Chapter 227: Laying the Groundwork (4/4)
On the way back.
There were no jobs left to do, so I was originally planning on going home directly, but I decided to drop by the tamer guild. It was evening already, so there were barely any people left in the tamer guild. The reception desk was also empty. But despite it almost being closing time, the receptionist girl didn’t make an unhappy face and called out to me.
“Welcome. What may I do for you today?” [Receptionist]
“I’d like to procure some sprint rabbit meat. I’d like to get as much as I can, but how much would be convenient for you? I can use dimension magic, so please don’t worry about the transportation. Also, I caught some goblins this morning and tamed them, so I’d be much obliged if I could receive some pointers on what to watch out for when raising them.” [Ryouma]
“Understood. The sprint rabbit meat needs to be checked first, so please wait for a while.” [Receptionist]
As she said that, she turned to the man that pa.s.sed by behind her, and asked him to checked the store room, then she turned back to me.
“As for the goblins, first, can you tell me what you intend to use them for?” [Receptionist]
“For some odd jobs. I’m managing the northern abandoned mines, so I was thinking of having them help with the farmlands and with carrying some luggage.” [Ryouma]
“Let’s start with their food then. Goblins are omnivores and can eat basically anything, so they’ll eat anything you give them. There’s nothing in particular that they’re not allowed to eat, so as long as you use some common sense, you can feed them basically anything, even slightly old food. If there’s one thing you need to be careful of, it would be ‘feeding them too much’.” [Receptionist]
“Feeding them too much?” [Ryouma]
“Yes. If you feed them too much, they’ll multiply quickly.” [Receptionist]
“The reproductive strength of goblins is said to be their strong point. It’s also the most dangerous part about them.” [Ryouma]
“Exactly. So long as there’s food and they’re able to copulate, they can breed three times in a month. If you’re not careful, a horde will be upon you before you know it. Also, this isn’t common knowledge, but overfeeding goblins can also make it more likely for hobgoblins and other higher variants to appear.” [Receptionist]
“I see… So that’s why large hordes of goblins are dangerous.” [Ryouma]
Of course, number in and of itself is a threat, but what makes a horde of goblin really dangerous is the fact that when there’s more of them, it’s easier to procure food, which in turn makes it easier for higher variant goblins to appear. I myself once partic.i.p.ated in a large-scale goblin subjugation mission. At the time I was in charge of dealing with the goblins running away, but something like that was probably happening in the nests that the higher ranked adventurers invaded.
“Oh? You partic.i.p.ated in that mission during spring?” [Receptionist]
“Yes, actually, I mainly work as an adventurer.” [Ryouma]
“Is that so? If you were there, then I’m sure you must understand already, but goblins are really terrifying monsters when it comes to their reproductive strength. It’s common for people to say things like ‘before I knew it, there was too many of them’ or ‘I couldn’t stop higher variants from appearing and an accident occurred’. Should your tamed monsters end up hurting others, you will be penalized along with your monsters, so please be careful. Of course, your safety is a matter of concern as well.” [Receptionist]
“Thank you. I’ll keep it in mind.” [Ryouma]
…The receptionist girl couldn’t hide her doubts from showing on her face, but apparently, hobgoblins are much bigger and stronger than normal goblins.
Because of that there are tamers who want to feed their goblins lots of food to tame a hobgoblin, thus causing there to be many many accidents involving them. It’s necessary to know one’s limits and cut down the goblins when needed, but… I can’t even see the limits of my contracts just yet, and as long as I figure out how to talk with the goblins effectively, they’ll probably be much easier to handle than the clever chickens.
I threatened them at first, but they’re simple-minded and honest, so dealing with them should be a lot easier on the mind than the clever chickens. Moreover, the clever chickens might look like they’re all bark and no bite, but they’re actually a lot stronger than the goblins. Besides, Kohaku is doing his best mediating, so there shouldn’t be any problems.
In fact, I’m sure he’s working even harder when I’m not looking, so I should really be thanking him for his efforts. Unfortunately, if I give him special treatment, the other clever chickens will get annoying, so any attempt to thank him might just end up causing him more trouble. If anything, not doing anything special for him might actually be the best thing I can do for him.
While I was thinking that to myself, the male employee from before came back and handed a small letter to the receptionist girl.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. We can provide as much as 50 sprint rabbits.” [Receptionist]
“I’ll take 50 then. There’s no need to butcher them.” [Ryouma]
“Understood. We’ll prepare them immediately.” [Receptionist]
At that, one hairless rabbit after another that looked like a naked mole rat was brought before me. These rabbits were also bulging with muscles like bodybuilders. They were so big that a child would only be able to carry one of them at a time.
They’re rabbits, but they’re not soft at all. On the contrary, they’re really hard, and they don’t look cute. Although, depending on the person, I suppose they could still be cute, but I don’t know. Regardless, that’s what a sprint rabbit looks like.
“49, 50. And that’s all of them. That will be 1,500 suits.” [Receptionist]
I paid the amount she asked for. It was quite affordable, really. After all, 1,500 suits for 50 rabbits comes down to 30 suits per rabbit. That’s about a third of a normal adult’s daily living expense.
“Sprint Rabbits reproduce even faster than goblins, you see. They’re beast tamers’ most reliable ally when it comes to raising carnivorous monster beasts.” [Receptionist]
“At this size and at this prize, the costs of raising beasts can also be minimized… By the way, can humans eat these? I’ve never seen a butcher sell them.” [Ryouma]
“They’re not poisonous, but you’d better not. Some financially burdened people have tried them before, but everyone always says that they’re ‘difficult to chew’ and ‘can’t be eaten’. As you can see, they’re full of muscles, so their meat will also be quite hard. I’ve heard that there are even some people who’ve broken their jaws trying to eat them.” [Receptionist]
Figures. At this price some people would have naturally also thought about eating them. Still, I can’t help my curiosity. Anyway, I threw those mountain of sprint rabbit corpses into my Item Box, and went on my way after thanking the receptionist girl.
The goblins have just joined the ranks of my monsters, and I want to show to them that I intend to keep my promise this morning, so tonight, I’ll let them feast as much meat and potatoes as they want.
As for the higher goblin variants, I’ll talk to them about it.