《Cherry & Lime》


 Chapter 1 – Jade

    Content Warning:


    Violence, gore. Only for this chapter.


    I ducked behind a rock just in time for an arrow to fly right through where my head had just been.


    That was close. Dying to a mere goblin¡¯s arrow would¡¯ve been pathetic.


    ¡°Careful there, Mark,¡± our party¡¯s bard said from next to me. He was a starchild, with the typical deep purple skin with faint lines glowing throughout. And typical of all starchildren, his eyes shone brightly. ¡°I¡¯m boosting all your defenses right now, but that won¡¯t prevent death.¡±


    Sanor was playing an intricate tune on his lute, channeling a spell through it. His unique starchild magic was creating haunting melodies that made him popular in every tavern he played in.


    I nodded. ¡°Wasn¡¯t expecting such a fortress this deep within a cave. These goblins have had far too much time to multiply.¡±


    ¡°A surprise in every quest, eh?¡± he replied with a smirk, which I ignored.


    From what we saw of the inside of the fort, their population is surprisingly low. There are still quite a few of them, but not as many as we had expected once we saw those walls.


    Normally, only some of the much more difficult quests had inaccurate information like this. The only reason we decided to stay was that the goblins would see our trespass into their nest as an incentive to begin attacking humans en masse.


    Right now we were still too far away to cause any real damage, and I was the only member of our party capable of long-range attacks. Allamyne was trying occasionally, but even her magic flames enhanced by her flame tiefling heritage didn¡¯t have enough range.


    Fortunately, I had plenty of arrows on hand. We¡¯d only had to kill slimes and a few stray goblins on the way down, so my quiver was still full. What was unfortunate, however, was that there was little in the way of cover, so we didn¡¯t have the element of surprise.


    I shifted position, and in one quick motion, stood up, aimed, and fired. One down. I have to be quick with the remaining two, as their reinforcements can¡¯t be far away.


    I ducked back down and repeated my actions. Fortunately, goblins are poor architects, so even when they ducked for cover, there were gaps. And I was a very good shot.


    The second one went down, and after a near miss, so too did the third.


    ¡°All archers down!¡± I yelled.


    Allamyne immediately sprang into action. She rushed to the gate and with a great blast of fire, it exploded. She then fell back to stay out of range of whatever enemies might be awaiting us on the other side.


    The final member of our party, Mallok, an orc master of dual-wielding swords and Sanor¡¯s sworn brother, took the charge from there.


    From the explosion and Mallok¡¯s swift and fierce attacks, the goblins were in complete disarray and falling one after another.


    Mallok darted from one goblin to the next, Allamyne took out groups with controlled blasts of fire, Sanor played a song of confusion, and I climbed up one of the crude towers and sniped any that seemed like they were in a position to do something dangerous.


    After expending about two-thirds of my arrows, I jumped back to the ground, landing in a roll and immediately standing back up. I began attacking with my daggers while retrieving the occasional arrow where I could. I didn¡¯t grab any of the goblins¡¯ arrows, because those couldn¡¯t be counted on to fly straight.


    From the back of the small fortress emerged five hobgoblins and a goblin lord.


    No wonder there are so many of them. Considering that there aren¡¯t even more of them, it probably only just recently evolved.


    I fired four arrows at the hobgoblins, and managed to take out two of them. They were better-armored and had slightly higher intelligence than the ordinary goblins, so that was as much as I could do before they changed to more defensive tactics. I also needed to reserve the few arrows I had left. If I could, I would save them for the goblin lord, but he was still protected by three hobgoblins.


    The goblin lord roared at us, and all the remaining goblins broke free of Sanor¡¯s confusion spell and ran to the lord to protect it.


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    The hobgoblins and lord had some sort of repelling enchantments on their armor, so Allamyne¡¯s flames were only effective on the lesser goblins.


    One of the hobgoblins was a mage, presumably the one who did the enchantments, and was firing bolts of lightning at us. They didn¡¯t look powerful enough to be deadly, but they would still certainly cause some real damage, enough to temporarily incapacitate us.


    Allamyne¡¯s flames were able to block those, so she created walls of fire for us to use as additional cover. Meanwhile, Sanor began rapidly strumming, in what I recognized to be a song of haste. We frequently train with each other, so we instantly adjusted to the increases in our agilities.


    Amidst all the carnage, one of the goblins managed to slip past us toward Sanor but was deflected by the barrier crystal he kept on his person at all times. It wasn¡¯t particularly strong, but it was more than enough to defend against a few goblin attacks before needing to be recharged. He also had his own armor and close-range weapons, but his specialty lay in support, so they weren¡¯t frequently used.


    ¡°Sanor!¡± Mallok yelled, then leaped back and decapitated the creature. He spare a brief moment to make sure his brother was okay before returning to the fray.


    We¡¯d all worked with each other for about three years now, so there was little need to call out our plans to each other in the middle of combat.


    We enacted one of our common strategies for dealing with mages. Allamyne used less damaging, but more distracting blasts of flame that were big and bright. I used that moment to dart to the side and managed to sink an arrow into its exposed calf.


    It cried out and fell, and she used that window of opportunity to blast it in the face. I gained a sick sense of satisfaction out of that, as goblins were known to cook and eat people, and even each other.


    Only two arrows left.


    With only two hobgoblins remaining, the goblin lord raged and charged at Mallok, who then became stuck dueling it while Allamyne and I were left to deal with the remaining hobgoblins.


    Fortunately, they were distracted by their lord¡¯s battle, so Allamyne was able to blast one of them to death. With the one remaining now focused on her, and quite terrified by this point, I was able to sink a dagger into its neck. It fell to the ground, gurgling blood.


    With only the lord left to deal with, we pretty much now just had to leave it in Mallok¡¯s hands. None of the rest of us were strong enough to fight that thing head-on.


    Orc and goblin lord clashed again and again in a quick flurry of blades. The lord was using two axes against Mallok¡¯s swords, and though its technique was lacking in comparison, the sheer strength and speed of its strikes more than made up for it.


    Allamyne could only distract it with the occasional small blast of flame, and I only had two arrows. It was too well-protected, too fast, and too close to Mallok for me to risk firing them. Allamyne¡¯s flames were pushing things a bit, though they were able to ever so slightly affect the battle.


    That¡¯s right, arrows. I collected the few that were in the area from when I killed the first two hobgoblins. It was as I was collecting the third that I yelled out in pain and fell to my hands and knees.


    ¡°Mark!¡± Allamyne yelled, then heard her running past me and blasting one of the hobgoblin corpses. The mage had apparently still been alive, but was near death and wanted to take one of us out with it.


    The fucking thing wasn¡¯t a corpse yet!


    Unfortunately, that was just enough of a distraction for the goblin lord to change tactics. It wasn¡¯t able to get rid of Mallok, who had only been bruised so far, so it used that moment to break away from him and try to finish what the mage had started.


    I staggered to my feet, but there was still only just a moment before I would be struck down once more. No one in my party was in any position to help me. They were all too far away.


    Fuck. I spent the last seven years saving every copper I could to buy that stupid fucking Elixir, and when I was only a few months away from having enough, I get killed. This is such horseshit. I didn¡¯t get to live even a single day as myself.


    I hadn¡¯t yet fully recovered from the lightning spell, but still managed to feebly bring my arms up to mount whatever defense they could.


    The creature¡¯s axe rushed toward my torso, and as it did, something green fell from the ceiling, right in the way of its attack. It was a slime.


    Slimes are weak and pathetic creatures, but even so, the slime that fell from the ceiling in search of food, attracted by the warmth of Allamyne¡¯s flames, was just enough of a hindrance and a surprise to redirect the goblin lord''s attack.


    Instead of being fatally struck, I was only near-fatally struck. The rough edge of the axe ripped through my left arm, tearing it off, and carried its momentum into and through my torso. And the slime received just as much damage and was burst all over me.


    I fell on my back while my party yelled and did what they could to get the goblin lord away from me. Because I was on the ground, Allamyne was able to much more easily blast it with fire. Between that and Mallok catching up to it to slash and stab it some more, it didn¡¯t get to finish the job.


    Sanor rushed over to me and began playing a song of healing. It took him a couple moments to get it right, due to how panicked he was.


    I was barely hanging on, but with my remaining arm, I managed to reach to my side to grab my potion of greater restoration. It had been quite expensive, and I¡¯d had it for a long time, but it might just be enough to save my life.


    I shakily pulled it out and struggled to pop the stopper out of the pouch with one hand. Sanor knew that I had had that potion, but the fact had slipped his mind in this situation. He grabbed the pouch from my hand, yanked the cork out, and poured it into my severely mutilated flesh.


    Fortunately, potions don¡¯t all need to be drunk, because I don¡¯t think I could¡¯ve managed that right now. As it spread through my wound, it felt cold and hot at the same time. Restoration potions aren¡¯t supposed to feel like this¡­


    I lifted my head to see the gore the goblin lord had caused, and slowly, things began to regenerate and knit back together. I also saw a lot of green spreading over me. Apparently, the slime was still alive and being healed as well.


    The hot and cold feeling intensified and spread, and between the blood loss and the pain, I fell unconscious.

 Chapter 2 – Allamyne

    When Mark fell, I was able to burn up enough of the goblin lord that Mallok could finish it off.


    Mark was a nice guy, but he had always been a bit of a mystery to us. He refused to go into detail about his past, only saying that he didn¡¯t have any happy memories from back home.


    Since we had known him, he had also been saving up money for something that he claimed his life depended on. He refused to say what it was, but reassured us that it wasn¡¯t anything that would bring us any trouble.


    He had also always seemed kind of sad; immensely burdened by something, but fiercely determined to get whatever it was that he was saving up for.


    But right now, I didn¡¯t know what to think about what had happened to him. How in the hells a greater restoration potion could do that, I have no idea, although I¡¯m sure an alchemist would love to lecture me about the nature of potions and life if I asked about it.


    With the goblin lord dead, we all went to check on Mark. The chances of a slime saving his life like that were absurdly small, and we all panicked when it looked like it was eating him. We did what we could to get it off him and out of his wounds, but there was simply too much, and it was in too deep.


    His body had dissolved into transparent green slime before our eyes, and we couldn¡¯t do anything but lament his death. But then something incredibly absurd happened instead.


    It turned out that the slime wasn¡¯t eating him at all; it was converting him instead. Being the mage of the group, I was looked to for the explanation, but I could only make a guess that was barely any more informed than any explanations they may have come up with.


    My best guess is that the potion was healing both Mark and the slime, but they were too mixed up with each other for them to be healed separately. ¡­So it healed them together, in a literal sense. They were healed into one being.


    But the strangeness didn¡¯t end there. Mark, a human man, was now a woman made entirely of slime. I had no idea what the fuck that meant. None of us did.


    Slimes are said to be sexless, but perhaps that isn¡¯t actually the case? I really have no idea.


    Would he still be himself when he woke up? Would he just be a regular slime in the shape of a person? If his mind is still there and intact, then how is he going to cope with such drastic changes? We each lamented that we didn¡¯t have a dedicated healer in our party, as they may have been able to change this result.


    Without answers, we decided to just remain in the camp for now. We didn¡¯t want anything to do with the goblins or their fortress, so after collecting proof of death from each of the corpses, we moved them away. It still stank down here, but there wasn¡¯t much we could do about that.


    This cave had good airflow, so we decided to build a fire. The air flowing throughout the cave is also why I didn¡¯t have to hold back during the fight.


    Some of the wood came from the deep-trees that had previously been growing here, but the goblins used every single one of them. So wasteful and lacking in foresight, those creatures. When they began chopping down trees from the surface is when they were spotted.


    There weren¡¯t many people in the area, but goblins were like an infestation, and had to be exterminated before their population grew large enough to begin attacking people. At worst, that goblin lord may have even evolved into a goblin king, and that¡¯s when it would¡¯ve become a serious threat that required more than just an adventuring party. Had we come any later, our little group of four might not have been enough to deal with the threat.


    I was idly wandering through the remains of the fortress while we waited, just in the off-chance that the goblins had had anything at all of value. As expected, there was nothing. Everything was trash, including the weapons. Those were more likely to give you an infection than be any more useful than be actually useful. A stick would be better.


    I always make sure that I carefully control my flames, so that even during battle, there isn¡¯t much collateral damage. As I walked around, there were only a couple small fires remaining, which I quelled. As a tiefling of the Flame Wastes, my control over fire was almost entirely instinctual. I pretty much just had to tell the flames to stop, and they would immediately go out.


    ¡°Allamyne, he¡¯s waking up!¡± Sanor yelled.


    I rushed back to the camp we¡¯d made, and I could see that Mark was slightly moving his arms.


    We gathered around him while also making sure to give him space. Not just so that he wouldn¡¯t be startled from seeing us so close, but also in case¡­ there was nothing left of Mark. I tried not to think about that.


    Though Mark was now entirely transparent, he still had actual eyes and even eyelids that somehow worked. They were a lighter shade of green than the rest of his body was, and they glowed ever so slightly, similar to the way a slime''s core does, though just a bit dimmer.


    He looked at each of us, then said, ¡°I¡¯m a¡­ live¡­? What¡¯s with my voice?¡±


    We all sighed in relief that he was still there, though we couldn¡¯t entirely know how he had changed just yet.


    Mallok, a person who believes in just getting straight to the point, stated, ¡°The potion saved your life, but there were side effects. We can only guess at what happened, but we think it was healing both yourself and the slime, but it was so deep in your wounds that it healed you into one being rather than a human and a slime separately. Also, as if that weren¡¯t ridiculous enough¡­ it also turned you into a woman. Um¡­ a slime woman, to be more specific.¡±


    ¡°A woman!?¡± He looked down at his body, but his armor prevented him from seeing much of the changes other than his decreased height. He then brought his hands in front of his face and could see that they were the distinct clear green of a slime. He then sat up and looked at the fire through his hands. ¡°¡­I¡¯m a slime now, too?¡±


    Sanor spoke up, ¡°Hey, we¡¯ll figure out how to fix this, alright? We¡¯ll go to the Magical Afflictions Order and we¡¯ll each pitch in to get you back to being yourself.¡±


    ¡°NO!¡± he yelled, and we were all taken aback. Seeing our shocked and concerned faces, he got up and stated, ¡°I¡¯m going to walk around a bit. I need to think.¡±


    Once she was a good distance away from us, I asked the others, ¡°What was that about? Some sort of survival instinct maybe?¡±


    ¡°Since when do slimes have survival instincts?¡± Mallok asked. ¡°I think he¡¯s just freaked out. I mean, there¡¯s no telling how I would react in his situation, and it¡¯s only been a few minutes. Let¡¯s give him some time.¡±


    I lightly nodded but didn¡¯t reply. None of us said anything, but we each regularly glanced at Mark as he aimlessly wandered the wreckage. His boots were too big now, so his footing was clumsy, and he would frequently stop to look at his hands and pull his hair to his face.


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    His hair was more of a suggestion of hair than actual hair. It was in the right shape and behaved similarly to the real thing, but there were no individual strands except for whenever he pulled some of it forward. At some point, he stayed behind a wall for a while, and we could hear some faint sobbing.


    Eventually, Mark returned and sat back down, looking much calmer than before.


    ¡°How are you holding up?¡± I asked.


    Rather than replying to me, she quietly asked us, ¡°Have any of you ever heard of the Elixir of Within?¡±


    When we all shook our heads, she continued, ¡°It¡¯s an incredibly rare and expensive elixir that, upon being consumed, will transform the drinker¡¯s body into how it¡¯s supposed to be. Or, who they are ¡®within¡¯, as in the name.¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± Sanor exclaimed, ¡°So you already have a potential solution to get back to normal? That¡¯s-¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not it,¡± he interrupted. ¡°I guess¡­ I guess it¡¯s time for me to tell all of you something about myself that I¡¯ve kept hidden. That elixir is the thing I''ve spent the last seven years saving up for. Mark,¡± he spat the name, ¡°is someone I never wanted to be. Someone always hated being. Someone I was trapped inside of.¡±


    We were all silent for a bit, but then I remembered his reaction from earlier. ¡°So¡­¡± I began, ¡°is this closer to who you are ¡®within¡¯, like you said?¡±


    He nodded, ¡°Yeah. I¡­¡± he started choking up a bit. ¡°I should¡¯ve been born a girl. I haven¡¯t told that to anyone since I was little. Saying it to someone¡­ I got beaten for it. And¡­ And just so much anger and disgust from everyone. I¡¯m only telling you now because you¡¯d all question why I would refuse to go back to¡­ anything like how I was before.¡±


    She curled into a ball and wrapped her arms around her knees. She quivered in fear as she looked at the ground, eyes watering and too scared to meet any of our gazes.


    That¡­ actually explains so much about her. Of course she¡¯s a woman. So much of her past behavior makes sense now. And right now she¡¯s terrified. She has a bad history with other people, so she might not be okay with physical contact at the moment. So then what else could I do to comfort her¡­?


    ¡°I¡¯m an exiled noble,¡± I blurted out.


    ¡°Huh?¡± she said, clearly taken aback. As were Sanor and Mallok.


    ¡°Um, well, I was trying to think of a way to comfort you without giving you a hug since I wasn¡¯t sure if that would be a good idea right now, and I thought that since you revealed such a deep secret, then I might as well, too.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a noble?¡± Mallok asked incredulously.


    ¡°Exiled noble,¡± I clarified. ¡°I honestly didn¡¯t care much for the aristocratic life, but when my family arranged a marriage with an obnoxious man without allowing me to have any input on the matter, I publicly embarrassed them so they would have no choice but to throw me out.¡±


    The two men looked at me, then at¡­ whatever her name is now, and then at each other. They locked eyes for a moment, then nodded.


    Mallok stated, ¡°We¡¯re not actually sworn brothers, we¡¯re in love with each other.¡±


    Wait, what!? So I¡¯m not the only one who¡­?


    Slime Girl was no longer shaking ¡ª really need to get her name ¡ª said, ¡°So that¡¯s why you¡¯re always hugging and all over each other. I thought it was weird even for brothers to be that close, but just decided it was none of my business, so I didn¡¯t say anything.¡±


    They laughed and put their arms over the other¡¯s shoulders, then kissed.


    ¡°Oh, it feels so good to not have to hide that now,¡± Sanor said with a wide grin.


    Slime Girl laughed, all fear seemingly gone. ¡°Hells beyond and gods below! I could¡¯ve just said that years ago and it would¡¯ve been okay? This society sucks.¡±


    I nodded in agreement. ¡°Hey, Slime Girl, tell me your name so I can stop calling you ¡®Slime Girl¡¯ in my head.¡±


    ¡°O-Oh! Um¡­ J-Jade,¡± she muttered, her cheeks glowing softly as she blushed.


    I gasped. ¡°Cute.¡±


    She whipped her head to meet my gaze. ¡°Wh-What!?¡±


    ¡°Ah, um, your cheeks were glowing a little bit when you blushed. It was super adorable.¡±


    ¡°I- You- I- ¡­Huh!?¡± she stammered, cheeks glowing much more strongly than before.


    I actually had to turn my head and cover my mouth. That was the cutest damn thing I have ever seen. Who knew my friend was actually that cute?


