Chapter 31: Dwarf 2 (Change of Clothes)

There were a certain number of people who were looking down on the country surrounded by deep forests as an "uncivilized land".

Grabalt, the forest kingdom.

It was a land of demi-humans who could communicate with animals and spirits who were blessed with physical abilities and were growing ears and tails and used their strengths and their skills.

More than 70% of the land in the country was surrounded by forest, and the land was always dimly lit.

The ground, hidden by the forest trees, was muddy, insects spring up, and the soil was rotting and emitting a strange smell.

The water in the lakes where the sun did not reach was rotten, and the beasts were much tougher here than those around Fonteau, where the systems introduced by the hero flourished.

Even beastmen and demi-humans, who have physical abilities far superior to elves, rarely set foot in such land, and only warriors recognized by the tribe were allowed to enter the forest.

Therefore, the map of the forest was not accurate, and anyone outside of the country who knew about the situation would criticize it as "uncivilized land".

The fact was. In the land of Grabalt, no one knew its full size. Many places were inaccessible even to the king of the country, long-lived fairies, and adventurers who mainly explore.

Some places were forbidden in their belief, while others were complete ravines that pose a mortal danger if entered by humans.

Even though the forest was connected to the land, once a person stepped into it, those who did not know the land could lose track of where they were going and from which direction they entered the forest in just less than half a day.

Those who get lost were unable to get out of the forest and either starve to death, become food for beasts, drink poisonous water, or take their own lives.

People who set out to improve the accuracy of the map. Some were from Fonteau that committed a crime and tried to escape to Grabalt. Some go into the forest for curiosity's sake.

There was no end to the number of people who entered it, but their fate was almost always predetermined.

Grabalt was undeveloped land.

There were not many places where people could live, and the only way to reach the kingdom was to follow a fixed path.

It was a vast land, but there were only few paths one could enter.

It was inconvenient, but the only way to reach the kingdom was through those paths. It was also the same even for the elves, who excelled in using magic and could feel the will of the spirits.

However, it was also the same for the beastmen, demi-humans, and humans who live in this world.

It had nothing to do with the beasts, insects, and monsters that were accustomed to Grabalt's climate.

In the dimly lit forest. A tropical land that was damp and uncomfortable for those who go there.

The ground was not soil but muddy, and if anyone walked on it, it would drain their strength faster.

Moss clinging to the branches of the trees where the sun didn't reach, and the horrible insects that feed on the moss swarmed around.

These bugs were buzzing, rattling, and swishing.

From every corner of the forest.

On the tree trunks, on the leaves, on the ground.

The insect's noises echoed from all directions.

They have no natural predators, and they were creatures that could multiply fast and decrease in number only due to reaching their lifespan or being narrowed down by a natural calamity.

Winged insects overflowed from the muddy water on the ground, maggots swarmed on a human body that have lost its life after wandering in, and countless eggs were planted on the broken and rotting wood.

The clothes worn by some human skeletons lying on the ground have already lost their original shape, and it was impossible to tell whether they were male or female. The few remaining pieces of cloth were damaged by wind, rain, and mud, but one could tell that they were Grabalt's military flags.

Perhaps they had entered the forest in pursuit of bandits, or perhaps they had wandered in drunk.

People who live in Grabalt never go off the road into the forest.

Because they would not be able to come back.

Some of the beastmen in Grabalt were so afraid of the forest that they even sing a song about it. The darkness of the forest took away their sense of direction, even from the light of the sun.

It was as though monsters were lurking from the darkness and luring those who were tempted by the unknown to their death.

Even though it was daytime, it reminded them of nighttime without moonlight, and the insect's noises and the rustling of the trees were like an invitation from the devil echoing in the darkness.

The wind blew and the leaves from the forest swayed noisily.

Only a little - just a little - from the swaying of the leaves caused the sun's light to shine through the ground.

In the dim darkness. The forest could corrode one's mind and take away one's sense of normalcy but there was a single thing moving through such place. There it was, reflecting the light from the sun.

The bugs were rattling.

The trees were rustling.

The sounds were slightly noisier. As though alerted to its presence.

As though the forest was afraid as it was interfering with the silence that had been stable for decades.

However, It didn't care about those things.

In the first place, it did not have the "consciousness" to address such things.

It was just moving forward.

Following its purpose―― or rather, its instincts.

Just following it.

Just following its instincts.

It didn't have a formal name.

People just call it slime. And among the slimes, there was a species called Black Ooze.

It had only a small awareness and purpose. Even though it had taken in thousands, maybe tens of thousands of lives and had acquired knowledge and consciousness, it did not have many purposes.

Eliminate threats.

Absorb all life.

And increase its kind.

That was it.

In the process, it stole mana, absorbed life, gained knowledge, and little by little, it grew in power.

The weakest "monster" was a mutation.

That was the Black Ooze.

The Black Ooze had violated and impregnated hundreds and thousands of Elven women, and its numbers were now as large as the army of the Demon King who was defeated more than ten years ago.

Although they were inferior in strength, their numbers were literally growing by the day.

Naturally.

The slime that literally "swallowed" the royal capital of Fonteau had captured most of the women living there, kept them, violated them, impregnated them, and made them give birth to children.

Normally, slimes could not reproduce, and their lifespan was limited to one generation.

Although it lived much longer than humans, it had no special abilities, and its translucent body revealed its weakness, its core.

It was somewhat resistant to physical impact, but even so, a well-trained person could smash the core with a weapon. If one could use magic, or if one had a torch, they should be able to easily vaporize the mucus

However, the mutant Black Ooze had the ability to absorb the abilities, mass, and knowledge of the beings or creatures it took in.

The Black Ooze, born in the abandoned mine, was first born next to bugs. From there, it absorbed a very weak paralyzing poison.

It was so weak that it could only be used on small bugs, and would normally be ineffective even on humans who were vulnerable to poison.

However, after absorbing the bugs, bats, and rats that live in the abandoned mithril mine, the Black Ooze's paralyzing poison gained mass and became more effective, and now it was powerful enough to easily kill humans.

The Black Ooze hunted by using its poison to weaken its prey and absorb or capture them.

The worst thing for mankind was that the Black Ooze, which had no gender, grew up and took in a "male".

He was an old man who had already lost his ability to reproduce, but the Black Ooze knew that its awareness turned male and that it could impregnate a female to increase its own kind.

