Chapter 148 - A Visit to the Slime Farm
Two days after visiting the Adventurers' Guild, Dahlia found herself at a slime farm.
The slime farm was located in a grassland just east of the royal capital, a short distance beyond the city gates.
Apparently, keeping one inside the capital itself had been too difficult.
The farm occupied a fairly large plot of land surrounded by tall black-brick walls, with a massive iron gate serving as its entrance.
From the outside, it resembled a heavily fortified prison. However, once they stepped inside, they found that much of the grounds was covered in green grass, while the actual breeding facility at the back was surprisingly small.
Dahlia had come to the slime farm with Volf and Ivano.
When she had written to Volf asking, Would you like to visit the slime farm with me?, he had replied almost immediately, accepting her invitation.
He had given her four possible dates when he was available, so she had sent a messenger to the Adventurers' Guild to arrange the visit. They had chosen the earliest date.
That was today.
She had wondered whether it was too soon, but perhaps their schedules were more open before the planned expansion began. In any case, she was grateful for the opportunity to visit.
The letter from the Adventurers' Guild had mentioned that she was welcome to bring additional companions, so she had asked around.
When she approached Gabriella, she had immediately replied that she was too busy to go.
Fort, the head of the Clothing Guild, had apparently already visited three times.
Dahlia had also invited Lucia, but she had been told, “I wouldn't want to meet a living slime even if you paid me a silver coin.”
It was a shame, considering that Lucia would have gladly visited a place where silkworms were raised to produce silk.
Beyond the gate of the slime farm was a horse paddock, where a woman with sky-blue hair was waiting for them.
"Thank you all for coming, everyone from the Rossetti Company. I'm Ideialina Nicoletti, the head researcher at the slime farm. Please call me Idea."
Judging by her appearance, Dahlia had initially assumed that Ideia was younger than her. However, given that she was the research chief, she might have been the same age as Dahlia or even older. She was shorter than Dahlia, and her soft features and glasses with dark blue frames left a strong impression.
"Thank you for inviting us. I'm Dahlia Rossetti, head of the Rossetti Company. Please call me Dahlia as well."
Volf introduced himself next as the company's guarantor, followed by Ivano, who introduced himself as an employee of the company.
They had to walk a short distance from the horse paddock to the breeding facility at the back.
Apparently, this arrangement was intended to keep the slimes away from the horses, since many of them were frightened of horses.
The door to the breeding facility was thick and made of iron as well. Ideia unlocked it with two keys, then locked it again from the inside once everyone had entered.
"I'm sorry if this makes you uncomfortable. We've made it a rule to lock the doors every time, just in case."
"Not at all. Please don't worry about it."
It seemed they took safety management very seriously. Plates of magic-sealing silver gleamed around the doorknob, and large magic circles were engraved on both walls. They were probably wind and fire magic circles.
If activated simultaneously, they could turn the passageway into a sea of flames in no time. It was best not to think too much about what such a setup might be used for.
"First, I'll show you the tanks containing blue slimes."
Following Ideia down the passageway, they opened a double door bearing a blue decorative plaque.
Beyond it lay a large room containing more than ten square glass tanks arranged in rows.
Only the lids weren't made of ordinary glass. They were apparently made of a material that was mixed with Magic Crystals. The sunlight streaming through the high windows created several beautiful rainbows.
"We use magic-sealing crystals in the lids. Slimes are surprisingly strong, so this prevents them from shifting the lids and escaping."
As Ideia explained, they approached one of the tanks and found a group of tiny blue slimes inside.
"These slimes were born one week ago."
The little blue slimes slowly squelched their way toward them. They were about the size of ping-pong balls, and their movements were leisurely.
When Ideia added some powdered scraps of vegetables and meat, which served as their food, the slimes sluggishly gathered around it and wobbled their round bodies as they ate.
Even with people nearby, they showed no signs of fear. If anything, they were actively approaching Ideia, who had given them their food.
