By the Grace of the Gods: Volume 1

by Roy

  “Getting wet will be cold. At least cover yourself.”

  “Thank you very much. I shall borrow this for a while.”

  Araune thanked me with a smile and left, leaving the rest of us to discuss the waterproof cloth enthusiastically.

  As far as I could tell from the discussion, the main form of rain protection in this kingdom was made from leather. Larger items like tents were heavy and took up a lot of space. In contrast, the waterproof cloth only needed sticky solution to be painted on and dried, making it much more compact and foldable than leather.

  Furthermore, rain protection was meant to be used in the rain. This meant that the rain and dirt got everywhere, staining materials such as leather. It could also grow moldy, too. Of course, they could be protected from that with maintenance, but cleaning the dirt, applying oil, and drying it again... it was all effort. In that regard, the waterproof cloth repelled water and dirt so it was much harder to get dirty, and it could be washed in water too. All it needed was a rinse and dry to clean it.

  In reality, all I did was use the water magic Wave to brush off the droplets, then hang it somewhere to dry every time. Even then, it was never really a trouble.

  After most of the explanations were done, the conversation moved on to what kinds of things it could be specifically used for. I suggested raincoats and umbrellas with my modern knowledge, then heard about the tools in this world... It finally felt like I had come to a typical other world! Actually, I should have received magic as my power... why did it seem like things were leaning towards internal affairs?

  Knowledge of modern concepts and products were the equivalent of cheat codes in this world, right?

  As we discussed things, the tent preparations were completed. Honestly, I had forgotten that we were waiting.

  “Sorry for the wait! The tents are all ready. Also, the others said to tell the kid thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “How much longer until the rain stops?”

  “The skill user said another two to three hours, then we’ll begin removing the landslide dirt.”

  “All right. Take breaks in shifts until then, and make sure the earth magicians have plenty of rest.”

  “Got it.”

  We watched Zeph head off to pass on the orders before entering the tent.

  To my surprise, there was a large space in the middle of the tent that split off into four individual rooms around the edges. It was a large and luxurious tent.

  “The road was a lot bumpier than normal, so make sure you rest well.”

  “Yes, I will rest up... to work hard later.”

  They were already letting me ride in the carriage with them and providing me with accommodation, so I wanted to do at least this much. That’s why I answered that, but Reinbach looked confused.

  “Work hard? What for?”

  “The landslide dirt... I will remove it... with my earth magic.”

  “The escorts can handle that, so you can rest, you know?”

  “I’ve been in your care so much already. It will be for my own sake. Please let me do it.”

  “Hmm... Then you can help out, if you insist. However, you must take breaks if you get tired, understand? You’ve already used barrier magic so many times, and running out of magic energy is painful.”

  Oh, so he was worried about that. I was very grateful for the consideration.

  “Thank you very much, I’ll be careful.”

  Several hours after that exchange...

  The downpour stopped as predicted, so work began on clearing the aftermath of the landslide. The escorts who could use earth magic were split into squads around me, each clearing away the dirt. In particular, the squad consisting of mostly earth magicians, who were using Break Rock to break the large boulders and Rock to compact the dirt to an appropriate size, was completing the removal work more efficiently than the other squads.

  As for what I was doing among them, I had Create Block — a spell I created by combining Break Rock and Rock while I was trying to hollow out my cave in the forest. By using that to create a large number of blocks at once, I could change the dirt into something the slimes could carry.

  What I could tell from the beginning was that the others were dealing with the dirt and stone separately, while I was going considerably faster owing to dealing with both of those at once. Furthermore, because the slimes were set up to carry the blocks in a bucket brigade style, all I had to do was use magic. The work progressed at a tremendously fun and fast pace.

  Seeing me like that, one of the escort men came over.

  “Do you have a moment?”

  “How can I help?”

  “Ryoma, was it? Just how are you using that magic? My principal occupation is a swordsman, so I’m not that good at magic... But I’ve never seen a spell that deals with both dirt and stone at once. Could you teach it to me, if possible?”

  “This is a spell called Create Block. Anyone who can use Break Rock and Rock should be able to use this as well... You know how Break Rock turns stone into dirt, and Rock turns dirt into stone?”

  “Yeah.”

  “So, you just imagine, turning stone into dirt and dirt into stone as one spell. If you do that, all the stones within range of your magic will turn to dirt... and all the dirt will stay as dirt until they become stone in the next step. This is the step where you make the stone a size you want... In my case, it’s this size that’s easy for the slimes to carry.”

  The man nodded in understanding and tried it on a nearby boulder. The resulting blocks were of varying size, but he had successfully turned both stone and dirt into stones of more manageable size that could be carried.

  “Ooh! It really worked! It looks like it’ll take some practice before I can get the stones a consistent size, but it consumes less magic energy than doing the two actions separately. Thanks, Ryoma.”

  “No... I’m happy to help.”

