By the Grace of the Gods: Volume 1

by Roy

  “Man, I really thought I was a goner. You sure saved me, kid!”

  “Are you... really... okay?”

  “Aww, are you worried about me? I heard you didn’t want to go to any village or town, so I thought you hated people!”

  “I still... worry... for injured people.”

  “Gahahah! I see, I see! My bad, then! Oops...”

  The force of Hughes’ laughter sent him staggering into Reinhart and Camil beside him.

  “Hughes, are you all right?”

  “Y-Yeah, just got a little dizzy for a sec. It’s no problem.”

  “You’re still recovering, so try not to push yourself.”

  Seeing that, Ryoma took out a bottle he had prepared in advance.

  “Drink.”

  “Hmm? What’s that bottle?”

  “Hematopoietics... Need to... produce more blood.”

  “Hematopoietics, huh? Thanks. I’ll drink it right awa— Ugh, that stinks! What is this smell?!”

  The force of Hughes’s recoil sent the foul stench of grassy medicinal herbs blended with green caterpillar corpses into the surrounding air. The smell reached not only Hughes, but Jill and Zeph beside him too, making them contort their faces.

  “Old recipe... Not made anymore. The smell... hindered sales. Can guarantee... effect... though.”

  “Well, you heard him. He’s giving it to you out of pure good will, so drink up.”

  “B-But this is...”

  “We can’t have you collapsing on us on the way there either.”

  “We were worried for you too, after all.”

  Jill and Zeph grabbed a shoulder each and stopped Hughes from his attempted escape...

  “I’m sorry!”

  Camil made eye contact, grabbed the blood producer and poured it into Hughes’ mouth.

  “%#%$!!!”

  Hughes made an inhuman sound and spasmed several times, supporting himself against the wall afterward.

  At a glance, it looked like he had ingested poison, but it was actually a very safe and effective medicine.

  It just smelled and tasted revolting.

  “Y... You idiots...”

  “If the medicine tastes awful, that means it works, Hughes.”

  “Don’t worry, this kid’s medicines are effective.”

  “The potion he used for your treatment was also of good quality.”

  “Damn it, argh... I thought I was gonna die... Urgh...”

  Ryoma handed a cup of water to Hughes, who looked nauseous from the scent of the medicine in his mouth.

  “Need... armor?”

  “Phew... Hmm? Come to think of it, my armor was done in by that bear. I don’t have weapons, either.”

  “Have equipment... Take it.”

  “I’d be grateful for that, but are you sure?”

  “Sure.”

  After answering Hughes’ question, Ryoma went into the back room and returned several minutes later with a dozen or so slimes carrying five spears and three sets of armor.

  “This... can use.”

  “You sure have some good stuff for bandit gear. Are you sure you want to give them to Hughes?”

  “Weapons should be used... Leaving them... No use...”

  “Spears like this would go for five small gold coins, you know?”

  “Take it.”

  Surprised at the quality of the equipment, Jill and Hughes checked many times, but Ryoma was insistent that they take it.

  In the end, Hughes folded first.

  “...Then I’ll gratefully accept them. But it isn’t my style to just be on the receiving end. I can’t repay you right now, but if you ever need anything, you can count on me. If you tell the gatekeeper of the Jamil estate in Gaunago that you want to see the lord’s escort Hughes, you’ll be able to contact me. There’s no need to hold back.”

  “Got it.”

  And so, the party of five finished their preparations for their journey and departed. In the third year of his otherworld life, Ryoma finally had a proper interaction with other people. Ryoma felt tired and nostalgic after his first human conversation in a long time, but still set off for his daily hunt again.

  Unaware that this meeting was about to change his life in a dramatic way...

  Chapter 1 Episode 4: The Duke Returns

  Two weeks had passed since the duke’s party went home. Ryoma was busy spending his days hunting and looking after slimes, when one day four people suddenly visited his home.

