That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime

Zaza was stunned.

It could not believe what was happening in front of its eyes.

Of course, Murder Dogs were known as the embodiment of fear, and Beretta had killed three of them in an instant, so it could not be helped.

(Is-is this real!? I cannot believe it…)

Without being able to accept it, Zaza stood in shock.

Then a voice sounded from behind Zaza.

"Kaaaa—hahahaha! Oh, Ramiris, I have found a survivor! We thought this world was a miss, but there may even be other life if we look for them."

"Hmmm. Master. That's fine and all, but my whole body feels tingly and it hurts…"

Zaza jumped and then turned around.

A beautiful brown-skinned man with blonde hair was standing there.

Not only that, he looked natural, as if his body had not been altered at all. He just wore casual clothes and stood there.

Of course, it was Veldora.

"He-hey, you! Are you crazy!? You can't dress like that with all of the radiation!?"

Zaza could not help but shouting. And Zaza could not be blamed.

Veldora's clothing was completely abnormal.

In fact…

This entire surface world was full of danger.

There was the thin oxygen and poison in the atmosphere.

The reason that the enemy could use nuclear weapons without regard over the destruction of the environment was that the environment was already polluted beyond repair.

This world was already on its way, at a rapid speed, towards destruction.

But there were those who had a will to fight this fate and created an organization. The resistance that Zaza was a part of-Light of Dawn-.

"Hahaha. Isn't it cool? This outfit was designed by Rimuru and made by Shuna. What do you think?"

"Who cares about how you look? More importantly, this thing about thick radiation has an ominous ring to it. And my body kind of hurts. It's important, so I'm going to say it again. It's tingling and painful!!"

It was here that Zaza noticed another strange thing about Veldora.

A voice. Something was sitting on Veldora's shoulder and saying they felt pain-Zaza's eyes went to Ramiris and widened.

"No, no. This is not about pain! Are you really fine…? And what is that small thing!?"

Ramiris ignored Zaza and continued to wail.

"Hey, master! I just remembered something. Didn't Rimuru say that radiation was bad for human bodies!"

"It should be fine, I think? He said that it was fine if it was only a small amount. After all, if the sunlight is fine, then there should be no problem…"

"Hey, wait! Wait! It may be fine for someone like you, since you can live outside of the atmosphere, but it's bad for a weak fairy like me! And that young man over there just said that it was very dense!!"

"Hey, don't cry like that. Oh, well. I shall make a little barrier then and nullify this radiation thing…"

Veldora mumbled excuses against Ramiris's complaints as he started to strengthen the barrier.

Fairies took damage from radiation? Zaza wondered about this, but decided not to ask.

Ramiris finally regained her calm after Veldora was finished.

If she really had been taking damage, it would already be too late for her. But seeing as that was not the case, it was clear that she had been imagining the pain because she was scared.

"I was wondering, master… If you can do that, I would have liked it if you did it in the beginning. Didn't I tell you? You're supposed to protect me! Oh, I knew it. I should have had Beretta protect me instead…"

"Let go of it already. I will do better next time. Don't worry about it."

"Really? Are you sure? You better mean it!?"

Veldora and Ramiris continued their bickering as Zaza stood in shock once again.

Ultimately, Veldora gave in and the matter was settled.

But while they talked, Zaza was so stunned that he could not open his mouth.

He didn't know what to do, and his reasoning could not keep up with the situation.

And so it was Beretta, who had killed the Murder Dogs in an instant, who spoke first.

"I meant to capture them, but they were accidentally destroyed. This is not good. I tried to use magic to restrain them at first, but I could not activate it. There is no energy here. Not being able to use magic means that I will have to completely rethink the way I fight. But it is so hard to adjust…"

Beretta said as he finished inspecting the destroyed Murder Dogs before standing up.

Veldora and Ramiris heard him and stopped their fighting.

At the same time, Zaza realized that what was happening now was not a dream, and he was finally able to speak.

"He-hey. I don't know what is happening here, but you have my thanks for saving me. But this place is dangerous. I want to retreat to a safe area. Will you people come with me? I would like to repay you and ask some questions…"

"Oh? Would this place happen to have other intelligent creatures-that is, humans?"

"Yes. We will have to take a longer route in order to avoid being followed, but my comrades will be there."

