Ah, right. The F and G Rankers are with us, so of course they'd be here too.
"That's right! Thank you for yesterday!" [Young Female Adventurer]
"Thank you for yesterday!" [The rest of the party]
After the young female adventurer thanked me, the rest of their party followed suit. With so many people bowing their heads like that, it was only natural that the curiosity of the surrounding adventurers would be piqued. They couldn't help it, and telling them not to look was pointless. After all, there were countless slimes occupying one corner of a nearby waiting place. Just that alone was enough to gather attention.
"Umm… What is this…" [Ryouma]
I can more or less tell what this is about, but their behavior is completely different compared to yesterday.
"We want to thank you for yesterday, as well as apologize for our behavior." [Young Female Adventurer]
"You went out your way for that? You're welcome, and it's great that you're safe. I'm Ryouma Takebayashi, a human. And these here are my slimes." [Ryouma]
This would be our third time meeting each other, but I don't even know their names. Since they went out of their way to thank me, I figured I might as well introduce myself. Because of that they too introduced themselves.
Surprisingly, I found out that they were all non-humans.
The boys were:
Small Monkeyman Tribe, Berk, 13 years old.
Dogman Tribe, Ruth, 12 years old.
Big Monkeyman Tribe, Wist, 11 years old.
The girls were:
Half-elf, Martha, 12 years old.
Half-dwarf, Finia, 12 years old.
Dog tribe, Rumil, 12 years old.
The two halfs look just like a human. And big monkeyman tribe? Small monkeyman tribe? Talk about confusing!
Incidentally, the small monkeyman tribe member, Berk, was the smallest guy of the bunch who loved to talk. Because of his short stature and the way he talked, I'd assumed he was just a cheeky brat with a sharp tongue, but as it turns out, he was actually the oldest and was just trying to fulfill his role as the eldest.
On the other hand, the big monkey tribe member, Wist, was the biggest of the bunch, but he was actually the youngest. I thought for sure he was the oldest.
"T-The adults said it's because of my race that I'm so big…" [Wist]
On top of that, he's the very picture of timidity. Yesterday, he was standing so tall and proud, and now…
When I asked the others about that, it turns out that they have him do that to keep other adventurers from looking down on them. After all, he is relatively more intimidating compared to his age if he just quietly stands.
When I asked about the details surrounding the big monkeyman tribe and the small monkeyman tribe, I couldn't help but be reminded of the gorilla and the golden snub-nose monkey. The color of their hair matches perfectly too. Of course, it's rude so I won't say it, but after seeing it, I can't unsee it anymore.
Anyway, let's put that aside…
They may just be kids, but they each have their own racial specialties.
Ruth and Rumil were from the dog tribe, so they had their tribe's trademark sharpened senses and heightened physical faculties. The half-elf, Martha, specialized in magic. The small monkeyman, Berk, was agile and could easily climb trees, while the big monkeyman, Wist, and the half-dwarf, Finia, were surprisingly strong. They showed that strength via a handshake.
Comparing the various strengths of the tribes like this is interesting, but…
"That's amazing. You definitely have superior physical abilities." [Ryouma]
"It's not amazing… sir." [Finia]
"O-Onii-san, I actually lost in strength to a kid my age." [Wist]
"I saw… When it comes to 'strength', we're not any worse than the adult adventurers. That's why we became adventurers. We figured we could make good money doing adventurer work, but no matter how much effort we put, even if we work harder than the adults, the adults still make more money than us. That's why when we thought of how you're younger than us, we ended up saying those stuff to you. Sorry. Really." [Berk]
The stronger one is the better, but that alone doesn't guarantee being able to finish a job. In hunting, for example, strength isn't the only deciding factor. One also needs to know how to find the prey, what to aim at, which methods to use, and various other things. So, while they may have the strength, they still lack the techniques and experience.
"As I've said before, I don't really mind being treated like a fool. That being said, there are some things bothering me." [Ryouma]
"Feel free to ask. We won't hide anything anymore." [Berk]
Then I'll ask as much as I want.
"I was feeding my slimes when my metal slime fell and rolled down the slope. It was when I went to pick it up that I heard some trouble happening nearby. What were you guys doing in a place like that?" [Ryouma]
They were probably brought by those guys there, but it was still lunch time then. Couldn't they have called out for help?
Their expressions darkened.
"We couldn't carry all of the spoils your party gave us in one go." [Berk]
"We didn't have enough bags… sir." [Finia]
Now that they mention it, all those spoils may have been too much for them to carry. They probably can't use Item Box or space magic either.
"So you got caught up with them when you went to get the rest of the spoils back?" [Ryouma]
"They would still find trouble with us either way. It's the second time they found trouble with us, after all." [Rumil]
When I asked Rumil to explain, the six of them made difficult faces.
