The slime entrusted by Rin was named Sura.
Sura, who was about the size of a palm, was not released into some random dungeon floor. It was decided that Kousuke would take it back to the management layer.
It would be meaningless if Kousuke released Sura, which Rin had gone out of her way to call out and entrust to him, onto Slime Island. Furthermore, on other dungeon floors, it was unknown whether Sura, having just split, could survive.
Upon returning to the management layer, Shurein saw the slime on Kousuke’s hand and said,
“What is it? Are you going to use slime materials to do something again?”
“No, that’s not it. Rin from Slime Island sent it over herself after splitting.”
Shurein also understood Rin.
However, she tilted her head, not understanding what purpose Rin might have had for doing such a thing.
“Rin? Now why would she do that?”
“Who knows? I can’t possibly know that much.”
While a certain level of conversation was possible with the “Communicate With” skill and body language, it was not possible to understand intricate details.
Rin seemed satisfied just by handing Sura over to Kousuke, as she did not attempt to provide a detailed explanation.
Therefore, Kousuke did not know Rin’s true intentions.
Shurein remembered that being able to communicate with a slime in the first place was already strange, and her expression became one of understanding.
“That’s true. Still… it’s awfully small.”
While not an unusual size for a slime, it was small for something that had split from Rin.
Basically, slime splitting resulted in an equal division of mass.
“Indeed. But perhaps there are simply species like that?”
“Well, given that it’s right in front of us, that’s probably how it is.”
After all, even Rin’s species was not commonly known.
Considering that, there was no reason to be surprised if its splitting method was different.
Even with monsters that should be familiar, there were many things one could learn for the first time.
Both Kousuke and Shurein had come to understand this through managing the tower and, more importantly, by observing many familiars.
Shurein decided that dwelling on Rin’s purpose was futile and turned to ask Kousuke about something else.
“So, are you going to keep this one in the management layer?”
As Shurein said this, she poked Sura with the index finger of her right hand.
True to its nature as a soft-bodied creature, Shurein’s finger sank into Sura.
Despite Shurein’s abrupt action, Sura did not even try to escape.
Though a normal slime might have fled, the fact that it didn’t indicated that Sura was an unusual slime.
Kousuke nodded in confirmation as he responded to Shurein’s question.
“That’s the best option.”
“I suppose so. If it’s this small, it would be difficult to find it after releasing it.”
“Ah, I see. There was that, too.”
It would be great if it came immediately when called, but if not, it would be quite a hassle to search for it.
While the two were talking, Sura hopped from Kousuke’s hand onto his shoulder.
Then, with the same momentum, it moved to the top of Kousuke’s head.
Normally, there would be a considerable impact when landing on someone’s head, but surprisingly, Kousuke felt almost none of it.
Of course, he could feel its presence, so he knew Sura was on his head.
It felt as if a feather had fallen onto his head.
There was no mistaking Sura’s presence, as Shurein, who was talking to him face-to-face, kept glancing at the top of Kousuke’s head.
Shurein’s face softened at Sura’s incredibly adorable behavior.
“Seeing it like this, it seems others will accept it without any problems. …However, I think it would be best to introduce it to Kuro soon.”
“I know without you telling me. I was planning to go there after this.”
If Sura were a familiar, it would recognize that Sura was one of its own immediately.
However, since Kuro was not a familiar, it would need to be properly taught.
While familiars living in each floor might be fine, Kousuke needed to introduce Sura to Kuro before any accidents could occur, as Sura would be living in the management layer.
Although with the presence of the White Wolf King Ten, nothing unusual would happen, it would be faster for Kousuke to teach it himself beforehand.
“I see. In that case, there’s no need to waste time with idle chatter here.”
As Shurein said this, she glanced towards the area where one could access Kousuke’s divine realm.
It was clear that she thought going to Kuro should be the priority. Kousuke felt the same.
“Well, whether it’s a waste or not, it’s certainly better to do it sooner rather than later, isn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
Nodding in agreement with Kousuke’s words, Shurein immediately started walking.
Although her purpose was unclear, she intended to witness it alongside Kousuke.
Kousuke felt no need to stop her, so he simply followed behind Shurein.
***
After successfully meeting Kuro, Sura was naturally accepted by the other women and began living in the management layer.
As a result, something Kousuke and the others hadn’t expected happened.
“…This is convenient.”
“It certainly is.”
Shurein nodded at Kousuke’s words, while Silvia tilted her head.
“It’s something one could figure out with a little thought, so why didn’t anyone think of it?”
“Exactly. There are Tamers in the world, after all.”
Floria said with a tone of slight exasperation as her gaze fell upon Sura, who was busily crawling around the floor of the management layer.
Sura had quickly become the idol of the management layer in just a few days.
While Sura was accepted like a pet, a small anomaly had occurred within the management layer during this time.
The first to notice was Kouhi, who was in charge of cleaning the entire management layer.
Kouhi reported to Kousuke that the rooms where Sura was present were inexplicably becoming cleaner.
For the past few days, Sura had been following Kousuke wherever he went.
That is, it didn’t interfere with Kousuke’s work or rest, but instead rustled around somewhere in the room or rested alongside him.
To Kousuke, it was nothing more than that, and he hadn’t paid it any particular attention. However, Kouhi’s words made him reconsider that perception.
And on this day, everyone was monitoring Sura to find out what it was doing in the room.
The result was the discovery of the surprisingly simple reason why the rooms were becoming clean.
“…A cleaner, huh.”
Everyone nodded at Floria’s softly spoken words.
Slimes are known as the weakest representative of nature, but at the same time, they appear everywhere and are known to consume everything.
Due to this nature, they were given nicknames by Floria, which were generally used in a rather dishonorable context.
However, looking at the scene unfolding before them, those names seemed likely to be used in a different sense now.
Sura, moving diligently before their eyes, would slip into places that human hands couldn’t reach and clean them.
Of course, Sura might consider it merely part of its feeding, but to Kousuke and the others who knew the result, it was more than sufficient ability.
After all, it meant that if Sura was left to roam freely in rooms that were usually empty, it would automatically clean them.
Of course, there were issues such as whether there were things Sura shouldn’t eat, and whether Sura could properly distinguish them.
Kousuke pondered this as he watched Sura moving before him, realizing that he needed to carefully assess whether it was truly okay to leave it as it was now.
You’ll immediately know who the title is referring to, won’t you? lol
This is a story that I’ve been meaning to write, but haven’t (or so I think).
If I have written it before, I apologize.
