The following day began with leaden skies and a biting, relentless wind. I headed to the security company to confirm the day's tasks and administrative duties. Upon my arrival, the first thing I was told was that a delivery had been left for me by Serge-san.
"Here is the package. I was told these are the magic tools you ordered previously, Ryoma-sama," said Lilian, one of the maids, as she brought it over. I had commissioned so many different things lately that I honestly wasn't sure which one this was until I opened the box.
Inside was a pressure cooker—a sight common back in Japan.
"Oh, he finally finished it," I murmured.
I had commissioned this from the magic tool artisan Dinome quite some time ago. He had warned me that because it involved many components he was unfamiliar with—such as airtight seals, high-pressure vessels, and safety valves—it would take a significant amount of time to complete. Now, it was finally in my hands.
"And it couldn't have arrived at a better time."
It had been getting seriously cold lately, and I’d found myself wishing for a pressure cooker more and more while preparing various meals. I felt a surge of gratitude toward Dinome for finishing it right when I needed it most.
"Oh? Ryoma-sama, there was a letter at the bottom of the box," Lilian noted.
"Thank you. Let's see...?"
"Is something the matter?"
"He says that since it’s the first one he’s ever made, he wants me to give him feedback on its performance and any potential improvements once I’ve used it. He also mentioned he wants more of the rubber I provided as a material. He has several things he wants to discuss regarding those points, so he’s asked me to drop by whenever I have a spare moment. The content itself is normal enough, but his writing style is unusually polite..."
I frequently exchanged letters with Dinome regarding cooking utensils and magic tools. He was surprisingly diligent about his correspondence and was never usually careless, but the level of formality here was striking. Perhaps he was being cautious because he couldn't write specific technical secrets in a letter.
"It doesn't seem like there's an immediate rush, so I'll check my schedule. I'll try to drop by as soon as possible, though."
"Understood. I will adjust your schedule to ensure we can make the time," Lilian replied.
"Thank you."
Next, I was handed two thick stacks of documents.
"These are reports from the construction department and the town office."
"I see..."
The construction department consisted of the people I had placed in charge of the slum redevelopment project, which we were currently handling through a specialized division of labor. At the core of this group were the thirty experienced individuals Zeff had gathered on the day I first demolished the children's home.
While they assisted in rebuilding that initial home, I had directly instructed them in my magic-based construction method similar to the PC method used back on Earth. I had focused their training on assembly tasks so they could get used to the workflow. Now, they were divided into five-man teams, acting as site supervisors and foremen. They led a pool of newly hired laborers to carry out the land readjustment of the slums.
For the new hires, it was likely much easier to take orders from someone of a more appropriate age rather than having a child like me bark instructions at them; it saved everyone from unnecessary awkwardness.
"The construction work is proceeding smoothly. The current phase is expected to finish on schedule... In that case, I'll prepare the next work site this afternoon. It looks like the town office is making progress with relocating the street dwellers and allocating housing. Since requests are already coming in, I should probably prioritize those units. We have the space for it."
I summarized the proposed schedule on a separate sheet and asked the representatives from the construction department and the town office to confirm it. Once I had their approval, I planned to handle the demolition of old buildings, the foundation work, and the preparation of new building materials all at once using magic.
Thanks to this divided workflow, the redevelopment and reconstruction of the slums were moving at a remarkably high pace. Given the local climate, the weather would only get colder from here, with heavy rain and snow on the horizon. Sleeping outside would soon become a death sentence, so I wanted the workers to push forward as much as possible while the weather held.
"That should do it. Please see that this letter is delivered. It doesn't look like there's anything else urgent, so I'll head to the adventurer guild for my meeting as planned."
"Safe travels, Ryoma-sama."
With that, I hurried through the cold streets toward the adventurer guild. Lately, the number of errands requiring me to run all over the place had actually decreased. Even today, once this meeting was over, I would be free. Even if I handled the construction prep work I’d just planned for the afternoon, my lunch hour was wide open.
Before long, my mandatory work would likely drop to a minimum, allowing me to spend the majority of my days on self-improvement, such as studying and training. While that was a happy thought, I also felt a slight touch of loneliness—the sort of feeling you get when a busy, exciting festival is drawing to a close.
I was wondering if I had become some sort of workaholic when I finally arrived at the adventurer guild. The moment I pushed the doors open, I was greeted by a cacophony of shouting.
"The hell did you say, you bastard!"
"Hah?! You got a problem with that!?"
"Shut your damn mouth!"
"You looking for a fight!?"
"Bring it on!"
It seemed a group of thugs had started a brawl. Several receptionists and a male guild employee had hurriedly rushed in to intervene, but they were facing two groups of rowdy youths—one human, one beast-kin—with six people on each side. Twelve hot-headed men in total. The staff was struggling to keep them apart, and it looked like a full-scale melee was seconds away from erupting.
"Are these the morons making a scene in my guild!?"
