“Thank you for the meal.”
It was lunch break. I finished the lunch provided to us in a corner of the square where the adventurers had gathered. However, most of the others were still eating or had only just started.
When I ate by myself, I tended to bolt my food without realizing it—a habit carried over from my previous life. Now that I was done, I wasn't sure what to do with myself. Jeff, Welanna, and the others had gone off to eat with different groups to exchange information.
Left with time on my hands, I thought it over for a moment and decided to check on my slimes.
“Excuse me,” I said, approaching the temporary reception desk. The staff there were busy with administrative tasks, like organizing data from the hunt.
“Oh, Ryoma,” the receptionist said.
“Hello, Meilyne. Do you have a minute?”
“Sure. What is it?”
“I’d like to step away for a bit before lunch ends to feed my slimes, so I wanted to give you a heads-up. Also, am I allowed to collect the monster corpses yet?”
“They’re all gathered over that way, so feel free to take what you need. I heard you already paid in advance yesterday, so if any of the other staff ask, just show them your Guild Card. I’ve noted your departure. Be careful, though—make sure you’re back before the break ends.”
“There’s a roll-call for each unit, right?”
“Exactly. Even if you’re running late, don’t head straight back to the mines; check in at the desk first. We’re doing this to catch 'daily-wage thieves' who try to sneak home early. If you miss it, it’ll be counted as desertion and you won't get paid, so don’t forget.”
“I understand. Thank you very much.”
With Meilyne’s warning fresh in my mind, I left the reception area. I gathered enough monster corpses to fill four of my back baskets and headed out of the square.
“This should be a good spot... Dimension Home.”
After walking for a while and climbing a steep slope, I found a secluded ledge with a great view. From here, I’d be able to spot anyone—human or monster—approaching immediately.
I watched as a stream of slimes crawled out of the glowing white holes onto the broad path, and then I set to work feeding them the monster remains.
First, I let the Cleaner Slimes eat the filth, then I divided the remaining carcasses into four piles. I set out four large containers nearby and filled them with water to finish the setup. Once I gave the word, the Poison, Sticky, Acid, and Scavenger Slimes—all in their Big or Huge Slime forms—swarmed the piles, swallowing the meat as if they were trying to crush it with their very weight.
While I watched their voracious appetite out of the corner of my eye, I prepared the Metal Slime's meal. While I was busy, the Metal Slime started trying to dig into the earth with its rigid body, attempting to eat the soil.
Was it trying to extract iron from the ground? It wasn't having much luck digging, though.
Instead of looking like it was foraging, it looked more like a child sulking because they were the only one who hadn't been given any food.
I worked faster and placed a bowl filled with iron powder on the ground. The Metal Slime stopped its futile digging and approached at an agonizingly slow crawl. Through our contract, I could feel its excitement, but its movements were incredibly sluggish. I wondered if its metallic body was simply too heavy for its size.
I sat down next to the Metal Slime and watched it absorb the powder, letting time drift by peacefully. The Heal Slimes, meanwhile, lived off photosynthesis and didn't need to eat; they simply basked in the sunlight behind me while the others finished their lunch.
Once the feeding was over, I decided to test something that had been on my mind. I returned all but one of each Poison, Sticky, and Acid Slime to the Dimension Home.
“Alright, let’s see.”
I lined up three small dishes and had the slimes spit into them until they were filled with poison, adhesive, and acid.
The Metal Slime was incredibly hard and even possessed the Hardening skill. I knew it was physically durable, but I had no idea if things like poison affected it. It was time for a little experiment.
I say experiment, but I was really just bringing the dishes close to see how it reacted.
First was the poison.
“...Nothing, huh?”
The Metal Slime didn't budge. A Sticky Slime would have at least flinched away, but this one didn't move a muscle. It seemed as immune as a Poison Slime.
Next was the adhesive.
“...Fine with this too.”
The Metal Slime remained stoic. However, it had a very different reaction to the acid. As I brought that dish closer, the slime’s surface began to ripple violently, as if it were melting, and it scrambled away much faster than its usual crawl.
“So you’re weak to acid... This reminds me of a chemistry lab.”
I felt a surge of nostalgia thinking back to science experiments where we’d drop metal foil into hydrochloric acid to watch the reaction.
I didn't want to terrify the poor thing, so I ended the experiment there. Once I moved the dishes away and disposed of the fluids, the Metal Slime settled back down. However, in its haste to escape the acid, it had managed to coat itself in sand and dirt.
I should probably clean it.
I took out a cloth and began to polish it. To my surprise, its shape slowly yielded to the movement of my hands. It was a strange, fascinating sensation—touching something that felt like metal but behaved like clay.
Before I knew it, I was polishing the Metal Slime into a perfect, gleaming sphere, much like a child obsessed with making a mud ball.
“There! Perfect. Now... I should probably head back.”
