to avoid getting attacked .

「As you can see, it would just move its core out of the way so that’s why it would usually take two people to hunt it」

「How about those thing’s methods of attack?」

「It hurls itself at its prey while stretching out its body in order to cover it」

「Does that mean that our clothes would get dissolved if we get caught by it?」

「Eh?」

「Hn?」

I guess that was a weird question . I can’t help having the image of a female knight or adventurer getting caught by mistake and having all of her clothes dissolved after all .

「Never mind . What happens if you get caught by it?」

「You would suffocate and get dissolved by it until there’s nothing left」

「How big can those guys get?」

「That just depends on how big of a prey those guys are trying to consume . If it had tried captured me back there then it would have just grown to accommodate my size . This it might be impossible but if they’re trying to capture an orc, an ogre, or a dragon, then it would probably grow to that size as well . Then, after it reaches a certain size, it would split into two . The split halves would just be half of their original size but they could just gradually grow back to their previous size again」

「Oh, I see」

Do they absorb their prey’s volume or something? I wonder if it would still grow as big if I just bring it some large monster’s corpse .

「How would you usually do it when you’re trying to get an undamaged core then?」

「You can freeze it and just shave off the outer part until you reach the core . However, if you overdo it and freeze the core as well then it would just break once it thaws . Finally, you can just gently scoop it out of its body then place it in water so that it won’t break . You need to use thick leather gloves to protect your hand but even those only last for 3 tries」

It’s probably getting destroyed because of the damaged cells when it gets frozen . It’s kinda like a frozen sashimi, isn’t it?

「Got it . I’ll manage somehow」

For some reason, the slime didn’t attack us while we’re talking . It’s kinda like those shows where they don’t attack the hero while he’s in the middle of a transformation scene . While thanking the strange slime, I attempted to extract its core while not damaging it .

It really looks like some kind of fluid with how jiggly and bouncy it is . I don’t know if it’s acidic or alkaline though .

『Well, compared to the brick mixture, it’s probably softer . 』

While thinking that, like that time I was mixing the ingredients for making bricks, I loaded magic into the slime to disrupt the fluid in it . Having done that, the core in the center started moving so I just continued what I was doing . It was putting up quite the resistance but after a while, the core finally got really close to the surface so I wrapped it with a water ball, extracted it from the jelly-like part and made it float on top of my hand .

Halfway through, I heard somebody saying, 「Uhm, are you going to freeze it?」but I just ignored it and continued what I was doing .

「Phew . It was resisting quite a bit but that didn’t really use that much magic power compared to mixing bricks」

「Ah……okay」

It seems like Fader-san was quite astonished by what I just did . Did he think I was going to freeze it and just shave off little by little until I reach the core? I think that it’s probably made up of mostly water if it can be frozen so that’s why I was able to immediately decide to use this method .

「Uhm, should we go back to the carriage for now to store this……?」

「Ahー, yes yes . It would be bad if it get’s damaged after all」

Fader-san hid a thick leather glove in his pocket . Although I saw him put it away, I just decided not to ask about it .

*

Stillo-san who was guarding the carriage saw us coming out of the forest said .

「Ohー, that was fast . Were there any problems?」

「There were no problems but something different has come up . Take a look at Caam-san」

With that said, the two of them looked at me who has a slime’s core floating on each hand . On our way back, we came across another slime so I tried to see if I can do it with just one hand . I succeeded so that’s why we have two right now .

「Ahh, this is a really serious matter, isn’t it? We don’t have any more work left to do」

「That’s not it . He was able to do that even though I just gave him a simple explanation about the core and showed him how it moves when you cut the slime with a sword」

「Uhmー, could you please open the lid of the barrel? I’ll fill it with water using magic」

「……s-sure」

Using the same trick with my kunai, I produced a waterball in front of me, dropped it into the barrel, then slowly put the slimes core in it .

「Although we just planned to get two, let’s just continue to get some more . There’s a high demand for undamaged cores, right?」

「Y-yeah」

It seems like what I did was completely beyond there expectations so they could only give a half-hearted reply .

「Uhm, could I talk with you for a second?」

What an awfully serious face you’re making .

「What is it?」

「It’s about your pay . Since we haven’t really done anything, at the very least, the rent for the carriage……」

「We’ll spit it between us of course . That’s what we discussed from the beginning after all . And besides, I didn’t think it would be this easy so I’d feel bad if I’m the only profiting from all of this」

You might say that I’m being too honest here and I do think that it may come back to haunt me sooner or later but it’s better than getting resented .

