Published: August 15, 2025
Side: Calm Norad
And the next day.
“Good morning!”
The store manager arrived at work at the usual time today.
I was a little concerned because he seemed a bit too bright, almost tense.
“Good morning, manager. Did you get home and rest properly yesterday?”
“Eh? Yes, more or less.”
There was a strange pause just now.
“Manager? Are you really resting well?”
“I did go home and sleep. It’s just that after I got home, the slime evolved again, so I ended up going to bed a little later than usual.”
“Again? Please take it easy.”
“It’s fine. It’s not to the extent of interfering with work, and this evolution rush should end soon. The villagers who took care of me in the Fatma Territory collected a huge amount of trash. Because of that, the slimes rapidly accumulated nutrients and prepared for evolution.
Oh, by the way, two types evolved last night. Both evolved from sticky slime that eats the local edible ‘water spider.’ One of them is a ‘spider slime’ characterized by the skills ‘nest building’ and ‘binding.’ Considering this, it really seems that the water spider is a spider after all. I thought it was a crab… Well, that’s a minor detail. The other one evolved into a ‘crust slime’ with the skill ‘carapace formation.’
Both have basically the same abilities and appearance as sticky slime—”
“That’s right, manager. We’ve received a reply from the laundry service.”
“Oh, already? That was quick, considering it was just yesterday. I thought it would take longer.”
I felt bad interrupting his cheerful story, but whenever the topic turns to slimes, the manager could talk for hours. To divert his attention, I showed him the letter that arrived first thing this morning. It’s fine if it were during lunch or after work, but during business hours, he must refrain from such things. If the manager and assistant manager abandoned their work, it would set a bad example for others.
Of course, the manager understands this and is basically a serious person, so it’s not a big issue… Huh?
“Hmm… this letter says we can come to the store anytime. If we take it literally, is it okay to come today?”
“May I see it too?”
I took the letter from the manager and read it… I see.
“It does say we can visit anytime, and I think it’s okay unless it’s an obviously busy time.”
“Understood. Then maybe after lunch. Let’s visit the shop after lunch. I want to wear something proper and avoid bothering them during their break.”
“Understood. I’ll prepare as well.”
Speaking of clothes, my eyes caught the manager’s arm.
“That’s unusual. A bracelet?”
The manager usually doesn’t wear any accessories. I’ve never seen him wear any.
Depending on the customs of one’s birthplace, people might wear specific items regardless of age or gender, but I haven’t heard of such a thing here.
However, today, on the manager’s left arm was a metallic cord wrapped around, with decorative stones attached to the clasp connecting both ends, forming what looked like a bracelet.
Then he said,
“This? Hehe, does it look like that?”
“Is it not?”
“Well, I’m trying to make it look like that, so it’s not wrong. Actually, it’s also a slime. It’s a wire slime that evolved in the Fatma Territory. It can stretch its body into a thread-like form. I thought that if I combined it with decorative stones, it might look like an accessory, so I tried it.”
“I see…”
I wonder if there’s any real meaning in substituting an accessory with a slime.
That simple question rose in my mind, but seeing the manager so happily talk about it, I refrained from saying anything and found an appropriate pause to shift the conversation back to work.
After lunch.
Prepared and ready, the manager and I were joined by—
“Please take care of me, Mr. Eudam.”
“Leave it to me!”
Surprisingly, Mr. Eudam joined us as a bodyguard.
I was inwardly surprised; apparently, the manager personally requested his protection.
The reason for my surprise was that the manager usually hardly ever has a bodyguard.