Chapter 73

Nirva-sama, not finding what she was looking for, kept flipping through the pages of the magic bag, muttering, "Not this one, not that one." Eventually, she exclaimed, "Ah, here it is!" and held out a book, opening it to a page for everyone to see.

"Speculations on the Evolution of Monsters"

That was the title of the opened page.

"It's a diary by someone named Abrif. There's a description of a slime evolving, which I just remembered."

Everyone gathered around to read the words as Nirva-sama spoke. Nergi and Katansu didn't join in. Nergi noticed my gaze and smiled.

"I can read the words, but that doesn't mean I have knowledge."

Come to think of it, that's why we were given this request.

"If people find out you have knowledge, you get stuck with troublesome requests."

Nirva-sama chuckled at the troublesome request she had given us.

"I won't deny it. Some people bring along adventurers just to look down on them. I just wanted someone to talk to, but I do realize it's troublesome."

Nergi and the others took this request because they were nominated by the guild. Anyway, moving on.

"Um, 'Today I witnessed the mystery of life. A slime, a monster, evolved. Yes, this happened at the inn...'... Ah, what is this?"

Since I was closest to the book, I tried to read it aloud, but as it was a diary, it was filled with trivial stories about the day, like how cute the innkeeper's daughter was, which were irrelevant.

"Is it hard to read? The text veers off topic immediately."

Nirva-sama laughed.

"Um, 'Rode a stagecoach, then—?' 'About the mechanism of the stagecoach, then—' 'About the seat of a fellow passenger, then—' 'About clothes. It's all over the place. Ah, maybe it starts here.'"

In summary, the adventurers guarding the group had tried to feed the defeated monsters to wild slimes for disposal. The fellow passengers started giving them garbage as well. One of them, a young girl, gave the slime something she had, and the slime began to glow and expand. It then swallowed the girl, growing larger than the stagecoach.

"Ultimately, the girl couldn't be saved, and they managed to defeat the slime with some injuries."

"Good that they didn't let it run wild, but it's not a commendable act."

Nergi frowned.

"It's written that the excessive feeding or the magic stone the girl gave it might be the cause."

Everyone tilted their heads in confusion.

"Slimes in the adventurer guild eat a lot, right? They should be fed low-quality magic stones too."

I nodded in agreement with Katansu. There are slimes in the guild that eat all the waste from disassembling things.

"Then, is it because it absorbed a human?"

Panta hugged herself, shuddering.

"No, the change had already started before that."

"Maybe it wasn't a magic stone?"

Could the girl have had something so significant? Or would she even carry a magic stone?

"Is this it?"

Kokushin pointed to a part I had skipped.

"Um, 'The merchant's cargo looks like Nogria.'"

"‘Nogria’!?"

Nergi and Nirva-sama reacted, snatching the book and leaning in to read.

"Ah, it's true. I read it, but I couldn't remember."

Nirva-sama held her head. Nergi had a troubled look on her face. What, is Nogria that troublesome? I glanced at Kokushin, but he shook his head.

"Nogria is a modified magic stone created in the past. It combines the power of multiple magic stones, but it can explode or have adverse effects on the holder, so it was banned."

Nergi explained.

"It was popular for a while because it was fuel-efficient and had high power. However, it was banned because it could summon monsters and corrupt magic."

Nirva-sama continued, "It's a story from about 30 years ago."

I looked at Nergi in surprise. She doesn't look that old.

"I just heard about it from someone."

Of course. I momentarily thought she might be the same age as Nirva-sama. With various races, lifespans vary.

Anyway, moving on.

"So, it absorbed Nogria or something with similar magical power?"

I don't know when the last mowing was, but it must have evolved within a few months. And something that could cause multiple slimes to evolve at once.

"Right. Even though it's banned, it could have been hidden somewhere... Hmm? Hidden here?"

"Or maybe this place was the manufacturing site?"

Everyone fell silent at Katansu's words following Nirva-sama. Ah, but since it's a ruin, it must be from a long time ago. Ah, they just used the ruin. There are no villages around, and with buildings, it's perfect for making dangerous things.

"Should we go back for a moment?"

Nergi and the others exchanged glances.

"No, we have enough strength. It would be dangerous if there were 10 or 20 at once. But we'll go in first and exterminate them."

"Fine with me."

We nodded. We wouldn't be much help in battle anyway. My earth magic probably wouldn't work. Kokushin might be able to fight if he could destroy the dome.

So, after lunch, Nergi and the others went to exterminate the evolved slimes. We stayed behind. Nirva-sama was summarizing her findings.

"Does Nirva-sama write books about such things?"

I suddenly thought to ask.

"Um, I do summarize them, but they're only read by a few enthusiasts."

"Is that so?"

"Want to read it?"

She handed me a book. It was a beautifully bound book. I flipped through it out of curiosity.

"..."

"How is it?"

Nirva-sama tilted her head. How should I answer? She said the diary was hard to read, but this one is even worse. It's filled with Nirva-sama's enthusiastic exclamations, which are quite annoying... The important details about the ruins and the scenery don't stick in my head.

"People who like it, really like it, I guess."

I managed to say that. "Thank you," I said politely as I returned the book.

Occasionally, we could hear the sounds of battle. The evolved slimes weren't just one, were they? Maybe the dome is filled with them. I once thought about keeping a slime as a pet, but slimes are actually quite dangerous.

Wishing for Nergi and the others to return safely, I decided to focus on finishing yesterday's soup.