By the Grace of the Gods (LN) - Volume 4 - Chapter 16

Chapter 3 Episode 16: Competent Newbie

“I’m home!” I shouted when I returned to the mine. All my limour birds were away, and while my slimes were present, they were incapable of answering me. My voice echoed as I fed the slimes and arranged my new haul of items.

Next, I decided to create a furnace for my charcoal-eating cleaner slimes. I selected a location between two tunnel entrances in the wall of stone next to my house. I used earth magic to dig a new hole parallel to the existing ones, then gradually expanded the cramped space inside until to create a moderately large oval room. I just had to sometimes cast Rock to reinforce the walls as I moved forward, so it didn’t take long. In the end, the ceiling was high enough for a child to stand and walk around, and the walls were about as wide as a tent meant for a couple of adults.

After that, I called an earth slime over and placed it upon a huge scavenger and had it pushed up to the ceiling. The earth slime turned part of the ceiling into dirt, then jumped back down. Then I repeated the process, having the scavenger lift the earth slime into the opened portion of the ceiling. After doing this a few more times, the slime broke through the top of the ceiling, creating a passage that passed through the tunnel above. The earth slime still seemed to have some energy, so I had it reinforce the walls as it came back. Now the chimney was completed, which also meant that most of the furnace was completed.

I almost felt like it was too simple, but it was already usable. The traditional method of creating charcoal involved digging a hole and making a framework inside, then stuffing it with wood and burying it under dirt and even more wood. That was a time-consuming way to set up a furnace, but it was also possible to make charcoal with oil drums, bonfires, and more. The important thing was that you couldn’t let the heat escape, and you had to be able to adjust the airflow as the wood burned. All I needed now was a lid for the chimney. I could adjust the airflow by using red clay made from stone and water.

That work was over, so next, I went on my patrol of the mine. I didn’t look after every inch of the place, so I didn’t have to go far from the house to find tons of weeds. Considering I could use those as fuel, though, it wasn’t so bad. The weeds that were tall enough to hide my whole body could be cut and left in the sun to dry somewhere so it would be easier to use as kindling. I could use it to make charcoal too, of course, so I cut it as I went about my patrol.

Eventually, I heard the cries of limour birds. I looked up at the sky and saw all my limour birds flying around, but they acted a bit differently from usual. The sunlight made it hard to see, but I saw what appeared to be a separate flock of birds. The limour birds seemed to be surrounding them. They may have been using magic too, because the other birds were trying to run away. When they were fully cornered, Eins let out a piercing cry and all the little silhouettes plummeted to the ground. They must have been hunting, but the way they went about it reminded me of dolphins more than birds. They ganged up on the opposing birds, then the nightmare limour bird used its special mind attack. I didn’t know if the birds lost consciousness or what, but they lost control and fell from the sky one by one. Some of the limour birds even took bites out of them in midair, as if getting a taste of the food before the meal.

Figuring that I should go take a look, I headed toward the peak of the mountain where it looked like the birds fell. I called out to greet my limour birds, and they responded by calling back, some flesh splattering from their beaks. What I thought were other birds turned out to be cave bats. I asked where they came from, and one of my birds flew off to one of the tunnels, then came back. That tunnel seemed to be the place. In the few days I was away, they presumably made it their home. Drei brought me one of them, as if he thought I was watching them because I wanted to join in, but I didn’t especially want to eat a bat. I didn’t mind saving any leftovers, but they were the ones who did the hunting, so they had the right to eat it. Their hunting helped me out too, so I told them to keep up the good work and walked away.

I didn’t know that limour birds hunted in groups, though. I had watched them hunt a few times before, but I only ever saw them act alone, so this was somewhat of a surprise. They could use wind magic, so maybe they’d be able to use Sound Bomb if I taught them. If so, it would be pretty helpful during hunts. I decided to try teaching them sometime.

■ ■ ■

I went to the adventurer’s guild the next morning.

