Half-Dragon Slave Life Ch. 14

Author: Kaburagi Haruka

Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations

Chapter 14: Request

Translated by Soyokaze Translations: soyokazetranslation . Com

A huge amount of requests were posted on the bulletin board.

However, the requests like medicinal herb gathering or lumber transport, which require entering the forest, were all on the next board over; the one for requests on hold.

 

“Guess the disaster beast’s influence is showing. We may have put it all on Kevin, but we need to leave the city fast enough that nobody catches on.”

“Any requests going to Raum?”

“Let’s see?”

 

Master may have taken me in for fighting things, but rather than requests for individuals, ones with lots of people around would actually be safer and more convenient.

 

“Merchant group escorts, transport requests, letter delivery… There’s really quite a few. Which one should we do?”

“Master Rimuru, this, this looks interesting.”

 

I had my eye on a the one for a traveling theater troupe’s escort.

If there are going to be actors with us, I think the trip would be fun.

 

“… Eir, you picked completely by your preferences.”

“D-dunno what you’re talking about.”

“Well that’s fine, I guess… They’re recruiting fifteen people, huh? Quite a large group.”

 

Master took the request form to the counter to ask the woman there about the details.

 

“Do you know what kind of troupe this requester has?”

“Hm? Oh, this one. Let’s see—here it is. The Maxwell traveling theatrical troupe. They mainly go around and perform in the western parts of the continent, and their radical direction and flashy action make them a popular group. However, they’re also famous for going overboard. You’ll be traveling along the highway, so it’s relatively safe, and the requester is famous, with no shadowy past to worry about. Perfect choice for a first job, don’t you think? It would tie you up for a while though. You would be escorting eighteen troupe members, on three carriages.”

“Three carriages… That would mean six troupe members and five escorts to a carriage.”

“Sounds about right. If possible, they wanted it to be one escort party on each carriage though…”

“We’re only two people though… Does that mean we can’t?”

 

Master looked at the woman with upturned eyes. She blushed a little in response.

He sure is good at coaxing people.

 

“W-well, let’s see. If they have a three person party or something, then you could mix right in there, so it should be fine.”

“About how many people have gathered for this request so far?”

“Twelve. With you two in there, that makes fourteen, so they need one more. We’ll contact you once everything is set. Could you provide your lodging information for us?”

“Of course.”

 

Master told them what inn to contact us at, then after getting the seal of acknowledgment, we left the guild.

In doing so, we passed by a large group of adventurers who ran in.

Immediately afterward, we heard astonished shouts from inside.

 

“Hey, they say the disaster beast’s been taken out!”

“Seriously?!”

“And looks like a rookie defeated it alone!”

“S-say what?!”

 

In response to their shouts, Master let out a relieved breath.

 

“Guess we cut it close.”

“Pretty sure we’ll be fine until Kevin gets back though?”

“I’m sure there’s gonna be a huge disturbance tonight. The request will be full with just one more person, so I’m hoping we can get out of here soon.”

 

We have plenty of food and water saved up in “Dimensional Storage,” so we could leave without problem right now if we had to.

Even so…

 

“Didn’t like that guy. Will it be okay?”

“Hm? Oh, Kevin… Well, as long as he realizes his own strength, it should be fine, right?”

“If he gets pushed into a reckless request and dies…”

“We did go ahead and save him, so I hope he lives a long life. But people dying shortly after being saved by healers is something that happens quite a bit.”

 

Master is from a family of healers, so he’s probably known of several such cases.

They were saved from the brink of death, so it would have been nice if they avoided it.

 

“Well, even if I’m a healer, I won’t put my responsibility out that far. Besides, nobody’s requesting dragon slaying or anything right now.”

“That would be death.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure he’s not that stupid.”

 

Master chuckled as he returned to the inn.

Master… I think he is “that stupid” though.

 

~*~

Translated by Soyokaze Translations: soyokazetranslation . Com

The inn we’re staying at right now is one of those common set-ups with a restaurant and bar on the first floor.

Being finally liberated from cooking duties for once, Master is smacking his lips over the food set out.

 

“Meals made by other people really are delicious.”

“Then I’ll make some for you.”

“Don’t. I’ll die.”

“Harsh much, Master Rimuru?!”

 

Back before I changed, in the family of me and my father, I could cook plain food just fine, too.