It knew.

And so, as the creature's instinct was to increase the number of its own kind, the Black Ooze began to seek out more and more women.

Black Ooze, who gained knowledge and the existence of the Magic Kingdom by taking in male adventurers and knights who came to subdue the monster, attacked the country in search of more women, and the land of the elves, which had underestimated it as a mere slime, collapsed within a few months of the Black Ooze's birth.

The country, improved from the knowledge of the hero, discarded countless wastes. Things that people had discarded as unnecessary. Then it was invaded by the Black Ooze and its children, who had absorbed those wastes and increased their power and mass.

Elves were also a good source of food for the Black Ooze.

Their powerful mana. Knowledge of magic. A body that generated mana.

All of these things became the power and mass of the Black Ooze and evolved it to be able to handle mana that a slime could not normally have.

And now―― the Black Ooze was moving through the forest, chasing after the slightest trace of mana.

It wriggled its way through the ground, taking in bugs and rotting branches and leaves in the process.

Its progress was slow. It was much slower than a person who was wary in its surroundings in the forest, but it moved at a steady pace through the dark forest without getting tired.

The bugs were rattling.

The trees were rustling.

However, the sounds gradually became louder and louder, as though in alarm, and then some of the sounds disappeared.

For the Black Ooze, all creatures other than themselves and women were nothing but good food.

When bugs attracted by the strange odor of the Black Ooze, which had taken in everything, touch the surface of its body, they were absorbed and digested.

In the same way, the branches and leaves that swayed and moved forward and touched the surface of its body were also taken into its body and absorbed. After the Black Ooze had passed, there was nothing but muddy, bare ground.

It was like a path.

The black ooze moved forward as though its progress was creating a path.

It was moving on a path that was not created by the beastmen, but by humans that entered the deep forest and died from which there was no return.

It could be said that it was a secret path.

There were paths built to deepen the relationship with Fonteau. It was moving in another path because it knew from its knowledge that the beastmen and demi-humans living in Grabalt knew that one couldn't reach the villages and between countries unless one pass through those paths.

Even if that thing was a slime, it would always approach on those paths.

It would take a long time to invade from the forest with bad and uneven ground, and even a child could understand that it was much faster to reach the kingdom of Grabalt by following the roads.

In fact, when the demon king attacked Grabalt more than ten years ago, this deep forest was of great significance in terms of defense.

Even monsters controlled by the Demon King had lost their lives to the rotten muddy water, poisonous flowers, and poisonous insects once they set foot in the forest.

Because of the darkness, even the lake was a death trap, and those who fall into it could not crawl back out.

But to the Black Ooze, all of these things were "just food".

Rotten muddy water, poisonous flowers, poisonous insects.

If it touched them, it would absorb it.

Its poison that had already killed humans and elves became even more powerful, and its mass, which had already taken in thousands of men and wooden buildings in Fonteau, increased even more.

It looked like an ordinary slime, about as big as a human could hold in both hands.

However, within the writhing mucus was a compressed core from which it could release an infinite amount of mass.

It was also one of the weapons the Black Ooze could utilize.

It was hard to imagine from its appearance that it could create an infinite number of tentacles and mucus. If its mana and poisons were also inexhaustible, no one could withstand its existence.

――However, even so, the Black Ooze was moving forward to the land of the beastmen.

In search of a woman.

And at the same time, to act in accordance to the countless wills that existed inside it, and the weapon that could defeat the Black Ooze, which was in the knowledge that existed inside it.

More than ten years ago.

The weapon of the hero who defeated the Demon King.

The shield had been stored in Fonteau.

The armor was worshiped by humans in the holy Kingdom.

And the weapon was stored in the country surrounded by the forests governed by the beastmen.

That was the reason why Meltia and Mariabelle, daughters of Leticia, Queen of Fonteau, set out for Grabalt with the refugees.

To obtain a weapon to defeat the Black Ooze.

And the Black Ooze, which had taken in the knights of Fonteau, also knew about the existence of the weapon and was aiming for it.

To the place where the hero's equipment was stored.

The sacred ruins where the goddess of the world first descended to the earth.

Slowly. But straight ahead.

Leaving everything else to its children.

"Are you okay, Mariabelle? Does it hurt?"

The silver-haired woman, unaware that such a threat was close at hand, asked the black-haired girl sitting beside her in a slightly fatigued voice.

The location was on the border of Grabalt, the closest location from the Fonteau's side, which was also the entrance to the forest.

The air in the place, surrounded by forests, was fresh and clean, and it was a place where the sisters, who were half-elves, felt very at ease.

The sisters were born between the hero who was summoned from another world and a half-elf.

In particular, the sister who had inherited the blood of the hero strongly was the younger sister. The princess, who was the only one in this world with black hair, was cleaning herself in the river near the border.

They didn't have time to be staying in this place. Even though they knew that, they were not familiar with the area and would not be able to proceed through the forest without the beastmen's guidance.

Above all, there were refugees who had also fled from Fonteau. It was unthinkable for the two of them to go on without them.

Therefore, Shamia, the captain of the border, waited for a reply from her subordinate that was dispatched to the kingdom of Grabalt, and the refugees were left in the open space on the outskirts of the border.

However, as ten days passed since then, the sisters felt a sense of impatience.

The supremacy of the slime that destroyed their country.

They couldn't forget it, and they could still dream about it.

Not knowing when the slime would invade the Grabalt, they felt fear, which further rouse their impatient feelings.

As though to calm these feelings, the two of them were now at the river near the border.

The blue sky shone beautifully in the scenery, and looking down, they could see the entrance to a forest decorated with lush green leaves. Not even the sun's rays could penetrate the depths of the forest, but with the eyes of an elf, they could see through to a certain extent.

The forest was alive and different from Fonteau.

Animals walking, flowers blooming, and the wind flowing.

The knowledge of the hero certainly enriched the lives of the elves living in Fonteau, but at the same time, Meltia believed that they sacrificed a lot of nature in the process.

They cleared the forest, used the trees as fuel to make iron, and created various civilized products.

It was only a small part of the growth compared to the "civilization" of the world where the hero lived, but even so, life in the other world changed dramatically.

In a world where the threat of monsters was diminishing, iron was used for daily life instead of weapons, sewers were dug up, water systems were built, and magical lights illuminated the darkness of the night.

