Chapter 42. I Want to Eat Jelly Cake

If the pasture next to my field belongs to the Tamer Guild’s stables, then maybe I can get some livestock manure from them.  

That way, I wouldn’t have to worry so much about how to manage when it comes to fertilizer for my fields with just 1,000 yen. I can hold onto that hope.  

I thought about bringing some hay as a gift, but I’m not sure how to carry it there. Maybe I could talk to them first and have them come pick it up later— but then I remembered there was the problem of the fertility earthworms…

Our field also has a simple fence, like a wooden barrier that separates the land. So, if you’re coming in from the road, you might not notice unless you look carefully, but from where the hay was placed, you can see the entire field. I don’t think they’re there anymore, but they might still be—dangerous.  

For now, I’ll scrap the idea of bringing hay as a gift.  

Instead, I’ll prepare a bag of raisins as a gift. I have some bought and stored away.  

It’s a bit of a dilemma, since raisins are something I can buy repeatedly with a thousand yen repeat, give to the locals without any issues, and they tend to like it fairly-well.  

There are also many varieties and sizes of raisins here. Some even have a slightly unusual taste, but they’re delicious! I think they’ll be very well received.  

One of the good things about raisins is that they can be stored for a while, so I can just pretend they’re from somewhere far away, which makes it less suspicious. Raisins are pretty amazing—they’re really handy.  

I’m also thinking about giving candy, like wrapped sweets, but unwrapping each candy individually is a hassle, and their shapes are too uniform.  

ChaOna Marbles are nice—they don’t come in individual wrappers, they’re perfectly round and the colors are pretty, but I don’t get why they’re so hard…

And sugar candies too, but I’d be embarrassed if someone asked where or how they’re made—like, they’re probably spun for days.  

“Hello!”  

I arrived at the Tamer Guild’s stables. There was no one at the reception, so I decided to just shout towards the back.  

I can hear voices and sounds mixed with animal noises coming from further back, so there must be someone there.  

Looking back now, I realize I should have just said “Hello!”, it would’ve been louder instead of “Welcome!”—but it’s too late to realize that now.  

“Yep! I’m coming right away!”  

A voice answered from the back.  

It was a somewhat laid-back female voice.  

A young girl in overalls, perhaps work clothes, came over. She’s carrying something on her shoulder.  

“I’m Saki. I work in the fields next door, so I came to say hello.”  

“It’s over there, next door,” I gestured, pointing in the direction with my hand.

I hand her some raisins, thinking it’s a nice gesture for everyone to share a little. It’s the thought that counts in these situations. Some people may be picky about the amount or the price, but it’s not good to worry too much about it.

“Thank you very much! Thanks so much I’m Meir, a staff member of the Tamer Guild,” she says with a cheerful smile. Her dimples and snaggletooth are adorable.  

“This is my partner, Ram.”  

　

She introduced the soft, translucent blob that was on her shoulder.  

It’s milky white and translucent, with a deep purple center. It’s very jiggly. It has no eyes, but for some reason I get the feeling that it’s watching me.  

Could it be?  

“A slime?”  

“Yes!”  

A monster I’ve never properly met before—indeed, it is a slime.  

I thought slimes were beginner-friendly monsters for adventurers, but that doesn’t seem to be the case here.

Now that I think about it, I vaguely recall Jude-san saying something about slime being used to make paper.  

It’s soft and squishy, like a jelly cake—so cute.  

It looks delicious. I want to eat jelly cake or sweet bean jelly. That smooth, slippery texture. Even when it’s hot outside and I don’t have an appetite, it slides down oh so easily. It’s really good.  

I gaze at it with longing.  

Maybe it sensed my appetite, and it trembles slightly. It’s so cute. I want to look at it more, but it seems I’ve frightened it.

Sorry. I turn my eyes away and ask Meir-san a question.  

“There are horses here, but how do you dispose of the horse manure?”  

“Horse manure? This little one cleans it up after!”  

What? Why are you asking that? Meir-san tilts her head in confusion.  

My eyes are drawn back to the slime.  

Can a slime handle poop and urine!

That’s amazing.  

Eh, could it be, then, that the clean bathrooms and public toilets in the guild are all thanks to Mr. slime?  

The Slime-sama’s trembling stopped, perhaps because my gaze had changed from one of appetite to one of deep respect.

Since I’m here, I decide to ask about the slime and the Tamer Guild.  