A low voice, thick with fury, thundered from the back of the room. The brawlers were bunched together in a way that blocked my view, but there was no mistaking that voice. Wogan, the guild master, had arrived.
"Ugh."
"Tch, it's the former S-ranker..."
"Hmph..."
The groups, who had been ignoring the staff's pleas just a second ago, fell silent instantly.
"Well? Where’s all that energy from a moment ago? If you’ve got something to say, say it to my face."
"Nothing, it's nothing."
"Just a bit of small talk, is all."
The guild master’s glare worked wonders, and both sides immediately began stammering out excuses. Apparently, they weren't quite reckless or brave enough to defy the guild master directly. However, the young men’s faces were still twisted with obvious dissatisfaction. Based on their looks, they were likely around twenty years old—college-age, roughly.
Wogan looked them over and let out a heavy sigh.
"Starting tomorrow, you lot are to report to the guild at this exact time. As punishment, you'll be performing miscellaneous task requests under supervision for the time being. Until those are finished, you're forbidden from accepting any other work."
"Wait, we haven't even done anything yet!"
"That's right! You can't just decide that!"
Naturally, the young men voiced their outrage, but Wogan didn't budge.
"Is that so? If you're unhappy with it, you don't have to come tomorrow. In fact, you don't ever have to come back again! By my authority as guild master, I'll strip you of your adventurer qualifications and expel you from the guild!"
Wogan didn't flinch as he delivered the ultimate threat.
"T-That's tyrannical!"
"Yeah, what he said!"
"Quiet! This is final. Spend tonight thinking about everything you've done leading up to this. If you still want to complain, then like I said, don't bother coming back. For today, get out of here and stay out of trouble."
His terrifying intensity pinned them down, effectively ending the argument. As the men, who had completely lost their nerve, began to back away, the path between Wogan and me cleared. He caught my eye and called out with a smile as if he had only just noticed me.
"Hm? Ah! Ryoma, you're here!"
Because the commotion had just settled, every gaze in the room naturally fixed on me.
"Good morning. I only just arrived," I replied.
"I see. Sorry for calling you out here only to make you wait, but give me a few more minutes. I need to tidy up some documents in my room."
As guild master, he likely handled materials that shouldn't be seen by outsiders. I told him it was no problem and that I would wait until he was ready, so he headed back inside. The receptionists and other staff members likewise returned to their posts.
I decided to kill time by watching the guild return to its normal routine when I overheard some whispers.
"What's with that brat?"
"No idea."
"Since when did the adventurer guild become a playground for kids?"
"The guild master said he called for him, so he’s probably an adventurer. Though he’s unarmed."
"He probably screwed up a job. That's why he doesn't have any gear—his license is probably suspended."
"He looked pretty friendly with the old man, though."
The human delinquents from the earlier shouting match were shooting me insolent stares and whispering ominously. Uh-oh.
"Those two seemed pretty close," whispered one of the beast-kin.
"Look at his clothes. Those are expensive."
"Maybe he’s getting specially easy, high-paying jobs?"
"Favoritism, huh? I don't like it..."
"They take away our work for any little reason, but they treat him like that."
"No wonder our rank never goes up."
The beast-kin group was also making wild assumptions and grumbling. This was starting to look like it might become a headache. In fact, given what we were about to discuss, this might be exactly what Wogan intended.
"Ryoma-kun, the guild master is ready for you," said Meilyne, the receptionist who always looked after me.
"Thank you. I'm on my way."
I headed into the guild master’s office.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Wogan said.
"No, it's fine. I saw the commotion out there."
He gestured for me to sit on the guest sofa, and I reported what I had overheard.
"I see... Good grief, they really are hopeless."
"I don't know if they've marked me yet, but I've certainly caught their attention. Calling out to me in front of them to make me stand out like that was intentional, wasn't it? What exactly were you thinking?"
If it wasn't my imagination, his smile earlier hadn't just been his naturally intimidating face; it had been a distinctly wicked grin. And even now, as I called him out on it...
"You know why I called you today, don't you?"
"It’s about the city-wide drainage cleaning, right?"
To summarize the details I’d been given: - The region was entering the season of constant rain and snow. - There was a request to clean and inspect all the roadside drainage ditches throughout the town. - Delinquent adventurers were being forced to participate as punishment. - Wogan or other reliable adventurers would act as supervisors. - I was to assist as a supervisor, and we needed to coordinate.
"You mentioned starting tomorrow, so are those guys from earlier the ones participating in the cleaning?"
"They aren't the only ones... I'm sure you've heard, but things are getting tough over here with the influx of laborers."
"I can imagine the mental fatigue is endless. By the way, what kind of people are those guys, exactly?"
"Just the usual delusional idiots you find among the country folk. Someone who was the best in their tiny village or settlement comes to the big city with way too much confidence."
"I saw their attitude, but their skill doesn't match it?"
