"Please excuse these two. They've had a bad experience with red fumes and such," I told the Steam-type Automata while forcing the trouble duo to lower their heads to him. We're currently inside the large floatship belonging to the Automata guy, having walked here to avoid making more of a mess in front of his stall.

  Hmm? "What red fumes are you talking about?" you ask. Who knows~? I want to get this over with ASAP, that's all.

  "...Hey, you two! Be glad your leader knows how to respect honest, hard workers!" - Steam-type Automata

  "Yes..." replied the duo in depressed voices. Iron, probably because he regrets his stint of immaturity. And Bloom? Because she's perhaps realized how her next few days are going to treat her. Hmhmhm~.

  "Now that's outta the way, what are you selling anyway?" - Garami

  "What, you didn't know? Chili stew!" replied the Steam-type Automata..., that's right.

  "Chili stew? And what's your name? Garami's mine, the Guild Master for these two bofoons." - Garami

  "The name's Jumbo Jingerigo. Guild Master for the 'Spice Enthusiasts'. Glad to meet you, colleague." - Jumbo

  "You people are a Guild?" I asked, looking at the...colorful selection of members residing on the large floatship. These guys have more variation than our Nightmare Voyagers, and that's saying something when you can technically count the monsters inside the Damavand.

  "Well, it's more like a charity organization." - Jumbo

  "Charity?" - Garami

  "Yeah. Back in my home country, Solomar, the quality of the adventurers there is ridiculously high. That comes with the place being located in a literal volcanic hellscape of a region. Meaning there aren't many newbie adventurers there, so to speak." - Jumbo

  Well, that explains this rumored "Adventurers' School" that Mira once said she had graduated from.

  "And to cover for that, we have traveling merchant Guilds like mine! We take up aspiring adventurers and give them a rundown of how things go by taking them with us as bodyguards and disciples to teach them stuff in the relatively safer other regions." - Jumbo

  "Any place would feel safer than a volcanic wasteland," said Bloom as she agreed with Jumbo's speech. Iron also gave some wise nods, probably the one with the best knowledge of how dangerous volcanoes and magma could be, seeing as one of his specialized attributes is exactly that.

  "True. The government of Solomar might go on expeditions with these aspiring adventurers as well...but most of the time, they don't come back. A pal of mine within the government asked me to take care of some of the 'students' placed under his leadership to make sure that wouldn't happen to them. Like Lily over at the counter, for instance." - Jumbo

  Jumbo gestured to the stall, where the small, human-like girl was looking for potential customers while keeping a good meter or three away from the pots of (red) steaming chili.

  "My pal said she, along with her friends, were scheduled to look for Dungeons in this region. No way they were to survive that ordeal. Hence, when I decided to speak to him regarding that I was looking for some more workforce for my next trip to this old giant sandbox, he transferred them over to me with a smile." - Jumbo

  Huh, Dungeon diving. Maybe, if this "pal" hadn't got to know about Jumbo's problem, this "Lily" girl might have ended up visiting the Damavand as a challenger. That would be...a little difficult.

  I mean, the girl looks like a 15-year-old little girl! "Little" in more ways than just what Noire has to deal with, even if that's also included in the package. Common brown hair, cut short to just above her shoulders, and amber eyes only make her look more generic. Having someone like her be the first (potential) offering to my Dungeon before I could prepare some sort of revival mechanism would leave a bad taste in my mouth, to put it mildly. Still...

  "What species is she from?" I asked as my curiosity couldn't be contained any longer. Because, other than her generic traits I mentioned, she's also sporting what looks like a small horn on the left side of her forehead, an impish-looking red tail, a few scales on her right hand, and a weird cross-shaped pupil in her left eye only. Those weird and asymmetric traits make it difficult to pinpoint what race she belongs to.

  "Ah, that. She's a Growth Chimera. All the new members are one." - Jumbo

  "A Growth Chimera?" responded not only I, but Iron as well in unison with me. Luckily for us, the walking encyclopedia known as Bloom is coming to our rescue.

  "A Growth Chimera is a special breed of humanoids that can obtain the traits and abilities of any creatures classified as 'monsters'. They do so by ingesting parts of the monsters as food, for they have a slight chance to unlock some of those creatures' Skills, Traits, or even physical characteristics. However, the obtained ability is random, and only one ability per species can be obtained. In addition, a large quantity of meals, made from different individuals of each species, is needed before the Growth Chimera can attain a new ability." - Bloom

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  "Okay, that qualifies as a 'chimera' in my book..., but it's not that good of a trait. Why not just learn skills the usual way?" - Garami

  "That's the bane of all aspiring Growth Chimeras. The only skills they can obtain are those unlocked through this consumption ability or those obtained and/or unlocked by the classes they possess. And I guess from titles and stuff like Skill Scrolls as well." - Jumbo

  For real? You have an almost unlimited number of abilities in the World System, but these Chimeras can only get the ones from the stuff they eat or the classes they take? That's harsh, to say the least.

  "Might I add that Growth Chimeras' natural growth, so to speak, is also restricted by this eating ability?" - Bloom

  "Good thing you pointed out, fairy girl. Take Lily, for example. She might look cute, but she's probably the same age as you, fellow Guild Master." - Jumbo

  HUH?! This body should technically be around 20-ish years old, even if I only reincarnated into this world last year or so. A demon's body is a way bigger mystery than even those of normal humans... Though it seems we're losing to the Chimeras. Wouldn't that make it possible for a Growth Chimera that's a light eater to be an eternal "legal loli"? Yikes...

