- Shari -

 

"Whoah!" (Nia)

 

Okay, that's not the reaction I'd usually anticipate when I reveal myself to someone.
Rather fear or hostility, but not honest curiosity.

 

"Whoah? Is that all? Don't you have anything you want to add? Like for example, 'oh my god, a monster' or 'please don't eat me'?" (Shari)

"If you'd be here to do that it would've already happened. Also, it's not like my state allows me to be picky about who's helping me." (Nia)

"That's awfully practical thinking for a kid of your age. Just so you know, I'm here on the assumption that your brother won't spread the word about us. I kinda like being alive. Or whatever my state might be called." (Shari)

"He won’t tell anyone. It would just get us into trouble. But before you do anything, what is this going to cost me? You can see that we have no money." (Nia)

 

If I charged an incredibly ill child for my questionable healing, I’d never be able to live with myself.

 

"Don’t worry, I’m not expecting you to pay me anything." (Shari)

"Everybody expects something in return. Just to let you know, if you plan to have me spend all my time working as bait or a slave or something, you’ll have to give me a way to provide for Okin." (Nia)

 

This young girl is far too experienced for her age.

 

"I expect absolutely nothing of the sort. I’m already getting what I want, so for you, it will cost nothing. I promise." (Shari)

 

Helping this girl is really all I want to do here.
And see the effectiveness of my potion.

 

"You really mean it? So this is basically for free!? Good job, Okin!" (Nia)

"Ehehehe." (Okin)

"So you're really sure about this treatment?" (Shari)

"I'm willing to take it. It's not like my other options are great." (Nia)

"I, I guess I can give it a try. But I hope you're aware how stupidly painful this is going to be for you? We need to remove all the sick flesh." (Shari)

"You think enduring it isn't painful? Believe me, I'm very familiar with pain." (Nia)

"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you." (Shari)

 

I take out the potion I intend to use, noticing the interested stares of the children at the blue liquid inside.
I hope they can't guess too easily its nature.
Then I turn to Liqu.

 

"Liqu, could you dissolve only the sick parts of her arm?" (Shari)

"Don't wanna." (Liqu)

 

Excuse me!?!

 

"Would you mind elaborating? You don't want to help after we came all the way out here?" (Shari)

"Yes. You know, I don't really care about this girl. If she’s no different than a normal meal, I'm not sure how careful I can be. Dissolving while holding back feels always weird to me." (Liqu)

"So you're saying you want to let her die simply because you wouldn't feel too great while helping her!?" (Shari)

"Well, that's part of it, yet the main reason is that this is your thing. I believe that this is going to be good practice for you if you want to train your fine control." (Liqu)

 

Does she want to turn this into a training lesson?!

 

"You're bargaining her life for a lesson?!" (Shari)

"As I said, I don't really care about her." (Liqu)

 

Somehow it feels like Liqu follows my own code of not getting unnecessarily involved better than I do.

 

"Wh-what is this about?" (Okin)

 

Well, they have a right to know.

 

"How do you think we are going to remove the sick flesh? You know what slimes do, right? It might sound creepy and frightening at first, but you can believe me that it's a better option than using a knife." (Shari)

"So you're saying you intend to eat my arm?" (Nia)

"Only the infested parts. Well, at least that's what I intended when I asked my comrade. Yet as I said, I'm not as proficient as her. It might be a bit messier. You can still bail out. I mentioned option one for a reason." (Shari)

 

After all, having your arm cut off might be more pleasant than having a slime dissolving it.

 

"I still want to go through with it. Please." (Nia)

"Sigh, okay. Okin, get her something to bite down on. This is going to hurt." (Shari)

 

Once again he looks unsure, but a glance from his sister is enough to get him moving.
Now, hopefully, this suddenly stubborn slime will still help with the basics.

 

"Liqu, could you please hold her as still as you can without hurting her? Any sudden movements during the process would only harm her further. Or do you intend to say I have to learn how to do this alone?" (Shari)

"No, I can do that part." (Liqu)

 

Nia looks a little uncertain as Liqu surrounds her upper torso and part of her affected arm, but doesn’t cry out or try to escape.
Okin soon returns with a wad of fabric for her, and as soon as she's set up, I have to begin.
I free my left hand from the glove and reach towards her arm, but stop before I touch it.

 

"Just so we understand each other, I don't want to hear any comments about how weird it feels, what I'm doing to you, or anything else that might distract me. That's in your own best interest, you see?" (Shari)

 

She nods, unable to speak with that fabric in her mouth.
Then I touch the infected place.
Or however one calls the process of my mass flowing around the target area.
Naturally, she tries to jolt a bit at the sensation, but I doubt that this hurts even as much as the fabric she had over it before.
Once I’ve enveloped her entire lower arm and hand, and gripped it as best I’m able with my slime, I look directly at her and speak.