Literature and music enrich the hearts and minds of the people living in Fonteau, and the richness of life gave comfort to the people.

However.

Meltia and Mariabelle, who inherited the blood of the elves―― a species that called itself the guardians of the forest in the past, felt the splendor of such a rich life and at the same time the preciousness of nature they were seeing in the border.

The same was true for the river where they were about to take a bath.

Since the water system was installed, the people of Fonteau no longer go to the river to fetch water.

When they bathed in the river for the first time, they wondered how long it had been since they had seen such beautiful and crystal clear water.

The richness of nature.

The preciousness of it soothed their depressed feelings after the destruction of their country.

Perhaps because she had escaped with only her clothes on, Mariabelle took off her high-heeled shoes, which were unsuitable for traveling, and dipped both feet in the river.

The coldness of the water permeated in her scuffed heels, which were unused to traveling.

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Her dress, as black as her hair, emphasized the whiteness of her skin, and the hem of her skirt, which she had rolled up to immerse herself in the river water, revealed thin, white legs that any man would be fascinated by.

Her legs were supple and free of unnecessary flab, and the thighs that were slightly peeking out have feminine plumpness to them.

With both feet in the water, Mariabelle sat down on a rock nearby and boldly exposed her thighs.

Since no men were around them.

When she sat down on the rock, her skirt rose due to the water, and her underwear, which was even whiter than her white skin, peeked out for a moment, but she was unaware of it.

Her waist was surprisingly thin, even though she wasn't using a corset, and her chest had a slight sway as the water rose. The bosom of the black dress was well hidden by the fabric, and the only skin that was peeping out was the bottom of her skirt, her neck, and her hands.

The black hair and the black robe make the white skin that was peeping out slightly stand out.

Her breasts had a slight bulge, but she was at least a head taller than most girls her age.

Unable to express her opinions much, and depressed by the fact that she was forced to leave her country, the girl's face was gloomy and oozing a shadowy feeling of sorrow.

It made the girl's expression look like an adult, which made the dark-haired girl look even more beautiful.

Her sister, on the other hand, was dressed in a bright and pretty blue dress.

The long journey had left her dress dirty, but perhaps it was because the dress was well-tailored that the stains were emphasizing her beauty.

She had beautiful silver hair and ample breasts, which was the complete opposite of Mariabelle's. Her bosom was boldly exposed, with a deep cleavage carved into it.

Her breasts were surprisingly rich despite her slender frame, and there was not a trace of excess flesh on her arms and neck that were exposed through her dress.

She seemed to have a well-developed body compared to other women her age, but she was not much taller than her sister, Mariabelle. She was just a little bit, just a little bit taller.

A little shorter than her sister, the earrings in her ears with purple gems have a magic-enhancing effect. On her fingers were two rings, also with purple gems.

She found these items when she was sorting through the luggage of the carriage they had been using since they arrived at the checkpoint.

She didn't know who the owner was.

She didn't know all the people who had escaped with them, and some of them had been attacked by the slime several times during their escape.

Some people ran off from the group under the cover of the night.

Mariabelle and Meltia knew that the more people, the greater the chance of them being found.

She was reminded that there were people who would use their group as bait to escape before reaching the checkpoint.

The refugees thought that it was probably one of the items left behind by these people, and the ornaments were given to Meltia, who had the most mana among them.

Partly because she was the princess of Fonteau, but also because they wanted her to be protected by the ornaments.

Meltia, whose ring and earrings were unfamiliar to her, checked the wound with her slender fingers as she tended to Mariabelle.

"――――"

"Oh, come on. Don't be angry with me and put up with it."

Meltia sat down beside her, smiling at the sight of Mariabelle biting her lip in pain in silence.

In her hand was a single leather bag filled with medicinal herbs given to her by Shamia at the checkpoint.

She was impressed to learn that Meltia and Mariabelle were the descendants of the hero, and she offered them as much food, medicine, and clothing as much as she could.

She was told that a long time ago - the hero and Leticia - Meltia and Mariabelle's parents saved their lives. In return, they were giving their daughters and the refugees of Fonteau some amends.

"Onee-sama"

"Yeah?"

When Meltia lifted Maribelle's right foot, which was soaked in water, to check the wound on her heel, Maribelle called out to Meltia.

Meltia responded to her voice with a slow and gentle voice.

It was the same for Meltia, who was anxious. However, she couldn't let her feelings show.

She was the older sister, and if her mother died, she would be the one who would have to take over the country.

Even though she was anxious, she was trained not to show it.... Above all, as an older sister, she didn't want to show her sister a shameful face.

"Will I be able to take our father's place?"

"Yes. You will be fine."

That was because these sisters―― No. It was the one thing that Mariabelle, who inherited the blood of the hero, needed the most.

That was what the refugees of Fonteau expected from her.

As the daughter of the hero, recapture Fonteau.

At the same time, as a daughter...... She wanted to get her mother Leticia back, who was still being held captive at Fonteau.

It was a hope.

There was no way to be sure if she was still alive or dead, just the information that men were absorbed and killed and women were raped.

That was the hope of the sisters who heard the information.

The sisters hoped that their mother was also trapped by the slime, just like the other women.

It might be a crueler reality than dying, but still, they couldn't believe that their beautiful, intelligent, and powerful mother would choose to die.

So the sisters decided.

They decided to save the country at any cost.

Ever since they escaped from Fonteau that day, swallowed by the Black Ooze and countless giant slimes, the sisters had been thinking about how they could do it.

Even Leticia, the best mage in Fonteau, had been defeated by these slimes.

There was no way that they could compete with such a thing, but there was one thing that the sisters have that was better than their mother.

That was the "blood of a hero".

It was the ability to use the shield, armor, and sword that the hero's wife, Leticia, couldn't even use...... The goddess gave the shield, armor, and sword to the heroes from the other worlds.

In particular, the dark-haired Mariabelle, who inherited the blood of the hero strongly, was superior to her in abilities, and her sister Meltia knew that better than anyone else.

It was when she was still very young.

When the hero's shield was kept in the castle.

For Mariabelle, who had no memory of her father, the shield was the only thing that allowed her to feel a connection with him.

It was not something she was taught by anyone.

It was just an instinct that made her feel the presence of the shield stored in the basement of the castle, and she would sneak into the treasury and touch the shield without telling her mother.

