Chapter 27: Side Story: The Case of the Untamable Slime
Side Story: The Case of the Untamable Slime
Pimp, Rook Holmes
"Lucius, you've already learned the English patterns?"
"Y es! I'm also halfway done with Japanese and German, as well!"
"Amazing. Not even I could do that when I was your age."
"I'm doing my best, Father! After all, I'm your and Mother's..."
◇
"It's morning," I muttered as I woke up at my usual time at the break of dawn, on my first day after our arrival at Gideon.
A night of sleep here in Infinite Dendrogram made me feel as if I'd actually slept that much, which was quite curious, since the tripled flow of time here meant that I'd only slept a third of that time in reality.
"Good morning, Marilyn," I said. She was already awake in the jewel. "Let me do something, and then we'll have breakfast."
I got dressed and began going through my daily routine.
It was lip-reading practice. Something I'd been doing for nearly ten years now, ever since I was five years old. It consisted of checking the shape of the mouth when pronouncing various sounds from various languages.
However, in Infinite Dendrogram, things were a bit different.
"It's quite clear by now that any words with a meaning have the
exact same shape no matter which language you use... It all gets translated into Infinite Dendrogram's common," I said. "I haven't fully learned it yet, so it might be a while until I'm able to lip-read here."
Whether I used English and said "hand" or Japanese and said "te," the shape of the mouth was exactly the same. It seemed to me that any words were translated into Infinite Dendrogram's common the moment they were given meaning. However, meaningless sounds — such as "h," "a," "n," "d" — came out like they were supposed to.
In real life, I could freely lip-read conversations from several languages. Here, though, I was sent back to square one and now had to spend every day increasing the vocabulary I could read.
"Sorry for the wait, Marilyn," I said after about an hour's worth of practice. "Let's eat."
"Morning, Rook!" Babi said. "Y ay! Food!"
"KIEEH..." Audrey added. ("Man, I'm hungry...") Babi and Audrey had awoken, as well, so we all went to eat breakfast.
Once that was done, I returned Marilyn and Audrey to the Jewel and walked through Gideon's streets.
Marilyn and Audrey had been fighting ever since they woke up.
"MHOOO!" ("Y ou uncouth red chicken!") "KIEE! KOOO!" ("Y ou hard-headed turtle bitch! Fuck you!") This had been happening ever since Audrey had joined us. It might've had something to do with Marilyn being very diligent and Audrey being the delinquent kind of girl, but I'd also heard that land-dragons and avians just naturally didn't get along too well.
We're a team, so I'd really like it if they became friends, I thought.
"What do we do today?" asked Babi, causing me to ponder.
According to my friends list, both Ray and Marie were offline. From their vocabularies and the expressions they used, it was safe to assume that they were Japanese, and with it being nighttime over there, they were most likely asleep.
Due to that, it was best for me to take care of business that was entirely my own.
"We'll first go to the Pimps' Guild," I said. "There's someone I want to see there. After that, we'll look around the tamed monster market."
I had to meet a certain person in the Pimps' Guild and then buy one or two new monsters, which was the reason why I'd come to Gideon in the first place. However, the latter priority had dropped a lot when I'd gotten Audrey to join us.
"MHOO." ("Master, please do not get another bird.") "KIEEE." ("Turtles either, Boss. We have one too many already.") Hearing Marilyn and Audrey say that from inside the Jewel on my right hand, I thought about what I really needed.
"Well," I said. "We have Marilyn for land and Audrey for air, so now we need someone for water. I don't think it'll be a bird, but it might actually be a turtle."
After giving appropriately differing reactions to my words, the two suddenly looked confused. From what I could tell, they had only just realized I could understand what they were saying.
"Who are you going to meet, Rook?" asked Babi.
"A person called Catherine," I answered. "She helped me a lot back at the capital when I became a Pimp. She's the one who told me that
I should do some part-time work and get the Identification skill." "We actually met someone like that?"
"It happened when you were sleeping."
After the Catalog Ray had lent me had told me that my suitable job was Pimp, I'd had trouble finding the capital's Pimps' Guild due to it being in a relatively secretive place and me being a newbie with little knowledge of the area. Catherine, an experienced Pimp, had helped me find it.
She was also the one that'd told me that the headquarters of the Pimps' Guild was here in Gideon. Catherine regularly visited the place, so I didn't see any reason not to drop by and say hi.
After following my map to a back alley in Gideon's eighth district, I arrived at an establishment that seemed to be a mix between a bar and an inn. The sign near the entrance said "Pimps' Guild's Headquarters," so there was little doubt that I had the right building. The Adventurers' Guild doubled as a bar, too, but the fact that this one was also an inn probably meant exactly what most would assume.
"I'll go eat over there!" said Babi before going to a table.
Though she wasn't as much of a big eater as Ray's Nemesis, Babi did eat quite a lot. Of course, the amount she consumed meant little when one noted that she ate solely sweet things turned spicy.
Anyway, likely due to me being a Pimp that was clearly too young, I attracted quite a lot of attention.
"Excuse me," I spoke to the high level-looking man working behind the counter.
