That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: The Shocking Daily Life - Purple Stew and Star-Shaped Eyes

I couldn't sleep last night. Rimuru Tempest walked through the corridors of Veldanava Castle, his thoughts drifting absently. The image of Tidea's crystal sphere flashing red and green. That voice saying "lonely." He still couldn't tell if he'd actually heard it, or if exhaustion had scrambled his mind. (Well, I can investigate again today.) A slime's body didn't tire easily. He was grateful for that, at least. The commotion came from the direction of the castle gates while he was making his morning rounds. Two voices. One was loud and nasal——Gobta the Second. A goblin soldier stationed at the south gate of Veldanava Castle, bowlegged, known for his booming voice. Honestly, kind of annoying. The other was calm, polite, but somehow desperate. "That's what I've been saying! I can't let suspicious sorcerers through!!" "Um... I'm not suspicious. Really. I came for research. I brought papers too" "Papers?! What the hell are papers?! Even if you show me, I can't judge that!!" "Y-you're right... so what should I do... um... sorry" "Don't apologize! Apologizing means you know you're doing something wrong!!" "That's not... um... I... sorry" "I said don't apologize!!" Rimuru approached the gate and saw the scene. A single girl stood outside the castle gates. Her hair burned like deep crimson flame, glittering in the morning light. Long, gently wavy hair flowed from her shoulders down her back. About 165 centimeters tall, clutching a large travel bag and several thick books. Her eyes were——oddly shaped. Not ordinary circles. Stars. Purple, star-shaped eyes. They were turned toward Gobta the Second in an expression of complete distress. A few residents had stopped to watch. Rubberneckers. Rimuru stepped forward. "Gobta. What happened" Gobta the Second snapped to attention. "Lord Rimuru! This suspicious sorcerer is trying to enter the castle——" "I'm not suspicious!" The girl interjected quickly from the side. Then she noticed Rimuru and her expression shifted to surprise. "Um... are you the Lord?" "Yeah. Rimuru Tempest. And you are?" The girl bowed deeply. "My name is Momiji. Um... I'm researching the magical essence structure of slimes——magical essence being the energy that supports all life and technology in this world——specifically the unique accumulation patterns in slime species. I believe there are academically very important clues in how you, Lord Rimuru, evolved to demon lord class..." From there, Momiji didn't stop. What magical essence was as energy, what made slimes different from other monsters, how unprecedented Rimuru's evolution was. She spoke rapidly, politely, and the content was genuinely detailed. Gobta the Second had lost the thread three seconds in. Rimuru glanced at Gobta's profile and pointed to the door of the guardhouse beside the gate. "Gobta, take a break. I'll listen to what she has to say" --- The guardhouse was cramped. Two wooden chairs and a small desk. A weapon rack on the wall. Momiji sat in a chair, the books she'd brought resting on her lap. Across from Rimuru, she seemed slightly tense. "Let me ask again. Where are you from?" Momiji froze for a moment. "...Um" "I gathered you came from far away. If you could tell me anything else, it'd help. I can't let someone with unknown origins into the castle" "Beyond the fact that I came from far away... right now, it's a bit difficult to say" She didn't seem to be lying. Just——there was something. Her eyes didn't waver or panic. She simply closed her mouth firmly. He asked about her teacher. She said nothing. He asked about any organization she belonged to. She shook her head. He tried naming sorcerers to get a reaction. She ignored them all. Rimuru thought for a moment. (If I push too hard, she'll run. This one.) She didn't seem like a bad person. The passion to actually do research was genuine. There was just something in the background. (Well, even if someone dangerous shows up here, I can handle it.) "Understood. If there's a reason, I won't ask now. Just——if you do anything strange here, I'll throw you out. As long as you keep that promise, I'll show you around the castle" Momiji looked up. Her purple star-shaped eyes lit up. "Really?!" "Really. Come on" --- The tour turned out to be more exhausting than expected. Veldanava Castle had five floors above ground and two below. Stone corridors ran in every direction. The executive quarters were split between east and west wings. Rimuru's office was on the third floor, the great conference hall on the second. Tidea ran throughout the entire castle, thin blue particles of magical essence drifting lazily along the walls. The moment Momiji entered the corridor, she started running. "Wow...!" "Wait a second" He couldn't catch up. Momiji pulled out a notepad and began measuring the corridor width by her own stride. She looked up at the ceiling and asked "Is it about four meters high?" When she opened the door to the great conference hall——a massive room that could hold a hundred people——she jumped several times in excitement. "Amazing! The ceiling is so high! Is it designed so the flow of magical essence isn't compressed?!" "No, it's just normally high" When they reached the executive quarters corridor, Momiji suddenly crouched down to check its length. "Um... how many of your main bodies would fit in this corridor?" Rimuru stopped. "...My main body?" "Yes. I don't know the standard size for slimes, so I want to use you as a reference" "Why am I the standard?!" "You're the most convenient actual specimen..." "Absolutely not!!" In the end, when Rimuru told her "about 40 centimeters in diameter," Momiji noted down "So this corridor is about fifty times that" with satisfaction. What kind of standard was that, Rimuru thought but didn't say. When they passed his office on the third floor, Momiji peered through the door. "Um... Lord Rimuru, are those all documents?" The pile on the desk was visible. Yesterday's leftovers. "Yeah. I get about that much every