Reincarnated as an Instructor in an Adult Game

Chapter 34: ...I’m scared

Dirl stared warily into my eyes for a while. Then, one of the older girls behind him placed a hand on his shoulder and spoke.

"Dirl-chan, why don’t you try trusting him?"

"Mene-nee..."

The girl with wavy black hair that reached her shoulders smiled gently at Dirl. She then turned to me and continued speaking with a smile.

"Raid-san... please take care of Meiya-san and the church. We will..."

"You girls will be protected by Dirl. That’s why you’re training."

Dirl’s eyes widened in surprise at my words. I stood up and glanced sideways to see Erika giving a bitter smile. The three adventurer girls seemed to be on guard duty outside and hadn’t come in.

I quickly had Meiya prepare a meal from our food supplies and everyone ate. When I say "everyone," I mean the six children Meiya had mentioned. We introduced ourselves while eating dinner.

There was the boy Dirl and the girl named Mene.

The girl with straight crimson hair down to her waist: Lean.

The girl with wavy chestnut hair in a short cut: Amy.

The girl with light blue hair in a shoulder-length ponytail: Serina.

The girl with blonde hair in long side tails: Safan.

It was confirmed. Their names matched the shrine maidens. So it really was the Demonkin Association route.

Changing the story like this... I wonder how it’ll turn out.

There are routes that don’t involve the Demonkin Association, but most players chose that route anyway because of the powerful weapons and armor that drop from it.

...Well, it’s too late now. I’ve already changed a lot, including the students.

I watched the children eating their dinner with gusto, then glanced at Meiya, who was smiling happily as she looked at them.

...I couldn’t just ignore a situation like this.

After dinner, I went with everyone to the back of the church—the rear garden on the side of the city wall. I lit a fire and took out a pot that could get dirty from my magic bag.

Then I pulled out a transparent but slightly white, bouncy, round object about the size of a watermelon. Holding it in one hand, I asked them:

"Do you know what this is?"

"...Isn’t that a slime?"

"Eh... a slime?"

Dirl answered my question, and I nodded. Erika’s surprised reaction was completely understandable. Normally, when you destroy a slime’s core, it loses its shape and turns into liquid. However, if you carefully pull the core out by hand before destroying it, the slime can keep its shape. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

Next, I put the slime into the pot and boiled it over the fire while asking:

"Have you ever boiled a slime before?"

"...No, of course not?"

"What about you, Dirl and the others?"

"...Obviously not."

Erika crossed her arms with an exasperated look, and Dirl wore the same expression. The five older girls stood in a row behind Dirl.

Incidentally, some of the girls were pinching the back of Dirl’s clothes, so every time he moved a little, his clothes shifted unnaturally.

...He’s already being relied on, huh.

No, looking at the expressions on the girls’ faces when they look at Dirl, it’s less "reliance" and more "they’re in love with him," isn’t it?

No wonder he’d risk his life to protect them.

While I was thinking that, the pot began to bubble and boil.

"Slimes, as you know, are sticky and viscous. So when you boil them—"

"Bubbles are coming out of the pot!? Hey!? Isn’t that hot!?"

I scooped up the bubbles rising from the pot with my bare hands and pushed them into a white bag about the size of a pillow, careful not to let any stick to the outside. Erika was frantically waving her hands in panic, but these bubbles weren’t hot.

I don’t know why, but while the liquid part was properly hot, the bubbly part only stuck a little to the hand and wasn’t hot at all.

I filled the bag completely, tied it shut with string, and shook it a few times to cool it down, checking the texture. Once it was just as I expected, I lightly tossed the bag to Dirl.

I gestured for him to feel it.

Though hesitant, Dirl touched it and was surprised, then passed it to the girls behind him. The girls who received it were also surprised by the texture and gradually started to look delighted.

"How about it? Doesn’t it look like it would make a comfortable pillow?"

"It does seem comfortable, but..."

Dirl tilted his head with a troubled expression. His doubt was natural—he was probably wondering if this could actually make money.

But Dirl, a lot of money-making ideas come from play, you know.

I gestured to Meiya and Erika, who were tilting their heads at Dirl and the girls’ reactions, telling them to try it too. Meiya took it first, was surprised by the feel, and passed it to Erika, who was also shocked when she touched it.

The texture was like water—bouncy and springy. Even if you squished it, it would push back and immediately return to shape.

I had planned to make some myself someday, but if they could make them, that would be much faster.

After her surprise, Erika seemed to realize something. She looked at me in a daze and muttered:

"...I’m scared."

"There’s nothing scary about it."

"...Then tell me."

"Don’t you want to sleep on this pillow?"

Erika only responded with a dry laugh, so I turned my gaze to Dirl and the others. The girls were nodding vigorously, and Dirl gave a bitter smile as he watched them. Meiya also smiled and nodded.

Slimes were abundant in the plains just outside the city gate where the soldiers could still see, so even the children should be fine.

A slime’s attack was usually just spitting sticky liquid anyway. As long as they weren’t attacked while sleeping, they wouldn’t suffocate.

What I needed Erika to handle was securing the bags and finding a sales outlet.

Well, the sales outlet was already decided—it would be Marika-san’s place.

Suddenly remembering something, I knelt down and beckoned Dirl over. He approached with a suspicious look. I whispered something into his ear.

Dirl looked at me with a surprised expression, but smiled and nodded in response.

It was the first time I saw Dirl smile at my reaction—though it was still a bitter smile...

He went over to the girls and started talking to them. The girls who heard Dirl’s story burst into excited giggles. After confirming their reaction, Dirl approached Erika and made the proposal.

Upon hearing it, Erika smiled as if she had given up and looked up at the sky, muttering:

"...I’m scared..."