It had been quite a while since my last visit—not since before I had hired Koken-san and his colleagues.
I knocked on the door of a relatively large house in the slums. Just as I sensed a surge of mana from within, the door swung open.
"Come in!"
"Excuse me."
I followed the voice inside. There, I found the same man I had met before.
"It has been a long time, Ribru-san."
Concerned about the rumors I’d heard the previous day, I had asked Dolce-san to set up an appointment with someone well-versed in the situation. He had introduced me to this man. According to Dolce-san, since Ribru acted as an advisor for the slums and served as the representative for group negotiations with the Town Office, there was no one better suited for the task.
"Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to meet with me."
"I don't mind a little chat. Have a seat."
I took a chair from the corner of the room and sat across from him.
"I heard a bit from Dolce. Sounds like you’re looking to hire more people."
"Only for a limited time, but we are currently making preparations to take them on."
"That’s more than enough. As you know, the number of people around here feeling anxious has been on the rise lately… and that’s what you’re here to talk about, isn't it? What specifically did you want to know?"
"If it isn't too much trouble, I’d like to hear the whole story from the beginning."
"I heard you were looking into the rumors. You probably know a fair bit already."
I had heard the results of Calme-san’s investigation. And yesterday, I happened to speak with the head of the Town Office himself. However, I knew next to nothing about the actual reality of life in the slums. At best, I had just made inferences based on what those two had told me, and I couldn't even be sure if my guesses were correct.
There might be false rumors circulating, or perhaps a massive gap in perception between the Town Office and the residents.
Furthermore, I wanted to hear the residents' side of the story. If there was anything I could do to help, I wanted to do it—but I didn't want to become a nuisance with unwanted meddling.
"Well, if that's how it is… First off, the rumors started because we simply can't bring ourselves to trust the Town Office. That much is true. We’ve been accepting their inspections for a while now, but ever since they started telling people to vacate their homes, the anxiety has just been building up."
"Is the reason for that lack of trust exactly what I suspect?"
"Everyone knows the leadership changed. But that doesn't mean the way we were treated before just disappears into thin air. It’s still too soon for the people here to forget what the previous lot did to them."
"It hasn't even been a year yet, after all…"
"Yeah. Though, personally, I think the current head of the Town Office might actually be worth trusting."
Oh? It might have been rude to think so, but that was a bit unexpected.
"Why do you feel Bernheid-san is trustworthy?"
"He came here, just like you did. He sat down and talked thoroughly about their situation, the environment here, and the exact reasons behind their demands. Occupying the roads, obstructing traffic, the danger of collapsing buildings… I think his arguments on those points are perfectly valid. Before he showed up, they hardly ever bothered with inspections or guidance. In a way, we were taking advantage of their negligence. I can't fault him for calling us out on it."
"But…" he continued, his tone turning somber after that blunt admission. "There are a fair number of people who lost their homes because the previous administration was stingy with the wages for cleaning the cesspools."
"…"
I was at a loss for words.
As I remained quiet and listened, he explained that many people who made a living cleaning cesspools had been unable to pay their rent due to the wage cuts and were subsequently evicted. As a result, a significant number of people were forced to live on the streets or take shelter in ruins.
In other words, the previous administration's corruption had directly increased the number of homeless residents.
To the victims, it must feel like the very organization that stole their homes is now hypocritically telling them they aren't allowed to live on the streets and must move into "proper" housing.
"That’s essentially the gist of it. That’s why the resentment is so strong. Those without homes are boarding with acquaintances as best they can, but everyone’s been doing that since the moment they lost their houses. Just because the Town Office demands it now doesn't mean those numbers will go down easily. We’ve gathered volunteers, focusing on those with construction skills, to handle repairs, but it only goes so far."
"I see…"
It seemed the residents were already doing everything within their power.
"We’re looking for a new path forward. That young guy, Arnold, seems to be trying to arrange jobs for us, but a lot of people are wary of that, too. They think that even if the person at the top changes, the way they operate will eventually be the same."
Considering the circumstances I’d just heard, I felt the victims' skepticism was perhaps unavoidable. Unless trust was truly restored… wait.
"Excuse me. I have one question."
"What is it?"
"Are they actually able to make a living?"
I tried to recall the day after I had cleaned the cesspools, when I received my reward for the job. Wogan-san had told me that because the city was close to the mines, there was plenty of manual labor or "dirty work" available for those who didn't mind it. He’d said that if they could earn money elsewhere, they didn't need to stick to the cesspool cleaning job.
"Yeah. We were a bit stubborn right after the incident, but we can manage to scrape by on food if we help each other out. If the Town Office hadn't started making noise, this probably wouldn't have turned into such a fuss."
"Setting aside the Town Office's credibility for a moment, what would happen if the housing problem itself could be solved?"
