SWNOVELXO Chapter 62.2
Was There Any Good Fortune In The Find?
Watching their interaction, Aroru’s face was twisted in discomfort. Concerned, the white snake wrapped around Aroru’s neck gently stroked his cheek with its tail. Perhaps regaining his composure, Aroru slowly opened his mouth.
“Yuuri, identify its species name.”
“Why don’t you ask directly, Aroru?”
“It’s more reliable to use identification than asking me, so identify it!”
“Hmm? Okay, got it.”
Not understanding the urgency in Aroru’s words, Yuuri activated [God Eye]. The slime, looking puzzled about what was happening, was reassured with a soft murmur. Yuuri then looked at the information displayed before him.
――Ancient Slime [Mutant]
A top-tier species said to be the progenitors of the slime type. This is a mutant of that species.
Though a slime, its combat ability is immeasurable. But don’t worry, its temperament is gentle.
This one is a rare mutant, and it’s unusual for the Ancient Slime species, as its current size is the largest.
It has a high swallowing capacity, able to consume up to about a hundred times its volume. Cute but strong, isn’t it?
Yuuri thought that [God Eye] had recently learned some amusing expressions. At first, it used rigid, dictionary-like terms. Now, it felt more like a friendly letter. Still, it was clearer and more enjoyable to read than stiff text, so Yuuri was fine with it.
…[God Eye] had been upgraded in a somewhat offbeat direction to suit its owner.
“It looks like a mutant Ancient Slime? You’re amazing.”
“…Seriously?”
“Aroru?”
“It’s an ultra-rare monster!”
“…You’re not planning to eat it, are you?”
“Why would that come to mind!”
“Well, they say monster meat is delicious…”
Aroru slapped Yuuri on the head. His naivety was still misguided. Reluctantly, Aroru turned to the happy Ancient Slime (albeit a mutant) and spoke.
“Where did you come from and where were you going? Also, why did you follow Yuuri?”
“Kyui.”
“…I see. Were you hungry? …But why to the capital?”
“Kyukyui!”
“…Wow. That’s unfortunate. So, what will you do now?”
“Kyupii?”
“…Huh. Really?”
“Kyupii!”
A ten-year-old conversing seriously with a soccer-ball-sized, golden, translucent jelly-like creature. And it had a white snake wrapped around its neck. It was quite strange in many ways, but since Aroru was a monster tamer and the slime was an ultra-rare monster, it was strange in another way as well. However, Yuuri was the only one watching, so he seemed more interested in the conversation. The otome Yuuri remained unfazed.
“Hey, Aroru, what’s the slime saying?”
“It says it fled from strange people. It wants to stay near Yuuri if possible.”
“Why me!?”
“…Because you were kind when it was disguised as a cute puppy.”
“Eh… I think anyone would be affectionate toward such a cute puppy, even if it was a bit dirty…”
“No, it clearly had something different in its presence.”
“Huh? Really? Sorry, I don’t get it.”
“Of course not!”
Yuuri, who was clueless about combat abilities, didn’t understand. Instead, since [God Eye] didn’t issue a danger assessment, this slime was deemed harmless. The chirping slime was playfully bumping into Yuuri, showing affection. Unlike Aroru, who could communicate with monsters, the slime was showing affection to Yuuri, who had picked it up, given it a shower, and fed it milk. Something was off.
“…Hmm, if I say I want to keep this one, will Ali-san get angry?”
“Before being angry, he’ll probably yell at you for finding it. One hundred gold says so.”
“Oh, that’s true… But it’s not a bad kid, right?”
“Kyui?”
The slime tilted its body as if to shrug. Its round body made it hard to tell if it was tilting, but its eyes shifted, so it was probably tilting. Probably. Such gestures were strangely adorable, likely due to its soccer ball size. Normally, Ancient Slimes are enormous, about the size of a two-story building. Encountering one in a dungeon, combined with its elasticity, would make it a tough monster to defeat.
This mutant slime was not only different in size but also in nature. Generally, slimes are mild-mannered, but this one was unusually friendly. It snuggled up to Yuuri and Aroru as if asking to play, resembling a puppy wanting attention.
“…Ah.”
“Aroru?”
“Cute!”
Unable to resist the temptation any longer, Aroru embraced the slime. As a monster tamer, Aroru loved monsters. Despite his initial nervousness about encountering a rare monster, he couldn’t resist when it asked to play. Even being squeezed tightly, the slime chirped happily. Seeing Aroru’s reaction, the white snake around his neck extended its long tongue in exasperation.
In the end, Ali did yell, but despite everything, keeping the slime was permitted. The next day, Yuuri went to the Adventurer’s Guild to register the new companion.