By the Grace of the Gods (LN) - Volume 10 - Chapter 16

Chapter 7, Episode 16: A Pilgrimage of Groundwork

The next morning, some of the weed slimes sounded the alarm before sunrise, so I hurried to the field where they were stationed and ended up catching four goblins about to ransack the whole thing.

Their limbs having been immobilized with sticky slime solution, the goblins turned their heads to me, trying to intimidate me with their shrieks. I was hoping to contract rather than exterminate... I wondered if giving them some food would calm them down.

I took a handful of mad salamander jerky they had given me on the way out of the village of Sikum from my Item Box and held it up to the mouth of the goblins that were bearing its teeth at me.

The goblin snarled for a beat before realizing the jerky was edible, chomping on the end and skillfully pulling in the whole slice. The other goblins looked like they were jealous, so I did the same with them. Since they seemed calmer after repeating that process for three rounds, I cast the contract spell after the fourth. The magic appeared to have worked, but the goblins seemed too preoccupied with chewing the dried meat in their mouth.

“Are you listening? Can you understand me?”

It looked like the spell was a success, because I could sense their confusion from their sudden understanding of my thoughts. Trying to measure the degree of communication we had, I tried asking them why they had come here.

Want food.

Looked long time.

Much food here.

Take. Eat it all.

It seemed like we could communicate just fine, grammar issues aside. Soon, they realized that they were still bound, and started loudly demanding their freedom. I threatened them a little, which caused them to scramble to flee, realize they were still restrained, and freak out about it. Their rather stupid reaction confirmed that they most likely wouldn’t be a threat, so I decided to recruit them, explaining how I owned the farms and was put in charge of managing the land around here...

...but they seemed utterly confused.

“What I’m trying to say is... Here, my territory. Got it?”

It looked like they did.

“Food here, mine. Got it?”

Same with that statement.

“You come to my territory. Steal my food. I kill you. Got it?”

I sensed the collective dread of the goblins, but they must have decided ignoring my question would worsen their fate, somehow, as they vigorously nodded in acknowledgment.

“No stealing yet. Work here, I won’t kill you. You work, I provide food, clothing, shelter. Got it?”

I sensed their incredulity, so I simplified it for them. “Your choice: work or die.”

Work!

That concluded our negotiations, as I learned that the goblins couldn’t comprehend complicated thoughts. With them, it was better to be as concise as possible, articulating each individual thought.

After this, I asked the four goblins if there were any more in their pack, and they told me there were another four. I had them take me to the others, and after a similar series of events, I had contracted a total of eight goblins. It was getting lighter by then, so I gave them food and a section of the mines before having them help with my morning chores. While I planned to renovate their area to make it more comfortable, I remembered how there was once an infestation of goblins at these very mines. They would survive just fine for the time being.

■ ■ ■

After getting ready for the morning, I headed out to work. This day, we were scheduled to demolish another orphanage and quick-build the security company’s headquarters in its place with sand magic.

I started the process, building according to the room specifications from Hughes and company, who met me at the site.

“Hughes, Jill, this drawing only shows the interior layout. What about the exterior?”

“Oh... Sorry, I hadn’t thought of that. I only double-checked the rooms we’d need,” said Jill.

“Can you take care of it? This is going to be our base of operations, so give it some authority, or something,” Hughes suggested. I obliged, designing the exterior to match the first building that came to mind that seemed like it had authority.

“Hey, that’s pretty good!”

“Amazing symmetry.”

While its size was smaller than the real thing, since I’d matched it to the grounds of the former orphanage (which used to be a warehouse, incidentally), it was still comparable to the business end of a noble manor. A structure resembling the National Diet Building had now been erected in Gimul. I released the sticky slimes to coat the inside and outside of the building, so I could check this off the list.

“I’m going to pick up the construction of the new orphanage from yesterday. Keep an eye on the stickies for me.”

With Zeph and Camil in tow, we headed to yesterday’s site. We directed and worked with the builders there, spending the morning constructing the first floor. After having lunch with both of them, I headed off to meet someone in a particularly chaotic sector of the slums where huts and temporary housing were strewn nearly on top of each other.

“These parts are...a little worse for wear.”

“You told us we were meeting someone as part of building the trash plant. Who are we seeing today?”

