By the Grace of the Gods (LN) - Volume 7 - Chapter 23

Chapter 5 Episode 23: Three Choices

~???’s Side~

Ryoma and his party arrived at the courtyard, led by the president of the Moulton company himself. As a renovated noble manor, the shop hosted a spacious courtyard. One might even describe it as barren. The courtyard, which must have once housed a luscious garden, had been turned into a flat field of dirt. A brick wall stood in the center, around targets used by the slaves to demonstrate their prowess in magic or archery. While a few seats were placed near the door that led back into the manor, there was certainly plenty of space for slaves to run around with their weapons drawn. Ten slaves already stood in a line before the row of seats.

As soon as Ryoma and the others took their seats, Moulton announced the task for the trial.

“I will have each of you demonstrate your prowess in combat shortly...against these valued customers themselves.” Glances were shot toward the group, mostly to Fay, as Moulton continued.

“You have three choices as to your opponent. First, Mr. Fay, sitting over there. He is a former soldier of Gilmar, currently working as the chief of security for a shop. If anyone is purchased today, you will be working for him.”

The slaves remained calm, having expected this much, and only seemed curious about the other two options. “The second is Mr. Ryoma Takebayashi, your potential master and the owner of the shop I just mentioned. Do not underestimate him for his young age, as Mr. Takebayashi is a D-rank adventurer.” A few surprised mutters could be heard from the lineup. D-rank adventurers were not rare by any means, but judging from Ryoma’s looks, they would have been impressed if he was an E-rank.

“And the third...will be three slimes, all of them Mr. Takebayashi’s familiars.”

“Slimes?!”

“You can’t be serious...”

Some of the slaves almost seemed insulted at the idea, but as Moulton raised his hand and ordered them to settle down, they swiftly obeyed.

“Now, as I mentioned at the beginning, you have three choices for your opponent. Therefore, you can simply avoid choosing any opponent you feel is beneath you. All you need to do is choose one of the three options I’ve mentioned, and show your strength in a match.”

At the end of the day, the slaves seemed to understand, this wasn’t much different from their usual trials. Finally, Moulton turned to Ryoma.

“Well...” Ryoma began, “You will be evaluated by your performance during the match, but I expect that a victory will work more in your favor than a defeat. That being said, if you defeat an opponent too easily, you may miss out on valuable time to showcase your worth. Keep that in mind, and demonstrate how you will be able to work with us. And be forewarned that my slimes are evolved, advanced species.”

“Now, I will have you retreat into the waiting room for the time being. You will have five minutes to choose your opponent, and then I will call you one-by-one to start your match.”

As soon as the door shut behind the last of the slaves, Moulton grinned. “Now, who shall they choose...? I can hardly wait.”

“You’re not even trying anymore, are you...?”

“Oops. I must have been too excited after your brilliant suggestion, Mr. Takebayashi.”

“Don’t blame me for it,” Ryoma chuckled.

The four adults ignored the exchange, as if they couldn’t be bothered to show a reaction to every little thing Moulton said.

“So, we gave them multiple choices, and told them that a victory helps their chances. This will be a good test for them to evaluate their opponents.”

“I was thinking, I don’t know who’s going to come to my shop. A drunk stumbling in is one thing, but I’ve seen some people who looked like they’ve fought for a living before... Personally, though, I want to see how they’ll act with their potential employment in mind. The try-out itself is not as important.”

“Yes, I see... I wonder how many will notice... You have quite the scheming side, Mr. Takebayashi.”

“What? I am a D-rank, after all.”

“And you know full well that your appearance, rank, and true strength are all on completely separate levels.”

As Ryoma alone dutifully engaged in conversation with the giddy Moulton, five minutes passed.

“What did they say?”

“Three chose the slimes, five chose you, Mr. Takebayashi, and three chose Mr. Fay.”

“Let’s proceed as planned. Let’s start one-by-one from those who chose the least popular option.”

“Understood.”

Moulton gave a command to one of his employees as Ryoma produced three slimes from his Dimension Home and placed them on one of the marks on the ground before covering them with a large cloth.

Then, the first candidate emerged with a dulled blade in hand. He walked up to the five without hesitation.

“Before we begin, please give us a word or two about the match, including why you chose the slimes.”

“Yes, Sir! I chose an opponent I was sure I could defeat!”

“Thank you for being straightforward. On your guard, please.”

Young and energetic, nothing wrong with that, Ryoma thought. Points added for choosing what he thinks is the sure-fire option. Don’t really want someone who’ll take a huge risk protecting my shop. I don’t need anyone too adventurous, since I need them to protect the non-combat-oriented employees. Of course, there may be a time when I need them to risk their life, but it’s certainly not now. The problem is, what made him think that the slimes were the sure bet? Probably just the fact that they’re slimes. I did let them know they were advanced species, and still... Great enthusiasm, but he doesn’t back it up with logic. He’s been a cheerful guy throughout and makes a good first impression. He’d probably get along with the other employees. He wouldn’t have a problem with customer service, either... Well, too bad. 

Once the candidate reached a position sufficiently far from Ryoma’s party, Ryoma paused his internal evaluation to give the signal, and the slimes came crawling out from under the fabric.

“What...?” The man’s gaze shifted a bit in the presence of the slimes. Three metal slimes glimmered in the sunshine beating down from the clear sky, outside of their routine of serving as Ryoma’s blade and sheath.

