Escorted by four gnoll warriors and two witches, Violet and Lorely walked out of the ore mine with new looks.

Lorely had swapped her washed-up robe for a gnoll themed fabric. Its cut kept the same overall shape to let her wings spread from her naked back. But the gnolls had added sleeves that would not hinder her flight.

While she used to look poor, her new self looked like a pagan deity of love and fertility that Slade would gladly worship.

"I’m here, Slade~♥" She rubbed her knees shyly while carrying the purple warbanner.

Violet wore a plain shirt over a loose dress, similar to civilian gnolls. Her hair was tied into a long braid, and her bangs were cleaned up. "Sorry for making you wait."

She exuded a homely warmth that straight up knocked Slade out.

Milia spit out her grass from shock.

 "What the fuck happened to granny? How?!"

 "Slade? Hello?"

The love-struck slime was still trapped in delusions after Violet’s cuteness blew his mind. He saw himself growing older with her dazzling smile.

Violet poked the silent slime to wake him up.

 "Uh- Ah! I lost myself for a moment."

He jumped and rubbed his face against her chest. "You’re so cuuute!"

 "Stop acting like this, geez!" The embarrassed woman pushed Slade into Lorely’s arms.

 The harpy hag’s chest jiggled from Slade’s shaking. "The witches did an excellent job, right?"

 "Does it fit your tastes?"

 "I’m falling in love again, baby."

 Violet patted the back of the pair of mother and daughter witches and slipped a stack of pawn notes into their hand. "Take that money. You’ve earned it."

Slade’s face froze into a shaking smile, coughing blood from mental damage. Wait! How much did it cost?!

The pair of mother-daughter witches bowed, stashing their money inside their cleavage. "It is our pleasure."

Oh well, it’s fine. They look so happy. It’s absolutely worth it. Resigned, the slime nodded. He had found what was truly important to him. He didn’t want to deny what was important to others.

 Milia made eye contact with Lorely and snorted. "Hmpf! The color scheme was the only change. My new style is way better."

 "Well, we don’t really grow wings on our backs… We don’t have a lot of things that fit Miss Lorely."

 "Ha! Are you salty that nobody praised your new look?"

 "Huh? Why would I seek the approval of gnolls and slime? I’m not a degenerate attention whore like you!"

 "That’s right, you’re just a degenerate whore!"

 "All right, that’s enough! Let’s not delay the journey any longer. Master, weren’t you supposed to test something before escorting Lady Violet?"

 Ah, that’s right. I was supposed to establish a video call with my remote slime unit. Slade shapeshifted into a tablet. It flashed incoherent lights for a minute.

 "Ah! I got the hang of it!" The picture of Griscent and Shaki finally appeared.

 "1, 2, 3… Do you hear us?"

 "We’re hearing perfectly. What about you?"

 "Wonderful, it’s better quality than most communication orb!"

 "A bit slow to get going."

 "Before we go on our way, let’s settle the development plan of Holloweye. I’ll build a clinic with Crown to house the witches. The citizens got wounds from their harsh journey. Curing them might decrease the unrest."

 "Griscent will start building the mage guild to learn the common tongue with beholders."

 "Shaki will organize the market for the pawn renting service."

 "And Metiva will manage the reconstruction of the gnoll camp. Is that fine?"

 "It will take a while if Violet doesn’t summon them with sovereign points."

 "Our goal is to have the facilities working as soon as possible. It’s fine if there’s no bonus yet."

 "Okay, I’m approving all of it. I left the pawn notes to Shaki. Redistribute it among yourselves at your discretion. Let’s go~"

 "Great! Thanks."

 "Understood."

 "Ok, have a safe trip."

 "Take care."

 "I’ll miss you, Sha~♥" The minotaur waved until Slade cut the meeting.

Metiva waved her kerchief until the cortege of soldiers disappeared from the gnoll camp. With alight heart, she worked alongside her clan members to rebuild their tents and huts.

 Still, she was worried about the 6 gnolls temporarily leaving the tribe. Going there sounds so lonely…

 

---

 

Deeper in the forest, the two witches huddled in the cart.

They played with Slade, pinching his fat cheeks and pecking kisses at him.