day" "You write all of them yourself...?" "Well. I did similar stuff in my previous world too, so I'm used to it. Not that I enjoy it" "Previous world?" "Don't worry about it" Momiji stared at him for a moment. Then she said quietly, "Um... thank you for showing me around." "Let me make something for you in return" Rimuru had a bad feeling. --- "I can cook," Momiji insisted, and Rimuru was too soft to stop her. In the castle kitchen——a large stone room with three stoves lined up——Momiji began pulling ingredients from her travel bag. Herbs, something brown, dried red grains, and a mysterious purple liquid in a bottle. Rimuru waited by the entrance. At first, the smell was normal. Like sautéed onions, properly cooking. Ten minutes later, it changed. A strong, stifling smell began wafting into the hallway. Sour yet sweet, something that transcended the category of "cooking smell." Two soldiers passing through the corridor wrinkled their noses and hurried away. "Lord Rimuru, are you alright" "I'm fine. Better not get close" Ten minutes more. Momiji emerged with a pot. The contents were——purple. The surface bubbled faintly, with white particles floating on top. The color saturation was wrong for food. The visual impact was overwhelming. "It's done! Um... a stew made from herbs from the Amelda River region and purple moss mushrooms I collected during my travels. It's rich in health-promoting components——" Three soldiers walking down the corridor from behind noticed the pot and approached with interest. "Lord Rimuru, what is this...?" "Don't look, don't get close, don't eat" "Please, while it's hot!" Momiji offered Rimuru a bowl. Steam rose from it. Purple steam. Rimuru paused for a moment. (A slime's body is immune to poison. I can digest anything, no matter how strange. That's my species trait.) He took a sip. He was silent for a while. "...It's delicious" Momiji froze. "...Huh?" "Really. The herb flavor is rich, and the aftertaste is clean. It's delicious" Thud. Thud-thud. Sounds from the corridor. He turned to see three soldiers lying on their backs. They'd tried "just a sip" from the pot. All three lay in a row, eyes rolling. "They're down!!" "Wh-what...!" "They're mostly alive!! I'm fine so it's not poison, but your cooking is generally dangerous!!" Momiji looked at the fallen soldiers, then at Rimuru, then back at the soldiers. Her eyes began to glisten. "...I did it again. Always... everyone collapses..." Her voice trembled. She sounded genuinely sad. Rimuru felt a bit helpless. "Well... I really do think it's delicious. It's just that my body structure is unusual as a slime, but the taste itself isn't bad" "Really...?" "Really. Has no one ever told you it was delicious before?" Momiji quietly shook her head. "Never. Not even during my travels, not with other researchers... everyone takes one bite and collapses" Rimuru stood holding the bowl. Purple steam drifted from the kitchen entrance. Three soldiers lay in a row in the corridor. Yet this stew was genuinely delicious. (This girl's been making things her whole life and no one's ever eaten them for her.) "I can eat it every time. No problem with my body, and I guarantee the taste" Momiji looked slightly surprised. Then a single tear fell. "...Thank you" "Help me wake the soldiers" "Yes" --- It was hectic. They carried the three soldiers to the guardhouse, gave them water, laid them down. They were conscious, so no real harm done, but all three said "I had sweet dreams." The purple moss mushroom apparently had weak hallucinogenic properties. Harmless. Momiji helped care for them while apologizing. She was careful and gentle, draping blankets over each one, placing cloths on their foreheads. Rimuru was checking the hallway when it happened. Momiji casually placed her hand on the castle's stone wall. "Is this stone mined locally? The arrangement is unique..." It was an ordinary gesture. Just touching the wall out of curiosity about the material. Rimuru's eyes stopped. Inside the wall——deep in the stone——a thin blue light ran through. Tidea's magical essence circuit. The automated cleaning skill's pathway that ran throughout the castle. It pulsed the moment she made contact. Momiji's palm began to glow faintly white. "...I felt like something called to me just now" Momiji tilted her head, looking at her own hand curiously. The light faded quickly. The wall returned to normal. Something stirred in Rimuru's chest. The underground chamber last night. The crystal sphere flashing red and green. That voice saying "lonely." (Is it connected?) "Probably just static. Old stone can do that sometimes" Even as he said it, he felt the inconsistency. Momiji said "Maybe so" and turned her attention back to the fallen soldiers. Rimuru stared at the wall for a while. Tidea ran throughout the entire castle. When magical essence supply had been disrupted before, it had even made all the swords in the armory float——an accident. But this was different from that malfunction. It reacted like the crystal sphere did. Like something had responded. Momiji clearly had immense magical power. As a researcher, her knowledge of magical essence was deep. But why would Tidea react only where she touched? (I'll investigate later. I'll check the underground crystal sphere today too.) A soldier's voice came from the guardhouse. "My head... but strangely, I don't feel bad..." and similar things. Rimuru walked forward. There was cleanup ahead. Momiji said from behind "If there's anything I can help with, anything at all." "Next time you cook, leave out anything purple" "Understood. Um... should I leave out blue things too?" "Blue things are dangerous too?!" "They glow a little" "Leave everything out!!" His voice echoed down the corridor. Momiji laughed softly——her first real laugh. Rimuru glanced at it, then looked ahead again. She had a cute f

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Episode 2

Name: That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: The Shocking Daily Life
Author: Novelia

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