    ¡°So¡­ ¡®Jade¡¯?¡± Mallok asked, deciding to help her out. ¡°Like the color?¡±


    ¡°Well, the mineral or the color, but yeah¡­ Might have to use something else to use for as long as I¡¯m stuck being green and gooey.¡±


    ¡°Well, there¡¯s nothing wrong with being green.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Sanor interjected, pointing at Mallok. ¡°He¡¯s green, and I love it.¡±


    ¡°Okay, not the green thing, then,¡± Jade replied with a roll of her eyes. ¡°Still though, I¡¯d like to be human again. I¡¯m actually pretty close to being able to finally afford that elixir, which¡­ shit.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°My Guild account belongs to a human man.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Yeah¡­ That could be a problem.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ What if I died?¡±


    ¡°What!?¡±


    ¡°Wait, not for real! I mean, like, as his party members, you¡¯d be able to collect his savings. I had you all written as my next of kin.¡±


    ¡°Okay, so problem solved, then.¡±


    ¡°Well, maybe. First, we¡¯ll have to see if someone at the MAO can turn me back into a human. And specifically without making me look like I did before. But I would still take being a slime woman rather than a human man any day. That guy can die for real.


    ¡°Anyway, if that doesn¡¯t work, then I can try the elixir. But I don¡¯t know if it could change me so drastically. I¡¯m pretty far from human, right now.


    ¡°Oh, and there¡¯s also the fact that a decent chunk of my savings, once you¡¯ve collected them, will be spent on like, clothes and armor¡­ and whatever changes to my gear that I¡¯ll be needing. Plus other stuff. Girl stuff. I don¡¯t know what that stuff is yet, but now that I feel like I can finally exist, I¡¯ll probably go a little wild. Allamyne, I, um, hope you¡¯ll be willing to help me with some of that.¡±


    I smiled. ¡°Of course! Anything for a cutie like you!¡±


    Her mouth was open and she was blushing intensely again. Who knew complimenting someone could be so entertaining? ¡­This might become a problem for me.


    ¡°Those are all good points,¡± Mallok said. ¡°But what about the fact that you¡¯re, at least for the time being, a person made of slime? That might get you some negative attention.¡±


    ¡°Actually, it probably won¡¯t be a big deal,¡± I said. ¡°With all the different peoples out there, I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll stand out to a significant degree. At least not in larger cities. People also might just think she¡¯s hexed or something.¡±


    ¡°Okay, so that might not be a huge issue, but I guess we¡¯ll see when we get there,¡± Jade said. ¡°But that does lead to a different problem. In a human-centric city, having a human doing the talking for the group made things faster and easier. We dealt with the same issue when we were in an orc-centric city.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯ll be annoying to deal with, but it¡¯ll mostly just slow us down a bit sometimes,¡± Sanor said. ¡°Maybe we could go to one of the tiefling domains after this? Or, wait¡­¡± he trailed off, looking at me.


    I shrugged. ¡°Any of the domains other than the Flame Wastes should be fine. I doubt anything would happen even within the Flame Wastes, but I¡¯d rather not go back. Wasn¡¯t exactly a happy place for me.¡±


    Jade nodded in solidarity.


    ¡°Why is it called the Flame Wastes anyway?¡± Sanor asked. ¡°I heard it¡¯s a massive jungle there.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s how it is now, but thousands of years ago, it was just a scorching desert. Flame tieflings thrive in such heat, so they settled and cultivated the area. So it¡¯s called the ¡®Flame Wastes¡¯ because it was the homeland of the flame tieflings and was originally a wasteland.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s interesting,¡± Mallok nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve always sort of wondered, but how do you fare in, well, anywhere other than there?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a significant difference, but compared to other races, we¡¯re affected by cold more. That¡¯s about it. Now that I¡¯m thinking about stuff like that, we¡¯ll have to figure out how much of slime biology applies to you,¡± I said, looking at Jade.


    She looked a little saddened by that. ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s not like they live only in super poisonous swamps or anything, but I might need, like¡­ moisture maybe? And slimes eat pretty much anything, I think.


    ¡°Oh, speaking of, I feel¡­ well, hungry wouldn¡¯t be the right word, but I just have this knowledge of needing to eat? It¡¯s difficult to describe. Oh, I hope I can still eat like a normal person¡­¡± she trailed off.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t remind me of that swamp. Just thinking about it brings the smell back. That place was beyond rank,¡± I shuddered at the memory. ¡°Speaking of, this place is also rank, and I think now that Jade is recovered, we can finally leave and eat something away from all the smell.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    After picking up our things, we began the journey back out. As we walked, we passed a few slimes along the way, as well as one cowering goblin who seemed to have run away. It was killed indiscriminately.


    ¡°So Jade,¡± Mallok began, after we had killed another slime. ¡°Do you feel any sort of connection to these slimes? Or new or missing senses?¡±


    ¡°Nah, they¡¯re still just dumb slimes. Even if I felt connected to them somehow, I still wouldn¡¯t object to getting rid of them. As for senses¡­ there is one minor thing. I didn¡¯t notice it earlier because of the fire, but I can sort of just tell where you are because of the heat you give off. Especially you, Allamyne.


    ¡°It¡¯s not super precise or anything, but I can just feel where there¡¯s something warmer. It even feels a little pleasant, I suppose?¡±


    ¡°Pleasant how?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ If I had to compare, I guess it¡¯s sort of like sitting in front of a warm fire on a chilly day. Just this cozy sort of feeling.¡±


    ¡°Huh. Maybe it¡¯s because of your human half that you don¡¯t equate warmth with food? But it makes sense that Allamyne would seem warmer, she is a flame tiefling, after all.¡±

 Chapter 3 – Jade

    A few days have passed since we got back to the city, and it¡¯s been a bit exhausting.


    First, Sanor and Mallok went to collect the reward for the quest completion, and our party was compensated for the quest being more difficult than what had been stated.


    Allamyne and I didn¡¯t go with them since it might seem a bit weird for them to have a new party member when their previous one¡¯s corpse was practically still warm. That''s if there even was a corpse remaining in the first place, but it¡¯s not like they could easily tell people that I was still around.


    They were given the standard compensation for the loss of a party member, and they also put all my savings into their accounts. They boggled at the sheer amount of money I had saved, and were even further shocked when they realized that I still hadn¡¯t had enough for just one elixir.


    While they were doing that, Allamyne was taking me to get some clothes. I was currently borrowing some spares of hers so that I wouldn¡¯t be walking around in the shredded, bloody armor of a supposedly dead person. Even bandits dressed better than that.


    She was much taller than I was, but her clothes still fit better than my previous ones. It was super embarrassing when she came over to help adjust them so that they fit a bit better. She was smirking while she did that, and I¡¯m pretty sure she¡¯s been having a lot of fun teasing me.


    For now, we were just going to be picking up a few basic outfits I could rotate between. No armor just yet, though, since we didn¡¯t have the time for it. Also, when I¡¯m human again, I might end up taller or something.


    After many embarrassing and awkward minutes of buying women¡¯s(!) clothing for myself, we met up with the others. Thankfully, Allamyne had reeled in her teasing a bit and had been super nice and understanding as she helped me find things to wear.


    With all that sorted out, we headed to the Magical Afflictions Order. It was located in the central hub of the city, and easy to spot because MAO buildings are always tall, somewhat imposing, and covered in an off-white plaster.


    We had to wait a bit, and in the lobby area were a handful of other people, though only two of them had a visible affliction. One seemed to be endlessly dripping water, and the other would twitch as sparks occasionally shot out of him.


    ¡°Jade?¡± a woman called out.


    ¡°That¡¯s me,¡± I said, standing up to follow him.


    ¡°The room is a bit small, so you can only bring one other person with you, unfortunately.¡±


    Wordlessly, Allamyne continued to follow me, and it was only after entering the mage¡¯s workroom that it even occurred to me that I could¡¯ve asked one of the boys.


    I guess Allamyne has become the closest one to me this past week. Or maybe she¡¯s just happy there¡¯s another woman in the party? She¡¯s mentioned wanting that before. Or¡­ I don¡¯t know. Anyway, I¡¯m glad she¡¯s here.


    ¡°I¡¯m Affliction Specialist Moore,¡± the mage said. ¡°In your preliminary report, you said you were a human who had fused into a slime, becoming a slime person. Could you tell me about the event in detail? Or anything significant you noticed over time if it was a more gradual change.¡±


    ¡°Um, I think it took a few hours or so, but I was unconscious from blood loss and pain.¡±


    Allamyne grimaced and nodded. ¡°That¡¯s about right, though we were in a cave and we were too worried about what was happening to her to keep track of time.¡±


    ¡°So,¡± I continued. ¡°A goblin lord was swinging his axe at me, and just as it did so, a slime happened to fall from the ceiling, just as I was being struck. Both the slime and I were¡­ severely wounded,¡± I shuddered.


    ¡°Thankfully, Allamyne here was able to blast it with fire while I was on the ground, which took its attention away from me. I remember what my¡­ what my wound looked like, and a lot of the slime had gotten in it.


    ¡°Another of my party members poured a greater restoration potion into it, and it began to heal back up. It felt incredibly cold and hot at the same time, and the pain was excruciating. I¡¯m actually glad I passed out. When I woke up, I was made of slime.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Moore tapped her chin as she considered things. ¡°Those things alone would not cause such a reaction. What other potions or magical treatments had you used that day?¡±


    ¡°None.¡±


    ¡°What enchantments were on your armor, as well as the axe that struck you?¡±


    ¡°Just standard protection and durability enchantments on my gear. I don¡¯t think any of us thought to check the axe, but considering how crappy the thing looked and the fact that it was wielded by a goblin variant, I doubt there was one.¡±


    ¡°Any other magical items on your person during the incident?¡±


    ¡°A ring that gives a small boost to my strength and a necklace that gives a small boost to my stamina.¡±


    ¡°Were you casting any spells at the time?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t use magic.¡±


    ¡°Were there any spells being performed on you by someone else?¡±


    ¡°A song of haste.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Were you under the influence of any magical substance, potion or otherwise?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    Moore frowned and thought for a while longer. ¡°Non-magical substances?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Any encounters with magic of another realm at any point in your life?¡±


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    ¡°No, not that I¡¯m aware of.¡±


    ¡°You said you were human. Perhaps you have partial heritage from another race?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. From what I can remember about my family, it¡¯s only been humans at least back to my great-grandparents. Heritage from another race completely fades out after only a couple generations if I remember right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s correct. And you weren¡¯t under a curse or hex of any kind?¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so.¡±


    ¡°Well, those are all the standard questions. And slimes, being such simple creatures, are already as understood as much as they can possibly be, meaning it can¡¯t have been anything to do with the biology of a slime that caused you to merge with one.


    ¡°So this leads us to some standard tests. If there is still not a result afterward, then we¡¯ll have to begin conducting research and trying more intricate methods.¡±


    ¡°Um¡­¡± Allamyne spoke up. ¡°Outside of flames, my own understanding of magic is pretty limited, but she was hit by a spell not even 10 seconds before being attacked. Could that have anything to do with it?¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t mention this?¡± Moore asked me accusingly.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think it would be relevant. It was just a lightning spell from a goblin. Or, a hobgoblin to be specific,¡± replied.


    ¡°That¡­¡± Moore began, before tapping her chin while she thought some more. ¡°Enumerate the events to me once more, please, including that lightning spell.¡±


    I retold the whole thing for her again, this time including that hobgoblin¡¯s attack. But since she had just learned about it, it wasn¡¯t new information.


    ¡°And just to be sure, there wasn¡¯t anything else either of you can think of that occurred before the lightning and after the use of the potion?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ That hobgoblin mage¡­ were its legs uncovered?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ Yes, actually. I remember hitting its calf with an arrow.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s got to be it, then. As unlikely as that scenario was, other possible scenarios are much more unlikely to be true.¡±


    ¡°Uh, excuse me? I turned into a slime because a goblin didn¡¯t wear pants?¡±


    Ignoring me, Moore launched into an explanation. ¡°Alright. So I considered the possibility that your potion may have been a different one entirely, but that seems unlikely considering that not only are you alive after sustaining such an injury, but also that a restoration effect that potent simply can¡¯t be mixed or replaced with anything else.


    ¡°To tell you what I think actually occurred, I¡¯ll need to give you a brief history lesson.


    ¡°Way back when magic was first discovered, it was found that outside of racial abilities, only about 20% of people were capable of using it.


    ¡°Naturally, there were many who resented this fact. And so there came to be people who desperately worked to obtain magic for themselves.


    ¡°A rare few succeeded. They found that in places where the environmental mana is denser, spells and enchantments became slightly more powerful.


    ¡°They used the naturally dense mana of those specific places, combined with the sacrifice of numerous lives to rip away the mana of those beings, and through an intensely strong desire to force something unnatural to occur, the lives of those sacrificed would force more mana into the person performing the ritual.


    ¡°It was through this ritual that they were able to form a connection with the earth and cast unpredictable spells. These spells were wild, and while the casting of two lightning spells from them may have outwardly appeared the same, the mana within would fluctuate and distort in ways that are far too complex to explain here, in addition to me not knowing a great deal about that topic.


    ¡°But this connection came at a cost, and that is that they had to be in direct contact with the ground at all times, and if they left the area of dense mana for even a moment, they would permanently lose that connection.


    ¡°So what all that means is that, by chance, a goblin was born with an ability to sense mana. This isn¡¯t unique, and occurs in maybe 5% of people, regardless of their ability to actually use that mana or not.


    ¡°It desperately hungered for power and was able to force mana from, presumably other goblins and creatures, into the ground to increase its connection.


    ¡°So after all of that happened, you came along, were struck by that wild spell, and before that mana could fully dissipate from your body, a potent restoration effect was introduced. That effect attached itself to both you and the slime simultaneously.


    ¡°So, that is my hypothesis. It is impossible to prove, and further testing would perhaps prove me wrong or right, but what I do know, is that because your body was restored to its current state, this is now its default state, a slime person.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ Okay, I have some questions, but if this isn¡¯t an affliction, then would an Elixir of Within or something like that fix this?¡±


    Moore shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m afraid not. Elixirs and other such things can only change the body to a certain degree, and changing one¡¯s race entirely is outright impossible outside of bizarre accidents such as what occurred to you.¡±


    I slumped in my seat, while Allamyne gently rubbed my shoulder.


    ¡°Now, I¡¯m sorry to be rude, but I do have other people to see, so if you have no further questions, then I¡¯m afraid that we will have to cut off our session here. If you wish to do further tests or get a second opinion, you will have to come in another day. There are fewer people in the morning, so that would be the best time.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± I said sadly. ¡°Well, I did have just a couple questions relating to the goblin.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    ¡°We did notice that the population of that fortress seemed to be a little lacking. Does that mean it sacrificed a lot of other goblins to form that connection?¡±


    ¡°That seems likely, yes.¡±


    ¡°Okay. And then how come that mage goblin wasn¡¯t the goblin lord? And now that I think about it, the goblin lord only attacked us once the mage was dead¡­ Or, thought was dead.¡±


    She thought for a moment, then shrugged and said, ¡°Probably, it just wasn¡¯t lucky enough. It was one of the more powerful goblins, sure, but not in the way that other goblins achieve greater power. It even differed from other goblin mages, using forced mana rather than natural mana.


    ¡°As for why the lord didn¡¯t attack until afterward, if I had to guess, I would say it¡¯s because the lord was using the mage as protection. It may have been a vile, vicious creature, but it still had a sense of self-preservation. With its most powerful asset eliminated, it felt cornered into attacking directly.¡±


    I had asked those questions to see if they added any credence to her hypothesis, and I suppose they did. I also supposed that it didn¡¯t really matter, because I was now stuck this way regardless.


    I sighed and got up. ¡°Well, thanks. Um, do you know if the library would have a book detailing slime biology and such? Considering how it applies to me now¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what they do or do not have, but considering how simple and common slimes are, I would presume that any information regarding them could be found there.¡±


    ¡°I have one question,¡± Allamyne said. ¡°Her body is¡­ well, a different shape than it used to be. The changes, other than being made of slime, are things she actually likes. Is she going to stay in this form?¡±


    I stiffened at that, causing Allamyne to pull me into a side hug.


    ¡°Hmm... Slimes are formless creatures in their normal state. When they move around or attack, they change it somewhat to suit their needs.


    ¡°So whatever changes occurred would¡¯ve been something you wanted or needed. As for staying like this, I believe that will be the case. Your mind and very being are your current shape, and when the body is malleable, that shape is what it will form into.


    ¡°Like how slimes always revert to being just a blob, you will always revert to how you are now. Though you are the first person made of slime I¡¯ve seen, you are not the first I¡¯ve seen to have a body that changes shape. In those cases, their most comfortable form will become their default form.¡±


    ¡°Okay, thank you. That¡¯s the only question I had.¡±


    I¡¯m glad she asked that. I was too scared of a negative answer or further questions about the changes to do it myself.


    Moore nodded and opened the door for us. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about your situation. At the very least, you don¡¯t seem to be hindered significantly by it, nor do I think you have much to worry about concerning your health. Give it some time, and I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll adjust just fine.¡±


    We returned to the lobby, where the other two realized it was bad news because of the expression on my face. They looked to Allamyne for an explanation.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be undone, but there doesn¡¯t seem to be anything serious to worry about, either,¡± she explained.

 Chapter 4 – Allamyne

    After the disappointment of finding out she was stuck as a slime, the four of us decided to just spend the rest of the day relaxing.


    Jade had been feeling down after leaving the MAO, but by dinnertime, she was happy and smiling again.


    Strange.


    ¡°Jade,¡± I said.


    ¡°Yeah?¡± she responded.


    ¡°You¡¯re smiling.¡±


    She tilted her head cutely. ¡°Okay? Well, I guess today was kind of a bad surprise, but considering that I got a free sex change out of the whole ordeal, I¡¯m quickly getting used to the idea of also being a slime.¡±


    ¡°No, I mean, you hardly ever smiled before, and when you did, it always looked kind of strained.¡±


    She slumped. ¡°Oh¡­ So I smile weird?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°No. Now your smile looks like an actual smile without any sadness in it.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s what it is!¡± Sanor interrupted. ¡°I noticed that too, but couldn¡¯t put my finger on what was different. I¡¯m starting to get what you mean when you said your life depended on getting that elixir.¡±


    Jade nodded shyly, cheeks glowing. ¡°Yeah. That goal was the only thing that kept me going. I felt like I was trapped underwater, but I¡¯ve finally surfaced and can actually breathe for the first time¡±


    I pulled her into a side hug that she leaned into, which made me happy. I¡¯m beginning to have feelings for her, it seems. I don¡¯t know if she¡¯d reciprocate, as she¡¯s never shown any interest in romance before, but at they very least, I don¡¯t think she¡¯d be disgusted by another woman¡¯s interest. Yeah¡­ If this continues, I think I¡¯ll ask her out once she¡¯s sorted out her life a bit more.


    We picked a place to eat that was mostly outdoors and sat down at a small, round table. We were in the early stages of autumn, but it was still warm enough that eating outside was comfortable, though I had to wear a sweater, as the cold was already beginning to affect me.