He retaliated by squirting water at them and nibbling their fur.

Slade tried to call their name, but could not remember any. He sweated nervously, worried that he didn’t bother to learn their name despite making babies with them.

 I’m too scared to ask at this point.

They went along with each other’s games. Sometimes they accidentally squirted on a gnoll warrior, breaking into laughter.

Playing under the sun without a care, they all forgot the despair they endured in the underground maze.

The convoy made one quarter of the trip. It retraced the first path from Krisnan to the ore mine, cleared of bushes by Violet’s golem and Milia’s double bearded axe on their first travel. The trees were sparse enough to allow an easy passage. Thanks to that, the ride couldn’t go smoother.

The escorting warriors spoke with Milia to pass time, relying on the beholders to keep watch.

Violet napped on Lorely’s thighs, unbothered by the noisy girls or the singing birds.

But screaming beholders interrupted their leisure, pointing in a direction.

Slade stuttered, translating their words. "A group of gnolls are running from centaurs…"

Krisnan’s goal was to guard the Dungeon’s tunnel project from uninvited guests and wandering monsters. Each encounter with outside forces could give away the Dungeon’s faction in this area and increase the difficulty of Violet’s mission.

The slime squirmed. Colliding with the outside world became unavoidable after we expanded our territory with Holloweye.

The gnoll warriors gulped. They wanted to run off to rescue the wandering brethren, yet they couldn’t endanger the sovereign.

Violet got up from the cart, standing at the crossroad of destiny. One path was to run away and rot in darkness like she always did. The other one was to listen to her heart. For a long time, she had confined herself underground so she could fade away unseen, unhurt, unspoken. She could just turn a blind eye to the fleeing victims and let Holloweye grow in secrecy to reap its benefits until it was time to cut off her own tail.

 The warlock steeled her resolve while wiping the trickle of drool from her nap. No…

The recent ordeals taught her that the strength to fight for one’s belief dwelled in her heart, too. She wasn’t just Dungeon’s pawn, but a complete human being. Thus, she chose to break free from her fears in order to claim her place under the Sun, even if she had to face Rampart’s wrath.

 She swung her hand forward to command her soldiers for what her heart demanded. "Rescue them and defeat the enemies!"

The gnolls cheered, jumping into position.

Violet grinned. Forget about the Shadow Lord or father. The people who really count are Slade, Lorely, and my precious people.

 We can’t exactly turn a blind eye to our allied gnolls, but we’re jumping in without knowing the enemy’s numbers!

 "Fuck yeaaaaah!" Milia turned into a brawny minotaur, itching to charge into the fray with her borrowed two-handed flail.

 The harpy hag raised the warbanner to direct the pawns. "Prepare for battle!"

The pawns stood behind the gnolls and readied their flint spears.

Lorely handed the witches a tiny paper scroll hidden between breasts. "Here’s my cheat sheet for ‘Haste’."

Without waiting for their reaction, her index finger glowed at the touch of her circlet and danced in the air to draw sigils.

The dumbfounded witches brought out their voodoo bones talisman and sight-read Lorely’s notes.

"Hey! Over there!" A warrior roared, waving his hand at the stray gnolls.

The latter heard the calls and headed straight to the cart. Behind them, the centaurs followed suit, thrusting their spears at their legs.

 "There are 10 Centaurs and 5 elves!"

Slade’s eyes exploded at the sight of a female centaur.

What kind of kinky creature is that?! The female centaurs looked like women with an additional pair of thighs. No matter how he looked at it, it was a buff.

 I must get one! Where’s my pokeball?

 "Beholders, shoot their pursuers! Warriors, cover the fleeing civilians!"

The volley of disintegration rays struck the centaurs.

One pursuer pawn tumbled and crashed down. The painful holes in his muscles threw his body off-balance. He kept flopping on the ground, trying to get back up with his damaged limbs.

An elven archer growled, monitoring the situation from afar. "What the fuck?! There are Dungeon bastards in our forest!"

Her Bladedancer partner drew his swords. "How many are there?"

"There are about 10 pawns, a minotaur and a pair of beholders. Their hero is a harpy hag!" The archer squinted her eyes.