“Good morning.”

“Oh, Ryoma, taking work here today?”

Maylene was there sticking requests on the bulletin board.

“Yes, I’m not so busy with the store now, so I want to start getting serious about adventuring work.”

“Really?! That’s great news. What kind of job would you like?”

“I actually have some particular requirements, if you don’t mind discussing it in detail.”

“I wouldn’t mind at all. Our job is to support adventurers. Tell me anything. But whether I can actually help is another story. After I’m done with this, we can—”

“No!” Somebody suddenly shouted from the reception desk.

“Oh, excuse me for a moment,” Maylene muttered, then headed to the counter with two men and a female receptionist who I wasn’t familiar with. “You there! Don’t tease her too much.”

“Oh, Maylene.”

“Sorry, maybe we went a bit far.”

The two men acted somewhat casual about it, but obediently bowed their heads and left. The receptionist apologized to Maylene profusely for some reason. She beckoned me over.

“Is something wrong?”

“Kind of, but let me introduce you first. This is Paena, a new hire from last week.”

“I’m... P-Paena. It’s nice to meet you.”

“I’m Ryoma Takebayashi. It’s nice to meet you too.”

“I’m sure you figured this out already, but she’s a little timid. Young men tend to pick on her.”

“Ugh, I’m so sorry.”

Paena looked to be about high school age. She seemed human, but her personality and small stature conjured images of a rodent. She wasn’t as gorgeous as Maylene, but she had a pretty face and came across as warm and innocent. She seemed like someone I could have gone out with under different circumstances. I was starting to get depressed thinking about it.

“Maylene, what did you call me over for?”

“Like I said, assisting adventurers is part of our job, so would you mind letting her handle it? I’ll sit with her, of course, so I can help if there are any problems.”

“That would be perfectly fine. Thank you for agreeing to help me, Paena.”

“D-Don’t mention it! I’ll try.”

I was guided to another room. It wasn’t that big, but had a table and chairs, so it was a good enough place for a conversation.

“I didn’t know the guild had rooms like this.”

“They’re used for training newbies like me and interrogating adventurers who commit crimes, among other things. Oh! Please sit, I’ll make you some tea.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that.”

“Sorry for the wait, I brought drinks. Now let’s begin.”

Maylene finished with the bulletin board and came in with a tray of drinks for three.

“Now, what did you want to discuss?”

“My future work as an adventurer. I have a goal in mind. I’m currently E Rank, but I want to rise up to C Rank. Also, I’m looking for jobs involving monsters on this list.”

“Let me see here. Treants, mad salamanders, calif monkeys...”

I handed her a list of monsters like those in the Sea of Trees of Syrus. She compared it against some files she had on hand.

“E Ranks wouldn’t be allowed to fight some of these.”

“I don’t mind having to climb the ranks until then, but I’d at least like to procure information on these monsters in advance. I’ve heard that the guild handles information about monsters and terrain as well. May I have some related documents?”

“Yes! It will cost some money, and take a few days depending on how much you want, but we can accommodate you. What would you like, precisely?”

I wanted basic information on the listed monsters, including their ecology and habitats, based on all the most modern information available if at all possible. But I didn’t think they’d be able to fetch this information right away, and monster sightings outside of their habitats were only useful when they were timely, so I didn’t need those. I asked them to prepare whatever they could based on these conditions.

“Also, please provide information about the Sea of Trees of Syrus and all the monsters that dwell there.”

“Wait.”

“Is something wrong, Maylene?”

“The Sea of Trees of Syrus? Now that I give this list a closer look... Ryoma, are you planning to go into that jungle?”

“That’s the idea.”

I gave her the same explanation as I gave to Serge.

“So that’s how it is.”

“I see. I’m sorry I interrupted. If you’re going to raise your rank to the required level and do everything necessary to prepare, the guild has no right to stop you. Carry on.”

“Thank you. How much will the information cost?”

