Chapter 55
Ah, Ahhhh!
Translator : PolterGlast
"Alright, let's
move out!"
I clenched my fist and
thrust it forward.
Even though I had
wanted to put on clothes so badly, now that I was just covered on the outside,
why did I feel like my sluttiness level had increased even more?
Shaking off that
thought, we looked at our surroundings. The tower, as its name suggested,
soared straight up in a cylindrical shape, its very top reaching the water
membrane that covered the entire city. The tower was one of the pillars
supporting the membrane.
And perhaps because it
had been expanded repeatedly without a plan, there were some awkwardly
protruding sections like branches, but literally, they were just
"branches." They contained a few rooms, but not the destination I was
aiming for. I had wondered why such an unnatural building stood without
collapsing, but after entering, I understood. Some kind of magic tool was used
throughout the entire tower.
The wind that had
entered through the window circulated inside with an unnatural intensity, sliding
over the ceiling, walls, and floor as if licking them, and spiraling down
towards the lower floors. It was the overly mischievous wind that had just
increased my sluttiness level. I pressed down on my robe with both hands and
looked around.
There was no
decoration in the hallway other than the windows. Perhaps it was to avoid
obstructing the wind's path. The tower was maintained in a delicate balance.
"...By the way,
how did you get back, San?"
"Did you call for
me?" San said, stretching out his squishy body and turning around. He had
once made it all the way inside the tower and then escaped to the inn, quite
the feat. By the way, is it okay to refer to Ichi and the others as
"he"? In my mind, they were just Ichi and the others, creatures of
their own. What if they turned out to be girls now?
San, in response to my
question, thought while making his body long and thin. Before I knew it, he was
swaying from side to side. San was a dance-type slime who had a high rate of
rhythm.
--I rammed into the
door, and somehow it opened, so I thought, "Whoooosh~?" and since the
window was open, I bounced and went home.
It wasn't surprisingly
helpful. The fact I had just discovered, like Detective Conan, that the door
opened when water was dripped on it, was apparently just San accidentally
hitting it and spilling water, which made me a little sad. But he said he
jumped off the door, bounced, flew, and reached the ground. Looking down from
the window, it was at least ten stories high, I estimated. Did he want me to
die?
Well, Lotus's flight
skill was quite something, and if I put my mind to it, I could stop a few
centimeters before impact, so I might be able to manage, but there was no point
in imitating him. My goal wasn't to escape from the tower.
The main hollow part
of the Magic Tower, like the trunk of a tree, was actually completely empty.
Inside the hallway, there were rooms, and beyond those rooms was a quiet, long,
and narrow space. That's why in the game, when you entered a room, it was smaller
than you expected, and looking at the map, you would quickly notice a strange
space. If you went down the corridor that circled the tower, there was a small
door. It was sealed with a magic tool, but if Yuko, the Saint, wished it, a
lock was as good as nonexistent.
While thinking that,
we slowly descended the tower, circling around. We were proceeding cautiously,
observing the situation, but it wouldn't have been surprising if we had
encountered someone at any moment. There was no way we would make it to the
lower floors smoothly. My Listening Skill, Ichi and the others' Search Skill
(they had a more advanced skill than the Search Skill I used to have), and
Lotus's wild instinct twitched. The last one wasn't a skill, but it was Lotus,
so it couldn't be helped.
Someone was coming.
Escaping was -- possible. A branch-like corridor extended to the side. But
there was no escape if we went there. Well, there was a window. In case of
emergency, we could just jump out. But doing so would be a mission incomplete,
in other words, a failure of the mission. If someone saw us jumping down with
wings, it would be over. There was also no guarantee that no one would see us.
We would have to flee this city immediately.
"What should we
do?" we exchanged glances.
--Leave it to us!
Ichi and the others
took the initiative. "What's going on?" I asked in surprise, and the
three of them bounced into a dango shape. They were swaying, probably because
they had put too much force into it. "Are you alright?" I asked, perplexed,
and Ichi stretched out both hands and told Lotus something. They were asking
for the robe he was wearing. If my robe was gone, various parts would be
completely visible, and my eyes would be red. But for Lotus, even if he was
seen, he could make excuses.
