“Hand it over! I’ll take care of it!”
“Granny, what’s gotten into you all of a sudden? What’s wrong with this slime?”
“Can’t you understand what I’m saying?”
“What about it!”
Nellin couldn’t understand why the elder was suddenly yelling and trying to get rid of the slime.
Meanwhile, the elder, frustrated by Nellin’s continued resistance, smacked her forehead with a thwack.
“My goodness, you’re a great hero and you don’t even know that?”
“What does being a hero have to do with this!”
“That monster has intelligence! You know better than anyone how dangerous intelligent monsters can be, don’t you, Lady Nellin!”
There had long been stories that particularly powerful monsters possessed intelligence.
In fact, among the monsters Nellin had fought—those that had inflicted great harm on the elves—many had shown emotions and used tactics while fighting.
So, to the elder, a slime that could understand Nellin’s words seemed like a threat.
Though it wasn’t directly dangerous yet due to its young age, if left alone, it could eventually become a threat to the elves.
“That calamity you and your comrades defeated—the Black Dragon—it also had intelligence, didn’t it! And now there’s a slime with intelligence? How can you say that’s not dangerous!”
▶ Who’s the Black Dragon?
▶ Some boomer doesn’t know?
▶ Isn’t that the guy from "Noblesse Fire"? The idiot who went around broadcasting ‘Human Massacre’ and got owned?
▶oo Yeah I remember too
[Gothic Luxury Bone] ▶“I have no regrets in life!” and then he died, right?
▶What the heck lololol
▶There’s always that one weirdo who loses their mind.
▶There was even one who claimed to be a human lol
“Wait, you’re comparing that Black Dragon to this guy? This one’s a slime. What’s dangerous about it?”
[Squishy Queen] ▶You elf! How dare you look down on my kin!
“You do realize such complacency leads to disaster, right! Even a slime might grow to rival a calamity someday!”
[Squishy Queen] ▶Yes, well said!
Listening to the elder, Nellin hugged the slime even tighter.
'So soft!'
Feeling the new sensation, the slime trembled with joy as Nellin hugged it firmly.
It was an instinctive reaction, but no matter how she thought about it, this slime didn’t seem threatening in the least.
Nellin stared at the slime and asked the elder, “This one?”
Her voice was filled with genuine doubt.
Viewers burst into laughter at the sight.
▶ LOL
▶Yeah, it’s hard to believe lolol
▶ 2222222.
[Squishy Queen] ▶How dare you underestimate my kin! So arrogant!
[Thread-Lady]▶ I just can’t picture that adorable squishy one becoming strong~
[Just Slam First] ▶Don’t worry! As long as it can Body Slam, it can be the best!
▶You’re ignoring species differences, huh?
Holding the slime in one arm and petting it with the other, Nellin said, “Granny, I’m stronger than you and have way more battle experience, right? From what I can see, this thing poses zero threat to me. You’re worrying for nothing. Don’t you trust my instincts?”
The elder found it hard to refute.
She could nag all day, but if Nellin brought up combat experience, she had no counter.
And if she argued further, it might be seen as questioning Nellin’s dignity as a great hero.
“Sigh… even if that slime isn’t dangerous! We still can’t allow a monster inside the village!”
“It’s not dangerous at all. Can’t I just raise it? If it becomes dangerous, I’ll deal with it myself…”
“Lady Nellin!”
“Okay, okay. I’ll take it outside the village, alright?”
Nellin decided she couldn’t change the elder’s mind any further.
***
Nellin carried the slime out of the village.
“Sigh… sorry. Granny’s the type who won’t listen once she’s made up her mind.”
She briefly considered hiding it and raising it secretly, but it was obvious the elder would blow up if she got caught.
Given the choice between this curious, intelligent slime and the elder who had been with her for years, Nellin had no choice but to pick the latter.
Even so, she didn’t feel good about releasing the slime into the wild like this.
Before saying goodbye, Nellin returned to the butcher’s shop to buy more jerky.
Soon, she passed through the village gates and entered the forest.
She set the slime down and laid out all the jerky she had bought.
“The jerky was tasty, right? Eat up.”
'Jerky!'
Delighted by the sight of jerky, the slime absorbed each piece one by one.
It shivered with joy at the taste that never got old.
“You’re just so cute. Granny sure worries a lot.”
She placed a hand on the trembling slime’s head and gently stroked it.
She wasn’t sure if the slime would survive in the wild.
Even if it could understand language, it was still the weakest kind of monster.
But still—
“If fate brings us together again, I’ll give you something even tastier then.”
'Something even tastier!'
The slime bounced in place at her words.
“See? Told you it understands.”
Rising from her crouched position, Nellin spoke to the slime.
“Take care.”
She gave it a small wave and turned around, heading back to the village.
Having finished the jerky, the slime watched Nellin’s retreating figure.
'Elf!'
It had heard her parting words, but still lacked the language ability to fully understand.
Boing! It tried to follow her.
That’s when it happened.
▶[Free Spirit has donated 5 coins]
▶[Message: Squishy, don’t follow her!]
Free Spirit, who had been silent since Nellin entered the village, finally spoke up.
A.k.a. the troll.
He donated and tried to stop the slime.
▷Why?
[Free Spirit] ▶It’s dangerous. You can’t go to the elf village!
[Noblesse Fire] ▶Too busy munching jerky to hear anything, huh.