"Well, the Town Office wouldn't have any grounds to complain anymore, and the rumors would probably settle down. But why do you ask?"
"…I might have been focusing on the wrong thing."
Because I had initially heard that the people in the slums were looking for work, I might have been too preoccupied with their income and the economic side of things. Was their pursuit of money primarily a means to secure housing and make their lives sustainable?
"That’s right. If you rent a house, the rent is a much bigger burden than what they're dealing with now. And once you’ve been evicted for falling behind on payments, it’s incredibly difficult to find another landlord willing to take you in. Within the same city, word travels fast among property owners, so everyone stays on guard. Even if you manage to find a place, if you can't keep up with the rent, you’ll just end up back on the streets anyway."
While many factors were intertwined—including the Town Office's reputation—it seemed that the situation might temporarily stabilize if the housing problem alone was resolved. However, even focusing solely on that, there was a lot to consider.
"The ones actively looking for work are still the better off. They still have the drive to get themselves off the streets. But for those who have lost that spark… even if you hand them a job, money, and a house, it won't necessarily end well. They might be fine at first, but before you know it, they’ve drifted back to the streets. Everyone has their own circumstances."
"It really is a difficult issue…"
If I were in their position, what would I do?
If I had land, I would build or fix a house myself. If I didn't, I would leave the city.
Basing my thoughts on my own capabilities was no help at all.
I continued to listen to him for a while longer, but eventually, I reached the conclusion that there was nothing to do but watch the situation patiently while continuing to do what I could.
"I’m glad you’re thinking about us, but don't worry yourself too much. This is a problem between us and the Town Office. Just by providing safe work, you're already doing more than enough for us."
He gave me those parting words, and I bowed before leaving Ribru-san’s house.
Continuing to feud with the Town Office wouldn't benefit anyone. It seemed most people understood that, at least. Lost in thought, I soon arrived back at my home.
"Dimension Home."
I released my tamed monsters.
"Pirorororo!"
The first to emerge were the Rimul Birds. All six of them soared high into the sky together, circling and appraising the entrances of the countless abandoned mine shafts, dipping close before pulling away. I wondered if something had settled in them again. Perhaps I should start filling in the entrances… then again, any creatures that wandered in served as food for the Rimul Birds, and the slimes took care of the leftovers, so it was a bit of a dilemma.
As I was pondering this, I heard a light popping sound.
The Rimul Birds must have found some prey. I should go check on them later.
"…Did something just move?"
Next to the house I’d built as a camouflage, I noticed something odd at the entrance of my charcoal kiln.
As I approached, I saw tracks where something had crawled through the ash.
"…Ah!"
When I peeked carefully into the kiln, I saw a single slime desperately trying to burrow into the gray powder. I immediately formed a contract and secured it.
"Did it just wander in by mistake?"
I didn't know. I wasn't even sure how long it had been there. However, this slime had apparently been eating the ash. The amount left in the kiln was significantly less than I remembered. When I tried offering it some more ash, it ate it happily.
Is there a possibility that this will evolve into a new species?
"Since the Fluff Slime joined us the other day too, I should probably organize my list."
I moved to a room inside the mine and began writing down the types of slimes I currently kept.
- Poison Slime
- Acid Slime
- Sticky Slime
- Cleaner Slime
- Deodorant Slime
- Scavenger Slime
- Metal Slime
- Iron Slime
- Bloody Slime
- Medicine Slime
- Heal Slime
- Earth Slime
- Wind Slime
- Dark Slime
- Light Slime
And with the additions from my recent journey, the Fluff Slime and the Drunk Slime.
That made seventeen species in total.
While I would wait to see what the ash-eating slime became, it wasn't the only one with the potential to evolve into an unknown species. Among my Acid, Cleaner, and Sticky slimes, I had found specific individuals that had developed very clear preferences.
I decided to take this opportunity to summarize them as well.
First, there was the Acid Slime that had taken a liking to the caustic soda I used for soap making and the alkaline solution left over afterward. Since these substances are dangerous to discard, I had used the Acid Slime to neutralize them. During that process, I’d discovered one individual that started drinking the neutralized liquid.
Since then, I’d continued to feed it the leftover liquid whenever I made soap, and recently, it had started taking caustic soda directly into its body and absorbing it. It was currently waiting to evolve.
The Cleaner Slime's discovery was also linked to soap making. This particular one showed no interest in the caustic soda but insisted on eating only the finished bars of soap. It, too, was on the verge of evolution.
Lastly, there was a Sticky Slime that loved eating the Dante stems I grew for my Dante coffee and seeds. I’d discovered it during the preparations for the Founding Festival. It could have eaten the seeds or the roots, but for some reason, it preferred the stems. While I could guess what the first two might become, I had absolutely no idea what this one would evolve into. It required close observation.
Including the ash-eating slime, I was truly looking forward to the day they all evolved.