Making Contact Again

Timing it for when the black wolf, Rin, woke up, Niku operated the golem.

To monitor Rin's condition, Rei accompanied Niku and had the menu open.

And this time, I was on standby in the Master Room, and if something happened, I was specifically in charge of doing absolutely nothing.

… Rokuko was still in charge of pulling people in if something happened. There's a proper reason why I'm not handling it.

Rokuko can nonchalantly retrieve Niku and the other slaves, who aren't even monsters, into the Master Room. That's because I made her believe that "slaves are items, so it's possible." Since it actually works, it was probably doable within the system to begin with… but frankly, it's a loophole exploit. It might be a function that unlocks as the dungeon grows.

Now, as for whether I could properly treat Niku and Ichika as items… that's iffy. Actually, don't tell Rokuko, but I don't think I can.

If I messed up a retrieval at a critical moment in that state, it would be dangerous. And if Rokuko saw me fail and went "See, so you can't do it after all," that would also be bad. That's why.

In other words, my job is to do nothing. Just watch.

If I had to say I did something, I prepared the black Messenger Golem and some food that might work as bait. That's plenty of work, right?

"Hello."

Niku promptly called out using the Messenger Golem. Rin looked at the golem listlessly, then immediately snapped its red eyes wide open in surprise.

"Wha, you're, Kehma?! How?! I ate, you!"

Well, shape-wise they're exactly the same since they're both from the haniwa series. A mere color difference wouldn't be enough to look different, I guess.

"How?! Why, are you, alive, Kehma?!"

"… That is my Goshujin-sama."

"Hoh, is that, so? Looking closer, you're black. A different, one. But, that guy, I already, ate. So, you, are my, follower."

"… No? That's not right though?"

Strong equals superior. Yep, the logic of the wild. It doesn't work on Niku though.

"… Not right? Pledging, loyalty, to the dead. Admirable."

"Yes, I am Goshujin-sama's even in death."

"Is that, so? Then, what do, you want?"

In response to Rin's question, Niku paused for a beat before answering… Hm? Wasn't the nuance a bit off just now?

"Become my follower."

"I refuse! I don't, need, a master!"

Instantly rejected. Well, obviously. So from here is the actual negotiation. Niku had the black Messenger Golem take out a hamburger.

"If you join now, this delicious hamburger comes with the deal, you know?"

"I don't, need bait! I'll eat, you too!"

"You're not hungry? Then how about some candy? It's sweet and delicious."

"I said, I don't need it! Garururu!"

She took out candy, but Rin was already in a rage.

I mean, wait. Isn't this conversation not quite lining up? Hey, Niku. Rin-san is angry, you know.

"You don't need candy, so you'll become my follower then?"

"Ridiculous! If you want, to make me, your follower, defeat me! Then, I'll consider, it!"

"So you'll become my follower? Thank you very much. Here's some candy."

"I won't! Don't need, it! I'll eat, you!"

And so the black Messenger Golem got chomped. Simultaneously, Rokuko retrieved Niku and Rei into the Master Room. Welcome back.

"… It was being playful, but then it ate me. I'll do better next time."

"Hey, Niku… You really do only vaguely understand wolf language, don't you?"

"? Yes, that's right."

She declared it so matter-of-factly… Yeah, right, that's literally what she said. I was hoping it was modesty.

"… The conversation wasn't connecting at all. In fact, it was angry. Extremely so."

"?! I-it was no good?! I thought it was just being shy…"

"It wasn't good… Well, it said it would consider becoming a follower if we defeated it, so we made a step forward."

"I-I'm so sorry…"

Well, whatever. As originally planned, I'll… even though it's a pain… handle the negotiations myself… even though it's really, really a pain. Haah.

And just in case something like this happened, I had of course prepared a non-black Messenger Golem as well.

"Leave the rest to me."

I gave Niku a pat on the head and began preparing for the negotiation.

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

"Hey, Rin. You're awake, right? I want to talk."

"… Another, new one?!"

When I called out to Rin, it fixed its red eyes on the Messenger Golem.

"Hahaha, it's me, Kehma. So, how do you like living here?"

"Kehma?! Why, are you, alive?! I ate, you!"

"Don't get the wrong idea. I won't die from something like that. Want to eat me again?"

"What a strange, golem… I definitely, ate you, though."

Yep. The golem got eaten, but the person inside was safe and sound.

"Could it be, that black one, is alive, too?"

"Oh? What makes you say that?"

"Even though, I ate it, it wasn't, very tasty. Same as, you, Kehma. About as tasty, as a regular, golem."

… Do golems have different flavors? Like, strawberry-flavored golems?

"Kehma is, a unique monster, so I thought, you'd be, delicious, or at least, taste unusual."

"The base is clay, so it shouldn't taste that different."

"Unique monsters, are delicious."

Maybe its sense of taste is fundamentally different from ours? Normally you wouldn't eat clay. Thinking about it that way, taming it with Japanese food might be tough.

I took out the dog food I'd brought in hopes of using it for taming.

"I brought this along. Want some?"

"What, is that?"

"Dog food. If you don't want it, that's fine."

"Don't want, it."

I see, it doesn't want it… What do I do with this now? I can't exactly feed it to Niku.

"So, I heard something along those lines, but if I defeat you, you'll become a follower, Rin?"

"You want, to try?"

"Yeah, not right now though. But if you'll become my follower, I'll take you on."

"Fine then, I'll eat, you."

Saying that, Rin bared its fangs with a snarl.

I said not right now!

"Bon appetit!"

"… Got it, I'll come again."

What am I going to do with this thing? It really doesn't listen at all.

While being retrieved to the Master Room, I thought about what to do.