"One week ago, we took on a herb collection request and went to the forest, but 5 of those adventurers were also doing work there, and when we approached, they yelled at us, saying we scared the animals away. I think they've marked us since." [Rumil]
"Did anything happen?" [Ryouma]
"It was our fault, so we wanted to avoid a fight if possible. They also weren't asking for anything unreasonable, so we just paid them.
That guy, Sacchi, just happened to passed by. And he taught us how much the wasted bait cost, as well as how much breaking a contract would normally cost… We didn't know they were together.
Looking back at it now, the whole thing might have been a setup." [Berk]
So, they brew up trouble, and then he comes in to mediate and make their victims cough up some cash, huh.
"That meager sum shouldn't amount to much when divided among a group their size, though." [Ryouma]
"Yesterday they said that the small money we earned would at least be enough to pay for their liquor… sir." [Finia]
So, they didn't mind change, did they? Or maybe they had other victims? Regardless, the guild will investigate them. Rather than that…
"Next question… From what you've said, it seems you have some knowledge on hunting." [Ryouma]
Besides, I've seen them beat cave bats and small rats.
They nodded.
"So why steal other's spoils?" [Ryouma]
"…We figured we could make more money that way." [Berk]
"At first, we also hunted monsters normally, but hunting took too much time. And then, one day, while we were hunting, it suddenly occurred to us that there are some adventurers who find it too much of a pain to bother with some monsters and would just throw their corpses away, so… We're really sorry." [Martha] [1]
"Sorry, that was rude of me. I just want to know why you want money so badly. Are you having trouble getting by? Or is there some other reason?" [Ryouma]
"It's true we're having a hard time just getting by, but it's actually to pay the municipal tax." [Ruth]
Ruth said something unexpected.
"Municipal tax. That's the tax you pay to the town you're living at, right?" [Ryouma]
"Is there anything else? We have to pay it if we want to live in town." [Berk]
The municipal tax of this world covers the maintenance of the outer walls and the salary of the guards. It also covers various expenses. Paying it is what gives residents the right to be protected from monsters and bandits.
Of course, I've never paid it because I lived in the forest (outside town), but I'll probably have to pay it once I start living in town.
So they actually pay their taxes, huh. Oops, I shouldn't be thinking such things. Sorry, guys.
"Sorry about that, I'm not particular about the taxes in town. Is it that expensive? The tax in Gimuru?" [Ryouma]
"It's 400 suits per person. We've never lived in another town, so we don't know if that's expensive or not, but we have to pay it. Otherwise, we won't be able to live here anymore." [Berk]
400 per person, so with the six of them that would total to 2,400 suits. I could pay that anytime, but since they're barely getting by, it must be a large sum.
"So how did you pay it up until now?" [Ryouma]
I don't know if they have parents or not, but they must've had a way to pay that tax up until now.
"We cleaned toilets." [Berk]
"You mean the latrine pits?" [Ryouma]
"Oh, you know about it? The government office used to pay well, but they've been gradually getting stingy, until eventually, the adults in the slum told us it's not worth it anymore and we'll just get sick cleaning, so we stopped. That was when we started doing adventurer work." [Berk]
"Ahh, I see…" [ryouma]
What is with this lethargy? I was never mad at them in the first place, but the more I talk to them, the more I feel like I can't get mad.
"…D-Did I say something bad?" [Berk]
"I-I don't know, but maybe he's angry…" [Wist]
Oops, I made them uneasy.
"Don't worry, I'm not mad. Umm… Don't they have tax relief in Gimuru?" [Ryouma]
I know that just because you can't pay your taxes doesn't mean you'll immediately be exempted from them, but…
"I hear it's also possible to pay by working at the mines." [Ryouma]
"Tax relief[2]? …I have heard that we can just work for free to pay the taxes if we can't pay up, but then we'll be given work fitting for people who can't pay up. We can't rely on something like that. And besides, we're not the only ones troubled by the loss of the toilet jobs, so there are probably countless people working there right now.
Also, they won't hire children at the mines. Apparently, someone decided that a long time ago. And because of all the adults looking for a job, the employers won't care how much stamina we have. They'll just turn us away, saying they won't break custom." [Berk]
So the problems with the latrine pits actually spread this far…
"Thanks. That answers most of my questions for now." [Ryouma]
"S-Sure…" [Berk]
All 6 of them wore a confused look, as they failed to understand why I was suddenly thanking them, so I told them that the adventurers guild was currently managing the latrine pits.
When I told them that they're paying properly now, they asked if I was sure.
Looks like they're planning on working seriously now.
But if people start cleaning the latrine pits, the scavenger slimes won't have enough to eat. Hmm… Well, in any case, that's a problem for way later.