Published: August 2, 2025
One month after the rumor started spreading.
“Everyone, thank you for your hard work today.”
“Thank you for your hard work!” came the chorus of voices.
Today, the shop work ended smoothly as usual. As people left the break room to head back to the dormitory, only the four of us remained in the room: myself, Mr. Kokin, Mr. Tony, and Ms. Lobelia.
“It’s already been over a month since we hired all of you… How has it been working here? Any problems?”
“This is the best workplace ever!”
“No complaints about the treatment, and the work feels very rewarding.”
“Above all, it’s amazing that we’re making a profit with slimes!”
The two of them nodded eagerly at Mr. Kokin’s words.
“That’s good to hear. I was worried that asking you to do both training and research might be too much.”
“More importantly, is the branch chief okay? Customers have been increasing lately… and one came today too, right?”
Since announcing the contract with the limule bird, the critical rumors about me and branch chief Taylor have gradually died down. But instead, the number of people wanting to meet me has increased.
“He left unusually early, but who was that man, after all?”
“He’s apparently a middleman dealing in magical beasts. He kept talking about money—how limule birds have demand alive or as taxidermy, willing to pay high prices, or offering free substitutes for letter delivery service… I listened to some of it but sent him off quickly.”
Most visitors come with such business proposals or begging to be hired. However, the limule bird is not for sale, and getting hired now practically requires a letter of recommendation.
“But we do refuse walk-ins, so it’s not too much of a burden. Thank you for your concern.”
“If anything happened to the branch chief, it would trouble us too. Compared to when we were in the research institute, this place is much more comfortable and fulfilling.”
“Definitely better than when I was just a nominal researcher.”
“Back then, all I felt was despair about the future…”
“Despair? Really?”
“You don’t know the misery in the slime research department. Their living conditions are barely better than those in the slums, and in some labs, the treatment is worse than that of slaves.”
“Really!?”
Seriously? Even in Earth, which has advanced science, some creatures’ ecology remains a mystery. And there were plenty of black companies back in my previous life with brutal working conditions, so even if the world changes, human nature seems the same.
“The only ones who stay once assigned to the slime research department are those with nowhere else to go or like me, those fixated on the institute.”
“It’s become a department where unwanted or disliked subordinates are sent away, so bad treatment is to be expected… Slaves are guaranteed a minimum standard of living by their masters, but researchers only get paid a salary without any living guarantees…”
“Although a livable salary is paid, luxury is impossible. Deductions are easy over trivial matters, forcing a frugal lifestyle. Complaints are met with ‘quit if you don’t like it,’ with no room for negotiation.”
Sounds like complete corporate slavery.
“What kind of trivial matters?”
“The most common reason is failing to produce research results.”
“The slime research focuses on understanding slime ecology and establishing methods to tame big slimes, but they haven’t even gotten a foothold.”
“Because of such research, the department is used as a dumping ground…”
“Why haven’t they figured it out?”
Even on Earth, some creatures’ biology is unknown.
“First, slimes have a wide habitat and enormous variety. Their environments and abilities vary so much that any hypothesis inevitably fails for some slime somewhere.”
“Also, there’s little information. For other magical beasts, dissection is done. For example, teeth shape indicates carnivore or herbivore. But slimes disappear upon death, leaving only the core. So dissection is impossible. Transparent types have no point being dissected, and the leftover core turns into fragile stone, making it unclear if it functions as an organ…”