Rumors

It was morning. The time I usually set off for the shop had already arrived.

However, since I had decided to start arriving later to work from today onward, I spent the time beginning construction on my new house.

"A basic design should be fine for now..."

I envisioned a wide house with walls, windows, and doors. I refined the mental image while adjusting the diagrams I had sketched into the dirt.

Since renovating the abandoned mine would provide more than enough space for my daily needs, the house itself only needed to serve as sleeping quarters. On second thought, thugs had started targeting the shop again recently. If anyone were to track me here and launch an attack, a flimsy shack would hardly be reassuring.

But building something truly reinforced would take a significant amount of effort.

"Maybe I should just treat the house as a decoy."

I would continue using the mine as my actual base, and the new house would serve as a camouflage or bait in the event of an attack.

"If I build the house over the mine entrance so you have to pass through it to get inside... it will look like I actually live there."

That would buy me time to either escape or prepare a counterattack. I could even set some traps while I was at it...

"But if I get too elaborate, I'll never get to work..."

If I wanted something simple, I could just station some slimes to blast intruders with acid, poison, or adhesive fluid. Acid and adhesive were easy enough, but poison only really worked if it entered the bloodstream. Toxic gas would be more efficient, but I didn't have any slimes capable of poison-attribute magic yet. If I could use fire, I could brew some medicine that produced toxic smoke...

My train of thought was drifting toward the overly complicated again. I decided to stick with acid and adhesive for the traps. Regardless, I wouldn't get anywhere if I didn't actually build the thing.

"In that case, I should prioritize ease of repair."

There was always a chance it would be destroyed during an attack. As a decoy, the bare minimum requirement was that it looked like a house and could be rebuilt quickly. That suggested a prefab design.

Prefabricated construction involves manufacturing parts in a factory beforehand and then assembling them on-site. Because the actual on-site labor is minimized, the building can be finished rapidly. It also ensures consistent quality when building multiple structures.

Since I didn't have a factory to order from, I would have to make the parts myself, but once I established the standard components, the rest would be a breeze. I had already proven that I could use Create Block to produce stone material of a fixed size; I just needed to tweak the process.

"Create Block."

I started with an experiment, manipulating the shape of the stone. I took a basic brick shape, scaled it up, and hollowed out the center to turn it into a concrete block. This much was easy.

Normally, you would need cement or adhesive to stack these into a wall. Instead, I tried adding interlocking tabs and slots to the top and bottom of the blocks. By making the hollows on the bottom match the protrusions on the top, I could lock them in place temporarily.

Using a square block as the base... I worried a single protrusion might snap off. I divided the top into four quadrants with four bumps, and did the same with the hollows on the bottom. Sharp corners were a safety hazard, so I rounded them off...

"...It's a Lego block."

Before I knew it, the stone material had become a perfect replica of a world-famous toy.

Well, it wasn't exactly wrong for my purposes. If anything, it made the visualization much easier.

I named the magic to create these architectural stones Building Block.

"Building Block: Cube."

"Building Block: Rectangle."

By specifying the shape, I could now freely create square and rectangular construction blocks.

I tried building a wall as a test. The weight of the stone itself meant it wouldn't budge under normal pressure. When I used magic to turn some soil into clay, smeared it over the surface, and let it harden, the resulting wall was perfectly sound in both strength and appearance.

Technically, this was more like precast concrete construction, but if I kept making parts like this, I could certainly pull off a prefab building.

It was probably about time I headed to work.

"Good morning. How are things? Any issues with the shop?"

I had arrived fashionably late as suggested yesterday, but I couldn't help but worry.

"Good morning, Boss. I have several things to report... First, Master Taylor visited the shop this morning."

"The Branch Master? Was he here as a customer?"

"No. It turns out the man who caused the scene the other day was a tamer belonging to the Tamer Guild. Master Taylor came to apologize personally for the scandal caused by one of his members."

"The Branch Master himself? Talk about bad timing..."

To think an important guest would visit on the very first day I chose to arrive late. That particular brand of bad luck felt almost nostalgic. What should I do? I could go to the Tamer Guild to pay my respects, but they likely had their own business to attend to.

"...And the culprit? They came two days in a row, right?"

"Both acted alone. Their motivation was essentially jealousy. They had been tamers for years and were barely scraping by, yet you—a newcomer who only uses slimes—were making a fortune. They simply couldn't stomach it. They assumed that causing a minor disturbance wouldn't lead to serious charges and acted on a whim. For the sake of venting a moment's frustration, they will now face heavy fines or mandatory community service. Master Taylor mentioned that if we wish to claim damages, he will arrange a meeting for negotiations."

There hadn't been enough actual damage to justify a claim. And since the Branch Master had come in person, I was sure he would take steps to prevent it from happening again without me asking.

"I don't need money. I'm sure the guild has its own disciplinary protocols, so as long as they follow those, I'm satisfied."

"I expected as much. The Tamer Guild will penalize them according to the rules and notify all members of the incident and the severity of the punishment. However..."

"Is there a problem?"

"The handling of the criminals isn't the issue. There is one other thing I should mention. Apparently, voices have emerged defending the culprits and criticizing Master Taylor instead."

