Contract with Kiblinki Saltas
The negotiations with all three nearby villages concluded with similar results: as long as the Kiblinki Saltas became tamed monsters, there would be no issues.
This meant I had to officially contract with them.
(So, Lily, you intend to form a contract with us.)
“Yes. In return, I’d like some of you to come with me and help protect Princess Annette. If you agree, I’ll provide you with vegetables and magic stones.”
(Hmm. That’s a fair deal. Let us return to our kin to discuss this further.)
We returned to the Kiblinki Saltas cave in the mountains.
The representative discussed the village negotiations and my proposal with the others.
It didn’t take long for them to reach a decision.
(Make us your tamed monsters. That will resolve everything.)
That certainly would solve all the issues, but was it really fine with them?
It seemed the Kiblinki Saltas were genuinely content with this arrangement, and I had no reason to refuse, so I agreed.
The contracting process began, with each spider stepping forward, forming a contract, and stepping back.
Since there were so many of them, the process took quite some time.
In total, I contracted with 76 Kiblinki Saltas—more than even a typical wolf pack.
It was my decision, so I couldn’t complain, but still… that was a lot.
However, this raised another issue.
When a tamer’s number of monsters increases, it must be reported to the Tamers’ Guild.
This means I’d have to bring all of them to the city at least once.
How should I handle this?
“There’s only one way. Take them to the city in groups over several trips.”
“As I thought, that has to be the plan, then?”
“Indeed. At least they’re not the rampaging type, and you should have plenty of proof-of-tame tags ready.”
“That sounds awfully detached, Rumaja.”
“The Tamers’ Guild has nothing to do with me, so it’s none of my concern.”
Fair enough, but…
Wouldn’t I get scolded for bringing in so many monsters at once? Especially by Marquis Vardmoi?
With no better solution, I took 35 Kiblinki Saltas on the first trip back to Vardmoi.
They seemed to enjoy riding in the cargo hold of the Lumite Grand Wing, clearly having fun.
However, as expected, we were stopped at the city gates.
Understandably, they couldn’t allow such a large group of monsters into the city without warning.
While the guards contacted the Tamers’ Guild to send personnel, the spiders curiously observed their surroundings, fascinated by the city.
It seemed they had always avoided human settlements during their travels, so the sight of a human-built city was novel to them.
“Are you that interested in the human city?”
(Indeed. We’re curious about the kinds of vegetables they have here.)
Ah, of course. It always comes back to vegetables. I had a feeling that would be the case.
Eventually, personnel from the Tamers’ Guild arrived, including Melanie, who seemed intrigued by the new tamed monsters I’d brought.
“Hmm, herbivorous spider-type monsters, huh? There might not be any records of them in the Adventurers’ Guild.”
“Oh? I thought there would be, since Rumaja didn’t seem particularly surprised.”
“Rumaja is a Grandmaster. She likely knows of many monsters from legends that aren’t officially documented. The Adventurers’ Guild only records monsters once their existence is confirmed, after all.”
“I see. So, these ones will be newly documented, then?”
“Yes, it seems so. Since they can communicate telepathically, we’d like to learn as much as we can from them.”
Documenting the Kiblinki Saltas’ ecology…
I could already imagine their love of vegetables being heavily emphasized.
What do you think about this chapter?