"I didn't know slimes could get this attached to people."
"Young slimes are like children, so they're easier to tame than adults."
Dahlia wouldn't want to encounter them in a forest or swamp, but seeing them like this was surprisingly soothing. At this rate, keeping one in an aquarium might not be such a bad idea.
"These are blue slimes that have been growing for about four weeks. Once they reach this size, they're ready to be sent out."
In a tank a little farther ahead were slimes considerably larger than the previous ones, each just about the right size to fit in the palms of both hands. They were roughly seventy to eighty percent the size of the slimes Dahlia had often seen during her academy days.
Dahlia stepped a little closer and observed them through the glass.
The translucent, round blue slimes moved about slowly. Some even bounced around with little boing, boing motions, as if they were playing.
Perhaps it was there to help the slimes settle down, or perhaps it was intended as a food source, but a fairly thick tree trunk had been placed in the middle of the tank.
The slimes seemed particularly fond of it, as many of the blue ones were clinging to the trunk.
At this size, the slimes could apparently be shipped out for use as waterproof cloth material. Dahlia wondered how much powder could be obtained from a single slime.
Their blue coloring seemed slightly paler than that of wild slimes. Would there be differences in their composition between wild and farm-raised specimens? Would those differences affect the results when enchanting?
As she pondered these questions, Dahlia pressed herself close to the glass. The blue slimes directly in front of her began inching away toward the opposite side of the tank.
"...Oh."
Had her thoughts somehow reached the blue slimes? Or was something about her, perhaps a lingering grudge from the slimes, somehow radiating outward?
There were simply too many possibilities that came to mind. Dahlia let out a small sigh.
"Now that I'm looking at them like this, they're rather cute."
Volf, who was standing behind her, seemed to be enjoying the sight as well.
He apparently hadn't noticed Dahlia's sigh. From a little farther away, he casually reached out toward the glass.
The moment he did, the nearby slimes hurriedly fled toward the opposite side with even greater speed. Several of them even went flying with a distinct boof.
Anyone could see that the slimes were on full alert and fleeing for their lives.
"...I'm really hated by slimes this much, huh?"
"...It's all right. I'm in much the same boat."
As the two of them discussed their predicament with somewhat awkward expressions, a hesitant voice called out to them from behind.
"Um, would you both mind stepping a little farther away from the tanks, if possible...? Blue slimes are very sensitive and tend to be wary of people they're seeing for the first time."
That was what Ideia said, but in front of Ivano, who was standing a little farther away from the two of them, the blue slimes were piled one on top of another.
Even though he had pressed his face right up against the glass, they showed no sign of being wary of him at all.
Perhaps noticing Dahlia's gaze, he smiled and said, "Maybe it's our hair colors? My hair's brown with a yellowish tint, so perhaps they mistake it for delicious-looking fallen leaves. Since your hair is red, Dahlia, maybe they associate it with fire and run away?"
"My hair is black, but apparently they don't associate it with soil or fallen leaves..."
"Come now, Sir Volf! You should take pride in that intimidating presence of yours as a member of the Monster Subjugation Squad!"
As Volf chuckled wryly, Ivano offered him a rather far-fetched consolation.
"Lord Scalfarotto, are you a member of the Monster Subjugation Squad?!"
Suddenly, Ideia perked up, her blue-violet eyes sparkling with excitement.
She edged closer, closing the distance between them, and Volf instinctively braced himself a little.
"Yes, I am, but..."
"Please, tell me everything you can! Are wild blue slimes more aggressive than these? I read in a book that they sometimes attack people simply for walking past them..."
"No, they generally won't attack you unless you provoke them. However, they may attack if you accidentally step on one, or if you pass through a wetland or swamp where they're numerous and consider the area their territory. In those circumstances, they might attack even if you're simply walking by."
Ideia took a notebook from the breast pocket of her white coat and continued firing questions at him as she jotted down his answers.