Now, thanks to this left arm, I can’t do any decent cooking anymore. Actually, my sense of taste has probably gotten a little dull, hasn’t it?

Normally sitting at the same table as my master would be considered rude for a slave like me, but Master really doesn’t like that type of thing.

So now I have the luxury of “eating meals together” with him, and yet…

 

“—Hrm”

 

I fill my now empty plate with a slightly saddened gaze.

Before I ate way too little, but now I can eat three times what Master does.

Apparently this body burns through fuel. Considering the outrageous muscle strength it displays, I guess that just figures though.

 

“If it’s not enough, how about asking for more?”

“Really?”

“I’ve still got plenty on hand, so go for it. Plus you have your own money anyway.”

 

Oh, come to think of it, I did tell him I had two hundred gold coins in my “Dimensional Storage” when we first met, didn’t I?

Two hundred gold coins is comparable to a simple craftsman apprentice’s annual income.

 

“Miss, I’d like this grilled fish wrap, cream stew, meat pasta, a grilled skewer combo platter, and an apple compote please.”

“R-right away…”

“Isn’t that a bit much?!”

“It’s fine; I don’t get fat.”

 

Actually, practically skin and bones when I was bought, but I’ve filled out now, and became softer.

Even so, past a certain point of recovery, not a bit of excess flab has been sticking around. Even though I’d like a bit more around my chest area…

Along with my already poor fuel consumption, there’s the magic study and sword training adding to my calorie use. Maybe that’s the reason?

 

“I don’t really mind, but… Don’t upset your stomach, okay?”

 

Master’s voice is one of exasperation.

Just then the woman from the guild’s reception desk entered, and came directly toward us.

 

“Ah, there you are. Everyone joining in on the request has been decided. They want everyone to gather at nine tomorrow morning in front of the west gate.”

“Oh, that’s great. Yep, glad we can leave so soon.”

“But you know, things got real wild just after you two left.”

 

Spilling her complaints, she took an empty seat at the table.

Sitting down is fine and all, but I’d appreciate if you stopped grabbing at my grilled skewers like they’re yours.

Can’t voice my complaints since I’m a slave though.

 

“Just when the report of the disaster beast came in this afternoon, by evening they were saying it was taken out.”

“It was defeated? That’s great.”

“And it wasn’t the knights or a high level adventurer who did it; they said it was Kevin! It was a huge shock. If Mister Gosun hadn’t been the one saying it, I wouldn’t have believed it.”

“If there was a witness, then it must be true.”

“Yeah, he even brought in a huge magic stone, so there was no doubt. We immediately held an executive meeting and decided to raise him immediate from red to green rank.”

 

Green… From red he jumped past orange and yellow, to the rank three above it.

The color evaluations go something like this:

 

Red—Novices.

Orange—Beginners.

Yellow—Regulars.

Green—Experts.

Blue—First-Class.

Indigo—Super First-Class.

Purple—Heroes.

 

It’s rough, but they’re thought of something like this.

Normal adventurers reach yellow rank, and retire right around when they get to green. Only about one in a thousand of them can make it to blue.

And then only about one in a hundred of those who reach blue make it to indigo.

If they get that far, they can easily be considered “successful people” I’m sure.

Bringing him up to green must mean the guild gave him the most compensation they could… I guess?

 

“When Kevin came back and we asked him about it… I don’t think even he believed it; his eyes were swimming.”

“Well, uhh… His circumstances did take a sudden turn, after all.”

“You think so? After that he said, “I don’t care what it is, just give me a job that’ll get me outta here!” so I recommended the same one as you two are doing.”

“Gofuh?!”

 

Hearing that, Master suddenly choked.

In other words, the last person is Kevin?

 

“That being the case, get along with him, okay?”

“You’re saying that knowing we didn’t hit it off, aren’t you?”

“Oh, not at all. I just figured you of all people would be able to come to an agreement.”

“I appreciate the high evaluation…”

“So anyway, good luck tomorrow, yeah?”

 

The woman ate and drank a bunch before saying that, stood from her seat, and left.

She was like a storm.

 

~*~

Translated by Soyokaze Translations: soyokazetranslation . Com

After ordering some more to make up for the lost food and filling my stomach, I discussed the afternoon’s battle with Master in our room.

Moreover, we only took a single person room. Master, having no aversion to sleeping with me, said it was to conserve resources.