Ordinary people couldn't even touch it, and even those with strong magical powers couldn't even lift the shield of the hero.

But not once or twice did Mariabelle touch the shield, take it down from its pedestal, and lean against it as though hugging it.

Leticia got very angry with her, but that was the beginning of the realization that Meltia knew that Mariabelle had the aptitude to be a hero.

However, the armor was designed to fight the Demon King.

In a world without a demon king, it would not be used and would be kept in a safe place in the treasury.

"You and I are going to save Fonteau and our mother. The first thing we need to do is to ask King Grabalt if he will give us father's sword."

"That's right. In order to save our mother, we have to go to the kingdom of Grabalt as soon as possible."

But they were still stuck in this place.

The reason was that the messenger who left for the kingdom had not returned yet. Both of them understood that if they forced themselves to go to Grabalt now, they would end up getting lost, and they would end up causing trouble for Shamia, who was helping them at the border.

Was it a strength or a weakness that they wouldn't cause any problems to others, even for the sake of their country and their mother?

So the two of them spent their days with various conflicts in their hearts.

Meltia checked the wound on Mariabelle's leg and washed it with river water and applied herbs that were effective for abrasions.

She could see Mariabelle's thin, white legs were tense and her hands were gripping hard as she held the hem of her skirt.

"..."

"I'm sorry, did it hurt?"

"No, no. It's okay... I have to endure this much."

She smiled at her strength as she finished applying the herbs, and then wrapped a thin layer of cloth around the herbs to prevent them from peeling off.

"Mariabelle, anything else hurts?"

"I'm fine, onee-sama"

"Alright. Well then, let's cleanse ourselves a bit."

"Yes"

As members of the royal family, they always had a maid by their side to take care of them when they took a bath.

They washed them, wiped the water off their bodies with a cloth, fitted them with underwear, and dressed them.

They left all of that to the maids, but Meltia knew that it was insane to entrust someone with their personal care at a time like this.

So, at least during the bathing time, the two sisters were allowed to use the time alone, while Meltia took care of Mariabelle.

That was not because she was the younger sister, although Meltia was aware that it was not the right word, but because she wanted people around her to think of Mariabelle as a special daughter of the hero.

Princess of Fonteau, not as a sister.

"Daughter of the Hero". In particular, Mariabelle, a black-haired princess like the hero, must stand at the vanguard to inspire the soldiers who would be fighting with her to recapture Fonteau.

She had no experience in actual battle, but she had learned what it was like.

The things she needed to prepare to fight. Troops, food, equipment, and strategy.

She was aware that this may not be everything, and that there were things she have yet to learn, but the most important thing was the flag.

It was not a military flag, but a flag as a hero, as a hope, as a leader.

More than a decade ago, when fighting against the Demon King, her father, the hero from the other world, her mother, the great mage Leticia, the beastmen swordswoman Fornelis, and the human priestess stood at the head of the army, always fighting at the front lines of the battlefield to give morale to the troops.

The feeling of knowing that they were not being used as pawns, but that they were protecting the backs of heroes, increased the strength of the soldiers many times over.

A hero had to be special.

Like her father, mother, and their companions.

If Mariabelle was going to stand in that role, Meltia knew she couldn't stand next to her sister.

Her mother, the beastmen they would meet, and the human priestess.

They had fought alongside her father, but she had learned in school that it was not to stand next to him but to support his back.

So she was going to do the same.

That was fine, Meltia thought.

If she could save her mother. If she could save her country.

She was fine with playing a supporting role for her sister.

However, Mariabelle was not yet ready for that.

That was why she asked the question earlier.

――Was it okay for me to do this?

So she evaded the question.

No one knew the answer.

The future was boundless, and there was no such thing as certainty.

"Come on, Mariabelle. Can you stand up?"

"Yes"

Mariabelle stood up as Meltia told her to, and her silver-haired sister stood behind her.

She carefully unbuttoned her dress one by one.

Her waist-length black hair was split to the left and right, revealing her neck, which was free of stains, and the area of her white skin expanded as she unbuttoned her dress.

As soon as half of her back was exposed, Meltia sighed.

"You have beautiful skin."

"Is that so? I can't really tell for myself."

Her skin, which had been well cared for in Fonteau, did not become dry even after the long journey, and it emphasized Mariabelle's beauty.

The skin was as smooth as a polished jewel, and when she ran her fingers over it, her fingertips felt comfortable, leaving not even a trace on the neat skin.

As Meltia felt the comfort of the hair, Mariabelle slumped slightly.

"It tickled."

"Fufu, I'm sorry."

She said that without a hint of malice and pulled her black dress off her shoulders, followed by her right arm.

As the upper half of her body made an appearance into the daylight, her pure white underwear was gradually revealed, even more so than her white skin.

The lace underwear was decorated with many frills to make her breasts look bigger than they were, and some of the frills formed a pretty flower pattern.

The same goes for the bottom.

When she pulled out her left arm and the dress fell down as pulled by the gravity, her pure white underwear appeared, as do the undergarments that supported her breasts.

These, too, were decorated with many frills, and the strings were tied in a ribbon knot. The cloth area was very small, and almost half of her small buttocks were exposed.

Meltia looked at her sister's underwear from behind, which overall gave her the impression of being cute rather than beautiful, and let out another sigh.

"Now if you'll excuse me, Mariabelle."

"Please, onee-sama"

It was only for a moment that her eyes were drawn to her sister's underwear.

Meltia dipped the clean cloth she had prepared along with the medicine bag into the river water and then slowly and firmly. She wiped Mariabelle's beautiful body, taking care not to irritate her skin.

It would have been nice to be naked and soak in the river water, but as expected, she felt that it was not appropriate for royalty. Especially even if no one was watching.

Meltia wiped her neck and shoulders, then unfastened her underwear from her back and wiped her entire back. As she did that, Mariabelle was embarrassed to be seen with her small breasts, even though they were sisters, so she crossed her hands in front of her chest to hide them.

The underwear's straps, which had lost their tension due to the removal of the metal fittings, hung behind her, and her shapely buttocks, which had been strained in proportion to the slight strengthening of her entire body, wrapped around the small area of fabric of her lower underwear and made it wrinkled.

Noticing that the sheen of the lace fabric reflecting the sunlight was slightly distorted, Meltia finished wiping Mariabelle's back.

"Mariabelle. Could you raise your right arm, then?"

