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nSerge-san still had something to do, so I left him and went back to Gimuru.

nIt was already late into the night when I got back to Gimuru. I was planning on just taking care of my slimes, and then going to sleep but apparently that wouldn’t be possible.

nWithin a room in the abandoned mines was me and a cleaner slime. This cleaner slime is one of the cleaner slimes I got from the store. It started evolving a lot faster than expected. There’s no way I can sleep now.

nEach time the cleaner slime released and sucked in mana, its transparent body became a little blacker. The evolution process was a long way from finishing, so I happily waited. Eventually…

n“Oh! It’s done!”

nThe mana stilled and the slime started crawling in the room. Its body was dull black with no lustre. Like a powdered charcoal molded into a dumpling. A closer look shows that it has the same gelatin-like body of the slime, so perhaps calling it a lustre-less black viscous liquid would be more apt.

nBut enough of that. Let’s see what kind of monster it is! Monster Identify! …Oh!.

nSkill

nAbsorb Odor Lv8 Extract Odor Component Lv6 Erase Odor Component Lv8 Odor Defense Lv5 Stench Lv2 Irritating Stench Lv2 Odor-Absorbing Liquid Lv7

nOdor Component Extraction Liquid Lv5 Odor Component Erasure Liquid Lv7 Odor Defensive Liquid Lv4 Liquid Stench Lv1 Irritating Liquid Stench Lv1 Disease Resistance Lv5

nPoison Resistance Lv5 Physical Attack Resistance Lv1 Clean Lv4 Sweeping Lv1 Jump Lv3 Split Lv1

nDeodorant Slime, huh. I expected it to be a carbon slime, but who would’ve thought it would end up taking this path instead…

nThis slime… It probably specialized in getting rid of odor. All of its skill are basically deodorants, so it’s easy to understand what they do. Anyway, let’s go test this guy out. We’ll be dealing with stinky stuff, so let’s do it outside.

nAfter changing locations and investigating the new slime, I found out the following things.

nThe Absorb Odor skill absorbs odor from the air.

nThe Extract Odor Component skill absorbs odor from an object that the slime is in contact with.

nThese two skills might appear to be similar, but the area that they are able to affect is different.

nThe Erase Odor Component skill literally erases the stench, and the Odor Defense skill suppresses the smell and prevents it from latching onto others.

nThe Stench skill works just like the Scavenger Slime’s, wherein it releases a foul odor.

nThe Irritating Stench skill also releases a foul smell, but it’s more irritating.

nIt’s not poisonous

nIt’s just that the odor released is so strong that it’s able to cause one to tear up, so it’s a skill that needs to be handled with care. The Irritating Stench skill has the potential to become as effective as a tear-gas grenade. The liquid variants of the skills just means that the slime releases the skill in liquid form instead of gas. The liquids are all black and sticky, so I personally can’t help but liken them to mud. And then the rest of the skills are just hand-me-downs from when it was just a cleaner slime.

nAs for feed, it can eat either charcoal or dirt.

nThat’s probably why it couldn’t become a carbon slime… I should also investigate the liquids a little more.

nI collected the Deodorant Slime various liquid skills with the exception of the Stench and Irritating Stench skills. To have a point of comparison, I also collected the Cleaner Slime’s deodorizing Liquid.

n“…It’s a bit different compared to a cleaner slime’s.”

nThe Cleaner Slime’s Deodorizing Liquid is being sold in the product after the results of the investigations of Caulkin-san’s team.

nWe sell the products according to the concentration of the deodorizing liquid. The weakest concentration is sold as ‘normal’. The stronger variant is called ‘super’. And the strongest variant is called ‘hyper’, which is just the source liquid, but regardless, all three are used toward other liquids or rubbed on something.

nUnfortunately, using the Deodorant Slime’s Odor Component Erasure Liquid like the Deodorizing Liquid results in the target object being stained with black. Which it makes it difficult to use as a deodorizing agent for laundry.