"Welcome, boyo," he replied. "Well, aren't you a young'un! Oh no, that won't be a problem! We don't have age restrictions here! Anyone's free to enjoy themselves at any time!"
Though he talked with a fake-looking smile, it didn't seem like he had any malice towards me. That was probably how he interacted with any average customer.
"Oh, I'm not a customer. I'm a member of the guild," I said as I
showed him my card.
"Well, whaddya know, you really are," he spoke as he looked at it. "It's rare for Masters to become Pimps. We have two or three others, but you're easily the youngest among them." The fake smile was all but gone as he changed his attitude towards me.
Just as he'd said, Pimp — despite being a useful job — wasn't too popular among Masters. As far as I was aware, the most popular jobs here in the kingdom were from the knight grouping, and though watching Ray made me understand why, I still wondered why the pimp grouping was so niche in comparison.
"So, you're lookin' for someone you can offer your services to?" he asked. "Or do you need some workers?"
The first question referred to guild quests, like the model-searching one I'd taken back at the capital. The second question referred to buying tamed monsters and the like. In Gideon, just like this place, they could be bought in the fourth district.
"The latter, please," I said. "May I ask something, though?"
"What is it?"
"Is the Master known as 'Catherine' here?"
The moment I spoke that name, the guild turned completely silent. Some people dropped their glasses, some went into a fetal position and cowered, while others just quickly paid their bills and hastily walked out.
What am I supposed to make of this reaction? I thought.
"Do you know her?" he asked.
"Y es," I nodded. "She helped me a lot in the capital's guild."
"Well, she is good at taking care of pretty boys," the bartender said.
"Though most of them just avoid her... Anyway, she should be here soon."
I decided to wait for her. I went and sat at the same table as Babi and let the time pass by while I drank the free tea they gave me.
During that time, I felt that Marilyn and Audrey — still in the Jewel
— were fighting about something again. I heard sounds that seemed to refer to my tastes, Catherine, love rivalry, dragon anthropomorphization, and love between birds and people.
What are they talking about? I thought.
After nearly an hour of such waiting, the guild's door opened, and I heard a familiar, high-pitched voice.
"Heeyyy! Good morning to you allll!"
"Ah, she's here," I said.
The owner of the voice was the Catherine I was waiting for.
She came into the guild accompanied by four maids and, upon noticing my presence, walked up to our table.
"Oh my! It's really Rookie!" she said joyously. "I'd heard that the PK blockade had stopped, but I didn't think that you'd have arrived in Gideon already."
"I did, as you can see!" I responded. "I came here with Babi, my party members Ray and Marie, and these girls right here!" I introduced Babi and the two girls inside my Jewel to her.
"Rook, who is this?" asked Babi.
"She's the one I told you about — Catherine Kongou," I answered. "She's a highly skilled Pimp and a very reliable person."
"Oh come, now, Rookie, praise like that will make me blush!" Catherine cried.
A moment later, I noticed that Marilyn and Audrey seemed really shocked, for some reason. It seemed as though they were surprised by Catherine's appearance. Thinking that, I re-examined how she looked.
Long blonde hair bearing the slenderness and glamor of silk.
Eyes of a deep blue color reminiscent of a clear sea.
Custom-made clothing of a lavish design, clearly created from high-quality materials.
Nails covered in simply masterful art that she'd probably done by herself.
A voice as charming and enchanting as a mermaid's.
Over two meters in stature.
Huge biceps, about as thick as a horse's neck.
A slightly exposed chest which revealed pectoral muscles that seemed to rival steel.
A face with a boorish structure and features that clearly belonged on a dominating overlord.
Indeed, it was the exact same Catherine that I'd met back at the capital.
Her appearance was certainly unique, so it wasn't too hard to believe that she'd surprised Marilyn and Audrey.
It's actually pretty interesting that even monsters can be surprised by what we humans wear, I thought. This has been on my mind for a while, but it really does seem that their thoughts are similar to those of humans.
◇
Catherine Kongou was a veteran Pimp. However, rather than being from the pimp grouping, her current main job was Siren — a Superior Job from the harlot grouping bearing conditions such as "Charm a total of 100,000 people or monsters."
Apparently, she was also really high on the kingdom's kill rankings.
I knew how effective Charm was in large-scale battles better than most, so I could fully understand why she was up there. Still, it was pretty obvious that her battle style had more to it than just that skill.
Also, Catherine's avatar was a man made to look like a woman, making the popular term "transvestite" to be the most apt description for her. However, I couldn't tell what her gender was in real life. That was something I could normally guess after a while of talking, but the way Catherine mixed masculinity and femininity made it really difficult for me.
Due to her being like that, however, you could safely say that she had both male reliability and female attentiveness, making her fully deserving of respect.
"Did you meet the PK terrorists on your way to Gideon?" I asked Catherine while we had a chat over some tea.
"I flew over here on one of my girls," she answered. "Seems like the meanies couldn't do anything about those in the air."
The words "my girls" made me glance behind her, where I saw the four maids that accompanied her.
"Y ou've already met Rubiella, haven't you?" Catherine asked upon noticing where I was looking.
Indeed. One of the four, the maid with red hair, had been with Catherine back when she'd helped me out in the capital.
