Volume 3 Chapter 126: Trouble (1/2)
“What happened!?” [Ryouma]
I followed after Roche-san to the back of the carriage and found the place designated for handling quarry noisy.
“What happened? Is anyone wounded?” [Roche]
“When they tried bloodletting, the tub of blood suddenly started moving. They were just startled by that. No one is wounded or anything. But what was that? Did an animal fall or something?”
“Oh, those are just my slimes. I placed them in the tub… Still, this sure is strange, though. I wonder why they’re panicking all of the sudden.” [Ryouma]
The bloody slimes appear to be panicking because of something.
I don’t sense anything that could be an enemy…!
“Gazel-kun! Which quarry did you bleed before this happened!?” [Ryouma]
“Quarry? That one at the end.” [Gazel]
“Identify” [Ryouma]
I examined the hanging meat.
Grass Rat corpse.
An herbivorous rodent. Lives in plains with many plants and vegetation.
Its body is fresh, but it’s been poisoned.
This poison is harmless when taken orally unless the mouth is already wounded prior to taking it.
It can still be eaten.
“As expected. This grass rat is poisoned.” [Ryouma]
“Poison!?” [Gazel]
“But we didn’t use any poison!” [Adventurer 1]
That’s what Gazel-kun and his friends say, but the results of Identify is clear. Still, it doesn’t seem like they’re lying.
In that case, there must be something else to this… Found it!
“It’s this.” [Ryouma]
It’s hard to see because of the blood and the fur, but there are two holes at the inner part of the forelegs. They were lined up horizontally.
“The bite marks of a snake. This grass rat was probably attacked by a venomous snake before you guys caught it.” [Ryouma]
It probably just barely survived. But then while it was hiding inside its nest, Gazel and his friends came and attacked it. All the while, the poison in its blood remained, and that poison fell to the tub of blood slimes.
The reason the slimes were moving violently is probably because they were trying to avoid the poisoned blood, but…
“Oh? They calmed down.” [Roche]
“…It seems the blood slime drank even the poisoned blood.” [Ryouma]
“It that alright!? Do you need medicine?” [Roche]
A venomous snake’s venom from these parts. Moreover, the sort that’s harmless when ingested orally. It should be the bush snake. I do have medicine to help with that, but it’s only meant to be taken orally. It’s not something to be injected directly into the blood. First, I should dilute the poison as much as possible.
I retrieved the bloody slimes from the other tubs and gathered as much blood as I could.
“There are still 7 grass rats left, right? If those rats aren’t poisoned, do you mind if I take their blood? This isn’t related to the training camp, so I’ll pay for it.” [Ryouma]
“This is our fault in the first place, so you don’t have to pay us. Right, boys?” [Gazel]
“Y-Yeah. I mean if it’s blood, you can just get as much as you want.” [Adventurer 1]
“We’d just throw it away anyway.” [Adventurer 2]
“Yeah.” [Adventurer 3]
“Thanks.” [Ryouma]
I quickly examined the 7 grass rats and bled them out.
“Hopefully, this’ll be enough to dilute the poisoned blood… And even if it’s not enough, this much blood should have given them plenty of nutrients.” [Ryouma]
The bloody slimes are in pain, but they’re not in any danger. The poison of a Bush Snake is weak anyway, and the bloody slime has Poison Resist. Although their resistance isn’t strong enough to resist real poison, a lightweight like this should be no problem. I’ll watch the slimes’ condition for a while after this attempt to dilute the poison and give them nutrients. In the worst case, I’ll have to use medicine that’s never been tested on slimes before.
“I’ll let their situation stabilize like this for now. Thank you, Gazel-kun.” [Ryouma]
“You don’t have to thank me. I mean I didn’t even do anything.” [Gazel]
“Just giving me blood is plenty. This is also my fault because I wasn’t paying attention to the slimes, so please don’t mind it so much. You three too.” [Ryouma]
The three of them replied positively, but they seemed uneasy.
Roche-san went behind them and lightly hit their back.
“It might be a bit hard not to mind, but even if you mind it, nothing will change. So don’t be discouraged, and instead reflect on this and think of how to make the most out of this experience for next time, alright? Ryouma, you’re fine with this, right?” [Roche]
“Yes.” [Ryouma]
Although the poison was basically harmless as long taken orally, they still might have ended up eating meat without realizing that it was poisoned. If the poison was effective even when taken orally, then it could’ve been bad. If the worst case scenario where to happen, they would find themselves be in a perilous situation.
“Listen. When people get used to doing something and they start getting complacent, that’s when mistakes happen. Complacency is a fatal mistake for adventurers like us. Let this experience be a reminder for you four. Never let your guard down even if it’s at something you specialize at like hunting.” [Roche]
“Yes!” [Student Adventurers]
“Carry on then. Ryouma, I don’t know much about how to heal slimes. But if there’s anything I can do to help, just let me know. I’ll do my best to cooperate.” [Roche]
“Us too!” [Gazel]
After Roche-san said that, Gazel-kun and the others also said that they would cooperate.
They wanted me to ask them for help if there was anything I needed.
The morning of the next day, when the sun was yet to rise…
“Ah, is it time to switch?” [Ryouma]
“Yep.” [Teacher 1]
“Good job. Let’s switch then.” [Ryouma]
I held my post while carrying a jar filled with bloody slimes. After a while, someone came to switch with me.
“I heard your slimes ended up drinking poison. How are they?” [Teacher 1]
“They’ve mostly calmed down now.” [Ryouma]