He raised one eyebrow
slightly and handed it over, understanding. Ichi then put on the robe. It was
dragging on the ground. I knew it...
It was a size that
would drag on the ground even if I, as a child, wore it. There was no way Ichi
and the others, who were smaller than me even when all three were together,
could wear it. "I knew it~~," I said again. Then Ichi and the others
puffed up their chests with hun-hun-hun... --Hunnnn!!!!!
At that moment, Ichi
and the others stretched out. They stretched out very vertically. "Did
you... succeed in dieting...?" I almost said, as they became slender
bodies, extending their height by shaving off their width. "No way,"
I said, my tone changing from too much shock.
"How's
this?" Ichi seemed to say... no, was this even Ichi anymore? It was a
stick, wasn't it? Where did my slime go??? I couldn't quite accept the feeling
inside me and stared blankly at Ichi and the others, who had pulled their hoods
down to hide their faces. That confusion probably got across when Lotus, who
was usually calm, stammered slightly, "O-oh, oh, oh..."
--For now, we'll go
take a look around.
--We'll definitely be
alright with this~~
--Hey hey hey hey
"U-un, un,
un...?"
When they said
"definitely," it felt like some kind of flag. And the one saying
"hey hey" was San. When they combined, the leader Ichi would be on
top, the gentle but reliable Nii would be in the middle, and the energetic
rhythm-type slime San would tend to be at the bottom. Usually, their slime
bodies had more thickness, so it wasn't a problem, but now they were just
sticks. "Ah, o-oh, ah, aaah...!" As I had imagined, their footing was
swaying precariously. San, San, can you hold the rhythm for a little longer...?!
Since the hallway was
round, Lotus and I cautiously poked our heads out and watched them. Ichi
(temporary) was proceeding with wobbly, unsteady steps. I had to add
"temporary" for my inner self to keep up.
Ahead were students.
There were two of them, and they seemed to be carrying luggage. It was late,
with the sun already set, so it was tough on them. At first glance, Ichi looked
suspicious, but they had pulled their robe down deep, and since they were
wearing the tower's uniform, they were surprisingly proceeding without any
problems. Just as I thought, "Oh, everything's fine," the two
students looked at Ichi with questioning faces.
"Hmm? You don't
have a permit. Did you forget your badge?"
Saying that, he tapped
his own chest. (Argh, a permit!?) So, just wearing the robe wasn't enough to
fool them after all. The real speed of our slimes was surprisingly fast. The
other party didn't seem particularly suspicious, just a little doubtful. Ichi
gave a polite bow and turned around. "O-oh, escape!" I cheered in my
heart, and since I myself also didn't have a permit, I hesitated about whether
to enter some room. At that moment, a mischievous breeze blew. Ah-hahn.
Aaaah.
It felt like I heard a
heart-filled sound effect. The black robes of everyone present billowed up, and
in front of the male student who was holding down his robe like Marilyn Monroe,
were the figures of Ichi and the others, boldly exposing their entire bodies.
They were sticks. However, only Lotus and I could see those sticks. I had put
an illusion skill on Ichi and the others. In other words, their true forms
weren't visible. Which, in itself, was a huge problem. Thinking about it, there
was no need to make them wear the robe; it would have been better if they had
gone alone. I had been too shaken by the stick slimes and had forgotten to stop
them. This was the bad feeling I had.
"O-only the robe
is... f-floating~~~!?"
The boys shouted.
Aaaaaah!! The screams
were all in Lotus's and my hearts.
Using the voice of the
boy who had dropped his luggage and shouted as a sound effect, the overly
energetic slime fled away, but the movement of the black robe made the boys
scream again. What should we do? We had to escape. I looked at the window.
Lotus nodded. He already had his foot on the windowsill. Just as I was about to
grab his hand, my robe also billowed, and the necklace at my chest shook, just
a little.
--Then, someone
grabbed my arm.
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