"Y es," I nodded. "She was with you when we met."
"Well, then let me introduce you to the other girls," she said. "The
blue-haired one is Sappheanne, the green-haired one is Emerada, while the one with the eyepatch is Crystella."
The maids bowed to us respectfully.
"A pleasure meeting you," I responded. "I am Rook, Catherine's junior in this trade."
"Could you be a dear and show me your girls, too?" Catherine asked.
"Certainly. Oh, but they might break the floor here," I said. Marilyn was a heavyweight Demi-Dragon, so she could easily break through the wooden boarding beneath us.
"Let's go somewhere else, then," she said. "Guildmaster! We're borrowing the back of the building!"
"Go ahead," said the man behind the counter. "Also, there's a job specifically for you, so do come back and take it when you're done."
I had a hunch that the bartender was high level, and now I know why — he's the guildmaster here, I thought.
Behind the guild, I summoned my monsters from my Jewel. "Call — Marilyn, Audrey."
"My, what a lovely pair," commented Catherine. "They'd be a match for your usual high-rank Tamer's monsters." She then made a friendly smile.
...Why do Marilyn and Audrey look so afraid?
"A Demi-Dragon and a Roc Bird surely take lots of space, but your Jewel looks pretty fancy, so I assume it still has room for more?" she asked.
"It does," I said. "I'd like to get one that could travel on water. Would I find any in the marketplace?"
"An aquatic monster? Finding one here might be difficult." According to her, most of the city's water came from the underground, and there weren't any lakes or rivers nearby. Due to that, not many traders here dealt in aquatic monsters. The Pimps' Guild actually didn't sell a single one of those.
"Oh, but you might get lucky and find one in the market," she added.
"I see! I'll go there right now!" I said.
"But the roads there are complicated, and the place isn't safe, even for us Masters. I'd come along, but I have a job to do... I know, let's do this."
Catherine turned to face the maids behind her and beckoned the red-haired one, Rubiella.
"Rubiella, be a dear and guide Rookie through the market."
"As you wish, milady." The maid bowed.
"Is that really okay?" I asked.
"Y es. Don't you worry," said Catherine. "Just tell her to come back to me once your business is done."
"Thank you very much, Catherine!"
Catherine gave me gentle smile and patted me on the head. That action reminded me of my dad — or mom, maybe — and made me feel somewhat happy.
Though, I still don't get why Marilyn and Audrey become so scared whenever Catherine smiles, I thought.
After parting ways with Catherine, Rubiella guided us to and around the market in the fourth district.
"In this market, there's a street-based bazaar and shops set up in buildings," she explained. "Y ou might find bargains in the bazaar, but if you don't have a high enough Identification skill, you could end up purchasing counterfeit or inferior goods, so I cannot recommend it. The wares in shops are far more trustworthy when it comes to quality and authenticity, but that makes their price a bit higher."
"So, first-time shoppers like myself are better off using the shops, right?" I asked.
"Indeed," she confirmed. "Also, you can set up your own stall in the bazaar. The places you can use are managed by the fourth district's manager. For a daily payment, you can sell your products here even if you're not a merchant."
As she told me such things, we entered a small, secretive alleyway.
"Since you wish to purchase an aquatic monster, I will introduce you to a shop that Milady is well-acquainted with. If you don't find what you need there, we will look around the bazaar."
"That sounds good," I said.
As she guided us, Rubiella repeatedly did a strange hand-waving motion. I found it curious, but before I could ask what it meant, we arrived at a shop at the very end of the alleyway.
The secretive establishment had a sign saying "Monster King's Shop, Central Continent Branch."
That name was strange. After all, Infinite Dendrogram had only one continent, so "Central Continent Branch" didn't really make sense, since it implied that their main shop was somewhere else. The only places that came to mind were the far-east island nation of Tenchi or the maritime country, Granvaloa.
Or perhaps... No, I still don't have enough knowledge to theorize about this, I thought.
"Welcome!" the person behind the counter greeted us as we entered. "Oh? Well, if it isn't Rubiella."
The person was small in stature — about one head shorter than me.
He was notable for the pitch-black robe and the hood hiding his face.
"It's been a while," said Rubiella. "Are you the one tending to the shop today, manager?"
"Y eah, I do it every once in a blue moon," answered the person. "Where's Catherine?"
"Milady is not here this time. She told me to help out young master Rook."
"A pleasure to meet you," I said. "I am Rook, Catherine's junior in the trade."
"Well, now that's rare," said the shopkeeper. "I assume you're here to buy monsters, then? What do you have in mind?"
"An aquatic monster, please."
"Aquatic, eh? There's little demand for those here, so we don't have anything particularly rare. We do have a corner for them, though." He left the counter and began leading us to it.
This shop seemed to deal exclusively in pre-tamed monsters. The shelves had countless Jewels on them, and I could see the monsters they held by simply looking inside.
Oh, there are even Jewels with Tri-Horn Demi-Dragons like Marilyn inside. It's kinda hard to tell whether this is more of a pet shop or a jewelry shop, I thought as we approached a booth lit by a bluish light.
