Back at the inn room, I gathered my purchases and got to work.
First, I coated the fabric with the sticky solution of the sticky slime and used a
spell called Dryer which combined the wind magic Breeze and fire magic Flame
to mass produce waterproof fabric. If I lost control of Dryer, the wind would fan
the fire until fierce flames would engulf everything. That in itself was usable as a
fire launching an attack spell, which I named Flamethrower — but I had to take
care not to do that here. Because of that, it took until the afternoon before I
was done.
While using two magics of the same element was easy, controlling magics of
different elements was quite tough... well, that went without saying.
Next, I had a sticky slime spit out its string and coiled it around the spool.
The strength of a sticky slime's string varied depending on the ratio of sticky
solution to hardening solution, making it easy to adjust for my purposes. For
example, using a ratio of 7:3 sticky to hardening solution resulted in a soft
thread for fine sewing, while a 6:4 ratio made a sturdy string. A 5:5 ratio would
make a flexible string that could be used in traps while letting people and bigger
animals go, while a 4:6 ratio was strong enough to strangle large beasts.
When I was researching the strength of the 4:6 ratio string in the forest, I tied
several threads across some trees and lured a black bear into charging at it. The
strings withstood one hit, and the black bear's body was covered in small
wounds from the thread. At the time, I realized this could be used for a fairly
dangerous trap and sealed it in a panic. Since then, I haven't used it on anything
other than huge spawns of monsters like goblins. One exception was when
adjusting the thickness of the strings on the guitar I tried to make in imitation of
the one in my past life. While it was strong, it wasn't so sharp that it would cut
into my fingers, so there may be more use for it with further investigation in the
future. Doing simple tasks sure made old memories resurface... Oh, I was done
coiling the 6:4 ratio string.
Next up was cutting the fabric. I carefully cut it into multiple parts. My goal
was to make clothes resembling work overalls with rubber boots as per my past
life. Since I was going to be cleaning pit toilets tomorrow, even if I could leave
most of the work to the scavenger slimes and use the cleaner slimes to cleanse
myself afterward, I didn't want to go in my regular clothes. It would be best to
make some preparations in advance. Just as I finished the long boots, someone
knocked on the door.
"Master Ryoma, I heard that you returned. Are you inside?"
It was Sebas, so I hurried to open the door.
"I'm here."
"Is everything all right?"
"As far as I'm aware, yes."
"I see. The inn worker told me you left in the morning, returned before noon,
then shut yourself away in the room without even having lunch..."
Ah... Come to think of it, I forgot to eat.
"Sorry, I was concentrating on work... Did I worry you?"
"If you have the time, please come and join us. My Lady is most eager to see
you again. If your work is that needlework, you can continue it in My Lady's
room, and have the two maids help you."
I was planning on going to talk to them anyway, so this was perfect timing.
Putting the fabric and tools away in my Item Box, I headed for the duke family's
room with my slimes. Once Sebas and I arrived, Eliaria and Elise immediately
drew near.
"Are you unharmed?! Did anything happen?!"
"Ryoma! Are you okay? Were you hurt at all?"
"Calm down, you two."
"If you press so closely Ryoma won't be able to speak."
Reinhart's and Reinbach's words made the two of them back away.
"Umm... Sorry for worrying you. I'd like to say there weren't any particular
problems, but... I got a little too into my work and forgot to eat lunch."
"Oh, that's a relief."
"Goodness, I thought something had happened!"
"Ho ho, if nothing happened then it's for the best."
"What were you working on?"
"Sewing. I was making work clothes for cleaning."
I took out my tools from the Item Box.
"Hmm... It looks like you've made it all waterproof as well."
"Yes, it took me from the end of my job today until the afternoon. I've been
putting together the clothes until now."
"Why did you suddenly decide to make such clothes?"
I explained what happened today. They said they didn't mind if I worked while
talking, so I did just that.
"...And so, I ended up accepting that cleaning request. It would be terrible if
disease were to spread, so I was hurrying to complete my work."