The male bladedancer smirked when he estimated that his forces were stronger. His confidence stemmed from the team of powerful ‘Grand Elves’ archers who covered his back. Their impressive fire rate and accuracy could lay waste on any armies, especially creatures from Dungeon who had inferior eyesight in daylight.

"We could get promoted heroes if we defeat them right now. Focus on their frontline!" The bladedancer ran off to the battle.

"Kill their troglodytes!" The female elf barked at the three elven pawns following her.

They spread through the forest to widen their angle of attack.

The fleeing wanderers ran past Lorely’s forces with an expression of sheer terror. Then, a rain of arrows fell on the unprepared escort.

The gnolls raised their shields. But the pawns behind them were almost entirely wiped out in a single volley.

A male troglodyte wobbled forward, still determined to fight despite the arrows sticking out of his body.

The centaurs wove around the trees to charge at them. "Shit, girls. We’re fucked!" The gnoll warriors stepped back to hide behind trees as their morale hit rock bottom.

Slade’s throat tightened at the loss of troglodytes. He wanted to join the battle and rescue the warriors.

Gusts of wind wrapped Lorely’s units, granting them higher speed.

The battlefield turned into a chaotic mess.

Centaurs crashed into the fearful gnolls hiding behind trees and harpies flew to stop the archers from focusing their fire on the frontline.

The grand elves drew their daggers to fend off the harpies.

But the pair of winged women zipped in the air, dodging the blades by a hairbreadth without retaliating. It became apparent that they only meant to stall the archers from supporting the frontline.

The frustrated elf sheathed her dagger and drew her bow once more. "Ignore the harpies and wipe the-"

A harpy dove and kicked the elf’s bow the moment she released the string.

"Fuck you, bitch!" The elf threw her bow aside and ran after the harpy with her daggers at hand.

The archers outnumbered the harpies. They could still fire at half their normal rate if they spread out.

Their arrows flew straight at Milia, but they didn’t account for her sudden acceleration.

 "For gloryyyy!" she yelled, emboldened by the surge of speed. Her flail struck two centaurs at once. A pulverized pawn flew in a gruesome shower of meat and blood, while the other one cracked its ribs against a tree that stopped its course. An exhilarating feeling of power coursed through Milia’s fingers, back to her pounding heart.

The bladedancer pounced on her, punishing her wide opened flank.

 "Fuck! That hurts!" She flailed in retaliation, but the tail of her two-handed flail struck a gnoll hiding behind her. God darn it, I’ll have to carry this battle on my own!

Further behind, the fleeing refugees reached the safety of the cart. They collapsed on their knees in exhaustion. "Thank god! Thank you so much for saving us!"

 "We’re losing this. I-I need to get on the battlefield!" Her throat tightened, and her eyes wavered. She didn’t want to fight.

 Slade jumped on her head. "You should protect Violet. Throw me on the front line instead!"

 Lorely’s face lit up. "You are right!"

 "Heh? Are you sure about this-"

The harpy hag hurled Slade with all her might.

 "YOLOOOOO!" the slime screamed as he flew through the battlefield.

He crashed on the foliage and bounced across the battlefield until he rolled to a stop in front of the befuddled gnolls.

They had retreated behind a tree, too scared to be caught up in the duel between Milia and the Bladedancer. "What are you doing here?! This place is dangerous!" They were worried that they couldn’t protect their boss.

The 7 remaining centaurs circled the battlefield and approached with a new angle for their shock cavalry tactic. They would gore the remaining gnolls if nothing was done.

Slade focused on the spirit sleeping within. Tannhauser! I need your help! A large chunk of his mana was torn away from his core, and a swirling mist coalesced over his body.

A budget knight in a cheap tracksuit erupted from the mist in the cavalry’s path. Vines and flower petals sprung up to welcome his arrival.

The seven spears rammed into his upper body and sent him flying. The centaurs scattered to evade the incoming disintegration rays and prepare their next charge.

Tannhauser tumbled helplessly like a ragdoll until he face-planted.

The gnoll warriors formed a defensive circle around the fallen Tannhauser and blocked the arrows flying at him. "Are you okay, master?!" After witnessing his bravery, they couldn’t go hide behind a tree anymore.