"This is the aquatic monster corner," said the shopkeeper. "Do look around."
"...Wow," I muttered. Though the keeper had said that they didn't have anything particularly rare, I could see several jewels with aquatic Demi-Dragons. It was clear that the selection was good.
"Our varied selection of land-dragons and sky-dragons extends to Pure-Dragons, too," he said. "Not sea-dragons, though."
Still, the wares here in the Monster King's Shop were far above the ones sold at the market we'd passed. They even had tamed Pure-Dragons, which were considered to be a rarity. Despite that, the prices here weren't particularly greater than the ones in the bazaar. One would expect them to have completely sold out by now.
That reminded me that Rubiella had made some strange action before entering the shop, so this might've been one of those establishments that only allowed a select few individuals to browse. I wasn't completely certain about that.
In any case, it was quite obvious that, in this shop, I'd have no trouble finding a new teammate that matched Marilyn and Audrey.
"Since you're a friend of Catherine's, I'll allow you to pay by installments," said the shopkeeper.
"How nostalgic," commented Rubiella. "When Milady and I met here, she also paid by installments."
"Oh, that was a bit over four years ago, wasn't it?" he said. "Time sure flies..."
While the two were conversing, I examined the aquatic monsters on display, but...
"I just don't know," I muttered.
"What's wrong, Rook?" asked Babi.
"Demi-Dragons not good enough?" inquired the keeper.
"No, I wouldn't say so. It's just that..."
I had nothing against Demi-Dragon class monsters. In fact, when taking cooperation with Marilyn and Audrey into consideration, they were actually better than Pure-Dragons. However...
"They just... don't click," I said. "When I met Marilyn and Audrey, the monsters with me right now, I had some strange feeling drawing me to them. Here, however, I'm not getting it at all."
When I'd chosen Marilyn as my reward from Grantzian and when I'd faced Audrey in that battle, I'd had a sensation drawing me to them. I didn't get it when looking at any of the monsters here in the shop, and that included the Pure-Dragons, which were supposedly stronger than both Marilyn and Audrey. It was a really vague feeling that I found hard to describe.
"Oh, I see." The shopkeeper nodded as if he could understand me completely, and Rubiella seemed to share his sentiment, as well.
"'Rook,' was it?" he said. "I can see that Pimp is your vocation, but you seem to have the makings of a Tamer, as well. Not many people are equipped with intuition like yours."
"Really?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Y es. And because of that, I don't think you should limit yourself to aquatic monsters. Take a look at every Jewel in my shop and search for the one that clicks."
"All right. I'll see if I find anything," I said before walking away from the aquatic monster corner and looking at other Jewels in the shop.
"A natural, non-sense skill Beast Judgment, eh?" said the shop owner as I walked away. "With Catherine and that other person, that's a total of three now." Those words stuck with me, for some reason.
After that, I spent about two hours looking at the Jewels here, but the results weren't great. No matter how many thousands of them I examined, I didn't find a single monster that "clicked."
"Well, that's a shame," said the shopkeeper.
"Sorry for wasting your time," I apologized.
"No need for that. A business wouldn't function if we didn't allow our customers to examine our wares as long as they liked. Though, now you'll have to look around the bazaar..."
"Indeed," agreed Rubiella. "However, using Beast Judgment in the bazaar is quite..."
"Oh, right. Even a Master would be in trouble if they found out."
They were talking about something, but I didn't know what "Beast Judgment" entailed, so I couldn't really follow the conversation.
"...Huh?" I asked.
Suddenly, I noticed something.
On one end of the shop, there was a metallic pot, large enough to fit a child. The lid was off and lying at the base of the pot. For some reason, it was surrounded by a chain bearing a warning coloration, as if to say that the pot was off-limits.
It stands out so much, so how didn't I notice it before? I asked myself before curiosity took over. I approached the pot and pointed my left hand at it.
"Shopkeeper, this pot is..."
"Pot? Ah...?! GET AWAY FROM IT!"
His shout startled me into quickly backing away. A moment later, something silver passed the space where my index finger was. I looked and noticed that the warning chain was severed. The cut was
so clean and flat that it almost felt as though it could be fixed if you simply put the pieces back together. My finger was slightly damaged, as well, but a bit of rubbing was enough for the cut to close and leave only a small mark. It seemed like I was cut by an extremely sharp blade moving at an immense speed.
However, that was quite far from the truth.
What had cut me wasn't a blade, but a liquid. I saw some of it hang on the edge of the pot before returning inside. The liquid was silver and had a mysterious glossiness. The sight was bizarre, and I simply couldn't look away from this monster.
"Sorry about that," said the shopkeeper. "This one's dangerous, so I had an isolation barrier around it. Seems like it got broken."
"I'm quite fine," I replied. "What is this, though?"
"It's a Mithril Arms Slime," answered the shop owner as he cast some spell and fixed the chain. "A rarity among the already-rare metal slimes. They have bodies made of liquid mithril and attack by quickly turning themselves into weapons."
Mithril Arms Slime, I repeated the monster name in my head.
"I got it in an auction, but it wasn't tamed, you see," he continued. "I was planning to ask a Tamer I was acquainted with to tame it, but before I could do that, I accidentally unsealed it, and now it's in this state."
