Free Web NovelIn order to obtain the truth, Jasmine made an enormous decision this time. She even flatly refused her mom when she came to pick her up at noon.
“Sorry, Mom. I don’t want to go back at noon today. There’s a really amazing scent-altering spell among the elves, and I absolutely have to learn it!”
“Eh? You’re learning a new spell?” Vieya blinked. “Alright then... I’ll come get you in the evening. Have you eaten?”
“I have! Ah, Mom, just go back first!”
“Eh...?”
And just like that, Jasmine chased her mom away for the first time, preparing to wait things out until night.
Of course, it was also true that she was learning a very impressive new elven spell.
【Philosophic Rose】
A small spell with absolutely no offensive capability, but one that allowed the target to smell the scent they liked the most—or the scent associated with the person they loved.
And this was precisely one of the main reasons Jasmine loved magic so much. To her, magic was synonymous with miracles. There were always strange, peculiar spells that possessed the ability to capture fragments of miracles and keep them from slipping away.
“Heehee.”
Jasmine blinked her lively, beautiful eyes, then scooted over next to Elliti, who was still grimly practicing elven swordsmanship, and asked,
“Little elf sister, do you have time to help me test a spell?”
“Hah.”
Elliti held her sword, chopped, sheathed it, and completed the entire sequence of sword forms from beginning to end.
Only then did she rub her sore arms, turn her head toward Jasmine, and pant,
“What kind of spell... offensive, or defensive?”
“Don’t worry. It’s a very relaxing scent-altering spell. No getting hit, no hitting anyone. Just tell me what you smell afterward,” Jasmine said softly.
“Alright then. But it has to be quick. I still haven’t finished today’s practice quota...”
“It’s fine, just a moment.”
A short while later.
A colorless wisp of mist appeared between the two little girls, floating gently in the air.
Jasmine blinked and asked, “Do you smell anything?”
“Mm.” Elliti rubbed her nose and frowned. “It smells like... rust?”
“Rust?”
Jasmine looked at Elliti suspiciously, then sniffed it herself. Her eyes lit up instantly. What rust? This was clearly Mom’s scent! The scent of her beloved slime mom!
New spell—successfully mastered!
“Heehee, looks like you’ve practiced swordplay too much, little elf sister. Now your favorite scent is rust from your sword,” Jasmine said cheerfully.
Elliti looked at Jasmine, then at the sword in her hand, her blood-red pupils filled with confusion.
“I like the smell of rust on my sword?”
Is... that right?
...
“Haah...”
On the street, Vieya had lost her debate with the dragon egg.
But she didn’t think she’d truly lost. She’d just held back because she was worried about upsetting the egg. She hadn’t expected Flaviel’s mouth to be so vicious, specializing in stabbing right at her sore spots.
That said, Vieya hadn’t come away empty-handed.
Now she was certain—absolutely, positively certain—that the evil dragon inside the egg was definitely a stinky medium cup.
‘Neither the small-cup Demon King nor the large-cup Demon King would use such vile words to clap back at me. Only a stinky medium cup would.’
“I hate medium-cup Demon Kings.”
After wandering aimlessly through the streets for a while, Vieya suddenly didn’t know where she was supposed to go.
Her daughter was probably still resentful about getting hit last night and didn’t want anything to do with her for the moment.
Aislin was also busy now, completely overwhelmed by handover issues with the Holy Knight Order. She hadn’t even gone to the ward near the slime cottage this morning to visit Dorothy.
The big bird, too—after all these days, it still hadn’t come back. Could it have run into an air accident and crashed?
Vieya let her thoughts run wild.
As for the slime cottage, she really didn’t want to go back right now. The things that stinky medium cup had said were too hurtful to a slime’s heart. Her tender little soul couldn’t withstand such wind and rain.
What did “useless adult” mean? What did “breaking down just from hearing the truth” mean?
These past years hadn’t been easy for her either. In the nights before she met her daughter, she couldn’t even fall asleep without alcohol. The moment she closed her eyes, it was nothing but nightmares.
If stinky medium cup didn’t apologize tonight, then tomorrow she wouldn’t help her flip the egg!
Walking along, Vieya unconsciously arrived in front of the elven tavern.
