Chapter 71

Blessings be Upon You*2
“... So, as I was saying, for plants to grow you need potassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen, and right now I’m breaking those down into their elements and then turning them into compounds, dissolving them in water however seems appropriate, and producing that...”

And so, I decided to disclose the breakdown of the fertilizer I currently give to the slimes to Laperesiana-sama.

But—

“Hmmm... As expected, the knowledge of a dungeon’s guardian deity is quite difficult to grasp...”

… Apparently, it was difficult! I’m sorry! But I seriously can’t break it down any further than this!

“What should I dooo, how should I explain thisss, ughhh.”

I held my head. Troublesome, very troublesome.

… In this world, science is just... just so unfamiliar. Well, of course it is. This is a world where if you shout “Fantasia Power! Hyah!” you can super-jump and dash in armor, after all.

Things that obviously shouldn’t float hover in the sky as furballs, and slimes with seemingly no brain matter merrily wobble around... There’s no way science could take root here!

“It might be the first time I’ve really listened to Asuma-sama’s story about ‘elements.’”

“Ah—yeah, I think this is the first time I’ve explained it too.”

“Asuma-sama sees the world through ‘elements’ and ‘molecules,’ right?”

“Yeah...”

… She’s right. I see the world—everything in it—as ‘elements,’ ‘molecules,’ and ‘energy.’ I grew up believing the world works that way, and I probably always will.

Which means... I see this world differently from Mishisia-san and Lisas-san, from Edele-san and Laperesiana-sama.

At this point, science and religion are practically two sides of the same coin.

Proving that science is the ultimate truth of this world is unrealistic. And since I can’t prove it, if someone says “it doesn’t exist,” I have no solid rebuttal. And if someone says magic is the true law and truth of the world, well... I can only say “yeah, that makes sense.”

… Currently, I believe—based on the worldview I’ve built in my previous life—that this world operates on “scientific laws that undoubtedly exist,” and also “magic that exists alongside them, intertwined.” But in the end... that’s basically religion too.

Adam and Eve, Izanagi and Izanami, Mendeleev, Pascal... In this world, all of them sit on equal footing.

… Probably in this world, science is the cheat. And fantasy power is the rightful source of technology. Probably. Maybe.

Because of that, I really can’t explain all this. Just like how I go “Uwaaa, this makes no sense!!” when dealing with magic, Mishisia-san, Lisas-san, Edele-san, and Laperesiana-sama probably feel the same about science.

It’s difficult. Really, incredibly difficult. This gets into “what do you believe?” territory. It’s that kind of world—say the Earth revolves around the sun and you get killed for it.

“I thought maybe chemical fertilizer... if I could introduce the Haber-Bosch process into this world it might solve things, but... probably not, huh...”

… I guess what I need is a fantasy-power-based solution.

Because no matter how advanced the technique, if I disappear and everything collapses, I can’t spread it around. The concept of science itself is probably like that too.

On the other hand, fantasy power is probably sustainable here... and it’s likely the simplest and most accepted solution.

Yeah... Whether something is accepted or not really matters. Yeah... Honestly, the fact that I’ve been doing whatever I want and haven’t been dragged into a religious trial is kind of miraculous!

Thank you, easygoing Panis Village folks! Thank you, world!

“So anyway, I’ve decided to put aside the potassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen talk. But that said, growing legumes and plowing them into the soil will be good for your fields.”

“Oh? Then I shall try that.”

… Well, I’ll still use whatever I can use. I believe our little root bacteria buddies will pave the way for tomorrow...

Now then.

“In the end, I think planting things inside slimes might be the answer.”

“I see.”

So, this is where my conclusion landed after all.

Because seriously... anything planted in a slime grows at a frankly absurd pace. Completely ridiculous. Absolutely not normal. Why is that acceptable? I suddenly realized this and had to roll SAN.

“Slimes, huh... No, but I’ve rarely seen slimes this docile in other regions...”

“Ahh, right, that’s true.”

The slimes in Panis Village are truly harmless little wobblers—mochi-mochi, poyoyoyon, peaceful, gentle, carefree creatures. But the slimes in the dungeon Lisas-san took me to were... quite the culture shock.

“There are that many kinds of slimes?”

“Yes. Most slimes in dungeons are quite ferocious.”

“These little guys don’t have a single ferocious bone in their bodies. Why, I wonder.”