“Quite a bit for this amount, I would think. I’m sorry, can you answer this, Maylene?”

“If you want documents, you’ll have to pay the price of the ink and paper, as well as payment for the staff who created it. This is a large range of information, too. Scrutinizing the information and producing the documents could take anywhere from two weeks to one month. It will cost a few small gold coins at the least, and up to ten at the most. That’s all I can tell you.”

“No problem. I wouldn’t want to haggle and end up with less information than I need. If it means getting accurate information, I’ll pay whatever I need.”

“The guild guarantees its accuracy. Paena, prepare a contract and some blank paper to be used for the exchange. I taught you what to do, right?”

“Yes!”

She exited the room, leaving only me and Maylene.

“I had no idea you were from that place.”

“Do you know a lot about the Sea of Trees?”

“Only what I’ve learned from work. I know it’s dangerous, that’s for sure. But this does explain some things.”

“What?”

“I mean, comparing you to other kids, you’re far too capable. Like during your job at the mines, where you joined a group of B Ranks and fought goblins? It was a big topic of discussion among the staff here until just a bit ago.”

“Uh, I see.” I didn’t want to know what they were talking about specifically.

Maylene chuckled. “Don’t worry, we weren’t saying anything bad. Just that you have some talent, and that you dealt with all these jobs that nobody else wanted to do for a long time. You’re held in high regard.”

“That’s good, I guess.”

“So, you’re powerful. But if you were able to leave the infamous Sea of Trees on your own, and if you trained hard enough to be able to do that, then it explains why you’re so powerful. I hear that the monsters are a lot stronger and more aggressive than any old goblin.”

“Sorry that took so long!” Paena said upon her return. I thought maybe she came back because she forgot something, but it was because she already finished the documents.

“All right, these look good.”

“Thank you, Maylene! May I ask you to read the contract, then sign here and here, please?”

“Oh, sure.”

I couldn’t find anything wrong with the contract. All the conditions we discussed were present.

“Done, thank you.”

“No problem! Here’s proof of this exchange. You’ll need to show this when receiving the documents, so please don’t lose it.”

“Understood,” I said and put it in my Item Box. There was no way I could lose it there.

“That takes care of that, then. Oh, did you want to accept any jobs today?”

“Yes, I do need to raise my rank. I’ll take even the most difficult jobs as long as they’re nearby, so can I ask for something that doesn’t demand much time? And that would help to raise my rank faster, if possible?”

“If you’re willing to take tough jobs, there should be a few. Actually, one moment, I’ll check,” Paena said and frantically left the room, then returned with one of the job postings. “Sorry about that! Here’s one. Just to be certain, you used space magic a minute ago, right? If you can do that, how about this?”

“Luggage delivery to Keleban? I know that place. There’s supposed to be a magic item market there soon. But why is the deadline ‘as soon as possible’?”

“Well, after they sent a carriage carrying their wares, they discovered that they forgot to pack some things. They hope to have it delivered by noon the day after tomorrow, but they won’t blame you for taking longer as long as it makes it to Keleban in the end. It was their mistake, so the job will only be considered a failure if you lose or damage the luggage on the way there. This request was only going to be valid until the next carriage was prepared, but since you can use space magic, maybe you could deliver it before that? Oh, I’m sorry I asked.”

“You don’t need to apologize! You did fine. Actually, you’ve done everything pretty much perfectly.”

She produced the documents incredibly fast, and she knew to bring me a job where space magic would be useful after she happened to see me use it. Even if the documents followed a format, she was still quicker than I would expect, and she could only have known to select this job by having the specifics of it memorized. She seemed kind of clumsy at first, but considering she had only been on the job for a week, she was pretty competent. I looked to Maylene, who gave me an awkward smile and nodded.

“Paena can do her job great, she’s just timid. If only she had more confidence.”

“I’m sorry.”

It sounded like she had her problems. But I had no complaints with the job she recommended, so I happily took it.