That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: The Shocking Daily Life - The experiment by the riverside and the underground room at night—I clearly heard Tidia's voice.

The banks of the Amerda River were warm and pleasant in the afternoon sun. The blue water surface sparkled and glimmered. Grass along the riverbank swayed in the gentle breeze, and water birds called out in the distance. Peaceful. It was an incredibly peaceful place. Rimuru Tempest lay on that grass in a completely flattened state. Not in human form. In his true slime shape—a semi-transparent sky-blue mass stretched thin to its limit, plastered against the ground. Like a rice cracker. "……Is this really what you'd call an experiment?" "Yes, that's the 22nd pancake transformation! The distribution of magical essence is more uniform than last time!" Momiji sat on a stone by the riverbank, a large notebook spread open before her. Her deep crimson long hair swayed softly. Her violet star-shaped eyes were fixed on the notebook, and her feather pen moved smoothly across the page. She looked genuinely serious. This morning, she'd come to Rimuru's room and said it. "Um… I'd like to study Rimuru's slime form in more detail. The riverside has plenty of space…" That part was fine on its own. Rimuru thought her enthusiasm for research was one of Momiji's good qualities. But now, thirty minutes into the experiment, Rimuru was deeply regretting it. "Well, I guess it's fine…" Muttering, he slowly reformed into his original sphere. With a soft *puru* sound, his shape returned. "Perfect! Now, please do the dango transformation—three patterns each in vertical and horizontal directions" "Hold on. How many times have we done this?" "Um… the total number of transformations is 23. We can also collect data on your exhausted state, so it's efficient" "Exhausting me to collect data is efficient?!" "Science takes no breaks" She said it without even a smile. Because she said it with such a serious face, Rimuru couldn't find words to respond. (……Isn't this just bullying?) He thought that to himself, but ended up starting the dango transformation again anyway. Rimuru was the type who couldn't refuse when it came to his companions. Even knowing it was a bad habit. He stretched vertically, stretched horizontally, spun around in circles. Momiji wrote in her notebook. The sound of the pen continued smoothly. After a while, the river's surface went quiet. The wind had stopped. Rimuru noticed it slightly before Momiji did. The water surface was bulging just a little. Not a natural wave. Something was pushing up from below—an unnatural movement. (……Huh?) The next instant, the water surface exploded with a *splash*. What burst from the river was a fish-type monster with silver scales and protruding fangs. It resembled a sweetfish in shape, but was about 50 centimeters long with rows of teeth. Not just one. Two, five, ten—more than twenty came flying out onto the riverbank in an instant. "M-Monsters!" Before Rimuru could even shout— Momiji thrust her right hand forward. Her violet eyes glowed. "……Fire magic" Her voice was quiet. Calm. But the very next moment—— DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!!! The pillar of fire that ran across the river's surface was three times thicker than Rimuru had anticipated. An orange flame raced across the water in an instant, and more than twenty monsters literally turned to charcoal. In a moment. Without a trace. And——the fire pillar continued burning the river's surface. *Sizzzzzzzzzzz*, the sound of massive amounts of water evaporating. Steam rose like white mist, turning the riverbank into a sauna. The river's water level visibly dropped lower and lower. "The river is……" Shouts echoed from the distance. Fishermen downstream. "All the fish are dying!! The river's disappearing!!" "Give the river back!!" Rimuru shouted that while diving into the river. He used his slime body's properties to the fullest—drawing in surrounding moisture and channeling it into the river. From the damp soil on the riverbank, from the grass roots, from the humidity in the air—he gathered everything. Water flowed in with a *glug glug*, and the dropping water level slowly began to recover. One minute later, the river had somehow returned to its original level. Rimuru crawled up onto the riverbank and collapsed onto the grass. He was more exhausted than from the transformation experiment earlier. Incomparably more exhausted. Charred monster remains scattered across the riverbank. Black fragments lay here and there. "……I overdid it" Momiji stood there looking