3 days later.
This one's the last.
I've barely gotten a wink of sleep these past three days. I would chat with the others from time to time, but for the most part, I was cleaning. When I think about how I'm almost done, I can't help but think back to everything I've done.
"This one's done too. Let's go to the next one." [Ryouma]
"Hey, just how long do you think you've been working without rest now?" [Jeff]
"The sun's already set, nyaa." [Miya]
"This makes two already. Why not rest first, de gozaru?" [Asagi]
"My stamina and mana are holding up just fine. And besides, I'd like to get this over with as soon as possible." [Ryouma]
"…You do look like you've still got plenty of energy to go." [Jeff]
"This one thinks so too." [Asagi]
"Same here, so there's no reason to stop him, nyaa. It would be best if we could get this over with sooner than later anyway, nyaa." [Miya]
After cleaning the second latrine pit on the first day, I went to the next pit with the approval of Jeff-san and Co. By the time I was done with the third latrine pit, the people keeping watch had changed.
"Oh, you're out." [Wereanna]
"You're Miya-san's party members." [Ryouma]
"It's Wereanna." [Wereanna]
"I'm Syria. We've been put in charge of the evening shift. Let's get along, Ryouma-kun." [Syria]
"Yes, let's get along. I'm done here already, so please run your checks. Also, I heard you have some MP potions on you." [Ryouma]
"We do." [Mizelia]
The medicines of this world were largely divided into two categories.
Medicines that use medical herbs and stones like those in Earth and magical medicines that use the mana of its ingredients or ingredients whose properties have changed due to the presence of mana. Potions are a kind of magical medicine that take effect instantly.
The rabbit girl, Syria-san, used Identify on me and the surroundings, while the tiger girl, Mizelia-san, took a vial out of her large bag and gave it to me. The vial was filled with a deep green liquid.
Mizelia-san informed me that the MP potion could recover as much as 2,000 MP. She also warned me to be careful not to take more mana than my body could handle, as that would cause an abnormal status known as Mana Intoxication.
After hearing her warnings, I went ahead and emptied 10 MP potions.
"Thank you. Let's go to the next one then." [Ryouma]
"Already? Why don't you rest a little first?" [Mizelia]
"I heard you haven't rested one bit since Maya's group was on shift. I bet you haven't eaten either, right? Here." [Wereanna]
Wereanna handed me a basket full of sandwiches.
"I got it from the client's butler. I think it would be best if you finish these first before going to the next one." [Wereanna]
"Butler? You mean Sebasu-san?" [Ryouma]
"Yep, that's what he called himself alright. You know him? He said you had a tendency of forgetting to eat when working. He was waiting here up until a while ago, but it seems he had some errands to run and left." [Wereanna]
My body's holding up just fine, but I did actually forget about eating, so I gratefully accepted. Because of that I ended up having more time to interact with these girls.
"Has the information on the disease reached the guild?" [Ryouma]
"Yes. The guild master is getting some concocted through an acquaintance of his. He said he'll prepare enough for all of us. By the way, are you really planning on working without rest?" [Wereanna]
"I intend to rest, of course." [Ryouma]
"Well, you're not resting enough. There's nothing wrong with taking a break after every pit, honestly." [Wereanna]
"Frankly, I'm not really sure if you can pull it off. Are you sure you're not pushing yourself?" [Syria]
"I'm confident in my stamina. But I can understand why you find it hard to believe considering my age." [Ryouma]
"There are a lot of newbie adventurers who eat more than they can chew, after all." [Wereanna]
"True that. If not for the fact you'd shown your status board, I would have protested. If this mission were to fail because of some recently registered adventurer's unsubstantiated claims, the consequences could reach all the way to the heart of the town… I do think you're qualified now, though." [Mizelia]
Mizelia-san's words were a bit harsh, but I never expected everyone to trust me just like that on our first meeting. If not for my status board, it wouldn't have been strange if they saw me as just another kid. I mean I really am just a kid right now.
We chatted idly like that until we finished eating, then we went back to work.
The next break I took was when the sun rose. The people keeping watch was different again.