 Slade internally screamed at his unresponsive alter ego. Get up! Get up and fight!

Tannhauser shook his helmet and gave a thumbs up. Though his armor got dented, the magic vines had dampened the incoming strikes during his transformation.

 "Don’t scare me like that!"

The blade dancer broke free from the exchange of blows with Milia. "Another enemy?"

"Focus on your date, honey!" The bloodied minotaur roared while swinging her weapon. Even if she missed, the flail kept its momentum for the next strike and spared her stamina.

The elf groaned. He preferred quick clashes over prolonged battles. He thought he could quickly beat his opponent because she was inexperienced, but she could keep up thanks to Lorely’s Haste. Should I retreat? But he wasn’t confident about showing his back to a hasted charging minotaur. No, we still outnumber them! We got this.

Slade watched his body moving on its own, hoping to learn a thing even if it was a borrowed power.

He felt his mana dwindle again as it focused at Tannhauser’s fingertip. What the heck!? Using spells already? It better be super strong!

Luxuriant Spring

A field of wooden weapons bloomed from the ground.

Slade internally screamed. What the fuck!? Wooden sticks?

Tannhauser picked up a two-handed sword and passed by two centaurs. In that brief instant, the wooden blade sliced through the pawns like butter, leaving a trail of purifying light.

The dead centaurs tumbled on the ground, carried by the momentum of their charge.

Tannhauser tossed the crumbling wooden sword and picked up two scimitars.

 Ok. I take back what I’ve said.

 "No way! Did you know he could do that?"

 "No, I didn’t… Was it a Castle technique?" Her hands trembled in excitement. She knew Slade had an ace up his sleeve, but it exceeded her expectations. His performance was stellar, despite not knowing how skills worked. Just how strong would he grow?

The gnolls had weathered the rest of the centaur’s assault by focusing on defense, but they wouldn’t endure another charge.

They froze behind Tannhauser like deers caught in the headlights in front of the wall of centaur muscles speeding towards them.

The centaurs approached from various angles to avoid Tannhauser’s deadly attacks.

As a result, he couldn’t protect all the gnolls from this charge. Sacrifices were necessary.

Tannhauser lunged onward with unfazed determination, leaving the gnolls on their own. His dancing blades drew intertwined ribbons trailing after him. The winds of Lorely’s Haste carried his feet, propelling him through a pair of galloping centaurs.

The scimitars deflected the incoming spears in a shower of sparks.

The two dumbfounded centaurs kept charging at the gnolls. But they collapsed after a few steps when the damages from the beholders and Tannhauser’s slashes took their toll. Meanwhile, the remaining pawns trampled on the gnolls’ defense.

"Gyaah!" a female gnoll shrieked behind Tannhauser, but he pressed on.

His dash reached the surprised blade dancer to deliver his two final slashes. The first wooden scimitar drew a shallow cut on the elf’s chest, protected by an invisible force. But the second blade sank deeper into the target.

Violet, Lorely and the witches cheered, blown out of their mind by his prowess.

Tannhauser sluggishly recovered his stance after exhausting all his stamina. The wooden weapons crumbled to dust in his hands.

Rivalry and rage swept through the elven blade dancer. A single moment of weakness was all it took to mess with his decisions.

Oh? You dare using elven swordsmanship against me?! He couldn’t resist paying back Tannhauser with his strongest attack. The strike cut through the knight’s chestplate, sending him away.

But the bladedancer’s triumph was cut short by Milia.

She tackled him and pummeled his head while stradling his chest. "Where’s your smug smile now? Huh?!"

The elf’s handsome face was beaten to a pulp. He begged for his life and dropped his weapons. "Kuh! Fiara, Help! No- please stop! Spare me!"

His elven companions were already on the run while dodging the beholder’s rays. "Retreat! Retreat!"

 ELF BOOTY!! GET UP, TAN’! CATCH’EM!

Tannhauser was battered. His armor crumbled, and his torn clothes seeped out with mist. He wouldn’t withstand another two attacks from the centaurs and had no weapon to block or parry their charge.

