At the Dungeon’s Behest, Howl, Elf*3
With that settled, the three of us immediately held a quick meeting. Once Mishisia-san gave the go-ahead, we split up right away.
I ran while making snap judgments, grabbing one Mewmya that was mew-mewing nearby and one slime that was wobbling around all squishy-like, then sprinted even faster. I looped around behind the dungeon to go give orders to Generic-kun.
Right now, Generic-kun was out on a leisurely squishy-squashy stroll through one of the dungeon’s random corridors… probably on his way back from the hot springs.
I felt a bit bad interrupting him when he’d likely just enjoyed a morning bath, but hey, work is work. I needed him to block the path with his squishy bulk and hold the elves back.
Meanwhile, Mishisia-san and Lisas-san entered the dungeon from the front, chasing after the five-elf group. Mishisia-san was tasked with negotiating to get the elves to leave the dungeon for now. Lisas-san was there as backup, just in case.
… As long as the elves didn’t suddenly attack Mishisia-san, it should probably be fine.
But I couldn’t say there was no chance of that happening. Even Mishisia-san admitted, “Well, I can’t say for sure they won’t try to kill me right away…”
Are elves really that dangerous? Seriously?
Whether elves are savage or not aside, Mishisia-san and Lisas-san were already inside the dungeon.
And I headed for Generic-kun.
“Generic-kun! It’s work time! Drink this and come with me, now!”
After giving Generic-kun a World Tree potion and making him shine even brighter, it was time to move.
Alright! Time to pinch the five elves from both sides!
… Well, not attack them. I doubt we could. We’re just forcing them to retreat.
Still, I want to see how they react. Depending on that, we’ll need to change our strategy.
Generic-kun is surprisingly agile. Among slimes, he’s probably one of the faster ones.
That’s likely thanks to his Giant-Ass Slime size giving him long reach, plus the mana from the World Tree potion… but more than anything, I think it’s because “he lives in a dungeon but goes to the hot springs every single day, so his legs got trained.”
Not that he actually has legs or hips.
In any case, bath-loving Generic-kun kept up with me better than expected, so we ran the dungeon maze in reverse together. At the same time, I kept shifting my vision around the dungeon to check on Mishisia-san and Lisas-san, then the elves, adjusting our speed as needed.
The elves were strolling along with total disregard for traps or monsters, moving incredibly fast compared to normal adventurers, but they weren’t running. Mishisia-san and Lisas-san, who were running, were naturally faster. At this pace, Generic-kun wouldn’t need to slow down either.
“Alright, Generic-kun! Keep going straight, take a right at the fork! Then go straight again, move up to the upper floor through the hole in the ceiling, and charge straight for the exit! Don’t let the five elves pass!”
With that, I sent Generic-kun off on a slight detour. He bounced once and dashed off at about eighty percent of his ‘heading-to-the-hot-springs’ speed, which, for a slime, is pretty damn fast.
Good… I’ll wait here just in case, and watch what the elves do.
Mishisia-san and Lisas-san should be catching up right about now…
So I shifted my vision and hearing toward the elves.
At this point, I was completely defenseless, which is why I needed Mewmya—whom I’d ordered, “If anything happens, jump around on my lap”—and the backup slime. I was worried, sure, but I couldn’t exactly bring villagers or adventurers through this back entrance. It couldn’t be helped…
Watching the elves, I realized they were chatting casually.
Stuff like “the trees near the village” and “the flowers in the valley.”
… Then I caught talk about “humans,” so I listened more closely.
“Humans are foolish. Building a village next to a dungeon…”
That kicked off a conversation that made my expression pretty complicated.
“I doubt a World Tree could exist in a place like this. Inside a dungeon, especially one connected to a human village.”
Man, elves really do hate humans, huh. That means Mishisia-san really is an outlier. I can practically feel how rough her life must’ve been.
“A World Tree growing in a place like this? Impossible. There’s probably no need to even confirm it.”
“But if we don’t confirm it, we can’t dispose of those humans. How troublesome.”
“Why not just kill them? Humans grow back soon enough.”
“They’re humans with strange techniques. We don’t know what else they have. Observing them for about ten years would be fine.”
