Chapter 173: Three Choices (3/4)

Huh. Looks like he’s thinking.” [Serge]

“Of course, he’s thinking. His weapon is a sword. And according to the documents, he can’t use any magic either.” [Pioro]

“So, on one corner, we’ve got ourselves a lump of metal. And on the other, we’ve got a man armed with a sword. You couldn’t ask for a worse match than this if you tried. There’s just no way to win. He can’t land a killing blow with that.” [Fei]

“Incidentally, the other slaves also can’t use magic. In fact, none of them can. Fu fu fu… Takebayashi-sama may have said that they would be highly appraised if they managed to win, but he never said that he was going to ‘let them win’. Oh, but perhaps that’s exactly why they would be highly appraised?” [Orest]

“Umm… Can you please stop making me sound so malicious? I just wanted to use this opportunity to see how far the metal slimes have gotten with their combat skills. Normally, I just use them as weapons, so…” [Ryouma]

“But how does that change anything? Really… Besides, Ryouma-kun. If the information you wrote to us about the metal slimes are true, then don’t you think this will merely turn into a one-sided beating either way?” [Reinhart]

As the employee, who brought the male candidate here, was about to give the signal to start the battle, the six big wigs started talking among themselves about the candidate that was starting to show signs of hesitation.

The battle turned out exactly as Reinhart-san had predicted.

“Begin!” [Employee]

The moment the employee gave the signal, the three metal slimes shot off.

One metal slime approached the man directly from in front, rolling up a cloud of dust as it rammed its body into the man.

Despite that speed that wouldn’t lose out to a fully grown man’s sprint and despite being shocked, the man calmly raised up his shield and blocked.

“Uu!?” [Candidate 1]

Alas, the metal slime was a lump of metal in the shape of what was basically a bowling ball.

Given its weight and acceleration, the force it could deliver was nothing to scoff at. And even if one blocked it, the shock from its impact could still be felt.

Because of that the man stopped moving for a moment and was forced to stand his ground, creating an opening for the other two metal slimes to take his flanks and turning the situation into one where they could take turns attacking the man from every direction.

Somehow the man managed to endure the consecutive attacks of the slimes, but the slimes changed their bodies into wheels and sped up even more. It seemed as if this situation would go on forever.

“…What is that?” [Pioro]

“Once again I’ve found myself at a loss what to say. I have to say, though, those slimes sure are fast.” Orest]

“That firmness, that weight, that force… One wrong move is sure to prove fatal.” [Fei]

“Your Grace, did you know about this?” [Serge]

“The letters Ryouma-kun sent to us included information about the metal slimes. It’s my first time seeing them in action, though. So, the slimes really did succeed in achieving high-speed movement on their own… By the way, Ryouma-kun, are you the one giving orders to them?” [Reinhart]

“No. I’ve trained the slimes, so that when the’re fighting by themselves, they will surround the enemies to prevent them from running away, and then attack one after another without resting a beat. My training is actually somewhat similar to what that candidate is doing now. Only, I fight with a greater number of slimes.” [Ryouma]

“Another question. How many metal slimes do you have in total presently?” [Reinhart]

“I’ve been holding back their food to prevent them from reproducing too much – of course, I still feed them enough to ensure that they’re healthy – but in total, there’s about 200 of them presently. There are also the iron slimes, which can do the same thing… What’s the matter?” [Ryouma]

Reinhart feebly scratched his head.

“I thought something weird might happen when you said you were planning on using the slimes, but… I can’t believe that those three slimes of yours can actually match a level 3 swordsman. I know they’re poorly matched, but still. Slimes sure change a lot depending on how they use their abilities and how they’re trained, huh.” [Reinhart]

Reinhart himself had confirmed that one of those metal slimes was indeed the one he gave to Ryouma.

That’s why he strongly felt that the slimes in front of him used to be normal.

However, Ryouma took his words as compliment.

“There was also some luck involved, but the slimes really did their best. I have a lot of work to do outside of my adventurer work, but I’m working hard everyday to strengthen myself as an adventurer, as well as my slimes.” [Ryouma]

Ryouma said in a boasting manner. A rare sight.

Due to the work at the store and the events in town, and how willing he is to work with a variety of requests on a daily basis, there aren’t many people who recognize him as an adventurer. A fact that has recently come to his attention.

Although Ryouma didn’t work much as an adventurer, as far as he was concerned, he was an adventurer first and a store owner second. As for helping out other people when asked, that was just him being a good neighbor and he hadn’t really put much thought into it.

But that wasn’t how the regulars of the store saw it.