  He asked for permission to teach the others, which I agreed with, as one or two people wouldn’t make much difference, and he ran off to teach the others Create Block.

  As I worked silently beside the sidelong glances of the escorts, the sun set before I knew it, and the order to stop for the day was given out.

  “Welcome back, Ryoma.”

  When I returned to the tent, Elise came out to greet me, but...

  “Bwugh!”

  “Ryoma! You worked so hard!”

  “L-Let go... my n-neck...”

  I was about to return the greeting when she grabbed me in a hug.

  C-Can’t breathe! My nose and mouth are buried in her chest! I beg of you, let g—

  “My Lady! You’re strangling him! Please let go!”

  “Huh? Ah!”

  “Gwuh! Hah...”

  “I’m sorry! Are you okay?!”

  “Hah... Yes, I’m fine. Umm... Lilian, right?”

  “Y-Yes!”

  “Thank you very much. You saved me...”

  “No, I’m glad you’re safe. The food is ready, would you like to eat now?”

  “Yes, please.”

  She then proceeded to lead me to a table in an inner room.

  “Hello, Ryoma. I heard you were a great help. Thanks for your hard work.”

  “Can you eat? Don’t push yourself too hard.”

  “My body is fine.”

  “Oh ho, I thought you used quite a bit of magic?”

  “It was amazing, that spell. Create Block, was it?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Thanks to Ryoma’s slimes and that spell you taught to all of the earth magicians, it looks like we’ll be able to finish clearing up the landslide earlier than expected.”

  “I’m glad to hear that.”

  From what they told me, one person from today had mastered Create Block perfectly, while three others were able to use it proficiently, speeding up the process a great deal. For the record, the one who mastered it was Golche, the man who spoke to me first. Eventually, dinner was brought over
for everyone to dig in, which was when Eliaria asked me a question.

  “Ryoma, Ryoma. How much magic energy do you have?”

  “Huh?”

  Come to think of it, how much magic energy did I have right now? I heard it was meant to increase with prolonged use of magic, but...

  “Is something the matter?”

  “I don’t... know.”

  “Huh?! But normally a ten-year-old would have gone to the church for... Oh, I see. Ryoma lived in the forest... Then how did you know your limit before now?”

  “The feeling of my body... and intuition.”

  “And that works out for you?”

  “I got used to it, so it’s not a problem. Do people normally get measured at 10 years old?”

  “In normal households, yes. They have the church measure their status. That’s when it’s decided whether a future as a magician is viable, from looking at the magic energy number. Us nobles get measured at 5 years old and begin training early, though. Well, if you managed to continuously use so much magic without feeling the effects of depletion, you must have a pretty high limit.”

  The topic moved on from there, turning to plans for the future and our destination town next.

  After the meal, I was allocated a room inside the tent. There were no more duties left for me today, and tomorrow would start with more dirt clearing before departing on the journey. I should get to bed early to rest... but there was one thing bothering me.

  During dinner, when we were talking about my magic energy. Eliaria’s eyes kept glancing at me while we were discussing it. That was a thoughtful look she had, right? While I noticed her gaze, I have no idea why she was looking at me like that. We only talked about magic energy for a little while... but I was starting to think the topic was changed on purpose, so that we didn’t linger on it.

  Did I say something wrong? I was curious. But I missed the chance to ask. Next time I get an opportunity, I’ll ask. It would be ideal if there was a way to ask casually, but otherwise, I’d just wait until we got a little closer...

  Speaking of which, how long have I been thinking for? Likely quite a while, judging from how heavy my eyelids are.

  Unable to resist the call of sleep, I nodded off like that.

  Chapter 1 Episode 11: Arriving in Gimul

  Three days later...

  After the landslide, the journey progressed without incident. Because I was constantly with someone these past few days, my speech had gradually grown more fluent. They told me I was still a little stiff with my words, but there was no problem understanding what I meant, and we were finally arriving at our destination of Gimul Town.

  “We’re here. This is the town of Gimul.”

  “So this is Gimul...”

  It was a peaceful town surrounded by tall outer walls and lots of greenery. That was the first impression I received. It was a little smaller than the town of Keleban we visited before, but that just made it seem calmer.

  I was told that the mines were nearby and the steel industry was the main source of livelihood, so I had imagined more bustle... But this was good in its own way.

  However, according to what Reinhart said on the way, the production of iron had dwindled in recent years, making one of the objectives of this trip to inspect and determine whether the mines should be closed from lack of profit...

  Although, the way Reinhart had stated ‘There’s more than one mine, so there shouldn’t be a large impact on the town for at least another ten years,’ made it sound like the mine’s closure was practically finalized already.

  Maybe he didn’t think it was a topic to be sharing with a child... Well, the mining output had been practically zero for three years now. It seemed like the only condition for avoiding closure was to find a new vein of ore. All the miners of that particular mine had already stopped working there since last year. It made sense that they’d prefer to work somewhere with results. Especially if it involved their income.

