“Are you okay, Touya? It sounded pretty bad.”
“Ghh... It’s... it’s nothing I can’t handle.” The second hit hurt more, obviously. I won’t let you escape before this day is through, you little bastard.
I stood up while rubbing my head.
Suddenly, at the end of the entrance hall, I saw a green slime.
I knew you’d be around here. After I saw those eaten-up book pages, I knew it’d only be a matter of time.
“There’s a slime over there. Watch out.”
“Oh crap, that’s a green slime, too. It won’t kill us, but man, is it bad news...” Elze expressed her disapproval. Green slimes only melted clothes, so dying to them was extremely improbable, but that didn’t stop them from being a great threat to girls.
“Your coat can’t be melted, right, Touya?”
“Yep. That’s because it’s imbued with magic resistance. The clothes under it would melt, though.”
I have to make sure that doesn’t happen. I don’t want to be seen as some kind of pervert who only prances around in a coat.
Guess it’s time to investigate the second floor.
“Uhm... the green slime...” While I was considering a few things internally, Linze suddenly tugged at my coat.
I looked over to the other side of the hall, where I saw a gathering of many green slimes.
“Whoa there... what the heck?!” One was fine, but several tens of green slimes made me a bit scared.
“Burst forth, Fire! Crimson Eruption: [Explo—]!”
“Linze, wait! Using explosive magic here is dangerous!” I stopped her from finishing the spell. This is an old fortress, Linze...! The whole place could go down if you made even one big blast.
Regardless of my reservations, the green slimes continued their slow, slimy crawl toward us.
“Come forth, Fire! Crimson Duet: [Fire Arrow]!” The fiery bolt she released hit a green slime and lit it on fire. However, the other green slimes merely avoided their burning brother and continued their slow march
Yumina and I assisted with some shots, but normal bullets were ineffective. Elze and Yae couldn’t help if they tried, and though our lives weren’t in any danger, the situation was looking pretty bad.
“Kohaku!”
“Fret not.” Kohaku transformed back into his true form and released a powerful shockwave from his maw. The green slimes were blown away, but the stony wall began to shake wildly. Crap, this is too risky as well...
To top it off, the slimes seemed relatively unharmed. They regrouped and closed in on us like a green swamp.
“Hey! They’re still coming closer!”
“Let’s hide on the second floor for now!” We began running up the stairs to the side of the entrance hall. For some reason, the green slimes didn’t try to come up after us. They just stopped and gently shook like jelly.
“...What is the meaning of this, Linze-dono?”
“Perhaps this fortress is split into many territories?”
“Doesn’t matter. We’re safe now, and that’s all that matters.” As we took a breather on the landing in the middle of the stairs, something was slowly closing in on us.
The realization hit me way too late. If the first floor was the territory of the green slimes, it was only natural for the stairs to be another slime’s territory, too.
“Let’s just go up for now. We should get as far away from these gross things as possible and... eek!” As Elze tried to go up the stairs, she fell down on her behind. As we tried to figure out what was wrong, we noticed that the soft carpet on the stairs was somewhat damp.
“Hey! What the heck?! It’s so slimy!” Elze accidentally touched the carpet and raised her hands to us. They were covered in a gooey, sticky liquid.
“Ah, it is over there, it is!” Yae pointed to the top of the stairs, where there was a semi-transparent slime that looked like kuzumochi, one of those little chilled jelly desserts.
Its most noticeable characteristic was that it had leaked some fluid over the stairs. Guess we know why the carpet’s so damp.
“Linze, what do the notes say about this one?”
“It says ‘Lotion Slime. When in danger, it secretes a liquid similar to lubricant. Almost entirely harmless. This experiment was a complete failure...’” As she read it, Linze’s tone turned sour... I could totally understand her.
“Kyah!!!”
“Ugh!” Elze tried to get up, slipped, and fell once again. But this time, she grabbed me by my coat and dragged me down along with her.