Looking at the tavern, which had clearly been renovated once, she couldn’t help but fall into reminiscence.
In many human cities, there were plenty of ordinary taverns hanging signs that read “Elven Tavern.” Inside those places, there were no elves—often not even half-elves.
Just like how there’s no wife in a wife cake, there are no elves in elven taverns.
But the elven tavern in front of her now contained only elves—pure-blooded elves.
Tap, tap.
Light yet steady footsteps sounded from behind her.
Vieya instinctively turned her head.
Standing before her was an elven girl she’d met a few times before—about the same height as Vieya, though she’d heard the girl had lived for several thousand years.
The head of the 【Ba】 Clan, Tomorrow Future.
Light brown eyes glimmered faintly under the twilight sky; her skin was pale to the point of translucence. Her silver-gray, shoulder-length short hair was topped with a soft gray half-round hat decorated with feathers.
Her clothing was the elves’ usual clean and practical style. Looking closely, one could see the 【Ba】 clan emblem embroidered on it—a petal-like pattern of indiscernible species, dotted with strange silver threads in the center, resembling eyes.
Judging solely from her appearance and first impression, this clan head gave off the feeling of a quiet, ascetic literary girl.
“Are you here to try the elven race’s specially blended drinks?” she asked.
“Carrots, honey. I also brought some mica powder from the clan.”
“This is a flavor you definitely haven’t tried before.”
Tomorrow Future pulled a bundle of carrots out from within her thick clothing, patting a bulging pocket with her other hand. Her expression was calm, but there was an inexplicable fervor in her eyes.
As if she were about to—
“Wait, mica powder?” Vieya suddenly became alert. “You’re not here to mix drinks, are you?”
“Yes. I occasionally come here to work as a bartender and chat with the other elves.” Tomorrow Future pointed at the honey jar and mica powder in her pocket and continued, “So? Would you like to try my bartending?”
“...Does it cost money?”
“No. It’s free.”
“Then let’s go!”
“Mm.”
Tomorrow Future nodded and walked straight into the elven tavern. The patrons didn’t seem surprised by her occasional side job as a bartender. They merely glanced over, then turned back to drinking and singing.
In the years the elves had lived in isolation within the Elven Forest, this kind of life was fairly enjoyable for the homebody, lazy types.
But for energetic, lively elves like Aislin, it was rather stifling.
And so, purely to pass the time, they spontaneously formed drinking clubs, archery and swordsmanship competitions, even various bands...
They didn’t deliberately pursue goals—only the enjoyment of everything interesting in life.
Most worth mentioning of all, compared to the love and hatred entanglements between the major races on this land, relations between the various elven factions—forest elves, night elves, snow elves, and so on—were extremely good.
Occasional conflicts did arise due to differing pursuits, but with their big-family way of getting along, it was no more than siblings’ daily bickering, nothing serious.
At a glance, Vieya could tell that the Tomorrow Clan Head’s bartending skill was no ordinary thing. Carrots were juiced, a bit of ice added, then honey and a purple liquor poured in. Finally came the stirring, shaking, and the finishing touch—adding a bit of mica powder.
At this point, Vieya could no longer tell whether the terrifying liquid being concocted in Tomorrow’s hands was vegetable juice, honey water, or alcohol.
It should be drinkable, right? If something went wrong, would she compensate?
When Tomorrow Clan Head looked at you with those sparkling eyes, filled with pure expectation and a thirst for your approval...
Vieya still agreed to take a sip.
Hiss—
The slime mom’s eyes lit up.
The motley assortment of ingredients actually neutralized each other’s clashes to a degree. The dark purple drink had a rich body, with a sweet-and-sour taste. It # Nоvеlight # was similar to human mulberry wine, yet superior.
Immediately, her resistance vanished. Gulp gulp, she drained the entire cup of elven special blend in one go. free𝑤ebnovel.com
“Well?” Tomorrow Clan Head looked at Vieya and asked softly.
“It’s delicious!”
A genuine, pleasant surprise. Vieya gave Tomorrow Clan Head a thumbs-up. She decided that tonight she wouldn’t ask the great elf to set up rain clouds over the slime cottage courtyard and pour rain all night long.
Receiving the slime’s praise, the Future Clan Head’s emotional value shot straight to the max. She smiled happily, eyes narrowing.