"Excuse me, we've come to take our shift." [Cher]
"Oh, hello, Cher-kun, Raypin-san, Gordon-san." [Syria]
"Hello, Syria. Good job out here." [Cher]
"How's the work going, de aru?" [Raypin]
"Well, from the looks of things, it seems to be progressing a lot faster than expected, but is Ryouma alright?" [Gordon]
"He's doing his best and still has plenty of energy to spare. Although, currently we've been forced to pause work for a moment." [Syria]
"Did something happen?" [Gordon]
"See for yourself…" [Mizelia]
"What do y— Uwaa!?" [Raypin]
"What's with all the slimes? There's so many there's no where to walk." [Gordon]
"I heard he used slimes. Did a stampede occur or something, de aru?" [Raypin]
"Stampede? Ryouma-kun says the slimes are splitting." [Syria]
"Splitting? With these numbers, de aru?" [Raypin]
I had allowed the slimes to split to further hasten our work, but while they were in the middle of splitting, the new group arrived.
"Are you the next group? Let me introduce myself again. I'm Ryouma Takebayashi. My apologies for the current situation, but the slimes needed to split, so we won't be able to work until they're done. In exchange, work should progress even faster later. Please take care not to step on them." [Ryouma]
"Right, I'm Gordon. Nice to meet you." [Gordon]
"I'm Cher." [Cher]
Short-statured with thick limbs and a face that was mostly beard. Gordon-san was indeed the very image of a dwarf.
As for Cher, he was a human. He looked like a middle or high school student.
"Hmm… They don't look weak, so it's probably not a stampede then… Hmm? Oh, my apologies. I am Raypin. I've become an adventurer in order to research monsters. I have a question I'd like to ask. I hope you don't mind. This is not a stampede, right, de aru?" [Raypin]
"Ryouma Takebayashi. I am also researching slimes as a hobby. If I may answer your question with another question, what do you mean by stampede?" [Ryouma]
"A stampede is what you refer to when slimes suddenly start splitting. It happens when slimes are ordered not to split for an extended period. Eventually, they can't keep it in anymore, and they start splitting like crazy. In that state, they won't listen to orders and will split beyond their limits. It is said that it's an instinctual response when the slimes are kept from reproducing.
Once a stampede starts, the slimes will split to an insane number, but the resulting slimes will be far weaker than before and will have to supplement their nutritional needs with whatever is available nearby, de aru." [Raypin]
"Oh? I didn't know slimes did that." [Ryouma]
"Well, it doesn't really occur when slimes are left to reproduce normally. And besides, there were plenty of crazy things done in the past to produce research material, so there was probably some negligence on the lab's part. I've never seen a stampede personally, de aru." [Raypin]
"So you thought it might be a stampede because of their numbers?" [Ryouma]
"Exactly." [Raypin]
After that I told him that there were originally 1,000 slimes. I also told him about the big slime, which caught his interest.
I drank MP potions with one hand and formed new contracts with the slimes while chatting with Raypin.
By the time I was about done forming contracts with the slimes, Cher-kun and Gordon-san couldn't keep up with our conversation anymore.
…Among other things, Sebasu-san would bring me food once a day. There were times when he would be waiting for me by the door too, but regardless, the food would always be brought in a basket.
Once, there was even a letter from the ojousama included, telling me not to worry about the slimes left in the inn as they were taking care of them.
A lot of people were looking after me, not just the 9 guards, so I worked and rested nonstop, and as a result, the scavenger slimes split again, bringing their numbers up to 3,033. With that I was able to make 3 king scavenger slimes, each with 1,011 scavenger slimes, and had them line up to fill the entire latrine pit as they went to work.
Their skill levels also went up.
King Scavenger Slime x3
Skills:
Disease Resist Lv7
Poison Resist Lv7
Lead Belly Lv8
Clean Lv8
Deodorize Lv8
Deodorizing Liquid Lv6
Stench Lv8
Produce Fertilizer Lv7
Physical Attack Resist Lv7
Enlarge Lv5
Shrink Lv6
Jump Lv3
Overeat Lv4
Disease Resist never leveled up again, though. It seems level 7 is enough to deal with the Idake Virus.
Clean, Deodorize, and Overeat have all gone up most likely because of the work we've been doing. I don't quite understand why Physical Attack Resist went up, though. Could it be because their bodies are rubbing against the walls? Or perhaps it's because their bodies are rubbing against each other? I'm not really sure, but high skill levels never hurt anyone.
I followed after the slimes, disinfecting the walls with a combination of Mist Wash and Range as I went along, until eventually, we were almost done.
When we got to the last latrine pit. The slimes ran through the walls and the ceiling once, then I cleaned them a second time with water and heat. I used identify to ensure that everything was clean, and when I saw that it was, the work that I've been continuing these past few days was finally concluded.
