"Come to think of it, what sort of place are you originally from, Falfa and Shalsha?"
That question came from Halkara, during breakfast.
We'd just been talking about the elves' forest in her home region.
"Belgria," Falfa answered immediately.
I'd never heard of a place by that name before.
"The deep forest of Belgria. It's said nobody lives there. There was an abandoned work hut, actually, and nobody was around. That was where we lived."
From Shalsha's comments, the place sounded fairly spooky.
"That sounds like fun. Let's go visit."
"Halkara, what about that story sounded fun to you?"
I really did think Halkara's values were skewed.
"Well, it's a forest. What elf would be frightened of the woods?"
I see. As far as elves are concerned, eerie or not, as long as it's a forest, there's no problem.
"I think I might like to go home for a visit, just a little bit…"
Shalsha looked down as she spoke.
"You're right. Falfa wants to see Great Slime, too!"
"Great Slime?"
That was an odd name.
"It's the biggest good slime in the world!"
Apparently, a special slime lived in that forest. Those woods had given life to slime spirits, so maybe it wasn't unusual for it to have a connection to slimes.
"In that case, shall we go on a day when the weather's nice? If you ride on my back, I think we can all go together."
Laika had agreed as well, so we decided to visit my daughters' birthplace as a family.
Traveling via Laika in dragon form, the forest of Belgria was about three hours away. Even if Laika was flying at sixty kilometers per hour, that meant the place was 180 kilometers away, which was fairly far.
The woods really were gloomy, and almost no sun filtered in. The tall trees blocked out the light.
"Oh-ho… Awfully dark, isn't it? Mushrooms that can survive in weak light are growing underfoot. How unusual…"
Halkara had discovered the mushrooms and gotten rather excited, but Laika, who was in her human form again, looked melancholy. "It's dreary and suffocating…" My own opinion was closer to Laika's.
"You two were born and raised in a place like this?"
"Yes, we were! It's great, isn't it?!"
"The quiet environment made it an ideal location for studying."
I see. Part of what had made them good students was the nature of the area.
This kind of spot would raise contemplative people, it seemed. Although, it did look completely uninhabited.
"Do you think Great Slime is well?"
"Great Slime just is. Concepts like 'well' and 'ill' don't apply."
Judging from their conversation, Great Slime was a deity or something.
"I wanna feel the Great Slime with my whole body!"
"When you become one with the Great Slime, you're released from worries and fatigue."
Seriously, what is this Great Slime thing?!
Then, when we'd walked through the woods for about twenty minutes…
…right in front of me, I saw a hill that shone and sparkled like an enormous jewel.
Even if no one lived here, it was hard to believe a gem of this size had been left untouched… What in the world was it?
"It's Great Slime, Mommy!"
"Huh? This?!"
"Now that you mention it, it does look like a slime. If you made it as big as you possibly could, it might turn out like this." Laika went closer and began to touch it, patting at it.
I did the same. It really did feel rubbery.
"Yaaaaay!"
Falfa shucked off her shoes and ran up the slime-hill.
Once she'd reached the top, several meters above the ground, she bounced for a bit, then rolled around. She bounced high when she jumped on the elastic surface, as if it were a trampoline, and since the slope was gentle, she didn't fall.
"It's like playground equipment…"
Copying her sister, Shalsha also took off her shoes, then slowly climbed up Great Slime. Evidently, removing your shoes was part of how things were done.
"Madam Teacher, what should we do? They both went up…"
Even though she'd been fine with the forest, the fantastic slime seemed to frighten Halkara, and she was acting a little nervous.
"My daughters would never take us somewhere dangerous."
We decided to follow the girls. We took our shoes off, just in case.
Stepping on the soft, flabby surface, we went up and up until we arrived at its smooth peak.
There, my eyes were opened to the splendor of Great Slime.
"This is so nice and cold!"
Yes, lying on top of this Great Slime was relaxing, cool, and pleasant.
"Lady Azusa, I think I may grow addicted to this."
Even Laika's expression had softened, which was unusual. But I couldn't do much about that, not when this Great Slime's power was enough to corrupt her.
As for Halkara, after about five minutes of lying on top of the Great Slime, she was fast asleep.
"When we got tired from studying and things, we came to Great Slime and took breaks," Falfa explained.
"Slimes should rest on top of slimes. It's the most logical," Shalsha added.
Whether or not it actually was logical was questionable, but there was no denying that Great Slime was valuable.
Still, this was, at its core, a slime.