“People call her Grandma Garbage... She’s made her living off trash for decades, and she’s supposed to be the go-to person for anything garbage-related in Gimul. She’s even well known among the children and garbage pickers of the slums.” I answered Zeph and Camil. “The only thing is, she takes a lot of pride in her salvage work and can be a bit much. I met her the other day—”

“Well! If it isn’t the rich kid.” Speak of the devil. Grandma Garbage herself called out to me, holding a large burlap sack on her bent back.

“Oh, hello, Nanna Garbage. On your way home from work?”

“Took a little stroll before our meeting. I’m surprised you wanted to see a weird old lady like me again.”

“Like I was saying the other day, starting a new venture is much easier when I can get advice from those who know the industry well.”

“Those two involved in that project of yours?”

That reminded me that I hadn’t introduced them.

“This is Camil, and this is Zeph. They’re helping me with my work.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Glad to make your acquaintance.”

“Likewise. Just call me Grandma Garbage. Everyone around here does.”

The pair showed a little concern at this. The negative connotation of this nickname seemed off-putting at first, so I understood that sentiment.

“She won’t tell me her name, no matter how many times I ask,” I explained. “So I just call her Nanna Garbage.”

“I see. Then that’s what we’ll call her too,” said Zeph.

And so, we walked the short distance to her home. What I needed the most when it came to building the trash processing plant was garbage collectors; the plant wouldn’t do much good without people bringing trash to it. But first, I had to contact the people who were already making a living by gathering trash, since any new trash collectors I’d hire would become their direct competition, fighting over a limited resource—the city’s trash. While I considered recruiting the current trash collectors to work for me, there was no guarantee that all of them would oblige, or that their rapid lifestyle change wouldn’t cause some other issues. After all, I’d decided to first target areas that the trash collectors of the slums didn’t get around to and/or had difficulty reaching. I hoped to take on processing trash on a citywide scale, but I thought it best to start by establishing our own territories and keeping out of each other’s way, in order to build trust between my new business and the current roster of trash gatherers.

“Which parts of the city do most trash collectors avoid working in?”

“Let’s see... The artisan district on the west side is off-limits. Some of their work involves chemicals that’d be dangerous to handle without the right knowledge or equipment. The artisans have to dispose of those.”

Industrial waste, then. It seemed like I could take care of them, but I would have to confirm that and set up a safe transportation method for the waste before taking it on.

“Adults stay away from the suburbs on the east side,” Nanna Garbage continued. “Each neighborhood has its committee that collects its own trash. We don’t mess with them. Poor folks like us get dirty looks just from walking down one of their streets. It’s going to make our lives even harder if we scavenge their trash up there. Still, it’s one of the safest spots in the city, so little ones go there pretty often. They only pick off the street, though. We never take from the trash they’ve already collected.”

Interesting...

“Folks around here often go to the south side where there’s a bunch of inns and restaurants. That means a lot of trash. People working those establishments toss their trash in one of the many dumping sites, so we pick it up. Lately, though, we have a bunch of outsiders going right up to those businesses or digging into the little piles of trash they put out by the back door before they actually dump them... If they came and asked how we do things around here like you are, I’d teach them a thing or two. But they’re making trouble for all of us.”

It sounded like people of the slums followed their own set of rules that minimized their effect on the city. While I didn’t want to overstep, I made a mental note to notify the Merchant’s Guild of this later on.

After asking Nanna Garbage a few more questions, I promised to come to see her again and returned to the shop to take care of some paperwork. It helped that I was in Gimul to take care of tasks as they came up, but Carme was working very hard to ease my workload, leaving me with little more than double-checking things and signing papers to do at the shop. To be honest, coming to the shop was like getting a break.

I spent my free time here picking out a few sets of clothes from the stock of thrifted wear we had acquired for the children of the slums and engaging in small talk with whoever came on break.

Evening came soon enough, which meant I could set out on my last task for the day. After changing into my only suit, I rejoined Hughes and Jill en route to a guard station. While there was one adjacent to each of the four city gates (north, south, east, and west) and others in various locations throughout the city, we ended up knocking on the door of the largest station in the city, which could have been considered their headquarters.

We were set to meet the man in charge of the guards within.

“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting,” he said upon entering the room.

