One week later

In the mines north of Gimuru, we are once again hard at training. However, the master of the mine, Ryouma-kun isnt around. He had work today, so we borrowed the place, and are training hard by ourselves.

He did suggest to take a break for the day, but we wanted to learn as much as we can while were here, so we rejected the offer. Because of that, were working hard, training by ourselves. Oh, but its currently break time though. All work and no rest wouldnt do us any good, so we have to make sure to take ample rest.

I drank the tea before me, then I rested for a breath or two.

Fuu [Mich.e.l.le]

You seem to be doing well today, Mich.e.l.le. [Elia]

It took me a week, but I think Ive finally gotten the hang of it. Im still failing once every five times though. [Mich.e.l.le]

The magic called Heat is really efficient. It can quickly heat up an object with just a small amount of magic power. But thats also the reason why its easy to use too much magic power Ryouma-kun said its convenient since he no longer needs to go to the kitchen just to make tea, but because its so efficient, its actually quite difficult to use. Its a lot faster than boiling water normally, so if I could get used to it, it could be really useful. Unfortunately, Im still ways off Still, its undoubtedly interesting.

Ever since a young age, Ive always been more knowledgeable at magic compared to other n.o.ble children. My grades in theory and practical ability are all exceptional. At the very least, Im top 1 in cla.s.s. It might be because of my fathers influence, but somehow someway, I naturally turned out like this. So when I see a magic Ive never heard of before, I cant help but be interested.

But at the same time that begs a question. Just who in the world is Ryouma-kun?

He is Elias friend and a year younger than me. He is a master magician and martial artist, and at the same time, there is also the possibility that he knows Alchemy. He is also a slime researcher, and a skilled merchant. Hes good at inventing things These are the first things that comes to mind when I think of him. I guess it cant be helped. The more I try to think of a way to ask him about Alchemy, more and more questions pop out.

Mich.e.l.le? Is something the matter? [Miyabi]

Are you thinking about something again? [Elia]

Right I just cant help but wonder, just who exactly is Ryouma? I know hes not a bad person, but theres no doubting that hes really mysterious [Mich.e.l.le]

Well, thats true. Although, it is a bit late to be saying that. [Elia]

There is one thing that comes to mind though And thats that Ryouma is actually a Child of G.o.d, just like those from the legends. (?) If Ryouma-kun is actually a Child of G.o.d, then his abilities and strength could be attributed to his power as a Child of G.o.d. While that doesnt really explain anything, I could at least come to terms with it. Also, from what Ive been told, Elia first met him in a forest where hes been living all alone by himself. That matches the description spoken of when the Children of G.o.d appears before humans.

But the Children of G.o.d only appear once every few hundred years. Moreover, only one. Though in some extremely rare cases, two. Regardless, the chance of meeting one in this world is absurdly low. The n.o.bles once put up an orphanage after finding out the Children of G.o.d appear as orphans, but in the end, they couldnt find any, and they suffered great losses. Some say that they even went bankrupt.

But from that, is it even realistic to think that there could be someone with talent comparable to that of a Child of G.o.d? The Sage, Melia-sama, and the Martial G.o.d, Teagle-sama Those two exceptional people were born, so its certainly not impossible for people rivalling the power of a Child of G.o.d to appear. I dont know how accurate the legends regarding the Children of G.o.d are, but

It doesnt really matter who Ryouma-kun is though. [Riera]

Like h.e.l.l it doesnt matter!! [Mich.e.l.le]

Bringing up a topic, then going silent, while your brain catches fire as you start thinking a lot. [Riera]

Ah, sorry, its my bad habit again. Still, you sure understand me well, Riera. As expected, I guess. [Mich.e.l.le]

Well, there were plenty of instances before, so Anyway, what has you thinking so much? [Riera]

Hmm Well, I am curious who Ryouma-kun is, but I think it also doesnt matter after all. More than that, Im more curious about his magic. [Mich.e.l.le]

Youre the same as ever, huh? Being concerned about Ryouma-kuns magic. [Kanan]

If I were to put it simply, its the way he conceptualizes things. Hes only a bit different from normal magicians, but thats also what makes him interesting. [Mich.e.l.le]

For example, when he first thought us Heat, he did not heat the target with a fire made of magic, but simply focused on increasing the temperature itself. Normally, a person would immediately think of fire when he wants to heat something which, by the way, I would find perfectly reasonable.