  “Oi! Ryoma! Hey, it’s me! Hughes! Not an enemy!”

  The one yelling in front of his home was the person who had been injured when he visited two weeks prior — Hughes. With him were Jill, Camil, and Zeph, who had also been there. They stood outside the rock sealed entrance of the house and yelled loudly to be heard inside... only for Ryoma to come out of the thicket behind them.

  “I’m... over here!”

  “Whoa! Oh, you were outside.”

  “I was hunting... Why are you here?”

  “We wanted to thank you properly for before. That’s why we’ve brought presents... But there’s quite a few, so we left them in a spot a bit further from here; along with Lord Reinhart and his family, two maids, and their butler who can use space magic. Sorry to spring this upon you, but do you have time now? If you’re busy, we can come back another day.”

  Ryoma thought for a moment, but he didn’t have anything in particular going on, and wasn’t about to turn them away for no reason after they’d come so far either. Once he agreed, the four escorts went into the forest to call the others over. In that time, Ryoma called back all the slimes he had sent out hunting and went about preparing to welcome his guests.

  After the preparations were completed roughly 30 minutes later, Ryoma and his thousand-odd clamoring slimes basked in the sun as they awaited their rare guests. Eventually, Reinhart’s party appeared.

  The slimes started to vibrate in response to the approaching people. That prompted Ryoma to check the state of his clothes one more time before looking at the figures.

  There were a total of eleven people. Behind Reinhart stood a woman and a young girl, both unfamiliar but beautiful. They were followed by a man who was elderly but walked upright in a dignified manner, and further behind him were the two maids and the butler Hughes had mentioned. They proceeded in a formation sandwiched between the four escorts.

  Based on their clothes, the three behind Reinhart must be his family. But the butler clothes and maid outfits sure stand out... Isn’t it hard to move around the forest like that?

  “...Is that the boy?”

  “There are so many slimes...”

  “Oh ho. I’d heard he had tamed a lot of slimes, but I wasn’t expecting this many.”

  “They may be slimes, but being able to control that many is impressive.”

  “The more familiars they have, the harder it is for a tamer to form a contract, after all.”

  They approached while Ryoma was questioning the practicality of maid outfits, and the young maid made a face at the large number of slimes. In contrast, the three members of Reinhart’s family were gazing at the slimes in interest.

  Once they arrived in the area before Ryoma’s house, Reinhart walked up to Ryoma.

  “It’s been two weeks since then, Ryoma. I’m sure you’ve heard already, but today we came to repay our debt to you. We brought some presents.”

  “Thank you very much.”

  “Oh no, they’re just a sign of our gratitude.”

  “Honey, why don’t you introduce us first?”

  The beautiful woman called out from behind Reinhart, reminding him of introductions.

  “Allow me to introduce you. This is my father, Reinbach, wife, Elise, and daughter, Eliaria.”

  “I’m Reinbach Jamil, the previous head of the House of Jamil. Sorry for intruding on such short notice. It’s nice to meet you.”

  “Elise Jamil. Thank you for helping my husband and his subordinates out the other day.”

  “Elia
ria Jamil. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

  “It is an honor to make your acquaintance... My name is Ryoma Takebayashi... Thank you for coming from so far away... I cannot offer much, but I welcome you to my home.”

  Despite being disjointed, the unexpected manner of speech left the ducal house and their escorts around them with rounded eyes — Reinbach returned to his senses first.

  “There’s no need for such polite speech. Please talk to us casually. We don’t need any hospitality either. We’re the ones intruding out of the blue.”

  “Thank you very much. Please, come inside... Ah.”

  Figuring it would be better to talk inside the house, Ryoma tried to invite them in when he realized all his slimes were blocking the entrance and ordered the slimes inside first.

  “It really is an amazing number to see in the light... Is it just me, or have they increased a little?”

  “...After you left... they split...”

