It wasn’t just the maid and the knight who reacted to Jessie's remark.
Kiwoon-day kekeke
[Thread Lady]▶ It's cute enough that I’d want to raise it myself, Squishy!
[Noblesse Fire]▶ Goblins look down on it, and humans treat it like a pet 😂
▶ Look at that Squishy class.
▶Hehe, I wish someone would raise me too...
▶ Ah! Filthy humans!
▶ That’s a bit...
▶ Isn’t that only something goblins would like?
▶ Don’t forget the orcs.
“No, raising a slime? What are you talking about, my lady?”
“It’s cute! And calm! I want to take it with me and raise it!”
“It’s dangerous, it’s a monster!”
“It’s just a slime. Finn told me about it, remember? There are villages where they raise monsters!”
“Finn!”
“I-I just mentioned it so my lady wouldn’t get bored, that’s all...”
Finn felt wronged.
He never imagined Jessie would actually say she wanted to raise a slime just because some villages kept monsters.
“My lady, it’s true that there are villages that raise them, but that’s only possible because the slimes there are tame and used to humans.”
“This one’s been touched too, and it’s calm! Then it should be fine, right? Hehe, Mr. Slime! Don’t you want to be raised by me too?”
Jessie beamed and stroked the slime.
The slime was delighted by her touch, and curious about a word it had never heard before.
‘Raise?’
▷ What does it mean to raise?
▶ Ah, that’s...
▶ It means they'll give you food.
▷ Food!
The extremely brief explanation made the slime shiver with joy.
“See! It’s happy because I said I’d raise it!”
▶ Look at how happy it is 😂
▶Can’t resist food 😂
▶ Not a lie.
“No, my lady, if you bring a monster back, the count will surely be angry.”
“Hm? Unless it’s about entering the elf forest, Father always grants my wishes! It’ll be fine!”
“Hmm...”
Nina wanted to object immediately, but even she had to admit that Count Ludendion was a doting father.
Aside from letting her meet the Starlight Archer Nellin, he had given her everything she wanted.
Count Ludendion always showed Jessie deep affection.
“Nina, you try touching it too! It’s super squishy!”
“M-Me?”
“Once you touch it, you’ll understand how I feel!”
Jessie grabbed Nina’s wrist and brought it close to the slime.
“W-Wait! I-I’m scared!”
“Don’t be! Finn is holding it tight.”
“...Finn. You won’t let go, right?”
“Don’t worry.”
Nina gently placed her slightly trembling hand on the slime.
“Huh?”
And the moment her hand touched it, she felt the soft and squishy texture, and absentmindedly started stroking it.
‘Oh no. It’s really soft. This is a slime?’
The more she stroked it, the more she wanted to keep stroking.
As she continued to pet it, the slime shivered happily.
Its adorable behavior completely captured Nina’s heart.
“W-Wow, it really does seem calm.”
“Right? Then let’s take it with us!”
“Ah! ...Fine. But if the Count says no, you have to let it go immediately, okay?”
“Okay!”
***
—Let’s end it here for today.
The Slime Queen ended the “Slime Show” without even reading the viewers’ comments and immediately shut off the stream.
Then she opened the broadcast list right away.
‘Today should be the day our kin escapes the forest.’
She had kept watching Squishy’s stream out of worry.
But after seeing the slime evolve into a Bounce Slime and defeat goblins easily, she felt a bit more at ease.
‘Interfering too much isn’t good either.’
Thinking it was safe while in the forest, the Slime Queen took some “me time.”
And today.
Thinking that the slime was about to leave the forest, the Slime Queen turned on Squishy’s broadcast.
Since the slime wasn’t yet good at using the system, and didn’t really understand the concept of “privacy,” it always left the broadcast on.
Thanks to that, the Slime Queen easily entered the stream room again today.
And what the Slime Queen saw upon entering was—
“Nina~ Can I put it on my lap?”
“No, my lady, it might be dangerous, so I’ll hold it tightly instead of Finn.”
“That’s holding it? You’re just petting it! No fair!”
“Ahem! It may look like petting, but I’m holding it firmly. Look!”
The sight of humans the moment she entered made the Slime Queen’s eyes widen.
‘Why are you with humans, my kin?!’
A completely unexpected situation.
The Slime Queen hurriedly typed in the chat.
[Squishy Queen] ▶ My kin! What in the world is going on?! Why are you with humans?!
▷ Human! Said they’d raise me!
—W-What did you say?!
The Slime Queen was horrified by the slime’s immediate response.
To happily reply that a human would raise them?!
‘When a human says they’ll raise a monster, it means making them entertainment! It’s dangerous! So dangerous!’
The humans she had seen on other monster broadcasts were either trying to kill the monsters or hunting them for sport.
Having only seen humans mistreat monsters, the Slime Queen couldn’t help but worry.
[Squishy Queen] ▶ Did you follow them just because they said they’d raise you?!
▷ ? Human! Gives food!
The slime’s innocent reply made the Slime Queen smack her forehead.
Smack!
‘You followed them just because they gave you food?! Oh, my kin...! No, more importantly—!’
[Squishy Queen] ▶ Surely someone saw this! Why didn’t anyone stop them?!
[Thread Lady] ▶But it’s true Squishy is cute enough to want to raise~.
▶ Honestly, whether it gets raised or not, who cares?
▶Ah 😂 something good will come out of it 😂😂
▶Let’s check out the human nest too 😂
▶22222
▶ Exactly!