Veldora and Ramiris listened to him and then looked at each other and nodded.

If there were others here, then there would surely be someone who knew a lot about the culture of this world.

And so they decided to follow Zaza.

Beretta had known them for long enough to see what they were thinking, and so he obeyed without any objections.

"Very well. We have things we would like to ask as well. You may lead us to this place then!"

Veldora said, representing the others. Zaza nodded.

As for Zaza, he did not completely trust these two-three, including Ramiris-just yet.

But he decided that if the Empire had sent these three for the purpose of finding their hideout, then they would not have gone as far as to destroy three very expensive Murder Dogs.

(As angry as it makes me, three Murder Dogs would be worth more to them then being able to crush us…)

This was his conclusion after giving it some thought.

And so like that, Veldora and the others were led by Zaza to the hidden abode of the resistance organisation, the Light of Dawn.

◆◆◆

While on the road, they introduced themselves to Zaza.

Though, Zaza did not appear to take Veldora's bold claim, that they had come from another world, very seriously.

However, he did not pry any further.

(Maybe they just want to hide the truth. After all, they have such advanced weapons…)

That's what Zaza thought.

He looked at Beretta and felt that his will was to obey Veldora's orders.

And then there was that miniature Automata called Ramiris.

But then again, he was not even sure if she was an Automata.

To Zaza, this Ramiris seemed like it was the result of unbelievable technology.

It was only about 30 centimeters tall and it sat on Veldora's shoulder…

"What's wrong with you? You've been staring at me all this time. Don't tell me you have fallen in love? Well, I am quite cute, so it would be no surprise. But too bad! I am not that kind of girl!"

Ramiris laughed haughtily. She had clearly misunderstood something.

Zaza looked away.

"See? Even the people of this world are no match for my allure!"

She began to boast to Veldora.

(What kind of mechanism? I've never heard of a cyborg of that size. Is it a robot then? No, those smooth movements are that of an Automata. It was saying something about pain earlier, so it must have some kind of sensory organ replicate. But an Automata of that size… No, more importantly, I have never heard of such advanced artificial intelligence. Is it a brain transplant? Or…Memory Install…!?)

Zaza thought all this while giving a sideways glance. He decided that there was no way that Ramiris was an artificial intelligence.

Surely it was not possible for even an advanced program to think and react just like a human.

Well, maybe it was possible if you had the same ability to process information that the quantum computers aboard the Empire's battleships had… But it was surely not possible on something as small as Ramiris.

(I feel like I am going crazy. This cannot be real…no, wait?)

Then Zaza thought of something.

(That's it! If they used the rumored space expansion technology to compress and store the brain…)

This person called Ramiris must have transplanted her brain into this small Automata-that is what Zaza started to believe.

It answered a lot of questions he had had.

(Yes, I see. So this Ramiris person is the most important among them. And this defense cyborg called Veldora and the combat weapon that is Beretta are here to protect her…)

There were too many things that were unclear, and so Zaza came to this conclusion.

Of course, he had thought a little too much about it, and had ended up reaching a conclusion that was completely wrong.

To begin with, Veldora had not told a single lie.

They had come from a different world, just as he had explained.

However, considering that the scientific ability of this world, where there was no actual confirmation of other worlds existing, Zaza had to believe that they were fugitives who had escaped from some laboratory.

And it was this that led to his great misunderstanding.

That being said, it was not exactly something that would lead to much trouble…

All it resulted in was Ramiris getting a little carried away and Veldora sulking.

◆◆◆

"…and so, this here is Ramiris. And this is Veldora and Beretta. They saved me from the Empire's Murder Dogs."

The person who Zaza explained this to was Sharma, a mid-level executive in the organization.

She was a middle-aged woman whose appearance suggested gentleness.

The other person, who was standing behind Sharma, was a nervous-looking man in his thirties whose name was Rindo.

As Sharma and Rindo were ordinary people, they looked their age.

While he looked like he was in his twenties, Zaza was a cyborg, and actually much older.

However, Zaza was with the line troops, and so he answered to Sharma, who managed them.

They were currently at one of the bases of the resistance organization-Light of Dawn-that Zaza had led them to.

It was not very far from the underground shelter that was their main base.

They had moved through the maze-like underground passages to get here, careful to make sure that they were not followed.