nBut the Odor Component Erasure Liquid of the Deodorant Slime has a special trait which allows it to be diluted when placed atop a person’s hand or mix with other liquids. This is a unique trait that the cleaner slime’s deodorizing liquid doesn’t have.

nI don’t know why, but when you add water or other liquids to the deodorizing liquid, its efficacy plummets.

nWhich is why all three types of deodorizing liquid sold at the store are prepared by the cleaning slimes themselves. They mix the concentration of the liquid inside their body before puking it out.

n“Did the composition change because of the charcoal? …Is it still safe?”

nI used Identify, but it didn’t give me an answer.

nThe mysteries remain mysteries, while the possibilities only increase.

n“If I check the key points of the Odor-Absorbing Liquid and the Odor Component Extraction Liquid…”

nThere’s another downside to the Deodorizing Liquid of the Cleaner Slime. It’s certainly effective, but a female member of the Catman tribe said this about it.

n“I can get rid of the smell from the landfill by using this, nyaa. But as soon as the next pile of trash comes around, it starts stinking again, nyaa…”

nThere were also other people who shared her sentiments. They would use the Deodorizing Liquid on shoes and the smell would go away, but when they wore it again, it would start stinking again.

nThe Cleaner Slime’s Deodorizing Liquid is only able to eliminate the odor from the object it is directly touching and its vicinity. The effect also doesn’t last long, so if you apply it in a bigger scale or in an environment where stinky stuff are expected to be brought over and over, it’s not very effective.

nPresently, the deodorizing liquid is popular among the Catman tribe and other customers with similarly sensitive noses.

nIf I sell the Odor Component Erasure Liquid to those customers as a product able to remove stubborn odor, then it should be possible to turn up an even greater profit.

nThe next problem would be the durability of the Odor-Absorbing Liquid and the Odor Component Extraction Liquid… But finding that out will take time.

nI also need to find out if they can be used in a normal residence and not an environment like this abandoned mine. In any case, I’ll cut my investigations for today here.

n“…Anyway, I should take a shower for now.”

nBased on the time indicated on the clock, I should be able to leave for work at a good time even if I prepare myself at a leisurely pace.

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n“You didn’t even sleep before coming here?” Carm

nWhen I reported the events that occurred this morning to Carm-san, he looked at me with a fed-up expression.

n“I couldn’t find a good point to stop. By the way, would it be a problem if I did the experiment here too? ” Ryouma

n“So this sack contains the Odor-Absorbing Liquid? It should be fine as long as it’s not dangerous.” Carm

n“I want to find out if this Odor-Absorbing Liquid would still take effect while in this state. I also want to investigate how long its effect will last and how much of an effect it will have in an environment were people are active. The experiment won’t be anything special. I will be just leaving this sack here. I’ve already confirmed that the Odor-Absorbing Liquid works just as described, but there’s a limit to how much odor it can absorb, and in the case of the scavenger slime, it quickly reaches that limit.” Ryouma

n“Once it reaches its limit, it becomes useless?” Carm ”

n“Yes. But it’s possible that the stench released by the scavenger slimes just so happens to be too strong, so I plan to leave these sacks in various places and gather information like that. They’re not poisonous, so it should be safe.”

n“In that case, there’s no reason for me to be against it either. If things go well, it might become a new product too. Let’s hope for a good result.”

n“I’ll be going now then. I need to find people willing to help me with my experiment. Oh, and I almost forgot. Here. Souvenirs. Baked sweets from Kereban. They’ve been popular lately. I tasted some myself and thought they were delicious. Not overly sweet, just the right amount.” Ryouma

n“Thanks. I’m sure the women will be elated.” Carm

nAfter leaving the distribution of the souvenirs to Carm-san, I dropped by the nearby florist.

n“Good day, Pauline-san.” Ryouma

n“Oh, if it isn’t Ryouma-kun. Haven’t seen you in a while. Are you well?” Pauline

n“Yes.I had to go to Renauph and then Kereban immediately after, but I’m doing just fine. I brought you some souvenirs by the way. They’re baked sweets and last for a long time, but you might want to give them a try sooner than later.” Ryouma

n“Oh, you’ve brought us some nice things, haven’t you?

