When Alicia and I returned to the inn after receiving a request from the Empress Brigade to purify the water source, we found a small slime in a trash can.
Normally, monsters that appear in urban areas should be exterminated immediately, but--
"...! ...!"
Shake, shake, shake, shake!
The tiny slime, barely big enough to fit in the palm of your hand, was just trembling slightly and showed no sign of attacking.
I, I think it's a bit difficult to suddenly defeat this thing... Alicia tilts her head next to me as I hesitate.
"...For some reason, he seems really scared. And in the first place, why is there a slime in a place like this...?"
"Ah, maybe it's just something that was missed when the dungeon collapsed."
For a while after preventing the dungeon from collapsing, there was a period when the city was being cleared of monsters that had fled there while it was being rebuilt.
This slime was a survivor from that time, and had likely been using its small body to hide until now.
However, it's unclear whether this was good fortune for this slime.
Perhaps they had witnessed their compatriots being defeated while fleeing, or perhaps they had been in danger of being chased by humans on multiple occasions.
The slime was so terrified of people that it was hard to believe it was a monster; even the slightest movement from us would make it flinch and tremble.
"Well, it seems kind of sad... Ah, that's right."
If this much is harmless, I might as well do a little... I thought to myself, and took something out of the "sex room."
The corpses of monsters that were being collected to sell as materials.
"See, it's not scary."
With no further use, he offers the slime a small bone that will likely have to be discarded.
"...? ...?"
The slime trembled again in my outstretched hand, but when it noticed the bones, its behavior changed slightly.
Slimes are also known as "waterside cleaners" and feed on the rotting corpses of monsters and various other types of impurities.
The reason he was in the trash can was probably because he was looking for dirt, which means food, and he's probably hungry after all the running and hiding he's done.
Thinking this, I presented the bone to the slime and waited patiently,
"...Soft and squishy."
I guess my appetite couldn't be resisted.
The slime, which had solidified warily, cautiously took the bone into its body.
The bones slowly melt inside the translucent body.
Suddenly -- flat flat!
The slime must have been really tasty because it bounced around.
So cute...!
"Look, there's more."
"...!"
I gave him another bone, and this time he ate the food from my hand without any signs of hesitation.
And then...rubbing.
As it took in the food it leaned its body towards my hand, and the cool, smooth feel of its skin felt very pleasant.
Finally, the slime started eating as if it had jumped into my chest, and my initial fear was a lie.
"...Elio, next time I'll be there..."
Perhaps inspired by the man's friendliness, Alicia then gave him a bone.
The slime readily accepted the food and began hopping around inside me again in a happy mood.
"...cute"
Alicia smiles gently as she strokes the slime that is eating the bones in my arms.
It feels so good, like petting a puppy.
"They say that Tamers search for special monsters that are as friendly as possible and turn them into Familiars, so I wonder if this slime is one of them?"
And so, for a moment I forgot about the water source investigation and was being soothed by the lost slime.
Pekkaa!
"Huh?!"
The slime that was rubbing its body against my chest emitted a strange light.
At the same time, my genitals suddenly started to heat up... Huh? Could this be? I pulled up my status plate.
Then, apart from the usual status, the following display appeared.
The Incubus's Kin
Anonymous 0 years old Species: Minimum Slime Level 1 Female
Possessed Skills
"I thought so! The
It was a new power he had acquired after the previous battle.
When I checked it beforehand with the appraisal crystal, the only skill that was displayed was the simple explanation "Turns up to two controlled monsters into the servants of the Incubus. The power and number of servants are proportional to the level of the monster."
I figured it was a taming skill, but it can be activated so easily!?
"...I heard that a contract with a demon familiar only requires that you communicate with the monster, so it might be pretty loose..."
Alicia voiced her guess to me, who was surprised.
Even so, the skill activation is too easy...
"Hmm... Well, she's cute, so it's fine. I thought it would be irresponsible to just let her go somewhere like this."
The skill description, "Turns you into the servant of the Incubus," is a little scary though...
And just as I was starting to worry that this cute slime might be tainted by my strange skill,
Flat, flat.
"Whoa, what's wrong?"
The slime that had eaten all the bones flew out of my arm.
He went straight for my bag and slipped inside.
The next moment, the slime took out a transparent container from his bag.
This is a sealed container containing a sample of contaminated water given to me by Empress Stacey.
"... (slap slap)"
The slime clings to the container as if saying, "Open this, open this."
Then I suddenly realized.
"Huh...? Could it be that it detected the location of the contaminated water?"
The slime made his way straight to the contaminated water sample, which was hidden inside the bag and therefore out of sight, so there should be no smell leaking out.
This reminded me of the ecology of a monster called slime.
As mentioned earlier, slimes are also known as the "waterside cleaners" and enjoy eating all kinds of "dirt" such as monster corpses, poison, stagnant magical power, and decayed water.
Due to their nature, they have an excellent sixth sense for detecting "dirt", and it is said that they gather from far away places. In addition, they have a skill called
I couldn't believe it... so I gave them some contaminated water, and...
"(Gulp gulp!)"
It drank deliciously!
As expected, it doesn't have the power to purify the miasma all at once and gets full quickly, but this baby certainly recognizes the polluted water as high-quality food. If that's the case...!
"If we've become a family member, will we be able to communicate? Could you please try looking for the contaminated water?"
"(Slap, slap!)"
The slime jumps as if it's happy that I rely on it.
Once it sat on my arm, it extended a small protrusion to show me the way - and successfully made it to the well filled with contaminated water (the reason it hadn't taken refuge in the well until now was probably because there were so many people around).
Just to be sure, I tried the same thing with some contaminated water hidden in the room, and it worked 100%.
"Amazing! The level is still low so the detection range is only so-so, but it prioritizes detection of more highly contaminated water, so we can quickly find the source of the contamination!"
The low-level ones can be trained along the way, and even if they are low level, they will surely be useful in identifying the cause of the contamination. I wondered what to do when the
"Okay, then you'll come with me on this job... Ah, that's right."
As I hugged the slime, I suddenly realized something.
Now that we've become family, we'll work together from now on.
I need to give it a name.
Hmm, I guess so.
"...The sound it makes when it jumps around is so cute, so let's name it Pepe."
"(Slap, slap!)"
Perhaps the slime Pepe was happy about my naming, as he jumped around happily again.
It's decided.
"...Nice to meet you, Pepe..."
Alicia smiled as she stroked Pepe.
Meeting Pepe gave me hope that the problem might be solved, so I enthusiastically resumed preparations for the water source survey.
"Purupuru... I can smell the deliciousness coming from down there, you're such a kind master... I love you ❤ Slurp..."
He didn't even notice that Pepe, who was supposed to be a monster, had muttered something.