small. Hugging her notebook to her chest, her violet eyes wavered with remorse. "Overdid it? The river almost disappeared" "……Um, my magical power control was a bit…" "A bit?! You put out three times the power you should have!" "……Yes. I'm sorry" Because she apologized so honestly, he couldn't stay angry. Rimuru let out a long sigh. (Well, I defeated all the monsters and restored the river. I guess it worked out…) He started cleaning up the riverbank. Pushing the charred monster remains toward the grass. Perhaps because Momiji had used too much magic, her legs swayed unsteadily. Rimuru instinctively reached out his arm. He shifted his slime body slightly into human form, supporting Momiji's arm. Momiji looked at Rimuru with a surprised expression. The evening sun hit the Amerda River, and the water surface gleamed orange. Grass along the riverbank swayed in the wind, and the sounds of insects were beginning. For just a few seconds, a quiet air flowed between them. "You okay?" Momiji's cheeks flushed slightly. Not her usual serious face—a rare expression. "……Thank you" Her voice was honest. Different from her apology earlier, softer. Rimuru tried to say something—— *Gurgle gurgle*. Momiji's stomach growled. Very clearly. "I'm hungry!!" She said it cheerfully. "Give that moment back" He felt completely deflated. Really deflated. But somehow he found himself laughing. Well, let's finish cleaning up. Rimuru thought that and turned his attention to the charred monster remains. That's when he noticed. A thin yellow light was seeping from the fragments of the remains. Magical essence. The residue of magical essence released when monsters die. Normally it would dissolve into the atmosphere and disappear. But it wasn't disappearing now. That thin yellow light was slowly being drawn downward, into the ground. Rimuru stopped moving. He recognized that direction. The basement's second floor. The direction where Tidia's magical essence circuits ran. Momiji sat on the riverbank stone, flipping through her notebook while complaining about her hunger. She hadn't noticed. Rimuru silently watched the yellow light sink into the ground. (……Is Tidia collecting magical essence from outside?) The memory of that night in EP1 came to mind. That irregular flickering. That weak voice. ——Lonely. And tonight, he had to go check. "Let's eat and head back" He said it as naturally as he could. Momiji stood up energetically with a "Yes!" After that, they ate dinner, and he saw Momiji to the guest room. Before entering, Momiji bowed politely and said "Thank you so much for today's data." The door closed. The hallway fell silent. Rimuru descended the stairs to the basement alone. The second basement floor was dimly lit. His footsteps echoed on the stone floor. The moment he saw the crystal sphere on the pedestal in the center of the room—Tidia's skill core—Rimuru stopped. It was clearly more intense than yesterday. Red, green, yellow. The three colors mixed together as the core pulsed strongly. The air around the core shimmered with heat. Yesterday it was "flickering," but today "heartbeat" was a better word. It moved like a living thing. Rimuru held his breath and stood watching without getting closer. And——he heard a voice. Not "thought he heard it" like yesterday. Clear. Unmistakable. ——Want… friend. A small voice. Like a child's voice. But definitely words. Rimuru slowly knelt down. Before the core, he lowered himself to match the height of that voice. "……Are you really talking?" The core flashed once, intensely. It shone white——then slowly faded. Only a thin blue light remained. Rimuru placed his hand on his forehead. The skill was nurturing emotions. It wanted a friend. He'd never heard of such a thing. He'd thought it impossible. But that voice was real. The magical essence it had been collecting from the riverbank—it was for this. It wanted more energy, wanted something more——it was seeking. "……Can't laugh at this" He muttered. He really couldn't laugh. If he left it alone, what would happen next? Today was more intense than yesterday. Tomorrow might be even more intense. But he had no idea what to do. Should he tell his companions? Should he carry this alone? With no conclusion reached, Rimuru stood up. He left the basement and walked down the long corridor. Stone walls continued. The light from magical lamps flickered and swayed. ——Want… friend. That voice kept repeating in his head.

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Episode 3

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

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