Chapter 176: Ice Slime-kun
“Strange… for a forest so saturated with magic, there are surprisingly few monsters around.”
“Well, if anything just wandered around here carelessly, adventurers from the capital would swoop in and wipe them out in no time.”
With those words, Ryu brought Stingray along to a forest not far from the capital.
…And the reason for this trip traced back to when they had been devising countermeasures for the scorching desert.
◇◇◇
“The blazing sunlight from above, and the relentless heat rising from the sand below. The former can be handled with standard heat-resistant gear—especially the kind worn by desert tribes. But the real problem is the latter.”
Ryu folded his arms, his brow slightly furrowed as he thought aloud.
“Heat like that can’t be blocked unless you cool it with water or ice. Stingray, do you have any ideas?”
“Wouldn’t water magic work?”
“I can already picture everyone getting soaked through… and then their armor turning into a steaming sauna.”
“Ahh… yeah, that would be awful. Then maybe ice?”
“I’ve heard rumors that those who master water magic can also wield ice magic…”
“…But people like that are extremely rare.”
“Exactly. And it’s just a rumor to begin with. No guarantee it’s even true.”
For Ryu, it would be akin to lightning magic.
And manipulating his black lightning—something only he could do—was already considered extraordinarily difficult.
“Then that leaves refrigerated magic tools… or perhaps ice-attributed monsters?”
“Hmm. Most refrigeration-type magic tools are stationary, and I don’t fully understand how they work. So that’s not ideal. Which means… monsters?”
“…Honestly, I think monsters would be way harder…”
“I don’t think so. Especially something like an Ice Slime—a subspecies of slime. That could be promising.”
“A slime subspecies… so that would be one rank higher, D-rank. Generally, the success rate for taming is under one percent, but… if it’s you, Ryu-sama, you might actually pull it off.”
“I’m not the one doing the taming.”
“…Eh?”
Ryu turned back with a faint smirk.
“Hey, Estelle. You mentioned before that you wanted a magic tool that could instantly freeze materials, right?”
“Indeed! It has been a long-standing dilemma of mine!”
“Then what about an Ice Slime?”
“Oho! Just hearing the name sounds adorable! It could even serve as a cool pillow in the summer!”
“Then how about you try taming one?”
“I could not ask for a better opportunity!”
“Gyaau!!”
(Estelle-sama! How could you—when you already have me—show interest in something like a slime?!)
Homura’s jealousy was entirely understandable.
Seeing this, Ryu casually added:
“Don’t you want a little brother, Homura?”
“Gyaau.”
(A… a little brother…? I want one!!!)
(“…So easy…”)
(“…Truly simple…”)
And so, Ryu brought Stingray along, first gathering information from an informant about slime habitats before making their way to this forest near the capital—said to contain an ideal swamp.
◇◇◇
“A swamp, huh… I bet it’s crawling with mosquitoes and leeches. Not a fan.”
“Ryu-sama, please don’t say things like that… I’m wearing armor, you know…”
If a leech got inside her armor… it would be nothing short of a nightmare.
Just imagining it made Stingray shudder.
“Relax. We’re not diving into the swamp.”
“Then what are we doing?”
“You’ll see when we get there.”
After walking for some time, the swamp finally came into view.
““Ugh…””
Encircled by tall trees, the area was dim and oppressively humid.
It gave off a heavy, unwelcoming atmosphere—as though it rejected human presence entirely.
For creatures like slimes, often called the weakest of monsters, it must have been paradise.
“I just hope there’s an ice-type slime here…”
“What’s the spawn rate for slime subspecies again?”
“According to the Monster Compendium, roughly one in a hundred.”
“This swamp is huge—there are probably over a thousand normal slimes here. So around ten subspecies… and if one of those happens to be ice-type…”
She paused, then smiled faintly.
“…Actually, the odds aren’t bad at all.”
Ryu extended his palm toward the center of the swamp.
“Here we go, Stingray.”
“Y-Yes…” gulp
“Wide-Area Swamp Crackling Electric Shock.”
“…………”
(W-What an unbelievably lame spell name…!)
Despite the utterly uncool name, the lightning magic that followed was anything but weak.
With a crackling surge of electricity, startled slimes began popping out of the swamp in droves.
The shock wasn’t lethal—just enough to make even slimes jolt in alarm.
“Stingray, if you spot anything that looks like a subspecies, charge.”
“Yes!! I won’t miss a single one!!”
Slimes bounced frantically, scattering into the forest.
If one looked closely, now and then a differently colored slime could be spotted among them—that must be the subspecies.
Since normal slimes were transparent, the colored variants stood out clearly.
…And then—
“Ryu-sama, over there!!”
