As we sat chatting over tea after dinner, the Duchess suddenly turned to me.
"Ryoma-kun, have you decided what you're going to do from here on?"
"...To be honest, I'm torn. I don't know if I should stay here... or move somewhere else..."
My research had reached a natural stopping point—or rather, seeing the slimes packed into that room had finally brought me to my senses. Besides, meeting people like this had reminded me of the things I lacked. I was starting to crave actual seasonings and proper groceries.
It was probably time I went out and saw the world. But how should I put it? It would be unnatural for a child who was supposedly a misanthropic hermit to suddenly declare he wanted to travel. I decided to rely on that all-purpose excuse: my grandparents.
"...My grandparents... they told me to find happiness in the city... I don't have any complaints... about my life here. But I've started to think... that they might not... want me to... stay here forever..."
"Ryoma-kun..."
A solemn air settled over the room. Master Reinbach closed his eyes for a moment, deep in thought, before speaking.
"In that case... why not leave the forest with us?"
"Eh?"
Wait, what was this man saying? We had only just met today.
"Our family is a Ducal House; providing for the needs of a single boy would be trivial. Besides, I feel it is a great waste for a talented Tamer like yourself to remain cooped up in the heart of a forest. You may find the city disagreeable, but won't you try stepping outside these woods for just a little while?"
I never expected an invitation like that. No one else seemed to have any objections, either; their supportive gazes told me it was more than okay. Their sheer kindness made my heart ache with a touch of guilt.
"From tomorrow, we will be traveling to the city of Gimul for about two months before returning. Since you can always come back here later, why not accompany us on this journey?"
"A journey..."
I was still woefully ignorant of this world's society. Even if the gods had granted me basic knowledge, I hadn't seen anything with my own eyes. I hadn't even realized how slimes were perceived by the general public. There were bound to be plenty of other things I didn't know.
These people seemed trustworthy, and traveling with them would be much safer than going alone. Besides, if I didn't take this chance, I’d probably just keep dragging my feet and stay a shut-in for another few months.
"I suppose... you're right. I'm sure I'll be a burden... but if it's really okay... I would like to join you."
"Splendid! You'll come, then?"
"I had already... started thinking... about leaving the forest myself..."
"I see, I see. Well then, we must prepare. We shall delay our departure until noon tomorrow. Can you be ready by then?"
"I'll be ready by morning. With my Item Box... I can take everything with me."
"Oh? You can use an Item Box at your age? That's quite impressive."
Was it? I had heard it was a relatively common skill.
"My grandmother told me it was convenient, so I learned it. I heard... many people could use it."
"No, no. It may be Beginner Magic, but it's a high-tier element. It's true that a fair number of people can use it, but being able to manage it at your age is more than impressive."
This again... Was my information slightly off? Or was it just that the information I had didn't account for age? I realized I had to be careful or I'd find myself in a difficult spot. I really was lucky; I was glad to have found people who could help bridge the gap in my common sense.
"It seems Master Ryoma has a talent for magic other than Taming Magic. Your future is certainly something to look forward to."
"Truly. If you ever want to study magic besides Taming Magic, just say the word. I'll be happy to teach you."
"It sounds like it would be quite fun to study together with Ryoma-san."
"Thank you very much."
When I thanked them and began cleaning up, the young mistress and the maids offered to help. I decided to tackle the most troublesome room first.
"Whoa, what is with this room?"
"My, look at all the weapons and armor."
"It's going to be quite the task just choosing what to bring..."
"Are those furs in the back?"
"What are those bags in the corner? They look like trash."
The room I led them to was my storage area. I had spent three years piling up things I'd taken from bandits here. The weapons and armor were somewhat organized since I maintained them periodically, but everything else was just heaped together.
"Everything goes... into the Item Box. I'll put them in one by one. The bags in the corner belong to bandits."
"And the contents?"
"I don't know..."
"What do you mean 'you don't know'? You haven't checked them? Taking down bandits and not checking the loot is like putting your life on the line to work for free!"
"I just wasn't very interested."