The reason that there were only two people to greet them was because Light of Dawn were wary of Veldora and the others.

Zaza had sent a report electronically in advance. But of course, Light of Dawn did not feel that the strangers could be trusted until they saw them with their own eyes.

While the strangers may have killed three Murder Dogs, Rindo felt that it could still be a trap by the Empire, and his opinion held a lot of weight.

Zaza trusted Veldora and the others, but it was not so easy for those at the top.

And so Veldora now sat on a chair that was facing the three others.

Behind him Beretta stood and Ramiris sat on his shoulder, just like she always did.

"I see. It is too bad that Jitta and the others died. But we are lucky to have you back, Zaza. And we have you three to thank for it. Thank you for saving our comrade, Zaza."

After hearing Zaza's story, Sharma bowed deeply and thanked them.

Rindo kept silent and continued to observe Veldora and the others.

Veldora did not seem to mind as he began to laugh.

"Kaa-hahahahaha! Oh, it was really nothing. In any case, Sharma. Are there more people in this place that you live in?"

"Yes. Almost a thousand… But not many of them are warriors…"

Sharma said in a vague, guarded voice.

She was not sure what reason Veldora had for asking this question.

As for Rindo, who stood behind her, he narrowed his eyes at Veldora now.

(…Hmm, I see. So they are targeting our base after all. It will be dangerous to tell them of our fighting force…)

That's what Rindo decided.

But…

"Only one thousand? That's hardly anything. Is it a small village? In that case, I don't know if we can expect any good food or amazing art that would draw our interest."

"Master, I guess this world is a miss after all. I mean, they seem too busy with their war to build an interesting culture."

"Hmm… You are probably right. But, well…we should still check it out anyway."

"That's true. We came all this way, after all…"

That is what Veldora and Ramiris started to say upon hearing Sharma's answer.

Rindo could not hide his confusion.

It was not what he had expected at all.

Their purpose was the search for new entertainment. They had no interest in their military power at all—but as Rindo knew none of this, he was left to be confused.

"Oh, right-right. We still haven't finished thanking you yet. We cannot offer you much, but we prepared a little meal for you. I'll bring it right now."

Zaza seemed to have sensed the awkward atmosphere, and he said this as if to help lighten things up.

This was one of their bases, and it had the facilities for several people to live here for a few weeks.

Food was very valuable at this time, but as long as there was a need to monitor the Empire, it was necessary to keep this place stocked.

And yet Zaza meant to serve this valuable food to Veldora and the others.

It was his way of showing his appreciation.

Zaza prepared the food himself and set it out in front of them.

However-

"I do not require food. Ramiris, you can eat it if you want."

"Oh, really? Thank you."

"Hmph. So you do spoil her after all, Beretta? Oh, well…"

He did not need food-but that meant he could eat it-and yet Beretta pushed his food towards Ramiris.

Veldora watched this with jealous eyes, but the real problem occurred after that.

"Let's eat then! Huh, what is this? It feels like playdough and has no taste! And this water is muddy!?"

"…Disgusting. What is this tablet?"

"Hey! Hey! What is the meaning of this!? Are you trying to bully me?"

"Exactly! Someone as great as I will not allow this insult to go unpunished!!"

To Veldora and Ramiris, the food was of unbelievably low quality.

It wasn't poison.

It was actually very well balanced in terms of energy.

However, it did not seem like the kind of thing to give to guests as a show of gratitude.

Hate based off of food was strong. And Veldora and Ramiris were very gluttonous.

They had been served something inedible, and now the fires of rage burned hot within them.

Zaza became frantic.

"Hey, hey. Please wait! This is our precious 'water,' 'energy tablet' and 'solid food'! Taste? Who would ask for something so luxurious!?"

Zaza was truly shocked as he fired back at Veldora and Ramiris.

Their resources were so scarce now, and a single meal was very valuable.

One of the reasons that they attacked the Empire was so that they could take food supplies from the enemy's food production plants.

In this situation, taste was hardly important.

They were lucky to be able to eat enough to survive.

As a cyborg, Zaza only needed a cup of water and one energy tablet to run for an entire day.

However, this was not the case for most of the residents. A full meal consisted of water, energy tablet and solid food. It was the bare minimum for them to survive.

