Published: February 1, 2026
Why do a monster tamer and her monster partner work together?
Of course, it varies from person to person, but for her, as a member of a traveling troupe, she was constantly training and improving alongside her partner monster. The one she controlled was a slime, her companion for several years.
Sometimes it would take the form of other monsters, sometimes even a human shape. It was especially popular when it transformed to look exactly like someone from the audience. She always proudly claimed that only her slime could perform such a skillful feat.
“Hmm?”
While giving her slime its daily massage, she tilted her head in puzzlement.
By the way, she wasn’t sure if the slime actually enjoyed the massage. She assumed that changing forms multiple times a day would cause stiffness, so she did it on her own accord. Since the slime never ran away, she figured it didn’t dislike it.
“A lump?”
As she kneaded the cool, squishy body, she noticed an unusual sensation.
It wasn’t the core. What was this? She continued to knead it for a while. Although it looked unchanged, there were several lumps about the size that could be grasped in her palm. It was as if invisible balls were inside.
“What… what is this… a disease…?”
Even when she rubbed with her fingertips to try to dissolve it, the lumps just shifted position.
“Shoulder stiffness…?”
No, slimes don’t have shoulders. Maybe it should be called slime stiffness.
At first, the slime could only become a monster. It struggled desperately through training until it could now transform into anyone standing before it. She would never forget the first time it took on her own form.
The gooey humanoid form — essentially the scariest type of zombie — and the emotion when it finally became her. The spooky spectacle when it reverted to slime form was slightly traumatic.
“Hmmm.”
She kneaded and kneaded.
“Well, it doesn’t seem to be in bad shape.”
It had displayed a splendid transformation during the daytime performance and received applause.
Since the slime was a monster from the labyrinth, perhaps this kind of thing just happened sometimes. She nodded, poked her slime, and then clapped her hands. The soft body bounced up impressively.
“Feeling unwell?”
She asked, but the slime only squirmed on her lap as usual.
Relieved to see everything normal, she sighed and slipped under the bedcovers. It was common knowledge among monster tamers not to become too attached to their monsters, but after years of partnership, affection naturally grew.
Compared to some demonic bird riders who spoiled their partners endlessly, she was quite tame. With a calm thought, she gently tapped the slime beside her pillow and fell into a peaceful sleep.
The next day, still concerned, after the performance she happened to hear a rumor and visited a “monster researcher,” strolling leisurely with her slime trailing at her feet.
She was in a good mood. At first, she worried that the researcher might dissect her slime, but the woman who claimed to be a researcher examined the slime very earnestly.
“Sorry, but even I can’t determine the cause. However, many monsters become aggressive when weakened. If it seems calm, I think you can rest easy.”
The researcher said somewhat apologetically, and that alone reassured her.
Then she transformed the slime to resemble the researcher as a thank you, which excited and delighted her greatly. What a nice person! Despite a quiet demeanor, she gave a thunderous round of applause.
The reproductive mechanism of monsters was completely unexplained.
They appeared without notice, and suddenly attacked. In the labyrinth, defeating monsters scattered their mana, so it was vaguely theorized that labyrinth mana caused their spontaneous generation. But outside the labyrinth? Nobody knew.
“I hope it heals quickly.”
The slime at her feet squirmed and dropped something inside its body — the lumps — but no one knew why.
Even the slime itself might not have noticed. As if it had given birth to tiny individuals or split, small slime-like blobs slowly tumbled toward the edge of the road.