Chapter 195: Fallen Sylvio
Chapter 195: Fallen Sylvio
After parting with Torr and Asmo, I walk on the straight road to return to the mansion.
I was planning to let Torr and Asmo get a slime pillow, but today’s search took longer than I thought and so decided to put it back for now since it was getting dark.
They too, also wanted to hold a slime pillow today, but they happily went home after I managed to convince them to get them to hold the pillow on another day with more slime pillows as an excuse.
When I enter the front door, Mina and Sara - who were just in the hallway - welcomes me.
「「Welcome back Alfried-sama」」
「I’m back」
The two of them said the same thing, however, their tone displayed the difference in their personality.
And moreover, I’m happy that I received words of welcome like this as soon as I return home.
Since it gives me the feeling of assurance, and that it was all right for me to be here.
I wonder if Torr and Asmo - who hated the thought of going home until the end - would actually feel the same, one way or another? While thinking that it would be nice if it were so, I place the leather bag with the slime inside on the ground and change from outside shoes into slippers.
「Eh? It’s soft? Alfried-sama, what’s inside this leather bag?」
Mina threw a simple question at me while carrying my stuff.
「There’s slime insideー」
「Aah! So it’s slime! I also used to bring back slimes home when I was littleー. But each time I did that, I will be told by my mother to throw it away 」
「Me too」
「So you only take them home once, right」
Mina and Sara started to have a nostalgic conversation somehow.
It’s like an episode where you got scolded by your mother for bringing back a stray cat or dog home.
Well, if they got a harmless and a somewhat cute appearance, people will treat slimes like that.
Though I thought that they will hate the fact that I brought slimes back, it seems like that’s not happening.
I guess it’s because they are originally villagers who are familiar with animals and monsters in their daily life, huh?
「Are you going to raise a slime, Alfried-sama?」
「Could it be, did you find a way to make delicious food using slime!?」
Sara and Mina asks me when I was thinking about that kind of thing.
I think that half of what Mina said is her own desire, but could you eat slimes?
「Eeh? Can you eat slimes?」
「I have never eaten slimes before, I’ve heard that they eat them in different villages sometimes」
I was surprised to hear that from Sara.
Seriously? So people eat slimes sometimes?
「I also haven’t eaten it yet, but it looks like it’s going to be delicious since they’re so squishy. If you eat it with sweet syrup, it’s going to look like the Kagura’s dango that Alfried-sama talked about!」
「That’s just what Mina wants to eat, isn’t it」
「Ehehe」
……I wonder if they taste like agar? What to do now, when I heard about it from Mina and tried to imagine it, it seems like it’s going to be tasty.
Slime can change its hardness depending on the heat and cold air. If I adjust the temperature using magic, I can become soft or hard. That means I can change the textures according to my tastes. And when I adjust it like that, looks like I would be able to make a jelly-like texture.
But the problem is the flavor and its hygiene.
I’m not sure about how clean it’s going to be, but there are a lot of monsters like Wushi and Orc meat that can be eaten. Compared to that, slimes will look clean but I wonder about that?
But, it appears that some villages are eating them in practice, so it doesn’t look like there’s going to be any harm to the human body.
Though they’re omnivorous we won’t know what they ate, but wouldn’t it be all right if we were to remove the mud and the food inside them?
Or we can give continue to deliberately give them food like fruits, then they might have similar tastes to the fruits. There are such methods to remove the bad smell or to make the meat more tender in animal husbandry.
Slimes is a monster that absorbs and digests things. It is quite possible for the taste to turn into the same taste like the food they ate if they keep eating the same kind of food.
In other words, after I continue to feed the slime with grapes and then cook the slime, it will turn into a grape jelly dish!?
「Alfried-sama! Alfried-sama!」
「Ahh! Uhh, what is it?」
I suddenly came to my senses after Mina shook my shoulder.
「Are you all right? Are you tired after going out? Your eyes looked really lifeless」
「……it’s like, the time when someone’s life gradually disappeared from their eyes」
I was only pondering about something for a moment but they said something dreadful.
But, Mina and Sara don’t appear to be making fun of me. They look really worried about me.
「I’m fine. I just thought about whether we could eat slime or not」
「Really?」
「I’m fine, just go back to preparing for dinner. I’m going to start working to turn slime into a pillow」
「「Into a pillow?」」
Ignoring Mina and Sara who are tilting their heads, I lifted the leather bag using Psychic and headed toward the second floor.
◆
After stuffing the slimes into a strong water-resistant leather, I immediately head for the living room to have Sylvio-niisan try it out.