 

"Brace yourself!" (Shari)

 

She should know when the painful part begins.
I concentrate as hard as I can on the area I enveloped.
Until now I was careful not to dissolve, but the moment I turn it on even the slightest bit, I become increasingly aware of what is mixed into my slime.
How the flesh is composed, what makes it different from healthy flesh, and how the pus gathers below the surface.
Especially this difference is of importance, as I can't afford to take the slightest bit too much, which forces me to decelerate the process as much as I can.
Yet I still dissolve and soon have the first layer down.
Which, unfortunately, has the effect that she begins squirming because this must hurt really much.
Yet at the same time, it's really only the bad parts being removed.

I pay extra close attention in order to not go too far, which isn't nice to endure for my patient as I’m progressing very slowly.
At some point, alarmingly increasing amounts of blood start to flow into me, still mixed with pus, but the issue is that it's mixing and I can't just stuff it back inside.
At most, I can clog the leaks up with my slime but that means the sick stuff remains inside her body.
The worst part is that I'm somewhat blind regarding how deep the infection goes.
I can only tell where it's concentrated through the dissolving analysis.
This means I'm actually pretty close to dissolving what I shouldn't, simply because I have no idea where the sickness isn't.
Yet at least it's getting less and less concentrated.
This is already the only positive thing I can say, as I have to take more than I'd like to.
And I know I really shouldn't.
The more I take away, the less there's a chance that my meager potions can help her recover.

Finally, I can't make out any more sickly parts.
This isn't too great, as the arm is currently one big mass of raw flesh, and the blood might flow out freely were I to let go now.
This also causes issues for applying the potion.
This one is the most effective if applied directly.
Drinking is thought for inner injuries only and, considering the possible side effects, should only be done in an emergency.
If I apply it the effect should be instantaneous, yet I have to be careful, as the blood might wash it out before it can do its job.
So I can only let go in a small area with my slime.

 

"Akckh!" (Nia)

 

Which apparently hurts like hell.
However, now I can start pouring it over there.
It might be low quality, but surprisingly, it somewhat works.
The edges of her skin next to the angry, bloody red of the wound crawl just the tiniest bit closer.
At least I didn't mess up.
In this manner, I retreat my slime bit by bit while applying the potion, always careful not to cause too massive of a bleeding.
Yet the further from the edge of the wound I go, the weaker the effect.
The reason is simple.
This chunk of her flesh is simply missing.
The flesh itself was infested, which means the potion has to completely regrow the partition.
I can only continue as I did, knitting the wound bit by bit.
The wound is almost healed when I'm suddenly out of potion.
I look at the bit that's still injured.
And sigh.

 

"Hah, still with me?" (Shari)

 

Her arm doesn't look perfectly fine.
She's extremely pale and I'd say a tiny bit of the muscle might still be missing.

 

"N-not completely... sure." (Nia)

"Nia?!" (Okin)

"Listen, you're currently suffering from energy loss due to your body forcefully healing itself. Also, I couldn't heal your arm completely. All I can offer is that you may apply this salve I prepared. It's going to help with the healing but won't directly fix the wound. In addition, if you don't keep it clean this time, there won't be any saving you anymore." (Shari)

 

I take out my box, look for the closest thing that can act as a vessel, and scrape a bit of it with my dagger in there.

 

"Why... you're giving us... all this? Why... going... so far?" (Nia)

 

This question is difficult for me to answer.
I went quite hard against my own principles here by giving out expensive stuff for free.
The way the mending potion worked was evidence enough to tell how stupidly valuable it was.

And that in my current dire financial state.
I can't just dismiss this as trying to see how well they work.
The truth is, it would bother me to let a child die in my vicinity.
I've got so many other arrangements to keep me aloft that I will hopefully be able to finance such acts with my eventual compensation.
Also, I think I've got just an idea of how to improve my finances and get information.

 

"Let's say, I wouldn't be against it if you would advertise our good deeds. You wouldn't believe it, but we two have a bit of a reputation problem. Though, if possible, without revealing what we are. Also, I don't like it if people die around me." (Shari)

 

I'm not thinking that this will suddenly establish slimes as approachable neighbors, but there's nothing wrong with making small steps.
In addition, this should be beneficial to draw the locals out.
Maybe this will raise my reputation as a slime in the long run.

 

"Tsk... a caring monster. If that isn't... a damn miracle. Nothing... I'd have expected... to happen to me." (Nia)

 

If you think I'm caring, you should've seen Liqu if she'd follow up on her plan.