"'This state,' as in...?" I asked.
"Constantly on alert and prepared for battle. Thing's now completely volatile, cutting any living creature that comes close. It's also more difficult to tame it now, and moving it from there is really tricky, so I couldn't really do much besides creating a barrier around it. Slimes don't even get tired, so waiting it out isn't an option, either. Sure, killing it would take care of this mess, but I don't want to see the money I've spent go down the drain."
"How much did you spend on it?" I asked.
"10,250,000 lir. These slimes aren't the strongest things, but their rarity makes them cost a pretty penny."
Hearing the price made me freeze for a moment. However...
"Shopkeeper," I said.
"Y es?"
I gathered my resolve and told him what I wanted. "I'll tame the slime, so could you sell it to me?"
My words made the shopkeeper, Rubiella, and the monsters inside my Jewel turn silent with surprise. Only Babi had her usual smile on her face.
"Though I'd like to pay by installments, if you don't mind," I added.
"I've already said that I would allow that," he said. "Are you sure, though?"
"Y es. I mean... the slime clicked with me," I responded with a smile, caused by an unwavering belief in my own intuition. "I will tame her."
Simply because I wanted her, I chose to tame the Mithril Arms Slime — a creature yet to be tamed by anyone.
◇
Mithril Arms Slime.
According to the shop's owner, they were a rarity even among the already-rare metal slimes.
Not carnivorous, herbivorous, or omnivorous, their diet consisted of water and metal ores, especially mithril.
All slimes had liquid bodies, and these were no exception. However, Mithril Arms Slimes had the special ability to instantly harden and turn parts of themselves into weapons. When attacked, they either turned their bodies into mithril shields or used their slime-like liquid state to maneuver out of harm's way.
The number of these slimes that humanity had found was still in the double digits, while the amount that had been killed didn't even break twenty. And so far, not a single one of them had ever been tamed.
Again — the Mithril Arms Slime, as a species, had yet to be tamed.
I was told that some Tamers had gotten them into a tamable state, but had gotten their right hands cut off when they'd tried to form a contract.
Normally, when monsters are in a tamable state, all the person has to do is touch them and form a contract to complete the taming. I'd already gone through that with Audrey, and she hadn't resisted at all.
However, Mithril Arms Slimes were different in that regard. As long as they were in an alert state, they didn't hesitate to attack the Tamers even after they became tamable.
Due to that, they were considered to be even more difficult to tame than Pure-Dragons.
"We've had some customers who wanted to try and tame it, but they've all failed," said the shopkeeper. "There were people with maxed out high-rank tamer grouping jobs, but even they weren't successful."
Basically, it was impossible even to the best of Tamers.
Some would probably laugh at the idea of a newbie such as myself having a go at such a challenging task, but that didn't mean that I couldn't try.
I knew people who wouldn't give up no matter how great was the challenge before them, so I wanted to follow their example.
And follow it I had been... for over four hours now.
Facing the pot with the Mithril Arms Slime inside, I silently extended the thing in my right hand towards it. It was a thin rod less than a meter in length — a mithril wire. Mithril was their staple food, and I figured that trying to feed it wouldn't hurt.
I'd gotten the wire by asking Rubiella to go to the bazaar and buy it.
Now, she was at the counter, talking about something with the shop's owner.
"I've heard that the grandchild of the Luor Company's president got kidnapped by the Gouz-Maise Gang," I heard her say.
"Those scumbags still at it?" responded the shopkeeper. "How many times has this happened now? It's above one hundred, isn't it?"
I'd heard the name "Gouz-Maise Gang" several times while in this city. From what I could tell, they were a vile group that troubled Gideon and its surroundings by kidnapping children.
What kind of person steals children, of all things? I thought, pure disgust welling up within me.
"Ah..."
A moment later, the tip of the wire I'd extended got cut off and fell to the floor. I instantly concluded that she'd attacked in response to either my disgust or the attempt at feeding. Despite both the wire and the slime being made of mithril, the cut was impressively clean, making the tip of the wire as flat and sharp as a mirror.
I slowly brought what remained of the wire closer to her, causing her to repeatedly sever more and more of it. The way it gradually got
smaller reminded me of a certain stick-shaped sweet. It didn't take long for the wire to be reduced to nothing but pieces of mithril scattered on the floor.
"This thing cost me 2,000 lir," I sighed before finger-throwing the last bit of it towards the slime. It, too, got split in half the moment it entered her "personal space," so to speak.
"Y ou seem to be having a hard time," said the shop's owner.
"I can't deny that," I replied. "Just as you told me, it becomes really difficult after you get her into a tamable state."
"Hm? Y ou're there already?"
"All slimes are female, after all. Male Temptation works on them just fine, so I didn't have much trouble making her tamable."
Indeed, there had been no problems on that front. However...
"But when I reach for her to form a contract... she cuts me." I looked at the pieces of mithril on the floor and the countless shallow cuts on my hands.
"Among the Tamers who attempted to tame it was one who tried to do it while wearing mithril gauntlets," said the shopkeeper. "He still got his hands cut off." So, not even properly processed armor-tier mithril can withstand these attacks, huh? I thought.
