Elf.
Like humans, whom monsters detest, elves are also a race that can never be called friendly toward monsters.
Monsters that catch the System’s attention don’t exist only on the Demon Continent.
Although fewer in number than in Monstopia, monsters that attract the System’s gaze exist on the Derxia Continent as well, and the broadcasts relayed by those monsters could be seen even by the monsters of the Demon Continent.
Watching these broadcasts from Derxia, the monsters of the Demon Continent came to a realization.
They realized just how recklessly the humans of Derxia treated monsters, and that sometimes even elves and other races, who joined forces with humans to hunt monsters, were no different than enemies to monsters.
“Die!”
“How much do you think this one goes for?”
“Kehihi, this guy’s hide and claws—they all fetch a good price, huh?”
“Hey, keep that one alive. We need it for display.”
Hunting, slaughtering, and tormenting monsters beyond what’s necessary—taking pleasure in it—was truly disgusting behavior!
That’s why the elves’ reaction to the slime made the monsters burst out laughing.
The elf neither saw the slime as prey nor as an enemy.
Their attitude was more like dealing with an annoying gnat buzzing nearby.
To compare it to how monsters might treat others—it was like being too disgusted to touch it, so they’d just wave a tail or leg to shoo it away.
In other words, that’s how weak and insignificant the slime was considered.
That’s what made the monsters laugh out loud.
Why?
Because it wasn’t happening to them!
If they had been treated like that themselves, they’d have gotten angry—but this wasn’t their problem!
On top of that, the slime’s soft and pure aura only made it even funnier.
▶ Lol, total weakling treatment 😂😂😂
▶ It’s a slime, so fair enough😂😂😂
▶Ack, my stomach😂😂😂
As the situation got funnier, even viewers who had been silent began joining in the chat, swept up by the mood.
But while most viewers were laughing, one person was burning with rage.
[Squishy Queen] ▶ That arrogant elf! How dare they treat a fellow slime like that! How insolent! How outrageous!
[Noblesse Fire]▶ Squishy Queen’s losing it😂😂😂
That person was none other than Squishy Queen.
The Slime Queen.
The Slime Queen knew as well.
She knew how young slimes were treated as weak and pathetic.
She herself had experienced such treatment while growing up.
Of course, back then she lacked intelligence, so she had no thoughts or feelings about it—and even now, she didn’t intend to get angry over the past.
But seeing a fellow slime she held dear being treated that way before her eyes—her core boiled with rage.
And that easily readable anger became great teasing material for the rowdy viewers.
▶Scratch?😂😂😂
▶ No wonder she’s mad😂😂 but oh well😂😂😂
Shaking with frustration, the Slime Queen trembled at the anonymous teasing chats.
‘If this were my channel, I’d ban them all right now!’
She decided that once the young slime grew a bit more, she would start by teaching it how to ban trolls.
Meanwhile, the slime being treated like trash didn’t feel any anger toward the elf’s actions.
‘Elf!’
Rather, its lingering curiosity only made it want to know more about the elf.
Boing! Boing!
The slime bounced twice cheerfully and moved even closer to the elf.
“No, go away already! What are you doing?”
Normally, just a wave of the hand would be enough to send a slime running away by instinct.
But instead, this slime kept approaching her, and the elf was confused.
And something even more confusing happened next.
The slime, having come close, suddenly stopped and began to tremble.
That tremble came from joy at being able to observe the elf up close and learn something new.
But to the elf, it looked completely bizarre.
The elf made her own guess about the slime’s behavior.
‘Is it hungry?’
A memory surfaced in the elf’s mind—something an old companion once said.
That in some village, slimes were used to dispose of leftover food.
In other words, slimes could eat and digest just about anything.
The elf looked back and forth between the blood pooled beneath the deer and the slime.
“Hey, slime.”
She squatted down and tapped the puddle of blood with the arrow she had drawn.
“You can eat this.”
▶Ackkkkk
▶She said it could eat that😂😂😂😂
▶I’m dying😂😂😂😂😂😂
[Squishy Queen] ▶ That damn elf!!!!
The slime’s focus was entirely on the elf, so it didn’t even notice the chaotic chat.
Where the elf had gestured with her arrow and what she had said—
‘Eat? I can eat that?’
To the slime, who had only ever eaten moss and grass by instinct, the idea of consuming animal blood had never even occurred.
This time, instead of bouncing, the slime slowly crept toward the blood puddle.
And then, just like it did with moss, it absorbed the deer’s blood that was right beneath it.
Slurp, slurp—the deer’s blood was sucked into the slime’s body.
“Was it really hungry?”
[Squishy Queen] ▶ Why—why are you eating that, my kin!!!
[Noblesse Fire]▶ Lmao, they told it to eat and it really did😂😂
[Gothic Luxury Bone] ▶Guess Squishy isn’t picky with food either.
[Just Slam First] ▶ Animal blood does taste good tho.
▶ Want a taste?
▶ Ah! F*ck!
[Thread-Lady] ▶ Kyaa~ Even the way it drinks blood is adorable~!
The deer's blood was quickly broken down as it was absorbed by the slime.
Only a small part of the floor turned slightly red.
The slime’s body didn’t become filled with the color of blood.
‘……!’
And after absorbing the deer's blood, the slime felt a very strange sensation.