  “All right, let’s leave our things at the inn, then head to the Tamers’ Guild for registration.”

  The Tamers’ Guild was an establishment where tamers and summoners — the two types of spellcasters that could control monsters — were able to register in order to receive jobs and information services. It also assisted in finding accommodation for tamers who lived with their familiars and purchasing cheap familiar food for affiliated members. There were similar places; like the Adventurers’ Guild, Magic Guild, and Merchants’ Guild; but the Tamers’ Guild had far fewer members in comparison due to public fear of tamer familiars. Thus, the scale of the guild was inevitably smaller and had fewer branches, although there was one in this town to fill the demand for transporting goods from the mines.

  ...Well, according to Elise, anyway.

  She was in a very good mood today, humming a song as she held both my and Eliaria’s hand as we walked, having just dropped our belongings of at the inn. But there was something bothering me.

  “How much information should I give the guild?”

  “The submission of information is up to the person who first made the discovery, so as much as you’re comfortable with is fine.”

  Well, in that case...

  “Just the evolution conditions of a slime and the way to contract a big slime, then. I’ll also register the two new species of slime.”

  “You’ll keep the use of sticky slime solution a secret?”

  “Yes, if it’s going to be used to sell waterproof cloth, then we don’t want imitations circulating.”

  “That’s true.”

  Our plan was to head to the Tamers’ Guild as soon as we were done talking, but Reinbach stepped in before that.

  “You haven’t been to the church yet, have you, Ryoma? In that case, shouldn’t you go get your status numbers disclosed by the church first?”

  At those words, both Reinhart and Elise were reminded of what to do first. Apparently, the church distributed ‘status boards’ — tools that could be used to view one’s own stats and make registering for guilds go more smoothly. For example, the condition to register for the Tamers’ Guild was the ability to use taming or summoning magic, so having the status board display that would allow for instant approval. Without a status board, you would be made to wait until an official was available to witness you make a contract with a previously prepared slime before you could register.

  And so, with that change of plans, we first headed for the Church of Creationism in Gimul instead. For the record, the slimes were waiting back at the inn. It would be one thing if we were just going to the Tamers’ Guild, but alas...

  At the church, we were greeted by an elderly woman with a gentle smile, dressed in a nun’s habit.

  “Welcome to the church. Are you here to pray today?”

  “We’d like to get a status board issued for this child. Some peculiar circumstances have prevented him from obtaining one before now.”

  “I will be in your care.”

  “In that case, please come this way. I shall lead you to the baptism room.”

  It was forbidden for anyone else to enter the baptism room, so I said my temporary farewells with everyone before following the sister through the church.

  “This way.”

  “Excuse me.”

  In the room I was led to, there was a pedestal with a round crystal like I had seen at the office in Keleban Town.

  It looked exactly the same at a glance, apart from the pedestal being palm-sized with a vertically long rectangular recess.

  “This will be your status board. Once slotted into the pedestal, the baptism will be completed with a touch of the crystal. There will be a bright light when you touch the crystal, but you can rest assured that it will not harm you.”

  “I understand.”

  The woman showed me a transparent board before slotting it into the pedestal and walking to the opposite side.

  “Go ahead and touch the crystal.”

  “Okay.”

  Slightly nervous, I s
lowly touched the crystal.

  The next moment, a strong light filled the room like when I first came to this world, making me squeeze my eyes shut against the brightness.

  The light passed through my eyelids, making it red until it gradually faded.

  “Uh... Huh?!”

  Once the light faded, I opened my eyes to see a room that wasn’t before me a moment ago.

  ...There was no mistaking it. I would never forget. This was the room where the gods...

  “Oi! Ryoma!”

  “Over here!”

  “Behind you!”

  The voices that reached me through my daze made me turn around to see the three gods that had sent me to this world.

  They were standing as though they had been waiting for me.

  The fact that they were here meant that this had to be that place.

  “Gain, Kufo, Lulutia... Have I died again?”

  “No, no, you’re fine. We’ve just pulled your spirit here for a bit. You’ll regain consciousness before long. Time will remain the same too.”

  “I didn’t think we’d be able to meet you again either, but after you prayed to our stone statues in your forest home every day...”

  “You shut yourself away in the forest for three years, doing nothing but training and research, no? It’s because you were self-sufficient with your meals and ate simply, resulting in a lifestyle that was similar to priesthood training.”

  Really?

  “You’ve actually met us before, so you believed in our existence from the bottom of your heart. And you prayed to us every day for three years. That was more than enough to fulfill the conditions to bestow the oracle skill on you during baptism.”

  “We’ll be able to talk to you — just a little, though — from now on, too.”

  “I see. At any rate, I’m glad to see you all again.”

  That was the one thing I wanted to say. I had been thinking a lot about what I would say once I could talk to them again, but nothing came to mind at the moment.

  “The same goes for us. You came to the church like you promised.”

  “You look like you’re having fun in your new life. We watched you the whole time, but there was never a dull moment.”