I checked the time on the watch I’d received previously. If I wanted to get back with time to spare, I needed to leave now.
I went to use Dimension Home, but in a moment of carelessness, I set the Metal Slime back down on the ground.
Normally, it was just an irregular lump of metal. But right now, it was a sphere. And we were at the very top of a steep, paved slope.
“Dimension Ho—wait!”
A sharp, metallic clink echoed, and when I looked, a silver orb was already hurtling down the slope at high speed. I looked down at my feet. The Metal Slime was gone.
“Hey!”
I reflexively started to give chase, but then I remembered the three other slimes I still had out.
If an adventurer stumbled upon them while I was gone...
I hurriedly scooped up the remaining three slimes and sprinted after the Metal Slime, which had already put a massive distance between us.
If a human falls the wrong way, they can die. And a normal slime is a creature that can die even if it doesn't fall the wrong way. I’d always assumed that was why they had such soft, shock-absorbent bodies. Even though it had evolved a sturdy shell, I couldn't help but worry.
The Metal Slime finally came to a halt in a thicket of weeds at the bottom of the hill.
However, it wasn't moving.
“Are you okay?”
I rushed over to check on it, and eventually, its surface began to ripple again. It seemed it had simply been too stunned by the unprecedented experience to move; its life wasn't in danger.
That was bad for my heart... I’ll have to test how much impact a Metal Slime can actually take later. Maybe I can test the metallic parts without the core... no, I should probably wait until I have more of them before I start stress-testing them.
Reaching that conclusion, I picked up the Metal Slime.
“...! ...?”
“...!!”
“Hmm?”
Voices? I strained my ears. They were faint, but it definitely wasn't my imagination. Human voices—multiple people. They were coming from the direction of the square. Probably adventurers on the job.
But were they arguing? I couldn't make out the words, but the atmosphere felt distinctly hostile.
“This feels like trouble... I should check it out.”
Even if I reported it to the Guildmaster or the staff, telling them I “thought I heard people arguing” wouldn't be very helpful.
Deciding to take a detour, I hushed my breathing and started walking toward the sound, with a Sticky Slime on my head and the Poison and Acid Slimes riding on my shoulders.
Found them.
I followed the shouting down toward the very base of the mountain. In a dim area where the trees blocked out the sun and piles of red soil from the mines had been dumped, I spotted a group of armed adventurers. There were more than a dozen of them. They were obscured by a slag heap, but they seemed to be surrounding someone.
“Hey, you've got some nerve!”
“Thieving rats who can't do anything but snatch other people's kills!”
The men were hurling insults left and right. I couldn't tell if they were just naturally foul-mouthed or if they were genuinely enraged, but either way, the situation was ugly.
A brawl?
“We're not thieves! We were given this!”
Wait. I recognize that voice.
Brats, accusations of stealing prey, and a voice I’d heard before. The pieces clicked into place.
Could it be...?
Just like I did when hunting, I checked the wind direction and moved behind the men, keeping to the trees and tall grass. Once I got within fifty meters, there was no doubt.
Trapped in a narrow space between the slag heaps, the group of men, and a cliff, three girls were huddled together. Three boys stood in front of them like a shield. They were clearly terrified, but they were protecting each other and refusing to back down from the men closing in on them.
Just as I’d suspected, they were the young adventurers who had been tailing us earlier in the tunnels.
...Wait, whose fault is this?
“Don't you mock us, you damn slum brats!”
I had no idea how it had escalated to this point. The atmosphere was poisonous, but fortunately, it hadn't gone past verbal abuse yet. I couldn't just drop in and suppress everyone like they were bandits, so I decided to observe for a moment.
Looking at a dozen grown men surrounding and screaming at six kids, the men definitely looked like the villains. However, the fact that the kids were involved gave me pause.
In our case, they had been scavenging leftovers without permission. If they’d been doing that to these men, I couldn't say the men were entirely in the wrong. Even if it wasn't technically theft, they were at least owed an apology.
That said, surrounding them with a mob like this was excessive.
When we spoke to them—well, when the others spoke to them—Jeff and the rest were scolding them for their own good. They didn't block their escape or scream insults. There’s a big difference between a lecture and a threat.
In our case, we actually managed a conversation, but right now the kids were almost entirely silent. The men leading the shouting looked like they were ready to throw a punch at any second; it was a powder keg.
The best move would be to call someone who could settle this, but I couldn't reach the square in a single Warp. I also wasn't skilled enough yet to teleport others like Sebas or Raypin could. Taking a risk that might cause an accident was out of the question, and explaining the location to someone else would take too long.
Looking at the group, there were the ones screaming who seemed like real trouble, and then there were the ones just watching with pitying eyes. I didn't want to waste time.
I was currently just a bystander, but I was confident I could stop them by force if I had to.
This is a pain...