nThe children will be delighted. Did you come just for this?” Pauline

nIt was then that I asked her if she minded helping me with the Odor-Absorbing Liquid test.

n“Alright.” Pauline

nPauline-san happily agreed to help me.

n“You’re always helping us out. It’s the least we can do. Besides, I also look forward to seeing a new product from your store. Leaving one sack around our store won’t be a problem.” Pauline

n“Thank you very much. If anything happens or if there’s anything that should displease you, please do inform me. We can make a much better product after receiving feedback.” Ryouma

n“Then I’ll be sure not to hold back if something happens.” Pauline

nPauline-san happily laughed.

n“Oh, one more thing. Would you happen to have some Dante Flower here?” Ryouma

n“We have some stock from yesterday.” Pauline

nAs she said that she went to a corner where the flowers were lined up and came back with a container. Inside were bouquets of yellow flowers. Large petals were connected to the flower and the stem, but because they were yellow colored, I couldn’t help but be reminded of dandelions.

nSo this is a Dante Flower. It’s what I’m looking for. Only, all the flowers have already been cut. The roots are missing.

n“Where are the roots?” Ryouma

n“I cut them after purchase. Did you want the roots?” Pauline

n“Yes. In my hometown, we have a drink made from boiling a flower similar to the Dante Flower.” Ryouma

n“Unfortunately, I’ve already thrown them away. You’ll have the wait until the next… Wait. You grew your lawn before, right? I mean, you can use Wood Magic, right? ” Pauline

n“Yes. I can.” Ryouma

n“In that case, what about this? The seed of a Dante Flower. New stock won’t arrive until net week, you see.” Pauline

n“That will do. How much for it?” Ryouma

n“50 suits per bag.” Pauline

nWhen she showed me the contents, I saw dozens of seeds that looked like sunflower seeds. I’ll be making tea with these, so…

n“Just one bag probably won’t be enough.” Ryouma

n“These seeds are meant for people that like to raise their own flowers, so there’s not a lot per bag, but the storehouse should have 30 more bags.” Pauline

n“In that case… Since I’ll be experimenting at first, I’ll take 10.” Ryouma

n“Alright. I’ll get them now. Just wait a bit.” Pauline

nWith 10 bags of seeds, I should have enough even if I fail a couple of times. I can get more later once I’ve confirmed that I can mass produce these things.

n…Oops. Gotta pay.

n“Here you go. 500 suits all in all. Do be careful of monsterification if you use wood magic, though.” Pauline

n“Monsterifi— What? ” Ryouma

n“Sometimes plants grown through Wood Magic can turn out different. Scholars would probably have more complicated terms for it, but basically, the plants and trees edn up with a different color, become imbued with poison, and could even become able to move like monsters. Apparently, it’s because of mana. Some plants or trees are more prone to monsterification and some less so, but that’s about all I know. I’m not an expert on the subject.” Pauline

n“I see. This is my first time hearing that.” Ryouma

n“Ahaha. Well, unless several people cast spells or at least use a similar amount of mana, Monsterification probably won’t occur. It’s not really something that happens a lot, so don’t worry. Enough about that. If you manage to make some delicious drink, let me know, okay? I’ll get you all the flowers and seeds you want as long as you’ll buy them.” Pauline

n“Thank you very much. At that time, I’ll be sure to rely on you.” Ryuma

nMonsterification, huh… I feel like I’ve heard of it before. It seems there are all sorts of different mutations. I’m a little curious how mine will mutate. One day, I’ll bring my experiment along that direction too, but for now, let’s just make my Dandelion Coffee.

nI stored my purchased seeds into my Item Box and left the florist.

nNext let’s drop by the butcher and talk to them about the Odor-Absorbing Liquid. If the opportunity permits, maybe I can also get some blood. After that I’ll drop by Miya-san’s house. And then… Raypin-san? And then…

nLike that I went around town looking for people to help me with my experiment.

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