Whereas moss or grass it had eaten before made its body feel calm and normal, the blood it was absorbing now caused energy to surge from within.
It was only natural—deer blood contained far more nutrients than grass.
That nourishment was invigorating the slime.
What was this sensation it was feeling?
While wondering that, a comment caught the slime’s eye.
▶ Eating it like it’s delicious😂😂😂
‘Delicious? Delicious!’
A casual comment, thrown out during its thoughts.
The slime instinctively felt that the word matched the sensation it was currently pondering.
And so, the slime decided to call this feeling ‘delicious.’
The slime quickly absorbed the blood pooled on the ground.
Then, as if to show how energized it felt, it bounced in place with a boing-boing.
“Huh, guess it really was hungry?”
To the elf, it looked like the slime was happy because it had eaten something tasty.
‘Cute?’
The sight of the soft-looking slime bouncing in place seemed quite adorable to the elf.
It didn’t seem dangerous, and every little thing it did looked cute.
To the elf, who hadn’t had anything fun happen lately, the slime was interesting enough to pay attention to.
A thought popped into the elf’s mind.
‘The elders might make a fuss… ah well, I’ll deal with that later.’
“Hey, slime, wanna come with me?”
‘Come with?’
At the elf’s words, the slime stopped bouncing.
It tilted its soft body slightly to the side, almost like a person tilting their head.
‘Huh? Feels like it understands me.’
At least enough for the elf to find it strange.
“If you come, I’ll give you more tasty stuff.”
‘Tasty stuff!’
Hearing the words “tasty stuff,” the slime happily bounced again in place.
“So that’s a yes? Alright then, follow me if you understand.”
Carrying the drained deer on her shoulder, the elf started walking, and the slime followed behind, bouncing cheerfully.
[Squishy Queen] ▶ No, why are you following, my kin?!
▷ Tasty stuff! I want to eat!
▶It’s actually following just because of food😂😂😂😂
[Just Slam First] ▶Body Slam! When is it going to use the Body Slam I taught it?!
▶ Is this slime gonna get itself killed?
▶ It’s too weak to even be worth attacking😂😂😂
To the viewers, it didn’t seem like the slime would be attacked recklessly just for following the elf.
Because they had seen just how insignificant it was treated.
Besides, the viewers were curious too.
The place the elf was taking the slime to—her habitat.
It was a rare chance to see how those who always attacked and hunted monsters lived.
In a sea of similar, stale broadcasts, this was the first time anyone had attempted to visit an elf village.
The excitement for this new content even quieted down the usual trolls.
New premium content?
No one could resist that!
***
‘It’s really following me? It really understands?’
The elf.
Nellin glanced back at the light green slime trailing her as she carried the deer on her shoulder.
Boing! Boing!—the slime followed cheerfully and cutely.
Nellin had seen many slimes during her travels, but this was the first time she’d seen one so lively and determined.
The only slimes she had found threatening were the ones in the harsh wilderness that used multiple tentacles to attack people.
Compared to those, the slime following her now was downright adorable.
Especially to Nellin, who had once hunted troublesome monsters with her companions—this slime posed absolutely no threat.
As she neared the village, one worry came to mind.
‘It better not get attacked for no reason.’
She might hold back, but the guards stationed at the entrance might shoot an arrow just for seeing a slime follow her.
Especially since the guards were chosen for being serious and by-the-book elves.
She had told it to follow, but thinking about the possibility of it getting skewered by an arrow at the village gate made her feel uneasy.
‘Isn’t there some way around this?’
Nellin stopped walking, crouched down with the deer still on her shoulder, and reached out her hand toward the slime.
‘If it really understands…’
“Hey, slime. Wanna ride on my hand? It’ll be more convenient later.”
At her suggestion, the slime immediately boinged and hopped onto her hand.
It wasn’t so much because of the word “convenient,” but because it simply wanted to know what the elf’s hand felt like—a new kind of lifeform.
“You really do understand?”
Fascinated by the idea that the slime had intelligence, Nellin felt its texture with her palm.
Soft and slightly cool in a pleasant way.
As she stood back up to start walking again, the slime trembled with a ticklish little shiver.
‘So high! Whoa!’
Having always seen the world from ground level, it trembled with joy at the elevated view.
“You like this?”
Guessing from its reaction—which was similar to when it absorbed the deer’s blood—Nellin figured as much.
For some reason, her mood lifted as well, and she began walking again.
A short while later.
The elf guards on duty at the village couldn’t help but tilt their heads in confusion at the sight before them.
The village hero was approaching, with a deer slung over one shoulder and a light green slime resting in one hand.
“Nellin?”
“Thanks for the hard work.”
“Yes, but… that slime in your hand, what is it?”
“Oh, I picked it up on the way.”
“…Excuse me?”
“It seemed unexpectedly smart. Hey, it even understands speech.”
Hearing that the great hero had picked up a slime on the way left the guards in total confusion.
“Huh? It’s trembling again. What is it this time? What do you like now?”
And seeing the hero talk to the slime gave them a headache.
“Nellin, you don’t seriously intend to bring that slime into the village, do you?”
“Yeah. Why not? It’s just a slime—what harm could it do?”
“Well, that may be true… but the Elder will definitely be angry.”
“Oh come on, she’s not going to get mad over something this small, right?”
***
“Have you lost your mind?!”
Nellin was met with a furious scolding from the Elder.