Flying off, I headed in the direction of the Canaat Mountains, wanting to visit the Armed Nation of Dwargon before going to Blumund.
It'd be a test run for me when it came to blending into human society again, and I was also interested in meeting fantasy dwarves. My inner nerd was coming out, I suppose, but I did have real reasons to be going there outside of my own whims.
I'd like to learn some of their technology if possible since that's what dwarves are known for in this world. With the sage's analysis, I should be able to learn a lot just by visiting.
I landed a decent distance from the gates, not wanting anyone to spot me flying, and tucked my wings away–or more like retracted them into my body–but whatever.
That'll be the test; I wanna see if I can pass convincingly as a human before I try my luck entering human lands again. Plus, the idea of seeing fantasy dwarves in real life was appealing to me, so my excitement with this little detour was real.
I saw from above how unreasonably long the line was in front of the gates, but I didn't think that cutting would do me any good. So, I took my place at the back and waited like the rest of these people.
Scanning the line with [Magic Sense], I could tell that there was quite a mix of different races, just as I'd expected. Some appeared to be dwarves, others humans, and even a few elves! I also detected a scant few sentient monsters in line as well, although they were few and far between.
I'd gotten into the habit of analyzing anyone I came by, curious about how I stood up to them, but that was easier said than done when it came to humans. Honestly, ability-wise, they all looked the same to me, at least when they were just idly standing in line. Watching them fight would make a difference in my assessment, I knew that for certain.
With monsters, magicule count was a good way to check their strength, but that wasn't really important when it came to humans from what I could tell.
Their equipment varied a bit in strength and quality, but not much. Compared to Shizu's sword, most of the weapons that I looked at were nothing special.
"Hey little girl, are you here by yourself?"
Oh great, now this.
As if having to spend an extended amount of time in a lengthy line wasn't bad enough, some sleazeball was now trying to strike up a conversation with me. He was directly behind me in line, so it's not like I could do anything to distance myself from him and his little gang of thug stereotypes without losing my spot.
Maybe he'll shut up if I just keep quiet.
I pretended like I didn't hear him or maybe didn't realize it was me he was speaking to.
"We're speakin' to you, squirt, so how 'bout you answer my friend here!?" His friend asked in a more aggressive tone.
I guess ignoring them isn't gonna work.
"Oh, sorry, were you speaking to me? I was just a bit lost in thought."
"Yeah, we're askin' if you're alone!" The first shouted.
"I think the answer is pretty obvious without me needing to tell you," I answered bluntly.
"Oh look, she's got a mouth on her, ain't she?" The third man in their group asked the first.
"Yeah, a pretty one too. How much you think we could sell 'er for?" The second asked.
"Dunno, but I bet that sword would sell for a lot! Gimme that thing, kid, or we'll snatch you up too!" The first warned me.
"Oh wow, all three of you teaming up on me; how manly and mature of you." I flatly responded.
"Just give us the sword, girl! It's in your best interest!"
He made a move to try to take Shizu's sword from me, so I repaid him with a swift punch to the gut to drive home the fact that I'm no pushover that gives in to threats like that.
The results were not what I intended.
The thug was sent flying, skidding along the ground before stopping several yards away from where I hit him.
I was even holding back, just wanting to scare him off, but it seems I didn't constrain my strength enough. Maybe sparring with ogres has skewed my sense of how much force I need to put into attacks…
People around me started yelling for guards and I was half-tempted to just book it out of there, but I decided to stay, confident that I was purely defending myself and that others would vouch for me. I mean, that guy lunged at me after surrounding me alongside his two buddies; it's pretty obvious why I'd fight back.
I was correct when I thought that others waiting would speak up about what happened, but that didn't mean I wasn't escorted away from the scene by guards.
The three stooges got arrested and I was brought to the guardhouse by one of the dwarves. They treated me much gentler than the three thugs that attacked me, probably because I looked like an innocent child.
Well, maybe not 'innocent,' considering that I'd just punted a full-grown man across a field.
"So yeah, when he tried to take my sword, I just swung at him to make him back off, but I overdid it," I explained to the captain of the dwarven guards, named Kaido.