It wasn't a sofa in a hotel lobby or anything of the sort.
I'd forgotten that.
In front of me, the ground—or rather, a part of the slime—welled up.
It shifted and solidified into a form that resembled a human woman.
"Wh-what…? What's this…?"
Involuntarily, I braced myself. In a way, this thing was more reminiscent of a slime spirit than Falfa or Shalsha.
"Oh, it's Great Slime!"
"It's been a very long time, ma'am."
My daughters greeted it. I see. This was an actual friend of theirs, too.
"I am so pleased to see you two, as well. And you've brought your family with you today."
Apparently, Great Slime was perfectly capable of speaking.
"You're Azusa, 'the Witch of the Highlands,' aren't you?"
She called my name abruptly, and I flinched. How did she know about me…?
"My name is Great Slime. I am an integrated thought entity, formed when good slimes gathered in order to protect themselves. As a result, the hearts of all the good slimes in the world are linked to me. I've known of your existence for a very long time."
I guess she's at the top of the ladder!
"Um…it's a pleasure to meet you. I am Azusa, 'the Witch of the Highlands'…"
I bowed so as not to be rude.
"Now then, up to the present, you have killed a truly vast number of slimes, haven't you?"
Erk…
I'd thought she might bring that up.
"Um…you aren't angry about that, are you…?"
I guess she would be, huh? After all, she is a slime.
"No."
Great Slime shook her head. It seemed I'd been forgiven.
"It isn't that I think nothing of it, but you've used the strength you gained from killing them for the good of the villagers, for your family, and for Falfa and Shalsha, who were born of the slimes' souls. Those were good deeds. Please continue to do them."
"Thank you very much."
This high-order being had given me her approval.
"By the way, your total human ability is ninety-four points."
I'd been assigned a mystery score, but it was high, so the matter didn't particularly bother me.
"Great Slime is an amazing being who can objectively award points to humans," Shalsha explained.
"Next, Laika."
When her name was called, Laika flinched, too. It did feel like getting called on by a teacher.
"Because you were known as the strongest of the red dragons, you were haughty. However, in order to achieve that position, you had to put forth unstinting effort, and after being defeated by Azusa, you have devoted yourself to further study. Your attitude is exemplary. Eighty-two points."
"Th-thank you very much…"
Laika had also gotten what could safely be called a passing grade.
"I'm happy for you, Laika. Great Slime has a good eye for people."
"Hearing that makes me self-conscious…"
I doubted she could just be openly proud of it, but even so, Laika didn't look altogether dissatisfied.
"And now, Halkara."
Great Slime turned toward Halkara, who was sleeping like a log.
"Halkara is...…fifty-one points."
"Low and no explanation!"
One of us was clearly slacking off!
"It's true that Halkara has profound knowledge as an apothecary, and her real-world ventures into the forest and continued observation and investigation is worthy of a high evaluation. She also has a bright, energetic personality. Nevertheless, she is…scatterbrained…incomparably so…and causes trouble for others with incredible frequency, so…with the intent to encourage future improvement, I have awarded her fifty-one points."
"You're not wrong. There isn't a single mistake in there…"
Laika and I smiled wryly. Either way, the evaluation contained some affection, I thought. However—
"Great Slime, that's not right!"
Unexpectedly, Falfa raised an objection.
She went to stand in front of Halkara.
"Halkara is Halkara, scattered brain and all! If she was serious and careful and didn't make any mistakes, she wouldn't be Halkara! That would just be somebody else!"
The scales fell from my eyes.
She was right. That would be just like telling her, Become a perfect superhuman.
Certainly, if I were a company president and Halkara were my subordinate, I'd probably prefer a perfect superhuman—but she was family. There's something fundamentally wrong with demanding perfection from family members.
"Falfa likes the absentminded Halkara who makes mistakes! And that goes for everybody!"
Great Slime's eyes had been opened as well.
"I'd expect no less of one born from the gathered souls of slimes. To think you'd teach me a lesson…"
Great Slime smiled gently.
"Please continue to love and watch over Halkara. That is what family is."
"I'd do that even if no one told me to," I answered proudly.
In other words, I just had to do what I've been doing and act normally. We're a good family.
"Then, in closing, let me give you a word of advice, Azusa."
"Advice?"
"You believe that your thoughts reach each other. However, hearts can be stubbornly cryptic. For that reason, you would do well to incorporate a moderate amount of physical affection."
In general, I understood what she was getting at.
"You mean this, don't you?"
Laika was close to me, and I pulled her into a hug.