  Reinhart’s observation while watching the slimes rush inside the house was correct. Their numbers were as follows:

  Sticky Slime x364

  Poison Slime x323

  Acid Slime x211

  Cleaner Slime x11

  Scavenger Slime x730

  Healing Slime x2

  They had, to put it bluntly, increased a little too much. As of late, Ryoma was having trouble maintaining their taming contract and feeding of all the slimes. He had now restricted their diets and was making sure their nutrition wasn’t being used on evolution or splitting.

  Slimes didn’t need much food to just stay alive. He had been prepared to take responsibility and cull some of the numbers if it didn’t work out, but fortunately a goblin settlement had taken up residence in the forest in the past two weeks, so he managed to make do by eliminating them.

  Furthermore, the goblin extermination bought more fortune than just food.

  When Ryoma cast his healing magic in a panic on some of the slimes he saw were gravely wounded from goblin attacks. The next day, two of the surviving slimes had evolved into healing slimes, a new kind of slime that could use healing magic.

  Healing Slime

  Skills: Healing Magic 1, Life Enhancement 1, Photosynthesis 3, Consume 1, Absorb 1, Split 2

  The birth of the healing slimes had sparked a fire within Ryoma once more, but he was holding back due to his current situation.

  “Will they all fit inside the room?”

  “It’s become... okay...”

  “Become okay? What do you mean by that?”

  “Watch...”

  At Reinhart’s question, Ryoma gave the slimes an order. The biggest issue after they split was actually the matter of living space. However, that problem was solved by accident three days after they split. And the trigger for it had been a wild idea that popped into Ryoma’s head.

  Ryoma had been looking at the slimes that overflowed from the living space made for the slimes into his own bedroom floor when he muttered, “Why can’t these slimes combine or something? You know, like in Dr*g*n Q**st...”

  At that moment, all the slimes started vibrating intensely, and all the slimes of the same species gathered together and formed single slimes in no time at all. Ryoma appraised them all in a panic to see:

  Big Sticky Slime x1

  Skills: Strong Sticky Solution 5, Hardening Sticky Solution 4, Sticky String Shot 3, Physical Attack Resistance 1, Maximize 2, Minimize 4, Jump 2, Consume 3, Absorb 3

  Big Poison Slime x1

  Skills: Poison Production 4, Poison Resistance 4, Paralyzing Poison Production 4, Physical Attack Resistance 1, Maximize 2, Minimize 4, Jump 1, Consume 3, Absorb 3

  Big Acid Slime x1

  Skills: Acid Production 5, Acid Resistance 4, Physical Attack Resistance 1, Maximize 2, Minimize 4, Jump 2, Consume 4, Absorb 3

  Huge Scavenger Slime x1

  Skills: Disease Resistance 5, Poison Resistance 5, Foul Feeder 6, Cleanse 6, Deodorize 6, Deodorant Solution 4, Stench Release 5, Nutrient Reduction 4, Physical Attack Resistance 2, Maximize 3, Minimize 5, Jump 2, Consume 6, Absorb 3

  Ryoma had been surprised at first, but when he ordered the slimes to change back, they returned to their original number of separate slimes. Relieved, Ryoma repeated the experiment in excitement. As a result, he discovered that they could combine and separate as they pleased, forming a big slime when there were over 100 of the same species, and a huge slime when there were more than 500. For the record, slime numbers under 100 couldn’t combine, and it was precisely at the end of 499 and the start of 500 where the name changed from big to huge.

  Fortunately, the combined slimes could use their minimize skill to shrink to a size slightly larger than a single slime. They still ate several times more than a single slime, but considering how they were a mass of hundreds of slimes, their diet was basically reduced to 2-5%.

  In other words, they were able to drastically save on space and the amount of food needed, which made Ryoma wonder if this was a form of self-protection to maintain their living conditions and counter the shortage of food. He had no proof, but that’s what he believed.