"Armor made from Mythical metal... hihi'irokane... might protect against these cuts, though," he added. "Should we get some?"
"No, thank you," I shook my head. "I doubt my level's high enough to equip such things. Also, I don't think that's the right answer here." Relying on toughness and stats just didn't seem like the right way to go about it. If it had been, the Tamers that'd come before me would've already done it just because they had greater stats and equipment. The correct method of taming Mithril Arms Slimes had nothing to do with such things.
"Y ou seem to be stuck, though," he said.
"So far, I've noticed two things," I responded while pointing at the pot. "First, her alertness. Rather than attacking automatically, she carefully considers each and every single one of her cuts. Over the four hours of doing this, I've noticed that the distance at which she starts attacking has a deviation of a few centimeters, meaning that she's not doing it with machine-like, automatic precision."
I pointed at the mithril pieces on the floor. Though they'd been cut by the same slime, their thickness wasn't consistent, which was proof of what I'd just said.
"I see. What's the second thing, then?" asked the shopkeeper.
"She wants to be tamed," I answered.
"Why do you think that?"
I showed him my open hands, which were covered in countless small cuts that the slime had given me. "All of these wounds are shallow."
"Well, I can see that much."
"Both the wire and my fingers entered her alertness zone. However, while the wire got cut apart, my fingers are still intact."
"Oh!"
She'd severed the mithril wire with ease, yet my hands — which were far weaker — were relatively unharmed.
"They're all little more than scratches, and the worst one among them is the one I got after carelessly pointing at her when I first saw the pot," I said. "As in, the one from before she was in a tamable state."
I raised the index finger of my left hand, and sure enough, the cut
on it was the deepest one, if only by a few millimeters. Which was why I could infer that...
"She's holding back against humans. And she's been extra careful with those that have gotten her into a tamable state, reducing her attacks to nothing but warnings. It's clear that she treats us differently than inorganic objects."
"But the Tamers that came before you—"
"Y es, they had their hands completely cut off. I think the same would happen to me if I reached a little farther," I said as I extended my hand towards the slime's alertness radius.
Though her attacks put more small cuts on my fingers, I didn't retract my hand. Naturally, she continued attacking. After confirming that all the wounds were shallow, I took my hand out of her radius.
"See?" I said. "When you consider how differently she treats the mithril wire and my hand, it's clear that there's more to this than just distance. She's probably acting according to some simple rules."
"So you think you'll be able to tame her when you figure them out, eh?" asked the shop's owner.
"Y es, but figuring them out might be troublesome. I need a clue, and..." I stopped talking before I could finish what I was saying.
The shopkeeper looked at me with a puzzled expression, but I couldn't care about that. After all, something that I wanted to be oblivious of had entered the edge of my vision. Next to the pot, there was a small animal — a single mouse.
"Oh, a mouse," said the shopkeeper. "Guess the barrier keeping them out got broken."
The moment I saw it, the mind controlling my body went blank.
The mouse was so weak that it didn't even count as a monster. There was a hole in one of the walls, which was probably where it had come from.
It noticed our presence and ran away, passing by the pot in the process.
All of that entered my vision, and I properly processed it. However, at the same time, my body reflexively screamed. "Mouse mouse mouse mouse mouse MOUUUUUSE!"
I entered a state of absolute panic. As my brain tried to understand the situation, my mind was overwhelmed by memories of a certain event. Training, an old mansion, broken floor, falling into a room with countless mic— "MOOOUUUUUUUUUSSE!" Losing control of my body, I became even more panicked.
However, before that reached its peak and made me lose consciousness...
"It's okay. Don't be afraid."
...I was embraced by Babi.
"There there, Rook. There's nothing to be afraid of," she said, comforting me and patting my back.
Strange as it was, that was enough for me to slowly regain control of my panicked mind and body. It was just like when my mother had done it to me.
After about five minutes, I had completely calmed down, and the panic was gone as if it was never there.
"Sorry you had to see that," I apologized to the shopkeeper and Rubiella.
I knew that my behavior had been unsightly. Panicked as I was, my mind was still somewhat functional. However, I could almost feel a wave of other thoughts overwhelm me.
Sober as I was now, I concluded that this was how most so-called "traumas" were.
"No need to apologize," said Rubiella.
"Everyone has things they can't handle, after all," added the shopkeeper. "But why do mice make you so... Oh, I won't ask."
He must have noticed how I reacted to the very mention of the creatures and — out of consideration — refrained from asking me for the reasons.
It was good that he did, for I wasn't too sure how I was supposed to answer that. I'd been wanting to get rid of my phobia of rodents ever since I was a child, but it still showed no signs of going away.
All right, that's enough about mice, I thought.
There was something far more important.
"I found out the slime's rules, so I'll tame her now," I said. The thing I'd seen while panicking had given me the final clue I needed.
All that was left was to test my theory.
"Really? What's this, all of a sudden?" asked the shop's owner.
"This incident wasn't all bad," I said. "Thanks to it, I figured out why I couldn't tame her."
"...Y ou could do that in that state?"