“A-Are you okay, Touya, ahh!”
“Hhawah!”
“Oh no!” Yumina tried to run over to me, and fell over, too. Moments later, Linze and Yae got caught up, as well. Heck, even Kohaku couldn’t escape it. We all gained enough momentum to drop down to the bottom.
“Hyaaaaagh!!” We slid down the stairs, straight into a vile pool of green.
With a resounding splash, we were engulfed by green slime.
“Ghah!!”
“Kyah!”
“Auuugh!”
“This isn’t happeningggg...!!”
“Noooooo!”
“Grr...!!” The first ones to escape the unpleasant sea of goo were Kohaku and I.
Kohaku grabbed me by the nape of my neck and took me back to the landing in the middle of the stairs with a single leap. But we slipped on the lotion again.
“Growlll...?!”
“Ow!” Kohaku let me go, and I fell flat on my back.
“Apologies, Master...”
“I-It’s fine. I’m alright.” I shook my aching head and I tried to stand up, only to almost fall once again. I probably looked really miserable as I did it, but I was able to stand up by supporting myself with the staircase’s railing. Damn it. They slimed me.
“Nooo!! Help me!”
“T-Touya!”
“Don’t worry, I’m coming!” Think, Touya! Saying that’s fine, but what can you do?! Wait... if the green slimes can’t come up the stairs...
“[Gate]!” I opened up a portal just beneath them. All of them — slimes included — fell through it, exiting the corresponding portal I’d made in the open space one meter above the stair landing next to me.
The slimes, forced onto the landing, backed away like a wave, slithering back down to the entrance hall.
Aha, so they are territorial creatures.
“Is everyone oka—” I was unable to finish my sentence.
Their clothes weren’t in the best condition, to say the least. Seems the green slimes had gotten to chew on their fabric a little. Honestly, the girls all looked pretty unladylike.
I could see several spots of exposed skin here and there, shining bewitchingly thanks to the lotion on the stairs. The green slimes got busy enough to allow the girls’ panties to peek out, too. It wouldn’t have been far off to call them half-naked.
“Kyaaahhh! Don’t look!”
“Ghuah?!” Elze punched me in the face with a gauntlet-clad fist. Argh, that hurts! She used her other arm to cover her chest. As my consciousness faded, I caught a glimpse of a light-red bra, but what I saw after that was nothing but stars. Ah, the world is spinning.
Why didn’t their underwear melt...? Wait, silk... silk isn’t a plant fiber, right? I think... I’ll just leave it at that...
If only they’d bought cheaper garments... it could’ve melted too— No, no... don’t think that... Even though my heart had secretly yearned for such an event, I had trouble deciding what to do after it had actually happened.
After I woke up, I faced away from the girls and glared at the Lotion Slime.
“Come forth, Fire! Crimson Duet: [Fire Arrow]!” The fiery bolt hit the gooey creature dead-on. The slime burst and released a gas that resembled steam.
All that was left was to climb up to the second floor.
Slowly, making sure not to slip, we clambered up the stairs on all fours. We made sure to carefully calculate every movement. If we overdid it, we’d slip, but if we didn’t mov
e enough, we’d slip too.
Man, I had no idea [Slip] was such a cruel spell. Now that I’m on the receiving end, I don’t like it one bit.
Calmly, cautiously, step by step, we traveled upward. We were in no rush. The tension was stronger than it had any right to be.
Soon enough, I began hearing some complaints behind me.
“Ah... I really liked that clothing too...”
“Awh... more than half of my skirt melted away...”
“Th-They wore away at my sarashi, they did! Th-This is terrible, it is!”
“This gross goo made my underwear see-through, I hate this so damn much!!”
“Wha—?!” I was too focused on the words behind me to realize that my footing was off, and I slipped down. How can I focus on being safe if you’re all talking about stuff like that, huh?! Show a little consideration!
