Chapter 360

Negotiation Results with the Vegetarian Spiders
For the next two days, I did nothing but make soup.

I had three pots going at once, working in parallel, but I still couldn’t keep up.
Some of the wild Kiblinki Saltas, too impatient to wait, started creeping closer, but I deliberately ignored them.

Seriously, I was exhausted.

(So, what do you think of vegetables prepared by human hands?)

(I’m astonished, my kin. Raw vegetables are already sweet, but when heated, they become even sweeter. And the taste of this “soup” is remarkable. Those who go with you… will they be able to enjoy this?)

(Not every day, and it depends on their work. Especially those searching for unknown crops will primarily live off whatever they find in the wild.)

(Hmmm… In that case, it’s not much different from living in the wild. But having human permission to move freely is a major advantage. What should we do with the crops we obtain?)

(That depends on the contracts with humans. Generally, a portion will be handed over to them. However, the rest should be possible for us to cultivate ourselves. Part of the work will be researching what conditions allow them to grow best. And of course, any crops grown can be eaten by the growers themselves.)

The wild Kiblinki Saltas fell into deep silence.
I suppose the offer was that compelling.

After much deliberation, they finally reached a decision.

Those wishing to leave as part of the new colony would go with me.

(Under normal circumstances, I would go as well, but as the leader of this land, I cannot abandon it—not while the “Whirlpool of Chaos” exists here.)

“No, don’t worry about it. More importantly… are you sure about this? If they all wish to leave, I will take full responsibility for them.”

(I sense no falsehood in your words, and if they can receive human-grown vegetables as compensation, their motivation will be high. Please take care of them.)

“Understood. So, how many wish to join?”

(Let’s see… Those who wish to go, step forward!)

At the leader’s command, nearly all—no, *every single* Kiblinki Saltas let out a loud *shaa-shaa* in unison.

… Yep. All of them.

Can I even contract this many…?

When I asked the Tamers’ Guild staff, they said they had anticipated this outcome and had brought close to 600 contract papers.

Well, at least they wouldn’t go to waste.

That left just one problem—my own contract limit.

Each contract took about a minute to complete. But there were 500 of them.

And I wasn’t even sure I had the capacity for 500 contracts.

Still, I did what I could, taking them one at a time.

In the end, it took two days, but I managed to contract over 500 Kiblinki Saltas.
I didn’t bother counting the exact number.

But… was it really okay to bring this many back?

No, the fact that the Tamers’ Guild had prepared this many contracts meant they had already made peace with it.

For now, I’d just focus on getting them home.
I could figure out the rest later.

What do you think about this chapter?