I had gone to the Divine Realm intending to give a simple administrative report, but I came away with a divine Artifact and a wealth of useful information. From there, it took several days of travel to return to my home in Gana Forest. Once I reached my base, I was supposed to contact the Ducal House immediately, so I sent word via a Rimur Bird right away.
Reinhardt-san and the others had mentioned they would make time as soon as my letter arrived, so they were likely to show up soon.
"Since I have a bit of time, I might as well try an experiment."
I prepared the experiment on a whim and waited for their arrival. Eventually, the Weed Slimes outside reacted. Despite how busy they must have been, it seemed they really had cleared their schedules to come on such short notice.
"Ryoma-kun, you're in there, aren't you?"
"The sign outside said, 'Experiment in progress, please come in and wait,' so I think it’s fine to enter, but I wonder what he’s up to so soon after getting back?"
Voices drifted in from the entrance. It was time.
"Welcome, everyone."
"Ryoma-kun! We're coming in, alright?"
"Welcome back! Oh?"
Leading the group were Reinhardt-san and Madam, followed by Reinbach-sama and Sebas-san. The four guards and Eleanora-san, whom I’d been introduced to previously, also entered the room. However, the moment they stepped inside, they seemed to sense something was off.
I had assumed that to their eyes, it would simply look like I was sitting in a chair next to the table, but perhaps those close to me could tell the difference.
"My apologies. Due to the requirements of the experiment, please excuse me for remaining seated."
"We don't mind that, but what on earth are you doing?"
"You don't seem to be doing anything at all, yet your expression is so stiff."
"The tone of your voice also feels slightly—truly only slightly—different from usual."
"Ah, so you really can tell. Well then, I'll explain right aw—"
Just as I was about to begin the explanation, Hughes-san stepped forward with a worried look.
"Hey now, you didn't go and get yourself injured in the Sea of Trees, did you?"
"Ah—"
He placed a hand on my seated shoulder. I realized the danger instantly, but it was already too late. The weight on the shoulder threw the body off balance; it tilted and slid right off the chair.
"Whoa!?"
Hughes-san caught the body before it could crash into the floor, but the limbs just hung limp and motionless. Startled, everyone rushed over at once.
"Are you alri—GAKH!?"
"Waaaaagh!? H-His neck!"
"Ryoma! Hey!"
This was bad; my attempt to communicate my safety had only made the situation worse. The body's movements were grotesque, and because the neck had twisted around, no proper voice could come out. Explaining through this mouth was out of the question.
I made the split-second decision to dash into the room from the hallway leading further back. There, I found everyone surrounding my fallen, motionless body—or rather, the Mimic Slime disguised as me.
"Everyone, it's alright! I'm safe!"
"What!? ...What is the meaning of this?"
"There are two Ryomas?"
Following Reinbach-sama and Jill-san, the others regained their composure despite the bizarre sight. I explained the situation to them—that this was a Mimic Slime I had discovered and contracted in the Sea of Trees. I had the slime undo its transformation as I explained that it possessed a high-level mimicry ability that allowed it to take a form indistinguishable from the real thing.
"—And so, I was using a Sensory Link with the slime mimicking me, using its eyes, ears, and mouth to speak with all of you. I knew from prior experiments that the link was possible, so I thought if I could remotely operate this slime and converse without being found out, I might be able to interact with others without issue despite my curse. I'm truly sorry for startling you."
"That was heart-stopping... But it really is amazing. I couldn't tell them apart by looks at all."
"I'm sure you didn't mean it as a prank, and I think it's a reasonable way to use a new slime's ability. Especially considering your curse, Ryoma-kun, it would be a huge help if this experiment succeeded."
"Man, but this is exactly what makes it feel like Ryoma is finally back."
I found Hughes-san's comment a bit questionable, but everyone else seemed to agree. I was aware that I caused a lot of trouble and did unexpected things, but I didn't think I'd ever tried to pull a horror-style scare before.
"Now then, I'm sure everyone wants to celebrate Ryoma-kun's safety and hear his stories, but could you let just the four of us speak with him first?"
