Chapter 89: Mochi’s Crown

The shopkeeper blinked several times before suddenly bursting into laughter and said, "Come on, young master, don’t joke around. A slime as a tamed monster? Surely you aren’t planning to take some useless monster like that into a dungeon, are you? I’ve been in this business for a long time, but I’ve never even seen or heard of an item made for slimes."

"Really?"

"Besides, there aren’t many tamers who keep slimes as their familiars in the first place. Even when someone does, they usually just have them help with cleaning or tidying up around the house. I’ve never heard of anyone eccentric enough to equip one with items and take it into a dungeon."

Ah, right. Qiu Nuoya remembered that people in Coalora had laughed at him when he made Mochi his tamed monster.

Still, isn’t the way this world treats slimes a little too harsh?

Mochi could attack enemies and even create barriers. He was an amazing slime!

[ Nuoya, where are we? ]

Mochi began bouncing excitedly on Qiu Nuoya’s palm as he was awakened when Qiu Nuoya pulled him out of his robe

"It’s a shop that sells items specifically for tamed monsters, Mochi. I came here to see if there was anything you could equip, but..."

[ For me? Are you going to give me something!? ]

At once, Mochi cheerfully sprang from Qiu Nuoya’s palm and began bouncing and flying all around the shop.

"Hey, Mochi! Don’t cause trouble!"

[ I won’t cause trouble! Listen, listen! There’s something I’ve wanted for a long time! ]

"Hm? Something you’ve wanted?"

Mochi bounced around the relatively small shop, looking as though he were desperately searching for something.

"Mochi, what is it you want? Calm down first, okay? You’re going to bother the shopkeeper!"

[ This! This one! Something like this!! ]

The item Mochi eventually bounced toward appeared to be a rather heavily worn accessory.

Apparently, the shop also bought unwanted accessories from customers. The item was sitting in a bargain bin filled with secondhand goods being sold for next to nothing.

In fact, the items in the bin were being sold in bundles of three for just one small copper coin and judging by its condition and price, it looked like nothing more than junk.

"What? You want this one? There are plenty of other things here, too."

[ No! I want this one! ]

Mochi had stuck himself firmly to the item and refused to let go.

It was a crown shaped ring. More than that, it was probably large enough to be worn by a large humanoid monster, making it far too big even for Qiu Nuoya’s finger.

"But Mochi, this is a ring. You don’t even have fingers to put it on..."

[ This isn’t a ring. ]

With that, Mochi plopped the crown shaped ring right on top of his head.

At that instant, a revelation struck Qiu Nuoya.

This is that famous King Slime from that famous RPG!

"We’ll take it!" Qiu Nuoya blurted out the words impulsively, leaving the shopkeeper staring at him in confusion.

Of course he was going to buy it!

Mochi looked ridiculously cute and more importantly, Mochi himself liked it. What more could Qiu Nuoya ask for?

Whether it was a piece of junk or not, the best thing was always something the person using it actually liked and it was easy on Qiu Nuoya’s wallet too!

"Nuoya, are you really sure you want that?"

"Mochi says he wants it, so there’s no problem. Besides, there can’t be many slimes running around wearing a crown like this. It’s perfect as an identifying mark."

There was only one potential problem. The crown seemed like it could easily fall off whenever Mochi moved.

However, when Qiu Nuoya looked more closely, he noticed that the edge of the crown had actually sunk slightly into Mochi’s body.

Somehow, Qiu Nuoya could practically feel Mochi’s determination screaming, I’m never letting go of this!

At that point, there was no choice but to buy it.

Mochi, you’re such an economical little guy!

"Mochi, these three items only cost one small copper coin, so you can pick two more things you like from this bin."

[ Nooo, I don’t need anything else. I’m happy with just this! ]

Mochi seemed to have completely lost interest in the items in the bargain bin. He bounced around happily, while wearing his crown proudly.

Still, the items were being sold three for one small copper coin, so Qiu Nuoya felt that he should at least choose something else.

Just as he was considering whether it might be fine to pay one small copper coin for the crown alone, the shopkeeper suddenly said, "I’ll give that one to you for free this time."

Qiu Nuoya was surprised and said, "What? No, I can’t do that! I’ll pay properly!"

"No, think of it as a case of one good turn deserving another. Though, to be honest, there is a little something I want in return."

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"The way I see it, that slime can communicate with you properly, right?"

"Yes, I suppose so." Qiu Nuoya tilted his head, unsure what the shopkeeper was getting at.

What does he mean by wanting something in return?

Qiu Nuoya had nothing he could give the shopkeeper even if the man treated him kindly.

"There are basically two types of tamers. The first kind force their familiars into submission through sheer power. The second kind builds a relationship with their familiars and earns their obedience through trust. You’re obviously the second type."

The shopkeeper continued with a knowing smile. "People like you tend to take better care of their familiars than the ones who simply force them into obedience. That means you’re more likely to contribute to my shop’s sales. That’s why I make a point of treating tamers like you well." He then glanced at Mochi. "You only have that slime right now, but you’re still young. You’ll probably acquire more familiars as you grow older. So you could say this is an investment in the future."

An investment in the future, huh?

It was certainly a very inexpensive investment, but Qiu Nuoya could understand the shopkeeper’s reasoning.

"Still, I don’t know whether I’ll actually get more familiars. I’m a mage, not a tamer."