I woke up feeling completely refreshed and headed to the shop before it opened for the day.
"Good morning, everyone," I called out as I entered.
"Good morning, Boss," the staff replied in unison.
"Thank you for yesterday. Thanks to your help, I was able to get some proper rest."
"Is that so? I’m glad to hear it," one of them said.
"Working too hard is bad for your health. Please, take better care of yourself."
"You work too much," Li Ling added. "We were shocked when we heard about your daily workload."
Fei nodded in agreement. "Building this shop in ten days is just reckless. Neither Li Ling nor I could pull that off. If you keep pushing yourself like that at your age, you’ll end up with a short life."
"I’ll be careful," I promised.
"Please do."
"You might act like an adult, Boss, but you’re still just a child, aren't you?"
"You shouldn't be doing work that even an adult would struggle to finish without overextending themselves."
It seemed I had caused the staff a fair amount of worry. I hadn't felt like I was pushing myself all that hard since I had them to rely on, but their concern was genuine. I thanked them, feeling a warmth in my chest, and made my way toward the kitchen.
"Shelma-san, are you here?"
"Yes, yes. Is something the matter, Boss?"
Shelma-san, whom I’d put in charge of the staff cafeteria, was alone in the kitchen. She stepped away from a large pot she had been stirring—likely some kind of soup—and walked over to me.
"I went out of the city during my day off yesterday and brought back some game as a gift. I thought everyone could eat it. I bled and froze the meat immediately after the hunt, so the quality should be excellent."
I reached into my Item Box and pulled out the meat.
"My, my, thank you very much! These are Horn Rabbits, aren't they? Please, put them in the refrigerator. I’ll prepare them for everyone's lunch."
"I’ll leave that to you, then."
I transferred the rest of the meat into the refrigerator as she watched.
"Oh dear, there’s quite a lot of it..."
"I happened across a pack and took them all out at once."
"I really am grateful for this refrigerator," Shelma-san said with a smile. "It’s so incredibly convenient."
"Is it? I suppose it is handy, in its own way."
Personally, I found it a bit of a chore since I had to recast the Cold-Preservation Barrier once a day. If my skill with barrier magic improved, the effect would last longer. Still, it was a massive improvement over when I first started using it in the forest, where I’d had to refresh it every hour.
"It’s beyond convenient! Normally, ingredients you can’t use up go bad almost immediately. Vegetables might last a bit, but meat spoils so fast! During the summer or on hot days, it’s gone in a single day. Some things are even more delicate. But with this, we can save leftovers—even meat—and use them the next day. It reduces waste and saves us so much money. I’ve heard magic tools for cooling exist, but they’re so expensive I could never dream of touching one."
"Ah, put that way, I see your point. Until now, I usually just hunted what I needed for the day in the forest. If I had extra, I’d feed it to the slimes before it spoiled, or process it into preserved food."
"The slimes are quite handy too. They eat up the animal bones and kitchen scraps when I’m done cooking. It’s been a real help."
I chatted with her for a few more minutes while I refreshed the refrigerator's barrier, then headed out of the kitchen. As I did, Caulm-san called out to me, looking like he had something on his mind.
"An increase in staff, you say?"
"The number of regular clerks we have is sufficient for now," Caulm explained. "However, if we plan to open branch stores in the future, waiting until then to begin training people will cost us precious time. Shouldn't we at least start grooming the key personnel, like prospective branch managers?"
"I suppose you're right. If we find good candidates, I don't mind expanding the staff. I understand that education takes time. I’ll likely end up leaving the specifics to you and the others, but wouldn't we need more tamers as well?"
"Indeed. Cleaner Slimes and tamers are the lifeblood of this shop. We must consider how to hire trustworthy tamers—people who won't steal the slimes or sell them behind our backs."
"I’ve heard that slime specialists are rare even at the Tamer Guild. Apparently, because slimes are monsters that anyone can use, most tamers don't bother specializing in them. In that case..."