  Furthermore, considering the fact that big slimes were formed from a minimum of 100 slimes of the same species and lost their splitting skill upon doing so, it was reasonable to believe slimes larger than big ones were also made by combining their respective species.

  There were still unsolved questions like where all the extra mass went during combining and minimizing, but for now Ryoma was glad the matter of space and food was solved efficiently.

  Thinking it would be easier to show than explain, Ryoma had ordered the slimes to combine in front of Reinhart and the others... But the sight left the three adults of the ducal house with wide eyes, the others falling silent as they stared intently.

  “A big slime?!”

  “No way!”

  “No, there’s no mistaking it... You tamed a big slime?”

  “...Is that... weird?”

  “Big slimes are a monster no one has been able to tame yet, you know?”

  “Huh?”

  Noticing how Elise’s words confused Ryoma, Reinbach stepped in to explain.

  “Certain advanced species of slimes like big slimes are unaffected by taming contracts, the crux of taming magic. Many have tried to tame them before, but there have been no successful attempts.”

  Hearing that, Ryoma understood.

  “Taming contract... No point... Should be obvious...”

  “And why is that?”

  Everyone’s eyes gathered on Ryoma, who looked slightly uncomfortable as he started to talk.

  “Big slime... gathering of many slimes... Does not fulfill... conditions of taming contract. Only one contract can be formed at a time... Lots at once is impossible. Taming one among a hundred others... Cannot single out precisely. Because it looks like one core... That’s why taming contract... has no effect. I... tamed lots of slimes... gathered them... and they became this.”

  ■ ■ ■

  Ryoma’s Side

  ...What happened? Everyone’s got a scary look in their eyes — especially the adults of the family. Did I do something wrong?

  “Marvelous.”

  Huh? Did something happen? What was marvelous?

  “That’s amazing, Ryoma! You’ve solved one of the great taming mysteries of the world!”

  “?!”

  What’s up with these people?! Their eyes are so intent and they’re way too enthusiastic about this topic... It’s kinda scary!

  “My Lady, Lord Reinbach, please calm down. You are frightening Master Ryoma.”

  “Ah! I’m sorry, please don’t be scared.”

  “My apologies, I got carried away there.”

  “It’s... fine...”

  “If I could explain the reason why they got excited... The reason you gave for why big slimes can’t be tamed is a mystery many tamers have tried to solve without success. Big slimes aren’t amazingly strong, but they’re difficult monsters to fight, which is
why many people have tried to tame them to use as obstacles. Some people still try now and then. But...”

  “As I said earlier, there have been no successful attempts. For a long time now, it has been researched by those who failed in their attempts and proud tamers who viewed the ineffectiveness of the taming contract a problem, as the contract is the heart of taming magic. However, none were able to come up with results and research efforts were reduced, leaving it unsolved until now. Then you came along and solved such a mystery all by yourself.”

  Wow... Things sure took a crazy turn.

  “Hmm... That’s a rather weak reaction. What if I put it like this? Research into why big slimes couldn’t be tamed started at the same time taming magic spread throughout this world. There were just no results coming out of it, so the current research institution treats it as a convenient and cushy payroll spot. A long unsolved mystery that everyone gave up on... was solved by you! This is no time to be remaining calm!”

  Could it be true? It was by total coincidence, but it seemed like things could get bothersome. What to do...

  “What should we do?”

  “Register him with the Tamers’ Guild and announce it!”

  Ah, was there some kind of institution that gathered information like that? Based on the reactions of these people, announcing it could turn into a huge deal, which seems bothersome... But it could be a good chance to leave the forest...

  “Town, huh...”

  The words that slipped out of my mouth caused the four family members and the maids and butler behind them to react.

  “I’m sorry, I know you don’t like towns...”

  “We won’t insist that you register and announce it, but this truly is a monumental discovery. Please understand that.”

  “I understand... Ah...”

  The combining of slimes had unblocked the entrance.

  “For now... come in, please.”