‘The bread is delicious! There are so many people! So many things I don’t know!’
The slime that followed along on the inspection was delighted and satisfied with everything it saw and tasted.
New foods to try, new humans to see for the first time.
And the new senses it could now experience made the slime happy.
Human food.
Dishes made with various ingredients brought a bigger change to the slime than simply eating a whole deer or rabbit.
Just as eating moss had helped it develop sight.
The slime had now newly acquired the sense of smell and taste.
It could detect scents through its whole body, and instead of just distinguishing what it ate by nutritional value, it could now actually taste it.
It had only been two days since it had gained these new senses.
So everything felt even more new, more fun, and more joyful.
For the slime, which was filled with curiosity, learning about things it didn’t know was an exciting and delightful experience.
And it felt a sense of closeness to Jessie, the "being" who gave it such joy.
The slime, being intelligent, could understand.
It understood that Jessie had suggested the inspection to the Count and was now taking it around the estate for its sake.
‘Jessie! Like!’
It developed a clear sense of affection toward this individual, and at the same time, it wished for Jessie to feel joy just as it did.
“Hehe, today I’ll read you the book I bought at the bookstore, Alexandros II!”
After returning from the inspection, Jessie entered the room with the slime and pulled out a book she had bought today.
It wasn’t based on legends or folklore, but just a simple fairy tale for children.
Because it had lots of pictures, she thought the slime would like it and bought it.
The slime liked the fairy tales Jessie read to it, and liked her voice as she read them.
Most of all, the very act of doing something for it warmed the slime’s heart.
It hoped Jessie would feel just as happy.
What could it do to make Jessie happy?
The slime stared at the fairy tale book she was reading and fell into thought.
Then, a sudden idea struck.
‘...! Shoulder!’
It remembered the time it had quivered on Nina’s shoulder.
When it had trembled on her shoulder, Nina had enjoyed it.
Nina had liked it. Nina was a human.
Jessie was a human too.
So, the slime concluded that Jessie would like it too if she did what Nina had enjoyed.
Boing!
The slime immediately jumped off the bed and landed on Jessie’s shoulder as she lay reading the book.
“Hm? Alexandros II? What is it?”
Brrrrrrrrr!
“Ah, ah, ah, ahhhh~.”
The slime’s vibration skillfully relaxed her muscles.
And the added thought that it wanted Jessie to enjoy it made the effect even stronger.
“Th-this feels... good!”
Her voice trembled from the vibration.
The slime ended the massage after treating both shoulders.
“Thank you, Alexandros II! That was amazing!”
‘Great! Jessie liked it!’
Boing!
Since Jessie was happy, the slime happily bounced on the bed.
***
It had now been a month since the slime came to stay with the Count’s family in Ludendion.
After the inspection, it was decided that the slime was relatively safe.
Jessie was granted permission to go out under escort, and she took the slime around the estate.
At first, the townspeople were wary and confused when they saw it, but after repeated visits, they came to see Jessie and the slime as a set and looked upon them warmly.
Not only the townspeople but also the servants in the mansion began to have a much better impression of the slime.
The reason was simple.
“Hehe, Alexandros II! Show off your skills!”
Brrrrrrrrrr!
“O-Ohh! Such mysterious vibrations! I can’t believe a slime has such a special skill...!”
“Albert! If you say weird stuff to Alexandros II, you’re banned from massages!”
“S-s-s-sorry, m-my lady!”
After experiencing the slime’s vibrating massage skill, Jessie thought—
She wished everyone could recognize how amazing it was!
So first, she had Nina try it.
Then Finn.
Then the head chef who prepared the meals.
One by one, the range expanded until almost every servant in the mansion had received a slime massage.
The reviews were overwhelmingly positive.
The feeling of tight muscles loosening in an instant after long hours of cleaning and chores drastically improved their view of the slime.
And now, it was finally the head butler Albert’s turn.
Jessie was proud.
Her plan to have the beloved Alexandros II be acknowledged by the people of the mansion was going smoothly.
Moreover, the slime’s massage skill had recently gotten even better.
‘Alexandros II is smart, so it must’ve figured out how to do it better!’
Jessie’s assumption was half right.
It had figured out how to improve its technique.
But the real reason for the improved precision was that while practicing massage vibrations, the slime had acquired a new skill.
[Skill Acquired: Vibration]
The effect of the skill "Vibration" was simple.
It allowed the body to vibrate.
By adjusting the intensity based on energy usage, it was far more versatile than just shaking randomly.
Naturally, gaining this skill boosted the slime’s massage abilities.
And so, as the slime’s reputation continued to rise within the mansion through its massages—
There was only one person who still remained wary and doubtful.
‘Is that slime really safe?’
It was Count Rufus Ludendion.
