Ryoma, with the Slimes

Ryoma, with the Slimes is the first episode of the By the Grace of the Gods (anime).

Summary
The series follows Ryoma Takebayashi, a young boy who lives by himself in a forest. But he isn't an ordinary little boy. In his previous life, Ryoma was a tortured, middle-aged Japanese office worker. One day, the child meets a group of disconcerted travelers near his home and decides to save them.

Plot
It's a typical day for the eleven-year-old, Ryoma Takebayashi, who lives with nearly a thousand slimes. Ryoma is very involved with the slimes' lives feeding them accordingly. Each type of slime has its special diet that can yield different beneficial resources.

Ryoma hears some strange voices while wandering through the forest. He runs into a group of soldiers. One of the men is severely injured, although wary of the men, Ryoma opts to help them. One of the men takes the medicine that Ryoma offers and gives it to the injured man. Moreover, Ryoma offers his home for the men to rest.

A horde of green slime appears out of nowhere, the men are about to attack them, but Ryoma quickly intercepts. Reinhart realizes that the slimes are Ryoma's familiars.

While walking to Ryoma's home, Reinhart explains that he used to be a tamer with various familiar types.

Ryoma opens a portal on the side of a cliff revealing his home to the weary men. Even though Reinhart seems to trust Ryoma, the rest of his men are a bit hesitant due to the seemingly immense power they believe Ryoma possesses.

When Ryoma gives them a case full of potions, they grow suspicious of the young boy, especially when he mentions that he can make potions. Ryoma sensing their suspicions, is hesitant to reveal what he is and tries to change the subject. But the men are persistent. Nevertheless, they introduce themselves. They tell that a black bear attacked the injured man who's name is Hughes.

Reinhart asks Ryoma why he lives by himself in the forest. Ryoma tells the men that his grandparents taught him about magic and that they were adventurers who died three years ago. They wanted Ryoma to go live in another village, but the young boy didn't leave because villagers don't trust outsiders. The men seem to comprehend Ryoma's dilemma.

Camil gives Ryoma a crystal ball for the latter to touch and reveal Ryoma's top four skill levels and see if he's a criminal. The crystal ball turns blue, indicating that Ryoma isn't a criminal. But it also tells Ryoma doesn't have any combat skills in his top four, but his other skills are through the roof.

Hughes quickly recovers from his injuries and offers his thanks to Ryoma. The men say their goodbyes to the kid and head home. Ryoma feels guilty because he lied to them. He made up the entire story about his grandparents passing away. The person who died three years ago was him.

Three years ago, Ryoma was a tortured, middle-aged Japanese office worker. It seems that Ryoma worked himself to death and landed himself drinking tea with three gods. He appears to be calm about his death, so much one of the gods wonders if he achieved enlightenment before he died. When he finds out how he died - he hit his head in his sleep and had a brain hemorrhage due to sneezing- it finally bothers him because he went through all sorts of abuse and survived but died in such a pathetic way.

Gain explains that they will be sending Ryoma to another world in the body of an eight-year-old boy.

Ryoma arrives in the new world in a place called Seilfall as a young boy. With a manual from the deities by his side, Ryoma learned about this new world filled with magic and magical creatures.

The first creature he meets is a slime, which he uses his first magic skill, taming. With a slimy friend at his side, Ryoma decided to make the forest of Gana his new home.

It's been two weeks since Ryoma's encounter with Reinhart and his companions, and things have gone back to normal. Until out of nowhere, the men return with a few more people.

Characters

 * Ryoma Takebayashi
 * Reinhart Jamil
 * Camil
 * Zeph
 * Jill
 * Hughes
 * Gain
 * Kufo
 * Lulutia
 * Eliaria Jamil

Trivia

 * It's adapted out about Ryoma using Poison Slime s to taint the wine bandits drank; this indirect killing doesn't make him a criminal, as they were dangerous.
 * No-one makes note of Ryoma's stunted speech; implying that it's common knowledge someone who doesn't use their voice in years has trouble speaking.
 * Ryoma's "Mental Pain Resistance" will come into play in the Limour Bird episode