Blankon Announcement

488 Slimes and Skeletons

"It’s so squishy ~!"

"It’s cool..."

"Cute!"

"It’s so cute~"

"I’m curious how you were raised"

Alice and the children are surrounded a bouncing slime. The orange slime is about the size of a balance ball, shaped like a slightly flattened round ball under gravity. In gaming terms, it's a 'cute slime.' The slimes I know are not cute at all, being gelatinous crawling creatures. Compared to those, this one is definitely cute...

"Is it safe to touch it?"

"I absolutely hate the green ones!"

"It won't melt, will it...?"

"Wouldn't it be better to cut it down now...?"

Yumina, Else, Linze, and Yae are looking at the slime with dead eyes. I understand how they feel...

These four (including me) have had a terrible experience with slimes before. (In Volume 2, Interlude) I heard that ancient magical civilizations had advanced slime research. These slimes seem quite accustomed to humans, though...

"I don't sense any hostility."

"Maybe its individual abilities have been reduced. Despite looking like a Red Slime, it's cold."

Sue and Lean are touching the red slime. If it were a true Red Slime, it should be quite hot. If it's cold, then its species trait must have been removed.

So, could it be that these are just differently colored, but fundamentally the same rideable slimes?

"Yo!"

Alice straddles a pink slime. There's a handlebar, like those on bicycles, attached to the front of the saddle, which Alice grips with both hands. The slime, with Alice on it, bounces forward. The birth of a slime rider.

"So fun! Here we go!"

Alice leans forward, and the slime speeds up. The bouncing changes from "poyon, poyon" to "poyopoyon," lowering the bounce height and increasing speed. Eventually, it runs almost like sliding on the ground, with a speed similar to a bicycle.

"I want to ride too!"

Like Alice, Linne also straddles a nearby slime and starts running. The other children follow, each riding a different slime, heading out to the field.

"Looks fun. I'll join in."

"I’ll ride too!"

Sakura and Sue also jump onto nearby slimes and start chasing the children.

"Mel-sama, we should too!"

"I'll pass. Nei, Rise, go ahead."

Following suit, Nei and Rise mount slime too. Should I try it too...? I approach a nearby black slime and grab the saddle. The slime doesn't run away, staying put. I muster up the courage and mount the saddle.

"Whoa! Uwah!?"

The moment I mounted it, the black slime started thrashing wildly, like a rodeo machine. Stop it, please!

"Ouch!?"

I was thrown off the black slime and landed hard on my back in the grass. Ouch...

"Are you alright, Touya-sama?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. It doesn't hurt that much."

Rue rushes over in concern. I was thrown pretty hard, but it didn't hurt as much as I expected. This field seems to have a damage reduction effect. I wish it had complete damage immunity. Is it so that we learn from the pain?

I can't use magic, so I can't strengthen my body, and I'm not good at balancing vehicles...

"Pfft. How pitiful, Touya."

"Hey, you. It's actually quite difficult. Why don't you try?"

I point at the black slime that threw me off, feeling a bit annoyed at Ende's laughter. That must be a temperamental slime, a wild one.

With an easygoing demeanor, Ende approaches the black slime and gracefully mounts its saddle.

"Handling this slime is a piece of... whoa, whoa! Ku...!"

The black slime thrashes about wildly, just as it did with me. Jumping and spinning, it shows no mercy to Ende. He's holding on longer than I did, but his confident expression is long gone. Go on, throw him off!

"Uwah!? Wait...! Ouch!?"

Ende is flung forward as the black slime comes to an abrupt stop, landing on his back. The slime then bounces slightly, stepping on him as if to add insult to injury. Serves him right.

"Pfft. My, my. How pitiful, Ende-kun."

"I lasted longer than a certain someone, though."

Ende glares at me with a strained smile. Oh? You want to go?

"Huh? Father, you can't ride it?"

"Hmm, father... that looks a bit lame..."

"Eh...?"

We turned to see Linne with wide eyes and Alice with a wry smile.

"Linne!?"

"No, Alice! That was..."

"Linne, Alice. Don't underestimate your fathers. They were just checking the safety when they fell off. Right, Father?"

Before we could explain, Kuhn, riding a slime behind them, said this with a smile that mirrored her mother, Lean, when teasing me. Scary! She knows what she's doing!

"Is that true, father?"

"Ah, well, yes! We were just checking the safety. Right, Ende?"

"Eh!? Ah, yes, exactly! You have to fall off hard to know how much impact is absorbed!"

Ende, caught off guard, nods and answers Alice. Even knowing Kuhn is manipulating us, we can't help but show off. Ende must feel the same.

