Slime Reincarnation

I was running alongside Irina.

Whoa, the feeling of walking through town.

It was kind of moving.

There were quite a lot of people coming and going. I tried to run without bumping into anyone... wait, why were we running?

"Hey, Irina. Now that I think about it, why are we running?"

"Hmm? Didn’t we rush out of Catherine’s shop in a hurry?"

"Then there’s no point rushing anymore!"

"Ah, you’re right."

And so, we decided to walk to the guild.

Once we slowed down, the food stalls lining the main street started to catch my attention.

"Looks delicious..."

The rows of stalls gave off the savory aroma of simmered and grilled dishes.

"Lord Yabe, would you like to eat something?"

Irina asked with a bright smile.

"We haven’t cashed in the monster materials yet, but are you okay on money?"

"Of course. I don’t have that much, but it’s more than enough for some street food."

At Irina’s words, I immediately went to check out the stalls.

"Meat. It’s meat."

"Come and get it! We’ve got fresh horn rabbit meat in today! The skewers are fantastic!"

"Over here we’ve got giant viper skewers! Pretty rare!"

"And here’s the classic orc stew! Once you taste it, you’ll be hooked~!"

Ooh, I’ve never tried orc before. Let’s go with the stew.

"Today only~! Fresh forest lizard meat, today only~! Salt-grilled or tare-glazed, both just 5 copper coins each~!"

A laid-back looking old man was calling out. Forest lizard... that means some kind of big lizard, right? Lizards usually seem tough, but hearing "today only" makes me curious. I’m weak to limited-time offers.

"Uncle! I’ll take two of each—tare and salt! And one of each for this girl here!"

"Comin’ right up!"

"Irina, can you pay?"

"Got it. Shopkeeper, please take this."

Irina handed over two silver coins.

"Thanks for your business!"

With a cheerful reply, the man passed us the freshly cooked skewers.

"I’ve been waiting for this!"

Unable to hold back, I reached out to take the skewers.

"Uwaaah!"

The shopkeeper suddenly tossed the skewers toward me. Whoa, dangerous! I nimbly caught them one after another.

"That was close. What’s wrong?"

As I spoke to the shopkeeper, I suddenly realized. Oh right. Tentacles. I’m such an idiot!

"Nah, it’s nothing. Got messed up pretty bad by a monster a long time ago."

"O-oh... I see. You’ve been through a lot too, huh. Here, have one more on the house."

He added an extra salt-grilled skewer. I accidentally earned some weird sympathy, but free food is free food. I’ll gladly take it.

"Here, Irina."

"Thank you! Hafu hafu... It’s pretty good! This forest lizard stuff."

"Yeah, it’s delicious!"

I gave one piece to Captain Chick and finished the rest myself.

Ahh... Coming to town was worth it.

"Ah, Lord Yabe, shall we head to the guild now?"

"Before that, let’s stop by the general store and buy some gloves."

I returned the empty skewers to the stall owner, bought a pair of leather gloves at the general store, and then we headed to the Adventurers’ Guild.

BANG!

Irina slammed open the guild’s large doors and burst inside.

"Is the Guild Master here!? I brought my master with me!"

"So you came... Over here."

He pointed at the counter. He was already sitting on the opposite side.

"Sit there."

Irina plopped down heavily and immediately went on the offensive.

"Now then! I’ve brought my master, Lord Yabe!"

Irina’s really pumped up. Why though? Is she that desperate for the monster cash? Well, I was also counting on using the money from selling materials to go shopping!

"So, this suspicious robed mage is your so-called master?"

"Suspicious!? How rude! My master, Lord Yabe, is an amazing person!"

Irina puffed up in anger. Being praised that much actually made me feel embarrassed.

"So, your name?"

He turned to me and asked. His gaze was sharp. Was he trying to intimidate me?

"...Yabe."

I tapped my mage’s staff on the floor and answered.

"My master knows everything! It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him the Sage of the Forest!"

Irina was really hyping me up as a sage. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"No, I’m not a sage."

"Master?"

"Yeah. If you’re going to call me something, call me Great Archmage."

I remembered a line from a famous legendary adventure manga I used to love as a kid, spoken by a wizard.

"What do you mean, Great Archmage..."

Hmph! The guy’s swirling energy started concentrating in his right eye again.

"Gwagh! My eye! My eye again!"

Once more, the Guild Master clutched his eye and writhed in pain, looking like some colonel from somewhere. Why?

"Damn it... They really are separated..."

He muttered while pressing on his right eye, looking like he was in pain. He’s not on some suspicious drugs, is he?

The swirling energy gathered in his right eye again. This guy never learns.

"Muu...? ...Only five...?"

The Guild Master muttered while looking at Irina. Five what?

Then he looked at me.

Bwooosh!

The Guild Master suddenly got a massive nosebleed. Wait, didn’t he do this before too?

Shhhhhhh...

Hmm?

Did I just hear something leaking? Is he okay?

"F-f-f-f... 530,000...!? There’s no mistake...?"

The Guild Master trembled violently at high speed.

"G-Guild Master, are you alright? Let’s go rest in the back for a bit."

A female guild staff member supported him by the shoulder and helped him move away.

Why is the floor wet around his feet?

"H-hey! What about the cash exchange!?"

Irina stood up abruptly from her chair and called out to the Guild Master’s back.

"The assessment is already finished... Receive it at the counter."

With those words, the Guild Master disappeared into the back room, still leaning on the staff member’s shoulder.

I don’t know what happened, but it looked like the conversation was over. In that case, let’s just collect the money for the monsters we defeated and go shopping.

"Irina, let’s get the money right away."

"Understood. Excuse me, we’d like to cash in the materials."

Irina called out to the receptionist at the purchase counter.

"Yes, we’ve been expecting you. Here is the purchase amount—225 gold coins."

"Waaah!"

Irina received a heavy leather pouch.

"Master! This is amazing!"

"Yeah. We can finally go shopping and stay at an inn."

"Would you like to register with the guild, Master?"

"No, I’m good."

I answered the guild receptionist who asked in a businesslike tone.

"Alright, let’s go, Irina."

I tapped my mage’s staff on the floor a couple times and stood up, then left the guild.