“Thank you for seeing us. I know you’re terribly busy.”

“Oh? You’re the one who healed one of my men with magic.”

“Yes! I remember seeing you!”

As it turned out, the man was the same guard who had given me the rundown on the current state of Gimul on the day of my return.

“I never would have expected the top man to be on patrol himself.”

“We were helplessly short staffed... Where are my manners? I’m Manfret Dameyer, chief of security.”

“Thank you, I’m—”

“Ryoma Takebayashi, right?”

“You knew?”

“The man you healed that day did. I’ve heard you run a laundry shop, which many guards frequent. I am surprised that you’re the founder of the rumored security company. Two ventures at your age... Well, I suppose that’s irrelevant. Pardon me. And today, you wanted to...?”

Of course, it would have been an understatement to say the Gimul’s chief of security was busy.

“As you know, I am in the process of establishing a security company that provides protection as a product. While this company would be temporary by nature, I need to apologize for encroaching upon the duties of the city guards. Furthermore, I hope to cooperate with the guards to protect the residents of our city. While I don’t mean to sound brazen, I am asking for your help.”

The rise in crime in the city was a serious issue. Personally and professionally, I was unhappy with the current state of Gimul. My solution to that was building the security company, but I was concerned about how the city guards would feel when a new force popped out of nowhere to protect the city.

“No need to apologize,” Dameyer said. “As long as your staff protects the city lawfully, without damage to property or innocent citizens, we have no qualms. Especially if it’s a registered business through the Merchant’s Guild.” He smiled. “We do take pride that we have protected the people of Gimul, but nothing more. Like I said, as long as the guild is involved and you don’t do anything illegal, no one would have any grounds to object to your venture. The fact that you still took the time to come and apologize shows how much you respect our profession. I promise that I will pass that down to my guards.”

“Thank you!”

This was going much smoother than I had expected! Turns out, Dameyer was an honest and kind person. Though I did get that impression during our first meeting as well...

“We understand more than anyone the current dynamic of Gimul, and that our shortcomings have stirred fear in the people. Your new company should aid greatly in easing that fear. Nothing can be gained from any conflict between us. Our top priority is to protect the city and its people, so we will do all in our power to do so. While I can’t control each guard’s personal feelings about your company, anyone who puts their personal resentment over our duty has lost their pride as a guardian of the city, and has become merely arrogant. While I hope none of my guards have succumbed to that vice, sometimes hope alone isn’t enough. I’ll keep an eye on them to make sure no one displays their disgruntlement against you or your company.”

“Thank you again, really. I will work with my employees to make sure they cooperate with the guards.”

Hughes and Jill gave strong affirmations to this as well.

“So, now that we have all but agreed to cooperate, what specific measures did you have in mind?”

“I have two, for starters—collective training and sharing information.”

First of all, most of my employees would have to be trained from the ground up, so I thought training with guards could be a nice change of pace on both sides. The idea of sharing information stemmed from my plan to patrol the city as part of advertising the new company. If the patrol came across any crime, they would have to take action. For my patrol team to deal with the situation as much as they’d be trained to do until the guards arrived, and then transfer detailed information (maybe even criminals they’d arrested) to them, I wanted us to share as much information as possible.

“We just got some new recruits ourselves, so training together can’t hurt. The patrolling on your end and us sharing information will help us out a lot.”

“We’re going to be a private business, so we’d like to cooperate as much as possible, if you let me know what we can do.”

“In that case...”

We spent the rest of our time discussing requests from the city guards and working on the details of our cooperation.

■ ■ ■

I left the guard station after the meeting, and with no other tasks or plans for the day, I decided to stop by the Tamer’s Guild.

At night, the guild was almost empty, including the reception. Though they were no doubt nearing closing time, the receptionist beckoned me with a smile.

“Welcome. How can I help you this evening?”

“I’d like as much sprint rabbit meat as you can give. I can transport it with space magic, though; whatever you have will do. Also, I captured some goblins this morning and decided to tame them. Could you tell me anything I need to look out for when keeping goblins?”

“Yes, sir. I shall verify things regarding the sprint rabbit meat.” She turned, called for a man who was passing by, and told him to check their inventory before turning back to me. “May I ask the purpose of keeping the goblins?”

