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nAfter arriving at Gimuru around noontime, I decided to show my face at the store.

n“Welcome back, Boss.”

n“It’s been a while, Carm-san.”

nAfter greeting each other, Carm-san gave me a report of the store’s recent activities.

n“There have been no impediments to the store’s operation recently, but there was an incident a few days ago.” Carm

n“An incident? What happened?” Ryouma

n“You know that charcoal you left in the kitchen? You said it had the ability to absorb humidity from the air, so having it around could improve the air in the kitchen, right?” Carm

n“Yes, though the effects vary according to the amount and quality of the charcoal.” Ryouma

n“Actually, Fina-san and the others tried that charcoal thing out several times, but all of the sudden, the charcoal disappeared. A charcoal thief had appeared and caused a commotion for some time.” Carm

n“A charcoal thief… Since you said ‘for some time’, I take it you’ve already dealt with it?” Ryouma

n“Yes. It turns out the culprits are none other than the cleaner slimes.” Carm

n“The cleaner slimes?” Ryouma

nDon’t tell me!

n“It ate the charcoal?” Ryouma

n“Yep. They ate all of the charcoal we left at the slime waiting room. And according to Maria-san, those cleaner slimes stopped being able to eat the filth off the laundry. They might have gotten sick.” Carm

n“It’s probably something else. Anyway, can you show me those slimes?” Ryouma

n“Of course.” Carm

nCarm-san left the office. He’ll probably be back with the slimes very soon.

nCharcoal-eating slimes… Charcoal, so carbon? Or maybe they’ll evolve into something else again.

n“Excuse me. I’ve brought Maria-san and the slimes.” Carm

n“Hi, Boss~” Maria

nWhile I was thinking to myself, Carm had already returned.

nBehind him was a slightly uncomfortable Maria-san. The both of them each carried several cleaner slimes in their arms.

n“Please. Over here.” Ryouma

nI listened to Maria’s story while observing the slimes. Apparently, when she told the slimes ‘you can eat now’, the slimes that ate charcoal left.

n“I hear they can’t eat anything else but charcoals.” Ryouma

n“Hmm~ They prefer charcoals, so~ They’re really halfhearted when it comes to laundry~ As a result, the other slimes ate their portion.” Maria

n“I see.” Ryouma

nThe slimes can keep on working, but it’s not really necessary to make them work when they don’t want to.

n“The slimes aren’t sick. Most likely they’ve started to evolve. Upon evolution a slime’s diet and abilities will change. Please leave these two slimes to me. If something like this happens again in the future, please be sure to contact me. Depending on the situation, they might end up damaging the laundry, so at that time, Carm-san, you decide what to do.

nMaria-san, I’ll leave the management of the next slimes to you. Should the laundry get damaged, we’ll compensate the customers and quarantine the slimes.”

n“I’ll do my best!” Maria

n“I’m counting on you. Carm-san and I will help you too, so you don’t have to think that hard about it… In fact, I even want to thank you.” Ryouma

nA new slime being born makes me really happy. So happy that I don’t mind giving her a gift of money for this. I’ll make a charcoal kiln as soon as i get back. While we were talking, Maria finally became relieved.

nAfter passing the contract of the two slimes to me, the slime incident was concluded.

nI sent Maria-san back to work, and this time I gave Carm a report of my own.

n“…The Renauph branch store was able to open without any problems. They’ll send us a report regularly.” Ryouma

n“It’s good to hear that everything went well.” Carm

n“Yes. That’s it for the reports regarding the stores. But there’s actually a private matter I need to report too.” Ryouma

nI informed Carm that I won’t be able to come back to town for a while in order to get my grandparents inheritance.

nAt first, he was just someone Serge-san introduced to me, but after everything we’ve been through, he’s already someone that I trust.

n“As such, I’m thinking of gradually increasing the number of adventurer jobs I take.” {Ryouma

n“I see. So you’ll be going back to your original plans.” Carm

n“Sorry for troubling you.” Ryouma

n“It’s fine. Just leave the store to me. I’ll be sure to let you know when we need you.” Carm

nCarm-san smiled with a face brimming with resolve.

nWith this I can leave the store to him.

n“By the way, where is your hometown? I don’t think I’ve ever heard the name of your village.” Carm

n“Ever heard of the Great Shurus Forest? It’s inside— Why are you making that face?” Ryouma

nThe moment I mentioned the name of the region, Carm made a face he’s never shown before.

n“*COUGH. Excuse me. I was just taken by surprise… I’m impressed you actually managed to survive…”

nThat’s his reaction?

n“I guess it really is a dangerous place.” Ryouma

n“It’s a dense and giant forest with countless monsters living in it. If you go deep inside, you’re bound to meet an A Rank monster. I’m told that if not for all the bases that have been constructed there by people in the past, there wouldn’t even be a way to refill one’s supplies. Just being able to get out of that place is a miracle.” Carm

n“Ha ha ha… Well, to be honest, I want to get back through official channels, so I’ll have to raise my adventurer rank first. I’l use that time to prepare myself sufficiently.” Ryouma

n“In that case, please be talk to Serge-sama. I’m sure he can help you with the supplies.. Moreover, the Morgan Firm has many branch stores, so I’m sure his help will be invaluable.” Carm

nIt looked as if Carm was worrying whether to try and stop me or not, but in the end, he just gave me some information and encouraged me.