A slime was passing by, so I asked it “why?”, and it simply wobbled. Hmmm. Instead of “ferocious,” it’s more like “how do you do!” Truly peaceful.

Now, if I want to use slimes for agriculture elsewhere, I need to consider whether slimes from other regions can be used the same way.

I need to consider it, but...

“Can you plant tomatoes into a ferocious slime...?”

“I don’t think that would work, Asuma-samaaa...”

… Yeah. Exactly. A man-eating field is not okay. And the reason our slimes let us plant tomatoes in their heads is because they’re unusually chill. If they had even a bit more attitude, wouldn’t they go “what is this!? Spit it out!”?

… Actually, why do our slimes just let us plant things in them? Their carefree nature is unbeatable.

“If that’s the case... then we should breed Panis Village slimes, increase their numbers, and spread those slimes around the land.”

Probably, yeah. Our slimes might really be a unique species, and I agree with Laperesiana-sama’s assessment.

But...

“... Um, based on my knowledge there’s a bit of a risk.”

“Tell me anything.”

“Okay then... I’ve heard of cases where creatures change appearance depending on their environment.”

“Oh?”

While Laperesiana-sama stared at me with great interest, I spoke nervously.

“For example, some types of shellfish and fish are poisonous, but that’s because they accumulate tiny amounts of toxins from the organisms they feed on.”

This is a well-known example—biomagnification.

Minuscule toxins in plankton → eaten by lots of small shrimp → eaten by lots of small fish → eaten by a predator, which accumulates millions of plankton’s worth of toxin. Then a human eats that fish and gets poisoned.

“There are also birds that change feather color or body size depending on the environment. There are fish that become female if their group is all male. In other words... uh, it’s possible the slimes could change too.”

I wondered if this example made sense in this world, but Laperesiana-sama gave a firm nod.

“I see. It’s a reasonable explanation. Dragons also differ greatly depending on environment—Ice Dragons in the frozen north, Heat Dragons in volcanoes. Slimes could be the same.”

“Yes! And if they have predators, they could develop poison or spines, or grow fins underwater or wings in the sky!”

Laperesiana-sama seemed to understand. Meanwhile, Mishisia-san beside me happily whispered, “A slime with wings... that would be adorable!” Yeah, well... that would be cute.

“If that’s the case, even if we bring Panis slimes elsewhere, there’s no guarantee they’ll remain usable for agriculture.”

“Yes. We won’t know unless we test it...”

My point was only a “concern.” Maybe Panis slimes will stay as mochi-mochi peaceful blobs elsewhere... maybe not.

We need experiments. We should take some of our slimes somewhere else soon.

“... Asuma-sama. I have a question.”

“Ah, yes! Please ask anything!”

While I was thinking “The town of Lark is close... or maybe we should have Laperesiana-sama run trials in the capital...?”, she posed her question. I straightened up.

“If environment can change a creature’s traits, is it possible the reverse could occur?”

… Hmm.

“You mean, for example... could a ferocious slime become a peaceful, poyopoyo slime if raised in a gentle environment?”

“Yes. Would that be difficult?”

She tilted her head, but honestly, I think it’s very possible.

There are poisonous fish that become non-poisonous when raised on clean feed. Even in that valley-of-the-wind story, “raise them in clean water and soil and they become non-toxic.”

“...Which means, time to experiment.”

“Indeed. The royal capital has some directly controlled farms nearby. We could use those.”

“Wonderful! Then let’s start with short-term experiments near the capital...”

“I will prepare personnel for long-term trials.”

Yes, it all comes down to this. Whether science-based or fantasy-based, there must always be experimentation and trial and error.

This mindset—I truly want this world to have it.

And so—

“Ship out the slimes we’ve bred!”

We finally headed to the royal capital carrying slimes.

Even though the wagon doesn’t shake much, it still shakes some, and inside it...

“Hey, Asuma-samaaa... we really should have brought a second wagon...”

“Yeah. I’m thinking that too...”

We were buried in slimes wobbling “poyoyoyoyoyoyon” everywhere!

Our entire bodies were getting poyo-poyo-ed! What is this! It tickles!

… It was so overwhelming that we switched drivers several times along the way. When Lisas-san took over, she also went “ooh...” with a baffled face. Yeah, that’s the normal reaction...

What do you think about this chapter?