“Thank you. It’s not actually that good. And my drink doesn’t intoxicate—it awakens.”
As she spoke, she filled two more cups for Vieya.
Gulp—
The slime wiped her flushed lips and quickly finished off the two strange drinks.
In a sense, alcohol—something so close to water—was something that water-type slimes like her found especially agreeable.
The Future Clan Head calmly continued refilling. Soon, all the materials she’d brought with her were used up, completely consumed by the slime before her.
“The materials are all gone now. Though there’s still an extra jar of honey.” The Future Clan Head thought for a moment, then pushed it toward Vieya. “I’ll give this to you.”
After that, she chatted with Vieya for a bit longer, then prepared to leave.
The reason was simple: the bartending materials were gone, staying would be pointless, and there were still matters waiting for her back at the clan. There was no need to spend more time here.
Despite having lived for thousands of years and still looking small, the Future Clan Head acted with decisive efficiency, never dragging things out.
“Oh, right. Miss Vieya should head home soon as well.” She raised her hand and pointed at the sky, speaking softly. “There will be rain this afternoon. If you have nothing else to do, it’s better to go home early.”
“Water-type slimes aren’t afraid of rain,” Vieya shook her head.
After the Future Clan Head left, Vieya drank a few more cups of free fruit wine, then lay sprawled over the table, staring blankly outside.
There were very few elves in the tavern today—only a handful. Still, elven servers would occasionally come by to refill her drink for free, all low-alcohol fruit wines.
Stuffed with drink, the slime grew drowsy.
Boom!
A thunderclap exploded in the sky.
Vieya jolted awake. The sky that had been bright and sunny at noon was now covered in thick, dark clouds.
‘Is it really going to rain?’
That elf—could she be a jinx?
Forget it. I’ll go back first. Let the dragon egg get rained on, then wait for it to beg me.
With her thoughts sorted out, Vieya immediately vanished from the spot.
Inside the tavern, an elven server returning with an empty wine jug suddenly froze. The table ahead was empty—only a row of drained cups remained.
Huh? Did that foreign little guest leave?
On the street.
Not long after leaving the tavern, Vieya suddenly sensed a gaze landing on her.
“Who?”
Alarm bells rang in her mind as she instantly recalled the enemy that had invaded the Elven Forest two days ago, wreaked havoc in the dungeon, and killed elves. Until the forest’s protective barrier fully recovered, she had to be cautious.
The next second, she summoned the holy sword.
Dark clouds rolled overhead, thunder roared, and bean-sized raindrops fell from the sky, striking her face with numb, icy splashes.
At that moment, a sound came from a corner ahead.
Vieya tightened her grip on the holy sword and advanced slowly toward the corner.
Then—
A filthy dragon egg appeared from behind the corner, its pristine white shell caked with mud.
A slime and a dragon egg faced each other like that.
Wait—weren’t you in the courtyard? How did you get out? Can you walk now? Did other elves notice you? And how did you get yourself this dirty?
“Eggy... you can walk on your own now?”
“...I hopped over,” the dragon egg said softly. “I saw you go to pick up the child, and then an entire afternoon passed and you still didn’t come back. So I came to find you... don’t worry, I avoided the elves. I won’t cause you trouble.”
“......”
Vieya suddenly froze.
After a long moment, she snapped back to herself. But there was no time to think through all those questions, no time even to feel heartache. With a wave of her small hand, she took the dragon egg into the Golden City and dashed toward the slime cottage under the intensifying rain.
Flaviel: Plan successful (OK.jpg).
...
After returning home, Vieya called the maid over. The two of them bustled about for quite a while before finally cleaning the dragon egg again.
“Waaah, Master!” the maid cried as she wiped it down. “I’m sure I was watching this egg properly, but somehow it suddenly disappeared. I thought you’d taken it away, Master!”
“There’s really no need to cry, is there?” Vieya felt stifled. What was wrong with this one? She hadn’t even blamed her.
I’m not some kind of demon...
After washing and drying it, Vieya moved the egg into her own room, placed it on the bed, tucked blankets around it, then brought over a chair and sat down opposite.
She sat there, the holy sword resting across her knees, looking straight at the dragon egg.
“Evil dragon, let’s have a proper talk.”