It was the same for Automata, who had enhanced cells through cultivation.

Unless the majority of your body was a machine, like Zaza, you had to consume valuable food resources.

Zaza was so serious that even Veldora and Ramiris saw that it was not a joke or an attempt to offend them.

"Ramiris. Perhaps this food really is incredibly valuable to these people…"

"That's a surprise, master… He wouldn't be lying, would he?"

Ramiris and Veldora looked at each other with amazement.

Just then, Sharma opened her mouth with a gentle expression.

"Calm yourself, Zaza. It seems that the food was not to our guests' liking. But this is the best that we can do. And…if you don't mind, may I ask you one thing?"

She sounded gentle, but firm.

And she was now looking straight at them.

"Yes. Ask whatever you like."

Veldora said. And so Sharma did.

"Then let me ask you this. You put the tablet in your mouth just now. Does that mean you do not know how to eat it? I am sure you find me rude, but can you answer me that?"

She said.

Zaza and Rindo were more surprised than Veldora and Ramiris by this question.

"Sharma, what did you just say?"

"No, no. I am a cyborg with no taste buds, but normally… Now that I think of it, you took the solid food and… What? Could it really be…?"

Veldora and the others had no idea what Sharma meant.

"How to eat it? What are you talking about?"

"Huh? What's wrong with just putting it in your mouth?"

They were very confused.

After that, Sharma demonstrated it for them.

While it was fine to just swallow the tablet, it was considered normal to mix it in with the solid food.

The tablet dissolves into the dough and adds some flavour to it.

"These tablets are incredibly expensive tablets that allow you to enjoy five different flavors. The taste changes with every bite."

Sharma explained as she demonstrated.

Oh! Veldora and Ramiris were quite impressed, and they imitated her.

As Veldora had already swallowed his tablet, he put Ramiris's tablet into his solid food and mixed it. Then they tasted it together.

As for the result…

"Oh? It's not bad at all."

"Hohoho. Very interesting. It sends false information to your tongue and makes you think it has taste. I think it would be quite fun to research this as a gag toy."

They were both quite excited by this new food experience.

"I am relieved that you enjoy it."

"Yes. It is very interesting indeed. By the way, does the taste change if you put it in water?"

Veldora's curiosity was limitless.

He wondered if the muddy, odorous water would be drinkable if the tablet were mixed with it.

However, the answer was most disappointing.

"This tablet does not dissolve very well in water."

"Aye. Didn't you taste it earlier when you bit into it directly? It tastes very bad if you take it by itself. And us cyborgs, who do not require solid food, will swallow it down with some water. There are also ways to remove your taste buds, but that is quite sad."

Sharma denied it and Zaza explained in detail.

So cyborgs still had taste buds.

There were some who discarded it as unnecessary, but not Zaza.

Zaza took out a taste ball-which was an incredibly expensive luxury item-and showed it to them.

"This thing send low-frequency waves to stimulate your tongue. Feeling it with your tongue cause special electric signals to be sent to your brain. It won't satisfy your hunger, but it's an important thing in keeping what's left of your humanity."

Veldora and Ramiris watched Zaza explain this with dazzled eyes.

"Master, master!"

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Ramiris. I understand your excitement at this, but you must calm down."

But they were both very excited.

Beretta was calm and stood quietly behind them.

Sharma looked at the three of them and thought.

(-I do not understand these people. Did they really not know? But if they were lying. Why? I cannot understand it and…)

In her fifty years of life, Sharma had never eaten anything but this food.

It had the perfect nutritional balance, kept you from getting underweight or overweight and made it difficult for you to get sick.

And so it was not like Sharma at all, that she now felt like asking them about it.

She waited for them to calm down a little and then asked them quietly.

"Hehe. But I am quite interested. If you do not know how to eat this, what kind of food do you normally eat?"

If these two had been lying to her, what would they say now?

What lies could they have prepared-she wondered.

However, the answer that Sharma received exceeded anything she could have ever imagined.

"Oh, you mean like cookies or cakes? I also like eating fruits as they are, but the tarts that Shuna makes are even better!"

"Ramiris, those are snacks! For food, I like tempura a lot!"

"Yes, tempura is delicious! If that's what we're talking about, I like barbecued meat and hamburger steaks too!!"

