"Nina, really, is it not okay?"
“No, my lady.”
A beautiful girl with wavy blonde hair, sapphire-like eyes, and an elegant dress puffed out her cheeks at the maid sitting across from her.
"Why not~? Can't we just stop by the elf village once?"
“No. The elf village, really? Do you know how dangerous the road there is? The forest is swarming with monsters.”
“Tch, do you think I don’t know? The Blue Elven Forest only has goblins at best. Our family’s knights can take care of those in no time!”
Nina sighed inwardly at her lady's response.
‘Sigh, where on earth did she hear that again…’
This kind of conversation was something Nina had to go through every time they passed near the Elven Forest.
At first, she could somehow manage to smooth it over.
But as time went on, the girl grew more persistent.
“Just once is fine. Please? I really want to see Hero Nellin, okay? Is it really not possible?”
The girl begged her maid.
This girl was Jessie Ludendion, daughter of the Count of Ludendion, who longed to visit the elf village.
The Hero of the Elves.
One of the members of the party who defeated the black dragon, once known as a calamity, fifty years ago.
It was because she wanted to see Nellin, the Starlight Archer.
The legend of the heroes who vanquished the black dragon has been passed down even fifty years later.
There were biographies recounting the heroes’ tales.
Plays where actors performed their legendary exploits on stage.
Statues and dolls modeled after the heroes.
And even fairy tales for children.
Jessie Ludendion had also heard their stories since childhood, starting with fairy tales and continuing through various media.
The Iron Wall Shield, human Aldor Meyer.
The Mighty Warrior, dwarf Katshal Demft.
The Saint of Healing, human Presia.
The Sage of Magic, human Ventus Frail.
The Starlight Archer, elf Nellin.
However, only three of the five heroes were still alive.
The Iron Wall Shield passed away peacefully with his family in old age.
The Sage of Magic died tragically in a magical accident thirty years ago.
The remaining heroes lived peaceful lives in their hometowns after defeating the black dragon.
Among them, the elf village, hometown of the Starlight Archer Nellin, was located near the Ludendion County.
That’s why Jessie, whenever she went on a picnic outside the county, would always beg her maid Nina to stop by the elf village when they passed near the Blue Elven Forest.
Saying she wanted to see Nellin, the Starlight Archer, in person, Jessie’s plea had continued for ten years since she first asked at age six.
“No matter how much you beg, it's still not allowed. Did you forget how angry the Count and Countess were last time they said no?”
“……”
The bitter memory resurfaced in Jessie’s mind.
***
As her birthday approached, Jessie showed her cutest expressions and gestures to the Count and Countess of Ludendion.
“Father~ Mother~ I want to visit the elf village!”
“Have you still not given up, Jessie!”
“Don’t you understand how dangerous it is!”
Usually, her parents would grant any of her wishes, but when it came to visiting the elf village, they were firmly opposed.
***
The fact that their answer hadn’t changed a bit still made Jessie puff her cheeks.
“Father, Mother, and even Nina are all so mean! Why won’t anyone understand this pure heart that just wants to see Nellin!”
“We understand very well. My lady has been so obsessed with the heroes’ stories that you even sang about wanting to see Nellin to the Count.”
“Then couldn’t I meet her just once? Or at least invite her to our mansion!”
Faced with a somewhat reasonable argument, the maid resorted to her usual excuse.
“Nellin is a great hero. Even the Count cannot simply invite someone of her stature.”
“Hing.”
Luckily, Nina's excuse worked.
‘Whew, at least this excuse still holds.’
Realistically, it wouldn’t be hard for someone of the Count’s status to invite a hero.
Moreover, the Ludendion County and the elf village of the Blue Elven Forest had regular trade exchanges through merchants.
Not only that, but the Count of Ludendion even made it convenient for the elves to acquire desired goods through special arrangements, and in return, the elder of the elf village would send a thank-you letter every year.
With such a close relationship, it wouldn’t be difficult at all to invite Nellin to the Count’s mansion.
In truth, the one who prevented Nellin and Jessie from meeting was none other than Count Ludendion, Rufus Ludendion himself.
The Count had confided the reason to Nina.
And Nina, who agreed with that reason, had been doing her best to protect Jessie’s innocence for over ten years.
Though she had a body mature enough to be considered an adult, her heart was still young and full of dreams, fitting for her age.
Jessie pouted her lips at Nina’s excuse.
Her joyful mood from the picnic completely vanished.
‘I want to see the forest where Nellin lives.’
Jessie turned her head toward the window and gazed at the forest.
And then—
‘Huh?’
She saw a particularly bouncy, boing-boing slime hopping out from the woods.
A round, light green slime.
It was the first time Jessie had seen such a monster, having lived most of her life within the Count’s territory until now at the age of sixteen.
‘That’s a slime!’
Slime.
A monster said to be even weaker than goblins.
Jessie’s attention quickly shifted from thoughts of meeting Nellin to the slime she spotted through the window.
“Nina! Stop the carriage!”
“My lady, I’ve told you many times, the Elven Forest is—”
“It’s not that, just stop for a second!”
“?”
At Jessie’s firm request, the carriage that had been moving at a steady pace came to a halt.
The moment it stopped, Jessie opened the door and stepped outside, with Nina following right behind her.
“My lady, what on earth is going on?”