Though I felt a bit awkward about it, I followed Reinhardt-san's lead and guided the Ducal Couple, Reinbach-sama, and Sebas-san to the back room. Then, just as we had done before I left for the Sea of Trees, we spoke using a Soundproof Magic Tool.
"First of all, were you able to achieve your goal?"
"Yes. I safely arrived at Kormi Village and recovered my grandparents' inheritance."
Perhaps because my grandparents' reputation was so significant, Reinhardt-san was being cautious. Even with the Soundproof Magic Tool active, he was unconsciously lowering his voice.
"The inheritance mostly consisted of research materials, weapons, and the tools and materials to make them. The rest were items of sentimental value... and a few diaries."
"Ryoma-kun, what do you intend to do with them?"
"I believe they are all valuable, but with the exception of the weapons, I fundamentally have no intention of selling or giving them away. A brief look through the research showed several topics that seem useful for my own future studies, and there were many subjects that piqued my interest even if they weren't directly related. And..."
I hesitated for a moment, wondering if I should say it, but I decided to trust the people who had looked after me thus far.
"These, especially Sage Mealia's research books, have extremely high academic value. I imagine any researcher would covet them. Some might think it only proper to donate them to a national research institution that could make use of them."
"If you understand that, then we won't interfere," Elise-sama said with a smile. "Of course, if you ever find you no longer need them, we would be happy to take them off your hands for a fair price."
"Whether Ryoma-kun analyzes them himself or pays to have others research them, it's no loss for our house," Reinbach-sama added.
The three of them laughed with relief, and I smiled along with them. That reminded me—while we were on the subject of the inheritance, I should talk about the base in the Sea of Trees and Kormi. There were various things I needed help with, so sooner was better.
"—And that's the situation."
"""..."""
As I explained what had happened after arriving at Kormi Village, the smiles gradually vanished from their faces. By the time I finished, they were silent. Even Sebas-san, who stood composed behind them, was breaking a sweat on his brow.
"Everyone, are you alright?"
"Yes, I believe I've understood for the most part," Reinhardt-san said. "Understood, that is."
"Honestly, I thought I had already been sufficiently surprised by the Mimic Slime... Sebas, could I have a cup of tea?"
"Certainly, Madam. The matter of the inheritance I had heard about previously was not particularly shocking, and I find I was a bit careless as well. I shall prepare it immediately; please wait a moment."
"To think the always perfect Sebas-san's response would be delayed."
"It was a correspondingly shocking story, so it cannot be helped. Between this and the recent Mana Gemstone of the curse, Ryoma-kun certainly encounters unexpected events often."
"I have nothing to say to that myself."
I had a request from the gods this time, but the plan to head to Kormi Village itself had been decided even before Kormi woke up. In that case, we likely would have encountered each other regardless of whether there was a divine request or not.
I wasn't sure if I would have tried to clear it without knowing anything after seeing that number of Undead, though... Come to think of it, Gain had said something similar to Reinbach-sama—about how my luck was supposed to be improved, yet I still end up in strangely bad situations or pull off extremely rare probabilities. Whether it was bad luck or bizarre luck, if a god said so, I suppose I just had to accept that I was born this way.
"Actually, more than my luck, I have a few requests regarding this matter—several of them, in fact."
"Oh, that's rare. If it's something we can do, feel free to name as many as you like."
Reinhardt-san, heartened by the word "request," leaned forward to listen.
"Then I won't hold back. First, as mentioned in the story, Kormi was keeping the armor of Baron Destria, an Undead whose appearance was remarkably close to a human. Could that be returned to his family as a memento?"
"Since our houses don't have a close association, it might take a little time, but I can make contact. I'm sure they would be pleased."
"House Destria belongs to the military aristocracy," Reinbach-sama explained. "It might be a bit roundabout, but it would likely proceed more smoothly if I spoke to an acquaintance and had them act as an intermediary. Please tell me the details of the armor and his final moments later."