    I looked at Jade sitting next to me to see if she was feeling cold with her shorter sleeves. She didn¡¯t seem to be, and while I was looking, I couldn¡¯t help but be enamored with the way the sunlight was passing through her. It was like looking at a sculpture made of green glass. Even her shadow was green, or at least the parts of it not obstructed by clothing.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Jade asked, having caught me staring.


    Something like being caught looking at a cute girl by the cute girl herself wouldn¡¯t fluster me, and I could even answer her question honestly. ¡°Just looking at the way the light passes through you. It¡¯s really pretty, like looking at a gem.¡±


    That made her flustered and I smirked. Because of the sunlight, I unfortunately wasn¡¯t able to see her glowing cheeks. Gods below, she¡¯s so adorable I¡¯m going to die.


    When we began eating, I once again looked at Jade. We had found that she could just push food into her body if she wanted to, but she still much preferred to eat normally. It was strange to watch it enter her mouth, then sink down into her abdomen.


    I wasn¡¯t even sure how she had a throat or could talk. None of what happened to her made any sense. Another thing we found was that she didn¡¯t actually need to breathe anymore but still did so, probably just because of being a former human.


    We couldn''t see a set of lungs, or anything else other than the slime core in her abdomen. We speculated that she was digesting the air, but she has to actually be using it somehow, otherwise she wouldn''t be able to talk.


    We also tested whether or not she could breathe a gas other than air. She briefly stood with her head over a fire and breathed normally, but didn¡¯t start coughing the way anyone else would have. Whether or not toxic fumes could still damage or affect her, we didn¡¯t know yet. That was one of the things we would be testing for.


    Tonight¡¯s dinner was a celebration of a lot of things. The successful completion of another quest. Not only did Jade survive the attack, but she even came out of it much happier. Regardless of whether or not she could continue questing, this was still a good thing. And also that the four of us shared our secrets with each other and became much closer for it.


    As the night went on, we were all getting a bit drunk, except for Jade. Guess that answers the question of whether or not some things still affect her.


    The night ended when Sanor began performing, and Mallok and I were decently drunk. Jade seemed to be a bit annoyed about not being even a little bit tipsy, but she still looked much happier than she ever had before, drunk or sober.


    I feel like I made a new friend. But she also still feels like the same person, but not stifled or suppressed anymore. Aaah, she¡¯s trying to dance and she¡¯s so bad at it! Good thing drunk people aren¡¯t that judgmental about sloppy dancing.


    Shit, some guy is trying to dance with her despite her moving away from him. Piece of shit. I¡¯ll fix this.


    I got between her and the pushy man. He got the message and began harassing someone else. I wrapped my tail around his ankle and made him faceplant. He was now drunk and injured enough to leave people the hell alone.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Jade said. ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to try dancing, but¡­ never as I was.¡±


    ¡°No problem. Your first time dancing should be a fun memory. Well, every time should, but sometimes people can be annoying.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ but I¡¯m terrible at it and this is embarrassing,¡± she said, looking depressed.


    ¡°First, not many people can dance well while drunk, and pretty much everyone here is at least tipsy. Second, even if they were sober, most still wouldn¡¯t care. Third, I can teach you.¡±


    ¡°You can?¡± she asked nervously, eyeing her surroundings.


    ¡°Of course. Do you want me to? If anyone bothers us, I¡¯ll just tell them to fuck off.¡±


    ¡°Um, okay. Sure. What do I do?¡±


    I grabbed her and began showing her how to move. I wasn¡¯t doing anything complex, so she caught on quickly. Sanor must¡¯ve caught on to the situation as he had begun playing a song that was a little slower, and the odd change in tempo came off as abrupt. I¡¯ll have to thank him later.


    Jade smiled. ¡°This is fun!¡±


    I smiled back. ¡°Yep! Easy. It¡¯s mostly about moving confidently.¡±


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    ¡°I¡­ I think I can do that. I definitely couldn¡¯t have done this only a week ago.¡±


    This poor girl. We¡¯re going to have to teach her how to have fun. ¡°So, do you think you¡¯ve got it down?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°So are you ready to try it on your own?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm,¡± she replied, nodding.


    ¡°Not that I mind, but I didn¡¯t really show you how to dance while holding onto another person,¡± I said, lifting my hand that was still being held by hers. I actually don¡¯t know how to dance with another person either. Stupid noble dances don¡¯t count, and there¡¯s never been anyone I¡¯ve genuinely wanted to dance with until now.


    ¡°O-Oh!¡± she exclaimed, letting go. ¡°I-I um¡­ Sorry. I¡¯ll um, start now.¡± She tried to dance, but was so flustered that she forgot everything she had just learned and was doing even worse than before.


    I can¡¯t. My heart. She¡¯s too much.


    I didn¡¯t want to turn her into a puddle¡ªWait, can she turn into an actual puddle now?¡ªso I didn¡¯t tease her and let her get into it and find the rhythm. Every once in a while she would glance at me and our eyes would meet, then she would hurriedly look away with a familiar glow in her cheeks.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The next morning, two hungover men, one woman with a slight headache and another who was perfectly fine all met in the dining area of one of the inns that catered to Guild members.


    Mallok looked at Jade who had gotten breakfast for herself already and was happily eating. ¡°I don¡¯t know whether to feel bad that you can¡¯t get drunk or envious that you can¡¯t get drunk.¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°Bit of both, I suppose. I never particularly liked or disliked drinking, so I don¡¯t care all that much.¡±


    ¡°Did last night affect your sleep at all?¡± I asked curiously.


    ¡°No. I still just fell into the same sort of resting state where I have only a vague awareness of my surroundings. All that moving around and drinking didn¡¯t affect that.¡±


    ¡°Uuuuugh,¡± Sanor interrupted, setting down a plate of food for himself and his lover. Instead of eating it, he just sat there with his head low and eyes closed.


    ¡°Thanks for playing some slower songs last night,¡± I said.


    He just nodded slightly in response.


    ¡°What¡¯s this about?¡± Jade asked.


    ¡°He saw you learning how to dance, so he made it a little easier for you,¡± Mallok responded for him. He wasn¡¯t doing much better than Sanor, though.


    ¡°Oh,¡± she said bashfully. ¡°Thanks.¡±


    After breakfast, we went to the library to learn anything we could about slimes. It turned out that we all already knew the general information, just not in as much detail as the books described.


    There was one exception to that, however, that was that slimes could seemingly live indefinitely, provided they had sustenance. But no long-term studies had been conducted on the topic, and slimes die so easily that it wasn¡¯t commonly known.


    Jade was a little worried about how easily slimes die, but Mallok pointed out that they usually die because they have no sense of self-preservation whatsoever. Since she had that and seemed about as durable as before, she would probably be fine.


    She wasn¡¯t really sure how to feel about her new ambiguously long lifespan, but I reminded her that there are some races that do live for long periods of time, much longer than a human ever could.


    Starchildren live for about 150 years and tieflings can live for several centuries. Only Mallok in our party had a similar lifespan to a human.


    That¡¯s when Sanor made the surprising announcement that he was actually in his fifties. Mallok was in his thirties, though, and he looked to be about that age. Both myself and Jade were in our twenties, though I had a few years on her.


    She still found it odd to think about, but discussing our ages seemed to help and she decided to just put it out of her mind since there wasn¡¯t anything she could do with that information.


    With that done, we then headed out of the city and into a clearing far away from prying eyes. Mostly just because people would stare and want to ask questions if they saw us practicing and figuring things out.


    First, we confirmed that, in her chest, Jade had a clear, round core, protected by a sort of shell made of condensed slime.


    Then we tested her durability, and found that the membrane acting as her skin was actually harder to break than that of a human or a slime. We tested that by making a just few tiny, shallow cuts on the back of her arm.


    They also completely healed over quite quickly. A human would still have a little blood trickling out, and a slime would be the same but with, well, slime. Jade was incredibly relieved about that, because it meant that she wouldn¡¯t die from being cut or pierced the way an ordinary slime would.


    Some people have the misconception that because slimes are called slimes and have a shiny surface, they are therefore actually coated in slime. While that might be true on a technical level, as the membrane that acts as her skin is made of a similar substance, her ¡°skin¡± is clean and doesn¡¯t leave residue on anything.


    The actual slime is all internal. When someone kills a slime, it¡¯s basically a goopy mess that gets everywhere. It¡¯s also acidic enough that you have to wash the slime off of whatever it got on, or else it will start to eat through. It¡¯s not an instant thing, though.


    We tried figuring out how she had the shape of a person without a skeleton to support her, but the best we could figure out was that it was done with magic somehow, which basically meant that we had no idea how it worked.


    We had been testing her diet over the past week, and found that she didn¡¯t need any more food or water than normal. We had thought she might need more water, but that was just because we knew that slimes are usually found in damp places.


    When we made those cuts, she described her sense of pain as still being fully there, so she couldn¡¯t easily take hits. She also wondered if she still had a brain inside her somewhere. The only way we thought of to test it was to have her spin around until she got dizzy, but that didn¡¯t happen. Regardless, she wasn¡¯t going to act as if a hit to her head or anywhere else could be easily shrugged off.


    Next, we tested her speed, strength, and combat abilities. She ran slightly slower than before, but was now slightly stronger. She was concerned about whether or not she¡¯d still be able to properly use her bow, and she could, much to her relief.


    For someone without any bones, her body sure acted like it still had them. She actually found using her bow to be easier now because of her increased strength, as well as how the stress on her hands healed immediately vanished.


    This was good news, as she didn¡¯t want to leave the party and stop questing. Despite essentially being forced into the life by her circumstances, she still rather enjoyed it. She also quietly admitted to enjoying all of our company, and I may have been imagining it, but I think her gaze lingered on me a bit longer than on the others.


    Finally, slime attacks. Slimes only had two attacks: They could form tendrils with a surprising amount of strength, and fire off small pellets. Those pellets could cause some nasty bruises, and even broke the skin on occasion. In the right place, such as an eye, it could be devastating.


    As for whether or not Jade was also capable of these things, not even she knew. She just couldn¡¯t get them to happen at first. It wasn¡¯t until she was sparring and got into the mindset of being attacked that she was able to fire off a pellet.


    She described it as an instinctual feeling, but still something she had to will to happen. After doing it once, though, she began to get the hang of it.


    She found that it was easier to fire off a pellet from her hand or turn her arm into a tendril she could control rather than just making them appear from any random place on her body. It was still possible, but it took a lot more concentration.


    In comparison to her bow, the pellets didn¡¯t have as much range or power, but any additional method of attack was always a good thing.


    One oddity we found was that the slime from her pellets wasn¡¯t acidic at all. It didn¡¯t eat through the trees she had used as target practice, and when Mallok put a little bit on the back of his arm to test it, nothing happened.


    The last possible slime-related skill we tested was the ability to stick to walls and climb things. Slimes do this by pushing mana into the surface they are clinging to, rather than using any kind of substance.


    It¡¯s not something any of the rest of us are capable of, so when she couldn¡¯t figure out how to do it, there wasn¡¯t any advice we could offer, and that¡¯s assuming she¡¯s even capable of it in the first place.


    The final thing we tested was what mana, stamina, and healing potions did for her. The answer for each of them was that one potion of any type recovered the same amount of everything by putting only a third of its power into each of the three categories.


    We theorized that it was because slimes basically eat anything and it all digests the same for them. Drinking a potion was still much more effective for her than just eating something was, however.


    Her health, stamina, and mana were all still separate things, though. What this meant for her was that she didn¡¯t need the right potion to recover; she could use whichever one was available. That was both an advantage and a disadvantage.


    With all the testing done and having confirmed that Jade could still go questing with us, we returned to the city to begin buying armor and other supplies. Thankfully, she had a ton of money to spare. It was still in our Guild accounts, but we transferred it to her after she registered.


    The person behind the desk thought it was strange, but we just said she was important to the person the money previously belonged to, but that they hadn¡¯t thought to change their next of kin in their account information before dying. He tsked and muttered to himself about questers ignoring the less flashy details of their lifestyle.

 Chapter 5 – Jade

    <div>


    After I knew that I would be spending a lot of time still questing and traveling and had my money situation sorted out, I could make informed decisions about what I should or shouldn''t buy.


    First, I needed an entirely new set of armor. I got one that was better than my old one, and I offered to get my friends some as well, but they each opted for only repairs and stronger enchantments.


    Because my arms were now slightly shorter, I had to get a new bow. It wasn¡¯t a major issue, but as long as I had the money to spare for a new one, it should be taken care of. With my increased strength, I was able to draw more weight, so I got a bow that was lighter and a little smaller, and made of an enchanted material that made it far stronger than it looked.


    As for arrowheads, I was tempted to get ones that were enchanted or made of a much stronger metal, but opted not to. It simply wasn¡¯t practical to buy those unless I knew I would be hunting a specific monster that would be slain more easily with a specific type of arrow on hand.


    I restocked on consumables and travel food, and I was finally ready to do the real shopping.


    Considering how much I traveled, I couldn¡¯t burden myself with an entire wardrobe, but with all the necessities taken care of, I then spent a lot of time with Allamyne just browsing various shops. I eventually settled on a long, black dress that flared out and a cute shirt and skirt that went well together.


    Unfortunately, makeup wouldn¡¯t exactly work on someone who was transparent and green, but that also wasn¡¯t something I particularly cared about. Yeah, I wanted to try it, because it was a stereotypically feminine thing to do, but that was it.


    I had a similar problem with my ¡°hair¡±, until I figured out I could just will it into a different style. It was still an actual part of my body, and lacking any individual strands, but I could simulate that somewhat by giving it a texture similar to hair. The broad strokes of a texture, anyway, as anything with more detail was too intricate to maintain.


    The biggest problem I¡¯d had was figuring out what looked good against vibrant, clear green. Allamyne, being bright red, had a similar problem, but she¡¯d grown up as a woman and surrounded by lots of other people with the same skin tone.


    Even other green people, such as Mallok, had a much more muted tone of green. I was feeling quite out of my depth, but at least looking at things was still fun and gave me some ideas.


    After she helped me pick some things that I did like the look of, I enthusiastically dragged her back to the inn just so I could put on my new clothes, much to her amusement. It was a new experience for me¡ªmy first ever dress¡ªbut I didn¡¯t care. I was excited! I could finally wear something I actually liked!


    Sanor was off performing somewhere, which meant Mallok was watching him from the audience. For as tough as he looked, he sure followed the bard around like a puppy. Now that we knew they were together, it was obvious he was simply lovestruck.


    Speaking of love, I may not have any personal experience with romance, but I was feeling certain that the looks Allamyne was giving me didn¡¯t seem like she was looking at me as a friend.


    I¡¯d never even considered being with someone before because I was bogged down by too much, but now¡­? She was definitely attractive and I liked being around her, but I had no way of knowing if I actually felt something for her in that way.


    Well, if I¡¯m wrong about her, I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll hate me at least. She has no problem with Sanor and Mallok.


    With it just being the two of us for the rest of the night, and with her not wanting to be drinking two days in a row while also drinking alone, we chose a quieter place to eat dinner.


    We got some fruity alcoholic drink, though we weren¡¯t trying to get really tipsy out of it. I was just enjoying the flavor. I¡¯d never had a drink like this before because apparently men aren¡¯t allowed to drink things that actually taste good.


    Maybe I would actually have cared for drinking if I didn¡¯t get weird looks for trying to order things like this in the past. I guess I¡¯ll never find out, seeing as alcohol doesn¡¯t affect me anymore.


    After eating, we continued to just sit and chat for a while, then moved to walking around. The area we went to was always bright and busy no matter the day of the week, so there was plenty to see. The others were probably somewhere around here as well.


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    When things began winding down, I decided to go for it.


    ¡°Hey, Allamyne¡­¡±


    ¡°Hm? What is it?¡±


    So do I explain that I don¡¯t really know what I¡¯m doing, or¡­? Fuck it, better do it before I can talk myself out of it. ¡°Um¡­ Would you want to go out? Like, on an actual date?¡±


    She gaped at me in surprise.


    Shit!


    ¡°I was going to ask you out! I didn¡¯t expect you to beat me to it!¡±


    It was my turn to gape at her. ¡°Wait, what?¡±


    She laughed. ¡°I started thinking about it just a few days ago, but I thought I should let you get used to yourself first.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°I guess that makes sense. I¡¯ll admit that I don¡¯t have any experience being with someone, but it just felt right to ask you out.¡±


    She smiled and hugged me, and not in just a comforting way, but also because we both just wanted to hug the other. ¡°Me neither, but we¡¯ll figure it out. But aaaah, you¡¯re just so adorable that it was killing me to wait.¡±


    Stupid compliments making me feel all nice and emotionally gooey as I am physically. At least she can¡¯t see my cheeks glowing from this position.


    ¡°You too,¡± I awkwardly replied. ¡°You¡¯re also really warm and it¡¯s nice.¡±


    I could tell that surprised her, and I could only hope that she was blushing the way I usually do.


    ¡°Does my warmth make that much of a difference compared to someone else?¡± she asked. She broke off the hug and we began slowly making our way back to the inn.


    ¡°Mhmm. You have more than anyone else, and it¡¯s just¡­ comfortable.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hard for me to imagine. But you get the same feeling around fire or anything else that¡¯s hot, right? Including other people?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Not other people, though. You¡¯re one of the very few flame tieflings in this city, so you¡¯ve got everyone else beat there. But being near you feels the nicest, not just because of the heat you give off, but also just because I like you.¡±


    When she didn¡¯t reply, I glanced over and saw that she was blushing.


    ¡°What is it?¡± she asked in response to my staring.


    ¡°Nothing. It¡¯s just nice seeing you be the one blushing for once.¡±


    ¡°O-Oh.¡±


    The conversation ended there, leaving me feeling pretty smug.


    When we finally made it back to the inn, we hugged, then reluctantly parted and went to our rooms.


    It feels like I¡¯m saying goodbye to someone even though she¡¯s sleeping just one room over.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The next morning, the bard and dual-wielder were hungover again, though not nearly as bad as the previous day.


    Seeing both of us in a good mood, Sanor asked, ¡°What¡¯s got you two so happy this early?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re dating now,¡± my girlfriend(!) whispered conspiratorially, making sure no one overheard.


    Sanor grumbled and fished out five coppers from his pocket, then dumped them in Mallok¡¯s waiting hand.


    I sighed. ¡°What was the bet?¡±


    ¡°That it would take you at least another week.¡±


    ¡°Why did you think that?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re both inexperienced. You kept making eyes at each other, but not actually doing anything about it,¡± he paused, then added, ¡°So how did it happen?¡±


    Allamyne raised an eyebrow. ¡°Was there another bet?¡±


    He nodded.


    ¡°And it was?¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t say until you¡¯ve told us how.¡±


    ¡°She asked me out.¡±


    I smiled, feeling both proud of myself and also amused at their antics. Mallok was returning three copper to Sanor.


    ¡°Well?¡± I asked.


    Mallok responded. ¡°I thought you would just awkwardly fumble around until you eventually got together.¡±


    I rolled my eyes. ¡°I may not have dated before, but I¡¯m not some kid with a crush.¡±


    I¡¯m not going to mention that I nearly didn¡¯t do it. Being a quester has made it easier to take smaller risks like that in everyday life. Otherwise, I probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to ask her.


    ¡°Were there any other bets?¡± Allamyne asked.


    Sanor nodded. ¡°Did you kiss yet?¡±


    I blushed at that.


