Melantha tapped her finger pensively against the desk in her room. She needed to figure out the most effective way for them to make money, especially with their group now including Mishal's odd betrothed. It wasn't like the coinage they'd been given would last them forever. 

She also wasn't sure if her writings would be able to provide them with any income, so there was a decent chance she would need to get an additional job to make sure there would be enough. At least Mish’s skills in cooking and creating would likely be easier to find a consistent paying job with. So Mel hoped that they could at least rely on him to find a suitable job.

Mel was suddenly jolted out of her thoughts by a plop. She looked towards the noise to find that her slime, or Plinko as she started calling it, had managed to jump onto the desk. It got closer and started rubbing against her arm with a purr.

“Were you wanting some attention, Plinko? Well, how could I deny such a cutie…” She reached her other hand to pet it. This slime seemed to really love her… Maybe she could try her hand at being a monster tamer? Then she could still become an adventurer; even if her dreams to become a hero were dashed.

There was likely good money in being an adventurer if the kingdom was desperate enough to summon more people in hopes of finding new heroes. It heavily pointed to there being more of a demand than people willing to do it. And if that was the case, then maybe Mel could solve their future finances issue and get her isekai adventure at the same time. She'd almost forgotten she didn't need to necessarily solve things the same way she had in her own world.

“Look at you, Plinko, being unintentionally helpful.” She cooed as she picked up the slime. “Thank you…” Mel stood up with Plinko still in her arms. She stretched slightly, trying to not jostle the slime too much as she did so. “I think it's time for food for me, and perhaps a treat for you, little one. Hmm…?”

She headed downstairs to the dining area of the inn. A proper meal was likely just what she needed. Mel quickly sat herself down at one of the tables, waiting on a server to notice her presence.

“Good afternoon. Can I interest you in any food or drink? Or perhaps, were you just wanting to use one of the tables down here?” It was the same waitress who had served them during the dinner Mel had shared with her brother the evening before.

“Warm food and drink would be quite appreciated. Though, I must admit I'm not quite sure what I am in the mood for.” Mel leaned towards the woman. “Perhaps you could just get me your favorite. Whatever such a cutie like you enjoys must be good.”

Susie, the waitress, gave a shy smile. “I think I can manage that easily enough… Will that be all for now?”

“Actually, I also have a more unusual request… Feel free to say no if it's not possible, or makes you uncomfortable for any reason… but I was wondering if there were any dishes your washers hadn't cleaned yet. Or maybe some food scraps that were just going to be tossed anyways? It's for my… familiar here, Plinko. I just got them recently, but read that slimes quite enjoy scraps of any kind.” Mel didn't mention an idea that'd come to her with that information; one that, from what she could tell from her research, no one has considered yet.

The idea that had popped into her head earlier in the day seemed revolutionary to her, but it seemed rude, to Mel, to make assumptions about why something wasn't widely done. At the same time though, she was still innately curious if there was something new she could introduce to this new world. She had wondered if maybe there was some tidbit of information she'd missed while she was researching. Something that explained why restaurants didn't already keep and train slimes to eat their waste. At the very least, for the sake of less work for the employees. It was something Mel wanted to look into further later, but for now she at least wanted to ask the waitress about what she could do at the moment.

The server gave Mel a slightly odd look. “Yeah, I can see what the kitchen has at the moment for you.” The server left, but soon came back a moment later with a drink for Mel and a dirty plate with unfinished food. The plate for Plinko was mostly bones it seemed. “I don't think I should need to tell you but just in case… We have a limited number of dishes. The chef said we'll need to charge you to replace it, if your familiar eats the plate as well.” Mel hadn't thought of that. Of course Plinko would need to be taught what was and wasn't okay to eat… at least it wasn't interested in anything living. It also hadn't tried consuming anything like the furniture or clothes yet.

“Thank you, Susie, for pointing out my oversight… Is there any chance you could also get me a clean plate, by itself, so I can show Plinko what not to eat? It’s just a baby so now would be the perfect time to train it such things.”

“Alright…?” Susie took even less time returning with the empty plate, looking quite curious as she handed over the clean plate.

Mel made sure not to set Plinko on the table until getting the second plate. Once she had received it, she placed the slime between the two plates. “Alright, little one… see this one?” She pointed to the empty plate. “You can touch, but don't eat alright?” Plinko slid over to sit on the plate, expanding to feel all of it but not consuming it. “Good slime… Now do you think you can make this one,” Mel next pointed to the other plate with scraps, “like that one? You can eat everything on it that isn't like that one. Okay?”

Plinko seemed to bob its body as if mimicking a head nod, before gently jumping from the clean plate to the dirty one. The food scraps on top of it started to dissolve right before the two women's eyes, but the plate itself didn't look to be being affected. Susie seemed amazed by it.

Once the second plate was cleared of scraps, Plinko hopped off and started rubbing against Melantha’s arm as if asking for more praise. She complied by giving it affectionate pats. “From what I've observed, slimes are actually almost deceptively intelligent. Between my observations, and the research I've done about their diet, I surmised that they could be taught to clean up things if given directions about what is and isn't okay to eat. I was actually surprised earlier that none of my research had mentioned anything about people using them for such purposes.”

“That… that's amazing, Miss Melantha. Everyone I know assumed slimes to be mindless creatures; figuring they aren't worth the effort it would take to train them.”

“Maybe I was lucky in taming Plinko while it's so young. Most creatures tend to be more easily taught things earlier in their life… I had noticed it could tell that it shouldn't eat my clothes or furniture so I figured that logic could be carried over to distinguish food and not food items in contact with each other while eating.”

Before Susie could respond, there was a short shout from the kitchen. It seemed she had been so enraptured with Plinko’s display, and talking with Melantha, that she'd forgotten she was supposed to be working. “Oops… I'll be right back with your food, Miss Melantha.”

“Of course… and you can just call me Mel. All my friends do.” Mel gave an encouraging smile.

Susie was back only a moment later; as promised, with a plate of some truly scrumptious looking food. “I hope you enjoy it… Mel.”

“Thank you very much.” Mel hadn't realized how hungry she was until she saw the food and her mouth started watering. Mel started to dig in while Susie went to serve some others that had just sat down.

A while later, when Mel was almost done eating, Susie stopped by her table again. “Is there anything else I could do for you?”

“Actually, yes. I was wondering if this city had an adventurer's guild. I was considering registering to help make some extra money while looking for a more stable job.”

“Are you sure that is what you would like to do? Most of the easier jobs get snatched up quickly so the only way to make money would likely be to take the more dangerous jobs.”

“Well…” Mel’s face got a flirty expression before she replied. “If I get injured, maybe I should ask you to take care of me while I'm healing if you're so worried about me…” She made sure to add a little bit more, with just a hint of seriousness, to reassure Susie. Just in case. “I promise not to take any jobs I don't have confidence that I can do. How does that sound?”

“Like I can now understand why your brother looks so worriedly at you at times…”

“Fine. I also promise to not take any jobs alone. Will that ease your worry?” Mel tried bargaining a little bit to get the information she wanted.

“No, but I can tell you'll just try seducing the information out of someone else if I don't tell you.” Susie rolled her eyes but didn't appear to actually be upset. “The city's adventurer's guild building is the huge structure by the west gate. You can't miss it… Just be aware the registration fee is ten coppers. Also, don't let anyone give you grief for being a woman. Most of the adventurers that hang around the building are men. Some might even try to tell you women need to pay either a higher or additional fee when registering, because there's more risks for them.”

“Thank you. I won't forget your advice.”