“Grunt work, mostly. I manage the abandoned mines up north, so I was hoping to have them help me with farm work and some heavy lifting.”

“Firstly, goblins are omnivorous, so they will eat anything you give them. There is nothing they have a particular aversion to, even if the food has become a bit stale. One thing you should be cautious about is overfeeding them.”

“Overfeeding?”

“Yes, feeding goblins too much can encourage them to breed.”

“A curse and a blessing when it comes to goblins, as I understand.”

“With a comfortable environment and enough food, goblins can give birth up to three times a month, so their population can grow rapidly. Another factor that may be less well known is that overfeeding goblins can lead to increased birth rates of advanced species like the hobgoblin.”

“Ah... That’s why large goblin hordes are dangerous.”

Their large numbers were dangerous enough in itself, but once the horde was large enough to start acquiring food from their surroundings, the negative spiral began; the more advanced species were born, the stronger their horde became.

I’d taken care of fleeing goblins in the large-scale goblin hunt at the mines, but I assumed the higher-ranked adventurers witnessed this spiral in action when they charged into the goblin dwelling.

“Oh? You were in that spring hunt?” asked the receptionist.

“Yes. I’m actually an adventurer by trade.”

“Then I’m sure you’ve seen the effects of it in person... Once again, goblins are incredibly fertile. It isn’t uncommon for us to hear from tamers that their goblin horde had grown too large before they realized, or they couldn’t control the newly born advanced species. If any of your familiars injures someone, both you and the familiar will face prosecution. Please be careful.”

“Thank you, I’ll keep that in mind.”

The receptionist couldn’t quite conceal her doubts about my abilities. I had heard that hobgoblins were larger and stronger than normal goblins. I imagined that many tamers were tempted into overfeeding and intentionally breeding hobgoblins for the purpose of taming them, leading to accidents. I would have to assess my abilities and get rid of some goblins if needed... That being said, I still couldn’t see the limit of my contract with them, and once I got the hang of conversation, the goblins seemed much easier to deal with than the clever chickens.

Even though I used a threat of violence at first, the goblins were honest because of their simple thought processes and were much less stressful to talk to. Besides, while it was easy to make the mistake that clever chickens were all bawk and no bite, they were more formidable than goblins. Of course, thanks to Kohaku working hard to mediate, I was doing just fine with them. Come to think of it, Kohaku put in some incredible work when I wasn’t looking. As much as I wanted to reward him in some way, giving him special treatment would probably get a rise of the clever chickens, causing him more trouble than it was worth...

While I was letting my mind wander about my familiars, the male guild member from earlier passed a slip of paper to the receptionist.

“Thank you for your patience. We can provide up to fifty sprint rabbits.”

“I’ll take fifty, then. No need to break them down either.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll have them prepared right away.”

One after another, they brought out the carcasses of hairless rabbits that resembled naked mole-rats, each as muscular as a bodybuilder, which made them almost too heavy for a child to lift. Despite them being rabbits, there wasn’t a shred of charm about them, as they were more rugged than cute... Of course, some people might have found these sprint rabbits irresistibly adorable.

“Forty-nine... Fifty,” the receptionist counted. “That’s all of them. That will be 1,500 sutes.”

I paid the price, which was very reasonable. That came out to thirty sutes a rabbit, which was about a third of what an average adult lives off of in a day.

“Sprint rabbits multiply even faster than goblins,” she said. “Very useful little critters for a tamer with carnivorous monsters.”

“I can keep the food cost down if they’re this reasonable... Just curious, are they edible for humans? I’ve never seen them at the butcher’s.”

“They’re not poisonous, but I don’t recommend it. Some of the younger tamers who just started have tried them. Everyone has told me the meat is hardly edible, and they can’t even chew through it. It’s too muscular. I’ve even heard of someone dislocating their jaw from trying too hard to chew the meat.”

So, I wasn’t the first one to take notice of the rabbit’s price tag... I hadn’t given up on the idea, though. Throwing the pile of dead sprint rabbits into my Item Box, I thanked the receptionist and left the building.

Now that the goblins had joined my side, I was going to feed them as much sprint rabbit and potatoes (which I had stockpiled back home) as they wanted. I’d have a conversation with them about those advanced species before I started worrying about them.