"All done?" [Gordon]
"Yep, everything's clean." [Ryouma]
"Great! And with that everything's been taken care of. Good job." [Gordon]
"You really did manage to do everything in one go." [Cher]
"The only breaks you ever took was to eat." [Gordon]
"Now that you mention it… Ah, Raypin-san, please run your checks." [Ryouma]
"Right… Ok, there are no problems. Everything is clean. All that's left now is to go back and report to the guild, de aru." [Raypin]
"Thank you. Shall we go?" [Ryouma]
"Wait. I'll bring you, de aru. 'Warp'." [Raypin]
Apparently, Raypin-san could use dimension magic, so he used the intermediate spell, Warp, to bring us to the guild. He may talk arrogantly, but he's a good guy.
As soon as we got to the guild, the receptionist girl sent us to the guild master's office.
"Ryouma, huh. You done?" [Wogan]
"Yes, all 30 latrine pits of the common toilets have been cleaned. It should be ok now." [Ryouma]
"Great! That's great! All of you should go home and get plenty of rest today! I'll contact the others. Tomorrow, you can come back here, and the guild will give you your payment. Ryouma, you took care of most of the work this time, so you can expect a handsome reward." [Wogan]
"Sure. I'll be going— Oh, right. Guildmaster." [Ryouma]
"What?" [Wogan]
"No one's gotten sick, right? I couldn't be informed of the goings in town while in the latrine pits, so…" [Ryouma]
"Don't worry. I called up a well-connected grandma I know to get the medicine, so there should be enough medicine for everyone even if someone does get sick. That being said, no. No one has gotten sick so far… You mentioned it takes 10 hours after entering the body for that Idake Disease to take effect, right?" [Wogan]
"Yes, that's what appeared when I used Identify." [Ryouma]
"Then it should be fine. The medicine you mentioned is already underway, so just go home already and sleep. You haven't had a wink of sleep yet, right? If anyone gets sick, I'll tell you. Sleepiness and tottering on your feet ain't helping anyone." [Wogan]
"…Right. I'll be on my way then." [Ryouma]
After saying that, I left the guild and the three people that came with me.
As I walked the road back home alone against the chilly winds, that nostalgic floating sensation after several sleepless nights hit me.
I returned to the lodging with only the pleasant winds for my companion, but when I got back, the members of the ducal family were there to welcome me.
"Welcome home! Ryouma-san!" [Elialia]
"Welcome home, Ryouma-kun!" [Elize]
"Welcome home." [Reinhart]
"You look well. That's good, that's good." [Reinbach]
"Welcome home, Ryouma-sama." [Sebasu]
"Please leave your baggage with me." [Arone]
"Have you eaten yet?" [Lilian]
All 7 of them welcomed me back home.
What a nostalgic feeling.
How long ago was it that I was last welcomed like this? …Was it back when my mother was still alive? No, Elialia and the others have welcomed me so many times, so why… Why do I feel like this?
"Ryouma-kun, is something wrong? Are you hurt anywhere?" [Elize]
"No… My body is fine. I was just reminded of the past a little…" [Ryouma]
Family? Ah, right… It's that feeling. That's what they resemble…
When I couldn't do my job well, when I came back home dead tired, when I was fired, when I couldn't find work, when I was depressed… Each and every time, the one who was always there to welcome me back home was… my mother.
"Ryouma-san!? What's wrong!?" [Elialia]
It wasn't until when the ojousama cried out that I realized it. I was crying. Without knowing it, without my permission, my eyes just started leaking on their own.
"Ahh… I'm sorry… It's alright… Really… I just remembered my family a little. For some reason, being welcomed like this reminded me of the past… It's strange. You don't even look similar." [Ryouma]
My mother wasn't bad looking, but she did have a normal face with no remarkable features, completely unlike this family of absurdly good looking people.
While I was thinking something stupid like that, before I knew it, the madam had taken me into her embrace, Elialia was hugging my arms, Reinhart-san had his hand over my shoulder, Reinbach-sama was patting me on the head, and Sebasu-san and the two maids were looking at me with warm eyes.
After that I was taken care of. They fed me, they prepared a bath for me, and then tucked me into a futon.
I don't know if it's simply because I haven't pulled all-nighters in a while that I can't think well right now, but… It's not a bad feeling.
The warmth of having someone welcome me and the sense of fulfillment after a day's hard work that I'm realizing for the first time because someone was actually there to welcome me… All of that filled me with a sense of satisfaction as I allowed the comfort of sleep to take me.