    ¡°Uh, n-no¡­¡± Allamyne replied shyly, also blushing.


    That made him look extremely smug as Mallok returned one last copper to Sanor. ¡°I just knew that it would take you a while to work up to that. ¡®Not some kid with a crush¡¯ my ass.¡±


    ¡°Whatever you say, old man,¡± I replied, trying to make him feel outdated.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m old. So I¡¯m beyond being too shy to even hold hands.¡±


    Damn it, it didn¡¯t work.


    Allamyne and I both looked at the other¡¯s hand but didn¡¯t move to grab them. Doing exactly what he just mentioned would feel like we were proving him right somehow.


    He just smirked at us.


    I held my fist up to my face as if I was examining it. ¡°Hmm¡­ I wonder how hard I can punch now? If only there was a smug face nearby I could practice on¡­¡±


    He grinned and was about to say something antagonizing when Mallok interrupted with a cough.


    ¡°We have something for you,¡± the orc said and pulled out a small crystal embedded into a base with runes and magic circuits around it.


    ¡°A sound barrier?¡± Allamyne asked.


    ¡°A barrier this size on a full charge will last about an hour, if and when you decide you need it.¡±


    ¡°Why would we need it?¡±


    He looked at us incredulously.


    ¡°Oh,¡± she said, blushing furiously and causing her naturally red cheeks to darken, which then got me to understand as well and also blush furiously, causing my naturally green cheeks to lighten.


    Sanor was trying hard to not laugh, but still managed to get out, ¡°If we didn¡¯t have one of these, our ¡®sworn brothers¡¯ story would¡¯ve been uncovered pretty quickly.¡±


    Allamyne quickly stashed it as if it were something to be kept hidden.


    He chuckled and rolled his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s not like we¡¯re telling you that you have to have sex this very night or anything. Go however fast or slow you need to.¡±


    Allamyne squinted at him. ¡°To think that you of all people could say something reasonable.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t compliment him,¡± Mallok rebuked. ¡°Reigning in his lofty ego is enough work as it is.¡±


    ¡°Maybe I just like making you work for me,¡± Sanor grinned.


    Mallok sighed, smiling and shaking his head. ¡°I know you do.¡±

 Chapter 6 – Allamyne

    <div>


    After breakfast, it was time for us to begin questing again. Each of us on our own could still go for a few weeks without working if we had to, as we had some spare money of our own. It was important for questers to set aside money for emergencies or for replacing equipment and supplies.


    Jade, however, could probably not work for an entire year or two. She was also completely willing to share her money with the rest of us, but we didn¡¯t want to do that.


    Plus, she wanted to get back to working as well. The main difference in her life now was that she no longer had to save every copper she earned anymore. She could actually start living.


    Other than doing things such as buying a dress, she was just so excited about doing any feminine activity she could, and it was super adorable.


    Wearing pretty clothes, drinking something sweet, and even just openly expressing her emotions in ways that men were constantly pressured not to, she was just constantly radiating happiness.


    It¡¯s difficult for me to imagine what it was like for her, but at least I can kind of relate, due to having to hide my sexuality my whole life.


    Strict and proper behaviors for men and women were drilled into my head as far back as I can remember, and that included how my relationships with others should be. I didn¡¯t even have friends back then; only people I was required to be polite with. It was suffocating.


    In a backward sort of way, I¡¯m actually glad my parents tried to force that marriage onto me. If they hadn¡¯t done that, I probably never would¡¯ve left. The past few years have been absolutely incredible, and now I have real friends and even a girlfriend!


    Though now that I think about it, just about anything would¡¯ve pushed me over the edge at that point. I was going to get myself kicked out one way or another.


    I pulled Jade into a hug, unable to resist the urge to do so.


    She squeaked in surprise. ¡°Wh-What¡¯s this for?¡±


    ¡°Just because I wanted to,¡± I smiled.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Looking at the available quests, we saw that there were a few for the extermination of much smaller goblin dens than the last one we dealt with, but after what happened last time, we didn¡¯t even consider those quests as options.


    One constraint we had this time was that we had to pick from only the easier quests. The four of us get along great with each other, especially now, and we each know how the others fight, but Jade still has to get used to her new body. She has to figure out what her new limits are, and we have to figure out what this means for our fighting methods as a party.


    The quest we ended up selecting was to hunt three iron charge boars. They can be fast, but they¡¯re also quite predictable. Since we¡¯ll be fighting them one at a time, this should be fairly easy. Their only abilities magic-wise are to enhance their muscles briefly, adding power and speed to their charges.


    We set out into the forest and managed to track one down after a few hours. For this first one, Jade was going to test her archery on it. She already knew she could still use a bow, but when she was practicing earlier, that was only on stationary targets. She¡¯d practiced firing while running around, but this time, she had to hit a moving target while also running around.


    Mallok stepped forward and did his job of drawing its attention and ire with a good whack using the flat of his blade, then immediately backed off.


    After a brief moment of shock, the boar gathered itself and charged Mallok. He sidestepped the beast with practiced ease, and Jade ran past from a good distance away, then killed it with a single well-shot arrow to the ear canal. While it was still tumbling from its momentum, she fired two more arrows, one into an eye socket and the other into the joint where its rear leg connected with its pelvis.


    Her aim and ability are absurd as always. To think she reached that level of skill in only a couple decades.


    ¡°Impressive as always,¡± I complimented, side-hugging her as we examined her handiwork. ¡°You sure got used to your new body quite fast, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    She leaned into my side hug and put her arm around my back. Can I just hug her forever? Even through armor, hugs are great. I do want to lose the armor, though. I think I understand why the others were always so much more eager than us to get back to wearing only clothes.


    She shook her head. ¡°I admit that my aim was good, but it took me a moment longer than normal to get it there. I have a logical understanding of how to effectively use my bow, but my muscle memory isn¡¯t entirely adjusted yet.¡±


    Sanor just shook his head. ¡°Your standards for yourself are stupidly high.¡±


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    ¡°I disagree. My skill level before this was better than I am now, and I know I can achieve it again with a bit of work.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Mallok said, crouching to look at the arrows. ¡°I guess I haven¡¯t really thought about these kinds of situations before, but why again did you miss some shots when we were in outside the goblin fortress gate? Or other situations we¡¯ve been in?¡±


    ¡°Because they had their own bows pointed at me. Taking the time to properly line up a shot against an enemy that could kill me may very well result in it succeeding. This boar posed nowhere near the same threat. When it comes to killing targets that could can fire back at me, I have to find a balance between precision and risk.¡±


    ¡°You could¡¯ve practiced more if you hadn¡¯t killed it with your first arrow,¡± Sanor said.


    ¡°I¡¯m not interested in torturing an animal. I don¡¯t mind hunting, but prolonging something¡¯s death doesn¡¯t sit right with me, even if it''s inconvenient for my practice.¡±


    ¡°Ah, didn¡¯t consider that.¡±


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re the one who does the least amount of killing out of all of us. Directly killing, anyway.¡±


    ¡°My stringed bludgeon,¡± he patted his lute, ¡°causes more death than you and your silly pointed sticks.¡±


    After storing the disassembled boar into a weightless space pack, we stopped with the banter and moved on to the next target. These packs are expensive, so they are rented out to questers, and are sometimes even provided by the clients themselves.


    For the second boar, Jade attacked it with a slime pellet from mid-range. It squealed in rage and charged her, causing her to roll out of its way. It was much closer the second time it charged, forcing her to react quickly with another pellet, but they weren¡¯t doing any damage.


    On its third charge, she turned her arm into a tendril and grabbed onto it as it raced past, which resulted in both of them tumbling. Mallok then stepped in with one of his swords, ending the fight.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah. I had no idea how the tendril thing would go. I guess when something has a lot of mass or speed, it¡¯s not a good idea.¡± She paused. ¡°Now that I think about it, when slimes grab onto something, it¡¯s usually them that go flying toward their prey, rather than the other way around.¡± She turned to the orc, ¡°Thanks, Mallok.¡±


    He grunted affirmatively.


    ¡°So your slime abilities don¡¯t have a lot of use in a fight, then?¡±


    ¡°Seems that way¡­¡± she said looking at the corpse. ¡°Wait, Mallok stop for a second.¡±


    The orc had barely begun disassembling it when she inspected a spot on its flank. After a few moments, she asked, ¡°Do any of you have any recent cuts or anything on you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got this scratch on my hand from a branch about an hour ago,¡± I said, holding it out for her to see.


    She grabbed it and ran her finger across it, leaving an intentional trail of slime as she did so. We all watched in amazement as it healed over in an instant.


    ¡°Hells beyond,¡± Jade muttered. ¡°I¡¯m a walking greater restoration potion.¡±


    That shocked all of us. I asked, ¡°Are you sure? That does explain why you heal so quickly, but how did you come to that conclusion?¡±


    ¡°When I shot that second pellet at the boar, I didn¡¯t have any time to think about it, I just did it. That changed the way I used the ability, and it resulted in a lot more power being put into it.


    ¡°This is where I hit the boar,¡± she said, pointing at an area of blood and slime residue. ¡°I drew blood, but there¡¯s no wound. It was healed, at the rate of a greater restoration potion. Which is what healed me during my transformation.¡±


    ¡°Incredible,¡± Mallok said. ¡°And judging by that cut you just healed, you know how to secrete it?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Kind of a gross word, but yeah. There¡¯s a definite trick to slime abilities. It¡¯s more of a ¡®Feel, don¡¯t think,¡¯ kind of thing. I was also able to make a stronger tendril than I did when we were practicing.


    ¡°When I was figuring out how to do those things during practice, it was on a purely physical level, not enhanced by mana at all. I can actually use mana now, albeit in a limited fashion.¡±


    ¡°What about climbing on walls? Do you think you¡¯re able to do that now?¡± I asked her.


    She shrugged. ¡°I can try. I¡¯ll work on it while Mallok disassembles.¡±


    I followed her as she walked over to a large tree with a lot of surface area to work with. She placed her hands on the trunk, higher than her head was, and pulled. She was awkward at first, but quickly figured out that using her forearms and shins to attach more of herself to the tree made it easier. It was similar to crawling, except on a vertical surface.


    ¡°So this means you don¡¯t need anything to grip on?¡± I asked, amazed at the sight.


    ¡°Seems that way. But I won¡¯t be able to just attach myself to something indefinitely, I have to constantly expend mana to do this. Not even actual slimes spend all their time on whatever surface they please.¡±


    ¡°So how quickly can you get down then?¡±


    She looked at me from where she was attached to the tree several feet up. She stared for several seconds before abruptly saying, ¡°Catch me.¡±


    What!?


    I was already close enough to catch her, but she still surprised me with that. I was only just barely able to react fast enough, and nearly fell over when she landed in my arms.


    ¡°That¡¯s how quickly,¡± she said, laughing.


    ¡°You! Don¡¯t do that!¡± I exclaimed.


    ¡°Oh? So you don¡¯t want me in your arms? Because you haven¡¯t set me down yet.¡±


    I set her down. ¡°How is it that you go from being flustered, to bold and confident and then back to flustered again?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s me just pushing through my inexperience before I can think about what I¡¯m doing.¡±


    ¡°Sort of like your slime abilities?¡±


    She rolled her eyes and sarcastically stated, ¡°Sure. When a slime comes at you, it¡¯s with romantic intent.¡±


    ¡°So are you going to come at me, then?¡±


    ¡°Do you want me to?¡±


    ¡°What if I come at you first?¡± I breathed, pinning her to the tree she just jumped down from, causing her to yelp in surprise.


    Those adorable glowing cheeks are back.


    After gathering herself, she stuttered, ¡°W-Well, you came at me, but you haven¡¯t done a-anything else yet¡­¡±


    Should I kiss her now? In this forest right next to the others? The others¡­


    I turned my head to see Sanor and Mallok both grinning at us. ¡°Damn it!¡±


    Sanor chuckled. ¡°Why¡¯d you stop? It¡¯s just a kiss.¡± He then pulled Mallok in and kissed him passionately to prove his point.


    Jade narrowed her eyes at them and said, ¡°I have the sudden urge to just walk back to the city and leave you two to get the last boar yourselves.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I like that idea! People who are jerks get more work to do.¡±


    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s an idea!¡± Sanor said excitedly. ¡°You get to be alone with each other, and so do we!¡±


    ¡°Ugh, come on, Jade, let¡¯s go. Leave dealing with the boars to these pigs.¡±


    She giggled. ¡°Okay. Since they want to play with the boars so badly, let¡¯s leave them to it.¡±

 Chapter 7 – Jade

    <div>


    Why¡¯d we have to get interrupted? I asked myself as we trekked back toward the city.


    It¡¯s been maybe an hour since we left the guys behind, but neither of us has said much to each other since then. It was just awkward.


    We both seem lost in thought over what almost happened between us. And we won¡¯t be able to do anything once we¡¯ve returned to the city, either¡­ Now or never, I guess.


    ¡°Allamyne?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Hm? What is it?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ Once we¡¯re in the city again, it might be some time before we get another chance¡­¡±


    Her eyes opened wide. ¡°Oh. So¡­ you want to¡­?¡±


    ¡°Um, yeah, I, uh¡­ Yes.¡±


    Ugh, this is so awkward! And I can clearly see my cheeks glowing! Stupid cheeks!


    ¡°Okay. The others were being considerate, after all.¡±


    ¡°Huh? What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Well, um, they know we¡¯re both bad at this, so they were happy to let us leave so we could have some privacy.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, so¡­¡±


    This isn¡¯t going anywhere. I nervously stepped forward and wrapped my arms around her waist. My hands are probably so sweaty right now. Wait, do slimes sweat? No, shut up, stupid brain. You can think about slime sweat later, I¡¯ve got a girl to kiss.


    Several seconds of intense gazing into the other¡¯s eyes passed, and we both decided to go for it. Our lips met, and hers were oh so soft. I forgot how awkward and nervous I was feeling and just lost myself in her.


    It was several minutes later that we parted, and I saw her expression go from one of warmth, to confusion, and then worry.


    ¡°Jade!? Jade, are you okay?!¡±


    ¡°What? Yeah, I¡¯m fine! What¡¯s going on?¡±


    She stared at me in bewilderment before finally speaking, ¡°Uh, you kinda¡­ lost your shape a little bit. Like, you looked less defined.¡±


    ¡°What!?¡± My hands were the only part of my body not covered in armor. I looked at them, terrified of what I might find, but they were completely normal. Or at least as normal as a pair of clear green hands can look.


    ¡°Um, I don¡¯t feel any different?¡± I said apprehensively.


    ¡°You look fine now? You¡¯re back to normal¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, what does that mean? What happened? Am I going to have to talk to Moore again?¡±


    After thinking for a while, she said, ¡°I have an idea. Kiss me again.¡±


    ¡°What? But what about¡­?¡±


    ¡°Just an experiment. I have an idea, but it will probably be easier if I tell you after. Just¡­ try to relax. I¡¯ll keep an eye on you.¡±


    ¡°Okay?¡± I stepped closer to her again, nervous for an entirely different reason this time. What if I hurt her somehow?


    She had to pull me in because I was hesitating, but we returned to how we were just a couple minutes ago. It felt just as nice as before, but I was worrying too much to get entirely into it.


    We pulled back, and after examining my face, she began chuckling. ¡°Oh, this is actually adorable.¡±


    ¡°Wh-What? Where did that come from?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t change much, but there is a noticeable difference. Basically, kissing me makes you melt in my arms. Just a little bit.¡±


    ¡°¡­What.¡± That is not what I was expecting her to say.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s fine, it¡¯s just something for us to be aware of.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. And the only way to test it seems to be more kissing,¡± she replied cheekily.


    I blushed. ¡°O-Oh.¡±


    ¡°As a side note, kissing you literally restores me. I could feel the effects of the potion. A couple minor bruises and scratches went away.¡±


    ¡°Seriously? I have a healing kiss? What is this, a fairy tale?¡±


    She laughed. ¡°That¡¯d make me your princess then, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    I groaned. ¡°This is getting embarrassing. Sanor can never know.¡±


    ¡°Agreed.¡±


    ¡°I bet he¡¯d make a dumb joke about my lips being lime-flavored or something.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like something he would say.¡±


    Changing the subject, I said, ¡°Um, so¡­ this is nice, but it¡¯d be even nicer without either of us covered in armor.¡±


    She blushed, ¡°U-Um¡­¡±


    ¡°I-I didn¡¯t mean like¡­! I just thought that if we went back to your room, we wouldn¡¯t have to be wearing all this stuff.¡±


    ¡°My room, eh?¡±


    My cheeks were competing with the sun at this point. ¡°W-We don¡¯t have to d-do anything! I j-just wanted to not be covered in armor!¡±


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    She bit her lip and looked away. ¡°You are way too cute,¡± I heard her mutter.


    ¡°I¡­ Wha¡­? Huh?¡± She¡¯s making me feel so embarrassed and happy at the same time. This is unfair! I can¡¯t compete!


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go back. Continuing here might mean monsters or other questers finding us. Or even worse, Sanor.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ Yeah, okay.¡± Finally, a breather. She surprised me with a sudden peck on the cheek, then smiled and began walking ahead. I stood frozen on the spot.


    ¡°Are you coming or what? I thought you wanted to get back?¡± she teased.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get you back for that!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I hope so.¡±


    ¡°Anything my princess desires.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you start with that.¡±


    I cackled.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    After returning to the inn, we went to her room and were able to get much more into kissing than before. My ¡°melting¡± didn¡¯t turn out to be a problem, as so far it hadn¡¯t gone beyond just minor changes that would simply disappear once I was no longer feeling so emotionally gooey.


    Being able to be close with someone, to be able to feel the warmth of their body and their care and desire for you through their touch is a truly amazing feeling. A feeling that is only enhanced by my comfort in her warmth and her being healed through my kiss.


    Because this was an inn that catered to questers, the rooms were smaller and cheaper than they would be at a regular inn, so with two people sharing a room, we were feeling pretty cozy.


    We talked for a bit about whether or not we should share a room, and decided it was fine. While it was true that we¡¯d only just begun dating, we both decided we were comfortable with it as it¡¯s not as if we¡¯ve only just recently met. I moved my things to her room and informed the proprietor, then we headed out.


    Unlike some inns, the only food at this one was travel food for sale to questers, and nearly all the space the inn occupied was comprised of small rooms for the guests. There wasn¡¯t a lobby or dining area, or anything else other than the bare minimum.


    Questers usually held all their meetings at the Guild, and don¡¯t often spend much time in their rooms, which is why they are so small and cheap. People in any inn usually don¡¯t spend a great deal of time in their rooms, but questers do so even less than a non-quester would.


    Since we needed a place to meet and weren¡¯t going to discuss the details of a quest, we just headed to the nearby tavern that we¡¯d been frequenting since arriving in this city.


    After a couple hours, Sanor and Mallok showed up, and after ordering food and drinks, they sat down with us.