Veldora and Ramiris seemed to be fighting over who could offer the most answers to Sharma's question.

However, none of the words had any meaning to Sharma.

These dishes did not exist in this world-to be precise, they stopped existing three generations ago.

Only Zaza, who was the oldest of the three, knew what Ramiris meant when she said cookies.

He understood.

(Cookies? Yes, before the war started… I had assumed that such things did not exist anymore, but what if we were to search? No, no, if there were any left, they would be in the center of the imperial city… So is that where they came from…?)

Zaza wondered.

But as if to disregard the confusion that Zaza was currently feeling, Ramiris did something most unexpected.

"Oh, right! I thought something like this might happen…!!"

Ramiris shouted. Then she cast magic on the cup that was on the table.

The cup was half her size, but it now floated up into the air where it was enveloped by a sphere of water and purified.

"Yes, yes. My spirit power is weak, but I can still do this much."

She nodded with satisfaction, and then pulled out a bottle that was the same height as herself.

It was a thermos.

It contained some hot tea that had been made beforehand.

"Ramiris. I would also prefer some tea over this muddy water."

"Okay! How about you? Do you want to drink it too?"

Sharma and the others were stunned by what they had just witnessed.

"Huh? What?"

"Hey, wait! What just happened? Water is so…no, but…!?"

"Is it a trick? An illusion? No, it can't be…"

None of them could understand it, and they reacted with confusion.

"Okay! Then you guys can have some too!"

Ramiris interpreted their reactions as assent, and so she purified their cups without waiting for further answer.

The cups and plates were all sucked into the sphere of water that appeared in the air.

And then after a few seconds, cleanly washed cups and plates were lined up on the table.

Ramiris ignored the shocked spectators and then took something else out of her breast pocket and put it on the table.

"Look at this! It's some snacks I smuggled in!"

It was pound cake and cookies.

She served them on each plate.

And the cups were filled with steaming and fragrant tea.

"Alright then. Let's eat!"

And with that, Ramiris began to eat the food that was quite huge relative to her size.

Veldora happily grabbed a cookie and shoved it into his mouth.

Then he nodded with satisfaction.

"Mmm. Yes, this is the stuff. Oh, please don't be so modest. Eat up."

Veldora said, encouraging Sharma and the others to eat, as they were still frozen.

Upon hearing this, Sharma and the others began to move, even though the situation felt too bizarre to be real.

Zaza moved first.

He looked away from the plate of cookies and pound cake, saying, 'I do not require food…' and his hand went for the tea.

He took a sip and closed his eyes.

(It's real… How nostalgic. But that means…)

He realized what it meant, and he suddenly opened his mouth.

"Sharma. Rindo. Let me warn you-you must be prepared if you are going to eat this."

"Is it…poison?"

Rindo said cautiously.

But Sharma knew what he meant.

"Oh. I see…Zaza. So it is real…"

She muttered under her breath.

And then she continued.

"However, we have a duty to eat this food. After all, it was without a doubt I who asked them about what they usually eat. And I must take responsibility for my actions…"

Sharma said. And then she quickly grabbed one of the cookies as if to allow no hesitation to come over her.

And then she put it into her mouth.

It was so deep and spread so wide. This unknown taste.

It wasn't the artificial flavor that deceived. It wasn't electric signals. It was real taste.

This was the true thing that fulfilled one of the three great desires of humans.

It wasn't about gaining energy. It was about satisfying the soul.

It was the first time Sharma realized this truth.

And as for Rindo…

"I cannot allow you to carry all the weight. I too will learn of the truth."

Veldora and Ramiris watched this display and wondered why they were exaggerating so much. Rindo cut himself a piece of pound cake and brought it to his mouth.

And-

(…Impossible!? Is this what real taste is…!!)

He was shocked.

It was as if everything he had ever known was a lie.

The first thing that had filled Rindo's heart was a sense of mistrust towards Veldora and the others.

He had thought that they were spies from the Empire that had been sent to find their hideout.

However, they turned out to be very strange.

As he wondered about this, they had then ridiculed the food that had been offered as a show of gratitude.

After that, Rindo's heart became full of rage towards them.

But the ability to calmly make decisions was always required of him, and so he had repressed these emotions and watched silently…and now, the small girl called Ramiris had served them food.

The distrust. The rage. The shock.

