Chapter 243: Branch Head Taylor’s Advice

Just as scheduled, in the afternoon, we all gathered at the meeting room of the Merchant Guild – that included the three guild masters, the captain of the guards, Mr. Dammeier, the head of the government office, Arnold-san, the man in charge of the slums, Revel-san, and me. With all seven representatives of the related places gathered, the meeting began.

2 hours later… We still had 30 minutes left until the scheduled end of the meeting, and we didn’t have anything left to discuss, so we just used the remaining time to catch up with each other.

It was a good opportunity, so I went ahead and asked Branch Head Taylor about my experience when I used Shared Perception with the slimes.

“Hmm, that’s probably the so-called ‘Monster’s Perspective’. In your case, you have a slime, so it would be the perspective of your slime. I know you tried to link up with your slime’s mana perception, so it might sound misleading, but let’s just phrase it as such to refer to ‘what your slime is seeing’.” [Taylor]

I nodded, and the branch head continued.

“To start off, the Monster’s Perspective that you are able to see through your Shared Perception skill is not what your monster is actually seeing. This might sound ‘obvious’, but we humans are built differently from monsters.” [Taylor]

That’s true. I’ve never paid heed to it until now, but just as he says, the make of our sensory organs, such us our ears and eyes, are indeed different from those of a monster’s. Monsters like goblins that are somewhat resemble humans might still resemble us, but it’s hard to imagine that the eyes of a rimel bird would be any bit similar to mine.

“You must’ve noticed it already, but even if the scenery we’re looking at is the same, the way we see things is different from how monsters see them. Normally, anyway.” [Taylor]

“So what you’re saying is that the Monster Taming skill is taking that different perspective and transforming it in a way that we humans can understand?” [Ryouma]

“Exactly. The Monster Tamer Contract makes it possible for us tamers to form an understanding with our familiars. That not only allows us to give orders to our familiars, it also allows us to understand their feelings. In a similar manner, it is able to transform visual information into something that the monster tamer can understand. That is the Shared Perception skill of monster tamers.

But in your case, because of the experiment you ran to test your hypothesis, you were, to some extent, able to ‘intentionally’ see the original perspective of your slimes. In other words, you saw the world through your slime’s senses, a world perceived through mana perception alone.” [Taylor]

So that means my hypothesis was right! My slimes are indeed seeing the world through mana!

“Sorry to be a spoilsport, but if you intend to continue your research, do exercise caution. I’ve never heard of anyone doing what you’ve done, so I’m not informed on the subject, but we humans perceive the world through several sensory organs. So, to take that world and experience it purely through mana perception would likely put a significant burden on you. And your health did deteriorate due to the vast amount of information, did it not? And that was just a peek, from what I understand.” [Taylor]

True. I’m grateful that he’s concerned. I’ll make sure to be careful when running my experiments in the future. I told him as such, and he nodded.

“Very well. By the way, to change the topic, I heard you started raising goblins? If I’m not mistaken, the records say you have 8?” [Taylor]

“Yes. I caught the goblins that were ruining my crops, so I formed a contract with them to help with my work and to help support my slimes.” [Ryouma]

“How was it contracting them? Did it go well?” [Taylor]

“Although it’s not to the same extent as with the slimes, we are able to understand each other, and they’re subservient to me since I caught them, so there’s no fear of them rebelling, so… Yeah. I’d say it went well.” [Ryouma]

But it’s not as though there’s nothing to be concerned about.

“Meaning?” [Taylor]

“The air about them is different from any of the goblins I’ve seen until now. I guess they’re… gentle? Or maybe it would be better described as a lack of tension on their part. Of course, nothing could be better than for them to be docile, so I just left the matter be.” [Ryouma]

“Hmm… Specifically, how are they lacking tension?　And how do you usually interact with them?” [Taylor]

“I need them for labor, but I never planned on making them work unreasonably, so I’m having them engage in a variety of jobs without pushing them too hard. Outside of their work, they’re mostly free. Of course, I made sure to prohibit them from attacking humans and from leaving the mines.

They’re so faithful to their desires that they’re proactive and quick learners with anything that they find fun or pleasing, so I tell them how the work that they do will benefit them before entrusting it to them.” [Ryouma]

For example, when I entrusted the farm work to them, I created some crops using magic, and had them experience what it was like to have a full belly.

They used to always be naked, so I told them that wearing clothes would warm them up, and since then, they’ve started to put on clothes themselves.

They would eat the crops when they got hungry, so I cooked them warm food to their delight, and since then they’ve requested to be served warm food.

