"Nina, are you sure we can't?"

"We can't, my lady."

A lovely girl with wavy golden hair and eyes like blue jewels, dressed in an elegant, old-fashioned gown, puffed out her cheeks at the answer from the maid sitting opposite her.

"But whyyy? Can't we visit the elf village just once?"

"No. The elf village? Do you know how dangerous the journey there is? The forest is crawling with monsters."

"Hmph, you think I don't know that? The worst things in the Green Elf Forest are goblins. Our family's knights could defeat those in no time!"

Nina sighed inwardly at her young mistress's reply.

'Oh, where did she hear that this time...?'

Conversations like this were something Nina endured whenever she passed near the elf forest with her mistress. At first, she had somehow managed to smooth things over, but as time went on, the girl only grew more persistent.

"I'd be happy with just one visit. Please? I want to see Lady Nellin, the hero. Please? Is it really out of the question?"

The girl pestering her maid was Jessi Rudendion, the daughter of Count Rudendion. She voiced her reason for wanting to visit the elf village: she wanted to see Nellin, the Starlight Archer—an elven hero and a member of the party that had defeated the black dragon known as a calamity fifty years ago.

Even fifty years later, the legend of the heroes who defeated the calamitous black dragon was still being passed down. There were biographies recording the heroes' stories from those days, plays in which actors reenacted their deeds, statues and dolls modeled after them, and even storybooks for children.

Jessi Rudendion, too, had grown up hearing about the heroes through various media, starting with storybooks when she was little.

The Impenetrable Shield, the human Aldor Meyer.

The Mighty-Armed Warrior, the dwarf Kachal Demft.

The Saintess of Healing, the human Fresia.

The Mage of a Thousand Spells, the human Ventus Frail.

The Starlight Archer, the elf Nellin.

Yet only three of those five heroes were still alive. The Impenetrable Shield had died of old age in his family's embrace, while the Mage of a Thousand Spells had tragically perished in a magical accident thirty years ago.

After defeating the black dragon, the other heroes had returned to their respective homelands to live in peace. And the elf village that was home to Nellin, the Starlight Archer, happened to be near the County of Rudendion.

That was why, whenever Jessi passed near the Green Elf Forest on her way back from an outing beyond the county, she always begged her maid Nina to stop by the elf village. She wanted to meet Nellin, the Starlight Archer who lived there, in person. Her requests had begun at age six and continued to this day, ten years later.

"No amount of begging will change anything. Have you forgotten how sternly the count and countess scolded you last time and told you no?"

"Ugh..."

The painful memory resurfaced in Jessi's mind.

+++

With her birthday approaching, Jessi had addressed Count Rudendion and his wife in a sweet, coaxing voice, accompanying her words with winsome gestures.

["Father, Mother, I want to visit the elf village!"]

["You still haven't given up on that, Jessi!"]

["Do you truly not understand us when we tell you it's dangerous?"]

Her parents ordinarily granted her every wish, but they firmly opposed a visit to the elf village.

+++

Jessi puffed out her cheeks, realizing that nothing had changed since that earlier conversation.

"Father, Mother, and you too, Nina—you're all so mean! Why won't you understand my innocent wish to see Lady Nellin?"

"We understand perfectly well. You're so enchanted by the heroes' stories that you've told the count over and over how much you want to see Lady Nellin."

"Then can't you let me meet her just once? Or invite Lady Nellin to our manor!"

Faced with a reasonably valid argument, the maid readied her usual excuse.

"Lady Nellin is a great hero. Even the count cannot invite someone like her on a whim."

"Awww."

Fortunately, Nina's excuse worked.

'Whew. At least that excuse still works.'

In truth, inviting a hero was hardly difficult for someone of a count's standing. Moreover, merchants regularly traded goods between the County of Rudendion and the elf village in the Green Elf Forest. And that was not all. Count Rudendion had made arrangements to let the elves purchase whatever goods they wanted for their convenience, and the village elder sent him a letter of thanks every year for his consideration. With relations that cordial, inviting Nellin to the count's manor could hardly have been difficult.

In fact, it was Count Rudendion himself—Rufus Rudendion—who wished to keep Nellin and Jessi from meeting. He had shared his reason with Nina as well. Agreeing with him, Nina had spent more than ten years working to preserve Jessi's childhood innocence. Though her body was mature enough for her to be mistaken for an adult, her heart was still tender and full of dreams, as befitted her age.

Taken in by Nina's excuse, Jessi stuck out her lower lip. The happy mood her outing had left her in sank away.

'Aww, I want to visit the forest where Lady Nellin lives.'

Jessi turned toward the window and looked at the forest. Just then—

'Huh?'

She spotted a slime emerging from the trees with particularly springy bounces. It was round and pale green. Having spent most of her sixteen years within the county, Jessi had never seen a monster before.

'That's a slime!'

A slime—a monster said to be far weaker than even a goblin. Jessi's attention shifted from meeting Nellin to the slime outside the window.

"Nina! Stop the carriage!"

"My lady, I've told you time and again, the elf forest is..."

"That's not what this is about! Just stop it, quickly!"

"?"

