Kagurazaka Yuuki turned out to be a pretty easygoing guy.
Despite supposedly being in his late twenties, he still looked like a high school student.
When I asked why, he said it was some kind of curse.
Apparently, when he came to this world, he hadn't been able to acquire a Unique Skill or any special abilities — but his physical abilities had developed abnormally.
"Haha, it's rough, I tell you.
It took about five years before I even noticed something was off…"
He scratched his head and laughed.
Thanks to that, he'd never had a girlfriend. A genuinely likeable guy.
"Is that so! Tough break, pal!
Hahaha. Don't worry, something good will come along eventually!"
I consoled him from the bottom of my heart.
"By the way, Rimuru, are you a monster? You walked right through the barrier at Guild headquarters without any trouble…"
"Hmm? Yeah, I'm a monster. Truth is, I'm a slime. Hey, little fun fact — but keep it secret, okay?"
"W-wait! You're using "fun fact" all wrong!
That's not the point though. Huh? How can a monster build a town?"
"Huh? I mean, monsters that build towns aren't exactly rare…"
"I've… never heard of anything like that…"
"Oh, really?"
"Really."
We stared at each other for a moment.
Oh well.
He was going to be the Guild's commander going forward.
To kill the image of "suspicious monster town," I might as well tell him the truth.
Come to think of it,
Most people wouldn't even conceive of a reincarnated otherworlder turning into a slime.
"The truth is… I'm an alien…"
"What are you talking about?
Wait — an alien? That's the first time I've heard that one since coming here!
Don't tell me…"
"You got me.
That's right — my true identity is the mysterious hero who fights while shifting forms!
Kamen Rider!"
I struck a proud pose.
"No way! Kamen Rider! I used to watch that too!
So that means you really were… Japanese!"
Heh.
I dropped a joke only a fellow countryman would get, and it hit perfectly.
If he hadn't gotten it, I would've figured something else out, but still.
After that, we talked about all sorts of things.
What we'd each been through since coming to this world, Shizu's final moments.
Life here, magic.
Topics from the other world — he practically lunged at me when I brought up manga and anime finales.
"Master! I beg you — please share the rest of those stories!"
"Heh heh heh. It'll cost you! Most of the anime you want to know about already finished!
Naturally, I kept up with all of that. A gentleman must maintain his standards, after all!"
"Haah! Please, I'm begging you!"
His desperation was practically oozing out of him.
The secretary who came in to serve tea almost dropped her tray in shock, eyes wide.
Maybe I'd gone a bit too far with the teasing.
Well, he couldn't read the continuation of his favorite manga — of course he'd be curious.
Some of them hadn't just failed to end; they'd barely progressed at all…
Those were always the most interesting ones, which made it worse.
I hoped that in about ten years, another knowledgeable Japanese "otherworlder" might show up.
We had serious conversations too, of course.
Mostly about what lay ahead.
"Rimuru, you didn't come to the royal capital just to meet a fellow countryman, did you?
Your real goal is still 'going back,' isn't it?"
Going back.
Yes, I'd thought about it. But I'd also accepted it.
I was already dead. Still, for these young people, returning home was probably their goal.
"Is it actually possible?"
My question was met with silence.
So it wasn't easy.
If it were, they'd have gone back already. I'd figured as much.
"It's kind of one-way — this world is like a semi-material plane…"
Then he explained what he'd figured out.
In simple terms, the previous world was the material plane — a world without Magicules.
This world, on the other hand, was brimming with Magicules, allowing spirits, demons, fairies, and yokai to manifest.
So you could descend from the material plane, but not ascend back up.
Once your Physical Body had been semi-materialized, there was no returning to the material plane.
"But it doesn't seem to be entirely impossible.
The fact that the material plane has legends of demons and oni suggests that under certain conditions, travel might become possible."
That was how he wrapped up the explanation.
So it was still in the research phase.
That was his goal — and he intended to keep researching.
"As for me, I'm fine as long as I can live a relaxed life.
I've got my town now, and I'll enjoy myself with my companions.
The biggest reason I came here was to talk with a fellow countryman. I've got other goals too, though. Those are…"
Other goals.
Purchasing Magic Stones, touring the royal capital. Seeing what level of civilization they had was important.
But the biggest goal I couldn't afford to forget — Was learning magic!
"So, yeah, I had a few things on my list.
I got to talk with you, and now I think I'll look around and check out the library."
When I said that, "Interesting. Magic, huh? That's great…
I wanted to learn it too, but for some reason I couldn't use it at all.
Probably because of this body's transformation. Magic — it was supposed to be the ultimate romance…"
He was someone who understood a man's romance too.
If you had the opportunity, of course you'd want to make use of it.
"Say, how long do you plan to stay in the royal capital?"
"Hmm? Let's see, I was thinking about a month of sightseeing.
After that, it depends on how quickly I learn magic."
"If that's the case, could you stay for about three months?"
When I asked why, he said the academy in the royal capital was short on teachers.
Apparently there were a lot of unruly students, and B-Rank adventurers from the capital couldn't handle them.