    ¡°So let¡¯s just get the important stuff out of the way before we completely relax,¡± Mallok stated. Turning to Jade, he said, ¡°We¡¯ve talked in the past about getting a dedicated healer for our party, but considering that we¡¯d have to find someone who was okay with all our situations, we think that that role should instead go to you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve considered that a bit,¡± I replied. ¡°But you¡¯re all aware that I can only heal through physical contact, yes? I don¡¯t have anything that could even count as a spell.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°That¡¯s true, but that¡¯s still far more than an average person could do. Sanor can sing a song of minor healing for all of us, and Allamyne can cast a spell of minor healing that works a bit faster than Sanor¡¯s song does. But you¡¯re healing ability is much greater than that, despite the touch requirement. And though we didn¡¯t test it, consuming a¡­ pellet¡­ could potentially eliminate poisons or internal injuries.¡±


    I shared a look with Allamyne and could tell we both understood that I should share what I found out. ¡°Um¡­ We didn¡¯t test it with a pellet, but, uh, my saliva worked.¡±


    Sanor¡¯s face started stretching into a huge grin. Before he had a chance to say whatever stupid joke he¡¯d come up with, Allamyne and I both kicked him in the shins under the table and Mallok gave him a stern look.


    ¡°Ow! I¡¯m being bullied! I haven¡¯t even said anything yet!¡±


    ¡°¡¯Yet,¡¯¡± I repeated with my eyes narrowed.


    With that settled, I added, ¡°That said, I¡¯m not sure how I feel about that since it¡¯s something I produce with my body.¡±


    Mallok responded, ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have to kiss us, obviously. Just¡­ uh, emit some slime. And if you think about it, people eat all kinds of bizarre or even disgusting things in their daily lives. In your case, it would just bit a tiny bit for healing purposes. It¡¯s not even food.¡±


    I sighed. ¡°Yeah. I guess. It still seems super weird, though.¡±


    With a lull in the conversation, Sanor saw an opportunity to ask Allamyne, ¡°So did she taste like lime juice?¡±


    I kicked him again, Allamyne elbowed him in the ribs, and Mallok said, ¡°That thing we were talking about doing tonight? It¡¯s not going to happen now.¡±


    If I mention that I predicted he would say almost exactly that then he might just become even more annoying.


    This time Sanor looked aghast, and after settling down, said, ¡°Sorry. One last one to get out of my system.¡± He pointed at me and said, ¡°Since you¡¯re green, you can be lime,¡± he moved his finger in Allamyne¡¯s direction, ¡°And you can be cherry!¡±


    While the other two were justifiably abusing him again, I dropped a little slime into his ale.


    ¡°Wh-What did you just do?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Alcohol counts as a poison, right? Now if you drink that, you¡¯ll be completely sober. And you¡¯re not someone who would just waste a full mug of ale, right?¡±


    ¡°You should drink it,¡± Mallok nodded. ¡°To make sure consuming it will really work like that.¡±


    Sanor pouted at his ale. ¡°So cruel, all of you.¡± He chugged it, then blinked his eyes and shook his head. ¡°Yep, it definitely works. Probably didn¡¯t need to put that much in, though. Felt kind of weird to drink liquid, then thick liquid. I also didn¡¯t notice any difference in the flavor.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the input!¡± I said with a false smile. ¡°You can be our test subject for the night.¡±


    While Sanor grumbled and went off to get another ale, Mallok said to me, ¡°I¡¯ve also thought of a use for your tendril ability; briefly extending your reach in combat. And other situations, too, I suppose.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ Yeah, that might work.¡±


    After coming up with a few ideas for myself and the party, we then moved on to just chatting as we normally would, while continuing to experiment with with Sanor¡¯s ales. We found that I wouldn¡¯t need to put much in to give the restoration effect, and that it would wear off before the ale was digested, so it wouldn¡¯t work as a ¡°heal over time¡± type of effect.


    We also found that it could be stirred up so that it was completely mixed in with the ale and not a viscous substance at the bottom of the mug. The last thing we found was that the effect would completely vanish if left for an hour with a decent-sized pellet, and sooner for a smaller one.


    Being properly mixed into the ale made the effect stay longer, basically making it so he couldn¡¯t get drunk. He hated that. We loved it.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    With the day over with, Allamyne and I headed back to her¡­ our¡­ room. Thankfully, it wasn¡¯t uncommon for questers to share rooms, even with the limited space, so it wasn¡¯t unusual for me to be here as a fellow party member.


    People would usually share a room to save money, though there are exceptions, such as family members, or¡­ couples.


    We were both already in our nightgowns, and though we didn¡¯t outright strip in front of the other, we didn¡¯t make sure the other wasn¡¯t looking, either.


    ¡°How many questers do you think are secret gays?¡± I thought out loud, thinking about the different scenarios that might cause questers to share a bed.


    Allamyne stared at me. ¡°¡­Probably more than we¡¯ll ever know, now that I think about it.¡±


    I nodded and yawned. It¡¯s strange that I still yawn, considering I no longer sleep the way a human would.


    ¡°Inside or outside?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°The side of the bed against the wall or the other?¡±


    ¡°Oh, um, the wall side? I don¡¯t really mind which side I sleep on.¡±


    ¡°Alright, then you get in first.¡±


    I nodded and crawled under the covers. She deactivated the room¡¯s light enchantment and followed me in.


    ¡°Hey, Jade?¡± she asked quietly.


    ¡°Yeah?¡± I responded.


    ¡°Do you mind if¡­ if I hold you?¡±


    ¡°Sure. I¡¯ve been thinking about that, too.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± she replied. I turned onto my side to face her and we gently wrapped our arms around each other. Finding a comfortable position was a little awkward, but we managed to find one that worked.


    Since I didn¡¯t have blood and was constantly being healed, my arms wouldn¡¯t fall asleep the way hers could, so that made things easier.


    There wasn¡¯t much light from the moons tonight, but the faint glow from my eyes provided just enough for me to see her face. Thankfully that effect vanished once my eyelids were closed, however that worked.


    We shared another kiss and settled into each other¡¯s embrace.


    ¡°Goodnight,¡± I said with a slight smile on my face.


    ¡°Mm, goodnight,¡± she replied warmly, kissing the top of my head.


    Her warmth is so comfortable¡­

 Chapter 8 – Allamyne

    It¡¯s been a few weeks now since we started to go questing again, gradually taking more quests until we got back to our previous level. We probably could¡¯ve gone faster than that, but there wasn¡¯t any need for us to rush.


    The biggest change to our party dynamic was that Jade tended to be a bit more mid-range now. This was so that if someone was injured, she could get to them faster.


    Since Jade could use mana now, Sanor and I tried to cast a spell through her, but it didn¡¯t work. Her mana is tied strictly to her slime abilities. We¡¯re not experts when it comes to doing things with other people¡¯s mana, though.


    Regarding those abilities, Jade would use her pellets as something to draw an enemy¡¯s attention without wasting arrows. She would just have to aim for a place that was close to them.


    On some occasions, she even used it as a first strike. Just because it healed didn¡¯t mean it didn¡¯t hurt. Plus the enemy¡¯s confusion over being healed by an attack could help. It was still a very situational thing, though.


    Other than questing, we¡ªmostly me¡ªspent a lot of time with Jade visiting various places around the city. It seemed like she wanted to try doing everything, but that was fine. Also adorable. She was starting to get more serious about questing again, though.


    We also had sex, but surprisingly, neither of us seemed to care about it all that much. We both agreed that it feels good, but also that it¡¯s not worth obsessing over the way so many other people seem to. Not even the discoveries we¡¯d made changed that.


    I had discovered that if Jade had recently put something in her body, grapes for example, then she would taste like that for a while after. I also discovered that my tail could do some interesting things. The final discovery was Jade having the sudden idea to extend her tongue.


    But even with all that, we still didn¡¯t seem to desire sex very much, if at all. We finally decided to ask the others for advice, and they were surprisingly mature about it. Well, Mallok was. Sanor wasn¡¯t too bad, either, but he still felt the need to make at least one joke.


    In the end, we both just enjoy cuddling and snuggling a lot more. When we talked about our lives and how we both desired closeness with someone else, we realized that neither of us seemed to be people who ever cared about sex very much.


    Whatever the case may be, it¡¯s fine as long as we¡¯re both happy. Maybe we¡¯ll figure something out in the future.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡°Anything you want to do before we leave tomorrow?¡± Jade asked me. We were standing in line at the Questing Guild, as it was our turn to turn in the quest.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I heard about an interesting performance at the theater a while ago. Tonight¡¯s their last showing, I think,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Would we still have the time to make it there?¡±


    ¡°Not sure. If not, I can think of a few other things.¡±


    ¡°Okay. It¡¯s up to you what we do tonight,¡± she said. She felt a little guilty about dragging me around to so many places, but I told her it was fine. She still insisted that we should do something that I want to do, but I honestly don¡¯t mind. I just want to hug her all the time. I want to hug her right now.


    Finally, it was our turn at the turn-in desk.


    In a voice that exemplified just how routine this had become for me, I stated, ¡°Broken Song Party, turning in a quest to investigate the Milshek Mines.¡±


    ¡°Understood. One moment, please.¡± The worker had to rifle through a pile of active quest documents before finding the right one. After reading it to confirm its details and prepare a report, he said, ¡°Please give me the details of your investigation.¡±


    ¡°The only monsters we encountered in the mine were rockworms, though the nest had become rather large.¡± Rockworms are massive worms that live in areas of dense stone, and can become a real threat if not eliminated. ¡°There were about 120 young ones, 30 or so adults, and 4 evolved steelworms.


    ¡°We explored every tunnel, both man and monster-made, and believe we got most of them. Two of the old mining tunnels had caved in, so we can¡¯t be completely sure. The monster and cave-in locations have been marked on this map,¡± I finished, handing him the map we¡¯d made and indicating the different areas. While he was busy looking it over, I pulled out the weightless space pack containing all the harvested materials and proofs of our kills.


    I¡¯m so glad these reports can be this short. I honestly feel like our reports are more detailed than what most questers give.


    The worker gave a single, sharp nod and said, ¡°Very well. Examining the materials will likely take at least half an hour. You will be called to the payment desk with the results when completed.¡±


    I¡¯ll miss the much shorter wait times that the larger cities like this one have.


    As we were about to walk away to sit somewhere and wait, he added, ¡°Allamyne, before you leave, a messenger is waiting for you in privacy room 2. He will leave at 5 pm, and has been here for one hour the previous two days as well.¡±


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    I halted in my tracks. This can¡¯t be good. ¡°What¡¯s this about?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to ask him.¡±


    ¡°Can Jade come with?¡±


    ¡°He didn¡¯t specify that you come alone.¡±


    I sighed. ¡°Thanks.¡±


    Jade looked at me with concern. ¡°Do you know what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°The only people I can think of that would send a messenger for me would be my parents.¡± I looked at the hallway that led to the privacy rooms. I sighed again. ¡°Let¡¯s just get this shit over with. I¡¯ll tell them they can fuck right off with whatever they want, and then we¡¯ll get the hells out of this city first thing in the morning.¡±


    She rubbed my back consolingly. ¡°If they want something from you, they¡¯ll have to face off against all the slime people in the world.¡±


    I snorted. ¡°Thanks.¡±


    I entered the room with Jade close behind me. A well-dressed flame tiefling was sitting at the table, calmly reading a book. Upon seeing us enter, he snapped it shut. ¡°Allamyne Soervnuic?¡± he asked, though he clearly already knew who I was.


    I haven¡¯t heard my last name in years. Why did it have to follow me all the way out here?


    ¡°That¡¯s me,¡± I said coldly as I shut the door. ¡°You don¡¯t mind my friend being here, do you?¡±


    ¡°Actually, this concerns her, too.¡±


    Shit! Did they find out we¡¯re dating?! Fuck fucking fuck shit!


    ¡°M-Me?¡± Jade questioned. ¡°Why? I¡¯ve never even been to the Flame Wastes. Not even close.¡±


    ¡°The king has summoned the two of you. The reason why, I do not know. What he did specify is that neither of you are in any trouble, nor does this have anything to do with your past. He is aware that you travel with two others, and said that it is optional whether or not they come with you. You are free to discuss this with them.


    ¡°I will await you at the Traveler¡¯s Square three days from now. Be prepared to depart by sunrise. A carriage capable of accommodating all four of you, food, and supplies for travel, have already been prepared.


    ¡°Is everything understood?¡± he finished.


    Hells beyond, why does the king of all people want to see me and Jade? ¡°Was there nothing else? No further information?¡±


    ¡°There was not.¡±


    I was about to sigh loudly and exasperatedly, but this was the king¡¯s messenger. He may only be a messenger, but my attitude could still reflect on how we¡¯re treated in the future. Fucking nobility bullshit. And we can¡¯t even refuse because it¡¯s royalty that wants to see us for whatever fucking reason. Ah, if only I were a commoner, then he wouldn¡¯t be able to do this to us. ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°Good. I will see you then,¡± he stated, then abruptly left.


    Once he had shut the door, I let out a loud, weary, ¡°Fuuuuuck.¡±


    Jade grabbed my hand. ¡°Do you know what¡¯s going on at all?¡±


    I looked into her eyes, worry clearly visible in them. ¡°If it¡¯s not about my past, then no. The fact that he wants to see you too is creating extra confusion. I¡¯ve stayed far away from anything to do with nobles since I left, so I shouldn¡¯t have caught anyone¡¯s attention,¡± I sighed. ¡°I just don¡¯t know, Jade. But we aren¡¯t allowed to refuse here.¡±


    She looked down, then back to me. ¡°I¡¯m scared. I really am. But I¡¯ll be with you. Through whatever this is.¡±


    We hugged, and spent several long minutes just holding each other in silence.


    I sighed again. ¡°Let¡¯s go tell the others. And I guess we can¡¯t see that play now, either. We¡¯ll be too busy discussing this shit.¡±


    We were nearly out the front door, when someone called out, ¡°Broken Song Party?¡±


    Fuck. What is it now¡­?


    I turned around and saw that it was just the dwarf guy at the payment desk. He counted out our money and explained how much we earned on top of just the investigation, but I didn¡¯t hear a word of it.


    With a coin purse of indeterminate amount in hand, we went to hunt down the others. Shouldn¡¯t take too long. Just look for drunk people and music and we¡¯ll find Sanor, and by extension, Mallok.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡°Did something happen?¡± Mallok asked.


    ¡°Yeah, it has to be serious if you need us sober,¡± Sanor added, watching Jade put a pellet in his drink.


    As expected, we had found Sanor performing and Mallok just sitting and drinking and enjoying his boyfriend¡¯s music. Their usual routine.


    ¡°The king of the Flame Wastes has summoned us,¡± I grimly stated.


    ¡°What!? Seriously? What for? Is this about your family?¡± Sanor asked.


    Jade decided to answer for me. ¡°The messenger told us that we aren¡¯t in trouble and that it has nothing to do with her past¡­ But he also said that only me and Alla are required. The two of you don¡¯t have to come with us if you don¡¯t want to. That¡¯s literally all we know.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it? Nothing else?¡± Mallok questioned. He looked at me, but I could only shake my head.


    ¡°I really don¡¯t know,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve stayed far away from the Flame Wastes, and haven¡¯t done anything at all that would draw attention. At least I don¡¯t think I have. I haven¡¯t even used my surname and have just been questing nearly the entire time since I left.¡± I looked at my girlfriend. ¡°And I honestly don¡¯t know what he wants with Jade.¡±


    Sanor asked, ¡°Can¡¯t you just not go? We¡¯re not even in that country.¡±


    I sighed once again. ¡°Because I¡¯m a former noble from there, I can¡¯t refuse. It¡¯ll be seen as treason. If I don¡¯t go, I¡¯ll be extradited. Jade, as a known close associate of me who was specifically requested to come with, also can¡¯t refuse.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ harsh,¡± Mallok said.


    ¡°Why did my bullshit have to follow me all the way out here and all these years later?¡± I lamented.


    ¡°You don¡¯t think it¡¯s about the two of you being together?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t see how that would be the case. We haven¡¯t done anything in public that would warrant us being summoned. Not even sharing a room in an inn counts, because that¡¯s common among questers. And even if we weren¡¯t questers but shared a room, it still shouldn¡¯t warrant this.¡±


    Jade and I held hands under the table, dreading our future, while the men discussed the situation.


    A few minutes later, Mallok announced, ¡°We¡¯re coming with you.¡±


    ¡°You are?¡± Jade asked, surprised at the declaration.


    For them to come with, I guess that means we really did move beyond just being a party of questers. We¡¯re like an actual family at this point.


    ¡°We are,¡± Sanor replied. ¡°If the king tries anything funny, I¡¯ll just annoy him to death.¡±


    She smiled slightly. ¡°You are pretty annoying.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°It¡¯s true. I could just annoy all our enemies to death, but it entertains me to watch all of you play with your swords, acting like you¡¯re real questers.¡±


    ¡°And there it is. Are you sure it isn¡¯t to your own death that you¡¯ll be annoying him to?¡±


    ¡°Of course not! I¡¯m unannoyable-to-death, I am!¡±


    I decided to join the bantering. ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. You haven¡¯t dealt with nobility before, after all.¡±


    ¡°Hm, so nobles are professional annoyers? Maybe I should become a noble¡­¡±


    ¡°Ugh, please don¡¯t. I don¡¯t want to think about such a horrible future where you¡¯re in charge of someone else.¡±


    Mallok suddenly chimed in with, ¡°It¡¯s true. He can¡¯t even be in charge of himself. Why do you think I¡¯m with him all the time?¡±


    We all gaped at him. Mallok told a joke!?


    Sanor put his hands to his chest and said in a fake, teary voice, ¡°Mal! I¡¯m so proud of you!¡±

 Chapter 9 – Jade

    <div>


    Nine weeks. It¡¯s been nine. Weeks. Of travel. And we only stopped in four places for a single day each. Out of over 60 days, we only got to sleep in a real bed for four of them!


    The four of us had been stuck in this stupid carriage for nine weeks, and because we were unable to do anything about it, all our moods had been steadily declining.


    We talked about all sorts of things to distract ourselves. We played cards, talked some more, made up stupid games, talked some more¡­ It was utter monotony. We could¡¯ve broken up this miserable journey with longer stops in various places, but apparently, we were to go straight there.


    The messenger guy and a driver took turns leading the cart and hardly spoke to us the entire trip. Thankfully, there was a separator between us and them, so whenever we had to say something we didn¡¯t want them to overhear, it was easy to do so. We couldn¡¯t use our sound barriers, though, because their areas of effect were too large.


    We didn¡¯t even get to fight any monsters along the way. Both the messenger and driver were capable of handling things themselves. I guess that¡¯s to be expected when you are employed directly by a king. Normally, I just see fighting monsters as part of my job, but I was just. So. Bored!


    They had told us a few days ago that we were coming up on the capital city, and as we began to hear noises, we knew that, at long last, we had arrived.


    As terrified as I was for our future, I was also desperate at this point to just talk to the damn king already. Having to wait for so long was agony.


    Only the largest of cities can afford and maintain big, defensive walls like what we saw here. Allamyne grimaced at the sight, while the rest of us were awed by them. We tried to downplay it for her sake, though.


    Because we were here on the king¡¯s ¡°invitation¡±, we didn¡¯t have to go through any security checks at all. That part of things was relatively quick, but with all the traffic between the gate and the castle, it was several hours before we finally made it.


