episode_0174

You see, I originally had an ordinary body, just like regular slimes. Just like the slimes you always see, with a core inside and covered in slime on the outside. But as I said before, I was a variant… I was born with inherent intelligence. So my curiosity was very deep. For example, what is this grass we’re stepping on, and what is that tree? Although it was useless curiosity, I was truly filled with such curiosity. However, I wasn’t the adventurous type.

A growl.

“…!! Ahh!!”

When I met strong monsters, I always ran away. Other slimes also lacked intelligence, but they instinctively thought, ‘If we attack this, we’ll die,’ and usually ran away. Of course, at that time, I had no idea how other slimes actually lived. Slimes are monsters that don’t live in groups. But having been born with intelligence, I wanted to try having conversations with other slimes. However, they lacked the intelligence to understand my actions at all. No… they didn’t even have the intelligence to understand, so they just did their own thing.

“…Bored… Am I the only one like this…? My other friends. They don’t speak.”

Thus, I grew up feeling loneliness, uniquely among slimes. Was I the only one born like this, or were they all like me but just ignoring me…? Without knowing the reason or the answer at all. Then, by chance, I discovered a certain species.

“Sigh… This hunt, really… Just full of magic stones, couldn’t even get any crystal stones.”

“Sigh… Crystal stones are really hard to get… but it doesn’t need to be this hard.”

“Just one crystal stone would make us so full. Wouldn’t it?”

“…!! Conversation… It’s a conversation!”

It was humans. I didn’t know it at the time, but the humans I discovered then were trying to hunt monsters to obtain the magic stones that formed from our condensed magic. However, that wasn’t important to me. What was important was that the humans were conversing freely, and what’s more, understanding each other, in the way I had tried to converse with my own kind. So, from then on, I thought. If slimes couldn’t do it, it would be better to converse with humans.

“I need… conversation… I need… a form!”

From then on, I began observing humans. Their appearance, their conversations, and even the language they used. While studying all of this, I never stopped studying humans, even when constantly chased by strong monsters. First, I needed to overhear what kind of conversations humans mostly had.

“Gasp…!! Please help me!! I’m lost in the forest…”

“Oh my… A beautiful lady like you lost in the forest… I’ll escort you home.”

Since this was a deep forest, many humans got lost here, making it easy for me to study them. What conversations they had, what language they used, and what they said in different situations. I even learned negative words like ‘kill,’ ‘save,’ ‘life’… After studying human language like that, I needed to change my form.

“I need to change my form. Hmm… Then… Shall I gradually stretch my body?”

Being small compared to humans, I decided to first stretch my body. But that wasn’t all; as I stretched my body, I was very careful to make the stretched body match that of a human. I consumed the necessary herbs to stretch my body, again and again, and so, referring to the appearance of human women who had gotten lost in the forest, I was finally able to create my own form. I subtly picked up clothes they had dropped and left behind, and finally, I was able to mimic a human form.

“Good…!! With this, I’ve become human…!! My language is perfect too… Then now… to become on equal footing with humans.”

Finally, only one task remained to be on equal footing with humans. If you wanted to be on equal footing with another species, what would you have done? Conversation? That might be one way, but… I decided to use a sure method I learned from them. That was…

“Roar!!!”

“P-Please save me!!! A monster… a monster is after me…!!”

“Huh…?!”

I used the method of being intentionally chased by a monster and then rescued by people. Why did I use such a dangerous method? Because for them, a fearsome monster chasing me was more important than their curiosity about me. And that was what I should call the trick I learned from them… Anyway, that’s how it worked.

“Phew… That was truly dangerous. How could such a strong monster be chasing a beautiful young lady…?”

“T-Thank you for saving me…!! Actually… my home burned down because of a monster…”

“…!! Oh dear… In that case, please take this money. And I will guide you to the nearest kingdom.”

“Ah…!! Thank you…!!”

Humans, who thought I was truly in danger and had lost my home to fire, showed me kindness and guided me to the nearest kingdom. In truth, I was targeting such people when I performed these acts. Because I had already figured out what kind of humans they were. Thus, I traveled around various regions, receiving money from people. But originally, I had intended to buy a house with that money and live like a human…

“…This life doesn’t seem so bad either.”

A life of living off others wasn’t so bad, it turned out. So, completely forgetting my original goal, I lived by deceiving others and receiving their generosity. About 150 years passed like that, and I was 210 years old. As usual, I was looking for a human to swindle money from. Then, an bespectacled man holding a book caught my eye. So I immediately got myself chased by a strong monster and asked the man for help.

“Save me!!!”

“….?”

“A-A giant monster… a giant monster…. Huh?”

“Waaah!!!”

But that man showed a truly different reaction. Up until now, the humans I had deceived while traveling through various regions had tried to help me, but this man strangely started running away with me, trying to escape the monster. So I instinctively knew. Oh… This is ruined…!!

