Chapter 56: Chapter 95 – Treasure Hidden in the Depths

Remmy and I broke open every door we came across, scoured the room inside, and scrutinized every piece of item that Ivory might have turned into. Who knows how long it had been. Our sense of time here was warped, not that we had any sort of device to tell anyway. The two of us could have been searching for days now and would have no idea.

It was beginning to dawn on me that if anyone came into this place, they could have easily gotten lost. Or worse, they might not have been able to escape. Wouldn't that mean the real Ivory starved to death down here after finding the living mimic?

One thing I did notice that I wasn't sure if Ivory knew— This body… the real Ivory, was no elf. The form I took felt demonic, or maybe there was something demonic inside me.

I discovered a key inside one of the robes pockets. Why it was here or what it was for, I had no idea.

"I gotta say, this place feels about as real as Irapesha's dreams. Not to mention, this body…" I raised both hands up to my face to feel how smooth my skin was.

While I didn't exactly mean to molest Ivory in any way, the curiosity of being in a woman's body was beginning to get the better of me.

"Do you think Ivory spent so long in this place that they committed everything to memory?" Remmy asked.

It terrified me to think that Ivory spent that much time studying the place. However, the fact that I could see minor things like spiders crawling on their cobwebs and feel tiny droplets of water had to mean one thing.

An idea came to mind. "Speaking of which, Remmy. Are you able to bring out your clones in this dream to help us search?"

Remmy squeezed her eyes shut and clenched both hands like she was constipated. The surface of her slime body made tiny waves but nothing happened. She eventually gave up and hung her head, ashamed that she couldn't do more to help.

"There, there." I patted her on the head. "It just means that we have to rely on ourselves."

Although I said that to give her hope, this dungeon was seemingly endless. We must have checked almost a hundred rooms. What sort of labyrinthe was this?

Ivory… If you're somewhere in here, what would you be hiding as? How can we help you right now?

My slime girl companion, eager to continue the search for her friend, raced ahead to open the next door. The floor beneath her feet gave way, and she disappeared into the abyss.

"Remmy, no!" I dove forward with my hand outstretched. A slime tentacle shot up from the darkness to grab me, and Remmy slowly managed to pull herself back up. I breathed a sigh of relief as soon as she was back on the surface.

"I saw something below. It looked like a large chamber," she said.

"Really? Seeing you fall down almost gave me a heart attack…" I grabbed a nearby torch and threw it into the hole, the fire illuminating it on the way down until it disappeared. An echoing clatter followed not long after.

Remmy could probably go down without getting hurt. Me, on the other hand, would just go splat.

"What about a parachute?" I asked.

Without hesitating, her slime body looped around my shoulders like a backpack, then extended into a large umbrella-like blanket of gooeyness. We dove in together and went into free fall for a few seconds before she poofed up to slow our descent.

"Well… This isn't as scary after diving a dozen times with Irapesha that one time, but it still doesn't help my weak heart…"

"It feels like we're going on an adventure together." Remmy giggled.

"Alright, miss adventuring slime. That's quite a thing to say when I'm dangling who knows how high in the air and the only one in danger!" I fired back.

We landed in what appeared to be a grand dining chamber, with magically lit chandeliers above us and empty plates on a long table to taunt our hunger. As our search continued in this new place, I started to wonder why Remmy was so driven when it came to Ivory.

"Say, Remmy," I began. "What is it about Ivory that you like so much?"

"I don't know how to explain it… I know Ivory is really nice to me like Cresta and everyone else. But when I'm with Ivory, it's like I have a big sister. They've been sad since coming here, so it's hard to leave them alone," she answered thoughtfully.

"Wait, Ivory's been sad since the moment they arrived at the dorm?" I asked.

Remmy nodded.

What? How did I not see it? Ivory had been smiling—

Oh.

Because that face didn't belong to the living mimic. It belonged to the real Ivory, who probably died smiling. The mimic's real face was the eye pendant and the mouth which was usually hidden.

All this time I'd been mistakenly judging Ivory by what was on the surface, not underneath. I didn't think to try and ask what was wrong, because I always assumed they were already content and happy until it was too late.