… Seriously. The gap in how they perceive things compared to humans is staggering. Mishisia-san really is incredibly close to human sensibilities.
As I stroked the Mewmya on my lap, feeling conflicted, the elf walking at the rear twitched his long ears and turned around.
“… Something is pursuing us from behind.”
Oh? Looks like they noticed Mishisia-san and Lisas-san.
No surprise there, those two were only about three hundred meters behind them now.
… So that’s roughly the elves’ detection range. Nice data.
“Humans?”
“… Not sure. But most likely.”
The scout elf answered the leader-like elf… Do they categorize Mishisia-san as human?
“Elf hunters, perhaps? How reckless.”
“They may not be targeting us.”
“But they’re savage humans. Who knows what they’ll do.”
Yeah, they’re on guard. Funny, I’m the one worried about them doing something.
“… Shall we kill them?”
“Wait. Confirm first. I don’t want unnecessary trouble.”
One of the bow-wielding elves said something dangerous and got stopped by the leader… That leader looks like he’s got it rough.
“… They’re coming.”
As the elves continued their ominous discussion, Mishisia-san and Lisas-san drew closer.
“… A mixed-blood. Why is she here?”
The moment they saw Mishisia-san, the air went tense.
… Can this work? Was it really right to send Mishisia-san out?
“… We came to talk.”
Mishisia-san spoke up, but the elves didn’t relax. Lisas-san stood slightly behind her, wearing a face that said, So this is how it turns out.
“You’re here to look for the World Tree, right?”
The elves didn’t answer. We already knew some of their information, but they were clearly wary of Mishisia-san.
“Then let me talk to you about it. After that, I can guide you to the World Tree… This dungeon’s maze is very complex. The paths change often, and it’s an extremely active dungeon. Even just passing through will be difficult.”
The elves stood still for a while. Then, finally, the leader spoke.
“… Don’t tell me you planted the World Tree.”
“That ‘don’t tell me’ is exactly right.”
At her reply, the elf leader’s face twisted in clear displeasure.
“A mixed-blood planting a World Tree? Impossible.”
… Uh-huh.
Yeah, no. These people are not easy to talk to. Got it.
Mishisia-san had feared this outcome too, which is why I was counting on Generic-kun to open up a path forward, but…
“It’s natural you wouldn’t believe it. I didn’t think I could do it either. But…”
“Then it seems there is no World Tree in this dungeon.”
… I want to believe there’s a way forward here.
“… Then there’s no issue with erasing the source of this unpleasant rumor.”
That aside, my impression of elves is tanking fast! Hey! Wanna get slime stuffed up your nostrils or what!?
“What… are you saying…?”
Mishisia-san seemed too shocked to even get angry. Lisas-san behind her was visibly tense.
“We will not allow elven pride to be turned into fodder for human tall tales. Arrogant humans should be purged. The World Tree is elven pride, a miracle granted only to elves.”
So that’s what the World Tree is to elves, and that’s what humans are to them.
… No wonder Mishisia-san, a “mixed-blood,” is treated like this.
“Human villages will grow back within a hundred years anyway.”
“Those who falsely claim the existence of a World Tree must be eradicated thoroughly.”
But we humans aren’t cute little things that’ll just roll over and die.
… Alright.
Now! Go, Generic-kun!
Squish. A sound echoed behind the elves.
Grrk… pop, like a bottle being uncorked.
… That was the sound of Generic-kun squeezing through a narrow passage.
“What is that?”
The elves turned around.
And there he was…!
“… What is that!?”
A mirror-ball-like Generic-kun, glowing with laser-beam brilliance after being fed a bit too much World Tree mana.
With this one slime, the dungeon turns into a disco hall. Let’s party! Yeah!
But…
“A mere slime…!”
Without hesitation, a fireball flew straight at Generic-kun. No mercy. Wow.
“Generic-kun!”
Mishisia-san screamed as flames roared, scorching the air…
“W-What…? What is this slime?”
The elf who fired the spell, and all the others, stared at the flames’ destination.
… Because there stood Generic-kun, completely unharmed and still gloriously squishy.
Amazing, Generic-kun! You’re strong, Generic-kun!
The age of slimes is here!
What do you think about this chapter?
