By the Grace of the Gods

Today, two chapters are posted simultaneously.

This is the second chapter.

“Over here, take a look.”

“!!”

Led personally by Mr. Pioro, the head of the association, we arrived at a building said to be the warehouse of the Saionji Trading Company. An attendant opened a heavy door, and we navigated through the dimly lit space between stacks of cargo.

Inside stood a huge metal cage, and inside that cage were about thirty large chickens kept together.

Yes, what Mr. Pioro had recommended was “chickens.” And the eggs they lay.

Eggs are said to be almost complete nutritional foods, packed with nutrients and a precious protein source. Considering long journeys and especially operating in the Shurus Great Tree Sea—a region where food supply is difficult—raising chickens and having a supply of eggs would be immensely helpful.

Chickens don’t require as much space as other livestock and are relatively easy to raise. Being kept in cages is also convenient.

However, there was one question.

I had heard the chickens obtained here were large.

Looking at the chickens inside the cage just now, I thought, “They’re definitely big.”

But isn’t each one about the size of me—a human elementary schooler? That’s way too big, isn’t it?

“The chickens I imagined are quite different from these.”

“I was planning to get ordinary chickens too.”

Good, so these aren’t the “normal chickens” of this world.

“These guys are ‘clever chickens.’ They’re a type of bird-shaped magical beast, and as you can see, they’re gigantic chickens. Their eggs are no different from regular chickens, but both males and females lay multiple eggs per day. That means their egg production is (......) higher than ordinary chickens. If you can raise them inside your dimension home, you could have unlimited eggs anytime.”

“That sounds great, but surely there must be some downsides?”

I sensed some trouble in Mr. Pioro’s words, and the attendant’s attitude earlier was a bit strange.

I guess they’re not seriously trying to hide anything. Mr. Pioro calmly pointed out the issues.

“First off, these guys are quite strong. Look at their legs; the muscles are well developed and their claws are sharp. Even one is equivalent to a d-rank magical beast. And when they’re in a flock, their danger level rises to c-rank, so it’s dangerous and impossible to keep unless you’re pretty skilled.

On that front, Ryoma shouldn’t have any problem. Also, they have a habit of living in flocks, so they should get along well. If you form a beast taming contract and can communicate with them, taking care of them might even be easier than normal chickens.”

“I see, that makes sense.”

“Alright, the next problem is food. Their staple diet is grains and insects. But if necessary, they’ll hunt and eat other creatures too. Nothing special is required. However, you need to prepare three times as much food as usual.”

“Would plants grown using wood magic and scavenger fertilizer be okay?”

“As long as it’s non-toxic and edible, it’s fine. In the wild, the flock also preys on Goblins. Inside the great tree sea, just feed them meat from any magical beasts that attack them.”

That’s not a problem then.

Soon, I’m also thinking about raising food recommended by madam for the slimes.

But apparently, there are still more problems.

“And here’s the biggest issue... they’re kind of halfway intelligent.”

Wild clever chickens lay not only fertilized eggs but also many decoy unfertilized eggs beforehand. When attacked, they coordinate as a flock to defend their nest and eggs. If they judge that the attacker is stronger and they can’t win, or if fighting would cause too much harm, they immediately take only the fertilized eggs and abandon the nest.

They seem to understand the value of themselves and their eggs from the attacker’s perspective.

Moreover, as livestock, this intelligence becomes even more pronounced; they understand that humans want unfertilized eggs.