The Firewood was of Good Quality

— 'Slime Moisture Absorption!'

I chanted to the nearby slime.

And then…

'Ah! The snow!'

'It's gone!'

The snow that was under the slime suddenly melted and disappeared.

Not only that, but the wet ground quickly dried and cracked.

…This magic had a very powerful drying ability.

Perhaps it was because it was hundreds of slimes together, but the area dried up incredibly fast.

This was very promising.

'Alright, now move closer to the firewood.'

'Okay!'

And so the slime moved to the pile of firewood.

And then…the freshly cut wood became dry in an instant.

It was incredible.

"…How dry to these have to be?"

I never used firewood back at home.

The person at the restaurant had said they needed to be dried for a whole year, but I didn't know how dry I needed them to be in order to match that.

Well, I could try drying them for 5 minutes for now.

And if they say it's not dry enough, I could just dry them again right on the spot.

'Alright, pick them up now. …It's quite a lot. Can you carry it?'

'We're fine!'

The slime said as it stored the firewood into its body.

While it was just one tree, it was a very big tree. That meant a lot of firewood. Possibly several tons.

And yet a slime that only weighed a few kilos was storing it in its body. And its size and weight remained the same. I really didn't understand how it worked.

As I puzzled over this, the slime finished storing everything.

'Thank you! …Let's hurry!'

And so I put the slime on my shoulder and rushed back towards the Tiger Fire.

If I brought it to them now, they may be able to stay open.

When I did arrive at the Tiger Fire—they were just closing shop.

"I brought some firewood."

I said this just as an employee walked out with a sign that read, 'We are closed for the day.' 

"You brought some firewood? How is that possible? …Did you just bring wood for the stove? We can't use that for cooking. The firewood in this town is of horrible quality and unusable."

"No, I just cut down a tree and turned it into firewood."

"…You do realize that it's useless until it's dried properly?"

"I used magic to dry them. …Well, it will be quicker if I just showed you."

So saying, I put my hand out in front of the slime.

The slime guessed what this meant, and spat out a single log.

"Where did that come from!?"

It was getting annoying having to explain this every time.

I should just write, 'this slime uses storage magic' on a piece of paper and paste it on the slime.

"The slime. Tamers have some useful skills, you know. This slime is currently carrying a few tons worth of this."

"…Slimes have such power? But I've never heard of such a thing…"

"Not many people know about Tamer skills. …So, can you use this firewood?"

I said as I offered it.

The employee looked at it suspiciously…but then shouted in alarm as soon as I let go of it.

"It's so light! It's perfectly dry!"

Apparently, people who were used to handling it knew how dry it was by weight alone.

…I had just dried it to a random degree, but it seemed that it had turned out well.

"So, can you use it?"

"Well, I will have to try burning it first. If it's dried too much, then it becomes difficult to adjust the heat."

I see. So it couldn't be too dry either.

If only there was a skill that allowed me to adjust it.

…And so I searched through the slime skills and found something called 'Slime Humidifier.'

Judging by the name, it was the opposite of 'Slime Moisture Absorption.'

I could use this if the firewood was too dry.

"Alright. You can have this. So try burning it."

I said as I took out about 10 of them and handed them over.

This should be enough to determine if they burned well.

"Thank you. …Chef! We have some firewood!"

The employee grabbed the firewood and opened the door before shouting towards the kitchen.

And then a loud voice echoed back.

"If it's some logs that have been freshly cut, then they are useless! We should give up for today!"

"But these are dry! A customer brought them to us!"

"WHAT!? …Let me see!"

And with that, loud stomping came from the back and a man appeared.

Apparently, he was the head chef.

"Where is it?"

"Here."

The employee handed the firewood to the chef.

He accepted it and inspected it with a serious expression.

"…It's awfully dry for being so new. Strange…"

"But can you use it?"

"It's too dry. There is almost no moisture in it at all. The fire will burn too hot and we are not equipped to control it."

The chef said without ever taking his eyes off of the firewood.

Still, that was a lot of information he gathered just by holding it.

It was amazing what seasoned cooks could do.

I thought about this as I took out more firewood and then used the slime to humidify them.

And then the firewood became just a little heavier.

"How about now?"

I said as I handed some over.

"The chef accepted it and let out a cry of shock.

"…It's perfect. Can I try burning it?"

"Of course."

After hearing my answer, the chef quickly tossed the log over a dwindling fire.

We waited for it to burn…and when the flames went up, he shouted happily.

"A perfect fire! I have never seen firewood of such quality before! …With this firewood, I will be able to make the best food!"