—Y-You rascals!
The comments, as if they didn’t care what happened as long as it was fun, made the Slime Queen gnash her soft teeth.
Normally, even without her, Troll or Fenrir would’ve stepped in.
Though the Slime Queen usually envied the two, now she missed them dearly.
Unaware of the Slime Queen’s frustration, the slime eagerly anticipated what kind of food the human would give next.
“It’s really squishy! I never get tired of touching it!”
The affectionate touches made the slime even happier.
‘Now’s not the time to be so carefree, my kin!’
Watching that, the Slime Queen’s heart burned with anxiety.
***
The carriage arrived at Count Ludendion’s mansion.
“Let’s hurry to my room, Nina!”
"My lady, we must report to the Count first!"
"Finn can report for us, right? I'm hungry! And this slime must be hungry too! So let's have a snack!"
Jessie was being crafty, thinking the Count might order the slime to be removed if they went straight to him.
Seeing right through her intention, Nina sighed as she held the slime.
"Haa... Finn, please report to the Count."
"What? You're really going to her room with her like this?"
"We have no choice. Still, it behaved the whole way here, so it probably isn't dangerous."
"Nina! What are you doing? Hurry up!"
"Yes, my lady!"
Jessie led Nina to her room.
‘Waaah!’
Bounce bounce!
The slime, seeing scenery completely different from the forest it had known, trembled with joy.
"My lady, this slime keeps bouncing."
"Isn't it happy to be in our house? Hehe, I guess slimes know what’s good too!"
"Is that so?"
On the way to the room, other servants in the mansion saw Jessie, Nina, and the slime.
They looked once at the cheerful Jessie and once at the slime in Nina’s hands, then pretended not to notice with a hint of sympathy.
They assumed it would be dealt with soon enough.
Before entering the room, Nina told a maid who was cleaning nearby to bring some snacks.
Then she followed Jessie into the room.
"Nina! Put the slime on the desk!"
"Will that be okay?"
"It’s been calm until now. It should be fine!"
Nina cautiously placed the slime on the desk.
The moment it was freed from Nina’s hands, the slime twisted slightly and looked around Jessie’s room.
‘Amazing! First time! Amazing!’
It was its first time seeing a human’s room.
And being the room of a noble lady, it looked both luxurious and elegant.
The slime didn’t possess human aesthetic sensibilities, but it still thought the intricate designs and variety of objects were amazing.
►Human nests are unnecessarily complicated.
►A nest just needs to be for eating, sleeping, and pooping!
►2222
[Noblesse Fire] ▶ Tsk tsk, even a cave should be decorated nicely to live in!
►At least give it some unique flavor. Otherwise, it’s just a mess.
▶ Isn’t fussing over stuff like that weird in itself?
Upon seeing a human house for the first time, a debate started between the "keep-it-natural" nest purists and the "decorate-it" camp.
Of course, the slime paid no attention to such messy arguments.
It was too busy marveling at the colorful room so different from the green forest.
That’s why it couldn’t hide its joy.
‘So many new things! So happy!’
Boing! Boing!
The slime, which had been calm until now, bounced joyfully on the table.
"Kyaa! M-my lady!"
Startled by the sudden jumping, Nina rushed to block Jessie.
Thinking the slime might leap at her, she readied her body like a shield.
But her effort was in vain.
Because the slime was simply bouncing with joy on the table!
"Huh?"
"What's wrong, Nina?"
"The slime suddenly started jumping..."
"It must be super happy to be in our house! No doubt about it!"
Normally, Nina would have said, "That makes no sense!" but the slime’s movement somehow did seem full of joy.
‘Really?’
"Nina, move aside a bit. I can’t see the slime."
After pushing Nina gently by the waist, Jessie stretched out both hands toward the slime.
"Come here!"
‘?’
Jessie held out her hands and called the slime over.
Tilting its body, the slime stopped bouncing.
Then Jessie gave clearer instructions.
"Come up onto my hands!"
‘Climb up!’
The slime remembered having climbed onto Nellin’s hand before.
Recalling that moment, it moved onto Jessie’s hands.
Now that it had mastered controlling its power post-evolution...
Boing! It landed perfectly on Jessie’s hands.
"Kyaa! Look, Nina! It’s so calm and listens well too!"
"Uh..."
Nina blinked, surprised at how the slime seemed to understand Jessie’s words.
***
"So... you brought a slime, you say?"
"Y-Yes, sir."
In the Count’s office.
A blonde man with a dignified air sat in a chair, gazing at Finn.
This man was none other than Rufus Ludendion, ruler of the Ludendion estate.
"I see. A slime, huh. I assume you brought it because you deemed it safe, Finn?"
Finn answered, sweating under the Count’s silent gaze.
"It’s a slime that remained calm even when touched. It showed no signs of aggression. Even when the young lady stroked it, it only trembled slightly and didn’t attempt any attack!"
"Hmm, is that so. Then Finn, I shall ask the most important question next."
Count Ludendion, radiating solemnity, laced his fingers together as he asked.
"When Jessie stroked the slime... what expression did she have?"
"S-She was smiling."
"A smile? Just an ordinary smile?"
"......! Like the sun, sir! She was smiling so beautifully, like a radiant sun!"
"I see!"
Bang!
Count Ludendion slammed his desk and stood up.
"I must go to Jessie’s room. To witness the face of my beautiful angel smiling as she strokes a slime!"