"I see. And how large can the biggest wild specimens get?"
"The largest blue slime I've ever seen was about two-thirds my height. It was eating a fairly large deer, so I imagine it had grown to that size partly from consuming the deer."
"Did that slime have a single core?"
"I didn't check myself, but a knight wielding a spear killed it with a single strike, so I suspect it had only one."
After that, Volf was subjected to a barrage of questions for quite some time.
Watching Ideia fire off questions at a rapid pace while taking notes, Dahlia found herself feeling a peculiar sense of kinship with her.
"Thank you very much. That was extremely helpful. Um, Miss Dahlia, if you don't mind, could I ask for your thoughts on the tanks?"
Once she had finished questioning Volf, Ideia turned her attention to Dahlia.
"It may be difficult to compare them with their natural environment, but I think the blue slimes might find it a little too bright in here. Quite a few seem to prefer darker places."
Dahlia explained this while recalling how some of the blue slimes that had escaped in the tower had hidden beneath shelves and in the shadows of buckets. Ideia nodded deeply.
"I see... I made the room bright because it's convenient for observation, but perhaps that's also one reason their growth has been a little slow... I'll try covering some of the tanks with cloth and see which areas they gravitate toward!"
After that, Ideia and Dahlia continued discussing the optimal water quality, temperature, and other characteristics of slimes.
As the two became more engrossed in their conversation, Volf quietly moved a little farther away. His shoulders shifted slightly as he let out a breath.
"...Sir Volf, um, I think you're probably fine."
Ivano moved to stand beside Volf and whispered to him.
"The entire conversation was about slimes, and she didn't ask a single question about you, did she? I think Miss Ideia is probably the same type as Miss Dahlia and Miss Lucia."
"...I understand. Sorry for being so conceited."
"No, you should call it 'self-defense.'"
After that, the four of them finally left the room and headed down the corridor to the next slime room.
The decorative plaque on the door was green, so this appeared to be the room for green slimes.
"These are the tanks for our green slimes."
The room was about one-third the size of the blue slime room, with glass tanks arranged throughout.
Green slimes were packed tightly together in the areas that received the most sunlight from the skylights. Very few of them seemed to be moving.
Each one was somewhat larger than a blue slime, but they weren't very tall, instead spreading out flat across the bottoms of their tanks.
"Green slimes have never caused any injuries to adventurers, so we don't know much about their ecology. Perhaps it's because they're being raised in captivity, but they remind me of elderly people sunbathing and sitting around without moving... They don't eat much, either. Even so, their growth rate is fairly fast."
"Um, could it be that green slimes produce their own nutrients through photo— I mean, by using sunlight? Just like plants do?"
Dahlia had nearly said photosynthesis, drawing on the memories of her previous life, but managed to stop herself in time. As far as she remembered, that term didn't exist in this world.
However, the fact that sunlight was essential for plant growth was something she'd learned in her botany classes.
"Just like plants... Oh, that makes sense. Perhaps they're more closely related to plants than animals. I'm sorry for my lack of knowledge, but are there any papers or books on green slimes that discuss this?"
"I'm sorry, my memory is a little hazy... I may have heard about it in a casual conversation with a senior student or one of my teachers."
As she recalled it, she'd discussed photosynthesis with her father back when she was a student.
Carlo had been both her senior and her teacher in the field of magical toolmaking, so it wasn't a lie.
Carlo had grasped the concept of photosynthesis quickly.
However, he'd then asked, completely seriously, "I wonder if humans could somehow incorporate this photosynthesis thing into their bodies. If we could, maybe we'd be able to live without moving from one spot."
After that, Dahlia had never brought up the subject again.
"No, this is extremely valuable information! I'll conduct comparative experiments using tanks with better sunlight exposure!"
Idea beamed as she spoke, and for some reason, her smile seemed almost dazzling to Dahlia.
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