Looking at the position of the sun right now, I thought about the time it took for us to reach here . Considering how long it would take to go back with our luggage in tow, then it would seem like the gates are already closed by 8 pm . Since we’re going to camp anyways, we can still continue hunting for two more hours . Well, I guess I should just ask first .

「I thought about what you said yesterday and if we’re going to camp outside the gate, what do you think about going back inside the forest three or four more times?」

「Please let us discuss it for a bit」

「Understood」

Saying that, the two of them moved a bit further away to discuss it . Well, I guess I’ll just eat my dried fruits for the meantime .

□

「What you do mean we’re camping outside the gates?」

「That was just something I said as a joke during our negotiations . I said that if we can get the necessary amount quickly then we’ll go back and camp outside the gates」

「Well, there’s nothing more we can do about what you just said but still, if we enter the forest 3 more times, that means we’re going to get 6 extra pieces right?」

「Ah, that’s right . However, I also said that if we couldn’t find any, we’ll have to camp in front of the forest while taking turns standing watch . Do you think we can use that as an excuse?」

「You won’t lose anything by trying so why don’t you try to negotiate with him」

「Got it」

□

Ah, he came back .

「Are you done with your consultation? Ah, do you want some dried fruits?」

His face looks a bit cramped . Oh, oops . Was I a bit too familiar? Was it rude of me to talk with something in my mouth?

「Uhm, you see, I am terribly sorry about this but as the result of our discussion, since it seems like it would we would earn more, would it be alright if we just camp in front of the forest like I said yesterday?」

「Sure, I don’t mind . I told our supervisor that I’m taking a slightly longer break from work after all」

「Oiiii, why is this person so easygoing? Are you really the Caam-san from the rumors?」

「Indigo blue skin, a day laborer making bricks, living in that den of weirdoes Clinochlore, he certainly fits that description right?」

I can hear you, you know……

「Then, we’ll leave it to you」

「Yeah, Ahー, I have a suggestion」

「Wh-what is it?」

「Can we increase our efficiency?」

「「Ha?」」

*

After that, we entered the forest and I had Fader-san pick out which slime’s core to get .

「That one is good」

「Understood」

「That one’s core is small so it’s no good」

「Understood」

What we did was instead of using the magic I used when mixing the brick ingredients on the slimes immediately after finding them, we gather them all first on a waterball2 floating in the sky .

Since it’s up there, there would be no problems even if they started struggling . I still have to be careful they don’t get too violent that they damage their own cores though .

After finding 10 of them, I start kneading them then we go back to the carriage to store the cores . After putting the cores in the barrels, I just dispose the large number of coreless jellies on a spot where the sun hits .

When I asked what I should do with those, they just told me .

「Other slimes would grow really big and multiply if they absorb those so please put them someplace that’s un.o.bstructed where they can dry out vanish like ice」

After hearing that, I decided to limit our remaining trips inside the forest to 10 . I’m kinda scared that they’ll go extinct after all .

It’s already evening so it’s starting to get dark .

「This is the 36th piece, right?」

After putting the final slime core we collected inside the barrel I just randomly threw the leftover jelly remains of the slimes back to the forest .

「We don’t have any barrels left」

「Even if we shove more in there, it might hit against each other and get damaged . It was a good thing we brought bit more barrels than usual」

「It can’t be helped . Who would have thought we would get this much」

「That’s right . Even I didn’t think it would go this smoothly . Well, the price would go down if we bring back too much so I guess this much is alright」

It’s the law of supply and demand after all .

「……That’s right, isn’t it? I think so too」

「Well then, since it would be dangerous to travel with the carriage in darkness, let’s just camp here」

「Uhm, I have a question」

「What is it?」

「Camping in front of the forest or a bit further away from the forest, which one is safer?」

「A bit further away from the forest would be the safer option but as expected, letting the horses travel like this would be dangerous」

「Could we travel for a bit if it’s bright then?」

Saying that, I looked at Stillo-san’s direction .

「Yeah . It’s possible if we just drop our speed」

「Then let’s get some distance away from the forest . I’m a good for nothing coward so I would feel better if we’re just a bit safer」

Why did they pull back after I said that with a huge smile? Isn’t it a fact that safer is better?

「But what about the source of light?」

「I’ll make it . Well, I haven’t tried this before so I’m not sure if I’ll succeed so please let me try it once」

「Haa……」

『Image・a 300 meter tall・1 million cd3 bright spotlight・that disappears after 60 seconds・execute』

Well, it’s just something like a flare . I’ve seen it in videos before so it’s easy to imagine . I don’t know if there’s stuff like magnesium or sodium nitrate here but since I can produce a flashbang using magic, it’s possible to make something like that .