"Y-yes"

Next was the armpits.

First, she asked her to raise her right arm, and her hairless armpit was exposed to others' eyes, even though they were sisters.

A hint of vermilion appeared on Mariabelle's white skin, and sweat appeared on the skin that had not yet been wiped with a wet cloth.

She bit her lip while expressing her embarrassment with her whole body.

She felt bad to tell her sister, who was doing it for her, to stop because she was embarrassed.

As she bit her lip to hold back, she could feel the wet cloth slowly creeping up her wrist, up her arm, and down her armpit.

She closed her eyes, embarrassed to the point as though her face was on fire, but due to her eyes closed, she could feel the movement of the cloth and Meltia's body heat even more clearly.

"Auu."

"Does that tickle?"

"A, little."

Her left arm, which was holding her breasts and underwear, was getting tired. The left arm, which was slightly angled due to the force being applied, completely exposed the right breast―― her beautiful peach-colored nipple, but Mariabelle, who had her eyes closed, did not notice.

The nipple was small, fitting for her small breast. And the tip of her breast, which have not yet been touched by anyone, was beautifully peach-colored.

The tickling had hardened the nipple slightly and raised the tip of the breast higher than normal.

"Haah... nn, uu"

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"Hey, It'll all be over soon. Just be patient."

She nodded her head in agreement with her sister's words, and as she said, the stimulation on her armpit ended immediately.

Even though they couldn't take a bath properly, they cleaned themselves in the river every day. Besides, the refugees would have to use the river afterward, so they couldn't spend too much time there.

After finishing the right side, she moved on to the left.

Here, too, Mariabelle writhed slightly, which was enough to excite anyone who saw her, and the armpits washing was finally finished.

So once Meltia re-soaked the cloth with river water, she moved to the lower half of her body, which was decorated with pure white string underwear.

She wiped the abdomen, which had almost no fat visible, cleaned the shapely belly button, and slowly rubbed the buttocks, which, like the breasts, have a small flesh, while shaping them.

The buttocks, wrapped in pure white shorts, changed shape, but they soon returned to their original shape.

The tight, fine skin glistened beautifully as it was wiped with the wet cloth, emphasizing Mariabelle's body.

When she had finished wiping her slender legs, she fastened the bra's clasp, and before she had time to sigh, Meltia put on the black dress.

The procedure was the reverse of when she removed it.

She put her legs through the dress, then her arms, and then fastened the buttons on the back.

When her eyes, familiar with her white skin, reflected the black dress, she thought that the color was like a night covered by the clouds.

But Mariabelle also thought that her sister would look good in black.

Finally, she arranged her black hair with a hand comb, and her bathing was complete.

"Next is onee-sama."

"It's okay. I'm going to take my time and wash myself along with everyone else."

"……Is that so?"

"You don't have to worry―― let's just think about saving the country, okay?"

When Mariabelle finished washing her body, she looked back at her, and her face was filled with sadness.

The red eyes peeking out from the black bangs looked at Meltia intently.

Mariabelle was special.

As the daughter of a hero, as a hero, she had to be special.

Special meant "different from those around her" and must be regarded as sacred.

At the very least, Mariabelle, the daughter of the hero and the successor to be a hero, had a different position than the others, and Meltia, who was a sister but did not have black hair, lived the same life as those around her.

It was simple, but by doing so, the refugees of Fonteau feel that Mariabelle was different from them, and now. They were slowly beginning to see Mariabelle as special.

As a royalty. As a hero's daughter.

She would borrow the "Weapon of the Hero" stored in the Land of the Beastmen and reclaimed her country. To save her mother.

For that reason, Meltia could bear to expose her skin among the refugees.

"Mariabelle-sama, Meltia-sama!"

Just when Mariabelle realized her reasoning and calmed down.

She heard her name called from afar. It was a woman's voice.

Both of them were familiar with the face. It was one of the refugees.

"It seems that the beastmen that was dispatched for the kindom of Grabalt has finally returned!"

"Really?"

"Yes. Shamia-dono asked me to fetch the two of you."

The two of them were thrilled by the report.

At last, they could take another step forward.

They left the place quickly and went to Shamia, who was calling them.

The report was simple.

They were to be recognized as royalty of Fonteau and invited to the kingdom of Grabalt.

At the same time, the thirty knights who had accompanied the beastmen who had gone to report would be escorting them. That was because they would be escorting the refugees as well.

Their armor and helmets were made of forged steel with almost no decoration, different from the knights of Fonteau. The red cloak on their back was engraved with the emblem of the royal family of Grabalt, and the sword on their hips had different emblems.

Some of the emblems on the swords were familiar to Meltia and Mariabelle.

Unlike Fonteau, Grabalt was home to a variety of tribes, and the emblems of these tribes seemed to be engraved on the swords.

"Shamia-san. Thank you very much for your kindness."

"No, thank you. It was my pleasure to have met you both."

The red-haired dwarf, who was as small as a girl, spoke back to Meltia, who peeked out from the back of the carriage escorted by the knights, her voice slurred with excitement instead of that old-fashioned way of speaking.

In the back of the carriage, there was the other daughter of the hero, dressed in a black robe―― Mariabelle.

She didn't call out to her.

That was what Meltia had told Mariabelle.

The words of gratitude were Meltia's.

Meltia just wanted to make sure that she only showed up as a special person.

In fact, it had already an effect, and Shamia did not know what kind of person Mariabelle, who had inherited the blood of the hero was, and could only imagine it from her distant appearance.

She had never spoken to her, and she had only heard her voice a handful of times in the past few days.

As she did, her sanctity as a hero and her standing as a mysterious being would precede her and impress the dwarf captain as a special person.

"I hope you guys will reach the kingdom safely then."

"Shamia-san, I also hope you and the others will be safe....... If you see a slime, please don't underestimate it."

"Thank you for your concern."

After exchanging words of gratitude, the carriage carrying Meltia and the others began to move towards the kingdom of Grabalt.

The long procession gradually moved away, but Shamia watched it go until it was completely out of sight.

"... Captain, you were talking very strange earlier."

"What is it, all of a sudden. I do what I have to do when I need to do it."

"I'm sorry. When the captain speaks in polite or young people's language, it gives me goose bumps. It's as if my grandmother is forcing herself to talk to us in a different way."

"I know, but you're being rude."