For the kids' safety, I felt better staying here. But that meant I couldn't go for help.
If I brought back someone with authority, the situation would be handled, but I couldn't guarantee what would happen to the kids while I was gone.
...Being alone is simple, but it really is inconvenient at times like this.
After living in the forest for so long where I never had to rush, I grumbled to myself about the lack of manpower.
Hmm... there were twelve men in total. Most were in their twenties, but there was one bearded man who looked closer to thirty.
The bearded guy was the only one who looked like a real threat; the others were average. Even the leader hadn't noticed me hiding, and honestly, some of the bandits I'd dealt with in the past seemed much more dangerous than him.
The risk was low.
Still, they were definitely stronger than those six kids. If a fight broke out, the kids had no hope of winning against those numbers. They couldn't even defend themselves.
“Hey! Answer me!”
...Well, if they really were stealing, I thought a few good smacks might be a fair enough lesson. Back in my world, corporal punishment was normal at home and school. And even if modern Japan would make a scene over it, this was a different world. It was a standard way to discipline children.
If they’d committed a crime, they should normally be handed over to the Guild or the guards to be judged by law. If they walked away with just a few bruises, that was actually quite lenient.
Even if it wasn't a crime, Jeff and the others had warned them this morning. If they’d ignored that and caused more trouble, they really should handle it themselves. Besides, what was I supposed to do? I’d only met them once.
Unless they went too far, of course. My thoughts on corporal punishment assumed they were actually guilty. If they hadn't done anything, there was no reason for them to be hit at all.
Ultimately, it came down to whether the kids were at fault or not. I tried to judge from the conversation, but it was like a broken record—they just kept repeating the same accusations and denials without getting anywhere.
...It’ll be faster to just ask.
I set the unpolished Metal Slime down quietly and stood up.
“Excuse me!”
“!?”
“Who’s there?!”
“Over there!”
“A slime?! Wait, it talked?!”
“Look closer, idiot! There’s a head under it!”
“Why is that brat wearing three slimes?”
“More importantly, how long has he been standing there?!”
“Sorry to interrupt your conversation,” I said.
As I pushed through the brush and stepped forward, the men glared at me with blatant suspicion. At the same time, the kids recognized me. One of the girls gasped.
“Ah, it’s you...”
When the men heard that, their faces twisted into ugly smirks.
“What, you a friend of these runts?”
“No, I’m just passing through,” I said flatly.
The men looked skeptical.
“You’re all adventurers on the cull mission, right? It’s almost time for the assembly, so I was walking back to the square when I happened to hear you shouting.”
“Is that right? These kids seem to know who you are.”
“You’re not in on their thieving, are you?”
“You’ve got some pretty expensive-looking armor for a kid.”
The men began to size me up, their eyes lingering greedily on my gear.
“I only met those six in the tunnels this morning. Did they actually steal something?”
“They sure did. These brats—”
“We didn't! They're making it up!”
“We got those carcasses from his unit! They gave them to us!”
“We didn't touch your kills!”
“Shut up, you!”
“You got proof?! No, you don't!”
“What they're saying is true,” I interrupted. “My unit agreed to give them our leftovers this morning. If you don't believe me, you’re welcome to talk to the rest of my group. Everyone else in my unit is a high-ranking adventurer with a solid reputation, so I’m sure you’ll find them trustworthy. Since it’s almost time for the roll-call anyway, it works out perfectly, doesn't it?”
I stated the facts and made the suggestion to both sides, but the men’s attitude shifted immediately.
“Th-that would just be a bother to your teammates...”
“This is our business.”
“You're just trying to buy time so they can hide the evidence!”
“You're probably planning to cry to some big shots and hush the whole thing up! We can't trust you!”
“We just want to settle this quietly, you know?”
“If we make a scene, it’ll just make it harder for these kids to find work in the future, don't you think?”
Their words sounded reasonable enough on paper, but their shifty behavior reminded me of juniors at work trying to cover up a blunder. They clearly didn't want any witnesses.
As the men began to push back against involving the Guild, the scales in my mind tipped in favor of the kids. Finally, the one man who had been staying quiet spoke up.
“I agree that standing around here talking isn't getting us anywhere.”
“Satch?!”
The man called Satch addressed me. As I thought, he was the leader; the other men fell silent immediately. He did look the strongest, after all.
“You've got guts, kid. Tell me, how’d you sneak up on us like that? I thought I was keeping an eye out for monsters.”
“I used to hunt for a living. I’m good at staying out of sight.”
“I see. ...Alright, you lot. This is a waste of time. Like the kid said, it’s almost time for assembly. Wrap this up.”
Satch’s words mirrored mine, but his tone was surprisingly firm for a leader of such a rowdy bunch. The men who had been shouting didn't dare argue.
Then, the men who had been blocking the children’s path let out a derisive snort and drew their weapons.