Published: July 30, 2025
When I looked around the Tamer Guild, the first things that caught my eye were the freight wagons and magical beasts tied up at the nearby stations. Since this was a mining town, most of the magical beasts seemed to be used for transport work, so I saw quite a few large magical beasts here and there. Within sight, there were many magical beasts resembling oxen and horses, and even some that looked like wild boars.
Apparently, small magical beasts were allowed inside the guild, so if I used the shrinking skill on the slimes, it seemed possible to bring them along.
Inside the guild, there were mostly just people, but here and there I spotted goblins carrying loads. We walked through such a scene, with Mr. Reinhardt leading us toward the counter staffed by employees.
“Welcome. You’ve come to the Tamer Guild, Gimul Branch. What can we assist you with today...?”
“I want to register my daughter and this child, and also provide some information.”
“Understood. Please come to the back room.”
Guided by the employee, we were led into a back room, served tea, and after a few minutes, a man wearing slightly more refined clothes than the other staff entered, holding writing utensils.
His hair was roughly 80% white and 20% red, slicked back with styling gel, and he appeared to be quite elderly. As he entered, the light made his hair shine, and through his gold-rimmed glasses, he looked over at us and spoke.
“It’s been a while, Reinbach. And also, young Master Reinhardt and young lady Elise.”
“Long time no see.”
“You both look well, Taylor.”
It seemed the man was acquainted with the adults of the Duke's household.
“I’m doing reasonably well. Nice to meet the two of you. I’m Taylor Smith, the branch chief of the Tamer Guild’s Gimul Branch. But… Reinbach, did you have two grandchildren? I thought there was only one; my memory’s been failing me lately… Sorry if I’m mistaken.”
“My only grandchild is Eliaria, the girl. The boy is Ryoma-kun. I recently met him by chance, but he has a bit of a complicated background. I want to register him with the guild along with my granddaughter. And I want his rank raised as soon as possible.”
Is it really okay to ask for that!? I thought, glancing at Lord Reinbach’s face, but Lord Reinbach simply said,
“Ryoma-kun and I, and Taylor have known each other for a long time. He’s a man I can trust. There’s no problem.”
When Lord Reinbach said that, Branch Chief Taylor also casually declared,
“If it’s under Reinbach’s introduction, we can grant some favors. However, to raise rank, appropriate skill and achievements are necessary. We cannot bend that rule.”
“You need not worry about that. I only make such a request because Ryoma-kun has abilities that surpass his age.”
“A warning against odd folks, I see… I’d like to hear more details, but first, let’s complete the registration. There’s no problem with that.”
Taylor Chief took two sheets of paper from a stack he was holding and handed them to me and Eliaria.
“Please fill out the required information on these forms first. Ryoma-kun, do you need assistance with filling it out?”
“Thank you for your consideration, but I can write some myself, so I’ll do it.”
I quickly filled out the forms and submitted them. The required information included name, age, race, and how long since learning beast taming magic or summoning magic.
“Ah… young lady, you just signed your first contract the other day, congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
“I hope one day you become a respectable Beast Tamer.”
Taylor Chief gave Eliaria a kind smile, then looked over my documents.
“So Ryoma-kun’s first contract was three years ago. What beast do you currently have?”
“A slime.”
When I said slime, Taylor Chief’s expression became troubled.
“Slime is a bit, no, quite a difficult case… The reason is that most jobs for Beast Tamers in this town involve transporting cargo in the mines. Unless you have at least a goblin or a kobold, there are no jobs I can introduce. This is because there is a rule that we cannot recommend jobs clearly unsuitable for the tamer, even when matching them with contracts.