Chapter 550

Rumaja’s Parfe Ranch Experience
“Hm. So these are the Parfes I’ve heard so much about. Quite a comfortable ride.”

“Goo (Who’s this person?)”

The day after I guided Fanny and Juna to the tourist ranch, Rumaja came by.
She said she wanted to check the interview results and, while she was at it, visit the tourist ranch she’d heard about.
Tomorrow’s Darkday, so if I wanted to take her, it had to be today.
And so, I brought her along.

“This is Rumaja. She’s a very important person at the Adventurers’ Guild.”

“Googoo (Oh, I see)”

“I see. So they’ve got enough intelligence for communication. I noticed in town, they were pulling the sightseeing carriage—Parfe carriage?—with no trouble at all. Their temperament seems calm, and they listen well to people, don’t they?”

“Yes. As long as they don’t feel their life is threatened, they’re very gentle. Also, there’s always a Kiblinki Saltas riding along in the sightseeing Parfe carriages.”

“So the Kiblinki Saltas act as guards. Now that you mention it, I see them stationed all over the ranch. Lily, how many Kiblinki Saltas are you contracted with right now?”

“Fanny asked me that too, but I don’t know the exact number. There should be several hundred at least.”

“… That many, huh. And yet, I haven’t heard any stories about the contracts becoming unstable. Is there some trick to it?”

“I heard this on the Isles of the Eight Gods—apparently, tamers fall into two categories. The first kind can contract with just about any compatible species, but they have a contract limit. That’s the more common type.”

“Hm. That’s the type I know of. And the other?”

“The second kind can contract without limit, provided they meet specific conditions. In my case, the target has to be monsters friendly toward people. If they don’t meet that condition, I can’t tame them. But as long as they do, the number I can tame is quite high.”

“I see. So the Isles of the Eight Gods has advanced research into that sort of thing.”

“Seems so.”

It really was surprising.
Talat and the Kiblinki Saltas had been friendly from the start, but I didn’t realize that was the actual condition for the contract.
At this rate, the number of monsters I can tame will probably keep growing.
And the real problem is—even if the tamed monsters increase, I’ve got more than enough resources and influence to provide them with a place to live.

“Well, that’s enough about tame monsters. I’m glad guards were chosen from the ones I recommended.”

“Right. Fanny mentioned it too, but apart from their party, Dark Green Sprout, the others all seemed really plain. Did you really intend to pick from them?”

“Honestly, Dark Green Sprout was the strongest candidate. But their main focus is dangerous monster extermination—I wasn’t sure they’d accept a guard mission. So, as insurance, I invited some Gold-rank adventurer parties from outside the country as well.”

“But their introductions all felt so lackluster, like they didn’t care at all.”

“… That’s a problem. Maybe they didn’t grasp how significant a Platinum-rank merchant is.”

“They shouldn’t have underestimated me based on appearances. Plum handled the interviews in disguise on my behalf, after all.”

“… What on earth are you doing with Master Plum?”

“By the way, it was Plum’s idea.”

“… Master Plum.”

Well, I can understand why Rumaja’s holding her head in her hands.
After all, her own master suggested and carried out what was basically a prank interview.
Still, since it actually worked, it can’t be helped.

After that, Rumaja went through the full tourist ranch experience before heading back.
She seemed especially fond of the ice cream made from Parfe milk.
I wonder if selling take-home ice cream in this world would work…
Nah, without dry ice or some sort of cold pack, it’d be tough.
And using Talat’s silk threads? Way too dangerous to touch.

What do you think about this chapter?