“Hey, what is going on? Why is it acting up?” Shaki asked.

“Who knows? He disagrees with killing the gnolls I guess.” Milia shrugged.

He just couldn’t believe that unlocking a skill or two was the answer. He clashed first-hand against their incredible toughness. So, he believed that a breakthrough with gnolls was within grasp.

“Isn’t it a special pawn made by Violet? Why would it disagree?”

“Actually, he’s a rook. The poor lad reincarnated as a slime after being slammed by a truck, haha!”

“Doesn’t that mean that you cheated on me with a slime?”

“What are you saying? If a rook was a chair, do you consider cheating if I sit on it?” Milia said.

“But…”

“What are you afraid of? That a slime would steal your wife and kids? Ha! Don’t worry,” Milia said.

“Alright, let’s get back to the problem at hand.” Shaki rubbed her temples.

They turned towards the shaking slime sitting on top of a gnoll.

“Please wait! Let’s talk! We can help each other!” the female gnoll shouted.

“Shut up, fodder,” Shaki said.

“Are you Dungeon rooks?” the gnoll asked.

They ignored her question, not wasting time to acquire their needed experience points.

“Stop your tantrum, buddy. If you don’t move in three seconds, you’re getting skewered along the gnoll. 3… 2...,” Milia said.

[Shapeshift: Gnoll form.

Temporary disabled skills: Alchemical synthesis, Symbiosis, Mana transfer.

Temporary available skills: Gnoll Toughness, Common tongue]

Slade turned into a puppy gnoll.

“Let’s think about it tho-thowoofly!” he squeaked.

Milia’s thrust stopped.

“Waaah! It’s sooo cute!” she exclaimed, letting go of her spear.

Shaki’s reaction was exactly the opposite.

“Why can you talk? Weren’t you just a slime sex toy?” Her voice shook.

“No, I nevew was!” A high-pitched cry of pain resounded from Slade’s heart.

“Hold your pats!” Shaki stopped Milia from reaching Slade to give him pats.

The troglodyte picked him up from the neck. She had no eyes. Yet, Slade felt the intensity of her glare, pissing on himself.

To be honest, Slade was like a guy who hid in a pillow at an all-girl pyjama party.

He smelled the shitstorm that would happen when they’ll know that they are pregnant. But he had to survive the current ordeal first.

“I’ll forget about how you had sex with Milia and me because it was her fault. But you won’t touch her again, she’s MINE!” Shaki said.

“Aww, you’re making me blush,” Milia chuckled.

“She’s weak to puppies, but I can see right through your schemes, you disgusting toilet pervert,” Shaki said.

She let go of Slade and squeezed Milia’s cheeks with her claws. The minotaur’s flowery smile faded.

“And you, Milia. You’re still letting too many suspicious things into your crotch. Didn’t you have enough problems on Atlanoth?!”

“I’m shorry, ma’am,” the sheepish minotaur said.

“Don’t touch that thing ever again or I’ll leave your cheating ass for real!”

“But I can pet a puppy! I’m not degenerate enough to get horny at a puppy!”

“You’re bluffing. The weirder it is, the more you get turned on. I wouldn’t be surprised if you told me a dog has licked your crotch.”

“Wha?! How?! Is that how you see me?” Milia asked.

“No, I’m human!” Slade cried, jumping off the gnoll.

“Silence. Slimes don’t deserve the same respect as human beings,” Shaki said, squishing the puppy under her foot.

“Aren’t you overreacting? It’s our second shot at life! Let’s have fun!” Milia said.

Milia pouted and shook as if she was about to burst in tears. Shaki wavered as she didn’t want to hurt her.

”You wouldn’t leave me for a pet, right?” Shaki asked.

“Of course not! I’d feel empty if we weren’t together,” Milia whined.

They stared at each other until Shaki sighed.

“Fine… You can keep it, but nothing sexual, okay?” They hugged each other.

Slade stared at the ceiling, swearing that someday he will obtain the respect he deserves. The first step was to be firm to his ideals.

He climbed back on the gnoll, shielding him from bloodthirsty rooks. He waited for the women to finish their lover’s quarrel.

“Why must we kill the gnowws wight away?” Slade asked.

“That’s right! Tell us why!” the woman gnoll asked.

Shaki sighed, as Milia wanted to capture the puppy to pet him again.

“Why not? Do we need a reason to kill monsters and enemies?” Milia asked.

“I know that 28 people would be better than 3, but does it really matter against hundreds of beholders? On the other hand, the risk that we are betrayed is extremely high. The gnolls are most likely deserters. They are untrustworthy soldiers,” Shaki said.

“That’s-”

“Let’s say we enlist their help. We have no guarantee that they won’t betray us as soon as they’re freed. We lose against that many gnolls at once,” Shaki said.

“I don’t know what I would do if Shaki dies. We’d be apart forever. I wouldn't trust our lives to stranger so easily,” Milia nodded.

“Slime, do you want us to become their decoy and die?” Shaki asked.

“But...”

Slade used ‘Puppy eyes’!

“Taking the experience points is the most reliable way. On the other hand, keeping them alive only invites betrayal,” Shaki said.

Shaki used ‘Logic’!

“Kuh!” Slade was defeated.

“No, we can offer you a guarantee,” a gnoll interrupted.

Slade turned towards the female gnoll.

“My name is Metiva, and I am the leader of the pack. I’ve been kept hostage by the beholders so that my pack would send regular sacrifices in exchange for keeping me alive.”

The hesitant girls exchanged a doubtful glance. Milia shrugged, while Shaki shook her head.

Slade jumped.

“Tell us mowe!”

At first, Shaki and Milia were hesitant about listening to the gnoll. But, they yielded to curiosity.

“Fine, explain,” Shaki said. She sat in front of the gnoll.

Milia returned to the palace’s entrance, looking out for beholders while petting puppy-Slade.

“I’m the matriarch Metiva. You are right, we are deserters. But that’s because we were no longer treated as honorable members of the Fortress, but pawn replacements.”

Shaki snorted cynically.

“The gnoll race has received the honor of being immortalized. We became the models of the seventh rank pawns of Fortress, the weakest rank,” Metiva said.

Shaki nodded. Troglodyte was a seventh rank too.

“But, the jealous Kobold never accepted that and undermined us. Our standing within the Fortress kept plummeting as the mindless pawns wearing our face were treated like meat shields and slaves.”

The troglodyte rook nodded. She shared the insecurity and pain of being the weakest.

Violet and Lorely treated her with respect, but for how long? Will she become a slave once new rooks arrive? Yet, she seldom talked about her worries.

As long as I do my job, Violet will depend on me and treat me with respect, Shaki thought.