Chapter 31: The Choice Between Doujinshi and a Slime Girl

When Fiora came to her senses, she had no idea where she’d run to.

“Ugh… how terrifying…”

She glanced back, confirmed that Leon hadn’t followed her, and let out a slight sigh of relief.

Fiora hugged her arms, her heart still pounding with lingering fear. If she had been even a moment slower just now, she probably would have been pounced on by Leon and lost her innocence.

That guy… could it be that his brain is filled entirely with (censored)? I’ve only ever seen such a crazy man in an R-18 anime.

Thinking about it that way made her situation feel even more tragic. Somehow, she’d gone from being a harem candidate in a light novel to a destined-to-be-assaulted character in an R-18 anime.

Fiora’s mood grew even more depressed.

“Sigh, this is just my fate, I guess. I signed a s*ave contract, so I can’t run away anyway.”

She adjusted her mood and decided to pull herself together to finish the quest at hand. After Leon cut off her allowance, she had no choice but to swallow her grievances and complete the job—if only to think about her future livelihood.

“Why isn’t there a job in this world where you can just lie down and earn money?”

Fiora complained as she walked through the forest, searching for slimes. Defeating ten slimes and collecting their fluid would complete the quest and earn her a 300-coin bounty. That would be enough to buy a few doujinshi to pass the time.

“Mhm, let’s do my best for the sake of doujinshi!”

The silver-haired girl cheered herself on, unusually immersed in an atmosphere of hard work.

“Summon Ice Sword!”

Fiora’s ice sword pierced through a slime, which let out a wail before melting into a pool of liquid. She walked over to its remains, filled a test tube, and looked at the pale-blue solution before wiping the sweat from her face.

“That’s the ninth one.”

Ever since Leon left, her encounters with slimes had increased dramatically. This was already the ninth one she’d taken down.

“Hmph, it’s definitely Leon’s doing. He must have used some trick—otherwise, why would it be so easy to encounter slimes when I’m alone?”

The scorching sun hung high in the sky. Under its blazing heat, Fiora’s sweat had already soaked through her undergarments.

“Huu, huu… so hot… To think I have to work in this weather. Isn’t there any other way?”

She complained as she searched for the last slime, pulling at her collar and fanning herself with her hand.

“…Wait.”

Suddenly remembering something, Fiora covered her face.

“Am I an idiot? I’m an Ice Dragon… I can just use magic.”

She raised her palm, and a small whirlwind of snowflakes spun to life under the urging of her magic. She began to slowly chant a complex spell, and the whirlwind in her palm grew larger.

“Weather Magic—Snowfall!”

The snowy wind blew in all directions, and the air temperature dropped abruptly. Snow began to fall in the middle of the hot summer.

Weather magic—something only the Great Sage could perform among humans—was something Fiora used with ease. For her, it truly wasn’t a difficult feat. If she were in her Dragon King form, she wouldn’t even need to chant to cast it; she would come with a built-in blizzard effect.

“That’s cooler. Much better.”

Fiora hummed a little tune in satisfaction. The burning sensation on her skin faded, and she felt much more comfortable.

“Slime~ Slime~ where are you~? It’s so hard to find you~ I’m going to take your blood~ and peel your skin~ to trade for money~ so I can buy some doujinshi~”

The girl’s cheerful voice echoed through the forest. Perhaps her strange lyrics scared all the slimes away, because she walked for a long time without seeing a single one.

Fiora grew frustrated.

She even began to consider whether she should just cast a large-scale AOE spell and blow the entire forest sky-high. But after thinking it over, she realized Leon would definitely get angry—and she might get a beating—so she decided against it.

“Slime~ Oh, Slime~ where are you~? It’s so hard to find you~ I won’t take your blood~ I won’t peel your skin~ I don’t want the money~ I don’t want the doujinshi either~”

Fiora changed the lyrics and sang out loud.

Perhaps her feelings moved the gods, because she really did spot a slime.

In a bush up ahead, she saw something that looked like one—a flowing body with a blue, transparent texture, a small part of it sticking out.

Fiora immediately fell silent and smiled with delight.

“Take this!!”

Tossing aside the lyrics she’d just been singing, she summoned an ice sword and shot it forward.

Then, Fiora heard a cry of pain.

“Ugh—!”

That sound wasn’t like a slime’s voice at all. It sounded more like… a girl.

Oh no, did I make a mistake? Did I hurt someone?

A bad premonition rose in Fiora’s heart. She quickly ran over and pushed aside the bushes—only to freeze in place.

It was a girl, with the enchanting curves of a young maiden, wearing nothing at all.

But she wasn’t human. Her body was made entirely of a blue, transparent, fluid substance—just like a slime.

Simply put, she was a slime monster girl.

Her eyes were filled with fear, her body trembling slightly. A shallow cut on her leg from Fiora’s ice sword was leaking blue, transparent blood.

Fiora wanted to approach, but the slime girl cried out in alarm, making her feel even more guilty.

She didn’t know why, but killing normal slimes never stirred any emotion in her… yet hurting a humanoid slime felt incredibly cruel, even though they were essentially the same type of creature.

Should I choose the slime girl here… or the 300-coin bounty for doujinshi?

After a brief struggle, Fiora decided the slime girl was more important. She gave up the idea of killing her to complete the quest.

“Miss Slime, I’m sorry! That was my fault just now—I hurt you by mistake.”

Fiora raised her hands to show she had no hostile intent. The slime girl’s hostility lessened somewhat, but she still couldn’t speak. She only blinked at Fiora.

Fiora extended a hand, slowly closing the distance. Under the slime girl’s watchful gaze, her fingers finally touched the strange, soft surface. A pleasant, almost soothing sensation spread from her fingertips.

It seemed her sincere apology had calmed the other girl enough not to resist.

“Miss Slime, I don’t know any healing spells. This happened because of me, so let me take you to someone who can treat you.”

In this world, people who could use healing magic were rare, but Fiora knew the clerics in the Church of Sunrisen City definitely could.

The slime girl seemed to understand and gave a small nod.

Seeing this, Fiora quickly helped the immobile slime girl onto her back. Fortunately, she was quite light—even with Fiora’s human form’s weak stamina, it wasn’t too difficult to carry her.

“Right… Leon has a monster-girl fetish. If he sees Miss Slime, she’ll be in danger. I must risk everything to avoid him!”

Feeling the weight of the slime girl on her back, Fiora’s face hardened with determination.