"I see, I thought you couldn't ride it because you were bad at it. Of course, father can ride it."

Guh!? Alice's innocent smile pierces us deeply. The damage is worse for Ende, coming from his own daughter, as he shoulders a gloomy aura.

Watching the children leave happily, we slowly got back on our feet.

"...Safety is confirmed. Now we can let the children play without worry."

"Yeah, but we should avoid letting them ride the black one. It's dangerous."

"You two are pathetic."

Ignoring Sheska's comment, I decide it's fine not being able to ride those.

"Is this place just for riding slimes?"

"That's the basic idea. This area focuses on relaxation and healing. It's a place to relax and have a picnic."

Sheska answers Linze's question. Hmm, in that case, we should have come here around lunchtime. But the kids are happy, so it's all good.

In addition to the kids, Sue, Sakura, Nei, and Rise are also playing.

"Mother!"

Linne waves and hops towards us. Linze waves back but looks a bit strained by the approaching slime.

"Mother, ride with me!"

"Eh..."

Oh, she's completely panicked.

"I want to ride with you! I'll let you ride!"

"Well, um, that slime might be too small for both of us..."

Trying to maintain a smile, Linze replies, but Sheska interjects.

"It's fine. If you combine two slimes of the same color, they become big enough for two people."

That was unnecessary! Linze glares at Sheska with a forced smile, almost teary-eyed. I understand how she feels.

Kuhn brings another slime of the same color close. They touch and merge, forming a larger, dango-like slime... Reminds me of the puzzle game my grandpa used to play, where four pieces disappear when connected.

"Oh, it's really for two people. Shall we try it, Mother?"

"Sure, I'll just ride. You handle the reins."

Lean says, mounting the slime connected to Kuhn's.

"Mother, I want you to ride too!"

"Eh, me too? Well, if you insist..."

Next, Hilda mounts the slime at Frey's invitation. With two mother-daughter pairs, the remaining two mothers are looked at expectantly by their daughters.

"Ugh..."

Syncing, Else and Linze exchange glances and then force smiles at their daughters.

"Okay, let's give it a try..."

They gave in. Mothers can't resist their daughters.

Elna and Linne mount slimes behind their mothers, who climb on nervously. The slimes tremble, causing the twins to flinch with each shake.

"Eek... it's squishy..."

"It won't melt, right...?"

Seeing them on the slimes, Elna and Linne move forward. Elna starts gently, but Linne, excited, takes off quickly.

Linze lets out a silent scream as she gets further away. They'll be okay, right...?

"Should we be glad we don't have children here...?"

"I can't be sure..."

Yae and Yumina watch Linne's retreating form with complicated expressions. But the kids are having fun, so that's good enough. I think.

◇　◇　◇

"It was so much fun!"

Frey exclaimed with a dazzling smile. Well, I'm glad to hear that.

The other children seemed to have enjoyed themselves as well, still playing and frolicking even after dismounting the slime.

Towards the end, they all held hands and spun around in a circle, creating an incredible merry-go-round.

On the adult side, Else and Linze looked a bit exhausted. Especially Linze, whose smile couldn't hide her dead eyes.

"I, I want to go somewhere calm and relaxing next..."

Linze whispered in a trembling voice. It seemed she alone had an experience akin to riding a roller coaster due to Linne's wild driving.

I reassured Linne that it was just mild motion sickness. While that's true, it's not exactly mild. Recovery magic doesn't cure motion sickness...

"Hmm. A place where we can relax... This place should be relaxing."

"This place is not relaxing at all!"

"Oh?"

When Sheska answered nonchalantly, Linze grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her, her eyes bloodshot.

"Well, well, Linze-dono. So, where should we go next? Personally, I prefer a place where we can move our bodies rather than another ride."

As Yae gently separated Linze from Sheska, she expressed her preference, which was enthusiastically echoed by Frei, Linne, and Alice, all raising their hands.

"A place to move our bodies... In that case... how about the 【Yami】 area?"

"W-wait a minute! The 【Yami】 area, isn't that the place you mentioned with paranormal phenomena and such!?"

Else raised her voice in a panic at Sheska's words. Elna looked at her mother with puzzled eyes, as if wondering why she was so startled. Try to hide it a bit more...

"No, not that area. In the 【Yami】 area, there are places where you can have fun repelling enemies. It’s like simulated beast hunting."

"Like when we hunted those holographic enemies before?"

"Exactly."

Previously, we had to hunt a certain number of holographic beasts while trapped in a dice. It's a similar attraction where you can experience simulated beast hunting.

