Slime Goodwill Ambassador*1
“Oooooh… an official letter from the elves that starts with an apology? That’s pretty rare, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. Probably a once-in-the-history-of-this-country kind of event.”
… The letter that arrived from the elves opened with an apology that was basically like, “Sorry, it kinda turned out like we suddenly attacked you.”
Well, it was a pretty half-assed apology. Stuff like “There were various misunderstandings,” or “Hey, at least nobody got hurt on either side, right?” that kind of tone kept popping up over and over.
You could also clearly see the attitude of “Well, you’re humans and we’re elves, after all,” bleeding through the text. I swear, I’ll boil you all down into tsukudani.
“… Still, even so, the fact that there’s an apology written into an official elven document at all is extremely rare. The fact that this exists probably means the elves are at least prepared to side with us.”
“I see.”
Yeah, I agreed with Mishisia-san’s take. Just from watching our five captive elves, I’d already figured out that elves are a pretty arrogant bunch. For them to write an apology at all, even one like this, means… well… uh… probably that the World Tree’s existence is that huge.
“Looks like it’s all thanks to the World Tree and Mishisia-san.”
“Hehehe. I’m being praised! I’m being praised!”
“I praised you! I praised you!”
Putting elven values aside, showing them the World Tree really was the right move. Looks like we won’t be looked down on quite that hard anymore… Man, the World Tree really is a big deal to elves. It’s a pain, but also kind of convenient.
“Alright. Setting aside the flimsy apology, let’s move on.”
With Laperesiana-sama briskly cutting things off, we continued reading.
… And there, written plainly, was the elven village’s predicament.
“They’re saying monsters are pouring out of a nearby dungeon and it’s becoming a serious problem. Huh.”
“And after learning that there’s a World Tree growing in Asuma-sama’s dungeon, they’re hoping there might be a way to bring that dungeon under elven control… is what this sounds like. Hmmm.”
Apparently, the elves are really struggling with dungeons.
Their letter didn’t go into a ton of detail, but the gist was basically, “A ton of monsters are coming out of a dungeon and it’s a huge problem.”
Elven magic is absurdly strong mana, and judging from Mishisia-san alone, they probably have tons of elves with incredible archery skills too. So their combat power should be pretty high.
But if even they are struggling against the sheer number of monsters pouring out… yeah, that sounds pretty damn bad.
“Apparently the monsters only started coming out of the dungeon about a month ago. For the elven village to mobilize in just one month means it must be really serious…”
“Ahh, elves tend to be pretty laid-back, after all…”
I remember, Mishisia-san. Back before planting the World Tree, when you said, “I’m planning to stay in this village a bit longer!” You even said, “About five years!” … For elves, five years is basically now. Which means one month is practically an instant. That sense of time is wild.
“… That does suggest they’re in real trouble. Though part of me still wants to say they should deal with it themselves.”
“Elves are worse at dealing with dungeons than humans, Laperesiana-sama. I was like that too… I think most elves have never even considered living inside a dungeon, like with the gold mine dungeon.”
Yeah. Elves are pretty conservative by nature. They probably don’t even think along those lines, or maybe they instinctively shy away from the idea.
“However, if monsters have started pouring out of a dungeon to the point that even elves are struggling… I have a bad feeling about this,” Lisas-san said.
… Yeah. He’s right.
I’ve got a really bad feeling about this. As much as the elves tend to look down on others, the fact that they went as far as sending an awkward apology makes it obvious they’re trying to pry dungeon-related information out of us.
“Maybe dungeon talk would hook the elves more than slime farming, honestly.”
“But we definitely shouldn’t talk about taking over the dungeon master’s seat. Otherwise, some elves will absolutely try to use dungeon power to wipe out human nations!”
“Waooo… yeah, that’d be really bad.”
Dungeon stuff is tricky. We’ll have to move forward quietly. Especially keeping it hidden from the elves… and the former Grand Cathedral crowd.
If things go wrong, dungeons in our country could get taken over and turned into monster-spewing hellholes…
Dungeons are perfect for terrorism, after all…
… Nothing but bad vibes!
So, the fate of the five captive elves was decided.
After all, the letter from the elven village included terms regarding their treatment, along with official appointment letters addressed to all five of them.
… They ended up on the route we’d only considered as a “just in case” acting as intermediaries if the elves approached humans peacefully. A route we never imagined when they first showed up.
Even though the underground accommodations were comfortable, keeping elves confined underground apparently makes them wilt over time. So we decided to tell them quickly and let them out. I doubt they’re planning to attack humans with official orders from their own village in hand. Probably.
“Alright. From today on, you’re no longer prisoners, you’re intermediaries between humans and elves. Nice to meet you.”