Normally, she would have punched him lightly in the stomach or kicked him in the shins, but today Shamia was in a good mood.

For the past few days, she had been able to take care of the descendants of the hero who had saved their country more than a decade ago, and she had been able to learn their names.

It was hard to imagine from her appearance, but even for a dwarf who had lived for decades, the feeling was amazing, and Shamia was excited enough to think that she would be able to sleep well for another few days.

"But the slime didn't show itself after all, did it?"

The wolf-eared beastmen said.

It was something that the refugees...... Meltia and others have said many times. They said that the slime that destroyed the Magic Kingdom might attack them.

However, during their stay, the slime never showed up.

In the meantime, they had closed the gates of the border and pulled out some dwarven equipment made of mithril from the warehouse that might be able to defeat the slime.

There was one ax and five swords.

Mithril, which was now rare, had the property of amplifying magic and assisting it if the wielder had a small amount of mana.

The soldier who knew the "normal slime" thought that the weapon could only manifest basic, weak magic, but it was more than enough to deal with the slime.

With one of these mithril weapons, Shamia swung her small ax lightly.

It looked like a simple hand ax that a lumberjack would use. However, unlike iron or steel, the blade shimmered with a hint of silver, and when the sunlight reflected off it, it appeared to have seven different colors.

The blade was sharpened, but not so sharp that it looked more like an ornamental blunt decoration than an ax weapon.

Those who have fought before would agree that it would be a bit difficult to cut the flesh of a beast with it, but that was not its real value.

Shamia carried a huge hammer on her back, which she was used to using as her primary weapon, and her hatchet hung from her waist belt.

As she held it in her hand and raised it in front of her, she became very aware of its role as a supplementary weapon.

Let there be flame, she thought.

Then the blade, shimmering with pale seven colors, glowed slightly with power different from that of the fire, and the next moment the blade was red hot.

一In the blink of an eye, the blade shimmered, and the heat of it, though slight, was transmitted to her skin.

"Umu. It can't make a fireball, but it seems to work well."

"I'll try the other swords later. I was worried when I saw it covered in dust in the warehouse, but it seems that the dust didn't lower the mithril's performance."

"Well, it would not. I've heard that mithril weapons, such as those found in old ruins, can be used immediately without any problems."

These weapons were not purchased with military funds but were the spoils of war obtained by defeating bandits who lived in the ruins and bandits who had attacked the merchants when the Demon King existed.

It was common for the beastmen to not keep proper track of the number of loot they had and store it messily. Beastmen, who place great importance on their physical abilities, were careless about their weapons, which were made of mithril, a magical weapon. Especially during the war against the Demon King's army.

In addition, they were meant as ornaments that were not sharp enough to be used in battle, so they had been pushed into warehouses.

In fact, Shamia's hatchet and the other ornate swords they found were made of mithril, but if someone asked her if they could be used in battle, she had to tilt her head.

The blades were thick, with a lot of work put into the decoration. It may be highly durable, but it was not suited for cutting.

In fact, if it were to be used in battle, it would be a weapon to assist in magic.

Shamia and the others thought that they were originally meant to be used as decorations in noble houses.

They handed out these weapons to the soldiers at the border, and others stood on the watchtower. They would prepare fire arrows with oil-soaked cloth wrapped around the arrowheads.

Despite these preparations, the slime that Meltia and the others had mentioned did not appear at all.

When Meltia and the others left the border, the day ended with nothing but feeling pressured.

And the next day.

And the next day.

The third day after Meltia and the others left.

When the thread of tension began to loosen while keeping the existence of the slime in the corner of their mind, the soldier Shamia had sent out to investigate the situation in Fonteau returned.

He walked across the empty area straddling his horse with a bowed posture and returned to the border without replying to Shamia and the others' calls. He turned his pale face toward Shamia and the others who were wondering.

It was Shamia who felt uncomfortable with that expression.

The female dwarf, who had lived an unimaginably long time despite her childlike appearance, tilted her head at her subordinate's appearance.

"What's wrong?"

"Ah, no......"

"It's been a long journey. You must be tired."

"Ahー... yeah. That's right. I'm tired, I guess."

Seeing him replying vaguely to the wolf-eared beastmen's wordsー or rather, parroting it back to himー the others standing by at the border began to feel uncomfortable.

He was clearly different from when he left the border to find out what was going on in Fonteau. It was not a change caused by fatigue either.

It was just that he seemed to have become more lethargic.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes. Well, my memory is a little foggy."

In response to Shamia's words, the man began to open his mouth haltingly.

He said that he remembered arriving at a village in Fonteau, but that he had been unconscious from that point until yesterday.

The village was half a day's ride from the border. Even if he rested for the night, he was gone for already about seven days.

The man said that he had fainted until yesterday and then returned to the border.

Then he took out a mucus from his leather bag that he said was on his clothes and showed it to Shamia.

"Slime. Mucus, or just a small part of it."

"Then you. You're saying you were attacked by the slime and fainted?"

"Maybe?"

He was not sure about that.

It was no wonder. In the first place, he was unaware that he had been attacked, and had been unconscious for about seven days.

"This guy was out of sorts, too. When I tried to get back to the border, it wouldn't listen to me at all."

He pointed to the horse he was riding.

Horses used for military purposes were trained to listen to their riders and would not disobey the person holding the reins unless there was a serious problem.

On the contrary, it could be considered that an abnormal situation had occurred in which a military horse, which was supposed to listen to him, defied his orders...... As far as Shamia and her team were concerned, they did not feel anything other than a lethargic feeling similar to fatigue.

"Anyway, you should get some rest for today. Are you hungry?"

"No. I'm fine."

"Okay. Thanks for the reconnaissance. Is there anything else you forgot to tell?"

The man shook his head at Shamia's words.

He then rubbed his abdomen with his hand as though he had noticed something.

"What's the matter, are you hungry? I can get you some dried meat right away......"

"No, not at all."

"All right, get some rest. If you're still not feeling well tomorrow, you can take it easy and get some rest."

"Yes"

The man then returned to the wooden quarters assigned to the men.

While Shamia and the scout were talking, she noticed that her subordinates were unloading the camping gear and provisions that had been tied to the saddles of the horse.

"Captain, this is..."

"What's wrong?"

"The rations haven't decreased at all."

For a moment, she thought that it was only natural since he had fainted.

It was indeed strange to think that he did not feel hungry after waking up from fainting and had returned to the border.