"...It's not dangerous, right?"

"It is not."

"Hmm... well, in that case..."

Else seemed convinced, nodding slightly.

Our main purpose at this amusement park was to entertain the children. Our secondary goal was to scout the park and see if there were any attractions we could incorporate into our amusement park in Brunhild. Hindering this with our own preferences would defeat the purpose. Else understood this, so even if she hesitated, she would ultimately follow along.

Moreover, she would never let down Elna, whom she dotes on so much.

Elna, holding Else's hand tightly, looked very happy. Hmph... Daddy's feeling a bit jealous...

At that moment, Kuhn silently approached me, covering her mouth with her hand and smiling slyly.

"Shall I hold your hand, Father?"

"Guh...! How did you know...!"

"Because you are my beloved Father. It’s easy to read you."

It seemed insincere, but perhaps it wasn't entirely false, as Kuhn held my hand. It was a bit embarrassing, but somehow it made me happy. I was a bit annoyed at how easily pleased I was.

"Then, let’s move on. This way, everyone."

Sheska operated the gate in the slime ranch, and we entered the newly opened gate.

The light spread out before us, momentarily blinding us.

As our eyes adjusted... adjusted... why is it still dark?

No, it wasn't pitch black. Looking up, I saw a red full moon. When did it become night...?

In the moonlight, the scene before us was a cemetery filled with countless tombstones.

"W-what is this place!?"

Startled by the eerie scene, Else took a step back. Elna, who was holding her hand, looked scared but not as much as her mother.

And what's with this spooky BGM that's been playing!?

As I was about to ask Sheska for an explanation, a hand suddenly shot out from one of the graves with a loud thud.

"Eek!"

"Yikes!"

Amid the screams, skeletons began emerging from the ground.

"【Light come, erase the radiance, Banish】!"

...Huh? My purification spell failed. Oh, right. We can't use magic here!

As the skeletons crept closer, Yae drew her sword and swung at them.

But her strike only cut through the air.

"They are illusions, so conventional weapons won't work. We have special weapons prepared here, so please choose any you like."

Sheska pointed to a counter at the corner of the cemetery, which was stocked with various weapons. How well-prepared! Though, I guess it's to be expected for an attraction...

Kuhn and Lean approached the skeletons, observing them closely.

"They are indistinguishable from the real thing. Very realistic."

"These skeletons approach us but don't attack."

"They are for show, no touching allowed."

Even though they were illusions, the way they moved, rattling their bones, was quite scary.

"Alright, then I'll use this greatsword!"

Frei grabbed a greatsword almost as tall as herself from the counter.

With either weight reduction enchantment or lightweight material, Frei easily swung the greatsword at a nearby skeleton.

With a dramatic slash sound, the skeleton disappeared, leaving behind a '10' mark. What was that?

"Each skeleton is worth 10 points. Depending on how many points you collect within thirty minutes, the prizes vary."

"We can win prizes?"

While it could be an attraction, it felt more like a festival stall. It's kind of amusement park-like but also not.

"Mother, let's do it together!"

"This seems fun. I shall join as well."

Invited by Hilda, who chose a long sword, the two of them started cutting down skeletons. Again, '10' marks appeared, followed by '5' bonus marks. It's like a game.

"In addition to base points, hitting weak spots gives bonus points. Each spot is different, so try to hit them."

"I see. So, it’s about efficiently hunting them. I'll join too."

Encouraged by Yae, who took a sword and joined the skeleton hunt, everyone, including the children, followed suit.

Else, who had initially been a bit frightened, equipped knuckle weapons and started taking down skeletons.

Else isn't scared as long as she can 'hit' something. In this case, she couldn't 'hit' without a weapon.

The children, showing no signs of fear, were also taking down skeletons. They aren't top-ranking adventurers for nothing.

Linze, Lean, and I, who weren't keen on fighting, followed behind the others. We all had weapons just in case.

I chose a spear. Why? I just felt like trying out a weapon I don't usually use. That’s all.

"Here goes."

The spear I thrust pierced the skeleton’s chest bone. Even though it's a hologram, I could feel the impact. Impressive.

'10' points appeared, followed by a '5' bonus. Nice.

"However, if it’s just skeletons, it gets a bit dull... Oh?"

As if reading my thoughts, a horde of zombies began to appear from the graves.

Then zombie wolves, and mummies covered in bandages emerged. More and more. More and more. More and more...

...Isn't this a bit too much!?

Before we knew it, we were surrounded by a massive horde of undead.

Ugh, this looks like a hassle...