He got up. His limp walk sped up to a jog and soon turned into a sprint.

It had been nearly 30 seconds since his transformation, and spent a single spell point to sustain it. With only 2 spell points remaining, he couldn’t call upon Luxuriant Spring to bring out a weapon and clash against the enemy. So he ran like an angry bull, bluffing enemies that they couldn’t possibly turn the tables against him.

As per the archer’s order, the centaurs ditched the bladedancer to retreat while ignoring all enemies.

 We can’t allow them to flee. No effort should be spared to stop her faction from learning about Violet’s activity.

Tannhauser jumped on the chance to ride on a passing centaur. The pawn ignored him and kept retreating. A verdant spear materialized in his hand. According to his status, he had only one spell point remaining.

[Critical level of mana storage reached! Entering power saving mode in 15… 14…]

 You’ve got only one shot! He had to protect his peaceful days with Violet.

Tannhauser lifted the spear high as he focused on the centaur’s unstable vertical motion.

[10… 9…]

 Tan’! You can do it!

By random chance, the pawns cleared the line of sight between Tannhauser and the female elf running at the head of the army. He launched the wooden spear into that opening.

The spear passed by the surprised pawns. Even if they called their mistress, it was too late to stop it.

Verdant Mercy landed on the elf’s back, binding her. It tripped her as she rolled face down on the ground.

"Fuck! What is that?! Pawns, help me!" she yelled and panicked when Tannhauser quickly closed the distance. "No! The centaur with the knight, go away! Go back!"

Tannhauser knocked down the centaur as it turned and leapt on the archer.

[3… 2… ]

 But we don’t have weapons!

The elf threw the severed vines away and lifted her dagger to guard her chin, but it was too late.

The knight struck in quick succession her wrist, her carotid, and her chest.

"W-what?" Her legs buckled, her eyes rolled up, and her limp body collapsed. The plummeting blood pressure took away all her strength.

Poof! Tannhauser disappeared in a cloud of smoke and left Slade on the collapsed elf.

A grand elf pawn punted the slime with a precise kick.

But Lorely threw the harpies on their way, sacrificing them so that no one would escape.

Milia and the gnolls caught up with them and brawled with the remaining centaurs and grand elves to put them into submission.

After a dirty melee, the exhausted gnolls relaxed. "D-did we win?"

"Yup, we beat all the pawns, and we got their leaders." Milia flipped over the fainted archer that led the pawns.

"Ugh…" The light-headed elf groaned, blinded by the skylight.

Lorely raised the warbanner. "Victory is ours!"

The rescued wanderers cried in joy as they ran past the knocked archer elf.

 "Huh? Where are they going?"

Violet jumped off the cart and ran towards Slade. "Good job! You were so strong!"

 "Yaaaay! I need mana~" He jumped into her arms.

Violet smooched his cheek. "Yes. Let’s provide first aid to the casualties while I’m with you!"

Lorely hugged their backs. "Good call, Violet! That was a great battle!"

The rescued gnolls ran off to release the captured gnolls, who were tied to a tree guarded by a centaur.

The centaur who stayed out of the battle wasn’t a pawn. He held his hands up, begging for mercy. "I’m just a civilian. Please, don’t hurt me!"

The gnolls freed the captured victims and comforted them. "Everything will be fine now!"

The victory system message popped up for Lorely, but not for Slade, who had forfeited all his experience points to synchronize with Tannhauser.

After cleaning up the battlefield, Violet lost 2 troglodytes and 1 harpy. She got 2 pawn-handler prisoners, 1 centaur civilian, and 10 gnoll civilians. The surviving enemy pawns were 1 elven archer and 4 centaurs.

The wounded made a full recovery thanks to Slade’s care. A gnoll warrior had an entire spear stuck inside her, but it was more impressive than lethal because it missed the vitals.

[The Elf form has been unlocked for the skill: Shapeshift.] [The Centaur form has been unlocked for the skill: Shapeshift.]

Slade finished treating the wandering gnolls. "So, those two elves aren’t rooks nor heroes, and yet they risk their lives on the battlefield?"