“Uwaaaaaah!!!” The momentum made me slip past the landing (the girls dodged me) and land straight on the first floor, where the green slimes awaited me. Thus, I paid another visit to the green swamp. Holy shit, my life has actually turned into a comedy skit. I need to get out of here! I— Oh, wait.
“[Gate]!” Just like before, I easily opened a portal. Except this time it was straight to the top, slimes and all. I should’ve done this from the start...
Once again, the green slimes backed away like an ocean wave.
Thankfully — if that word was appropriate — I only ended up with my pants becoming shorts, and my shirt turning into the kind with an exposed midriff.
I opened a [Gate] on the landing, and another one just a few meters away on the second floor, letting the girls get up there with no problem. And that’s how we escaped our sticky hell.
The four of them went straight into a nearby room. They’re probably gonna sort out their clothes. I wasn’t allowed in, of course. So I stood guard outside.
I could hear sounds of fabric being torn apart. I assumed they were shredding curtains or something to patch up their clothes. Getting back home and changing into new clothes wasn’t a problem thanks to my [Gate] spell, but I just figured they didn’t want to risk having their other outfits melted too.
While I waited, I killed time by using [Fire Arrow] to snipe some of the green slimes on the bottom floor. Something like [Fire Storm] would’ve been more effective, but I felt that using that kind of spell indoors wasn’t wise.
The four finally left the room. Just as I had expected, they were covered in pieces of torn curtains — one for the upper and lower halves on all of them. They could actually move around, too, so that was a plus.
“...Any green slime we see next is getting crushed.” The girls nodded in unison at Elze’s proclamation. Well, I could see why they were so eager. A part of me was slightly disappointed, but I decided to keep that to myself.
And so we began exploring the second floor, only to find more of the same — a display of strange slimes.
We found a bizarrely elastic Rubber Slime.
A spiky Needle Slime that didn’t let anyone touch it.
A Light Slime that did nothing but glow.
And a slightly electric Shock Slime.
While they weren’t too dangerous, they were still monsters that could cause trouble. There was no telling what kind of mutations they could create if they merged.
“So, the wizard wanted to create a very specific sort of slime and made many failures on the way, right?”
“S-Seems that way, yes. He couldn’t know the nature of the slimes before they were born, so luck played a big part in it.” Linze answered my question while looking at the research notes.
Slimes were magical creatures. One might even call them artificial, since they began as a species as a by-product of human magic.
That was exactly why there was no guarantee that they couldn’t end up being dangerous. I had no idea how they multiplied, but I heard that slimes could create new types of slimes by consuming other slimes.
This castle had the potential of creating dangerous, unknown creatures. For all we knew, the castle could already be housing slime types that had evolved naturally, rather than by the wizard’s will.
“I feel like we should just burn them all down, along with the castle itself... a purge, y’know?”
“I share the sentiment, I do. But is it really okay to do something like that?”
“The fortress is already abandoned, and I doubt my father would mind...” I could hear some dangerous talk behind me.
Well, with this level of slime infestation, it wasn’t exactly a place we could just leave alone. Even if we didn’t do it, the country’s knights or army would band up and eradicate everything here anyway.
We finished exploring the second floor. All that was left was the third one. We carefully made our way up. There could’ve easily been another slime waiting with a trap, after all. Safety was the name of the game.
Once we reached the wide corridor of the third floor, we were greeted by a wall of plaster busts lined up on either side. All of them were in the shape of naked women. Not only that, but they all seemed to have strangely large breasts, too.
“What is this...?”
“Hey, why are you asking me?” As I listened to Yumina exhale a cold sigh at all the nude statues, I couldn’t prevent my gaze from falling on to their breasts. Like all men, I was but a slave to my nature.
Most had pretty large ones, but one had a pair of bazookas so huge it bordered on enormous.
“Hm...?”
“What is wrong, Touya-dono?”
“Nothing... maybe. I think I saw one of the boobs move...” Everyone looked at me like I was a lunatic. I could even feel a hint of disgust at my wild imagination or something.
