Home/How to Survive as a Slime in Another World/ch61

Chapter 61

"And Zendor thinks I'm the cutest."

Heh-heh. Lifting one corner of my mouth, I looked up at Delro. His expression contorting was quite a sight. This is what I live for.

"No, I said go back already!"

……Again?

Hearing the gruff, cracked voice from stress, we focused our attention on one spot.

The platinum-blonde elf. That familiar face stood silently in front of a red-roofed house.

"No matter what you say, I won't leave. I request a conversation."

……Persistent. Even as the dwarves now ignored her and passed by, she stood her ground.

"To be treated like this and still not leave…."

"Elves must be pretty stubborn too, huh?"

Delro, picking his nose, spotted the blacksmith Bidel and dashed off.

Impatient as always.

Letting go of Elija's hand as he was about to enter the smithy with Delro, I toddled over to the elf.

"Echo?"

Elija twitched his now-empty fingers and quickly followed beside me.

Ta-da-dak.

The elf frowned, sensing my approach.

"Hey, elf. Wha doing?"

Her cool gray eyes briefly held me. Then she snapped her head away. Her shimmering platinum hair swayed coldly, as if creating a breeze.

"……Elf, wha doing?"

If you thought I'd give up that easily, you're mistaken.

"Echo, let's just go. We might just get into trouble."

At the elf's silent treatment, Elija lowered his shoulder to take my hand. The elf, ignoring me hovering beside her, stood stiffly facing the red-roofed house.

"Dwarf ahjussi mad?"

Why are you always standing here? Despite Elija's attempts to dissuade me, I kept chattering, and the elf's lips twitched.

A vein briefly appeared on her smooth forehead, and she spoke without looking at me.

"A being that is neither elf, nor dwarf, nor human, yet speaks. I do not associate with monsters."

Heok. Shocked by the sudden verbal attack, I covered my mouth with my hand.

Are you discriminating against me because I'm blue?

Having gotten used to the dwarves' warm welcome for a slime girl, I had momentarily forgotten my monster nature, and I fell into a slight shock.

Elija placed his hand on my drooping shoulder and scooped me up.

"Ah, is that so."

Snuggling into Elija's arms like a cat, I reflexively looked up at the soft laugh.

Elija's eyes curved smoothly into an arc.

"By that logic, the elves are treated even more like monsters by the dwarves, wouldn't you say……?"

That must be upsetting. Elija lowered his eyebrows.

"Eriya, you no tact?"

Sogoon-sogoon.

Meeting the elf's gray eyes gleaming fiercely, I burrowed into Elija's arms.

The elf silently crossed her arms, her gaze fixed on us.

Eueu, having the elf's negative attention is really pressuring.

"Eriya, elf is looking at us."

"It's okay. Let's go back."

Elija adjusted his hold on me.

Just then, the elf's tightly sealed lips slowly parted, and a cold voice slipped between us.

"……I just need weapons."

Huh? What.

I thought she was about to hurl more insults.

She's actually speaking.

"Wepons?"

"I came to the dwarves to receive weapon support for our village. That's all the answer you'll get."

Elija and I looked at each other with round eyes.

An elf? Asking dwarves for weapons?

"Didn't you say elves and dwarves don't get along? Did you have to come all this way?"

Elija tilted his head at the unexpected answer and spoke.

"……"

"Are you in a difficult situation?"

At Elija's question, the elf clammed up again like glue and turned away.

Aish, so frustrating.

Feeling my patience wearing thin, I wriggled to escape Elija's arms.

"Elf……."

"Aish, if it isn't our cute little slime girl!"

Just then, a loud voice came from afar, and a few dwarves ran over, their short legs pumping.

Wha—I was just about to say something.

Turning my head irritably, I saw the beaming dwarves and quickly changed my expression.

Cute slime face, appear! Ppyeong.

"Ahjussi Monglo! And Erdall!"

"Hey, you don't even call me?"

"Keu-ha-hat, Mauch, you don't need to know. Move aside."

The chilly atmosphere quickly warmed.

These days, even monsters need to socialize. Why? Because…… cute slimes get an extra treat.

"Echo, come by the tavern later. We got some great steak meat."

Exactly like that.

Erdall patted my head, her green eyes sparkling.

"I'll serve it with my special sauce!"

"Waaa!"

This is the part I'm most envious of whenever I see Zendor lately. A capable cook for a girlfriend!

Aish, where did Zendor find someone this skilled!

I'd already tasted Erdall's cooking—she runs the tavern—at Zendor's welcome party last week.

The meat in particular was so tender, it was literally heavenly……!

"I'm already drooling……."

"Puff, Echo. If you melt the table at the restaurant, that's one extra day of free labor!"

Kkyareureu. The dwarf ahjussis, along with Erdall, held their bellies laughing, pretending to tumble backward.

"Anyway. Seeing Echo's happy eating face has been making me so proud lately."

"We just ate at Erdall's place too, and today's menu was no joke!"

Behind Erdall, beaming, Monglo, with his beard braided in three strands, tossed something my way.

Teop.

I made a perfect catch with my mouth, and the dwarves clapped.

Gulp.

"A magic stone!"

The dwarf ahjussis toss magic stones from their pockets like candy.

Friendship with dwarves……, sweet as honey. It was worth going around with my cute, round eyes.

"Ah, when such an amazing slime leaves Berg, what fun will we have left?"

"Why not just settle down and work here?"

As the ahjussis whined about how sad they'd be if I left, Erdall firmly grabbed the scruffs of their necks.

"……Monglo, Mauch. Don't you have mountains of work to do? Meal time's over, I think it's time you got going."

Her intense emerald eyes playfully narrowed, and she began dragging the two dwarves away by one hand.

"Echo, I'll see you this evening!"

Leaving a cheerful laugh, Erdall disappeared, dragging two burly dwarves.

In an instant, the noisy surroundings fell quiet. After chatting with the dwarves, it always feels like a storm has passed.

"Anyway my charm too much, need rest."

"……."

Behind my wiggling, smiling face, a cold presence loomed.

"Hak."

Ah, right. I was talking to the elf.

The dwarves had so naturally ignored the elf that I'd completely forgotten.

She had definitely turned away to look elsewhere, but now the elf was staring at me with those cold eyes.

"……Mweeng."

I feel tense for some reason. I can't read her expression at all.

After a few seconds of silence, her gray eyes quietly scanned me and then slowly closed.

"……If you have no business, then."

As Elija shrugged his shoulders in the awkward atmosphere and tried to leave with me, the elf finally spoke first.

"I came because of a monster problem."

……Excuse me? Suddenly?

With the same dry expression as before, the elf began to speak unexpectedly smoothly. Elija and I stood dumbfounded, forgetting to even move.

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