「Sylvio-niisan! The slime cushion is completed!」
「Welcome back Al」
When I entered the living room while carrying the slime pillow and slime cushion with me, Sylvio-niisan - who was reading a book on the sofa - smiled and welcomes me.
「Is this the slime cushion?」
「Un, that’s right! Try using it quickly!」
「……the slime inside won’t come out, right?」
When I gave him the slime cushion, Sylvio-niisan - who holds the slime cushion - asked uneasily.
He agreed that he will try it after hearing it will be hard for you to be tired if you use it but, he’s probably really scared after feeling the actual soft sensation of the slime.
「I have already fed it with some food and the bag had been tied with a cord, so it’s going to be fine. Either way, we can just beat it if it came out」
「That’s right, isn’t it. Slime is so small that even a kid can beat them, so it’s going to be fine」
Persuading himself by muttering that, Sylvio-niisan put the slime cushion on the sofa.
Then, after staring at it for a while, he slowly sits on top of the slime cushion.
「……ah」
Such voice spontaneously leaked out from Sylvio-niisan.
「How is it?」
「……Al, the feeling of sitting on it is very comfortable」
Sylvio-niisan answered with such a gentle expression on his face when I asked him that.
「Right?」
「Yeah! Even if I were to sit down all the time, my bottom won’t hurt if I have this」
Sylvio-niisan reseated himself to enjoy the feel of the slime cushion.
It seems that Sylvio-niisan understands the greatness of the slime cushion. With a big difference in expression from his stiff expression from before.
「Is the slime’s firmness okay? I can make it firmer a little more if I chill it with Ice magic, or I can make it softer if I warm it up with Fire magic」
「Hmーm, I think it feels fine right now? I will decide again after trying it for some time」
「Okay」
It’s Sylvio-niisan’s first time using the slime cushion after all. It would be best for him to use it first and then begin to understand his own preference for the cushion.
「Then, I guess I will use my own cushion」
I was so tired after walking outside all day long. So now I want to use the slime cushion to laze around.
I put another slime cushion on the sofa and slowly sat on top of it.
The slime gently receives my body weight with its elasticity.
I guess it’s thanks to the change in the slime’s shape according to my bottom that the cushion strangely fit my bottom.
I languidly sit on top of the slime while enjoying such a feeling.
After that, I decided to lie down, so I place it under my head to use it as a pillow.
The usual feather pillow is also nice and soft but, the elastic slime pillow is also great.
……I wonder what is this. It’s like lying down on top of a huge konyaku.
I guess I will cool down the pillow then. I just came back from outside so I want something cool.
So I carefully chilled the slime pillow using the cold air from Ice magic.
Then, the slime inside is growing cold and starts becoming firm.
I buried my face into the slime pillow once more.
Immediately after that, the cool and nice sensation from the pillow is passed into my cheek.
It felt like the heat from the midsummer is being blown away, and it felt comfortable to my hot body.
「Haa……it feels nice to feel the coldness」
I unintentionally muttered while relaxing my expression.
Then, perhaps Sylvio-niisan noticed what I did next to him,
「……does it feel that good when you chill it?」
「Do you also want to try it, Sylvio-niisan?」
「Un, please do」
I chilled the slime cushion presented by Sylvio-niisan with Ice magic in the same way.
「Waa, amazing! It really became firm!」
Sylvio-niisan yelled in surprise after poking the chilled slime cushion.
That was a kinda cute reaction that I unintentionally giggled.
「Is this cold and firm enough?」
「Un, it’s enough!」
I give the slime cushion to Sylvio-niisan, who is yelling somewhat excitedly.
Immediately after, Sylvio-niisan lie down and started to put it under his head.
「Haa………it’s cold and feels nice」
「Making a slime into a pillow was not a bad idea, right?」
I smile and said that to Sylvio-niisan, who currently has an ecstatic expression on his face.
「Un, if it’s like this then it makes me want to use this even when I sleep」
Sylvio-niisan slowly closes his eyes and before long, he began making the breathing sound of a sleeping person.
Apparently, Sylvio-niisan has fallen to the charm of slime cushion.
Even though he said that it’s a ridiculous idea to sleep while placing a slime - a monster - under your head this morning, now he’s sound asleep.
If he like the slime cushion this much, then it’s worth the effort for my hard work today.
「Fuwaaa……」
As I took a breath while looking at Sylvio-niisan’s figure, I was hit by fierce drowsiness.
It seems that the fatigue from walking around the place today has caught up to me.
Following the original instinct of my body that wants to sleep, I lie down on the sofa and put a slime cushion under my head.
Then I slowly sunk into slumber.