… With that, we gathered the five elves in the underground courtyard and told them. The loud archer elf was overjoyed. Apparently, “freedom” was the big deal. You hated being underground that much? Well… yeah, probably. That one had been the wiltiest of the bunch.
“Okay, here, your new clothes! You’ll be going outside, so you’ll need them! Oh, and the flax from Panis Village is really high quality! I think it’ll feel great, so enjoy it!”
What Mishisia-san was handing out with a bright smile were clothes made from Panis Village’s specialty, fabric woven from flax grown from a Giant-Ass Slime.
“The slimes help out, so we can produce flax this good!”
“Slimes…”
The slime-loving big sister immediately tried them on. The other four followed suit, checking the fit and feel. “Oh.” “It’s soft and light, nice.” Stuff like that.
Seems like a pretty good impression. We’d already been pushing the Panis Village appeal hard, after all. Their opinion of the village was already quite positive.
… By the way.
Up until just now, these elves had been wearing nothing but underwear.
I mean, no funny intentions, okay? I was so focused on building the underground guest-prison that clothing just… slipped my mind.
We couldn’t let them out of the slimes with their equipment, since that could turn dangerous, so this kind of just… happened.
But these elves didn’t seem bothered wandering around in underwear as long as it wasn’t cold. So I’d thought, “Well, if that’s normal for them, I guess it’s fine…” and left it alone.
According to Mishisia-san, “A lot of elves don’t really mind being naked.” Elves are wild.
Still, now that they’re no longer prisoners, they’re wearing clothes! Otherwise it’d be public indecency!
So, we promptly had the five elves get buried in slimes until they passed out, then transported them to the surface. Built a sort of elevator and hauled them up, heave-ho.
Right after they were gone, I dismantled and absorbed the entire underground guest-prison, reconstructing it back into solid bedrock. Accident prevention.
I also wiped and rebuilt all dungeon pathways. Also accident prevention. That stuff’s important.
“The outside…! Wind! Sunlight!”
“It feels like it’s been so long…”
When we woke them up outside, they were ecstatic. Especially the loud archer elf and the loud staff elf. Wow, you really wanted to get out that badly. Glad for you.
“So. Starting today, it seems you’re officially goodwill ambassadors connecting the elven country and this one, well, at least Panis Village. So we’ll welcome you properly as ambassadors.”
Which meant it was time for me to say a few words… I don’t want to be all warnings, but I don’t want to regret not saying things either.
“Of course, I haven’t forgotten how you looked down on us before… But that’s all. For now. As long as you sincerely try to build a relationship with us, we’ll sincerely try to build one with you too.”
Stating my stance clearly matters. And over these past ten days, I’d learned that they weren’t incapable of proper dialogue.
“… Yes. Likewise.”
And with something I never would’ve imagined ten days ago, the elven leader held out his hand to me. I grabbed it and shook it vigorously.
Alright!
“So! Starting now, relax and enjoy your stay!”
“There’s alcohol we didn’t have underground! The apple-infused one’s great, but this berry brandy is really good too!”
“And the hot springs, an open-air bath under the real sky is something special. Please enjoy it.”
We immediately started entertaining the five elves again. Re-entertaining. It sounds like a tongue twister, but that’s exactly what it was.
They were people willing to shake my hand. Even if we both had thoughts we kept to ourselves, we could at least try to get along on the surface.
And hey, if we want elves to acknowledge the value of humans, this village’s hospitality is the way to do it. Look, already, the loud archer elf is falling to Mishisia-san’s berry brandy temptation… heh, heh, heh.
The elves even started getting along with the human adventurers.
I mean, when you ply them with booze and say things like “Elf guests are rare!” “You’re good with magic, right?” “Tell us about life in the elven village!” “Eat!” “Drink!” “Taste this!” yeah, they’re gonna go with the flow.
Especially the loud staff elf, the sharp-tongued, aloof female elf. With her favorite aroma water and some essential oils that were basically its superior version in hand, she was heading for the hot springs when female adventurers swarmed her.
“What’s your secret to youth!?” “Your hair’s so pretty!” “Cute!” “But slimes win for skin!”
Apparently that made her think, “If I’m this popular, I should act like it…”
… It’s easy to look down on someone if you think they hate you. But if they’re innocently adoring you… yeah, it’s hard to stay prickly.
Yeah. Seeing how easily they get swept up like this, I think we’ll manage just fine.
Meanwhile, the elven leader and the taciturn archer elf were sipping drinks while surrounded by adventurers, chatting away…
And then there was the biggest problem child of all, the slime-loving big sister.
“So many slimes… and magic I’ve never seen before…!”
“Oh. Yeah. This is the slime farm. Where slimes work.”
… Her eyes were absolutely sparkling as she looked over the slime farming operation.
You are interested, right? Yeah, figured. So… mind if we use this as a bargaining chip?
What do you think about this chapter?