It feels nice sleeping with the warm and fluffy Master for me too, so I approve.

 

“So could you tell me about the “Magic Power Bestowal” you used on those logs this afternoon?”

“Right.”

 

The first topic Master brought up was, of course, the log attacks that broken the grand hedgehog’s spines and broke through its hide.

 

“Unlike when making magic tools, the magic power didn’t fill up inside. It spread across the outside, made the, uh, weapon? Strength rise and increased its attack power.”

“Did you do it knowing that would happen?”

“No, when I made magic tools the magic power just suddenly went inside, but this time the material was lumber, so I thought it would break if I did things the normal way. I consciously tried to slowly let it seep in, and it ended up coating the outside.”

“In other words, because you let the magic power cover the outside, it didn’t do anything to the attack power inside, and just increased the equipment’s “attack power” component by the magic power’s reaction alone…?”

 

After puzzling over it for a bit, Master suddenly looked my way—

 

“Eir, lend me your dagger.”

“Okay?”

 

With question marks floating over my head, I hand him the dagger for my right hand.

Master began showing signs of filling the dagger with magic power.

 

“This is hard… Do I do it like this?”

“Master Rimuru, it’s gonna go inside like that. Do it more like you’re stroking the outside…”

“Nnn… Here, then?”

“Yeah, yeah, that’s good… Ah.”

“Uwah?!”

 

I cry out lightly at the same time the dagger flies off.

Luckily the dagger didn’t break, and Master wasn’t hurt either.

 

“Sorry, it exploded.”

“It’s your first time, it was bound to happen. It’s okay, one more time…”

“Yeah, I’ll keep going.”

 

After a while of repeated trial and error, Master successfully clad it in magic power.

It’s a lot thinner than the magic power I did it with, but it’s in the same basic condition as the logs this afternoon.

 

“Eir, the log… Would be impossible; bring something good out for me. I want to try.”

“Okay.”

 

Saying that, I took out a clump of dried meat. The stuff we always cut parts off of with a knife, re-hydrate and eat.

It should be a good enough hardness for a test cut.

Master lightly swung at it and split it clean in two.

 

“This is… Amazing.”

“Yeah.”

“Whoa… Think it’s only gonna last about ten seconds.”

“You can keep it going longer if you fill it up some more.”

“Ah, you’re right.”

“By the way, Master Rimuru…”

“What is it, Eir?”

 

This has been on my mind for a bit. It just won’t sit right with me if I don’t say something.

 

“Our conversation has sounded kinda erotic for a while now.”

“Shut up, okay?!”

 

Master turns bright red as he shouts. I’m blushing just a bit too.

 

“Anyway! It requires some pretty delicate magic power work, so using it in battle right away isn’t going to happen, but if I get used to it, this could be a huge weapon.”

“Yeah, feels like bladed things increase its effectiveness.”

“Magic power tends to disperse in the air, so covering the outside of something with it hasn’t been considered.”

“Even through history up to now?”

“Yeah, it’s possible that some people we called heroes or masters with ridiculous attack power were using this without realizing it I guess.”

“Humm… If used well, then Master can fight too?”

“That won’t happen. I wouldn’t be able to make the sword connect.”

“Too bad.”

“But it’s not bad to learn it for self defense I guess?”

“Then I will train you.”

 

I declare that, and hold my chest high.

Although I’m a slave, Master has been the one taking care of me, so I’ve actually felt kind of ashamed.

Master is more dexterous than I am, so he would say, “it’s faster if I do it,” and wouldn’t let me do some things though.

Seeing me like that, Master snickers and smiles.

 

“I ask that you be gentle with me.”

“Don’t worry. Well the night is long, so I’m sure you can go one more round. Master is young after all; keep going.”

“Hey…”

“Come on, no need to get all tense, right? Just leave it all to me and relax…”

 

I put the fruits of my “education” to use, and spout lascivious lines.

 

“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you!”

“Yup.”

“Eir, kneel. That’s an “Order”.”

 

And so I was forced to kneel for an hour.

I get the feeling Master’s “Orders” are only ever used for this kind of thing, aren’t they…?

Translated by Soyokaze Translations: soyokazetranslation . Com

 

Moreover, Master quietly went to the toilet in the middle of the night, and didn’t come back for about thirty minutes. I’ll pretend I didn’t notice it.

Or the slightly fishy smell he brought back.

 

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