They also used to eat with their hands, but when I told them that they could avoid getting their hands hot if they just used utensils, they gradually started using them.

“And then… I also got them to enter the bath for hygiene’s sake, and since then, those that enjoyed it started entering the bath twice in the morning and evening, even though I didn’t tell them to.

When they got a taste of the sample liquor I started making recently, they started proactively making them, so much so in fact that they filled an entire tunnel. Some goblins even started making liquor in their free time.

…And speaking of which, just the other day, someone came up with the luxurious idea of bringing liquor to the bath, and when I entered the bath, I saw them all drunk, so I had to warn them that it was much easier to get drunk while in the bath. That’s about it I think.” [Ryouma]

As I was talking about my goblins, I started to entertain the idea of putting a limit to their alcohol intake, but I noticed Branch Head Taylor looking at me oddly.

“Sorry about that, I lost myself in the moment again.” [Ryouma]

“It’s fine. Anyhow, it appears that none of the problems you’ve brought up are particularly worrying. Your goblins sound a little depraved to me, but… If you’ve managed to form a good relationship with some gentle goblins, then nothing could be better.” [Taylor]

Depraved!?　That’s it! That’s how they felt! They’re depraved! All of them! If not that, then ‘they’ve lost their wild instincts’! Incidentally, that was the title of an animal video I watched in my previous life when I wanted to heal my soul.

‘Goblin that have lost their wild instincts’ doesn’t sound particularly soothing, but it’s certainly a fitting description for them.

“It’s probably also because you still only have a few goblins.” [Taylor]

Branch Head Taylor took out the writing tool he used during the meeting and explained the ecology of the goblins while writing the main points and drawing illustrations on a sheet of paper.

Goblins weren’t dangerous monsters when they were alone. Of course, that was also because they were weak, but it was mostly because they avoid danger when alone, and just focuses on filling their bellies. Alone, they are an ‘existence’ that prioritizes themselves, and they won’t attack other living creatures proactively.

However, when their numbers increase, starting as early as when their numbers reach two digits, their ferocity gradually increases. And in order to provide for their increased numbers, they begin hunting. While their numbers are still few, they’ll mostly hunt small animals, but as their numbers grow, they will soon start hunting medium-sized creatures, including humans.

When their numbers surpass 100, higher variants that are more ferocious and skilled with weapons will be born. An example of this would be the goblin archer, as well as the hobgoblin, which is a variant that’s not just strong, but also as big as humans.

From there, the higher variants that are skilled in handling weapons will lead the goblins, help defend their village, and participate in their hunts. With the hobgoblins’ taller stature and stronger physique, their contributions to goblin labor will allow the goblin village to quickly expand.

Over time, even higher variants, such as the “Goblin Knight”, which has both the advantages of the earlier higher variants, will be born, and eventually, the last evolution, the goblin to be named king will be born, and a large goblin army will be created.

I’d heard that higher variants are more likely to be born if you feed them too much, but I didn’t know that they became more ferocious too as their numbers increased.

“So they get over their heads when there’s a lot of them, huh. Sounds just like humans.” [Ryouma]

“When the person in charge of a group is the dangerous sort, the whole group will become a threat. In that sense, humans and goblins aren’t much different. That’s why it’s important for Monster Tamers to have a firm grasp on their goblins. In that regard, you seem to be doing well. That’s good. I hope you keep up that up. By the way, the sprint rabbit qualification exam is approaching. Are you ready?” [Taylor]

“Yes, I think I’ll be fine. Everyone’s so cooperative, and they’re helping me make time to study too. One of the maids sent by the duke’s family also has the qualification, so I’ve been learning from her as well.” [Ryouma]

“That’s good to hear. I’m one of the examiners, so I can’t tell you too much, but sprint rabbits aren’t that strong or dangerous. Despite that, one needs to be qualified to raise or breed them. Why is that?” [Taylor]

“Sprint rabbits have strong reproductive abilities and a big appetite; hence, if they were to cause harm, there’s a chance that they could cause a lot of damage to the farms and the crops, so they need to be managed properly.” [Ryouma]

“Exactly. That’s the basic and the most important part, so be sure to study the specific management methods and facility regulations. If you can, it would also help if you study past examples, as well as the environments in which they’re raised.” [Taylor]

An advice from the top executive of the tamer guild! This is huge!

I’ll take his advice to heart, and review with it in mind until the exams.

Before long, the time for the meeting to end came, and we officially ended the meeting.

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