Rindo's heart swayed between the emotions in confusion.

Where had the thermos and snacks from from? And the thing-the magic that Ramiris had used-what was that?

It would take immense power to gather the water from the atmosphere like that… Was this miniature Automata really that powerful?

How did it work?

And if they used this technology, could they create lots of water?

Would they be able to solve their very serious concern regarding water shortages…?

There was no end to his questions.

And not only questions, but ambitions.

But he pushed all these thoughts and questions aside for now in order to follow Sharma in eating the food—and that was when all his questions were blown away.

The insult of having their precious water referred to as mud water-he understood it now, with the tea in front of him.

Ah, damn it all! So this was what the real stuff was like.

He had not known.

He should not know…

But now that he did, he would have to eat the imitation that could never satisfy him, and bear it.

-Yes, it had happened already. He could feel it.

(Ahh. And Zaza knew it more than anyone…)

Rindo now understood the meaning behind Zaza's warning earlier.

Zaza was an older cyborg model, and so he had had to bear this pain for over a hundred years.

He had known some of it, but he had no idea what that pain might feel like.

And now he would be just the same as him…

"Zaza. Do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Ah. What is it, Rindo?"

Zaza answered with a look of concern.

But he knew what the question would be…

"A long time ago…were such wonderful foods accessible for everybody?"

It was exactly what Zaza had expected.

"…Yes. My daughter once baked me cookies. They were good. Very good. Even if they were a little burnt and odd in shape…but it's not about those things. There was a warmth…"

Rindo nodded and thought about it.

The food in front of them made Zaza's argument so much stronger.

He had never heard of Zaza having a daughter before, but it seemed rude to ask about it.

The fact that he had not mentioned her before suggested that the war had…

And then Rindo began to mutter to himself.

"Why. This war, why did it…"

The thirty-year old Rindo and the fifty-year old Sharma were forced into this lifestyle because of the scars left by the war.

The responsibility for this was with their parents' generation. Or perhaps the generation before that.

He knew that it was pointless to complain about it now, but he could not help but think in this way.

They had to attack the Empire's food producing plants and steal-that's what they had to do to survive in this world.

They purified the polluted water and secured the bare minimum.

Luxury was not permitted. Everyone worked together in their desperate struggle to survive.

And this was all possible because they didn't even know what luxury was.

But now that he did, he could not help but hate the 'great war' which was the reason they were now suffering…

"I'm sorry… It was because we were weak…"

"No, I'm the one who is sorry. I got a little excited…"

Zaza was not at fault here, but it seemed like the natural thing to do.

The air in the room felt very oppressive now.

"Hey, hey. Master…"

"What is it…Ramiris?"

"Did I do something wrong?"

"Uh, yes. I tried to stop you, remember?"

"No you didn't! You were happily eating the cake!!"

"Tha-that's not true. Well, nevermind that…"

"But that's important! Oh, well…"

The two culprits became frantic.

They began to whisper to each other so that Sharma and the others could not hear.

"…If they like it so much that they can cry, maybe we should give them more?"

Ramiris started to suggest, but Beretta stopped her.

"Lord Ramiris, I do not think you should do that. Lord Rimuru will not be pleased."

"Why?"

"It is irresponsible. Lord Rimuru believes that interactions with other words must be conducted with the utmost caution. We are already involved enough as it is. If we go in any deeper, we will be held responsible for these people. And it is unthinkable that we could choose a side when we do not even know which side is for true justice in this world."

Beretta was warning her-if she had no intention of looking after them after this, then she should not give them any false hope.

It would not be difficult for Ramiris to prepare food for a thousand people.

However, it would not continue on forever.

Only a demon would do something so irresponsible when they had no intention of taking care of them until the end without receiving anything in return.

Beretta was a former demon, and so he knew more than anyone, the pain felt by humans when dropped into the pits of despair from the heights of joy.

"…That's true. Okay. I shall be more careful."

"That would be for the best. At least, we should learn more about the situation in this world before choosing to side with these people."

Veldora and Ramiris looked at each other and nodded after hearing Beretta's warning.

It may already be too late, but neither of them wanted to create more reasons for Rimuru to get angry.

And so the two of them took Beretta's opinion into account and then used Thought Transmission to talk about what direction to take from there.