"The issue will be finding people with reliable characters whom we can trust."
"By the way," I asked, changing the subject slightly, "the business interference hasn't been a problem lately, has it?"
"No. We haven't seen any more thugs since that first incident."
"Well, let’s remain cautious regardless. I’ll think about the tamer situation on my end, maybe look into things at the Tamer Guild."
"I look forward to hearing your thoughts."
With that, I stepped out of the shop.
"Whoa! Gulp... If it isn't Ryoma."
I was on my way to the abandoned mine when I bumped into Jeff. He was unusually casual today—no armor, no spear. He was walking toward me, mid-bite, while holding a bag of meat skewers.
"Good morning, Jeff-san. Are you off today?"
"If I fight every single day, I’ll burn out. Are you working today too?"
"I'm going to patrol the abandoned mine."
"The abandoned mine? The one we went hunting in?"
"Yes. I’ve officially become the manager of the site. I have to patrol it periodically to make sure monsters don't settle in."
"You're doing that on top of everything else? Adventurer, laundry shop owner, manager... aren't you busy?"
"The laundry shop is handled by the staff now, so I don't have much to do there. I can take time off from adventuring whenever I like, and being a manager isn't a daily commitment. It’ll get hectic once I start opening more stores, but for now, I’m actually quite free."
"Well, if you say so... Oh, right, want one? My treat." Jeff held out the bag of skewers.
"Thank you, I’ll take one. ...Oh!"
I took a bite and was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't just salt or herbs; the meat had a sharp, spicy kick to it. Since sugar and spices were expensive, street food usually relied on the basic flavor of the meat and a lot of salt. This, however, was delicious.
"This is great!"
"Right? The stand back there uses a bit of spice in their seasoning. They're pricier, but they’re worth it. There’s a small square just up ahead; let's sit for a bit and enjoy these."
I followed Jeff to a square tucked away on a side street. It was a pleasant spot, like a small park, with benches arranged around a central well.
"So, you just opened your shop and you're already thinking about the next one? You mentioned 'until you increase the number of stores' just now."
"The Commerce Guild Master and my managers told me to start planning for it, but it's not like I'm opening one tomorrow. Besides, there are plenty of hurdles."
"What kind of hurdles? You in some kind of bind?"
"The future branches will be in other cities, which means I’ll either have to hire tamers to manage the slimes or I’ll have to constantly travel between cities myself. For our business model, someone to look after the slimes is essential."
"That shouldn't be a problem. Just hire someone through the Tamer Guild."
"That's one option. But from what I've heard, there aren't really any 'slime specialists.' Since they're for beginners, most people ignore them and move on to more powerful monsters as soon as they can. Plus, we had some hired thugs show up recently... My bodyguards handled them, but it’s made me very picky about the character of the people I hire."
I took another bite of the skewer. The spicy heat really brought out the flavor of the meat.
Jeff grabbed a second skewer for himself and spoke up. "In that case, I might have a solution for you."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I can't help you much with the business side of things, but if you're looking for people, I can help. If you can't find who you need at the Tamer Guild, why not look in the slums?"
"The slums?"
"That's right. People in the slums are poor, sure, but that doesn't mean they're useless. I’m originally from the slums myself, and look at me—I’m doing just fine as an adventurer. I know a few guys back there who can use Taming Magic just as well as anyone else. Besides, maybe because there's more work in this city than elsewhere, there aren't many people there who turn to crime out of desperation. There are plenty of good people with solid characters. More importantly, they’re loyal to their own. If you don't act like the Town Office and try to cheat them out of their wages or betray them, they won't dream of betraying you. They want a stable income and a better life just like anyone else. If you're offering that, you could hire them in a heartbeat. Whether you can build a relationship of trust from there... well, that’s up to you."