“Y-You!! If you’ve come this far, aren’t you a strong person?!”

“Then aren’t you in the same situation?! I’m just someone who studies magic, so I’ve been avoiding monsters like that by hiding!!!”

“W-What?!”

When the man said he had been avoiding monsters all this time, I realized for the first time that I had truly messed up. And so, I continued to traverse the forest, being chased by the monster with that man for a long time, and soon after we hid behind a fallen log, the monster eventually gave up on us and went elsewhere.

“Phew… We’re alive. You’re quite fast too. Are you all right…?”

“Oh, no…”

But I belatedly realized that my transformation had worn off due to extreme exhaustion, and that my hair and skin had now turned slimy. At that, I fell into a whirlwind of thoughts. After all, I had seen humans hunt monsters many times up until now. Should I kill this man who now knows my identity? Or should I run away? Just as I, believing the man would surely attack me, fell into confusion…

“You… are you perhaps another species, not human!? That’s truly amazing…!!”

“…..What?”

The man’s reply was completely different from what I expected. When the man looked at me with genuinely curious eyes and said I was amazing, I, in turn, felt bewildered and straightened my face. And so, I received various introductions from the man. The man’s name was Rezef. Rezef was a mage from another region, and he said he had embarked on this journey of exploration because he was curious about what creatures lived in other areas.

“To meet such a mysterious being… Especially to meet a monster capable of communication… It’s truly an honor!!”

“…Don’t you get told you’re unique often? Does it make sense for the atmosphere to change so drastically?”

“Because that is my curiosity and my strength! When I encounter something mysterious… my heart really pounds, you know?!”

“….Your heart pounds?”

When Rezef said his heart pounded when he encountered something mysterious, I recalled the feeling I had when I first observed humans. Then, somehow… an inexpressible longing filled my heart. At that moment, Rezef spoke to me.

“I was wondering if I could investigate you thoroughly… Would that be alright?!”

“…..Ha. This is absurd… This is the first time I’ve met a human who wants to ‘investigate a woman thoroughly’ like this, so I’m speechless with disbelief. Alright. On the condition that you take care of all my daily needs…”

“If that’s the condition, I accept!”

“What…?”

It was truly absurd. Rezef’s appearance, saying he would immediately accept my demand to become my servant without any hesitation or thought, was truly… well… Still, from my perspective, having a servant wasn’t bad, so I was pleased. And so, Rezef began creating a hut with magic to investigate me in detail, and watching Rezef use magic, my forgotten curiosity was reawakened.

“Hey, um… that ability you use.”

“Yes? Ah, you mean magic? Is there something wrong with it?”

“Magic… what kind of power is it, exactly?”

“…!! Are you perhaps interested?! Then I will tell you everything!!”

“….He’s lit up again.”

When I asked about magic, Rezef, feeling great interest that I showed similar curiosity, shouted that he would teach me everything about magic. Seeing his expression was truly absurd, you know? The humans I had seen up until now were only interested in my feminine appearance or my charm… Somehow, Rezef treated me differently from them. He always cooked for me, taught me about magic, and also taught me about humans… Then there was a time when I felt something like doubt and ran out of the hut.

“Ah… I’m hungry…”

At that time, I hadn’t eaten anything, so I was sitting blankly in the dark forest, staring up at the sky. Then, suddenly, Rezef, who had been searching for me, found me, rushed over, and handed me a bowl of stew, saying:

“A-Are you very hungry? If you ran out angrily because I did something wrong… Gasp… gasp… I apologize… It seems I was immature… and perhaps offended you, Sir Slime…”

“…..”

Honestly, I didn’t expect Rezef to come after me then. Because I had never had such an experience. For me, who had no idea such a situation could exist, the stew Rezef offered me was truly special. From then on, I explained the truth to Rezef about how I was able to mimic a human body from a slime’s body. Actually, before that, I didn’t want to reveal it, so I just vaguely brushed it off. Then Rezef asked me.

“So, Sir Slime, do you not have a name?”

“Do I need something like a name? It doesn’t hinder my life even without one.”

“Still, a name is the most special thing in life. Then I will name you later…”

“I don’t need it, so just teach me attack magic again. I don’t understand this at all, you know?”

A name was truly unnecessary for me. Because in 210 years of living, there had been no particular inconvenience without a name. So I grumbled and asked him to keep teaching me magic. Thus, under Rezef’s magic tutelage, I learned how to obtain and use mana. Rezef couldn’t help but marvel at how fast my learning ability was.

“You’re truly amazing…!! How could you have improved so much in just one month?!”

“Because I’m not human, I’m a slime. So I guess that’s why it works out so well…”

“Then perhaps support magic… meaning healing magic, too…!!”

“Nah… what would I use that for? I’m a slime, so I can regenerate, you know? More importantly… Ahhh~! Using mana makes me really hungry~! When will the meal be ready~!”