He also showed us several different magic yesterday, but each and every one of them were intriguing.

Aside from heat, he also had various other magic, such as Crack, which applied the earth magic, Break Rock, to create a fissure inside stone walls, allowing him to dismantle buildings. He also had the magic, Stone Cutting, a magic that allows one to cut out stone useable for construction from boulders. Or the magic, Ridge, which controls the earth in the fields, allowing one to create a ridge.

Those were all magic meant for either farm work or quarry work Its true that there are certainly people who use magic in that industry, but even a magician wouldnt bother to create everything with magic. Besides, farm work and quarry work can both be done even without magic. Therere rarely anyone who would purposely go out of his way to create a new magic just to do those things.

And thats exactly why I cant help but see him as an eccentric man.

You know I could actually listen to you guys forever. [???]

As I was speaking my thoughts to the others, I heard a voice from the entrance.

Im home~ [Ryouma]

Huh? Ryouma-kun? [Mich.e.l.le]

Are you in the middle of your break? You mustve been training hard. (?) I finished my work earlier than expected, so I took a stroll around town, then I went back home. [Ryouma]

As Ryouma said that, a trace of fatigue could be seen on his face.

Is there something the matter? [Elia]

A little. I dropped by the Adventurers Guild, and somehow, I ended up being scheduled for my B Rank promotion exam. [Ryouma]

Oh! Congratulations! [Elia]

So youll be a B Rank adventurer soon. Congratulations, Ryouma-dono. It seems youll also be joining the ranks of the first-cla.s.s adventurers. [Riera]

Youre all going too fast, Im still a C Rank, you know. [Ryouma]

Since its you, Ryouma-sama, Im sure youll past the test just fine. Here, have some tea. [Sebasu]

Thank you very much. [Ryouma]

The reason behind his fatigue didnt seem to only be because of the promotion exam, but Ryouma-kun didnt look like he wanted to talk about it, so no one pursued, and Sebasu-san offered him tea.

Are you done for the day? [Kanan]

Ah Ill be resting for a while, but Ill be making food for the goblins later. So Ill have to gather some ingredients. [Ryouma]

Then in that case, let me help. [Elia]

If theres anything I can do, let me help too. [Mich.e.l.le]

The other three also said the same thing as they offered their help.

Is it really alright? [Ryouma]

Youve helped us a lot, after all. [Riera]

Thank you. [Ryouma]

And after Ryouma finished drinking tea, the first job he left to us was to gather the mutated crops.

Mutated Crops? That doesnt sound very good. Surely, youre not talking about the claymore corns, right? [Kanan]

Dont worry, Ill gather the Claymore Corns myself. You five will be handling the weaker ones. Theyll only be running away when you try to gather them, so at most, itll just be a bit annoying. [Ryouma]

Crops that can run!? What in the worlds that supposed to be!?

Sebasu-san knows the place, hell take you there. [Ryouma]

As Ryouma-kun said that, he used dimension magic, and vanished.

Let us be on our way then. [Sebasu]

Sebasu-san used his dimension magic as well, and he took us to Ryouma-kuns laboratory. The room was wide, and there was no ceiling. Wind would blow in freely as the suns rays lit the place bright In fact, with the surrounding walls, the place looked a lot closer to a courtyard. On the soft earth could be seen verdant flowery vines extending a meter forward and backward. There were too many vines to count, but they were clearly over a thousand of them.

Are these the crops that Ryouma-san was talking about? [Elia]

Yes, this is one of the crops Ryouma-sama mutated. He calls it, the Snake Gobo. (?) If this magical beast were to be ranked, it would be F Rank. Its always extending vines out of the ground, so its easy to fight. Its fighting power is also virtually nil. [Sebasu]

Do we just pull it out? [Elia]

Yes. Itll try to come back under the ground once you do, but as long as you cut at the boundaries of the vines and the roots, then itll stop moving. [Sebasu]

As Sebasu-san said that, he nimbly caught a vine, and pulled it out. At the end of the vine was a snake-like wriggling object that resembled a trees roots. No, actually, those ARE roots. As soon as Sebasu-san took that vine, the surrounding vines all ran at the speed of an adult human.