Well, I've been taught to analyze my surroundings no matter how confused I may be, I thought.
Anyway, testing my theory required some preparation.
"Excuse me, keeper, but can I borrow an empty Jewel?" I asked.
"I don't mind," he said as he took one of the Jewels from the counter. It was the same type as the one I had, only completely empty.
As long as the owner allowed it, it was possible to transfer monsters from one Jewel to another by simply making them touch.
"All right, then..." Taking the empty Jewel in my left hand, I closed it in to the one on my right. And just like that, I transferred Marilyn and Audrey into the empty Jewel.
"KIEEE?!" ("BOSS?! Y OU'RE SELLING US?! WHAT THE FUCK!") "MHOOO!" ("C-C-C-C-Calm down! I-I'm sure he has something in mind!") Oh... they seem really startled, I thought. Now I feel kinda bad. I should've warned them...
"The Tri-Horn Demi-Dragon is 2,400,000 lir, while the Crimson Roc Bird is 3,200,000," said the shopkeeper.
"KIEEE!" ("Take that, bitch! I'm more expensive!") "MHOO!" ("Now's not the time to be happy, you birdbrain! Also, the reason you're more expensive is because they already have my kind here!") Does difference in price really mean all that much to them? Wait,
that doesn't matter right now, I thought.
"No, I'm not selling them. I just needed to momentarily move them. Babi, hold on to this for a second," I said as I gave her the Jewel with Marilyn and Audrey inside.
"Okaaay."
"All right, then," I muttered as I began taking off my clothes.
I removed everything that counted as equipment.
"Hmm, that should be enough," I said, clad in only a tank top and underwear, inner clothing that gave no bonuses to stats or anything. "I think I'm ready now."
"Rook, what are you doing?" asked the shopkeeper, and I responded with only a smile, leaving the proper answer to the results of my theory.
While distancing my left hand — which had the Embryo crest on it
— away from the slime, I extended my right — the one with the Jewel — towards her.
Unlike before, the way I reached for her had no hesitation. Soon enough, my right hand passed the edge of the danger zone without getting hit by a single warning attack.
I continued moving my hand further, into the area beyond which countless Tamers had theirs cut off. However, my hand went through without getting a single scratch on it, and I reached the edge of the pot.
As I heard the people behind me gasp, I placed the back of my hand on the top of the pot and waited for her.
"Come," I said, not sure if she would understand me.
A few moments later, the Mithril Arms Slime crawled out and
touched my palm.
It was hard to tell how long it had taken, but eventually, magic began flowing between us and the taming was complete.
"Y our name is Liz... Liz the Mithril Arms Slime," I smiled as I rubbed her shiny, silver body. "Let's get along, Liz."
In response, the Mithril Arms Slime, Liz, shook in a happy manner.
Thus, my theory was proven to be correct.
I turned around to face the store's owner. "I've tamed her," I said.
"...How did you do that?"
"Exactly as you saw me do it. I momentarily moved Marilyn and Audrey to another Jewel and took off my equipment."
"How does that connect to you becoming able to tame the slime?" he asked.
My explanation was probably a bit lacking, sure, but the truth was actually really simple.
"Liz... or, rather, Mithril Arms Slimes in general... are very cowardly," I said while petting Liz, who was crawling all over my body. "Even if you get them into a tamable state, having them recognize you as worthy, they're still afraid of other things."
"Such as?"
"The other monsters in the right hand extended towards them."
"Ah!"
Anyone who tamed and used monsters kept them in the right hand's Jewel at all times, even while taming a new monster. Also, not
a single Tamer wore a Jewel without any monsters inside. Those were the reasons why no Tamers before me had been able to tame Liz.
"Also, she first attacked my left hand," I continued. "That was probably because she was afraid of the crest — the thing that channels the powers of Embryos. And the fact that she attacked mithril gauntlets and wire made it safe to assume that equipment scared her, as well. That's why I tamed her after removing everything she was afraid of."
Those seemingly-simple reasons were why I had removed my equipment and distanced my left hand away from her.
"Isn't that just circumstantial evidence?" asked the shopkeeper.
"Y es. However, I became completely certain of it when I saw th-the mouse," I answered. Merely using the word made me feel unpleasant, but I still continued the explanation. "That mouse was just a mouse — not even a monster. And it didn't get attacked even when it was right next to the pot and passed by it while I lost myself."
Though I'd been panicking, I'd clearly seen how the mouse had acted. Despite being so close to Liz, it hadn't been attacked once. That was because the mouse wasn't even a monster.
"So it came to me that I might be successful if I had nothing on me and didn't scare her. After all, the wounds she gave me were small, making it seem like she was being considerate of me."
Her attacks had been warning shots. But they hadn't been directed at me; they'd been directed at the monsters in my right hand's Jewel and the Embryo crest on my left.
"Did you consider what would've happened if your deduction was wrong?" asked the shopkeeper. "Y ou could've been sliced apart, you know?"
"I had confidence," I said before pausing for a moment. I added honestly, "Also... if I was wrong, it would've been fine for me to die."
