Chapter 128
“So this is how it is inside your house . ” [Student 1]
Sponsored Content
“The ceiling is full of slimes, but because of that they can get the insects . ” [Student 2]
“This here is the toilet of the shed . ” [Ryouma]
“Seriously? You even installed something like that that?” [Student 3]
“What’s this pipe?” [Student 4]
“That’s a water filter . It filters water to clean it…” [Ryouma]
Presently, I’ve opened my base to the students .
As soon as my duty on the second day started, a boy asked me to show my base, so I gave him permission, but when the other students got word of it, a ended up gathering . Actually, there’s just six of them, but the rooms themselves aren’t that big, so it feels really crowded .
“Ryouma, are you there?” [Gazel]
“Hmm? I’m here . ” [Ryouma]
I heard Gazel’s voice from outside .
I wonder what’s the matter .
“Look! Look!” [Gazel]
When I showed my face by the entrance, he raised up a quarry with both hands . I had the higher ground, so it looked like he was pushing his quarry into me from below . I brought my face near it .
“So you got some birds today too, huh . Some pretty big ones to boot . ” [Ryouma]
“Yeah! We set the trap yesterday . ” [Gazel]
“I see . So that’s why you were late coming back . ” [Ryouma]
“Well, yeah . Anyway, we managed to trap it well, so we’ll give the blood to you . The blood is nutritious for your slimes, right?” [Gazel]
Sponsored Content
I’m grateful .
Still, these children sure are good at hunting .
“This is all we’ve caught for now, though, so you’ll have to give us back the meat afterwards . We’d love to be more generous, but…” [Gazel]
“It’s fine . I’ll get ready to remove its blood . As thanks, why don’t you come in and drink some tea while waiting? I’ll pour you some herb tea made with river water and some herbs . ” [Ryouma]
“I’ll have some if you’re offering it . But can I take a look around too?” [Gazel]
He really is an honest child . Another way of putting it is that he’s easy to understand .
“Of course . Ah, everyone else can drink too . The tea is made from the ingredients gathered from these parts . ” [Ryouma]
“I’m fine . ” [Student 1]
“Me too . We have to prepare for tonight . ” [Student 2]
“Yeah . We should be going soon . ” [Student 3]
“Thank you for showing us around . ” [Student 4]
“I learned a lot . ” [Student 5]
“Thank you very much!” [Student 6]
I saw the six students that entered my room off and prepared some tea .
“Brush off the insects on you first before you enter . ” [Ryouma]
Gazel-kun obediently followed my orders, but as soon as he entered, he found himself staring at the wall .
“Something catch your attention?” [Ryouma]
“I was just thinking that you had good walls here . Our house’s walls are old, so the wind can get in . Compared to that, this here is a much better place . ” [Gazel]
Sponsored Content
“So, that’s what . ” [Ryouma]
“If only I could use Earth Magic too…” [Gazel]
Are you bad with Earth Magic?
“Not just earth magic in particular, but all magic . But looking at this, I figured if I could use magic, then I should be able to do something about the walls at my place . ” [Gazel]
“Is it that old?” [Ryouma]
I asked him that while pouring him tea, and he nodded with a smile .
“Hot . Fuu…
Our house is still better off, though . The adults take care of us, they listen to us when we have something to consult them about, and as long as we mend the walls a little, we can get by just fine . The house might appear dirty, but it’s livable . What’s really bad is the house of the grandma next to ours, right?” [Gazel]
“Right? Even if you tell me that, I don’t really know…” [Ryouma]
Is she living in one of those places I heard about a few days ago? Those abandoned buildings?
“But it’s only a matter of time now . ” [Gazel]
“Matter of time?” [Ryouma]
“Yeah! I’m an adventurer now . Although I’m still a low ranker, I’m going to get stronger from here on and make more and more money . Soon I won’t just be mending our house but completely rebuilding it . I’ll make it so big that everyone can live together . ” [Gazel]
“I see . ” [Ryouma]
So, he’s the ambitious type .
“But exactly how long do you think you’ll take?” [Ryouma]
“How long… I haven’t thought about that . ” [Gazel]
Somehow, it feels like he’s down all of the sudden .
“Well, you can just take your time thinking about it . ” [Ryouma]
“I’ve decided!” [Gazel]
“That’s fast!?” [Ryouma]
Huh? What? He just decided it like that after thinking about it just now? Isn’t he deciding too quickly?
For the meantime, I tried asking him about it…
How big of a house is he thinking about anyway?
“How big is your store?” [Gazel]
“Why?” [Ryouma]
Why is he thinking about my store all of the sudden?
“I just remembered . That store of yours is 2-stories tall, right? That’s why . ” [Gazel]
“That’s what you’re concerned about!?” [Ryouma]
“I mean if it has two floors, it must be pretty big, right?” [Gazel]
“It’s true that there’s plenty of living space, but…” [Ryouma]
“Right? Besides, structures with two floors are rare, so it stands out . ” [Gazel]
Really?
But asking a carpenter to build one will take time and money, so you can’t just rebuild a house that easily . I feel like he should think about things a lot more carefully, but I’m sure saving is a bigger priority for him right now . Even if it’s just a rough image, having a goal is a good thing .
As such, I avoided saying anything unnecessary and just honestly encouraged him .
“Oh, right . Awhile ago, you said ‘our house’, right? Do only children live there?” [Ryouma]
Are the adults taking care of them? I’m a bit concerned, as it sounds like there’s no adult with them .
“That’s right . It’s different from the church and the orphanage, but it’s a place for kids like us with no parents to gather . We spend the night there, and go out to work in the morning . ” [Gazel]
“What about the rules when living together?” [Ryouma]
“The older ones look after the younger ones . The neighboring adults help us out too and teach us various stuff . We ourselves learned how to hunt from an old man, who was a former adventurer… Ah, it’s almost that time of the year where we gather firewood from outside of town . During this time, the guys with nothing to do go out to gather some twigs . I guess you can call this a rule too?
Anyway, that’s how we live . We might not have any money, but everyone’s able to get by . That’s why everyone is like a sibling to each other . The three guys in the party with me all live in the same house with me . ” [Gazel]
“Huh . ” [Ryouma]
So the parentless children are supporting themselves while getting some aid from others . So that’s why they have such a strong sense of brotherhood and why they get along with people on their level so well…
Thanks to this opportunity, I was able to find out more about the life inside the slums that I didn’t know about . Before I knew it, he’d emptied his cup .
“Thanks for the tea . It was delicious . ” [Gazel]
“I’m glad you enjoyed it . ” [Ryouma]
“I’ll be going then . I have to find that beast for the job, after all . ” [Gazel]
“Ah… Right . ” [Ryouma]
“? I see . So, the instructors aren’t allowed to talk about the jobs . In that case, this topic is probably no good, huh . ” [Gazel]
“Yeah . Something like that . ” [Ryouma]
“In that case, I guess I have no choice but to look for it with my own strength . See ya!” [Gazel]
Like that Gazel-kun left in high spirits .
But what he doesn’t know is that the beast he’s looking for doesn’t live around here…
…I should go back to my post .