They can really run [Miyabi]

Ladies, please use these baskets. [Sebasu]

Who knows where he pulled it out from, but Sebasu-san brought out some baskets. We carried those on our backs, and we started chasing after the vines. When we caught one, we would put them in the basket. Time pa.s.sed, and we continued to work, but

Haa Haa [Elia]

This job is really simple, but Its actually quite difficult [Miyabi]

Elia and Miyabi didnt have much strength, so theyre having a hard time. We cant surround the vines with the six of us, so even Im starting to get tired On the other hand, Riera and Kanan are treating this like exercise as they caught vine after vine. Sebasu-sans also having an easy time with his dimension magic.

We naturally split the work of processing and catching. Then after continuing this process as we took turns

Well done. It seems youve caught quite a bit. [Ryouma]

Ryouma-kun!? Since when did you [Mich.e.l.le]

Oh, sorry. Did I surprise you? I used dimension magic. [Ryouma]

It looks like he wasnt trying to scare me, but if you call out to me from behind, of course, Ill be scared I couldnt even hear your footsteps too As I said that, he lightly bowed his head to me. Then after taking a look at the Snake Gobos weve caught, he called out to the others.

This is enough! Thank you very much for your help! [Ryouma]

I tried counting the total number of Snake Gobo, and it turned out to total to about 400. Ryouma-kun took all those into his Dimension Home, then he teleported to the tunnel he uses as a wine cellar. Apparently, Ryoumas been buying an amazing amount of liquor.

He took barrel after barrel from his Dimension Home. It came to a point when he went past 20 barrels.

Ryouma-kun, just how many did you buy? [Mich.e.l.le]

I bought about 50 barrels today. The owner of the liquor shop needs some help maintaining his storehouse, so he sells these to me for cheap. [Ryouma]

Even then, I think youre still buying too much Around this time, a bottle made out of rock that was sitting in a corner of the wine cellar on a shelf caught my eye. This is also probably wine, but is there a store that sells wine in rock bottles?

Thats the wine Ryouma-sama makes as a hobby. [Sebasu]

Sebasu-san said that when he noticed me looking toward the rock bottle on the shelf.

Ryouma-kun, you can even make wine? [Mich.e.l.le]

I make them with a mixture of the slimes alcohol and fruit juices or medical liquor. I also sometimes make them with magic, but then the taste is a bit unpredictable. [Ryouma]

Making wine with magic!? Ive heard of people making wine as their family business, but Ive never heard of anyone making wine with magic!

What kind of magic is that? [Mich.e.l.le]

My voice clearly resounded in the tunnel, and Ryouma, having finally finished unloading all of his baskets, answered.

It all started a few years ago when I fought against a magical beast that could use a kind of dark magic that would cause metal to rust. I tried recreating its magic, and from that, I found a way to spur the reaction to occur. [Ryouma]

Magic that makes metal rust can make alcohol?

In other words? [Mich.e.l.le]

Hmm How should I explain it Even if I dont use magic, as long as I leave metal around itll rust. But with the magic, Reaction, I can make it rust faster. But the only thing thatll rust is metal. Meat and vegetables on the other hand will

If you leave meat and vegetable lying around I know! Theyll rot! So in their case, theyll rot faster. And spoilage and fermentation just like medicine and poison is only a question of how the person uses it.

So in other words, youre using that magic to ferment the ingredients and brew alcohol. [Mich.e.l.le]

When I said that, Ryouma replied with a Correct as he clapped his hands.

The taste changes with the extent of the fermentation. Sometimes, a bad odor would be left too. Ive tried out different ingredients, but the results were all a matter of luck. I cant make a lot, so I only work on it when I feel like it. Ive also tried making liquor with ingredients other than grapes

Therere also products I was able to make well once, but couldnt make again.

Even though if I included that in in the ingredients when I made it, I couldve made more. [Ryouma]

Ryouma seemed frustrated as he remembered something, but after that, he snapped himself back, and he talked about his magic. Apparently, theres another magic opposite of Reaction. A light magic known as Preservation which fights against deterioration. Miyabis curiosity was also piqued when she caught wind of the topic, so she also joined in the conversation.

Meanwhile, the three girls, Riera, Kanan, and Elia, were quietly waiting on the side while Ryouma was explaining. When Ryouma finished explaining, he remembered them, and he quickly apologized, but the three didnt really mind.

Ah, come to think of it, Im also a culprit. Looks like I also lost myself when the topic turned to magic. But I still have a lot I want to talk about. I wonder if well have enough time during our stay