    Once we finally got off that wretched carriage for the last time, we stretched our legs and didn¡¯t even look back as the messenger and driver immediately left to go do whatever it was they did after a job. They didn¡¯t even look back at us, and we did the same.


    As instructed, we had all our weapons and things like that separated for them to store somewhere, and once they cleared our luggage, we were sent to some guest rooms.


    Before leaving, a servant told us our meeting would be in the morning two days from now.


    We were given two large bedrooms, with two beds in each. There was even a little kitchen and den in both of them.


    ¡°This guest room is larger than the house I grew up in.¡± I wondered aloud.


    Allamyne sighed. ¡°Yeah. Nobles are like that. Everything has to be fancy and big and obnoxious and so incredibly wasteful.¡±


    ¡°Is every noble like that?¡±


    ¡°Some are a bit better than others, I suppose. But the wealthy have their own culture among themselves they like to maintain. That¡¯s what all the posturing and one-upmanship is about. All to impress other people who don¡¯t actually care about you. Nobles are all a bunch of miserable shits.¡±


    I saw what the outside of the castle looked like because of all the tall buildings in the way, but the inside was certainly opulent.


    I didn¡¯t really know how this compared to what nobles had, so I asked Allamyne, ¡°This place is way too fancy. What¡¯s even the point of all this?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just to show off how superior they are to others.¡±


    The two bedrooms were connected by a large lounge area in the middle, where we found the others already examining the room. It was certainly a lot to look at.


    There was a fireplace with three couches and a table near it. The bookshelves contained an array of books on a variety of subjects, as well as a plethora of knick-knacks. Paintings depicting various people and scenes were on every wall. There were ornate carpets on the floor, and even the ceiling was fancy.


    I¡¯m drowning in opulence here.


    After each of us had explored the room and gotten our fill of fanciness, we finally reconvened on the couches.


    ¡°So,¡± Sanor began seriously. ¡°This place is warm as fuck. Why in the hells is there a fireplace?¡±


    ¡°Because some guests are used to colder climates and expect one, even if they know it has no use here,¡± Allamyne replied.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s stupid.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, this whole room is stupid. It makes me want to burn things.¡±


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Mallok chimed in with, ¡°As fun as that would be, is there anything we should know before meeting the king in two days? Rules and etiquette, that sort of thing?¡±


    My beleaguered girlfriend sighed. ¡°Yeah. Because I know that stuff, they probably expect me to teach it to you. You won¡¯t have to get it perfect since you¡¯re commoners and it¡¯s not expected of you, but you¡¯ll be expected to try.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    We weren¡¯t allowed in many places in the castle, so over the next two days, we had to spend even more time cooped up and not moving around. At least we¡¯re not stuck in the that carriage anymore.


    During that time, Allamyne drilled into Sanor and Mallok the bow that the men had to do, and into me, the curtsy/bow thing that I had to do.


    On one hand, I was pleased that I was expected to do something feminine. On the other hand, I was angry that I was only allowed to do something feminine.


    I feel like I shouldn¡¯t be mad about this, but not being allowed freedom of expression to this extent is making me feel like I¡¯m back in my parent¡¯s house.


    ¡°This sucks. I want to kill stuff again,¡± I said.


    ¡°There are certainly a lot of tempting targets here¡­¡± Allamyne mused. ¡°But let¡¯s get back to it. We need to practice this stuff.¡±


    In addition to the bows and curtsies, we also had to know when to stand, how to stand, where to stand, what we could say, what we couldn¡¯t say, when we could or couldn¡¯t say or do certain things¡­ It just went on and on and on.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you lived with this shit.¡±


    ¡°Me neither. And you haven¡¯t even had the lovely experience of being condescended to by a noble yet.¡±


    ¡°Fuck this. I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m low on Alla energy,¡± I said, wrapping my girlfriend in a firm hug.


    ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s rest for a while. There¡¯s only so much you can learn in just two days anyway. Now do you see why I didn¡¯t teach you anything on the way here?¡±


    ¡°Uh, not really, no.¡±


    She chuckled slightly. ¡°You haven¡¯t noticed how you have to be positioned a certain way or standing in a specific spot before you can say a certain thing?¡±


    ¡°Oh. Oh. I mean, yeah, I noticed that, but at the same time, it¡¯s all such a mess of bullshit that it somehow just didn¡¯t register.¡±


    We had only just sat down when there was a knock on the door. Allamyne, as our representative in this situation, sighed and got up to answer it.


    A servant entered, and upon seeing that all of us were here, stated, ¡°The king will see you after breakfast at 8:30 am tomorrow. Please wear your approved clothes and maintain the proper attitude and respect for your meeting.¡±


    Our ¡°approved clothes¡± were outfits specifically made for whenever a commoner meet royalty. They had been prepared for us already and were waiting in our closets. Allamyne¡¯s was similar to mine, but was slightly fancier.


    I guess they still put her above us even after her exile.


    Once the servant left, we felt the need to get back to training.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    After an incredibly tense and nerve-wracking breakfast, a servant came to lead us to the king.


    After several minutes of walking, Allamyne asked him, ¡°Excuse me, but this doesn¡¯t seem to be the way to the throne room?¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t,¡± the servant responded. ¡°The king¡¯s meeting with you will be held in a private lounge.¡±


    I gave her a confused look, but she could only shrug in response, though she seemed slightly relieved.


    She¡¯d been worrying that she would be forcibly reinstated as a noble, which was something that would¡¯ve been done with others watching to enforce it, but that didn¡¯t seem to be the situation.


    The servant stopped before an ornate wooden door, knocked and waited, then opened it for us. The four of us walked in, and the servant shut the door behind us, with himself on the other side.


    Allamyne was looking around in shock and confusion, because the only person in this room was a flame tiefling man in an ornate and form-fitting outfit, sitting comfortably on a couch.


    Opposite the couch was a table with a steaming kettle of tea, and beyond that was another couch, wide enough to seat all four of us.


    ¡°Please sit,¡± the king set amicably.


    None of our intense etiquette training prepared us for a casual meeting with no one watching. The four of us stiffly shuffled to the couch and sat.


    ¡°I¡¯m terribly sorry about this unusual meeting, but what we are going to discuss cannot be spread. To anyone. Jade, Allamyne, the two of you I need here, but as for Sanor and Mallok, I need you to keep what you are to hear only to yourselves. If you doubt you are capable, then please leave, and a servant will escort you back to your room.¡±


    They both gulped, and after glancing at each other, Mallok said for the both of them, ¡°We¡¯ll stay.¡± I saw Sanor¡¯s hand twitch in the direction of Mallok¡¯s hand, but he managed to restrain himself and not grab onto it.


    The king nodded. ¡°Jade,¡± the king turned his intense gaze to me. Fuck, fuck, fuck, he¡¯s going to kill me isn¡¯t he? He¡¯s going to separate me and Alla and I¡¯ll probably be killed. ¡°I, King Ellecor Iywret vi Szikehr, need your help.¡±


    Four mouths hung open, and after several seconds, all I could say was, ¡°I- Wh- ¡­Huh!?¡±


    He smiled slightly. ¡°I¡¯m aware that telling all of you to relax would do little good, but please believe me when I say that you will not be punished for any sort of unintentional breach of etiquette.¡±


    He¡¯s right, I¡¯m not relaxed at all.


    ¡°To begin, first, allow me to apologize for not being able to tell you that this was to be a casual meeting. If it was known that I was going to meet with commoners in a setting free of social standings, negative rumors would spread, and life would become difficult for all of us.


    ¡°Second, as I need your help, I couldn¡¯t take the chance that you wouldn¡¯t come if asked. You¡¯re not from this country, so asking a commoner from far away to meet with me directly could¡¯ve caused an international incident.


    ¡°I also didn¡¯t want to force you to come, if possible. The best compromise I could come up with was to use Allamyne¡¯s past as an excuse to bring you in.¡±


    I looked at Allamyne and gave her a comforting squeeze of her hand.


    ¡°Third, Allamyne, I must apologize to you directly. And not just for using your past like this. As I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve surmised by now, we have kept an eye on you since your departure.


    ¡°As someone who abruptly left high society, as well as the country, there were concerns about your intentions and your allegiance.


    ¡°It is regrettable that you were forced to take such drastic action to leave, as that should not have been the case. The reports I read indicated that you were living a much happier, quieter life afterward.


    ¡°Your parents have not been notified of your presence within the capital, nor will they be, should you not desire it.¡±


    That¡¯s good at least. So we won¡¯t have to deal with those assholes.


    ¡°It may please you to know that their lives became rather difficult after their bargaining chip suddenly got herself exiled. To be frank, they were painfully difficult to deal with before the incident, so you¡¯ve actually done me a favor in that regard.


    ¡°And finally, to the matter at hand. Jade, the incident that changed you. I need to know if it can be repeated.¡±

 Chapter 10 – Allamyne

    Content warning:


    Self harm mention.


    Jade¡¯s hand was still in mine when the king said that, and her grip became incredibly tight. Looking at her, she had become completely rigid with fear.


    ''No etiquette needed'', the king says? Fuck it, then.


    ¡°What in the hells are you playing at?!¡± I growled.


    He leaned back slightly in surprise. ¡°Ah. What I mean is, someone needs this kind of help. When I heard about Jade, I brought her here. Even if she can¡¯t help physically, she can help me understand what¡¯s going on.¡±


    ¡°Alla,¡± Jade said gently. I looked at her and saw her gentle and concerned expression. I began to cool down a bit. Still pretty pissed, though.


    Turning to the king, she timidly asked, ¡°Um, s-so, what do you need exactly? And why? And how did you find out about me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll start with how I found out,¡± he began. ¡°As you know, I received occasional reports on Allamyne. Ordinarily, they were pretty mundane and brief. That is, until recently.


    ¡°There were a lot of clues about you. Your party left the city with a human and came back with you, wearing clothes that obviously didn¡¯t fit.


    ¡°None of your party members seemed sad or concerned at all about the supposed death of one of their members, who had been replaced by you before their death was even reported. As the observation continued, they even seemed to get along with you to the same degree as before, if not more.


    ¡°When you want to the Magical Afflictions Order, it was mentioned that you were previously human and that your body was a different shape, though that shape was unspecified. And another of the first things you did was have all your money transferred from your old account to your new one.


    ¡°Observation over the next couple weeks showed that you were incredibly excited about doing feminine things that most women would¡¯ve found to be mundane or routine.


    ¡°You were also still an excellent ranger with decent dagger skills.


    ¡°Normally, no one would¡¯ve bothered to look into you so much. It is simply by chance that the one giving the report went into an unnecessary amount of detail.


    ¡°In that report, you stood out to me as someone who may be able to help, so I ordered you to be observed, then had a nearby messenger go to collect you once I¡¯d made up my mind.


    ¡°Long-range communication enchantments made getting this done pretty easy. The more difficult parts were using some connections to get the information on your visits to the bank and the MAO.¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ Okay, so you s-spied on me. Uh¡­ A-Anyway, what do you need exactly?¡±


    He frowned and looked at the untouched tea kettle, still warm because of the heating enchantment beneath it. ¡°My¡­ daughter. From a young age¡­ she¡¯s only ever wanted to do feminine things.


    ¡°Wearing dresses, playing with dolls, having long hair, makeup, anything girly she could get her hands on.¡±


    Is this going where I think it¡¯s going?


    ¡°She was dissuaded, of course. She was told what she could and couldn¡¯t do, and instructors, doctors and various other people tried to set her on the ¡®right¡¯ path.


    ¡°Even so, she persisted. She talked about how much she hated being a boy, how she hated her body, the way people treated her, what people expected of her and so on. It culminated in self-harm a couple years ago.¡±


    ¡°What did you and those people do?¡± she asked icily. ¡°How did they try to change her?¡±


    ¡°By telling her what behaviors were acceptable and enforcing those things.¡±


    ¡°¡¯Enforcing¡¯ how?¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re asking if she was ever abused, she wasn¡¯t. That kind of thing doesn¡¯t do any good. No, she had teachers who tried to convince her that she was wrong and didn¡¯t know herself or what she was saying. They¡¯ve since been dismissed.¡±


    Jade¡¯s grip on my hand eased slightly.


    Seeing that Jade was satisfied for now, he continued. ¡°It was after that that we began to take her seriously. What child so young could be so relentlessly adamant about something? It¡¯s generally assumed that adults always know better, but when your own kid tries to¡­¡± he choked up slightly. ¡°Tries to do that to themselves, it¡¯s obviously not just some child¡¯s whimsy.


    ¡°So we began encouraging her rather than forcing her to be something she¡¯s not. Someone she¡¯s not. We also began seeking solutions to that end.


    ¡°The Elixir of Within was our first choice, but she was¡­ deathly allergic to one of the ingredients. She nearly died again. And the formula can¡¯t be altered, nor are there any other consumables with the same effect. Alchemists have been trying and failing for centuries, but we put some people on that anyway.


    ¡°With the elixir no longer an option, we sought out transformative potions, spells and even old legends. Most of those turned out to be nothing, or just do what she needed them to.


    ¡°And now, you¡¯re here,¡± he looked up at Jade again. ¡°If there¡¯s anything at all you can do for her, that¡¯s why I brought you here.¡±


    Jade was crying beside me. I pulled her into a hug and gently rubbed her back. ¡°How old is she?¡± she asked.


    ¡°She¡¯s 10.¡±


    I can¡¯t believe there¡¯s a princess! Noble children usually make their debuts at 5¡­ So her problems go all the way back, then. Why haven¡¯t I even heard of her? Even away from the capital, there would¡¯ve been at least some news.


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Unless¡­ they¡¯re keeping her hidden? It makes sense, if she refuses to be seen as who people expect her to be. Aristocratic society is brutal. Jade¡¯s been through some awful treatment herself, and she¡¯s not a princess.


    ¡°¡­I don¡¯t even know how I made it through my own childhood, and I didn¡¯t have anyone to help me,¡± Jade said quietly.


    Once she had calmed down some, she asked him, ¡°You saw in the MAO¡¯s report that there was ancient ritual magic involved in my transformation, right?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°I did. And it¡¯s been thoroughly investigated across thousands of years, so I¡¯m not likely to find anything new on the topic. Nor is messing with that even a good idea. It could just as much kill her as help her.¡±


    ¡°Well, I unfortunately don¡¯t know how to help her, then. I barely know anything about how magic works as it is. I couldn¡¯t use it before my transformation, and after, I can only use a few abilities that are innate to slimes.¡±


    ¡°While you were on your way here, I did research on those as well. A court mage I trust explained that if you are able to emit mana, just that, then it might be enough. She¡¯ll have to do a lot of work on her end, but that would be all you would have to do.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? What would happen exactly?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to hear the details of it from her. Basically, with complex enchantments and her casting some intricately-crafted spell through you, it might be possible to change another person.¡±


    ¡°I would really only have to do that much?¡±


    I could tell Jade was getting a bit excited now. The prospect of potentially being able to help others like herself is definitely something she won¡¯t pass up.


    He nodded, ¡°As he explained it to me, yes.¡±


    Just then, a door in the back of the room opened up to reveal the queen. I gasped at the sight of her. The queen¡­! She¡¯s always traveling these days, so she¡¯s rarely seen.


    The king smiled as his wife sat beside him. ¡°Hello. I am Queen Shora Siler ve Szikehr. I apologize for the bit of subterfuge, but I listened in from behind that door. We did this because we wanted to be sure about you before having both of us before you.¡±


    ¡°She spends most of her time with our daughter at a private villa,¡± the king said.


    At my look of confusion, he smiled and added, ¡°The ¡®always traveling¡¯ thing is a lie. If people knew of our daughter¡¯s situation, they might try to take advantage of it.¡±


    I nodded while my friends were still a bit confused. I can think of several nasty things that nobles might try. I can also think of several nobles who would try to do those things.


    ¡°Nice to meet you. Is your daughter here?¡± Jade asked.


    ¡°She¡¯s not,¡± the queen replied. ¡°She remains at the villa. We didn¡¯t want to give her false hope. She¡¯s already had enough of that.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Well, I want to help her if I can. I wouldn¡¯t want anyone else to suffer the same hell.¡±


    The queen smiled, ¡°Thank you. You¡¯re certain?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± she turned to me and then the Sanor and Mallok. ¡°U-Um, sorry I didn¡¯t ask any of you. But this is important to me.¡±


    ¡°I understand,¡± I said, giving her a small hug.


    ¡°Yeah, we should do this,¡± Sanor said, while Mallok just nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Thank you, everyone,¡± she turned back to the royal couple. ¡°So what would be the first step, then? I¡¯d imagine it¡¯s not as simple as just going to her and doing all the enchantments and stuff.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not,¡± King Ellecor said. ¡°You¡¯ll have to meet with our court mage so she can analyze your mana. If that goes well, then we¡¯ll have to find a willing test subject who would be okay with becoming a slime person.


    ¡°After that, we¡¯ll have to actually do the test and see what the results are, and then we¡¯ll figure things out from there. Only once we know it works and is safe will we consider doing this.


    ¡°That said, you can still meet her beforehand. Meeting someone similar to her could really help. However, you can¡¯t promise that you¡¯ll be able to change her until we know for certain that we can.¡±


    We could actually meet the princess? Not that I wanted to doubt them or their words, but I simply don¡¯t trust nobility in general. And I wasn¡¯t exactly someone who could¡¯ve talked to them before, so it¡¯s not like I knew them personally. They do seem to be sincere, though. I just don¡¯t want them to take advantage of Jade¡¯s kindness.


    I looked at my girlfriend, and could see just how fiercely determined she was.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    With her mind made up, myself and Jade were in a carriage with the king and queen, heading for their private villa. They wanted to limit the number of new people the princess was meeting at one time, so Sanor and Mallok were sent back.


    The four of us had all now been granted access to more areas of the castle, so at least they shouldn¡¯t be bored while they waited for us to return.


    I was feeling a complicated mixture of wanting to help the princess, support my girlfriend, and terror because we were casually sitting with royalty.


    While I did on some level understand the situation, my entire childhood of being surrounded by haughty nobility was making me far more anxious than I really should¡¯ve been. I was finding it extremely difficult to resist the instinct to behave perfectly and monitor the others I was with for any slights they might make.


    Jade was also feeling rather tense, but she was able to focus on meeting the princess, which somewhat mitigated things for her.


    I just can¡¯t believe this is actually happening right now.


    The villa was on the outskirts of the capital, though in a well-off area, with a large distance between the neighbors. We were let through the gate, and as we got off, I could already tell that there were fewer servants around than what they would normally have had.


    I guess they¡¯re limiting the amount of people who are allowed to know about her? I feel bad for the girl, and also pissed that this level of protection and isolation is even necessary. Jade¡¯s experiences corroborate this, and she was only a regular villager.


    As we walked through the building, the queen began leading us straight toward the library, fully expecting her daughter to be there.


    Shora explained, ¡°It¡¯s difficult to arrange things so that she can safely go out and actually experience the world, so she spends most of her free time reading about it, both fictional and not.¡±


    ¡°Uh, forgive me, but what makes it difficult?¡± Jade asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. If she regularly left here or lived in the castle, people would quickly deduce that the flame tiefling child was our own. There are too many people out there who would seek to harm her, or harm us through her, and this isn¡¯t just speculation on our part.