At Jessi's firm request, the carriage, which had been traveling at a steady pace, came to a halt. The moment it stopped, she opened the door and stepped outside, with Nina following behind.

"My lady, what on earth has gotten into you?"

"Look, Nina! It's a slime!"

"Pardon?"

With a radiant smile as bright as the blazing midday sunshine, Jessi pointed toward the slime.

"I've never seen a slime before! It's so round!"

Her eyes sparkling, Jessi started toward it.

"W-wait, my lady! It's dangerous! You must take a knight with you! My lady!"

+++

'Wow!'

Having spotted the moving carriage, the slime bounced along to get a closer look, gradually drawing nearer. Suddenly, however, the carriage stopped, and two unfamiliar creatures emerged. And they were coming toward it!

Now quite capable of asking questions, the slime immediately asked in chat.

▷Are they humans?

Arachne, the viewer known as Madam Cat's Cradle, happened to be watching the slime's stream and replied.

[Madam Cat's Cradle]▶That's right, Squishy~ Those are humans!

▷Wow! Humans!

At last, the slime was truly meeting humans. Brimming with curiosity, it watched the creatures approaching it.

'There are more!'

While the slime was asking its question in chat, Nina had stopped Jessi briefly. Now they were approaching together with the knight who had been riding on the driver's bench.

▶Oh lol, actual hoomans this time.

▶Ruuuun for your liiiife!

▶But that hooman looks weak as fuck, doesn't she?

▶Isn't the guy coming up from the back stronger than Squishy?

▶First strike! Hit first!

The anonymous viewers casually fired off messages as they watched the humans approach the slime.

'Humans! They're coming!'

The number of approaching humans had increased from two to three.

The slime had already heard from the Smartass what to watch out for when encountering humans. If they attacked, it was best to dodge. But it did not yet know whether they would attack. Giving priority to its curiosity, it decided to observe them. The Slime Queen had advised it to avoid humans whenever possible, but mere advice could not overcome the slime's curiosity.

"Jessi! I've never seen a slime before! It's pale green! Are all slimes like this?"

"My lady! First, the knight! The knight will go first, so please stop for a moment! Finn! Hurry! Go! You have to protect her!"

"Come on, why make such a fuss over a mere slime?"

"What if she gets hurt? Hurry up!"

"All right, all right. My lady, please step back for a moment. I'll check first."

"Okay! Please do!"

A young man with a sword at his waist and armor covering his shoulders, legs, and chest approached the slime. He had trained at the county's knight academy and was now a full-fledged knight. Having encountered monsters far stronger than slimes during his training, he stood before it without much caution.

'No matter how I look at it, it's just an ordinary slime.'

Slimes were exceedingly unaggressive monsters that would not attack first unless directly attacked. Since they absorbed almost anything, some regions used them to dispose of food waste and sewage, and even for funerals. In a sense, they could be considered monsters closely connected to humans.

'Even if it attacks, I can make short work of a slime.'

Finn crouched and reached toward it. A fellow trainee who said he had raised slimes had taught him a method for assessing their temperament. A slime that fled when stroked was wary. One that moved violently and tried to leap at your torso was aggressive and needed to be disposed of immediately. If it stayed still, it was docile and could safely be kept.

Finn stroked the slime with his gloved hand.

'?'

The slime could not immediately understand why the human was suddenly petting it. Still, the gentle touch did not feel unpleasant. Delighted by the feel of the glove stroking it, the slime quivered.

'It's trembling? What kind of reaction is that?'

Finn puzzled over its unexpected response.

"Me too! I want to touch the slime too!"

Envious of Finn getting to stroke the slime, Jessi bounced up and down on the spot. It already looked so soft and squishy. An eager desire to pet the adorable creature welled up inside her.

"My lady! Please calm down! Finn! Are you sure it's safe?"

With the young lady wanting to touch the slime and the maid—his childhood friend—pressing him for an answer, Finn considered what to do until an idea occurred to him.

"Please stay right there, my lady. I'll bring it to you."

He lifted the slime in both hands to prevent it from springing away when Jessi petted it.

"Stay still."

'Woooow!'

The strange sensation of its viewpoint rising, just as when it had sat on Nellin's hand, made the slime quiver with delight.

'It's trembling again? Does it like this?'

Holding the slime, Finn walked over to Jessi.

"Here you are, my lady."

"Finn, are you sure it's safe?"

"Don't worry. I've got a firm grip on it."

Eyes sparkling, Jessi reached toward the slime.

"Wow! It's soft! Slimes really are squishy!"

The feel of the slime beneath her hand brought a bright smile to Jessi's face. At the same time, her gentle touch delighted the slime as well. It quivered all over.

"Ahaha! It's trembling! That tickles!"

"T-trembling? Finn! Is it really safe?"

"It should be fine. It's probably happy."

"What do you mean, probably!"

"How am I supposed to know what a slime is thinking? At least it isn't attacking her."

While the maid and knight bickered, Jessi petted the slime to her heart's content.

'It's cute and squishy, and it looks so well-behaved!'

Utterly taken with how the slime felt, she declared,

"I'm taking it home to raise it!"

"What!?"

"You said what?"

At her shocking declaration, the maid and knight stopped arguing and stared at Jessi.