He had been observing the slime for a month and thinking.
That the slime had never posed any significant threat so far.
Rather, it seemed to possess considerable intelligence, obediently following Jessie and appearing friendly toward humans.
And now even among the servants, the slime was earning praise for its massages.
Even Albert, the head butler he trusted, spoke highly of it.
It seemed all the evidence pointed toward the slime being safe.
However, the fact that the supposedly safe slime seemed to possess high intelligence was the problem.
As a count, he had access to various pieces of information.
Among them was the fact that there were monsters with intelligence high enough to communicate with humans—and those monsters invariably possessed dangerous powers.
But if he tried to drive the slime away based on that information alone, he couldn’t imagine what his beloved daughter might say to him.
“Sigh.”
Count Ludendion let out a sigh and asked Albert, who had just come to the office for a routine report.
“Albert, do you think I’m worrying over nothing? The slime hasn’t caused any harm so far, but I still feel uneasy.”
“No, not at all, my lord. As the ruler of this land, it is only natural for you to pay attention to even the slightest source of concern. Especially if it involves Lady Jessie.”
“But aren’t you fond of the slime as well?”
“I merely think its massage ability is excellent. If you were to decide to send it away, I would support that decision.”
“Thank you, Albert. Come to think of it, is there any information about that slime?”
“There are two things worth mentioning.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“First, the slime appears to be a very curious creature.”
“Curious, huh. Now that I think about it, Jessie did say the slime wanted to see the outside world.”
“Yes. When it first went on inspection, it reacted with great excitement and was thrilled to see the outside. However, Nina and Finn mentioned that as the number of outings increased, while the slime still seemed happy, it no longer showed the same level of excitement.”
“Well, even humans get tired of seeing the same things over and over. Monsters probably aren’t any different. And the second thing?”
“.....”
“Albert?”
“Well… the young lady is being a picky eater.”
“W-what did you say!”
Count Rufus Ludendion was horrified at the sudden news.
“My angel! Jessie is being picky with her food! That’s bad for her health! Why! She used to eat everything just fine!”
His reaction was as intense as if a critically ill patient had refused to take their medicine.
Wiping cold sweat from his brow at the Count’s doting nature, Albert continued.
“She has been seen several times secretly transferring disliked vegetables like bell peppers or carrots onto the slime’s plate.”
“How could this be! You little slime! How dare you threaten the health of our beloved angel!”
“My lord, it’s not the slime’s fault—Lady Jessie was the one being picky. Please calm down.”
“Albert! What if our lovely Jessie’s health deteriorates because of this! She’s still at an age where she needs to grow! Picky eating is dangerous!”
Although Jessie had long since passed the age where nutrition was a major concern, Albert didn’t point that out.
Because the Count had been overly concerned with nutrition since she was young, Jessie had grown unusually tall and mature-looking for her age, to the point where people often mistook her for an adult—but Albert didn’t mention that either.
Albert knew.
Whenever the Count got like this, the best course of action was to let him say everything he needed to, and then offer calm and appropriate consolation.
***
Jessie arrived at the Count’s office with the slime and Nina, answering his summons.
“What’s the matter, Father!”
“Jessie, I believe… it’s time to part ways with Alexandros II.”
“What!? What are you saying, Father! Part ways with Alexandros II?!”
Unable to believe what her father was saying, Jessie clutched the slime that had been resting on her head.
“I heard about it. That you’ve been feeding the slime your unwanted vegetables.”
“…!”
‘I thought no one noticed!’
Jessie knew just how much her father disliked picky eating.
That’s why she had tried to discreetly, secretly pass them to the slime—she hadn’t expected anyone to see her do it.
“I’m sorry, Father! I won’t be picky anymore! I won’t ask Alexandros II to eat them for me! So please forgive me!”
“I’m glad to hear you won’t be picky anymore. But Jessie, even without that, it’s time to part with the slime.”
“Why? Is it because Alexandros II is a monster? But Alexandros II is so gentle and kind! He even gives everyone massages!”
Jessie looked at Count Ludendion with teary eyes.
Seeing the gaze of his beloved daughter nearly broke his resolve, but he held firm and gave her the answer he had come to after three long days of agonizing thought before calling her in.
“This is for Alexandros II’s sake.”
“For Alexandros II’s sake?”
“Yes. You know very well how curious he is, right?”
“Yes.”
“This mansion is far too small for a creature like him. The reason he wants to go outside must be because he originally lived out there. Because he lived in the wild, he yearns for it even more. Jessie, my precious daughter. Keeping him confined here isn’t good for him.”
“T-that can’t be…!”
The answer that Count Ludendion offered—
It was essentially: go back to where you belong.
A logic no different from releasing a wild animal back into the wild.