    ¡°Keeping my own trips here a secret is already quite a task on its own. And the number of trustworthy people who know of her is few, so she would not be adequately guarded.


    ¡°While it was known that we had had a child 10 years ago, her situation prevented her from making her debut on time. When it became clear that forcing her into that life would only cause harm, she was secretly brought here.


    ¡°By now, people assume that we either had a problem child or that she died in an unexplained accident. The latter is what we prefer people to believe, and my frequent ¡®traveling¡¯ can also be seen as an expression of my grief.


    She sighed forlornly. ¡°Of the people who do know about her, there are some who believe that she is being kept secret here as a form of punishment for her behavior, or that we¡¯re hiding someone we¡¯re ashamed of.¡±


    Ellecor added, ¡°We¡¯re not ashamed of her, nor are we punishing her. Though, admittedly, it may feel like that to her. Right now, this is the only place where she can safely be herself.


    ¡°After our experiences with her, we realized that things like that don¡¯t actually matter. So we¡¯ve begun working on changing public perception of things like gender, sexuality, marriage and so on as another way to help her. Our hope is to make it so that she can one day live openly and freely.¡±


    I choked, and Jade tripped but managed to catch herself. ¡°What¡­?¡± she squeaked out, meeting my eyes for a moment. Yeah, what?


    ¡°So you two¡­? Huh,¡± he chuckled. ¡°Well, as I just said, that¡¯s not a concern for us.


    ¡°Unfortunately, however, changing all the relevant laws and traditions all at once will cause a lot of anger and distrust, so we have to be careful.


    ¡°That said, we aren¡¯t taking nervous baby steps regarding this. Right now, we¡¯re focusing on changing the things that will have a significant impact in the future once we¡¯re able to move on to those laws and traditions.


    ¡°If anything, the two of you finding happiness gives me hope for her future.¡±

 Chapter 11 – Jade

    ¡°We¡¯re here,¡± Shora said, opening a large wooden door.


    Fortunately, we had enough time before reaching the library to calm down somewhat.


    Accidentally gave our relationship away¡­ Can¡¯t believe that actually turned out well.


    The library was impressively vast, with numerous bookshelves spanning three stories, and no shelf was empty. Lacquered wood and elegant craftsmanship were visible everywhere.


    We were led to a large, open area near the back, where a young girl was basking in the sunlight with a book in her hands.


    Seeing us enter, she closed her book and walked up to us. She was torn between being excited to see her dad, since his visits were rather infrequent, and being nervous about the two strangers with her parents.


    Ellecor wrapped her in a big hug and warmly said, ¡°Hey, sweetie! How¡¯s my favorite person doing?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m doing well,¡± came her muffled reply. They separated, then she continued, ¡°I¡¯m currently reading about an ancient civilization that existed on the Creorsc continent.¡± She looked over at us. ¡°Who are the new people?¡±


    ¡°They are Jade and Allamyne, questers,¡± Shora introduced us.


    We then sat down at a table near a window that had enough seats for all of us.


    ¡°¡¯Questers¡¯?¡± she repeated, examining us. She was obviously wondering what business a pair of questers had in the royal villa.


    ¡°I think it would be best if Jade explained why we brought them here today.¡±


    Okay, here goes.


    Nervously, I began to explain, ¡°I¡¯m¡­ like you. Growing up, people thought I was a boy. And when I insisted otherwise, my situation became bad enough that, for my own safety, I had to run away from home.¡±


    Her eyes were wide as she looked at me. She looked at her parents for confirmation that I wasn¡¯t lying, and they nodded and smiled in return.


    Suddenly, her mood dropped a bit. ¡°So, what then, you drank that stupid elixir, and now you¡¯re here?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°No. I was previously a human, but a few months ago, a bizarre magical accident turned me into a person made of slime. From there, my body¡¯s shape changed on its own, into what you see before you today.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ there¡¯s a way, then? Without it? You can really do it?¡±


    I could only feel heartbroken as I couldn¡¯t guarantee anything right now. ¡°That¡¯s unknown, I¡¯m afraid. What happened to me was an accident involving ancient ritual magic, which isn¡¯t something that can or even should be repeated. I was brought here to see if only the results of what happened to me can be reproduced, not the process.


    ¡°I only just met your parents a few hours ago, but in the coming days and weeks, I¡¯ll be working with people to figure things out.


    ¡°But the other reason I came here, one that I believe is equally important, is because you¡¯ve never met anyone else who¡¯s had to deal with these issues before. In fact¡­ neither have I.¡±


    Her mouth was left hanging slightly open while she sorted out her thoughts.


    ¡°If I may,¡± Allamyne started, ¡°I¡¯ve known Jade for a few years now, but her transformation is still recent. Up until it happened, no one in the group knew that Jade, her real self, was who she actually was.¡±


    After looking at me to make sure talking about me was okay, she continued, ¡°She went through many bad experiences in the past because of people who found out about her, so she was scared of losing us as friends, or worse. That¡¯s why we had no idea until then.


    ¡°From the time we met and up until her transformation, she always seemed depressed, and¡­ stifled somehow. But after the incident that changed her occurred, and all of our party accepted her as she is, she became probably happier than I¡¯ve ever seen anyone be before.


    ¡°And her personality¡­ I¡¯d say that it¡¯s generally the same as before. She¡¯s like a new person, but also not. She¡¯s still the same person, but she no longer seems muted or dulled somehow. I guess she¡¯s the complete version of herself now, is what I¡¯m saying.¡±


    I decided to pick up where off. ¡°I think that sounds about right. A few months ago is when I felt like I could see color for the first time. The gray clouds that were constantly hanging over me vanished.


    ¡°And though I only got to spend a few weeks between sorting out my abruptly changed life and being suddenly called here, those few weeks of not being hated for being myself were¡­ well, I suppose euphoric would be a good word to use, but it feels like it¡¯s more than that, even.


    ¡°There¡¯s still the anger and frustration I feel because society only allows people with specific types of bodies to behave in certain ways.


    ¡°There are times where I feel like I¡¯m somehow an impostor, or that I don¡¯t belong or deserve to be here or even be happy like this. Or how I still fear what might happen if anyone ever finds out.¡±


    Allamyne put her hand on mine. I¡¯d told her these things in private before, but I still appreciated her care for me. ¡°The biggest, and most difficult thing, though, was the overwhelming loneliness I lived with. I didn¡¯t know anyone else who felt the way I did growing up.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t have anyone I could talk to, and out of everyone in that village I grew up in, not one person there was empathetic toward me or even attempted to understand me. I even tried talking with others outside my village on rare occasion, but it just never went well.


    ¡°And that¡¯s why I¡¯m so glad to meet you. I¡¯m happy to know that I¡¯m not the single person in the entire world who¡¯s like this. Just knowing that you exist makes me feel better because I have someone I can relate to, someone else who understands just how hard it is.¡±


    I was crying as I described how I was feeling. The amount of trauma I¡¯ve endured and the happiness of finally having people I can talk to about this was intense.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Shora said as a couple tears ran down her cheeks. She wasn¡¯t the only one crying, either.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    We stayed and talked for several hours, but we eventually did have to return to the castle. Shora remained in the villa with Incori, which was the princess¡¯ name, as we had finally learned.


    She chose it herself, and it was a word from an old language that meant ¡°sunlight sparkling on water¡±. Ellecor and Shora had both been distracted enough throughout the day that they¡¯d forgotten to mention her name to us earlier.


    She was sad to see us go, but her parents did promise her that we¡¯d be able to meet again.


    Upon returning to the castle, Sanor and Mallok began bombarding us with questions. Despite being told that we were only going to visit, as well as the apparent safety of our situation, they still just couldn¡¯t feel at ease.


    We explained to them the royal couple¡¯s views on various topics, gender and sexuality specifically, to which they were just as surprised as we had been.


    Just a few years ago, their views had been radically different. Since then, they¡¯ve been reevaluating their lives hard. So much so that it even relieved a lot of my girlfriend¡¯s tension, as she has a lot of unpleasant memories of this place.


    With all the serious stuff out of the way, Sanor obligatorily complained about how two whole days of etiquette training ended up not being needed at all.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The following day was my meeting with the court mage, a kind lady named Mirst.


    She asked me numerous questions, cast a plethora of spells that gave data about my body, and also used some devices to get even more data. It was pretty nerve-wracking, but other than a few odd sensations after some spells had been cast, I didn¡¯t have to deal with a lot.


    The part that I had been really nervous about had been when she found out about my healing ability. I¡¯d been afraid of being studied invasively because of it, but that proved to be a needless worry.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    It actually gave her a sense of relief, as it meant that Incori wouldn¡¯t have to worry about dying as easily as an ordinary slime could, assuming this all works out as we¡¯re hoping it will.


    I also demonstrated my slime abilities, and she determined that the mana I emit to attach myself to surfaces would suffice for her to study.


    Allamyne stayed with me the whole time, and as the tests continued over the following days and weeks, she was there for most of it. Sanor and Mallok would check in regularly as well, which was appreciated.


    At that point, she had gotten all the data she possibly could without actually doing anything yet. I had a few days¡¯ reprieve from all the testing, and when she was ready again, it was actually easier than before.


    She had constructed a lot of devices and enchantments. I would meet her early in the morning, she would test them out, and then I would be done for the day by noon at the latest. She would then work on altering or constructing new devices for the next day.


    Those tests with all the devices began to give me this unusual feeling of energy permeating me, and as days went by, that feeling became stronger during the tests. It didn¡¯t hurt or affect me in any way other than that.


    Mirst explained that the sensation been feeling meant she was making progress. Her simplified explanation was that it was a spell being cast through my body.


    Having free time again, I joined the others in training. Stuck at the castle, we couldn¡¯t do any quests at the moment. So we trained instead.


    We hadn¡¯t left the castle grounds yet, either, as all four of us were just commoners whose reason for repeatedly entering the grounds would be questioned.


    When we weren¡¯t training, we read books from the section of the library we¡¯d been given access to, or just talked with each other.


    It was during training one day that another advantage of my new body suddenly became apparent to me; I couldn¡¯t get out of shape. I could just laze around for a long time and never get any weaker, but on the other hand, I could never get any stronger, either. Exercising hadn¡¯t improved my body in the slightest.


    We also didn¡¯t have to worry about encountering any nobles, because the areas we were in weren¡¯t places they would debase themselves by being seen there. Essentially, it was a designated commoner zone. All of us were fine with that, though. Living in the castle was already strange enough for us.


    Seven weeks after those initial tests began, Mirst confirmed that she thought she had got it down. After looking over everything several times, she decided it was ready to be tested.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Myself, my three party members, Ellecor, Shora and Mirst were each standing around one of Mirst¡¯s work tables, which had been cleared of anything irrelevant to the procedure.


    Mirst had been sending the king and queen regular reports of her progress, but this was the first time she was discussing the details in person with them.


    Mirst began giving a rundown of everything she had discovered, ¡°To begin with, Jade¡¯s transformation into a slime woman is a slightly inaccurate way of describing things.


    ¡°Technically, she only turned into a slime, and because her perception of herself is that of a woman, her new body, which did not have a definite form, changed to fit her perception.


    ¡°What this means is that, if this works, Incori will have to become a slime in order to change shape. I have also determined, that even as a slime, she would still age normally into an adult. This has to do with mental age and perception of the self.


    ¡°Now, when Jade transformed, she described the feeling as being incredibly hot, cold, and above all, painful. The ancient ritual magic running rampant through her body only exacerbated that pain.


    ¡°That magic is actually still present in her body, and is now simply a part of who she is. During the test, I will be casting a spell that latches onto the magic, then goes through her body and into the other person.


    ¡°I mentioned the pain, because I believe that, with this method, it will be rather minimal, if not present at all.


    ¡°The biggest caveat to all of this is that whomever we find as a test subject has to actually want the change to happen. They can¡¯t just be willing to be part of an experiment for money, they have to actively desire and will it to happen.


    ¡°Ancient ritual magic is an unusual thing for a variety of reasons, but one of them is ¡®intent¡¯. The goblin wanted to kill Jade, so a spell was cast. That spell was doing what it had been intended to do within her body, but as she healed, it then followed her intent, her desire, and changed its purpose.


    ¡°The slime that was also being affected by the magic within Jade¡¯s body then provided a way for the magic to follow through on Jade¡¯s desire.


    ¡°The effects of the greater restoration potion that had been used also got added to the mix, not stopping at just healing her injuries. A potion is essentially a consumable spell, which is why its effect was easily picked up by the lightning spell.


    ¡°The result is that Jade¡¯s rate of healing is now highly-accelerated at all times, with no strain on her body.


    ¡°An interesting thing I discovered is that that aspect is actually variable. As it is already a part of Jade, that means that in her case, it can¡¯t change. But when performing the procedure, if a different type of magic is introduced, then that magic will become a part of them the way Jade¡¯s healing is a part of her.


    ¡°As a result, however, the person¡¯s healing rate would drop significantly, likely to only around that of an average person¡¯s. In exchange, they will have slime of that other type of magic that was introduced.


    ¡°For example, if water magic was used, then their slime would have attributes of water magic instead. They also, in that case, would not have any color to their body, instead being completely clear, like glass.


    ¡°As for the innate boost to fire magic that we as flame tieflings have, it would disappear.


    ¡°Another aspect of Jade being a slime that she only just recently discovered is that her physical ability is static. She will never become any stronger or weaker, no matter how much exercise she does or doesn¡¯t get. Of course, Jade has all the regular abilities of a slime as well.


    ¡°Finally, regarding Incori¡¯s future, she would not be capable of having children the traditional way. The way ordinary slimes reproduce is when ambient mana accumulates inside certain crystals that retain mana. If that mana doesn¡¯t go anywhere for a long enough length of time, it will become a slime¡¯s core, and the body will form around it.


    ¡°Slimes are essentially just a creature that comes into existence because of too much mana building up.


    ¡°It¡¯s been proven that places with too much mana and nothing to use it up will eventually result in something gaining that mana and running rampant because it can¡¯t handle the strain of all of it. That¡¯s what gives rise to Calamity-class monsters.


    ¡°So this means that slimes are actually good for the ecosystem, as they provide an outlet for that excess mana. It is also the reason that it is actually illegal to kill too many slimes, otherwise, the ecosystem is disturbed and-¡±


    Ellecor interrupted her with a cough.


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m digressing a bit. Theoretically, it might be possible for a slime person to induce the forming of a core around a crystal.


    ¡°As an outlet for mana, you would essentially ¡®imprint¡¯ yourself onto a crystal, which could then grow into another slime person.


    ¡°And if another person,¡± she glanced at Allamyne, ¡°were to add their own mana in addition to it, well, it might be like two people becoming parents. The theoretical child would be one hundred percent slime person, though, but with some traits of the other parent or parents.


    ¡°So that¡¯s the summary. Questions?¡±


    While the entire Broken Song party was gobsmacked with her previously unstated findings of the possibility of me becoming a mother, which gave me a lot of feelings, Mirst answered several questions from Ellecor and Shora. Afterward, they discussed how they would go about searching for a test subject and what criteria to use.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    It was a few weeks before they finally found someone for the experiment. I¡¯m not sure what they said or how they found this guy, but he was excited to a disturbing degree.


    Mirst had set up a workshop in a discreet building outside the capital center, the entirety of which was reserved for nobility.


    The workshop looked just as nice as her one in the castle did, so I got the impression that she sometimes came here to do work that wouldn¡¯t have been acceptable to do in the castle. It wasn¡¯t anything illegal, but just things that, for whatever reason, had to be done elsewhere.


    It was only myself, Allamyne, Mirst and Jovnor, the man¡¯s name, here. He was lying on the prepared table as Mirst explained everything to him one final time.


    After the explanation was finished and the materials prepared, I sat beside the table, and Mirst positioned herself behind me. According to her, everything being lined up like this somehow helped with the process.


    As instructed, I pushed mana into him through my adhesion ability, and Mirst began casting her spells through a device she¡¯d made, which then passed through me before finally reaching Jovnor.


    In the device, a large, light blue crystal had been inserted into a special slot. This was the means through which he would become a different type of slime person than I was. He had chosen ice, as he thought it would help him do interesting things with food ingredients that required preservation.


    I suppose that, as a quester, healing would¡¯ve been the ideal choice for me, had I been given one. Yet another way I was incredibly lucky.


    We watched with amazement¡ªMirst, through a mirror hanging overhead¡ªas Jovnor began turning completely clear, but with a faint blue tint.


    He described feeling the same freezing/burning sensation that I did, and while he did say it was uncomfortable, he didn¡¯t seem to be in any serious amount of pain.


    Several long minutes later, a clear, slightly blue man was left on the table in place of the tiefling man that had been there before. He still had horns and a tail, with his horns being made of the same hard type of slime that protected my core and also made up my teeth.


    I backed off so that Mirst could properly examine him, making sure that he was physically and mentally okay, as well as take note of any changes besides the obvious.


    I was feeling somewhat tired, so I sat with my girlfriend a good distance away from them. I ended up taking a nap, resting my head on her shoulder. With nothing else to do, she joined me.


    We were woken up a few hours later by Mirst and Jovnor, who had been declared as healthy, and also wanted to thank me.


    I blinked in bewilderment, as Jovnor was looking decidedly less masculine than when I¡¯d seen them last, immediately after their transformation.


    Mirst explained for them, ¡°According to¡­ them, they sometimes feel like a man, sometimes a woman, sometimes both and sometimes neither.


    ¡°Since the procedure¡¯s completion, their appearance gradually shifted to what you see now, which changes in accordance with their mood.


    ¡°Though shapeshifting races are quite rare, there are some among them who change continuously like this.


    ¡°So congratulations to the both of you,¡± she said, smiling. ¡°A lot of doors have just been opened up for likely a great deal of people.¡±


    ¡°Yes! Thank you so much!¡± Jovnor exclaimed. They hugged both Mirst and myself before immediately running off with a huge smile on their face.


    ¡°Will they be okay?¡± Allamyne asked. ¡°They don¡¯t look anything like they did only a few hours ago.¡±


    Mirst replied. ¡°Part of the reason it took a few weeks to set this up was to prepare the legal change of identity for them. They¡¯re going to be starting over in a different part of the city.¡±


    ¡°So everything worked out, then? We can help Incori?¡± I asked hopefully.


    She smiled and nodded excitedly. ¡°Yes! And though I was able to gather plenty of data from today, after helping her, I should have enough to be able to do this for others without needing to involve you. You¡¯re a nice person, but I¡¯m sure you want to get back to questing, yes?¡±


    I nodded. AAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!

 Chapter 12 – Allamyne

    A couple days after returning to the castle is when we finally met with the king again. Unlike the last time, the queen was there from the start. They both seemed serious, though not grave like last time.


    Once the four of us had settled, Shora spoke first, ¡°Hello again, all of you.¡±


    We all replied with our own greetings. Though there wasn¡¯t the tension from last time, sitting with royalty was still awkward and nerve-wracking for us.


    ¡°Mirst has told us that everything is ready, and that Incori will finally have a chance to actually live,¡± she said, though with a sad smile.


    ¡°There¡¯s one major problem with that, though,¡± Ellecor said. ¡°As the law currently stands, all children eligible to inherit the throne must be at least half flame tiefling.