“Slimes are wonderful! First of all, they’re super cute, but they’re also smart and very useful,” Meir-san gushes enthusiastically.  

She seems really fond of slimes, speaking with great enthusiasm.  

Honestly, I can see how amazing they are. Slimes are incredible.  

First of all, their ability to dissolve things, which is very useful for waste disposal, is amazing. Their ability to produce a jiggly substance that can be used in a variety of products is also useful. And its ability to take in things, defying the laws of physics, is also amazing.

And their size can change, so it is impossible to tell its true size, or their dissolving and absorption abilities, just by looking.  

So, slimes in this world aren’t low-level monsters.  

They can be classified as intermediate to advanced monsters, and some are even special grade. They’re formidable creatures.  

“They can absorb so much that they can be used as magic bags. But if you store things in them for too long, they’ll eat about one in five items,” she explains.  

Wow, that’s probably not good…

It’s probably like preparing food for a pet and telling it to ‘wait,’ seeing how long it can hold out.  

Of course, a good boy would wait patiently, but if it’s hungry, it might not be able to hold back.  

And the slime that manages to wait four out of five times—now that’s impressive.  

The dissolving ability varies among individuals, and they also have different preferences.  

Speaking of preferences, monsters and tamers also have affinities or compatibilities, and no matter how much you train your taming skill, some monsters just aren’t easy to tame or may not be tameable at all.  

The Tamer Guild is literally a guild for tamers.  

It manages and registers animals and monsters tamed by tamers, temporarily takes them in, lends them out, or transfers ownership.  

It’s doing quite a lot. But what relates to me are probably the temporary lending and genuine ownership transfers.  

Taming is like a kind of employment contract, which can be transferred from the tamers to others under certain conditions.  

“The most commonly used are horses and cows. They’re mostly for transportation or carrying loads, but they can also be lent out with plowing equipment,” she says.  

I’d really like a cow that would listen to commands. Back in my hometown, many farmers kept cows, especially in those days before tractors. I’ve heard it was hard to secure enough food for them.  

“What are the conditions for that?”  

“Equines like horses and cows aren’t that difficult. If you take a basic taming course on seduction tactics, you can learn quickly,” she replies casually.  

Huh?  

I tilt my head really hard, thinking, what?  

“A course to learn basic pick-up lines,”  I want to say.  

Wait, what?  

I repeat the words I caught.  

“Yeah, in order to transfer a tamed animal, the recipient must also be a tamer. The basic idea of taming is to persuade and make the animal willing. That’s how it works.”  

The taming skills have been researched extensively, and it seems that with a certain amount of study, almost everyone can acquire the beginner level skill. Some animals can be tamed at the beginner level. If you can acquire the super beginner level, you can adopt certain animals.

Intermediate or higher is required for taming and transferring monsters, and that depends on aptitude and effort.  

Apparently, at the higher levels, it comes down to a matter of talent.  

Basically, it involves praising and flattering the animal to persuade it into a contract.  

There are courses to learn how to do that apparently.  

More precisely, at the ultra-basic level, it’s about learning the animal’s favorite food, feeding it, communicating what you want to say, and developing the ability to roughly understand what they’re saying—like a kind of basic language acquisition.  

It vaguely reminds me of getting a driver’s license. Most people can get a regular license by attending a driving school. But it’s a little easier to get a moped license.

Some people also get large vehicle licenses or special licenses if needed.  

However, it seems that only a handful of people can become professional racers.  

From what I’m hearing, taming is like scouting, and taming contracts are like employment agreements.  

You scout by offering it food, praising the animal when it works, and inviting it to work for you. If the animal agrees, you form a contract.  

In that case, a temporary transfer is like an assignment, and full transfer is like changing jobs within affiliated companies.  

Both temporary and full transfers attempts may fail if the person you are giving the transfer to does not have a sufficient taming skill level or if the Pokemon is not compatible with you, and if this happens, the taming contract may be broken and the Pokemon may go wild.  

That sounds just like someone saying, “I don’t want to be transferred, so I quit!” Isn’t it like that.

“If you take good care of them and treat them kindly, they won’t go wild after just one mistake, you know. Just give them their favorite food, and you’ll be fine,” she says.  

Feeding and grooming are crucial, and it’s also important to continue praising them even after they’ve been tamed.

It seems there’s a difficulty level for taming animals and monsters and a corresponding difficulty level for transferring them, but even after it was explained to me, I didn’t really understand it!

Tl note:

Mizu manju- jelly cake

Konpeito-sugar candies

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