“Hm. He’s thinking about his next move.”

“No duh. He’s a swordsman. Can’t use a lick of magic, according to his papers.”

“Not a good combo when it’s you and your weapon facing down globs of metal. I don’t see a way out for him. How’s he going to deal a finishing blow?”

“None of the other candidates are skilled in magic either.” Moulton chuckled. “You did say a victory would help their chances, but you didn’t say that you’d give them a chance. Well, is that why a victory would mean more?”

“Stop making me sound like I’m some sort of con man... I just thought I’d test how much the metal slimes have improved in combat, not just as weapons.”

“Not really helping your case there, Ryoma... But you did write to me about metal slimes before. If what you told me is true, I’m afraid this won’t be much of a match.”

The six observers continued their discussion, as the candidate showed his first sign of trepidation when one of the employees raised his hand, poised to commence the exhibition. Once the match began, it played out as Reinhart had feared.

“Begin!”

At the very instant of the employee’s call, the three metal slimes snapped into action. One rolled straight toward the candidate, charging into him as it left a cloud of dust. While he was surprised by the slime charging as fast as a full-grown man, he calmly blocked it with his shield. However, metal slimes were hunks of metal as dense as a bowling ball. With the kind of speed that the slime displayed, it could easily generate enough force to shake him through his shield. The man braced his shield for a moment, allowing the other two slimes to surround him on either side and begin a chain of unending attacks.

The trio of slimes took turns attacking him from all directions. While the man was managing to hold off the attacks for the moment, the slimes had made their bodies wheel-shaped, further increasing their velocity. It didn’t seem like the situation was getting any better for the first candidate.

“What am I even watching right now...?”

“What can I say, those are some quick slimes.”

“With their rigidity, density, and speed...one bad hit could kill him.”

“Did you know about this, Duke?”

“Ryoma’s letter had included descriptions of the metal slime. But I’ve not seen one in person until now. Each slime can move quite fast on its own... Are you giving them commands, Ryoma?”

“I am not. I’ve trained the slimes to surround their opponent and make continuous attacks as a team when fighting alone. It’s a good training exercise for me as well, if I throw in more slimes.”

“One more thing. How many metal slimes did you have?”

“I’m keeping the number down to two hundred by adjusting the amount of food; it keeps them healthy while not giving them enough nutrition to divide. I also have an identical number of iron slimes who can do the same things as the metal slime... Why do you ask?”

Reinhart scratched his head, taken aback. “I was expecting something quite unusual ever since you mentioned your use of slimes... But just three of them are taking on a level 3 swordsman in a favorable matchup. I’m impressed. Creativity and training can make quite a big difference, it seems.”

Metal slimes, as he had admitted, were given to Ryoma by Reinhart himself. The duke seemed particularly amazed by the metal slimes’ performance because they had once been something he knew well.

Ryoma, apparently taking the comment as a compliment, answered with an uncharacteristic boast. “Some of it was dumb luck, but the slimes have worked really hard. I’m taking on more work outside of adventuring with the shop and all, but I’ve kept up with training to better both myself and the slimes, as an adventurer and his familiars.”

Ryoma always dealt with any task at the shop, events out in town, and any little day-to-day favors with politeness and friendliness. Recently, he had begun to notice that those around him were apparently beginning to forget that he was an adventurer. While he had to admit that he was doing less adventuring than before, he still considered that to be his career, and his shop as a side business. Doing favors for those in town was just his way of being a good neighbor.

The regulars of his shop, though, had the opposite impression of him. As a result, adventurers who were familiar with him through the Adventurer’s Guild seemed concerned for the business of his shop, and whenever he ran into the regulars of his shop in town, they were almost always surprised to find that he was an adventurer.

Many people had asked him why he bothered taking on adventuring work at all; Ryoma couldn’t deny that he was working less and less as an adventurer, and that he was doing so of his own volition. He didn’t consider this state of affairs to be horribly unmanageable, but he did find himself thinking about it quite often. Was his situation a mere manifestation of his adolescent emotions? No one could say for sure right now, but the topic of conversation quickly turned to Ryoma’s hobby.

“There’s still much to improve. With a little more time, I think I can make some additional refinements.”

“Refinements?”

“They’re wheel-shaped now, but I’m training them to become thinner and sharper. I’m not having them do it now for safety’s sake, but using them as a sword has gotten them used to turning into blades. The problem is changing into a blade while moving, or continuing movement in the circular blade form. They often fall over, get derailed, or lose speed, which drastically weakens their attack power. But even in their current state, they are able to cut through a brittle cave mantis, and they once gave a horned rabbit a deep cut down to the bone during a hunt. It took some time, but I’ve gotten them to the point where they can fight without direction, as you can see. With more training and stability, I think the metal slime can grow even stronger.”

“It’s only natural to want to improve as an adventurer and train your familiars, I suppose...”

“I shudder to imagine how far you’ll go...”

“Ryoma, you need to tell me if they ever get out of hand.”

“Take it easy, Chief.”

The adults all gave Ryoma a look of mixed emotions, with the exception of Moulton, who let out an amused chuckle. “You’re as intriguing as the rumors suggested...”

The match concluded soon after, when the metal slime knocked down the man’s shield, sword, and then finally the man himself. Ryoma was reminded of a certain trio of stars as he observed the metal slimes’ teamwork.