    ¡°We mentioned last time that we¡¯re working on changing such laws, but currently, no one would accept a slime child as potential royalty.¡±


    Shora picked up from there, ¡°We also can¡¯t say that she¡¯s an adopted child. As a potential heir, there would need to be documentation and history of where she came from and what she¡¯s like.


    ¡°And that¡¯s not something we can fabricate, either. We could provide a false paper trail and pay people to give false testimonies, but there are so many variables that it would fall apart in an instant.¡±


    She sighed. ¡°Simply put, she is absolutely our child, but no one will accept her as such. We¡¯ve even considered saying that she was never able to debut due to medical reasons, but after becoming a slime, she could finally do so.


    ¡°The problem there is that people would need to know what she had and why that treatment was necessary. Eventually, it will probably get out that becoming a slime is a treatment for people in her situation, and the social stigma would be immense.¡±


    Ellecor sighed this time. ¡°She won¡¯t have a way to live with us without being heavily judged in every regard, even more than people already do.¡±


    ¡°So you brought us here to help find a solution?¡± Jade asked.


    Her desire to help Incori is overriding her discomfort, apparently.


    ¡°We¡¯ve come up with a potential solution. Shora and I had discussed how our daughter might be able to live, should we ever find a solution. And when we heard about you, we discussed what would happen should she become a slime.


    ¡°After your arrival, we decided to keep an eye on the four of you. Not as a matter of suspicion, but because¡­ she¡¯ll finally be able to see and interact with the outside world. ¡­But we can¡¯t be the ones to do it.¡±


    ¡°What¡­? There must be some way, right? Shora, what about making your fake travels be real ones?¡± Jade asked.


    ¡°That won¡¯t work,¡± she sadly replied. ¡°As it is, my near-constant traveling has become a matter of concern for the court, and even the commoners.


    ¡°They fear that I¡¯m too lost in grief, or not mentally sound enough to be here. And while I¡¯d be completely willing to give up my position here for her, this country has only had one ruler for long enough that it¡¯s begun to cause great unrest.


    ¡°Any longer, and Ellecor will be required to marry someone else and have a child with whomever that may be. And though our marriage was a political one, it is also a loving one.


    ¡°Being so far away and unable to see him again, as well as knowing that he had to marry someone else, would be unbearable for the both of us.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Ellecor agreed. ¡°We¡¯ve discussed this a great deal, and we¡¯ve come up with a few potential plans, but the most promising one, we think, is that she travels with the four of you until such time as this country is willing to accept her.¡±


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    What!?


    Before any of us could say anything, Shora continued, ¡°We will work tirelessly so that she can one day come home and not have to hide who she is.


    ¡°We can¡¯t keep her in the castle because of the political situations she would have to deal with, and we can¡¯t keep her in the villa, which is like a prison to her. After her transformation, keeping her there would be like telling her she¡¯s free to go while chaining her down.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean we¡¯ll never speak to her,¡± Ellecor said. ¡°We¡¯ll give a long-range communication device to one of you, as well as to her.


    We¡¯ll schedule times when we can talk.


    ¡°She¡¯s been stuck in one place for so long, dreaming about seeing the world, and with you, she would finally be able to.¡±


    ¡°Why us?¡± I asked. ¡°Surely there¡¯s someone you would trust with your daughter more than a group of questers?¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°Not many know about her, and of those that do, they each have lives here that they would refuse to uproot to travel around with a princess.


    ¡°Finding someone trustworthy and capable and telling them to travel around with our daughter, should we reveal that fact to them, is virtually impossible.


    ¡°Additionally,¡± he looked at Jade. ¡°The only other slime girl in the world, one with a similar past, would be with her. That counts for a great deal.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s been asking about you every single day, you know,¡± Shora said with a chuckle. ¡°We didn¡¯t bring you back to the villa due to the frequent travel it would require, and we also didn¡¯t tell you of this idea of ours because we wanted to judge your character when you were at your most relaxed and unaware of where you are, nor what we were considering.¡±


    Ellecor spoke again. ¡°Now, all four of you will go to the villa tomorrow, and Incori will finally receive something she¡¯s always needed.


    ¡°I want you, as a group, to spend time with her. And we also want you to stay for at least a week. If, at the end of that time, none of you would mind traveling with her, nor she with you, then we¡¯ll talk about your future in regarding.


    ¡°We also won¡¯t ask that you stop questing, either. But you will have to train her to fight, only take quests she would be capable of participating in, keep us updated, and above all, she would have to want to do it.


    ¡°She¡¯d probably be okay with anything if it means seeing the world, but you¡¯ll have to teach her to follow her own wants and needs as well.


    ¡°Alternatively, we could simply transfer money to your accounts on a regular basis so that you could travel without working.


    ¡°Another reason we¡¯ve decided we would be okay with you taking her is that each of you is combat-capable. If you do decide to travel with her, I will have all of you spend time training with people we¡¯ve chosen, and also make sure all your equipment and supplies are in good condition.¡±


    ¡°So, that¡¯s it,¡± Shora said. ¡°While we are asking that you spend a week with her, we actually want a decision by the end of the month at the latest.


    ¡°If you decide to leave without her, then you will simply be paid for your time here and participation in helping her, and there will be no further contact from then onward.


    ¡°If you decide the opposite, then we will also make sure none of you are short on money for as long as she is traveling with you. We would also be deeply indebted to you.¡±


    ¡°What else would you be expecting of us?¡± I asked. ¡°Would we be expected to teach her specific things, travel to predetermined locations, limit her activity and who she could or couldn¡¯t interact with, those sorts of things?¡±


    ¡°To an extent, yes. Even commoner children are educated beyond the age of 10. We wouldn¡¯t tell you which countries or cities you have to go to, though there are some places I would have you avoid due to the situations there.


    ¡°As for limiting her activity, she should be allowed to do the normal things any child would. While out in the world, she would not be allowed to mention that she is a princess, though. People wouldn¡¯t believe her right now, but because we¡¯re expecting more slime people in the future, there might be someone who connects the dots.


    ¡°As for questing, there are a fair amount of questers her age, though they are only allowed to quest with an adult present. As she would be with the four of you, that would be fine.


    ¡°I¡¯ve also been thinking that because she will also be a slime person, she should pass herself off as Jade¡¯s niece. You would say that she had had to leave home due to a bad situation, so she ended up with you, her aunt. It¡¯s simple, believable and true enough that few people would bother asking further questions.¡±


    We spent a long time after that going over all the details of what traveling with Incori would be like, and were reminded that we could decide after the week spent with her was over.


    And if we had any further questions or needed any clarifications after today, we could easily talk with Shora about anything we wanted to know, since she would also be at the villa with us.


    When we returned to our room afterward, we discussed whether or not any of us were outright against it. To my surprise, none of us were.


    That didn¡¯t mean that we had already made up our minds to bring her with us. Rather, it only meant that we hadn¡¯t already decided that we absolutely won¡¯t.


    As the night ended, Jade was so excited about helping Incori that she had difficulty falling asleep. As cute as it was, I needed to get some rest. I clamped my arms around her so she would stop squirming around in the bed so much.

 Chapter 13 – Jade

    <div>


    The seven of us, consisting of our party, the court mage and the royal couple, all arrived at the villa on the outskirts of the capital midmorning.


    Sanor and Mallok hadn¡¯t been with us the first time we visited, so they were examining their surroundings a lot more than myself or Allamyne were. It was still new for us, but I was focusing on what we were here for, and she was focusing on me.


    We had only just entered the door when Incori tackled her mom in a hug. Then she hugged her dad, gave a brief one to Mirst, then looked at me for a long moment before shyly looking away.


    Aww. Well, we did only meet the one time.


    Forgetting her brief embarrassment, she shouted, ¡°Come on, come on! Let¡¯s go, already! Let¡¯s gooooo!¡±


    We all chuckled at her excitement, but obeyed. The way she was pulling her parents¡¯ arms as we rushed to the lounge, it looked like she was about to rip them off.


    The furniture had already been rearranged in preparation for this. She would be lying on the sofa, with me on a stool right next to her. Mirst would be right behind me on another stool, and there was seating nearby for her parents and Allamyne.


    She hadn¡¯t met Sanor and Mallok yet, and was uncomfortable with strangers being here, so they had to leave for now. There weren¡¯t any staff in the room, either, but that was more for giving her privacy than her being uncomfortable with them.


    She already knew Mirst from all the times the mage had tried to figure out a way to help. That just left Allamyne as a bit of an outlier here.


    I guess Incori¡¯s okay with her being here because she¡¯s associated with me?


    Incori fidgeted for several minutes as Mirst made sure everything was prepared and ready. The mage inserted a crystal of arcane magic into the device, and began looking over things one last time. Once her final checks were complete, the princess practically slammed herself backward onto the sofa cushions.


    Mirst cast her spells again, which passed through her device, then myself, and finally into Incori. Her face scrunched up a bit at the odd sensation, but she remained still.


    Unlike with Jovnor, this time, it was done in only a few minutes, and I wasn¡¯t feeling as spent as I was then, either.


    A clear purple girl opened her eyes and examined her hands in wonderment.


    ¡°It¡¯s real¡­¡± she whispered in awe. ¡°Ah! My voice! My voice is different!¡±


    Being only 10, she hadn¡¯t yet had a painfully deep voice like what I had previously had, but a difference could still be heard.


    She then looked at me and I smiled at her. Realizing how different she must look now, she bolted to the mirror that had been set up.


    I went to sit with my girlfriend while the new girl cried from happiness. Her parents had gotten up, and once she noticed them behind her, she wrapped herself around them as tight as she could.


    The young girl was so incredibly happy, and it was clear that her parents had really wanted this for her as well.


    Mirst had confirmed that everything seemed fine on a quick examination, so she let the family have their moment and began taking notes on the data she had acquired. She would get back to them once things had calmed down a bit to do a more thorough one.


    ¡°Got the data you needed?¡± I asked the mage.


    ¡°Hm? Oh, I think so. I¡¯m going to need to do a bit of recalibrating and replace a few parts with superior materials, but I already had most of what I needed from that test we did a few days ago. This won¡¯t have to be done through another person anymore.¡±


    The royal family were all busy with each other, and Mirst was busy with her note-taking, so Allamyne and I decided to catch up with the others.


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    We found them sitting in the garden with tea and snacks, arguing over pastries of all things. As usual, it seemed like Mallok was seriously discussing things, while Sanor just felt like being a dick. That was just their dynamic, though.


    ¡°So how¡¯d it go?¡± Mallok asked.


    ¡°Well,¡± I replied. ¡°She¡¯s quite happy.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°That¡¯s good. When do we get to properly meet her?¡±


    ¡°Not sure,¡± I shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s a really happy moment for them, but probably at lunch.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡°Whoa!¡± I exclaimed as a girl suddenly wrapped me in a hug.


    ¡°Um, thank you. Thank you so much!¡± she said, looking up at me. ¡°A-And¡­ sorry I didn¡¯t really greet anyone earlier¡­¡±


    I smiled. ¡°Yeah, of course. And it¡¯s fine, we all know how important this was for you.¡±


    Allamyne spoke up from behind me, looking at Incori and gesturing to me, ¡°She would know better than anyone else what it was like.¡±


    I nodded in agreement, ¡°Yeah. When I transformed, I cried a lot, too. Had I known it was going to happen, I don¡¯t think I could¡¯ve focused on anything else at all.¡±


    I was definitely crying from happiness back then, but also out of fear of losing my friends. And being made of slime was super concerning at the time, too.


    With everyone gathered for lunch, there were now eight of us sitting around the table. Incori was clinging to her dad, who had ensured that he wouldn¡¯t have to leave until tomorrow morning. Days off were quite rare for a king, apparently. Especially when he¡¯s doing nearly all of the ruling by himself.


    The princess was feeling really excited about her future for the first time in her life. Her parents hadn¡¯t told her that we might end up traveling with her, as they didn¡¯t want any pressure on us from her.


    They wanted our decision to be as unbiased as possible, to ensure that we weren¡¯t just taking her because we felt like we were obligated to do so or something. So that all meant she didn¡¯t really know anything about when she could leave, other than, ¡°within the next two months¡±.


    To be honest, I kind of do feel like we should be the ones to take her. I guess we¡¯ll know for sure by the end of the week whether or not we, as a group, want to go through with this.


    Though they hadn¡¯t specified what their alternative plans were should we decline their request, it seemed clear that they did have some things in the works. It was just that, so long as we actually wanted to take care of her, they considered us her best option.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡°I take it you¡¯ve made your decision?¡± Shora asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± I responded resolutely. ¡°We¡¯ll take her.¡±


    The queen gave a relieved smile. ¡°Good! She¡¯s already mentioned that she¡¯ll miss all of you when you¡¯re gone, but I still need to make sure this is what she wants as well.¡±


    It¡¯s been a week since we arrived at the villa for the second time. After her father and Mirst left the following morning, she then spent a great deal of time with us.


    A lot of it was because we were new faces and those were rare for her, but she always went out of her way to sit next to me whenever she could. We compared our experiences a bit, but mostly, we just told her about our lives as questers.


    While she did find the questing stuff interesting, she was much more fascinated by all the various places we¡¯d seen. What the people were like, what foods they ate, what kind of wildlife was in the area, etc.


    I wonder how much we influenced her decision? Well, the whole point of us staying here was for us to get to know each other, and that¡¯s just what our lives are like, so it¡¯s not like we could¡¯ve said anything else, really.


    It was only a half hour later that I was suddenly tackle-hugged by a princess.


    Sanor smirked. ¡°So I guess that means you¡¯re coming with?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± she yelled back at him.


    The following month thereafter was spent getting combat training from people with much more experience than we had. While Sanor and Mallok¡¯s skills were polished a little further, Allamyne and I had the most improvement.


    Her, because she learned a few new spells, and me, because I better learned how to incorporate my slime abilities.


    Incori was learning the spear as her main weapon, and she was able to use her arcane slime through a specially-made groove that made her moves deadlier.


    Arcane magic is a bit like lightning, but it can also disrupt mana. She¡¯ll be pretty damn fearsome in the future. She can fire off slime pellets and use a tendril like I can, but unlike me, her slime is deadly to deal with.


    Also unlike me, she has horns and a tail she can incorporate into her movements. Tieflings have their own forms of combat that incorporate those things, so she¡¯s going to be relying on Allamyne during times when she doesn¡¯t have someone else to train her.


    Because it was only a month of training, she would have to continue developing her skills outside the villa. Fortunately, a common quest is to train people in combat, provided you¡¯re actually capable of teaching it. Nearly every Questing Guild has a training field just behind it. This means we¡¯ll be able to find someone to teach her.


    The only little hangup we had was that Ellecor was trying to go all out on armor, weapons and supplies for us. We had to remind him several times that walking around like that would just make us targets. In the end, we ended up with high-end gear that had been designed to look like what any common quester might have.


    Incori then spent one last day with her parents. They were sad to be separated, but all of them were happy that she could finally see the world.


    We took a carriage into an area where we could discreetly get off. It was nearly impossible to contain Incori as we traveled back to the city, but we managed.


    The carriage came to a stop, and we stepped off. From now on, we were on our own. Unless you count a meddling king and queen who want to constantly throw money at us and check in all the time.

 Chapter 14 – Incori

    Eleven years ago, I left home. Though I did return a couple times for visits, nearly all of that time was spent away. Two of those years were even spent on another continent.


    It was two years ago that I returned. Some years after I left, I had to make an important decision: Did I still want to be a princess?


    I could¡¯ve left all of that behind. I could¡¯ve continued to travel and explore as I¡¯d been doing, but it was something Aunt Jade said once that urged me to return.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad I got to do for you what I had always wanted for myself,¡± she had said. I realized that if I became queen, if I took my place on the throne, I could do the same thing for others. People like myself and Jade, or like the relationship Jade and Allamyne share.


    In my absence, my parents had worked tirelessly to make the kingdom a place worth returning to. They first had to work on changing policies that would more easily allow future policies like what we had in mind to be established. Then they began to really change things. So much so that I even heard news of the Flame Wastes from across the continent.


    Mirst had been working hard as well. It turns out that there are actually quite a few people out there such as Jade and myself, so in addition to helping them out, she had also begun teaching others to do what she was doing. As a result, slime people as a race were becoming known.


    When I came home two years ago, I did not do so silently. I announced myself to the world, with my parents supporting me.


    Many of the changes my parents had made in the past decade had made them rather popular with the public, while the nobility began to hate them. My return only increased both of those things.


    As a result, a revolt occurred, and much of the nobility was executed in the end. This further opened the doors to completely abolishing nearly all the laws and systems that allowed the wealthy elite to be the awful people that they were. Those who remained were the ones that had sided with the royal family and the public.


    With me returning home and Mallok retiring from questing due to age, everyone decided it was time to settle down. Sanor and Mallok ended up opening a bakery here in the capital. Sanor mentioned adopting at one point, though they want to get more settled first.


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    Allamyne was given possession of everything her parents had owned, and she turned it into an organization for helping the poor. Besides being something that she actually wanted to do, it was also ¡°spitting on their graves in the most vicious way possible¡±.


    Jade floundered in her new lifestyle a bit, but has recently begun helping out other slime people, both before and after their transformations. She also sometimes teaches archery at the Guild or does healing work, though the latter is mostly unnecessary with the recent changes to medical care being available for everyone.


    It was still going to be many years before I became queen, so I planned to use that time furthering my connections with different countries.


    After I had decided that I would return home, I then began going out of my way to meet with people who could trade things that we had little or none of back home.


    It had been difficult to make connections, as I was seen as a quester before a princess and the gap between the two professions is vast. But I still managed to make it work most of the time.


    All that knowledge I accrued at the villa was put to use, as I actually went to many of those places, and was able to get a head start on things with my historical and cultural awareness.


    Obviously, reading about a place and being there in the flesh are two entirely different things, but those books I read were a good place to start. Another thing I began doing was correcting and updating some of the information we had on faraway places.


    All in all, I¡¯ve become very busy, and with my parents expecting another child, I¡¯ll be taking on some of their duties for a while.


    I¡¯ve been given the nickname ¡°The Questing Princess¡±, and I¡¯m not entirely sure how I feel about it. But I can¡¯t say that I hate it, and people like to talk about how I spent many years mingling with commoners.


    But all that time traveling, and not even as a royal would, really did help me gain new perspectives and understandings on a plethora of topics.


    I saw many places in the world where people could¡¯ve been living better lives, if only those in charge would allow it.


    There were people who only saw the commoners as tools to increase their wealth. There were places with the capacity to heal and take care of far more people than they were doing, but charged exorbitant prices to increase their profit.


    I saw people who hadn¡¯t been given the chance to receive a decent education, people who were homeless for a variety of reasons¡­ There were just people everywhere who could be living better lives, and I long ago vowed to not be one of those corrupt rulers who takes advantage of those they are in charge of.


    I¡¯ve got a lot of work ahead of me. I need to gradually create a list of accomplishments so that I¡¯m seen as someone worthy of the crown I¡¯ll one day be wearing.


    But I¡¯ve worked enough that I can take a short break. Today is one of my regular visits with my non-royal family.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Incori Nymda ve Szikehr would be the last queen the Flame Wastes ever had. She would go on to eventually abolish the system of nobility, including the royalty, for good. The Flame Wastes Republic flourished.