I’m not kidding! I totally saw those boobs sway!
In an attempt to confirm it, I reached for the voluptuous breast of the statue.
“Touya, that’s...” Linze started saying, clearly disappointed in me.
“S-So you like them big...” Elze said, as if a sad fact had dawned on her.
“A-Are you frustrated in that regard, Touya-dono?”
“That’s slightly disturbing...” Yumina muttered.
C’mon you guys, that stings. Well, I couldn’t deny that I looked like a weirdo and a pervert to any third party.
I touched the left breast of the statue with my right hand.
It was squishy.
“It’s soft?!”
The girls shrieked in disbelief. Whoa, it’s seriously squishy... squidgy... heh... squashy.
What the heck?! This feels amazing! I got caught up in the moment and fondled the soft boob in my hand. Then the set of breasts fell to the ground.
“Hwah?!” I made a weird noise. Holy crap that scared me! The breasts suddenly lost their statue-like color and transformed into a skin-colored slime. Camouflage, huh...
Without the slime, the statue’s breasts were slightly smaller than those of the other ones.
“‘Bust Slime. It fixes itself to female chests and camouflages itself. Tends to aim for smaller chests. I’m getting close, but this experiment was still a failure.’” Linze’s voice as she read the description was less “disgusted” and more “emotionless.” That was only natural.
The Bust Slime slowly made its way toward Yumina. Err... what should I do here...
“...Shred, O Wind. A Thousand Blades Born of the Gale: [Cyclone Edge].” The windy blades Yumina unleashed tore the slime into a thousand pieces. Whoa...
“...Growth period.”
“Huh?
“I’m still in my growth period.”
“O-Oh, right...” Yumina’s whisper caught me off guard. Awkward... Considering her age, it was only natural she’d be... small in that regard, so I hoped she wouldn’t mind it too much.
I checked the other statues, and it seemed like there was only one bust slime.
We gathered our wits, walked through the third floor’s corridor and entered the large room at the end.
It was extremely dim inside.
The room seemed like the place where the master of the castle would come just to calm down. Before stepping in, I made sure to look up. That Metal Pot Slime... isn’t here. Good.
The first thing I saw inside the stuffy room was a large couch with a skeleton on it.
There was a wizard-like robe on the floor as well. The green slimes hadn’t come here to eat it, probably because it wasn’t their territory. So this is all that’s left of the slime-researching wizard, eh.
Wait, why did he take off his pants and underwear? Was he getting ready for a bath or something? “Do you think this is the old wizard, then?”
“Probably.” I couldn’t help but wonder whether it was a natural death or if he had succumbed to slimes.
If it was the latter, this castle might’ve already created a kind of slime that melts humans.
...Not that they didn’t exist already. Dungeons and other ruins had some of those here and there. They were often called “dungeon cleaners” because they ate just about everything.
On the table next to the couch, there was a logbook. It was almost identical to the one Linze had found earlier.
Sure enough, it was written in Ancient Magic Script, except for the very last bit.
“Uhm, let’s see... ‘It is done. My — no, every man’s — dream became reality this day. My life is one without regrets. With this, I take off my robe and wizard hat. Ahh, I can see heaven...’ What is this talking about...?”
“Touya, look!” Yumina pointed to the corner of the room, where I saw four squirming, skin-colored slimes. They were pretty large, too. A single person could easily fit in them. Are they the slimes he was experimenting to create?!
“They’re transforming, they are!” So, just like the bust slime, they can disguise themselves too? Wait, is this one of those generic scenarios where they all merge into one large slime? That didn’t seem to be the case, however. The four slimes changed shapes independently and slowly took up a humanoid form.
They’re slimes that can mimic humans?! That’s seriously bad news! If they can become people, it’d be extremely easy for them to get their victims to lower their guards. Who knows what could happen if they left the castle and began to spread. We have to strike these vile things down here and n— Huh?! WHA—?!
In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 2 Page 20
