CH 230.1

After Lightning told Ponytail about women’s training, they went about their morning duties.

「Congratulations on getting a B-class Knight, it’s a whole lot different than a C-class Knight, you know」

Told by the unmarried old man, Busty-chan replied enthusiastically.

She went to the Knight training ground in the north of the royal capital, and had been doing 『Knight Break-in』 until a while ago.

「I’m surprised. To think that the difference would be so big. I can’t even believe it’s the same Knight」

The five people gathered here, Lightning, former adventurers old men, Ponytail and Busty-chan.

Busty-chan was the only last one out of them who rode a C-class Knight.

「You have it good, it’s a brand new Knight right? Must be great for you. I’m stuck here with a secondhand one that has a weird smell in it」

Ponytail wrinkles the top of her nose and says enviously. But the original rider, the married old man, was unperturbed.

「I had the pilot’s seat reupholstered, so isn’t it fine? Besides, that Knight is pretty easy to operate, isn’t it? I made sure to get the best one after all」

There was certainly no disturbance in the moving parts or any defects in the built-in auxiliary magic circle. It had been taken care of when the married old man was still riding it, and as such, it seemed to have fewer troubles.

「When suddenly you can’t move in front of the enemy because the auxiliary magic circles got caught up with each other. Something like that is a nightmare after all」

The unmarried old man gives a sincere speech. She must have imagined such a situation, Busty-chan’s tension became somewhat calmer.

「By the way, since there are more Knights now, it seems that there aren’t enough pilots to ride it」

The married old man grinned.

「My daughter you see… she has always wanted to go to pilot school. This is definitely her chance」

The unmarried man replied with a surprising expression.

「I thought you were against it because being a pilot was a dangerous job. So you’re not against it now?」

The answer to that was that he could not stop her wish. As a father, he decided to support her and consulted with his supervisor.

Fortunately, his supervisor, Corneal, knew about his daughter.

「I’m not an examiner, so I can’t give you the details, but I’m sure she’ll be fine. That’s what he said」

A big smile appeared on his face.

(Come to think of it, his daughter did work at a famous place)

Ponytail remembered that the married old man’s daughter is working in a brothel. She decided to ask him a question. It was about Doctor Slime.

『Doctor Slime』

During her time as a part-timer, the woman next to her uttered such words when she saw him in the lobby. What she found out after that was that he was well known in the willow world.

(At best those were all because of the insults towards him. It’s not surprising considering how he fights)

Something like slime is just a slimy creature that crawls up the sink. Or trap-like monsters that lurk in the potholes in the swamp.

It has no good image whatsoever.

(But the concierge at that store called him a 『Treasure』 and praised him very highly)

In truth, she was not sure anymore.

The married old man opened his mouth wide in exasperation, exhaled and said.

「You don’t know? Doctor Slime is someone you would call an inventor」

He spreads his hands in front of his face and folds them one by one.

「As far as I know, he’s the one who invented 『Oyakodon』 and 『Sin and Punishment』」

『Oyakodon』 a play where you can enjoy both mother and daughter at the same time. Nowadays, rice bowl-type play has greatly advanced with many stores having begun coming up with something like “sister rice bowl”, “three sisters’ rice bowl,” and “three generations’ rice bowl”.

Although 『Sin and Punishment』 was initially regarded as a special kind of play, its base has steadily expanded. Not only in the royal capital, but the stores that serve this menu have also begun to appear in the provincial cities and other countries.

「There’s also the slime game」

The married man folded another finger to complement the unmarried old man.

It’s a play where you compete with each other using rock-paper-scissors, coin tosses, and other games that can be decided quickly, and the loser takes off a piece.

This is called the 『Slime Game』 because you will gradually lose a piece of your clothing as if it were melted by slime.

Incidentally, rock-paper-scissors was also invented by Doctor Slime.

「Right, that was your favorite wasn’t it?」

“That play is too good, I’m telling you”. The unmarried old man said impressively, leaving the groaning married old man aside.

「It used to be the revolutionary man in the industry who was famous, but nowadays everyone’s all about Doctor Slime. After all, coming up with one idea after another is one hell of a feat」

The revolutionary man of the industry is also a store owner. Therefore, the practice is limited to his own store.

Doctor Slime, on the other hand, doesn’t care who wants to adopt it or how they want to arrange it.

「I don’t know this is true or not, but apparently he’s not charging them for the ideas he gave them」

Now is the turn for the unmarried guy to explain.

「Did you know? Recently, the royal capital is being called the 『City of Flowers』. Thanks to this, the number of tourists has increased significantly」

Ponytail, who doesn’t seem to know about this shrugs her shoulders, and the unmarried old man continued.

「This is all due to the revitalization of the red-light district. Which was made possible by these new ideas」

That’s why he is called as the greatest treasure and cherished in the red-light district.

『Oyakodon』,『Sin and Punishment』, and 『Slime Game』. It is said that many people who are impressed by these games are eager to meet the person who invented them.

“Do you get it now?” The unmarried old man concluded, and Busty-chan tilted her head and opened her mouth.

「I heard that he’s a masseur though?」

She looked at the old men and continued to speak.

「He goes around to the brothels and makes sure the workers are in good shape. And he is so good at it that they call him Doctor*」

The married man frowned, folded his arms, and rebutted.

「If they call him a Doctor, they might as well go with Professor. Since he also invented things, shouldn’t he be called a professor* instead?」

「*TL Note: The author used the same furigana “ドクター”(Doctor) for this one, but different kanji. The previous one used “医者”(Doctor, as in Doctor in the hospitals), while this line used “博士”(Professor).」

There, the unmarried old man interjects.

「There’s also a story about him being the leader of a strange group called 『Doom Squad』, or something like that」

Hearing that, the married old man nodded greatly.

「You must be talking about the paper that hangs in the lobby of the brothel. It says something like, 『Invented by Doctor Slime, the leader of Doom Squad』. As I thought, so he’s an inventor after all」

Around the lunch table, they are arguing with each other, unable to reach a conclusion.

The one exception is Lightning. He doesn’t join in the conversation, but just watches with a calm expression.

「All things considered, he’s an amazing person, isn’t that right?」

Probably thinking it was the right time, Lightning smiled and said his opinion. Everyone who heard it looked at each other for a moment.

「….Well, I guess that’s right」

The unmarried old man said while stroking his chin.

It must have been a fact that everyone can agree on. With this, the situation was settled somehow.

***

It’s a little after noon in the royal capital.

There is a brothel away from the main street of the red-light district. The name of this brothel is 『Uniform Specialty Store』.

And on the other side of the alley, there was a man standing with his arms folded.

(It’s almost time for the store to open)

I thought to myself as I looked up at the flashy sign.

This is a store that has pursued the romance of uniform to the utmost limits. Personally, I think it’s a very good store.

(For it to be a low-class brothel is a shame)

The exterior of the building, the lower part is made of stone, but the upper part is made of wood. The door is also thin and looks cheap.

Raise the price a bit more and renovate the building, is what I want to say, but the gentlemen of the royal capital’s evaluation towards this store is terribly low.

『The treatment is amateurish』

Such was the reason.

One of the main features 『Uniform Speciality Store』 offers is that the workers are wearing the uniforms they brought themselves.

In other words, if there’s a woman who wears clinic uniforms that means she’s working in a clinic. If they are wearing pilot uniforms, they are active students in the pilot school.

『They don’t have what it takes to earn money as a professional』

This kind of evaluation towards the store is often written in magazines about the red-light district.

Incidentally, this does not refer to Ponytail alone. Every woman who works at this store gives out a similar atmosphere.