By the Grace of the Gods (神達に拾われた男)

My name is Ryoma Takebayashi.

I'm your typical 11-year-old living in the forest

where it's just me, myself, and I,

day in and day out.

Oh. But I guess I'm not entirely alone.

I also live with nearly a thousand slimes!

Minor detail.

Slimes evolve differently depending on what you feed them.

For instance, I fed green caterpillars to some of them

and they turned into sticky slimes.

The sticky fluid they form inside their bodies

can be used to make a powerful thread

that comes in pretty handy for hunting and stuff.

Acid slimes, on the other hand,

have highly acidic bodily fluids that are capable

of dissolving hard things like bones.

And these resilient little guys made the mistake

of eating toxic weeds, yet managed to survive,

so now they're poison slimes.

Considering how much faster they split

compared to other types, their vitality's no joke.

Cleaner slimes clean things by eating dirt and grime.

And get this, they even eliminate smells!

Scavenger slimes consume excrement and garbage,

which sounds gross, but they create fertilizer.

Oh, yeah.

I guess I do run into goblins and thieves

from time to time and have no choice

but to defend myself.

For the most part, though, every day is nice and peaceful.

Don't you die, Hughes!

-- Hughes! -- Please!

I thought my simple way of life with the slimes

in the forest would last forever.

But I suppose I should expect the unexpected

from time to time.

They don't look like bandits.

But I have to wonder what they're doing

this deep in the forest.

Is it bad?

It isn't good.

It's gonna take magic to heal him, and I don't have enough.

Then we should hurry and get him back to town.

He won't last much longer.

Umm...

Who are you?

Um... I, uh, um uh...

Why's he here? He's just a kid.

I guess my voice is rusty since I haven't had

to use it in years.

Medicine. Me give you.

Why am I talking like a caveman?

Medicine?

Right here. You take. Hurry.

Well?

Hughes is in luck!

I'm positive it's medicine.

Is he...?

He just fell asleep.

This ought to sustain him for a while.

Thank you, boy.

My home. Can rest. All of you.

You're sure?

What's a little kid like him doing in a forest

all by himself?

We don't know if he's alone just yet.

I'd wager he's a hunter.

What's wrong?

Seems beast came this way. So they'll come, too.

Who's "they?"

Those slimes came out of nowhere!

Enemy! They're not!

Wait, are you trying to tell us that those slimes

are actually your servants?

My apologies, then.

None of us realized that they were your familiars.

I used to have slimes for familiars.

My very first ones.

I remember it like it was yesterday.

That mean you tamer?

Former. But, yes. Runs in my family.

We've been tamers for generations.

But slimes weren't my only familiars.

We had red horses and blizzard apes, primarily.

Ah...

So he's a noble.

Maybe even an important one.

Looks like a dead end to me.

Maybe he got lost?

Wait, please. Thank you.

This home.

Barrier magic, huh?

To keep this place hidden.

Yeah.

I've never seen a cave this cozy.

Same.

What are the odds we'd find a decent place

for Hughes to rest?

You say decent, but I say suspicious.

What? How so?

There's only enough furniture for one person.

Huh. That's true.

It appears he does, indeed, live here alone.

Seriously?

Earlier, when he approached us.

he masked his presence remarkably well.

His magic also makes me think he may not be

as young as he looks.

This for hurt man.

Thank you.

I promise we'll find a way to repay you.

No. Take all you like. Can make more.

You made them? Wow.

They're potions! You really made these?

Uh, yes.

Hmm. What are you?

I, um... Oh, right!

You have thirst? Here.

Ice?

You're capable of using ice magic?

Please tell us who you are.

Jeez, they sure are persistent.

My, um... My name is Ryoma.

Thanks for your help, Ryoma.

Since you told me your name, I'll tell you mine.

I'm Reinhart Jamil of the Jamil Duchy.

He say Duchy?!

Uh... uh, forgive me!

There's no need to bow down to me, I assure you.

Especially since I'm in your debt.

Uh, okay.

I figured he was probably a big deal, but not a duke-sized deal!

Nice to meet you, my name is Camil.

I'm a mage.

Though I didn't have enough magic to heal Hughes,

so I'm glad you came along.

I'm grateful to you as well, kid.

I'm a scout. Name's Zeph.

I'm Jill.

And I'm sorry for drawing my sword on you.

Caution is natural. No apology.

Thanks. That's kind of you to say.

So, uh... How did...

Outside the forest, we were struck by bandits.

They hurt your friend?

No. We took the bandits out easily enough.

But then a black bear also came after us.

Ah, gotcha.

We managed to beat the black bear, too.

But not before our horses ran away.

We wanted to get Hughes to town as fast as we could,

so we took a shortcut through the forest.

Then we bumped into you.

Hm.

Can I ask you a question, too, Ryoma?

Uh... O-Okay.

You wield different magics. And you create your own potions.

Why live out here with such talents?

Um... I, uh...

My grandparents taught me those things.

They were adventurers.

I see.

And I take it they're just out right now?

Three years ago, they both died.

Three years?

They said that I should try and go to another village.

Those were their dying words to me.

But I couldn't do that.

Villagers don't trust outsiders.

That much, I understand. Certainly.

Grasping how you survived is where I'm troubled.

For three years, I just lived from day to day.

You "just lived?"

Hey, guys! I know!

Let's use this crystal!

It shines bright red any time a criminal touches it.

For everybody else, it shines blue.

Oh.

That's not all.

It shows their name, race, and age, too.

It also has the power to reveal four of their

high-level skillsets.

No one would second-guess you living alone

in the forest if we knew you had a high enough

combat skill to fend for yourself.

Makes sense.

It's blue! Which means you're no criminal.

But what's this?

Uh... What's what?

Uh... Well, uh...

According to this thing,

you don't have any combat skills.

Aw. Shucks.

Anyway, I'll go ahead and get dinner ready.

Sounds good.

You need to see this.

Age 11?

That would mean he's been alone since

he was eight years old.

While that is a surprising fact, look at the skills.