Aiming for a Cozy Life in a Dangerous Forest in Another World! - Chapter 30
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- Chapter 30 - Let's Hire a Butler
Chapter 30: Let’s Hire a Butler
It felt like I had learned a little about the Dragon Demon Tribe, a race that had been a mystery to me since I was reborn.
Well, there were still countless unanswered questions, like why was I reborn in the first place? Why did my soul inhabit a dragon egg?! What even was a soul?! But…
Haah…
There was no helping it. As always, I would have to shelve those questions for later.
For now, I had to deal with the problem right in front of me… this butler who was determined to serve me…
“…So, I understand about the races now. Thank you for explaining it. …But about this serving me thing…”
“Yes!”
Yep. Strong.
“As I said before, in my previous life, I wasn’t in a position to have someone serve me. So, it’s a bit overwhelming to suddenly be told, ‘I will serve you.’…”
When I said that, the man in front of me, Label… Label something-or-other, visibly deflated.
…I felt a surge of guilt…
“…Um, it’s not that I don’t want you to… I just need a little time to get used to it…”
Now he was staring at me with sparkling eyes…
Ugh, this is so hard!
“And besides, I’m not alone. I need to talk to the children I live with…”
“Children you live with, you say?”
“Yeah. I saved them in the forest, and we’ve been living together ever since. They’re like my younger brother and sister. So, I’m sorry, but if you can’t live with them, then I can’t…”
“I see. Your younger brother and sister, Master. Then, to me, they are also my Masters!”
“…They’re human, you know?”
“That is not a problem! If they are the family of Master, who is connected to the Dragon Tribe, then they are also connected to the Dragon Tribe! Therefore, there is no issue with me serving them!”
“…Right.”
I gave up.
For now, I would take him back to the cave and introduce him to Kaito and Pola.
At least he didn’t seem like the type to harm them…
As we were talking, Rin, as if to say, “I’m family too!”, hopped in front of me and the butler.
“That’s right, Rin is also a precious member of our family.”
“…Oh my, you have a rather rare slime as your familiar.”
“Rare?”
“Indeed. Origin Slimes rarely show themselves to humans. This is because their numbers are quite small. They are the origin of the many different types of slimes that exist in this world, the ancestors of all slimes. However, Origin Slimes themselves do not possess any special attack methods, and their defenses are weak. In a sense, they are the weakest of all slimes. And as such, they lost in the struggle for survival and are mostly extinct.”
I see.
They were outcompeted by their evolved descendants and were driven to near extinction because they were weaker.
…But then how had it survived in this forest?
“…But if they’re so weak, how did it survive in this forest?”
“Perhaps the magical beasts and monsters in this forest considered it too small to be worth hunting. It offers little nutritional value, and there is no risk of it harming anyone. They probably judged it to be insignificant and ignored it.”
That was true…
All the creatures in this forest, the Fangrabbits, the Forest Tiger, and even the Blackera, were huge. Rin must have looked like a tiny pebble to the Blackera…
“I see… So it was able to survive precisely because this is the most dangerous forest…”
“Indeed. However, while this Origin Slime’s race is indeed Origin Slime, its magic power far surpasses that of a normal Origin Slime. No, I doubt any other slime could compare. And the aura it emits is no longer that of an Origin Slime. It could easily be the lord of a territory outside this forest.”
“Its name is Rin. …But you said Origin Slimes are the weakest, right?”
“Rin-dono, is it? It is a pleasure to meet you.
I believe Rin-dono’s magic power has been transformed and its abilities enhanced by absorbing the magic power you emit, Master.”
“My magic power?”
“Indeed. As I sensed earlier, you are constantly emitting magic power. An incredible amount of powerful magic. An aura of sorts. I believe Rin-dono, living so close to you, has been absorbing it.”
“……I’m emitting an aura?”
“Yes. If I hadn’t seen your appearance, I would have thought a dragon was nearby, the aura you emit is that powerful. The lower-ranking magical beasts in this forest, like Fangrabbits and Forest Tigers, probably sense it and run away. The Blackera you fought earlier is one of the strongest species on land, so it had never felt the need to run from anything. Perhaps that is why it stayed despite sensing your aura.”
……Hmm.
So, the reason we hadn’t seen any Fangrabbits around the base lately was because they had sensed my aura.
I was practically a powerful magical beast myself.
I had a territory now, and the weaker magical beasts that I preyed on were fleeing from it?
Whatever, I am tired.
I stopped thinking and decided to head back to the cave.
This butler could follow me if he wanted…
Ah, but there was one thing I needed to confirm…
“…Okay, thank you for explaining everything. You can come back with me if you want, but… about this serving me thing, how does payment work? I don’t have any money…”
The butler stared at me in surprise. That was the first time his expression had changed…
“Of course, no payment is necessary. I am asking to serve you, after all. I would gladly pay you if I could.”
“I’ll have to decline your offer!”
“Is that so? But truly, no compensation is needed. I am simply grateful for the opportunity to serve you.”
“Haah… Okay, then. Let’s go home for now. I want to introduce you to the children, and I still have some questions.”
“Very well, Master.”
“Ah, and stop calling me ‘Master.’ It’s embarrassing.”
“Is that so…? Then, if I may be so bold, could you tell me your name?”
“Ah, that’s right, I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Kotoha Mizuhara. It seems troublesome to use my full name, so I usually just go by Kotoha.”
“Understood. May I address you as Kotoha-sama, then?”
“Yes. And your name was…”
“My name is Labelvald Cousalstein. But from now on, I shall go by the name Kotoha-sama has given me: Label.”
“……I see. Well then, Label. Nice to meet you!”
“Yes! It is a pleasure to meet you!”
And so, Mizuhara Kotoha, or Kotoha Mizuhara in this world, gained a butler…