âYes. But I wonât make any promises.â [Ryouma]
âThatâs fine. Iâm sure you have your circumstances too⊠Huh?ăCome to think of it, why are we talking about this again?â [Sereriputa]
âUmm⊠I believe we were originally talking about why you wanted to meet me.â [Ryouma]
âAh! Right. And then you asked if it was because I found you interesting, right?ăBut that wasnât the case at all, so I ended up talking about how boring you are!â [Sereriputa]
âThatâs right.â [Ryouma]
âYeah! Yeah! Okay. So the reason I called you is because Iâm concerned about you. And itâs not because youâre interesting. Okay?â [Sereriputa]
I think Iâm starting to get this guy. This god keeps running his mouth about how boring I am, but heâs not doing it out of ill will. He just says whatever comes to his mind.
âSo what is it about me exactly thatâs on your mind?â [Ryouma]
âGayn and the others told me that someone new came to this world, so when I dropped by the village where you were and I saw you, I thought, âHuh. This kid might actually be similar to me.â [Sereriputa]
âIâm similar to you, Sereriputa-sama?â [Ryouma]
âYou can just call me Sere. Itâs not like anyone is listening in on us.â [Sereriputa]
ââŠAlright, Sere. In what ways are we similar to each other?â [Ryouma]
âRightâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠ. What do you think?â [Sereriputa]
After taking so long to answer, thatâs what he comes up with? What an annoying guy⊠How could we possibly be similar to each other?ăThe only common point we share that I know of in this short time weâve spent with each other isâŠ
âWeâre both shut-ins?â [Ryouma]
âYouâre saying that based on my appearance, arenât you?ăYouâre right, though.â [Sereriputa]
âWe both talk too much and are insensitive?â [Ryouma]
âI wonât deny it, but thatâs not exactly right.â [Sereriputa]
ââŠWeâre both insular?â [Ryouma]
âYou donât hold your punches, do you? Even though weâve just met⊠Still, youâre not completely wrong. But to be more precise, you and I are similar at a more fundamental aspect.â [Sereriputa]
Fundamental aspect?
âHumans have that aspect where âthey canât understand themselves even though the topic is none other than themselvesâ. Is it so hard to understand?
Even when weâre talking like this, there are parts that become apparent and parts that donât become apparent on the surface. What do you call it, the standard for judgment?ăThe basis of a personality? ăHmm~ Itâs difficult to put into words.
In the first place, Iâve never talked this much with someoneâŠâ [Sereriputa]
I think heâs talking about how one is clueless about the parts of oneâs self that one is not aware of.
âAnyway, gods and people alike have all sorts of things they think and feel about. Just think of it as the fundamental thing that forms the basis of that.â [Sereriputa]
âAlright. I kinda get it. I guess. And that fundamental thing is what makes us similar?â [Ryouma]
âYeah. Itâs just âsimilarâ⊠And by the way, my way of thinking inclines toward the survival of the fittest â the strong shall live and the weak shall die â that sort of stuff. You too, right?ăSomething like that.â [Sereriputa]
âIs that so?â [Ryouma]
âYou donât understand?ăAlright, letâs talk for a bit then.â [Sereriputa]
He was originally positioned as if he were sitting on an invisible chair, but now he was lying down, and the conversation moved along with great progress. I canât follow this conversation very well.
âOh, do I talk too much?â [Sereriputa]
âThereâs noâ Did you read my mind? But thatâs not the case. Iâm just a bit confused at why youâre so eager.â [Ryouma]
âThatâs good to hear. As Iâve said earlier, I rarely talk to people. In fact, I rarely talk to other gods.â
He talks well, but he doesnât seem to have a sense for distance and is too volubly. Anyway itâs not a big deal as far as communication issues go. Itâs nothing weird.
âThank you for being understanding. Back to the topic. Today you kept the pearl slime a secret from the kid who was helping your slime research, right?ăWhy?â [Sereriputa]
He folded his arms and placed his head over it as he tilted his neck. If I didnât know better, I wouldâve mistaken him for a girl.
It was a strangely difficult topic, but I answered honestly anyway.
âBecause I didnât know the exact value of the pearl slime, but it seemed like it would be very profitable. Niki-kun is still a kid, and if he doesnât know anything, I wonât have to worry about him leaking information. I thought it was safest this way.â [Ryouma]
âYes. And your conjectures are correct. Pearls in this world are far more valuable than what you think. Especially, in the Riforu Kingdom, where you reside. After all, it is a jewel that is yet to be harvested. Should you sell it, it will fetch an excessively high price.
Naturally, the people looking for the source and a way to acquire it will come, and there will be no end of people seeking to make the source their own. They will employ all manners of methods, and there are those who will not mind breaking the law.
You have merchants that you can trust and have the powerful and influential duke family behind you.
Even if you yourself are attacked, you can defeat most of them with just your own strength. But that boy, Niki, doesnât have any of those.
Perhaps even the villagers will be able to defend against your common thief â if he were alone â but the dark guild or other nobles? Surely not.â [Sereriputa]
Sere continued to smile as he listed out those cruel possibilities.
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