The village where the man had fainted―― where he might have been attacked by slime―― was half a day or a day's ride away, even on horseback.

The only thing that was missing was one meal, which was probably the food he had eaten before reaching the village.

If that was the case, the man who went on reconnaissance hadn't eaten for about eight whole days...... Shamia wondered at the thought.

"Slime... It's not like they usually let their prey live when they attack them. It was probably luck, but should we think about why he was "kept alive"?"

Everyone except the soldiers on guard tilted their heads, but there was no answer.

It was unfortunate that the characteristics of the slime, the Black Ooze, had not been properly conveyed to them.

No, it would be harsh to call it unfortunate.

The Black Ooze killed men and absorbed them, and violated women, and made them give birth to children.

There were no exceptions to this rule, and even the world's strongest wizard, Leticia, the Queen of the Elves, who was the Black Ooze's worst enemy―― violated and gave birth to children without killing her.

It was "that" monster's instinct.

Women should be violated. They wanted to increase the number of their own kind. That was the only instinct.

That was why beings who knew the characteristics of the Black Ooze couldn't escape―― in other words, all the people who passed through the border as refugees were people who watched the moment of Fonteau's destruction from afar, and none of them had actually experienced the situation.

They didn't have much information about what the Black Ooze was capable of or how it had defeated Leticia.

When they escape from the capital, they knew that men were being killed and absorbed, and the women were being violated all over the royal capital.

Meltia and the others had not been able to tell them the most important thing.

The Black Ooze absorbed not only the mass of the beings it absorbed but also their knowledge.

Shamia and the others, who didn't know that, tilted their heads at their colleague's changed appearance when he came back, but they were relieved to know that he had returned safely.

That evening.

Shamia and the others took turns standing guard at the border, nervous with fear of the slime that the princesses of Fonteau feared, and which had become even eerier after the attack on their colleague.

There were always three of them standing guard.

There were two on the watchtower and one who patrolled the border so that he could immediately alarm the others in case of emergency.

The two non-combatants and the one who was sick were excluded.

It was decided that they would take turns at intervals of three times a night, with Shamia and two beastmen soldiers standing the first watch.

The beastmen stand on the watchtower, while Shamia patrolled around the border. She was holding a torch in her right hand, and her left hand was touching the handle of a hatchet hanging from her waist.

The light from the torch illuminated her reddish-bronze hair and her profile, making her childish face, young enough to have lived for several decades, appear in the darkness.

She was wearing light clothing that prioritized ease of movement.

Her breasts, which did not need the support of underwear, were wrapped in black innerwear, and she wore a light green sleeveless jacket on her upper body. On the lower half of her body, she was wearing a short skirt and black spats.

A breastplate over the jacket, and iron greaves instead of leather boots. Her elbows and knees were also covered with iron armor, and she was dressed lightly.

It was still hot at night in Grabalt, so it was natural for her to wear such light clothing.

"Then, let's look around."

Shamia muttered to no one in particular, alert but with a hint of boredom in her voice.

She had been making these nightly rounds every day, but she had been on guard for the past few days, so it was only natural that she would let her guard down a bit when nothing happened for days.

In the darkness of the night, the beastmen with good eyes were better suited to keep watch, while Shamia with her physical strength was better suited to patrol. The right person for the right job.

As she looked around the not-so-large border, Shamia thought about dinner.

There was nothing unusual about it.

However, the soldier who had just returned did not eat because he was sick, and the horse that had gone on a scouting trip with him was also reported to have not eaten any leaves.

She wondered if it was right to dismiss that as a coincidence or a sign of ill health.

(If he's not feeling well until tomorrow morning, we should take him back to the kingdom to see a doctor.)

Even though they were soldiers, they were still citizens who live in this country.

They couldn't just disregard their lives. If this was some sort of epidemic, Shamia thought, they should take immediate action.

She also thought that the slime that had destroyed the country had poisoned him in some way...... but she chuckled at her thoughts imagining too much.

She had never heard of a slime being poisonous.

Holding the mithril hatchet in her hand, she swang it lightly to test its weight and grabbed it dexterously with her hand.

The warm color of the torchlight illuminated the darkness of the night, and Shamia, feeling bored, played with her hatchet and wondered what she would do tomorrow.

――The insects were making a noise in the distance.

It was a horrible, disgusting bug that lived in the forest surrounding the border.

If it was just their noises, they would be cute, but many of the bugs, large and small, were unpleasant even for the Dwarves who lived in the wild, and some of them were even poisonous.

Life in Grabalt was a battle against nature, bugs, and poisons.

It was true that fighting the demon king and his monsters was dangerous, but nature could be unpleasant.

(It's troublesome.)

It may have been inappropriate, but that was the feeling Shamia had for the slime.

Naturally.

She had never heard of a slime destroying a country, and a monster that was nothing but a lump of mucus was just a troublesome opponent for a dwarf who couldn't use magic.

It was weak, and if one hit it badly, it would splatter and stain their clothes, and the only threat it posed was that a slightly grown slime could swallow livestock.

A slime's mass was essentially determined by the size of the nucleus inside its body.

The smaller the nucleus, the less mucus the slime could use, and the larger the nucleus, the more mucus the slime could use. The smaller the nucleus, the less mucus the slime could use as a weapon.

It didn't have any kind of thought or intellect, it just instinctively reacted to anything that moved near it and extended its tentacles.

That was about it.

That was the common knowledge among the soldiers who knew about the existence of the slime.

That was why.

Even though it was the princess of a country, the daughter of the hero, who told her of the threat, Shamia was still underestimating it somewhere in her heart.

It was only a slime.

She thought that no matter how big or how many slimes there were, she would be able to get away with it by closing the gates of the border.

In fact, if it had been a normal slime, Shamia and the others would have been able to deal with it, regardless of its size.

After all, a slime was a monster with a weakness. If they could destroy the nucleus that maintained the mucus body, they could defeat it.

"……Hmm?"

She suddenly thought she heard a voice.

Human voices mixed with the noises from the bugs that were loudly making noises in the silence of the night.

She thought she heard it wrong.

She thought she had misheard it because the voice soon disappeared.

But it seemed like she heard it, and she was bored with just following a set route on her rounds, so she stopped and looked in the direction of the voice.

It was the men's dormitory. It was a sturdy log cabin with a solid frame made of wood.