Using that image, a great light source appeared above, brightly illuminating the vicinity .

「Amazing . It’s like he made a sun」

「I haven’t seen anything like this before」

Looking at my test, the light gradually became dimmer until it finally disappeared .

「It was a success . Nocturnal monsters are scary so let’s go」

The two of them were giving me the kind of looks that are saying 「What the heck is this guy saying」but I just decided not to mind it .

「Okay then . Shall we start preparing for our departure?」

After we finished with our preparations, I activated the short duration 【Flare】 then we departed .

A while later at a place where you can barely see the forest, Stillo-san said .

「If it’s here then we can clearly see our surroundings and it’s much safer compared to the forest’s vicinity-ssu」

With that said, we then started our preparations for camp .

They began setting up the bonfire using firewood that was probably gathered while we entered the forest . They were going to use the sparks from a flint to light it so they were glad when I produced a lighter-like fire on my fingertips instead . You got burned? 4

It has been decided that we’re going to sleep immediately after eating because we’re going back first thing in the morning so my plan to mingle with Stillo-san was canceled . As for the night watch, we would do it in three-hour shifts decided by lottery . I was first .

While they were asleep, I took out a piece of slime that securely wrapped and placed inside my leather bag .

Of course, this is so that I’ll know how much you can melt with it .

I placed a piece of the slime that’s the size of making a ring with your thumb and index finger on top of a cloth place at the back of my hand . After 5 seconds, it made a hole through the cloth and I immediately started feeling pain on my skin so I hurriedly flung it away .

Looking closely, there’s a circle-shaped scald on the back of my hand .

A-ahー, if it’s like this then it’s impossible to just melt through clothes . I wonder what would happen if I dilute it in water? How much pH level does it need to have for it to just melt clothes but not the skin anyway? Even if you enter an alkaline or acidic hot spring with a towel, your skin gets smoother but the towel doesn’t dissolve after all .

The cloth would start to fade if you kept doing that for a few years though…… This is seriously useless . Also, slimes are unexpectedly scary creatures .

While thinking that, I healed the scald-like marks on the back of my hand using recovery magic then stayed by the fire as I continued staying vigilant for any presence while waiting for the bowl of water with a small opening that’s used to tell time empty out .

After confirming that the bowl has emptied out 12 times, I woke up Fader-san who was next .

「Fader-san, it’s time」

「Hnn…… Ah, sorry . You can go to sleep now」

While yawning and taking off his blanket, he looked at me to make sure I was asleep .

*

It seems like nothing happened after that since Stillo-san, the last one to stand watch, greeted me .

I slept on a different bed today so I woke up in a bad mood .

「Good morniーng」

「Morning-ssu . Nothing in particular happened-ssu . Here’s some tea . 」

「Thanks」

I put in a slightly larger amount of sugar into the tea to wake me up . After that, I took some bread, dipped it into the sweet tea then ate it .

Stillo-san was giving me a strange look . What’s wrong? I just sweetened the tea and made the hard bread softer right?

This makes me feel like I’m drinking sweet black tea while eating some softened rusks right now . Well, I’m actually drinking tea but I don’t have anything to soak the bread with though . It can’t be helped, let’s just eat it as is .

While I was nibbling on my bread, Stillo-san went to Fader-san to wake him up .

「Oi! Wake up」

「Arghー, I got it already」

After he was violently woken up, he met eyes with me and said .

「Ahー, good morning」

Did meeting eyes with me cause me to him to fully awaken? He returned to the usual way he speaks .

Since it was still dark, the three of us surrounded the campfire while idly pa.s.sing the time by . Once the sun started peaking out of the mountain, we started moving out . After putting out the fire and confirming the conditions of the slime cores, the carriage slowly started moving . We’re going to take it slow on the way back . That’s good since I won’t have to worry about my a.s.s hurting this time .

*

「The town’s protective wall can finally be seen-ssu」

「It’s almost overー!」

I just confirmed that it doesn’t matter if we’re traveling slow or fast, my b.u.t.t still hurts . Even Fader-san seems like he’s in pain . I guess I should make a cushion next time .

「Well, we still have to get the goods examined at the gate but it will be all over once we reserve the requested amount and give the rest to the guild so just be patient okay?」

He’s been cycling through sitting down and standing up for a while now so it seems like it really hurts for him .

「Next! What’s this? You guys came back really quick . You finished everything in just a day?」

After saying that, he started checking the goods .

「Oi, aren’t these undamaged slime cores!? Getting this amount in just a day…… Ah, so Caam was with you . I now know why . You can go ahead and enter then」

With that said, we peacefully entered the gate .