It felt as though the scales had fallen from my eyes. When he put it that way, the guilds were just intermediaries. As long as I had a reliable lead, there was no issue. I could find the people first and then process the hire through the Tamer or Commerce Guilds.
It was a solid idea. Lord Reinbach had employed people from the slums to clean the cesspools, after all. It wasn't impossible to find trustworthy people there.
"It’s an option worth considering," Jeff said, standing up. "Think it over. If you’re serious about it, I’ll act as the middleman for you. I still have a lot of pull in the slums."
"Thank you very much. I’ll definitely give it some thought."
I thanked him again for the skewer, and we parted ways. I resumed my trek to the abandoned mine. Utilizing Space Magic, which I was becoming quite proficient with, I arrived in no time at all.
The fifty segments of waterproof cloth I’d produced last time had turned out well, so today I set my sights on making seventy. Once that was underway, it was time for training.
The Sticky, Poison, Acid, and Scavenger Slimes were progressing well, but it had become clear that the Bloody Slimes weren't suited for combat. Because their bodies were more liquid than the others, they lacked any real striking force. They didn't have any means of attack, either. Their only real strength was their fluidity, which made them the fastest of all my slimes when it came to movement. At the very least, they were good at escaping. I’d just have to keep observing them.
The Metal and Iron Slimes were incredibly durable, but since I’d only recently contracted them, they were still clumsy. I couldn't get them to shape their bodies into tentacles yet. If they could manage that, I could combine it with their Hardening ability for all sorts of applications. This was going to be a long-term project.
The Earth and Dark Slimes, on the other hand, had proven they could use magic quite effectively. The Earth Slimes could use Rock and Break Rock, along with a low-output version of Earth Needle. The Dark Slimes used Darkness to obscure their surroundings and Dark Ball to fire spheres of black energy.
I rarely used Dark Ball myself, but I recalled it was an attack spell designed to drain vitality. While the slimes moved at a standard pace, if I trained their magic, I could potentially use them as mobile artillery. Of course, using attack magic in a real fight would require a great deal of experience, so I needed to be patient.
For now, since two of the Earth Slimes were comfortable with Rock and Break Rock, I decided to teach them Create Block. To my surprise, they picked it up after only a few attempts. Their learning speed was impressive. I set them to work creating stone blocks as part of their training; I figured I could move the finished blocks into one of the tunnels for future construction use.
As for the Dark Slimes, I let them practice their magic freely. They seemed focused on Dark Ball. I realized I hadn't spent much time on the Dark Attribute myself, so I decided to spend some time training alongside them.
Working out while keeping an eye on the slimes was actually quite enjoyable. Perhaps because of the productive atmosphere, I was in better form than usual, and my practice lasted long after the cloth had dried.
When night fell, I returned to the inn and visited the Jamil family in their suite.
"Welcome, Ryoma-san," Elise greeted me.
"You've come at a good time," Reinbach said warmly.
"Did something happen?" Reinhart asked.
"I have something I’d like to consult with you about."
"Oh? And what might that be?"
I recounted my conversation with Jeff. Their reaction was generally positive.
"I have no objections to you hiring from the slums," Reinbach said. "Provided the individuals are trustworthy, of course. If you have a reliable connection to vouch for them, there should be no problem."
"Any increase in employment opportunities is a good thing for the territory," Reinhart added. "However, I suggest you process everything through the guilds. It’s best to leave as few loopholes as possible for others to exploit later."
"That makes sense. I’ll have them register with either the Tamer Guild or the Commerce Guild, depending on their preference. Would that be acceptable?"
"Perfectly," Elise said. "Just as you are a tamer who is also registered with the Commerce Guild, people are free to choose their own career paths. No one can fault you for that."
"I would suggest speaking to both Guild Masters beforehand," Reinhart noted. "It will make things go much smoother."
He was right.
"Then I’ll make the rounds to the guilds tomorrow."
With the decision made, we spent the rest of the evening chatting over tea before I finally retired to my own room.