My father often told me words that he'd gotten from his own father: "When making deductions that might change other people's lives, always bear responsibility for your words. Bet your life on them and do your best to never be mistaken."
When other people were involved in your deductions, you had to make sure you had the resolve to carry that burden.
Suddenly, I noticed that the shop's owner was looking at me with a shocked expression.
I guess that's to be expected, considering what I just said, I thought.
"Oh, but I'm a Master, so I can't really die here," I said with jest as I finished my explanation.
"..." ("Are you okay?") At that moment, Liz — who was still crawling all over me — worriedly asked me that while looking at the cuts on my hands.
"Y eah, I'm fine, Liz," I replied. "The wounds are shallow, and your cuts were so clean that they don't even hurt. I'm not mad at all."
By default, Infinite Dendrogram had no pain, but I was confident that it wouldn't have hurt even if there had been.
"Rook," the shopkeeper addressed me. "Y ou can talk to slimes?"
"I can understand them by looking," I nodded. "Animals communicate more than just by words, after all." In fact, I found animals to be easier to understand than people.
"Is that a skill?" he asked.
"No," I shook my head and momentarily fell silent. "It's a technique that my parents taught me."
After saying that, I took a moment to run my mind through those
memories.
◇
After that, I bought Liz for 5,130,000 lir, paid by installments.
According to the shop's owner, the Mithril Arms Slime taming method I'd discovered was worth more than 10,000,000 lir. Due to that, he'd wanted to give her to me for free, but that didn't sit right with me, so I'd chosen to pay at least half of her original price.
My mom had always told me that "Taking too much free stuff is best left for stealing," and it wasn't like I wanted to steal from the shopkeeper, so I was satisfied with the outcome.
Also, instead of having her join the other monsters in the Jewel, I had Liz use her Camouflage skill — common among slimes — to turn into clothing for me to wear. The clothing's appearance was still metallic, but there already was a piece of equipment known as "Mithril Coat," so I didn't really stand out too much. Also, when people with a low Identification skill level looked at her, they would see nothing but "Mithril Coat (Custom-Made)."
The only problem I had with this coat was the fact that Liz's fear of the crest caused the left arm's sleeve to be a bit shorter than the other, but that wasn't a big deal. She also moved in an unnatural manner every once in a while, but most would simply assume that it was just the wind.
Anyway, we were now gathered outside Gideon's north gate to see off Rubiella.
Apparently, while I had been busy taming Liz, Catherine had returned to the capital, and Rubiella was about to go after her.
"Thank you for your help, Rubiella," I said.
"I am humbled to have you thank me, Master Rook. I, too, am thankful for your giving me an interesting story to tell Milady."
"Speaking of Catherine, I really wish I could've thanked her before she left." After all, it was thanks to her that I'd met Liz.
She really helps me out a lot, I thought.
"I will make sure to pass over your gratitude," she said.
"Thank you."
"Now, then. Master Rook, Babylon, Marilyn, Audrey, and Liz," she said. "I hope we can meet again."
"How will you go the capital? Dragon Carriage?" Babi asked, making Rubiella silently chuckle.
"This body of mine will be more than enough," she said, and a second later, two large wings sprouted from her back.
As soon as I noticed that they were draconic, she flapped them and rose up to the clouds, where her appearance suddenly changed. She was now a large dragon emitting a crimson light that I could easily see from the surface.
Rubiella, the crimson dragon that could use Anthropomorphization, waved goodbye to us by spinning in the air and then flew off towards the capital, looking truly majestic in the process.
"KIEEE!" ("Hey, turtle. I'm gonna try and get Anthropomorphization, too.") "VAHMOO!" ("What a coincidence. I was thinking the same thing.") Audrey and Marilyn seemed to be quite impressed by what Rubiella had just shown us.
"Well, what do we do now?" I asked. "The meeting with Marie is the day after tomorrow, Ray doesn't seem to be online yet, and I don't really have any plans."
My only personal business for today had been to say hi to Catherine and get a new tamed monster. Needless to say, I'd already done both
of those things, leaving me with nothing to do.
"Then why don't we go and level up?" asked Babi, to which I replied with a nod.
We had yet to fight with Audrey and Liz in the group, so that was a really good idea.
Also, I felt that our party would end up fighting some truly great foes in the future, so I wanted us to be useful when that time came.
"Good idea," I said. "I want to become stronger, so let's go get some levels."
Audrey cried, "KIEE!" ("Boss! I know where to find the prey around these parts!") Audrey had originally been the mount of Gardranda, a creature that lived around the Nex Plains, so it was only obvious for her to be familiar with the surroundings.
"Can you show us, then, Audrey?" I asked.
"KIEEEE!" ("Sure thing, Boss! Hop on!") "So, Marilyn, you'll have to go in the Jewel for now," I said. "We're hunting once we get there."
"MHOOO." ("Understood.") "Will you protect me, Liz?" I asked.
"..." ("Of course. Don't you worry.") "Babi, are you ready?" I asked.
"Always am!"
And, of course, I was fully prepared, as well.
"Let's go, then."
"Y es, Master!" they all replied in perfect unison as we took off.
[ROOK STORY , END.] To Be Continued in the Next Episode...
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