"Well, they’ve apparently been doing pest extermination back home, so they have some combat experience. Their form isn't bad, either. If they realized how arrogant they were being and actually trained seriously, they might amount to something, but as they are now? It’s a pipe dream."
Wogan sighed again.
"Ah, sorry. I didn't mean to vent at you."
"Don't worry about it. I don't mind listening."
"Haha, then you'll have to join me for a drink next time."
"Deal."
Wogan’s tired expression shifted into a serious one.
"Getting back to business, I'll be participating in the work starting the day after tomorrow, and I'll have supervisors in place. However, the ones we’re overseeing are all cut from the same cloth as those idiots. They're full of complaints and prone to brawling. I think there’s a high chance someone will try to pick a fight with a kid like you the moment the supervisors look away. So, Ryoma—if those guys come after you today or during the job, feel free to beat them down. In fact, I'm asking you to."
That was certainly a blunt request.
"It’s only a matter of time with them anyway. I've given them verbal warnings more times than I can count. I honestly believe it’s for their own sake to get a good wallop and have their pride thoroughly shattered."
"Even if they quit being adventurers, if they stay on this path, they'll just end up in a guard house cell eventually," Wogan muttered. He had a terrifying face, but he really did look after people. As a guild master, however, he couldn't afford to be any more lenient. They looked like the type who wouldn't listen to words, so giving them one last chance to learn through pain was a form of mercy.
"...It’s only natural to defend myself. I don't see an issue with that."
"Good. I'm counting on you. I'll treat you to dinner next time."
From there, we looked over the annual records to identify high-priority areas and time-consuming spots for the upcoming cleaning, discussing efficient schedules and methods.
"Based on the rainfall and snowfall records from the past few years, it seems we should move as quickly as possible."
"Yeah, lately the rain and snow have been coming down in heaps. Trash gets washed away and clogs the drains, and the roads flood constantly. I want to finish the inspection before the weather turns for real. I'll be relying on you and your slimes for this."
"It's my specialty, and I've been receiving a lot of help from you lately, so I'm happy to do it. I look forward to working with you."
After we finished our meeting and I was about to leave, Wogan stopped me.
"Hold on a second. Do you have a weapon on you? I don't think you’d lose to those guys even empty-handed, but still."
He was clearly worried about the walk home. Since I only had meetings today, I was wearing a suit and didn't appear to be carrying any armor or weapons.
"Thank you for your concern, but I'm prepared."
I reached for my belt, gripped a hidden mechanism at the buckle, and pulled. The iron slime I had concealed there slid out instantly, hardening into a sharp blade ready for use as a katana.
"You had that tucked into your belt?"
"Back when I lived in the forest, I tanned my own leather and made my own clothes, so this level of craftsmanship wasn't difficult. Besides, as you know, my sense of caution was running a bit rampant recently. I made this back then."
In India, there is a traditional flexible iron sword called an urumi used in Kalaripayattu. Similarly, in China, there were "belt swords" hidden within waistbands exactly like the one I now held. The pure iron of an iron slime’s body is naturally soft and usually unsuitable for blades, but its "tenacity" made it perfect for a flexible belt sword. Between the iron slime’s hardening skill and my ability to reinforce it with Qigong, it worked perfectly as a katana once drawn. It was a very convenient weapon and a reliable partner.
"Now that I think about it, you were pretty high-strung until the Duke's people showed up... Is that bracelet on your left arm something like that, too? I thought you were just getting into fashion, but you did start wearing it right around that same time."
He was sharp. The bracelet on my left arm was actually a wire slime disguised as an accessory. It was a metallic rope coiled around my arm that could be used like a kusari-fundo in an emergency. The decorative "stone" was actually the weight. It could also serve as a makeshift buckler or a capturing rope.
"Is that all?"
"Yes, those are my only weapons. For protection, I'm wearing a blade-resistant shirt made of high-strength thread under my clothes, and I have similar protection under my trousers. My shoes have been reinforced with hardening fluid plates from a sticky slime and iron plates, turning them into safety shoes."
I planned to mass-produce these safety items as standard equipment for my security company and as work clothes for the construction and waste processing teams.
"So you're basically fully equipped even though you look unarmed."
"Embarrassingly, I was quite distraught at the time... I'm much calmer now, but since I already have the gear, there’s no reason not to use it. I can't afford to be careless yet."
"I see I don't need to worry about your gear. I'm starting to worry about you in a different way, though..."
Wogan looked exasperated, but he didn't push the matter further.
When I left the guild, the delinquents followed me exactly as expected. I lured them into a deserted alleyway and systematically took them down without any trouble. Afterward, I made sure they understood they were to show up for work the next day and forced them to receive medical treatment at my security company before letting them go.
Aside from that, the day ended peacefully. And then, five days later...
The first snow began to fall over the town of Gimul, signaling to everyone that winter had finally arrived.