"I'd say…that man ended up with some broken ribs and even pissed himself from the impact!" He exclaimed, giving me some details that I really didn't need to know. "If something like that happens again, call for our help instead. That's what we're here for."
I nodded in agreement to appease him, even though I didn't think I'd done anything wrong by punching that thug. I just put a little too much oomph into it, that's all.
"Say, how'd you do that anyway? It's not normal for a kid to hit that hard." Kaido pointedly asked me.
I guess I'll let him know I'm not human. Dwargon is supposed to be monster-friendly, so I shouldn't get in trouble just for that.
"Well, I'm not a human kid like you think, sir," I said as I changed into my default slime form. "I'm a slime with a transformation skill."
"What in the name of…I was not expecting that! But, learning you're a type of monster answers my question…"
I changed back into Shizu's form, pretty sure this man found it more comfortable to talk to.
"That's not a problem, right?" I cautiously asked him.
"No, all are welcome in the Armed Nation of Dwargon, so long as you obey the laws. I'll let you off the hook for that assault since I know you didn't start it, but I don't want you ending up in my team's hands again anytime soon. So behave yourself, alright, little slime kid."
"Thank you."
"Oh, for the record, are ya named? I know most of you monster-folk aren't, but you seem to be on the stronger end, so..."
"Yeah, I have a name. It's Rimuru Tempest."
"Hmmm…thanks," he muttered as he scribbled something on a piece of paper. "You're free to go now, Rimuru. Just stay on your best behavior."
What a nice guy.
"Well, that was a new one. I'll have to tell Bro about 'im next time we grab drinks together."
I'd never heard of a talking slime, let alone one that could convincingly pass as a human. Part of me found it disturbing, but the rest of my feelings were just curiosity.
"Makes you wonder what else is wandering around, right under yer nose…" I muttered quietly to myself.
I was just glad that Rimuru wasn't hostile, just defending himself. We guards are pretty strong, but a casual punch from that slime was enough to seriously hurt a toughened criminal.
"What a weird little fella, though." I mused. "I wonder if I'll ever cross paths with 'im again."
Now released from the custody of the guards, I started wandering the streets of Dwargon, doing a bit of sightseeing.
It was bustling with activity and liveliness, definitely the most crowded place that I'd been in since I was reborn into this world. To be honest, it was a bit overwhelming with my 360° view of my surroundings, but I managed it. I set [Great Sage] to analyze anything and anyone interesting around me and tried my best to tune the crowd out of my conscious thoughts.
My first thought was that I might as well get something to eat and get a taste of Dwarven cuisine, whatever that may be. Food is an essential part of culture, and since I probably won't be coming back to this place for a while, I might as well sample the culture here a bit. Getting a better insight into how this world works is what I'm here for, after all, since I'll be heading to human lands afterward.
So, I took my place at the back of the line at a nearby food vendor of some sort, but once I got to the front, I realized my mistake.
I'm broke.
The idea of money hadn't even crossed my mind once this entire time, somehow.
Dejected, I stepped out of line, and the vendor gave me an odd stare.
"I forgot to bring my money with me," I explained in a half-lie.
The kindly middle-aged dwarven woman gave me a sympathetic look and held out something for me to take.
It was a small loaf of bread that seemed to have nuts of some sort baked into it.
"Here, sweetie," she said.
"But I said I don't have any money on me." I waved her off.
"Don't worry about that. Just be more careful about remembering to bring important things with you when going out." She lectured, holding up her index finger as she spoke.
My childlike appearance had obviously led to this outcome.
Not wanting to argue with this nice lady, I gratefully took the snack from her and thanked her graciously.
But, this wasn't something I could repeatedly do; I knew that. I felt scummy enough taking advantage of that woman's generosity once, and it felt even worse that I used my appearance to manipulate her feelings. I was in the body of a child, but on the inside, I was an adult man, and I doubted with my old human face she would've treated me the same way.
So, how should I get my hands on some currency? There was obviously some kind used around here; I'd noticed it being used by the people around me with some of the other vendors. Coins, both silver and copper in color. No sign of any paper money, though, which wasn't something that I found surprising.