Great Slime was nodding, so that had to be the right answer.
When you only talked about family ties, the words were dubious and empty. There was something hollow about them. And so, in order to make up for that, we clung together as a family should.
Laika was like a little sister to me, you see. Nothing wrong with a big sister hugging her beloved little sister.
"L-Lady Azusa…"
It had been abrupt, and Laika was embarrassed. Maybe I should have told her what I was going to do beforehand. That would have been its own kind of awkward, though.
Besides, adopting a doctrine for physical affection was putting the cart before the horse.
We hug because we want to.
"I'm sorry. If you'd rather I didn't, I'll let go."
"No… Let's stay like this for a while…"
As far as I was concerned, Laika's embarrassment made her even cuter. She was also the right height for me to embrace as a big sister.
"Aaaaah! Mommy, hug Falfa next!"
Falfa bounced up and down, insisting.
I hugged my daughters frequently, but of course I didn't mind doing it more often.
"In that case, this is enough for me."
Laika pulled away. She was blushing. Diffidence is in her personality.
"All right then, I guess you're next, Falfa."
"But before me…"
Falfa tugged Shalsha's hand and brought her over to me.
"Shalsha wants a hug, too, so do Shalsha first!"
To think she'd be this considerate of her little sister! Falfa was a model older sibling.
Shalsha didn't say anything aloud, but she indicated what she wanted with a small nod.
"Okay, come to Mommy one at a time, then."
Timidly, Shalsha came over to me. I bent down slightly and held out my hands.
I'd been living with my daughters for a while now and could tell the difference between Shalsha and Falfa in my arms.
Naturally, I don't mean I'd analyzed them bit by bit or anything like that. The one who melted into me gently was Shalsha, and the one who grew more cheerful as I hugged her was Falfa. It was the differences in their personalities.
Shalsha closed her eyes and quietly nestled into me.
It was like she was trying to listen to the sound of my heart.
"Thank you, Mom."
Speaking calmly, Shalsha turned her eyes to Falfa. Did she mean Switch with me? Great Slime was also gazing at my daughters warmly.
"Mommy, I love you!"
Falfa flung herself at me.
I was level 99, and I caught her firmly. It was a straightforward, unclouded expression of love.
"I love you, too!"
Now I'd hugged everybody, except for the sleeping Halkara—or so I thought, but Halkara had woken up and was eyeing me steadily.
"Madam Teacher, I'm welcome, too, aren't I?!"
Hugging Halkara would mean hugging a mature woman, which would be a different kind of embarrassment from the others, but I shouldn't discriminate.
"Yes, yes. You can come over here, too, Halkara."
"Thank you very much!"
Halkara held out her arms.
The sensation was definitely unique.
Those are breasts…
They were pleasantly elastic, but they also seemed to cleave to me. It was like I'd felt something similar just a moment ago…
Oh, I see! Great Slime! The cushiness of the enormous creature and Halkara's breasts were nearly the same!
"Great Slime, it's like a cushion up here on top of you, but you've got the strength to bounce Falfa and the rest of us back up, too. It's very relaxing."
Beside me, Falfa was talking to Great Slime.
Yes, that same strange relaxation could be found in Halkara's bosom as well. It made me feel like a child again…
"Heh-heh-heh! You look rather defenseless and adorable right now, Madam Teacher."
I did think, Apprentices shouldn't call their teachers adorable, but it was true. It felt so good that I was actually leaning on her.
Uh-oh. My mind is getting muddled.
If something isn't done, I won't be able to resist Halkara…
"Hmm? I'm getting sleepy again, too."
Halkara mumbled a similar sentiment. Okay, but you were sleeping up until just a minute ago.
"Lady Azusa! Something like poisonous gas appears to be circulating through this area!"
After Laika spoke, she immediately covered her mouth.
"Huh? Poisonous gas?"
"Oh…! I'm terribly sorry. A fairly potent gas sometimes erupts in this forest. It's harmless to slimes, but it may be rather unhealthy for humans…"
Great Slime spoke as if she'd just remembered.
"It's not the kind that knocks you out cold, is it?! Instead of just making you sleepy?"
No wonder there were no people in the forest. You weren't supposed to come in here.
"Laika, take your dragon form!"
"Lady Azusa, you need to put your shoes on!"
"Mommy, Halkara looks like she's falling asleep!"
"Whatever you do, don't let her!"
We got onto dragon-Laika and booked it out of the forest as fast as we possibly could.
Next time we came, we'd be careful about how long we stayed…
The End