 "Yes, it’s hard to micromanage thousands of pawns and use them well. That’s why heroes delegate them to civilians. Armies recruit officers to manage teams of pawns on the battlefield. Unlike heroes and rooks who are treated with utmost care, pawn handlers are unable to surrender, so they learn to fight on par with pawns and do everything they can to tip the balance in their favor."

 "Really? The blade dancer fought better than a mere pawn. He was almost beating Milia’s ass."

 "She’s low level right now. She’s slightly stronger than a regular minotaur, but she can still grow stronger."

 Milia deflected the topic. "Will the Rampart faction declare war on us after finding out?"

 "It will be alright… We will prepare for that."

They looked at the tied and gagged elves. The enemy pawns were blindfolded and gagged as they refused any order from Violet’s side.

 "What about this dude?" Slade pointed at the centaur pulling the cart. "He’s not gagged. Are we releasing him?"

The centaur was covered in rags and mud. He glared at the world with a constant frown. His scruffy beard wasn’t grown enough to hide his displeased grimace. His poor appearance contrasted with the centaur pawns, who wore clean armors.

 "He’s a civilian, so we take him along. Rempart must not hear of this incident." She held a rope wrapped around the centaur’s neck, stopping him from escaping.

The centaur glanced back. "The name’s Cadhan the carrier."

He gestured his chin at the two captive elves with disdain. "This duo hired me to pick up the gnoll slaves. I don’t care who my employer is. As long as you feed me and pay, I will break my back for you."

Captive or free didn’t matter for him, but profits did. Moreover, he eyed the female centaur pawns following them.

The mommy witch spoke with dissatisfaction. "Even if you didn’t fight, you supported the enslavement of my fellow gnolls. It’s only natural that we enslave you back."

 Lorely leaned towards Slade. "If enslaving these people satisfies the gnoll refugee, it will decrease the overall unrest of Krisnan."

Cadhan clicked his tongue. "Get off your high horse, witch. If you gnolls had properly paid the toll, you wouldn’t be taken as slave."

His answer angered the witch’s daughter. "You expect us to pay these unreasonable fees? Cut out your bullshit! There’s no justification for forcing someone to work for a lifetime just to walk by your property."

Cadhan roared back. "You could have just stolen stuff from the Dungeon before you left, you dumbass! Do you think you’re the only one who has it hard? I don’t work for these pieces of shit because I want to!"

The mother witch calmed down her daughter. "Now that this forest is under our control, we’ll ask you for a passage fee. Do you pay us with a lifetime of work or do we enslave you? Your choice."

The centaur let out a dry laugh. "Sure, I’ll become your slave. Let me watch from the front seat how Rempart crushes you."

 "What’s going on, Violet? I thought towns prospered with happy citizens, but this guy looks like he was exploited all his life."

 "There are first-rate towns that produce a lot of resources with happy citizens, and third-rate towns that take on debt to buy pawns from the first-rate towns to conquer surrounding territories. This man must be from a third-rate town, which makes sense since we’re in a buffer zone between Fortress, Rempart, Tower, and Castle."

 "Wait, for real?" Slade groaned. "Why can’t he go to a first-rate town?"

 Violet sighed at the sky. She gave Slade a faint smile of sorrow. "First-rate towns are extremely picky with its citizens. If they choose the wrong ones, they’ll increase the unrest or lower the productivity. Only the cream of the crop can join first-rate towns."

They looked at the centaur in rags to assess his assets.

 "This carrier has probably nothing going for him except his physical strength. He probably can’t afford an education either. He wouldn’t quite make it."

Milia smacked the centaur’s back with a devilish grin. "Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of you."

"I see…" Slade pondered.

The first-rate towns grew wealthier on the back of the third-rate towns. The latter had no choice but to wage war to protect and sustain themselves. When the loot wasn’t enough, it was the population that suffered.

Pitted against each other, the citizens were chained to an eternal cycle of hatred.

It sounded incredibly stupid to exploit citizens while pawns could do the job. But pawns were fearless tools of war, and this world valued them more.

 Violet poked Slade’s cheek. "Don’t worry! We’ll create the greatest first-rate town that will accept almost everyone!"