nAfterwards…

nI dropped by the Morgan Firm before going home, and it seemed to be more hectic than normal. I was considering just dropping by another time, but then the clerk greeted me and I was able to meet with Serge-san.

nWhen I talked to him about my plans, he gave a similar reaction.

n“So you were from the great forest… It must have been difficult for you.” Serge

n“I was desperate to get out at the time, so I don’t really remember the details.” Ryouma

n“I see. I suppose that makes sense. In any case, I’m not sure how to describe the place, but it’s a harsh place that challenges the most tenacious adventurers. Or at least, that’s what the adventurers say. It’s not a place someone like me could enter. Still, why all of the sudden?” Serge

n“A few days ago, I happened upon a monster similar to those of Shurus and was remembered some things. Also, I hear there’s no more people left inthe village.” Ryouma

n“Considering where the village is situated, it’s possible…” Serge

n“Another reason I’m going is to confirm it. It’s still some time way away before I actually get to it, but I’ll be setting it as one of my goals as an adventurer.” Ryouma

n“I see. You have my support, Ryouma-sama. If there’s anything you need, please drop by our Morgan Firm.” Serge

n“Thank you… By the way, is there something going on today?’ Ryouma

nIt really seems more hectic than usual.

nI wonder if I came at a bad time.

n“No. In fact, it was good that you dropped by today, as I’ll be going to the magic tools fair in Kereban starting tomorrow. It’ll be a week long trip, so we’re preparing for the trip.” Serge

n“Magic tools fair? That sounds interesting.” Ryouma

n“Are you interested?” Serge

nHmm? The color of his eyes changed. Are these… the eyes of an otaku?

n“We haven’t had a lot of opportunities to talk, but… Could it be that this is something you’re very fond of?” Ryouma

n“As a matter of fact I am actually known as a collector among my contemporaries; hence, my trip to the fair is half work and half hobby.” Serge

n“I see. It does sound fun just taking a look around.” Ryouma

n“Indeed. After all, even magic tools of the same kind differ from each other depending on the artisan and workshop that made them. Moreover, the items that appear in the fair aren’t your usual ones. The items that appear are either made by apprentices or are one-of-a-kind items. Finding interesting things or finding people with a promising future is also something worth looking forward to.” Serge

nSerge-san’s eyes were on fire.

n“I myself have tried to make a magic tool, but it really doesn’t work unless one is a proper artisan.” Serge

n“Serge-san, you can use enchantment magic?” Ryouma

n“Oh, no. Not at all. My mana pool is so small, I can’t even use elemental magic. But some magic tools can be made even without mana. Give me a second.” Serge

nHaving already entered his otaku mode, Serge-san left the room and came back with a wooden box.

n“Take a look.” Serge

nSerge-san took out a cog from inside the box.

nAt first glance, nothing seemed strange about it, but…

n“Ah, it turned.” Ryouma

nWhen Serge-san allowed his mana to course through the gear, the gear started rotating atop the desk.

n“This gear has been enchanted with the neutral magic, Spin. As you can see, allowing mana to course through it causes the gear to rotate. This is usually included in bigger tools as a power source. Of the more popular ones that use it is the ‘Magic Automobile’.

nSo, literally a magical version of the automobile? I’ve never see one…

n“Unfortunately, it’s not very practical. Although the magic automobile can move using a person’s mana and magic stones, after adding the weight of one’s luggage on top of the weight of the people riding inside and the frame of the magic automobile itself, it ends up being a little slower than a horse. On top of that, it costs magic stones to run. As such, it’s much more practical to just use a normal horse.

nThat being said, a huge race is held in the capital once a year for these magic automobiles. In fact, I happen to have one myself as part of my hobbies.

nHe’s talking really calmly, but you can really feel the fire behind his words!

n“Oh, dear. It seems we’ve gone off topic. Anyway, there are all sorts of types, but you can use a magic tool procured externally to create a new magic tool without being able to use mana at all. There are many artisans who specialize in this.” Serge

n“I see. That’s really interesting.” Ryouma

n“If you’d like, you can have this.” Serge

n“Oh, I couldn’t possibly…” Ryouma

nSerge handed the gear to Ryouma along with the box.

nNaturally, Ryouma thought it would be shameless for him to just take it, but Serge-san scratched his head and said:

n“I bought it from last year’s fair, but I couldn’t figure out what to do with it…” Serge

nApparently he bought it because he liked it and because he wanted to invest in the young apprentice that made it.

nBut the thing is that he didn’t actually need the gear.

nIt was just taking up space in his storage room, so in the end, I decided to accept his goodwill.

n“Thank you. Sorry to disturb you so suddenly. I even got a present…” Ryouma

n“I should be saying that for pushing my dead inventory to you.” Serge

n“If I ever think of an interesting tool, I’ll be sure to make it and show it you.” Ryouma

n“Oh! I look forward to that.” Serge

nLike that we parted with a smile on our face.

nI feel like I got closer to Serge-san today.

nNow then, I guess it’s about time I went back home and took care of the slimes.

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