"So soft and squishy. I love it."
"My lady, may I also—"
"No! Nina, you already played with it the whole carriage ride!"
Jessie was gently stroking the slime resting on her hand.
No matter how many times she petted it, the slime never got boring to touch.
Feeling the texture in her hand, Jessie’s lips curled up with delight.
The slime didn’t mind Jessie’s touch either.
Unlike the goblins who had struck it with malice, Jessie’s hands were full of affection.
Instinctively, the slime found her gentle touch pleasant.
[Thread Lady] ▶ I want to pet Squishy too~.
▶ She’s not stopping at all.
[Squishy Queen] ▶Eeeeek! Do not touch a my kin so carelessly, human!
[Free Spirit] ▶???? What’s going on? Why is Squishy in a noble’s mansion?
[Just Slam First] ▶ What’s this nest? Why’d the forest turn into a human nest?
As time passed, other regular viewers like Troll and Fenrir started joining in.
[Squishy Queen] ▶ Where were you looking! Some human brought My kin claiming they’d raise them!
[Free Spirit] ▶ Is that for real?
[Just Slam First] ▶ Why blame me for that?
‘No way, making contact with a human so suddenly?’
Troll, who never imagined this would happen while his eyes were turned away for a moment, quickly began thinking.
‘If it went from the elf forest to a noble’s mansion, there’s only one candidate. The Ludendion estate, closest to the Blue Elven Forest. Could it be... the daughter of Count Ludendion?’
Troll’s guess was spot-on, but he still couldn’t be certain.
Because ever since he became a lich and started exploring the broadcasting system, he hadn’t left his place even once!
Though he had memories of being a human mage, after thirty years, even those memories grew fuzzy and uncertain.
‘Still, at least they’re not reacting aggressively. That’s a relief... kind of?’
In the past, Troll had been betrayed by a fellow mage who clung to false glory.
As a result, he developed a hatred and distrust of humans, but the warm memories from his heroic days barely kept that hatred at bay.
Of course, if a human showed even the slightest ulterior motive, his hatred would flare up immediately.
But at the very least, he wasn’t the kind to show open hostility to a smiling girl stroking a slime.
***
"Aaaaah, so squishy! What should I name it?"
"Isn’t it a bit early to name it?"
"Why?"
"Um… you haven’t gotten the Count’s permission yet. Once you get permission, then you can name it. Okay?"
The maid worried she might get too attached by giving it a name too soon.
Because if the Count said no, Jessie would definitely cry calling the name she had come up with herself.
Creak.
At that moment, a servant entered Jessie’s room as the door opened.
"My lady, I’ve brought your snack."
"Perfect timing!"
On the tray the servant brought were a teapot, teacups, cookies, and a cake that looked like the main dessert.
'Waaaah!'
The slime’s gaze turned toward the tray the new human had brought.
Instinctively, the slime recognized what was on the tray as food.
▶ What’s that?
▶Don’t know? Ahh, that’s called "food."
▶Time for a quick explanation! Food: Something made by humans who can’t even eat raw meat properly, tailored for their weak stomachs! But humans go beyond just filling their bellies—they research and combine ingredients to pursue something called "flavor"...
▶Shut up, explainer!
▶I’m enjoying this though.
▶Aaaah, now I totally get it.
'Food!'
"Just leave it here and you can go now."
"Yes, My lady."
Jessie grinned as she looked at the snacks placed on her desk.
"Hehe."
"My lady, if you start snacking already, will you still be able to eat dinner later?"
"I went on a picnic today, so it’s fine. Besides, everyone has a separate stomach for snacks!"
"That’s true."
Jessie gently set the slime down on her thigh, picked up a fork, and sliced the front of the cake.
She then poked the piece with the fork and brought it to her mouth.
“Mmm~ As expected, our chef’s cake is the best~.”
Jessie smiled happily as the sweetness spread in her mouth.
Seeing that smile, the slime even felt like Jessie was eating it ‘deliciously.’
'She ate it! Looks tasty! I wanna eat it too!'
Brrrrrr!
Driven by the desire to eat, the slime’s body began to tremble more intensely.
"Huh? What’s wrong?"
The slime suddenly started shaking as Jessie enjoyed her cake.
Jessie paused with her fork still in her mouth, looking back and forth between the slime and the fork.
"You wanna try some?"
'Yes!'
As if responding, the slime gave a little bounce on Jessie’s thigh—boing!
"Nina! Look at this! I think the slime wants to try the cake! Can I feed it?"
"Should be okay, right? Slimes can absorb almost anything, after all."
"Hehe, wait just a sec. I’ll give you a bite too."
Jessie cut a piece of cake with the fork and held it up.
Then she suddenly paused.
"……Where am I supposed to feed it?"
Right.
The slime had a perfectly round and adorable appearance.
Because it was round all over, people seeing a slime for the first time would never know how it actually ate.
"If you bring it close, won’t it just eat on its own?"
"You think so?"
Jessie carefully brought the piece of cake on her fork toward the slime.
She started by offering it to what she assumed was the front—where a mouth might be, if it had one.
"Can you eat this? It’s cake."
Cake! Food!
Normally, the slime absorbed nutrients from its underside, but slimes could actually absorb food from any direction.
The slime began slowly absorbing the cake as it touched its body.
“Nina! The cake’s getting sucked into the slime! Ah—don’t eat the fork!”
Once the cake was completely absorbed, Jessie pulled the fork back.
Pop!
The fork slipped out with a sound as it left the slime’s body.
Jessie and Nina then watched as the cake dissolved inside the slime’s translucent form, melting away like ice in an instant.
"Nina! The slime ate the cake!"