"Hmm..."
"I understand your reasoning. And I am very grateful to you too. But to hear
that the public office of this town has done such a thing. Sebas..."
"Yes."
"Head into town and gather information to confirm whether the public office
is really doing such things. If true, then the administrative expenses of the town
should have fallen from last year. However, the report we received today stated
otherwise. It's possible that there is some embezzlement going on."
"Understood."
Sebas promptly left the room.
"Thank you, Ryoma. We may yet uncover a crime because of you."
"Indeed. Embezzlement is already a crime, but taking the money meant for
the town and its residents to the point it impacts the lifestyle of the people is
unforgivable. The amount to pay the people from the slums was decided
decades ago. To cut that lower is unacceptable! Wasting my hard work like
that..."
Reinbach's hard work?
"The one who set up the system of employing slum residents to clean the
communal toilets was father-in-law, who devised it as a public works project for
disease prevention and poverty relief in the Jamil domain."
"It's in the past now, but I had to contact the governor of each town to make
them construct the facilities. If they couldn't believe my order to hire people
from the slums, then I had to shake off their attempts to control me and head
to the slum areas myself to conduct negotiations. Who knows how long it took
to complete negotiations with every town over labor and employment... To
think that all that hard work has gone to waste is most vexing indeed."
Reinbach said with a truly saddened face. He may have had an emotional
attachment beyond his work...
"At any rate, if this is true then it cannot be ignored. Even if others turn a
blind eye, the Jamil family will not."
"We are truly grateful to have you here, Ryoma. This way we were able to
gain this information while we were in town. At the very least, there is
definitely something strange about it. If the system was really operating the
way I set it up, then that job request would never have been made."
"You're very welcome."
"Hmm, you should get the maids to help you make those clothes. Araune,
Lilian. Lend him a hand."
"Understood."
Thanks to the two maids coming to lend a hand, I was able to split my work.
Lilian worked on the gloves, Araune did the overalls, and I braided the cords
that would be used for various purposes.
"Master Ryoma, what kind of thread is this? I've never seen a thread this
sturdy yet thin and smooth before."
"Oh, that's the string of a sticky slime."
"Slimes spit out string?"
"Only the sticky slimes. And possibly just mine, at that. I was mixing the
slime's sticky solution and hardening solution to find a use for it when it turned
into a string, so I tried to get the slimes to do the same. They were crucial when
I needed to mend my clothes in the forest."
I called a big sticky slime over and made it spit some string out.
"Just like this. The strength of the string can be changed by adjusting the ratio
of the two solutions within its body."
When I made the slime create strings of various thicknesses to show Araune
and Lilian, they asked me to sell it to them.
"I couldn't ask for money. I've been in your care so much. Please accept it for
free."
The two of them were very happy when I said that. Apparently, this string was
the highest quality thread Araune had ever seen in her many long years of
working for the Jamil family in tailoring. I hadn't considered it to be that special,
but I was probably too used to seeing the synthetic fibers made on Earth.
After that, I consulted with Reinhart until it was decided that the thread could
be made into a product along with the rain gear.
From further discussion, I found out that the Jamil domain's towns and
villages were considered to be very clean environments thanks to the largescale maintenance efforts of the previous head, Reinbach. And to further
improve the domain that his father had established, Reinhart wanted to
develop the trade industry. That's why the slime products I inadvertently
invented were very attractive to him. He bowed his head deeply to ask for my
long-standing cooperation, so I did the same in return. The people of the Jamil
family were all so nice, I wanted to assist them as much as I could.
We kept working as we chatted until my work clothes were completed. When
I tried them on for size, there were no problems, but... I pulled on the gloves
and stuck the ends inside my jumpsuit sleeves, tying the ends at my wrist with
cord to keep the dirt out. I put on the waterproof work overalls and long boots
that reached my body, fastening everything with cord. Everyone gave me the
opinion that it looked weird, but seemed to have high functionality for labor, so
Reinhart deemed it another product to possibly consider.