From the window, the light from the magic lamp, which had been used for several years in Fonteau, leaked out.

By now, the three soldiers who remained until the change of guard should have been taking a nap.

(Are they talking loudly in their sleep?)

She thought so, but suddenly the face of the soldier who had returned in earlier came to mind.

It was not a bad feeling.

She just suddenly became interested.

It was probably because she thought he was acting strange earlier. Shamia walked towards the dormitory, thinking that she should check if he was sleeping properly.

She slowly opened the door of the cabin so as not to wake her sleeping companions.

The first thing she saw was the light from the magic lamp.

After confirming that, she opened the door wide and let the night breeze enter the room through the door. At the same time, Shamia smelled the "odor" of the room and frowned.

It smelled bad.

It smelled like they hadn't cleaned themselves in days.

The smell carried by air in the room grew stronger with each passing moment, and Shamia held her nose with the opposite hand from the one holding the torch before stepping into the room.

"What is that smell?"

Hesitating for a moment, Shamia stepped into the room and checked her surroundings.

There was nothing unusual about the room.

There was a bed that could accommodate a few men. There were sweets that they must have eaten before going to bed, bottled liquor with their mouths still open.

The bedsheets were a mess, and there was no sign of her colleagues.

Finally, Shamia realized something was wrong.

There was no one in the room.

Her thoughts, which had been dulled by the strange smell, were instantly awakened.

Rather than checking further inside the room, Shamia ran out of the room just to be safe.

"Hey, who―― !?"

Suddenly, there was a loud crushing sound.

The window of the men's quarters had been broken.

It was on the back of the cabin where Shamia was standing. The two men on the watchtower seemed to have heard the sound, and the lights of the fire arrows they had prepared during the day, different from the torches used for the watchtower, floated in the darkness of the night.

"I'll go check it out. Take cover from there!"

"Okay! We can't see the back of the building from here, so please check from a place that was still visible from here."

When Shamia raised her voice, a reply came back to her.

She switched the torch to her left hand and the mithril hatchet on her hip to her right hand.

As she moved to the back of the building, Shamia couldn't figure out what it was she was seeing.

The man who had come back earlier was standing there.

Three soldiers were lying beside him.

The problem was the face and mouth of the man who had returned. His eyes were blank and he was completely unconscious, and something was still pouring out of his mouth.

Shamia couldn't understand what it was.

Her thoughts stopped.

She couldn't think about her colleague's safety, the danger, or even escape.

After a while, she realized that the man with the white eyes was not standing, but was being supported by mucus.

There was a will.

The slime understood that forcing the man to stand like this was more frightening to those who see him.

The slime. The Black Ooze had learned.

The fear of mankind.

How to neutralize it efficiently.

How to capture it efficiently.

It was easy.

If they were alerted by its presence, then it would enter a vessel.

A vessel of flesh.

It was a humanoid.

Humans, beastmen, demi-humans―― enemies of slime. It could enter the bodies of human beings, the enemies of monsters, and use their flesh as vessels to invade human society.

Then, no strong doors, high outer walls, or guards would be able to stop the slime from entering.

After all, even the man himself didn't know he had slime inside him.

Then, the number of slimes that overflowed from the man's body was three.

The size of the slime was about the size of a human head. Shamia's impression was that it was not that big...... and was of normal size.

When all of them were vomited out, the white-eyed man fell on his front. He didn't even convulse―― his throat was compressed as he vomited the slime out of his body, and he died from lack of oxygen.

Then, three slimes touched the mucus of the slime they had spit out, and three slimes reached out their tentacles to the three men who were unable to move due to their paralyzed bodies.

The men remained asleep.

They didn't even know what had happened.

They were asleep, paralyzed by the paralyzing poison, and without regaining consciousness, the powerful poison had stopped their hearts.

Shamia was unaware that the four of them were dying. Their chests didn't move up and down to breathe, and they didn't react to the slime crawling on them.

But the fact that her colleagues whom she had dinner with just a few minutes ago could die so easily―― her mind, which had been enjoying the peace that came with the demon king's death and the diminishing fear of death, refused to understand.

No matter how excellent the weapon and armor, it would be meaningless without that mindset.

Shamia lagged behind, the hatchet in her hand at the ready.

It was fatal slow.

As soon as she held the hatchet, the slime, which she recognized to be of normal size, extended its tentacles with a speed that Shamia's kinetic vision could not follow.

It entangled itself in Mithril's hatchet and bound itself to her wrist.

"It's slime!"

It was only then that Shamia finally raised her voice.

She was about to break free from her restraints when she noticed that her right wrist could not move.

(What?!?)

The mithril hatchet spilled from her weakened hand and rolled with a dry sound as it fell to the ground.

The tentacle came off along with the weapon, but the movement in her right hand did not return.

She tried to wipe the mucus from her hand, but his long-lived dwarven instincts made her hesitant to touch the mucus.

Shamia quickly wiped her right hand on the wall of the dormitory and backed away from the spot to open the distance between her and the slime.

"Kuh"

The three bodies were already dead. Their heads were being swallowed by the slime.

The light from the magic lamp leaking from the broken window of the cabin showed Shamia the situation clearly.

It would be a normal thought to think that someone had to save it somehow.

That was what Shamia thought, too.

She should have run here. She should have recognized the threat of her opponent.

However, she stood there, unable to escape or save her subordinates. The paralyzing poison had robbed her of the sensation in her right hand, and the mithril weapon she relied on was lying on the ground covered in slime mucus.

If she touched it, even her left hand, which was still safe, would be paralyzed.

It was a trap that the slime had prepared.

Unable to understand the cause of the loss of sensation in her right hand, Shamia turned her gaze to the mithril hatchet and tried to find a way to retrieve it.

She saw the moment when the slimes swallowed her subordinate's head completely.

......Shamia took off at will. She couldn't wait for her subordinates anymore.

She picked up the mithril hatchet that was still on the ground―― and then dropped it again.

Unable to understand what had happened, she looked at her hands, forgetting about the slime.

She realized that she couldn't feel her hands.

_{The latest_epi_sodes are on_the novel35.COM website.}

It was the slime's paralytic poison.

Shamia lost the freedom from her hands―― and before she could fully comprehend that fact, she was struck on the head by a tentacle that was extended towards the female dwarf who was now captured, and even lost consciousness.

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