"So you knew Ivory was down in the dumps and tried to cheer them up?"

"Sometimes it's enough to just be next to Ivory. Then there are times where they just want to be left alone, but I don't let them be because it's always more fun together," Remmy said.

It took a slime to see through the mimic's facade.

Ines told me that Ivory had an identity crisis. What we needed to do all this time was simply validate their existence.

I cupped both hands over my mouth and yelled, "Ivory! Where are you!"

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My words echoed down the chamber and back. No one answered but myself.

"Ivory!" Remmy did the same. "Come back so we can play! I want to show you all my manga collection and all the games I've finished on Steam! The other mes wants to play volleyball with you again!"

Eventually, Remmy was out of breath— if that was even possible for a slime. She concentrated hard again, and I realized it was another attempt to split herself.

"I don't… want to leave… Ivory alone!" the slime girl yelled.

Five Remmys split from the original form, each just as surprised as the next that this happened.

"Hmm? Looks like the timid little thing needs our help again," the haughtier one of the Remmys said.

Another hugged Remmy from behind. "Don't get pissy because Remmy wants to hang out with someone other than you."

"I bet this is your influence." A third, grinning Remmy nudged the side of my arm.

"Uhm… Everyone, I hope this isn't too much to ask… Please help me find Ivory!" Prime Remmy pleaded to her duplicates.

"Hmph. Fine. But only so I can get back at that mimic for being a ball hog during volleyball." The more resistant one of the group folded her arms.

"Tsundere." I sneered.

With five extra Remmys to aid us, we fanned out in search of our missing mimic. No one left stones unturned and doors unopened.

"Over here!" one of the Remmys shouted.

We entered a bedroom more extravagantly furnished than the ones above, like all the nice stuff was moved down here. Sitting at the foot of the bed was a chest. The signature physical feature of the pendant was where the lock should be. However, the eye was shut.

"Ivory!" Remmy knocked on the chest, shook it, and looked it up and down but couldn't find a way to wake them up.

I didn't know why, but my hand moved to the key that was inside my pocket. Like a strange force compelled me to reach for it.

Someone's footsteps alerted us to the door. Standing there, dressed in the same robes and in the form of an elf was none other than Ivory. Her cheeks were gaunt and breathing heavily. Our existence didn't register to her, but she stumbled into the room and sat down in front of the chest.

"It seems you're the last one in this god-forsaken place," the elven woman whispered to the chest. "I'm glad I was finally able to find you. It must have been painful spending all this time alone here, so long after the war ended. For whatever time I have left, let's be friends. It is the least I can do to atone for what my demonkin has done to you."

"You're… Ivory?" I asked.

Ivory turned in my direction and smiled, sending chills up my spine, but with it a wave of emotion that drew tears from my eyes. She then fished the key out from her pocket, and pressed it into the pendant. It glowed with magic and entered the eye as though it were an illusion.

Suddenly, Ivory disappeared.

A guilt-ridden voice whispered into my ears, "Please take care of my friend."

"Did the real Ivory come down here to save all the mimics?" Remmy asked me.

"It's our turn to do the same." I pulled the key out from my pocket and followed the same gesture that the real Ivory did. Once the entire thing was pushed in, the eye in the pendant snapped open, and my body transformed back into my original one.

"Boo!" Ivory, the living mimic sprung an ambush, opening wide its large jaws to scare me.

Too bad I was already prepared for that.

"Hm? What are you guys staring at?" they asked, turning back into the elven form in a white one-piece dress.

"Ivory!" Remmy threw herself onto the mimic as the others around her smiled at a job well done.

Everything went dark.

I awakened in the living room, where Ange grabbed my face.

"It's about time you woke up," she said, gesturing to the clock that showed it was nearly morning.

"W-What happened?" I asked.

The succubus cast her eyes to the floor next beside me, where Remmy and Ivory were lying down, their hands locked tight. Slowly, the two stirred from their slumber.

"I just had the weirdest dream," Ivory began. "I think I saw an old friend… saying goodbye to me."

Remmy and I held Ivory as they started to tear up.

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