▶I almost said, “It’s fine, just go.” lol
[Squishy Queen] ▶my kin! If you return, you might die! Would you give up seeing new things?
'Not see new things?'
▷Don’t want that!
[Squishy Queen] ▶Of course you don’t! So go somewhere else!
Receiving advice meant for it, the slime felt regret at being separated from the elf who had given it delicious food.
But it clearly remembered what Nellin had said.
— If fate brings us together again, I’ll give you something even tastier.
The slime vaguely understood that it wasn’t a final goodbye.
'New things!'
Instead of lingering on sadness, the slime decided to focus on new experiences.
To explore a world still full of mysteries.
The slime’s curiosity was reignited.
Boing! Boing!
Maybe because it had eaten a lot of jerky, the slime bounced even more energetically as it moved into the forest.
***
'Nellin… I can’t believe that’s where Squishy was… A cave near the elf village.'
A robed skeleton watched the broadcast of the slime cheerfully bouncing around.
The location resembled a library, filled with drawers and shelves packed with books.
But the only being present there was the skeleton in a robe.
This skeleton was none other than the one with the nickname Free Spirit.
Also known as “Troll,” he was a lich.
Since the slime left the cave, Troll had been thinking with amusement about what advice to give next.
He had never seen a creature like that, even before or after becoming a lich.
After being betrayed by humans and barely escaping with his life, he became a lich and encountered the concept of the system for the first time.
Maybe because of that, as he explored broadcasts from other monsters through the system, he gradually became intrigued.
Rather than being consumed by rage and seeking revenge on humans, he became absorbed in studying the broadcasts of intelligent monsters.
Monsters with intelligence equal to humans, and broadcasts so bizarre they were laughable by human standards.
Even shows from catastrophic monsters unseen on the continent of Derxia.
Even the Black Dragon he once faced in his human days turned out to be part of a “Human Massacre Show” concept broadcast.
The more he delved into these broadcasts, the more his wrath calmed, and his desire to destroy all humans faded.
But he couldn’t erase the deep-rooted hatred toward humans born from betrayal.
That’s why Troll never left his hidden workshop, instead spending 30 years immersed in exploring monster broadcasts.
And today, for the first time in 30 years, he saw the face of his former comrade Nellin through the slime’s broadcast.
Surprise, joy, longing, and a faint awkwardness he couldn’t put into words.
In the end, Troll couldn’t even type in the chat while the slime was in the elf village.
'You haven’t changed at all, Nellin…'
An elf, yet she was always the cheerful one who lifted the group’s spirits when things got heavy.
After defeating the Black Dragon, she smiled and said goodbye, promising they’d meet again someday—but they never did.
Seeing her now, just as easygoing and carefree as 30 years ago, Troll felt like the corners of his non-existent lips were lifting.
He recalled what Nellin had said to the slime.
'Yeah, I probably won’t see her again…'
But this time, Troll truly wanted to help fulfill that reunion promise she had made with the slime.
***
Three days had passed since parting with the elf village.
The slime bounced all over the place, satisfying its curiosity by observing various plants and animals.
Then, while absorbing a green plant, the slime suddenly had a thought.
It wanted to eat something new and delicious.
But no matter how much it looked around, there was no jerky.
Even if it tried to drink animal blood like from a deer, the slime didn’t know how.
'Something tasty…'
The slime drooped in disappointment.
Just then, a purple plant growing from the ground caught its eye.
'Something new!'
Thinking it would taste new, the slime absorbed the purple plant.
'It hurts…!'
The moment it did, pain surged from within.
▷Hurts!
[Squishy Queen] ▶Oh no, my kin! What’s the matter!
[Thread-Lady] ▶Oh dear! Squishy, why does it hurt?
▶ Looks like it happened after eating that purple plant.
▶Isn’t that poisonous?
▶Wait, can poison even affect slimes? lolol
[Squishy Queen] ▶Poison!? my kin! Quick, eat another plant! Hurry!
Following the advice, the slime ate its usual green plant instead.
An hour later, the pain finally subsided.
Thanks to absorbing nutrients and processing the poison inside, it managed to recover.
▷Purple plant! Hate it!
It was the first time the slime had ever felt dislike toward something.
But when one expresses feelings like that, there’s always someone who wants to tease.
[Anonymous678 has donated 1 coin]
[Message: If you eat it one more time, it won’t hurt~]
'Won’t hurt?'
[Squishy Queen] ▶Don’t listen to that nonsense, my kin!
[Thread-Lady] ▶Why are you trying to hurt our adorable slime again!
[Gothic Luxury Bone] ▶Since slime doesn’t block people, we can’t stop them…
Even though messages quickly poured in trying to stop it,
the slime’s eyes were already locked on the purple plant that had hurt it earlier.
'Didn’t taste it properly!'
Believing the pain had distracted it from truly tasting the purple plant, the slime absorbed it again.
And then—
▷Hurts!
▶ LOLLOLLOL
▶It actually ate it again lololol
Once again, the slime felt the pain of poison.
But this time was different.
[Skill Acquired: Detoxification]
'...Huh? It doesn't hurt!'
▷Doesn't hurt!
▶??
▶Really, no pain?
▷Detox! I got it!
▶ Did it just learn a detoxification skill??
▶It actually got that??
Realizing it no longer hurt even after eating the poisonous plant, the slime absorbed the purple plant once again.
▷Tasty!
Delighted by the new flavor, the slime bounced joyfully.