  "That's troublesome. I hope your boys and girls get decent food then." - Garami

  "*Sigh*. We're trying, but it's difficult scrounging up the money for that specific type of meat." - Jumbo

  "...Monster meat is expensive?" - Iron

  "Probably. We're getting paid well for it when selling to the Union, so that must be it." - Garami

  "You people are an adventuring Guild?" - Jumbo

  "Pretty much. Why so?" - Garami

  "In that case, do you mind doing a little quest for me? It's not a big deal, trust me." - Jumbo

  Uh-oh. Anything that's "not a big deal" really isn't big. It's gigantic.

  ---

  [A new pot? That's all he asked for?] - Mira

  Mira, whom I had contacted using our handheld Dungeon Terminals, sounded like I had told her a joke. And I can't be mad at her. I thought the same when I first heard Jumbo's request a few minutes ago.

  "Yup. It turns out that this Lily girl made a real mess out of Jumbo's favorite pot, so he wants her to find a replacement. And since releasing a young-looking girl into this den of merchants is like throwing her into a pool of sharks, he was looking for people who could escort her." - Garami

  [And the man's not even forcing her to pay from her own pockets? I'm not sure whether to call him strict or kind.] - Mira

  "Probably a good combination of both. Anyway, we will be late, so just wait for us by the Marauder." - Garami

  [Okay. But Noire has already left. Mentioned something about looking for a good bargain. Should I go and look for her?] - Mira

  "Nah~. She'll be fine alone~..., is that what you thought I would say?! Go find her before her wallet becomes impossible to resuscitate!" - Garami

  [Roger, Princess! Mira, over and out!] - Mira

  Geez, here I evade one disaster just to be informed about a new one. Mira should handle that crisis alone. Still, I'm a little worried about Revi... Let's try to find something nice for her while looking for that new pot.

  "Sorry about that. Now I'm ready." - Garami

  I returned my attention to today's escort target, the same girl who had manned the chili stand from before. She's still wearing her waitress-looking uniform with chili motif. The red that makes up most of the outfit fits her pretty nicely. However, the pro Weaver inside me says she would look better in a more...cheerful color-scheme. Something like yellow or orange.

  "O-okay..." replied the little Growth Chimera with an unsure expression. Crap, did my outburst before scare her? Or is she just shy around new people?

  "Ehm... Where do you wanna go first?" I asked with the intent of trying to break the ice.

  "Where to go... We could try to look at the metalware merchants." - Lily

  Lily took out a piece of paper before drawing several circles around them. Is this an improvised map of the area?

  "Most of the people here have camped along with merchants of fellow trades, so we should find everyone selling metal items bundled together." - Lily

  "Hmm, that's a bundle deal I can live with. Iron, please escort her highness to the metal shops." - Garami

  "Very well, Princess." - Iron

  Lily tilted her head questionably, both to my request to Iron and the knight's reply, causing her head to move like a metronome. Considering Jumbo's story, it should be safe to say she used to live in the slums, or at least close to those kinda places. And who am I to deny a cute little monster-eating, vicious chimera a small dream of being treated like a princess by a knight in shining armor? Too bad we didn't have a real knight, so she'll have to settle for the armor alone.

  Oh, and I might also have to explain to her I'm not a real royalty. Nicknames can be troublesome when it comes to strangers. Luckily it's not that big of a deal~.

  ---

  Meanwhile...:

  "S-Sir! The trio we were watching has included a new member to their group!"

  "What is it? A comrade of theirs?"

  "We don't know, but they seem to be a young lady from one of the 72 Noble Houses of Solomar!"

  "WHA-!? Do you have proof?"

  "The new girl traveled along with a merchant ship from Solomar, probably incognito. And the trio we were stalking referred to her as a 'highness'!"

  "With just that little proof...... BRILLIANT! God Chaos is sure to be proud of your wise deductions!"

  "Th-thank you, sir! Also, the albino lady with the blindfold seems to be in the same boat!"

  "What boat?"

  "Royal demon family boat."

  "What is it with Solomarian royal ladies and exploring ancient desert ruins and Haunts?!"

  "N-no idea, sir. It is indeed weird that we have encountered such individuals twice already this month. Maybe there's a new fad going on?"

  "Dammit! Wait..., this is a chance!"

  "A chance for what?"

  "Hostage money! Tell the members that we will switch from assassination to kidnapping!"

  "Aha! As expected of you, sir! Your intelligence is growing with each day!"

  "It is all thanks to God Chaos' blessings that we all are granted for our work here in the desert..."

  "Sir?"

  "No, it's nothing. Start preparing how to capture these two ladies ASAP."

  "Sir, yes, sir! But what about the fairy and the armored knight?"

  "Hmph, a battle could risk harming our cash cows. Try to lure away the knight. As for the fairy..., trap her in a bottle or something."

  "As you wish, sir! Ehm, there's just one more thing I might add."

  "What is it?"

  "The new girl might just be a calf compared to the blindfolded one we met before. Physically, I mean."

  "...*Sigh*. Just get a bigger bag for her, then. Now, get going!"

  Growth Chimera]