“….!! Ah, yes!! I’ll go to the hut right away and prepare the meal, so please wait!!”

When I grumbled about food, Rezef urgently ran towards the hut, saying he would prepare a meal, and left alone in the field, I watched the mana orb created in my hand, which had reverted to its slime form due to my depleted energy, and fell into thought for a moment. Why didn’t Rezef hunt me, unlike other humans, even though he knew I was a slime? Why did Rezef show me such kindness… even going so far as to become my servant and showering me with favors? It had been a month since I started living in the hut with Rezef, but I still had no idea. It was also a trivial thought for me, who had lived by exploiting humans from the start.

“Sigh… Anyway, Rezef will have to fix his naive personality someday, won’t he…? Why am I worrying about him now? He’s just my servant!! Sigh… Thinking about it just makes me hungry, so I’ll go… eat…”

Realizing that thinking any further would only dizzy my head, the moment I turned around to eat, I saw smoke rising from the hut and felt an ominous premonition. So I rushed towards the hut, and there… the hut was on fire at the hands of some humans, and Rezef… was covered in blood.

“R-Rezef…?”

“Ah… there she is…!! She’s over there, Captain!! That slime we saw last time, that’s her!”

“That woman is a slime?”

“….!!”

Realizing that the humans knew who I was, I also understood that other humans, not just Rezef, had seen parts of me momentarily revert to my original form last time. But something felt strange. Then why didn’t they try to kill me then? There was clearly an opportunity…?

“I-It’s certain, Captain!! Didn’t I just report that the slime’s hand had turned into a slime hand, not a human hand?! The liquid-form woman we saw a month ago was indeed a slime!”

“Phew… It’s true that that monster was gaining strength here. I can sense an unusual aura from that slime. Haaah… You foolish idiot!!! How dare you give power to such a potentially dangerous monster!! As a human, is that what you should be doing!!”

“Gasp…!!”

“R-Rezef!!!”

The moment the armored human, claiming to sense an unusual aura from me, plunged a sword into the waist of Rezef, who had given me strength, my mind became confused with emotions I had never felt before. But one thing was clear: the humans who had discovered me before had let me go because they weren’t certain, and they had only become certain after seeing my hand turn into slime just now. And… the humans who came to kill me… Rezef had clearly…

“Rezef must have tried to converse with them… Why would the humans do that to Rezef…?”

“Gasp… gasp…”

“Still alive, traitor of your kind? You might have tried to deceive us with your pathetic tricks… but no chance. Monsters are all evil. It’s always been monsters who tormented us humans! Especially this mage who helped a dangerous monster like you with mimicry abilities is truly pathetic…”

“Aaaaaaaargh!!!”

Realizing that the armored human had called Rezef a traitor and completely ignored his words, I lost control and unleashed magic upon them. I had clearly believed. That if they were fellow humans, they would surely understand. Because I had received such treatment. But realizing that wasn’t the case, and feeling betrayed by the humans who were trampling on good Rezef like that, I unleashed enough magic to devastate the surroundings, annihilating the humans. Then I rushed to Rezef, who was barely clinging to life.

“R-Rezef?! A-Are you alright…?”

“Gasp… gasp… Sir Slime…..”

His wounds were truly deep and numerous. Furthermore, Rezef was bleeding heavily. But I couldn’t do anything. The abilities I had learned from Rezef were almost entirely for attack magic, and I hadn’t learned support magic because it was useless to me. And because of that, I couldn’t do anything for the dying Rezef. Nothing at all…

“No… No…”

“S-Sir Slime… A name… I thought of… Esti… as a name… My heart…”

“I… I have so much to say to you…? I have a lot to complain about, too, so…? R-Rezef?”

I wanted to save Rezef, but possessing no abilities suitable for this situation, I tried to at least keep Rezef conscious. But Rezef… told me a name and eventually closed his eyes. At that, I understood. Why I had been interested in Rezef’s actions all this time. And why I had become interested in Rezef’s thoughts. From when Rezef searched for me after I ran out of the hut… No, while spending a lot of time with Rezef, I had fallen in love with him without realizing it.

“Rezef… Rezef… Rezef… Humans…!!!”

Realizing that all my past worries and bewilderment had been because of the love that had grown unknowingly within me, I turned all this resentment towards the humans who had betrayed Rezef. Humans will come back to kill Rezef again, humans are a species that cannot even trust their own kind… Resentment began to create strange reasons, and so, I built Rezef’s grave nearby and began killing every human who stepped foot near this forest. With Rezef’s blood mixed into my body, expressing a one-sided and simple resentment.

“That’s the end of my story. What do you think after hearing this…”

“You are truly utterly bewildering.”

“….?”

When Esti asked us what we thought of her past, we simultaneously straightened our faces and replied that it was utterly bewildering. At that, Esti looked bewildered, and Aria and I sighed deeply, speechless. Haaah… Is this even something one should say…?