A new A-Rank teacher was expected to arrive when the new term started, so they needed someone to fill in for those three months.
There was no particular rush, and I could accept, but…
While I was deliberating, "Staff housing with meals included — three a day — plus a daily stipend of ten silver coins.
And more! You'll receive a free pass to the royal capital's library!"
"Of course I'll take it! We help each other out!"
"Hahahahahaha!"
We shook hands with big grins, and just like that, I had a job in the royal capital.
I parted ways with Yuuki, completed the paperwork that same day, and was told I could move into the dorm starting the next day.
Everything went through without a hitch, and I moved in without any problems.
Well, I did spend one night at an inn in the capital first — and the service was actually pretty good.
Two meals included, and they were decent. They had plenty of seasonings, too.
My inn was on the cheaper side, but it even had a large bath. That was impressive.
In the countryside, finding an inn with a bath was practically unheard of.
Still, if I was staying three months, dorm life would be more convenient. I moved in right away.
I felt a twinge of regret, but four silver coins a day was a bit steep.
On working days I'd earn ten silver coins, but on days off there was no stipend.
It was probably on the higher end for the capital, but for saving money, there was no issue.
Work started tomorrow, so today I decided to head to the library.
Access to the magic book section was restricted.
I showed my adventurer card and was admitted without any trouble. The agreement made when I took the teaching job was being honored.
Even though it was the royal capital's library, it wasn't the Royal Library. The Royal Library was inside the castle.
Only the royal family and court mages were allowed in there.
Same in any country, apparently — some magic was classified as national secrets, so foreigners couldn't access it.
But that didn't mean this library lacked value.
The one I was in also housed secret techniques collected by adventurers. Ancient magic discovered by Free Guild adventurers was gathered here too.
In a sense, you could say this library held value rivaling any nation's Royal Library.
Wonderful.
I was lucky to have such good fortune right away in the capital.
That was partly thanks to Yuuki, but my own good karma had to be a big factor too.
I immediately set about browsing the magic books.
There were so many volumes that even reading them properly would take a lifetime.
To all you diligent students out there — I'm sorry!
After silently apologizing, I began skimming through them with the Great Sage.
From the outside, it probably looked like I was just holding my hand over books and putting them back on the shelves. But in reality, I was absorbing them into my body the moment I touched them.
That's right — I was making perfect copies.
Using the Great Sage and
Verifying the contents came later. Unfortunately, merely ingesting them didn't mean I could use the magic.
But I could ingest, copy, and compile a catalog of the magic books I needed.
Then I'd study them in order of priority. So without even looking at the titles, I began grabbing volumes at random.
Even this work, using the entire day, didn't even get through a tenth of what was there.
It looked like I'd be making regular trips to the library during breaks from work.
And so, my days off passed. But I had no regrets.
For the sake of learning magic, these were small sacrifices.
Now, my first day of work.
I realized on day one just how demanding this job was going to be.
It was less like teaching and more like military instruction. They'd said there was no one to fill the gap left by Shizu. I was her substitute.
Yuuki wasn't just the commander of the Free Guild — he also served as a director of this Freedom Academy.
He was the chairman of the board. He called it a ceremonial role, but it was still impressive.
In barely ten years since coming here, he'd grown the Free Guild and even established an academy.
In a way, he was a model for all adventurers.
This academy also served as a training institution for guild members.
So it was divided into departments, like the guild, but common classes were optional.
What I'd been assigned was the special class with no regular teacher — the so-called S-Class.
That said, the students were apparently around elementary school age.
Their former teacher was the legendary drill instructor — Isawa Shizue. In other words, Shizu.
She was also a hero known by the title "Lord of Flames." Anyone replacing her would be compared mercilessly.
Every teacher before me had crumbled under the students' fierce resistance and fled the academy.
I learned this when I was introduced in the staff room.
"Honestly, I don't think someone young like you can handle those kids…
Even B-Rank adventurers can't deal with them…
Well, the chairman recommended you, but if it seems impossible, let us know early."
The principal had been worried, just like that.
Hahaha. Useless bunch, being scared of kids! That's what I thought, but…
"Yo! Starting today, I'm your new…", I began my friendly greeting, when a blazing blade of flame came hurtling at me.
I dodged in a hurry.
"That sword attack is so cool!"
"That's a finishing move, right? You already perfected it!"
"But it's sloppy — he dodged it!"
That was the chorus of loud, rambunctious kids.
Where I'd been standing, the blackboard was split cleanly in two and burning.
Unbelievable. This was beyond unbelievable. This was a full-blown classroom breakdown!
Even their Kansai dialect was suspicious. Time to go home.
This was another world — a teacher wouldn't get in trouble for physical discipline here, right?
Five kids stood before me.
This was the ragtag bunch of problem children.
The so-called S-Class — a special class composed entirely of otherworlders.
Children Yuuki had rescued from various corners of the world.
They were still around elementary school age, but their abilities were terrifyingly high.
Honestly, I'd underestimated them.
I'd expected them to be more cooperative. Instead, they glared at me with open hostility.
I was supposed to look after these little terrors for the next three months…
For the first time in a while, I felt truly depressed.