Then the thought occurred to me: I had lots of monster-derived materials stored away in my stomach, didn't I? I'd learned during my time with the adventurer trio and Shizu that stuff like that can be pretty valuable. I could maybe sell some of the magisteel I had too, but I'd figured that's harder to come by, so selling the stuff I was confident I could get more of later on seemed like the better option.
Whatever. I decided I'd just figure that out if I found something else that I really wanted.
As I considered what to do next, I took a seat on a nearby bench and took a bite out of the snack I was given. It tasted pretty plain, only mildly sweet, but was still moist and enjoyable.
Maybe I should be a bit more proactive about gathering info…I pondered as I watched people walk by, lost in my thoughts.
I started wondering if there was a library of some sort around here that was open to the public. Normally, I'd worry about being able to read in this world, but [Great Sage] was already doing its thing translating the variety of signs around the city. A book should go no differently.
Done with my little food break, I started my aimless stroll through Dwargon, looking around for anything of interest. I stepped inside a few different shops, not intent on buying anything of course–since I still lacked money–but I still wanted to get a look at what this place had to offer.
I found some very interesting things that I was able to get a cursory analysis of using [Great Sage]. Absorbing something gives me a much better understanding, but I can't do that without buying, so looking at and picking up the objects will have to do.
There seemed to be quite a few blacksmith shops. As to be expected of dwarves, I suppose. Beautiful, ornately engraved equipment was visible from the windows of the artisans' shops, some of them even glowing with magical force. I didn't dare step inside, knowing that I'd be seen as a nuisance with my lack of currency and young appearance.
I got a good enough look from the outside anyway, not that I'd be able to replicate anything that incredible. It still gave me some knowledge of what sorts of weapons and other equipment this world has to offer.
I also got a good look at various magical tools that were being sold in some of the shops, mostly with applications that everyday people might need. Nothing, in particular, was that interesting to me, but the mechanism behind their use was intriguing. Just by analyzing a few different ones with my eyes, I'd learned how runic magic works. It's a sort of engraving-based enchantment that can have a variety of effects depending on what you include. With some experimentation on my part, I could probably cook up some pretty cool gadgets later using this technique.
There was no library to be found, at least not one that was accessible to me. But, I did go into a store selling different magic tomes and spellbooks. Taking one off the shelf and opening it for a few seconds was enough for me to get all I needed out of it, thanks again to the sage.
I did this with a good number of what was offered in the shop, starting to really feel bad about practically stealing from the establishment. But, I felt it was necessary, unlike mooching food off of people on the street as I did earlier. They still got to keep the books, able to sell them even after I scanned them with my skill, unlike the nut bread I was given. That was my self-justification, at least.
Still, this whole 'not having any money' thing was really starting to bother me. I should at least try to get my hands on some cold hard cash. I did see a few things back in the shops that I wanted to buy but couldn't, but if I sold some of the monster materials I'd stored away in my [Stomach], then I'd be able to get them.
I decided to take care of that first thing the next morning. For now, I needed to figure out somewhere to take a rest through the night. Sleeping wasn't my plan, but having some downtime in my slime form sounded very appealing to me right now.
Also, I thought I would grab too much attention if I just kept walking the streets in the middle of the night, especially given my young appearance. I didn't feel like dealing with that.
With the lack of cash, an inn was out of the question, but I had a backup.
I slipped the travel bag off of my shoulder. It was a gift from the ogre Princess, something I had made so that I could carry things around without actually having to store them away in my [Stomach] since I was sure there would be times when that would grab too much attention. It was also a discreet way of hiding the fact that I'm pulling something out of my [Stomach]. All I had to do was reach into the bag and pull whatever object I needed out, making it look like it was stored inside the bag all along.
But this bag had a second, less obvious use.
One night, when I was chilling in my house, I felt the urge to try something out with it.
My bag, which was just sitting in the room with me, looked like it was the perfect size.
The perfect size for what?
For me.