“Look, Nina! It’s a slime!”
“Huh?”
With a radiant smile like the midday sun, Jessie pointed toward the slime.
“It’s my first time seeing one! It’s really round!”
Eyes sparkling, Jessie tried to approach the slime.
“W-Wait, my lady! It’s dangerous! You should go with a knight! My lady!”
***
‘Whoa!’
The slime, having spotted the moving carriage, had bounced along boing-boing to get a closer look.
It had been slowly making its way toward the carriage.
Then suddenly, the carriage stopped, and two unfamiliar beings stepped out of it.
And now—one of them was approaching!
The slime, who had recently learned to ask questions well, immediately asked in the chat window.
▷ Is that human?
At that moment, Thread-Lady, a viewer of the slime’s live stream, answered.
[Thread-Lady]▶ That’s right, Squishy~ Those are humans!
▷Wow! Humans!
Finally, the slime had a chance to meet humans.
With its curiosity shining, it watched the approaching figures.
‘There’s more of them!’
While the slime was typing in the chat, Nina held Jessie back momentarily and approached with the knight from the driver's seat.
▶Lolol, they’re really humans this time.
▶ Domhwangchaaaaat!
▶But don’t they look kinda weak?
▶Isn’t the one in the back weaker than Squishy?
▶Strike first! Hit first!
Anonymous viewers casually dropped comments while watching the humans approach the slime.
‘Humans! They’re coming!’
The number of approaching humans increased from two to three.
The slime had already been told by Troll what to watch out for when meeting humans.
If the humans attack, it’s best to run.
But since there was no sign of attack yet, the slime decided to prioritize its curiosity and observe the humans.
There was advice from the Slime Queen to avoid humans whenever possible, but that advice couldn’t overcome the slime’s curiosity.
“Jessie! It’s my first time seeing a slime! It’s light green! Are all slimes like this?”
“My lady! Please hold on! The knight will go first, so stay back for a moment! Finn! Hurry! Go! Protect the lady!”
“Why are you making such a fuss over a mere slime?”
“What if you get hurt, my lady?! Hurry!”
“Alright, alright, my lady, please step back for a moment. I’ll check first.”
“Okay! Please!”
A young man with a sword at his waist, and armor on his shoulders, legs, and chest, stepped toward the slime.
He was a knight who had trained at the knight academy in the Count’s domain and was now a proper knight.
He had encountered monsters far stronger than slimes during training, so he wasn’t particularly cautious as he stood before the slime.
‘No matter how you look at it, it’s just an ordinary slime.’
As long as it wasn’t directly attacked, it was a low-aggression monster that wouldn’t attack first.
They could absorb almost anything, so in some regions they were used for food waste disposal, sewage treatment, and even funerals.
You could say they were rather close to humans.
‘Even if it attacks, I could easily take care of a slime.’
Finn crouched down and reached out toward the slime.
He had learned how to gauge a slime’s temperament from a friend who raised slimes at the academy.
If it runs away when touched, it’s a cautious slime.
If it moves violently and tries to leap onto the body, it’s aggressive and should be dealt with immediately.
If it stays still, it’s calm and safe to raise.
Wearing gloves, Finn petted the slime.
‘?’
The slime couldn’t immediately understand why the human was touching it.
But the gentle stroke didn’t feel bad.
Feeling the soft touch of the glove, the slime quivered with joy.
‘It’s trembling? What kind of reaction is that?’
Caught off guard by the unexpected response, Finn hesitated.
“Me too! I want to touch the slime too!”
Jealous of Finn stroking the slime, Jessie bounced in place.
The slime looked so squishy and soft.
She was overwhelmed by the urge to touch the adorable slime herself.
“My lady! Please calm down! Finn! Is it really okay?”
The noble lady who wanted to pet the slime, and the maid and childhood friend urging for an answer.
Finn thought for a moment and came up with a solution.
“Please stay right there, my lady. I’ll bring it to you.”
Finn lifted the slime with both hands.
He did so to prevent the slime from bouncing away when Jessie reached out to pet it.
“Stay still.”
‘Waaah!’
Being lifted, the slime felt the same delightful sensation it had when sitting on Nellin’s hand.
‘It’s shaking again? Does it like this?’
Finn approached Jessie, holding the slime.
“Here it is, my lady.”
“Finn, are you sure it’s okay?”
“Don’t worry, I’m holding it tight.”
With her eyes shining, Jessie reached out to the slime.
“Wow! It’s so soft! The slime is really squishy!”
Feeling the soft texture of the slime in her hand, Jessie beamed with joy.
At the same time, Jessie’s gentle touch brought happiness to the slime as well.
Brrrrrrr!
“Kyaa! It’s trembling! It tickles!”
“It’s trembling? Finn! Is it really okay?”
“It’s probably fine? I think it’s happy?”
“‘Probably’?! What do you mean probably?!”
“How am I supposed to know what a slime thinks? At least it’s not attacking you.”
While the maid and knight bickered, Jessie happily stroked the slime to her heart’s content.
‘It’s cute, squishy, and well-behaved!’
Delighted by the slime’s texture, Jessie made an announcement.
“I’m going to take it home and raise it!”
“What!?”
“Excuse me!?”
The shocking declaration made both maid and knight stop arguing and turn to look at Jessie.