"That’s incredible."
Meanwhile, the slime that had just absorbed the cake was overcome by a powerful shock.
‘……!!!’
It was an explosion of seasoning flavors it had never experienced before.
Even more easily absorbed than jerky, the blend of various spices inside the cake seemed to make the nonexistent eyes of the slime spark and pop.
There was only one emotion the slime felt after tasting the cake.
‘Delicious!’
▷Cake! Delicious!
It immediately left its impression in the chat window.
The slime trembled and bounced lightly on Jessie’s thigh with a boing!
“Look, Nina! It really loves it! It must really like the cake if it’s bouncing like that!”
“Do you think a slime can really tell the taste of cake?”
“Of course it can! Just look how happy it is!”
▶Is it really that good?
▶ Dunno lol
▶ Didn’t Squishy love everything anyway?
[Just Slam First] ▶ Hmph! Still nothing compared to fresh, blood-dripping raw meat!
▶Didn’t ask.
[Squishy Queen] ▶ Aah, My kin has eaten strange human food again…!
[Thread Lady] ▶ Well, isn’t it cute and sweet to see it happy~?
Jessie’s lips curled up as she watched the happy slime.
She picked up a cookie and brought it to the slime.
“Try this too, slime. It’s a cookie!”
‘Cookie’
The slime accepted the cookie and even enveloped Jessie’s fingers along with it.
“Wow! It’s pulling my fingers in too!”
“M-My lady! Please pull your hand out quickly!”
“Kya haha! The inside of the slime feels a little sticky! But still soft!”
“My lady! Quickly!”
At Nina’s urging, Jessie pulled her fingers out of the slime.
“It was a bit sticky, but nothing got on me.”
The slime was intelligent enough to distinguish between what it should and shouldn’t absorb.
“Phew, My lady, please don’t scare me like that.”
“Now you try, Nina!”
“Me?”
“Here!”
With a bright smile, Jessie handed her a cookie.
Nina broke into a nervous sweat at Jessie’s request.
She wanted to refuse.
But Jessie had already shown it was safe.
As a maid, she had no grounds to refuse.
Nina accepted the cookie from Jessie, closed her eyes tightly, and brought it to the slime.
‘Cookie!’
The slime immediately gulped down the cookie along with Nina’s hand.
“Eek! I-It really is sticky!”
Nina let go of the cookie and quickly pulled her hand back.
“See? Told you so.”
“Yes. Um... really, nothing got on my hand.”
Having absorbed even the cookie from Nina, the slime jumped again joyfully.
“Looks like it’s happy you gave it a cookie.”
“Is that so?”
Creak!
Just then, while Nina tilted her head in thought, the door opened and Count Rufus Ludendion entered with Finn.
“Jessie! My angel!”
“Father!”
Seeing her father enter, Jessie picked up the slime with both hands and walked toward him with the brightest smile she could muster.
“Look at this! It’s an adorable slime! It’s very gentle and listens so well!”
Although normally naive, Jessie knew well that when asking her father, Count Rufus Ludendion, for something, she needed to use her charm.
“Your smile today is like the gentle morning sunshine, my angel.”
“Heehee.”
“So this is the slime I’ve heard about?”
Count Ludendion stroked his chin with his fingers as he looked at the slime.
‘Wow! A new human!’
Brrrrrr!
“It’s trembling?”
“It’s happy to see you, Father! It shakes or bounces when it's excited!”
“Is that so?”
“Yes! I’ll show you!”
As if presenting a hidden trick from a pet, Jessie placed the slime on her bed and cut another piece of cake with a fork, bringing it toward the slime.
“Here, cake!”
‘Cake!’
The slime absorbed the cake instantly.
And just as it had shown Jessie and Nina, it began to tremble and bounce on the bed from the delicious taste.
“See? Right?”
“Heh, so it does? …………Finn, slimes can eat cake too?”
“They can pretty much eat anything.”
“I see.”
“Father! I want to keep this slime! I’ll take good care of it! Please? Can I, please?”
Jessie pleaded with sparkling eyes.
Rufus nearly clutched his heart from his daughter’s adorable smile.
‘I must endure. I am a count and the father of my beloved angel! No matter how much she wants it, I must ensure it’s safe first!’
“Nina.”
“Yes, Count.”
“Come with me. We need to talk. Finn, stay here with Jessie for now.”
“Understood.”
Before Count Ludendion left, Jessie sent Nina a desperate look.
‘Say the right things! Nina!’
Once outside, Count Ludendion immediately asked Nina who had followed him.
“Nina, what’s your opinion? Does that slime seem safe to you?”
“At the moment, it doesn’t appear to be dangerous.”
“Hmm, but keeping a monster beside Jessie…?”
“Count, if I may, I believe it would be unwise to drive the slime away right now.”
“And why is that?”
“Well…”
Nina explained how Jessie came across the slime.
How she insisted on seeing Nellin in the elf forest and eventually found the slime.
Thanks to that, Jessie was able to cheer up right away, but if the slime were driven out immediately, Jessie would soon throw a fit about seeing Nellin again.
“For now, I believe the slime helps keep the young lady’s attention focused.”
“I see… Haa, my angel really is just like me.”
With a sigh, Count Ludendion looked out the window.
‘To think she inherited even her admiration for Lady Nellin.’
The Starlight Archer.
That longing to see Lady Nellin—Count Ludendion could relate to it.
He too had felt the same when he was young.
In fact, his feelings for Nellin may have been even stronger than his daughter’s.
And that’s exactly why he couldn’t let her meet Nellin.
‘It would be far too cruel to shatter that gentle child’s fantasy.’