I gave Hughes a short answer, though I had several reasons. For one, most bandit gear was filthy and smelled terrible, and they rarely carried anything of value. At worst, the bags were full of rotten food and literal garbage. Any money I found was useless unless I went to a city... Basically, there was no payoff for the effort, so I eventually stopped bothering. Once the slimes had finished cleaning the bags, I just tossed them into storage without a second thought.
"In that case, wouldn't it be best to examine the contents now?"
"True. If it's just trash, we should leave it behind. Why don't we split up and handle the sorting and the storage at the same time?"
I agreed to Arone's suggestion and Jill's plan, leaving the bandit loot to the young mistress and the two maids. If I spent my time sorting, the packing wouldn't get done.
We spent the next while tossing items into the black void of the Item Box. Along the way, I learned that some of the weapons, armor, and furs might actually fetch a decent price. Even more surprising was the discovery of a bag containing forty Medium Gold Coins—a high-value currency in this country. According to my knowledge, forty Medium Gold Coins was a significant sum, which was a welcome development now that I had decided to head for the city.
Still... considering the situation with the slimes, I was worried about how accurate my knowledge actually was. I should probably ask them to teach me about the local cost of living and other basics soon.
Once the storage room was cleared, I called over my Cleaner Slimes and Scavenger Slimes to handle the final cleanup. Then, I offered the freshly cleaned rooms to the Jamil family and their guards so they could rest.
"Are you sure? If there's anything else to do, I can help."
"No, I can handle the rest alone. It's just food and medicinal ingredients now."
"Medicine, huh? That's not something an amateur should be touching. Understood. Give me a shout if you need anything else."
"Thank you, Camille-san."
"Don't worry about it. Thank you for the room. Just having four walls and a place to rest is a real blessing."
I thanked them as they went off to prepare for bed.
Now, all that was left were the basic items I'd received from the three gods when I arrived in this world, and... Oh, right. I could take the slimes, couldn't I? I couldn't just leave them behind. I should make sure. They were likely still awake.
"Reinhardt-san, Master Reinbach."
"What is it, Ryoma-kun?"
"Is it all right if I... bring my slimes on the journey? It's... seventeen slimes in total."
"Of course. There is no reason a Tamer shouldn't bring his tamed monsters."
"There is plenty of room in the carriages. We can make space for them."
I see. That was a relief.
"Thank you very much."
They both smiled and told me it was no problem. They really were good people. If I imagined a similar situation back in Japan, it would be like picking up a hitchhiker only for them to ask if they could bring seventeen pets along... Yeah, I definitely would have said no. One or two might be fine, but seventeen was pushing it. Not that I’d ever had a license, anyway.
I felt incredibly grateful to the Jamil family. Since I’d be gone for a while, I figured I should pay my respects.
With that in mind, I headed to the training room in the deepest part of the house. It was just a large, empty space, but I had carved a niche into the far wall to hold the statues of the gods.
In this world's religion, idol worship wasn't forbidden, and carving your own statues of the gods wasn't considered a sin. In some regions, it was actually encouraged; devout followers would buy small models from a church and spend time every day carving their own while they prayed.
I had made mine as part of my Earth Magic practice, placing them in my training area as a sort of private altar where I could give my daily reports and express my gratitude. I used Earth Magic to seal the entrance so no one would walk in on me, and then...
I sat in zazen before the stone figures and meditated for a few minutes before opening my eyes to speak.
"Today looks like it'll end without any trouble. You're gods, so you probably already know, but I'm going away for a bit with the guests who arrived today. Our destination is a city called Gimul. Finally... my first trip in this world. Now I can keep my promise to visit the church.
"I don't know when I'll be back, so I'm taking everything with me for now. If it turns out I'm not coming back... I'll just make new statues wherever I end up. See you later."
I stood up, unsealed the entrance, and left the training area. Come to think of it, I only seemed to have trouble speaking normally when my audience was human. If I couldn't even talk to a stone statue, I would have noticed my social issues long ago. Maybe it was just nerves?
Well, whatever. I’d done everything I needed to do. All that was left was to head out with the slimes. I should get some sleep.
I crawled into my bed, but...
I wonder what the city is like...
Perhaps because I was so focused on the city I had yet to see, I found it a little harder than usual to drift off.