「Someone you know?」

「The repairs for the protective wall is done outside the gate after all so he remembers my face from pa.s.sing here all the time . That aside, we get involved with each other quite a lot so we’ve gotten close」

「Reallyー? I wonder if I can be on good terms with any of the gatekeepers as well」

「It’s pretty convenience you know?」

「Caam-san . Getting too friendly with him to the point that he starts getting sloppy with the inspection is going to be a problem you know?」

「Right . If we had just left it to you back then, that guy would have just let us in without asking us anything」

*

「Well then, shall we sell the rest of the subjugation materials then?」

「Understood」「Ou」

After saying that, Fader-san put let the carriage to the back of the guild .

「Iyaー, Caam-san really was a huge help . Who would have thought we would be able to complete it that quickly . I also can’t believe we manage to get that much」

「Me too . I couldn’t believe that slimes would be easier to deal with than mixing bricks」

「Would it be okay if we invite you again next time?」

「Sure, as long as it’s not dangerous . Don’t count on me too much though . I want to live a safe and carefree life after all . 」

「Hahaha! As expected, I wouldn’t know what’s safe and what’s dangerous for someone with that kind of amazing magic, would I?」

「Iyaー, isn’t it kinda awkward if you say it in front of the person himself? And besides, I’m a coward and don’t want to die so I don’t like battles . That’s not good now, isn’t?」

「Well, I’ll tell our leader to not invite you as much as possible . That guy’s just the leader of a two-person party though」

Stillo-san is pretty interesting .

「I’m back . Out of 36 pieces, we only need two so I sold the other 34 pieces . They sell for 5 silver a piece so I got 1 gold and 7 large silvers . I asked for it to be changed into silvers so I got 170 silvers in total . If we divide this between us then…… 」

「It’s 56 silver, 6 large copper, and 6 copper coins right?」

Well, you can’t divide it evenly though .

「You calculate really fast, don’t you?」

「Thanks」

「Let’s divide it between us immediately then . Hmmー . I don’t have anything other than silver so I guess I’ll have to go and exchange them again」

「Then let’s do it like this . That amount is just for the subjugation materials you sold, right? To make thing simpler, let’s just change my daily wage to 4 large copper and 4 copper coins so that all you have to give me is 57 silver . If we do it like that then the two of you would get 56 silver and 5 large copper coins each . If we divide it like that, you would also be paying me my wages at the same time」

I don’t want to cause any misunderstanding by just explaining it orally so I took a stick and wrote my calculations on the ground .

「If Caam-san is fine with that then I don’t see any problem with it . 」

「Me too-ssu . But still, aren’t you losing out on that deal?」

「I already earned in one day what I would have earned in 70 so you won’t hear any complaints from me . You can just think of those 4 large copper as some kind of handling fee . And besides, that’s a pretty cheap price to pay for getting some connections . Ah, I already told Stillo-san this earlier but please don’t invite me if you’re going to a battle」

「……I see . If that’s what Caam-san says then」

Fader-san looked pretty troubled while saying that . Well, being a money grubber would just invite resentment after all . I’d rather get comrades here rather than make enemies .

「Then, I guess it’s time for us to split our ways . Though I want to celebrate, I think it would be bad if I don’t hand these over to our acquaintance right away」

「Yeah, that’s true . If I have the opportunity, let me treat you guys next time」

「Thank you very much . We look forward to it . Till we meet again」

「Thank you very much」

「Thank you as well」

After saying that, I immediately entered the guild and decided to deposit the 57 silver coins . I don’t want to be walking around with all that money on me after all .

Ahー, I still have to ask the landlady about the price of making duplicate keys . Because of that, instead of depositing it all, I decided to leave a bit more on hand .

It’s still daytime but I felt sluggish so when I reached my room after taking a bath so I went to sleep .

~Idle Talk~

After coming home and handing the undamaged cores to their friend, the two of them entered a bar .

「It’s true . Caam-san really asked if there was a slime who only melts clothes」

「Is he really somebody who’s famous?」

「I don’t know but when I told him there wasn’t, he looked really disappointed」

「Seriously? Isn’t he a ma.s.sive pervert then?」

「He was really generous though . He can use magic, defeat a high goblin and is clever as well but it’s kinda disappointing the way he thinks though」

「It’s because of that . He lives at a place that’s called a den of weirdoes so he’s bound to be a bit different from us」

「……I guess that’s right . Let’s just forget about all of that」

「That’s right . Let’s just drink to forget . We earned a lot after all」

After saying that, the two who just earned some money drank until late at night .

Because of that, without a doubt, a new strange rumor will start to spread around .