 Slade’s face darkened further. This is crushingly hopeless. There’s no way our little group could solve this systemic moral bankruptcy if that’s what the world rewards.

 "What do you mean ‘almost everyone’? You’re supposed to say ‘everyone’!" Lorely laughed.

 "Nope, elves are a social threat and bump unrest levels into the sky. Men get too scared to walk out at night." Violet chuckled.

 "Right, I feel sorry for those unpopular women."

"Hmmm! Hmm!!" The gagged elves trashed about as veins popped on her skin.

Slade watched the carefree women’s racist banter. His worries dispelled as if he was overthinking in vain. The world can go in a shitty direction, it won’t stop us from making Holloweye a great town. I refuse to be crushed by this crappy system!

 "Okay, I need a toilet break from all this stress. Slaaaade~"

Slade jumped out from the cart before she could catch him. "Look… Can’t you just do it behind a bush?"

 "Stop the cart! What are you making a pregnant lady do?!"

Slade slowly backed away. "What do you mean ‘pregnant’? You’re not carrying a baby, but slime eggs…"

 "Come back! It’s an order!"

The slime froze. He couldn’t go against her orders… Or could he?

He scampered behind a tree. Wait, I can?

 "Come on, just poop on the ground! It cannot be that bad."

 "You don’t understand Lorely…" Violet looked at her friend with pity and shook her head condescendingly.

 "I want to share everything with Slade. I’ll accept all of him as much as he’ll accept all of me. The flesh I wear, the air I breathe, and even the food I eat! We complete each other, me as a human, and him as a slime! That is the meaning of ULTIMATE LOOOOOVE!" Violet’s eyes gleamed.

The mood shifted from victory to uncomfortable anxiety. Everyone sweated, afraid of her madness.

 "Are you okay in the head, darling?" He crawled to a further tree.

 "Listen to me, darn earth spirit!" The teary warlock took out her spellbook, but Lorely caught her hand before she could use magic.

 "Don’t be unreasonable! You can't risk your life for this!"

 "I don’t give a shit! Let me go! REEEEEE!" Slade always felt that something was strange. He recalled his first day in Hekalys when he couldn’t disobey Violet. Yet, after fighting the beholders, she never exercised that mysterious influence on him again.

Nobody else had this problem. Lorely, Shaki and Milia had great freedom as rooks.

No, wait… There is someone in the same situation as me. It’s Crown! The earth elemental spirit could be puppeted by its summoners, but it also moved on its own if it had enough personal resources.

That’s it! I’m a summoned earth spirit! My summoner can control me through magic, but Violet is no longer allowed to use mana, so that means…

 "I AM FREEEEEE!" Slade ran away, bouncing in joy.

 Violet reluctantly got off the cart to relieve her needs. "How could you do that to me?"

Slade went a long way ever since a drifting truck smashed him. He gained freedom, power, and lovers. The world opened its arms wide, offering him infinite possibilities. Joining any first-rate town wasn’t unreasonable considering his abilities.

 But l wanna stick around Violet…

He sneaked closer to the bush where Violet and Lorely hid.

 

---

---

 

Long after the skirmish between Violet and the elves, a young girl ran through the forest, lured by a strange feeling.

She was followed by her floating caretaker.

"Where are you going? Slow down!" The caretaker’s words fell on deaf ears.

The young girl stopped at a bush. "There’s something great hiding here."

She crouched down to show it to her guardian with immense pride. "Look, it’s dazzling!"

"It! is! not!" The woman retorted, growing frustrated with each passing second.

The girl grabbed the adult’s hand and put the treasure in it. "This thing packs up so much mana!"

The woman threw it away and yelled in disgust. "I’m a dryad, not a fucking dung beetle!"

The young girl noticed wheel tracks on the ground and immediately darted off to follow its path.

The older woman finished cleaning her hand with leaves, but the small girl had already vanished.

"Where did-" She sweated bullets.

She spun around finding no trace of the little girl. She floated up in the air to widen her searching range.

But past a certain height, the canopy prevented her from seeing anything.

The color drained from her face when she realized she had lost the girl. She returned to the ground. "Oh no… No, no, no…" she whined as she wandered through the forest.

 

 

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