In my natural squishy state, I fit snugly but comfortably inside my travel bag. Honestly, it felt like an all-around hug or something equally as pleasant. My point is that it felt great, and right then I decided that it could act as a sort of sleeping bag for me if needed.
With that in mind, I slipped the bag off and set it down on the ground, making sure to place it somewhere out of sight. This happened to be an alley that nobody seemed to be paying any attention to, let alone walking through.
And, first making sure that nobody was watching, I dropped my human shape and slunk into my comfy safe little spot, making sure to close the flap so nobody could see me inside.
I wouldn't be sleeping, so there was no real danger of someone picking up the bag and walking off with me while I was unaware.
That was how I spent the night, mostly just sorting out my thoughts on what I'd seen around Dwargon so far. I also thought a bit about my game plan for how to make money.
When morning came, I exited my bag and again went into human shape, stretching a bit to loosen myself up. I couldn't say it did anything for me, but it was a habit.
Now that it was morning, I could put my little money-making plan into motion.
So, using some wood that I'd previously eaten, I cut it into neat boards within myself and discretely pulled them out. Quickly, I constructed a little stand on the street, perfect to blend in with the others in the area.
I laid out some of the various things I'd found out in the forest, mostly monster materials, but there were also a few weird magic plants that I'd stumbled across. Nothing that I felt like keeping for any reason. Really, I just wanted the money more so I could buy things in this world.
I stood behind the stand, my 'products' clear for everyone on the street to see. The passersby gave me some odd looks, but a few actually did stop by. I had no clue about the value of the things I was selling, so I played it by ear and just answered with "it's flexible" when people asked about the prices. After getting an offer, I'd double it or something similar and negotiate the price up a bit until I got too much resistance. Bartering wasn't that hard, really.
My salesman's smile was doing its work, let me tell you. It definitely wasn't my cute looks that were getting me the results. Just earlier I said I wasn't going to exploit that, remember?
But, after 30 minutes or so of selling my wares, disaster struck.
"'I don't want you ending up in my team's hands again any time soon.' Don'tcha remember me saying that to you just yesterday?"
I was in the same place as I was earlier, seated in front of the captain of the dwarven guards.
Apparently, selling things without a business license gets you arrested here? And I guess one of the materials I was selling requires a special permit too. I don't know how a humble little slime like myself could've known such a thing!
"And catchin' you selling Rok Bile of all things…that's restricted for good reason! It's terribly explosive!"
"It's explosive? Huh, good to know."
I'll just keep it to myself that I have more of it in my stomach that he has no clue about.
Kaido was now holding his head in his hands, clearly irritated at seeing me a second time in less than 24 hours. "If you want to do formal matters within a country, and especially one like Dwargon, you must take time to learn the laws of the land. That is something every adventurer knows well, so I gotta drill that into your slimy head!"
He then lectured me for over an hour.
Did I pay much attention? Not really.
Again, I got off with just a warning, along with a confiscation of the "illegal goods" and a fine that took a good chunk out of my profits. That sucked, but I suppose he could've thrown me in a cell instead.
I didn't think I'd get off that easily again if I ended up in custody a third time, so I decided that I needed to be a bit more cautious from now on.
According to Kaido, the Free Guild office would've been a better place for me to sell that stuff, and if I'd picked that option, I wouldn't have gotten in any trouble. I'd need to register with them first, though, just like my three human friends must've.
Well, I had enough money left over for my current purposes; I can take care of that adventurer registration later, perhaps with the help of my friends who are already members.
It paid for this one book I had my eye on, which had to do with that runic magic I'd taken interest in. That thing was pricey enough that I felt too bad just analyzing it, so I did what any normal person would and bought it. After the amount of info-stealing I'd done from that store's books, I only thought it fair to do that for them. The rest of the money was used up on a stay at an inn and a few assorted snacks.
After getting most of what I wanted out of this trip, I departed after it fell dark in the city on my third day spent in Dwargon. At this point, I wanted to just get going to Blumund and meet up with my adventurer friends before finding those students that Shizu was so worried about. Loitering in Dwargon for any longer than I had already would be a waste of time.