"Not the criminals? Why the Branch Master?"

"The narrative being spread is that the men who obstructed our business had worked for many years with respectable monsters and should have held higher positions. The claim is that they were driven to this because they were relegated to low status through unfair evaluations. It seems we are being framed as the beneficiaries of an unfair system while they were the victims... Since this morning, several concerned customers who heard the rumors have stopped by. We have been reassuring them that everything is fine and expressing our gratitude to Master Taylor."

While it was true we were the ones who had been harassed...

"Is it just me, or does that seem incredibly sudden?"

"He is the head of the guild, but yes, the logic feels quite leap-frogged."

"I'd like to know more about the details behind this."

"Understood. I'll have Caulm look into it."

"Please do."

There were no other urgent reports, so I finished my routine checks and set out for my first task of the day.

"Five helpings of horn rabbit meat, please."

"Coming right up! You're a hard worker, aren't you? Helping out with the shopping?"

"Haha... something like that."

It was a bit frustrating being treated like a child doing chores, even if it was unavoidable given my appearance.

"Ah, Ryoma-kun. I've got the slime feed ready for you."

"Thank you, Sieg-san. I'll be right back as soon as I drop these off."

I thanked him as he poked his head out from the back of the butcher shop. Just as I was about to head back to the shop...

"Wait, would you mind doing me a favor?"

"Of course. What is it?"

"Could I hire your slimes to clean the shop? Since our clothes have started coming back so clean, the smell of the workshop has really started to bother me... We clean every day, of course, but the lingering scents are hard to get rid of."

"If it's just a matter of odor, I can bring some deodorizing fluid later. That should solve it."

I returned to the shop and began preparing the deodorizing fluid.

That evening.

After the shop had closed and I was checking the paperwork, Caulm returned.

"Good work today. Did you find anything?"

"Please, have a look at this."

He had summarized everything in a tidy report. He really was efficient.

"These rumors criticizing the Branch Master... they've spread quite far, haven't they?"

"Yes. While the details vary slightly, there isn't a single positive rumor regarding Master Taylor. Furthermore, Lady Grisiela of the Commerce Guild is also concerned; she suspects someone may be intentionally spreading these rumors to ruin his reputation. It seems Master Taylor's position within the guild is quite precarious."

"I see..."

As I read through the documents, I found a diagram of the Tamer Guild's hierarchy and a brief history.

I knew there were two schools of thought within the guild, but it seemed they had devolved into full-blown factions.

One faction prioritized powerful monsters and raw strength; they were the current mainstream.

The other faction prioritized the bond and how monsters were handled, seeking coexistence.

The Tamer Guild had originally been founded by Shiho Jamil, an otherworlder who had popularized taming magic to offer a path of mutual prosperity between humans and monsters.

It couldn't have been an easy path. While the details weren't listed, the ideology was slowly accepted by demonstrating the practical benefits of using monsters. That was why the guild still existed today.

Unfortunately, as the centuries passed, the number of people who truly held to her ideals had dwindled.

The Tamer Guild's work essentially involves using monsters to do what humans or animals used to do. For monster subjugation, there are adventurers. For small tasks like mail delivery, there are post horses or human messengers. There are very few jobs that only a monster can do. In other words, there is always competition.

Members who tamed monsters for a living naturally began to seek stronger creatures that could work more efficiently. This was especially true for humans and beast-kin, whose shorter lifespans meant the original philosophy was often forgotten as the guild passed from master to disciple.

"Currently, it is mostly long-lived races like elves, who can afford to spend years teaching and learning, who carry on the legacy. Master Taylor is one such person, and there are those who resent him for holding such a high position despite his 'antiquated' views."

"I see. But what does that have to do with the harassment at our shop?"

"It is unlikely to be a coincidence."

"I thought so..."

Was it possible that I wasn't the target at all? Was the shop just a convenient tool to use against Taylor?

Hmm...

"Is it possible for us to leak some new rumors? Not lies, just spreading the truth."

"The Commerce Guild is a fountain of information, and merchants are always hungry for fresh news. It would be simple enough. What do you have in mind?"

"The truth is, I recently succeeded in contracting with six rimul birds. That means I'm no longer just a 'tamer who can only use slimes.' Looking at these reports, people are mocking the Branch Master for showing favoritism toward someone 'incompetent.' If we spread the word that I've tamed rimul birds, it would prove he has an eye for talent. Could we use that to flip the script?"

Rimul birds were widely considered to be extremely difficult to contract with.

A wide smile spread across Caulm's face.

"That will do perfectly. We can make it a laughingstock—who was the one who lacked an eye for talent now?"

"In that case... please keep it within reason. I'd rather not make more enemies than necessary."

"Understood. I'll get on it immediately."

"Wait, one more thing. Since it's late and we don't know who our opposition is, please ask Fei-san or Li Ling-san to accompany you. This is outside their usual contract, so I'll provide extra compensation. Also..."

I informed him of my plan to reinforce the abandoned mine.

"So don't worry about me."

"Understood. But please, don't do anything reckless."

Caulm left the room.

After waiting for him and Fei to return safely, I finally headed back to the mountain for the night.