And so, that matter was resolved. Reinbach-sama, who had a past in the military, graciously accepted.
"Next, I would like you to introduce me to a skilled craftsman who can make saddles for Tamed Monsters. The targets are the Take Ostrich that the Mimic Slime mimics, and Rino, the child of the Cannonball Rhinos entrusted to me by its parent."
Rino... At first, because of her species and the thunderous collision sound made by the boss we fought, I had intended to name her "Rai" in the hope that she would grow to be that powerful. However, when I proposed it to Kormi, he pointed out that she was a girl, so I changed it. If Kormi hadn't been there, I surely would have named her Rai without noticing.
"The Mimic Slime might be able to adjust its own body size, but Rino-chan is a child, so she'll grow larger quickly," Elise-sama noted. "I'll tell you about a workshop I'm close with later. I entrust Luorg's and all the other children's gear to them, so their skill is certain."
"Thank you very much. I look forward to it."
Madam's monster was a Little Fenrir. If it was a workshop with a craftsman who could make gear for that, they should be able to handle Rino even as she grew larger in the future.
"This next one is more of a consultation than a request, but I would like to ask for the cooperation of the Curse Specialist, Rosenberg-dono."
"Is this about your curse?"
"It's not unrelated. Actually, among the research I recovered, I found documents regarding Curse Removal. It seems to be a type of Lost Magic that was used in an ancient City-state swallowed by the Sea of Trees."
"Lost Magic for Curse Removal, is it..."
"Yes. Furthermore, the information has been gathered to a state where it seems my grandmother could reproduce it, and the notes stated that it was expected to be far more effective than modern equivalents."
Mealia-san's range of expertise as a Sage must have been incredibly broad, but I never expected to get my hands on such timely magic documents. When I found them, I finally understood why Fernobelia-sama had told me to at least memorize the titles of the research materials.
"To be honest, since the information is all there, it seems I could use this magic on my own. However, I'm aware that my knowledge regarding curses is lacking, and it would be reassuring to have an expert supervise me. But since I would need to speak about my grandmother's research, I felt it had to be someone trustworthy."
"Indeed. In that case, you should rely on Rosenberg-dono. He is trustworthy. Above all, the curse on Ryoma-kun is a powerful one. Trying to attempt a removal recklessly with an unknown magic and having something go wrong is the one thing we must avoid most."
"I would also like to ask for instruction in Curse Magic as well."
The advice I’d received from Meltrize-sama was to learn Curse Magic. That might be the key to allowing Kormi to interact with others. It seemed all the necessary information was already gathered, but it hadn't quite clicked for me yet. If I received instruction from an expert, I might be able to grasp a hint.
"Understood. I'll contact you later regarding the schedule, but I'll pass on the details of the consultation beforehand."
"Thank you very much. And this is the last thing, but in the event that we succeed in having Kormi interact with the outside world... could you introduce me to a teacher who can correctly teach human social common sense and rules?"
"A dispatch of a teacher? I'd like to hear more details about that."
"I don't know the specific method yet, but I believe Kormi will need to learn how to interact with other people if we succeed in establishing contact. I want to teach him what I can myself, but... to be blunt, I think there isn't much difference between Kormi and me. Originally, I was someone who lived in seclusion in the forest, and to begin with, I—or rather, a Child of God—am a person who came from a place called Earth. Would it be easier to understand if I called it a distant land? A land so far away that one cannot come here without the help of the gods."
"It's only natural that common sense would differ if the country where one was raised is different," Elise-sama said softly. "Even the Children of God in legends are often depicted as slightly unusual people."
"In my place of birth, there is a saying: 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do.' It means that when you go to another land, you should respect and follow the customs of that land. I intend to make a personal effort to live by those words, but I have to say I feel unreliable as a teacher. Besides, while Kormi's personality is like that of a young child, perhaps because of his ability to read hearts, his knowledge is oddly skewed but abundant, and his comprehension is high. He often asks questions that are quite difficult to answer..."
It would be hard to understand with just this explanation. I decided to speak using specific examples of our conversations.