Where Stingray pointed, a pale blue slime quivered into view.
Parts of its body were faintly frozen.
“Alright. Let’s go. Now we just need to… talk.”
“Understood!!”
(Talk…? Not capture?)
Confused by his wording, Stingray charged forward regardless.
◇◇◇
Startled by the lightning, the Ice Slime had fled into the forest, hiding behind a fallen tree.
Even slimes had stamina.
It bobbed up and down, slightly exhausted, trying to steady itself.
And then…
A suspicious human (?) appeared.
“Yo. Fancy meeting you here, Ice Slime.”
“…………!”
The human slowly approached.
Was he here to kill it?
…But with its escape route blocked by the fallen tree, there was nowhere to run.
At last, the human stood before it.
“Actually, I’m looking for a new companion.”
What was this man even saying?
Surely he intended to deceive and devour it.
The slime gathered its remaining strength, preparing to flee at the first opening—
And then—
The man’s magical power surged.
An overwhelming pressure descended—so immense the slime could barely breathe.
“And by chance, I happened to find you.”
Its instincts screamed.
Do not resist.
Escape is impossible.
It couldn’t move. It couldn’t breathe. It was terrified.
…All it had wanted was a peaceful, carefree slime life in the swamp.
…As a subspecies, it had been doted on by the ordinary slimes.
…One day, it had dreamed of merging with a beautiful slime and evolving further.
And then, in that instant—
The Ice Slime saw it.
Deep within Ryu’s eyes—
The majestic form of a radiant silver dragon.
“!!!!!!!!!!!”
A dragon species—king of monsters.
No, something equal to or beyond even a Dragon King.
An existence far beyond anything a mere slime could ever encounter.
And yet… it had caught the attention of such a being.
Its trembling would not stop.
“Of course, you’ll come with me, right?”
“…………!!!” tremble tremble
“Right?”
“!!!” tremble tremble
The king of monsters reached out his hand.
Thank you… whoever you were, mother…
My life ends here today.
◇◇◇
“Ohh… it’s softer and bouncier than I expected.” squish squish
“Let me touch it too! Wow—it’s so soft, it feels amazing!” squish squish
“……………”
Thus, the Ice Slime was successfully—coerced… no, persuaded—and brought back toward the capital.
Currently, it was being passed between the two, thoroughly enjoyed for its texture.
“Want something to eat? I’ve heard you can digest any organic matter… but I’d rather feed you high-rank monster meat or magic stones.”
“That sounds good. It’s basically one of ours now, after all.”
“Exactly. You’re our companion now.”
Ryu peered into the slime.
“…………” tremble tremble
“Oh, look—it’s happy.”
“…Isn’t it just scared?”
Ryu tucked the Ice Slime into his cloak and returned to the inn.
Inside, not only their usual group but also the heroes—who had somehow caught wind of things—were waiting.
“Welcome back, Ryu!”
“…Why are you all here?”
“Well, actually, starting today, we’re staying in the room next door for a while!”
“…Seriously?”
“I think everyone knew except you, Ryu.”
“…You’ve got to be kidding me.”
(So they deliberately kept it a secret… some kind of surprise, huh.)
“So, where’s the monster you mentioned?”
“Of course I brought it. Here.”
Ryu placed the Ice Slime on the table.
Boing.
“?”
The slime seemed to tilt its nonexistent head in confusion.
Immediately, Lily, the three heroes, Ryoma, Homura, and Axel gathered around.
“Ohhh! An Ice Slime! I see now!”
“I’ve heard slimes are good at splitting… so that’s the idea.”
“My, my, how adorable!”
“Whoa!! I’ve never seen a slime subspecies before!!”
“With this, the scorching desert will be no challenge!”
“Brrr…”
“Gyaau.”
(So this is my little brother!! You shall call me Onee-sama!! Hehehe…)
The kingdom’s strongest warrior, humanity’s champions, a new dragon species, a fire dragon, and an obsidian steed—
Monsters no slime should ever be surrounded by—
All peered down at it with intense curiosity.
“…………” tremble tremble
Lily poked it.
“Look! It’s happy!”
Just then, Lena and Estelle chimed in:
“I think it’s just scared…”
“WOOO!! My long-awaited Ice Slime!!”
Unable to endure it any longer, the Ice Slime leapt—guided purely by instinct—into Estelle’s chest.
“…………” boing
“Oh? There, there… good slime.”
Ryu nodded in satisfaction.
“As expected, Estelle is the only suitable master.”
“Am I truly acceptable?”
“…………” wiggle
For the first time, the Ice Slime shook side to side.
Everyone smiled warmly at the sight.
And so, Estelle and the Ice Slime formed a familiar contract, officially becoming companions.
“…………” wiggle