097: Slime Pillow
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Later that afternoon, I was listening to adventure stores from Ilya and Alisha, when we ran into a certain creature.
“It’s a slime…” Al
“That’s right” Ilya
Ilya is showing no desire to take down the monster, but slimes are a species of slow-moving monster that poses essentially no risk to us. It’ll eat both plants and animals, but it doesn’t have the ability to attack humans. It seems like it consumes dead animals, fallen nuts, wood chips, and various plants, then digests them over a long period of time.
You might worry that if it sticks to a sleeping man’s face, wouldn’t it be hard to remove? Well, it’s actually super easy to peel it off. You’ll have a sticky residue on your face, but it could only kill an infant by covering them.
I didn’t have the chance to see one before now, but I was taught by my parents about all sorts of monsters, including slimes. They didn’t want me to be defenseless against common monsters. Of all the things I had to learn about in this world, the monster lessons were the most fun. It feels like I’m studying fantasy creatures from a game, like I was reading the game wiki.
I jump down to the ground from the carriage, then throw some of the stones I was using for my magic act at the slime. The stones draw a brilliant parabola over to the slime, the slime couldn’t move away fast enough and the stones sank into the body. There’s now stones floating in the middle of the bluish slime.
“It will take in anything…” Al
Is it going to eat the stones? Will it just push them out after a while? If it eats ore, it’d probably get some iron.
“That slime looks like it would make a good pillow filling after it’s been washed.” Al
“Huh? Alfred thinks of such weird ideas.” Ilya
“Sometimes there are people who get strangely attracted to slimes. There’s even a research institute in the royal capital that specializes in slime research.” Alisha
I want to get a better look at this creature, it’s kind of cute. I haven’t touched it, but it looks elastic.
“I wonder if I can pack it in a leather bag and cool it to make an elastic pillow?” Al
While I was thinking about a memory foam-style slime pillow, Ilya and Alisha look a bit bewildered.
“It would be nice to sleep on an elastic pillow in the summer…” Al
I might be able to get some of the benefits by filling a pillow with water and cooling it with Ice Magic. However, that wouldn’t get you the elasticity I crave. I want it to be somewhat hard when lightly pressed, and softness that sucks you in.
“Let’s catch it for an experiment.” Al
“Well, I can use Water Magic, so it should be easy!” Alisha
As I was thinking about how to catch it, Alisha hopped off the carriage with a linen cloth. She then ran it under the slime to grab it.
“Hey! What are you doing Alisha? Why are you grabbing a slime?” Irving
“Is Al going to use Magic?” Rumba
“Oh? Really? Is he going to erase the slime?” Mark
If you suddenly jump off the carriage, you’re going to draw attention.
“It’s a little experiment, don’t worry.” Al
While I said that, Alisha put the slime into a bag, like how a hunter covers the eyes of a crocodile. She scooped it up with a flowing motion and hurried back to the carriage.
“What’s this guy planning? Now that you have a slime in a bag, are you going to bully it?” Rumba
“I miss that, I used to do it a bunch” Mark
Is this like the beginning of the Urashima TarÅ fable? Except with a slime instead of a turtle? Well, the guys start to talk about their nostalgic memories. It sounds a bit fun, but I have an experiment that’s more important.
“I brought the slime!” Alisha says as she raises the bag with an exciting expression.
“Ooh! This elasticity!” Al
When I poke the slime with my index finger, it sinks in and warps around. There’s very little uncomfortable hardness. This looks good, Slime Pillows could work!
“It looks fun to poke the bag…” Ilya says as her cheeks blush a little.
However, the linen cloth isn’t resistant to liquids, so the cloth absorbs liquid from the slime and turns brown. The liquid that’s coming through feels a little slimy.
I’m thinking that leather could work since it’s resistant to water. I’ve seen villagers using leather water skins to carry water. I bet Triela is carrying some that I can purchase.
“I’ll ask Triela if he has any leather that’s resistant to water, so can you wash off the slime with Water Magic?” Al
I step off the carriage footboard and move to the carriage door and knock on it.
“Triela! Do you have any leather that holds water?” Al
Triela opens the curtains and sticks his head out.
“Leather that holds water? Where did that come from?” Triela
He looks bewildered while the woman next to him has a relaxed expression. Is she Triela’s secretary? I’m jealous, his business is big enough to support someone to handle the boring work.
“I want to contain a slime” Al
“Slime?!” Triela
Triela narrows his eyes, he has no idea what I’m talking about.
“Well, I think I’d like to try making a pillow stuffed with a slime.” Al
“Tell me more about this idea!” Triela
Triela opens the door and invites me into the carriage interior, so I explained my idea of slime pillows.
“As usual, the idea out of left field. I don’t think anyone has suggested using a monster as pillow stuffing.” Triela
When you put it that way, you might need to be a little insane or overly courageous to use a monster as a pillow.
“I wonder if it can be contained in a pillow.” Al
“I’d be a little worried that it will sneak out while I’m sleeping, but you can experiment with it first! Certainly, I should have some water-resistant monster leather somewhere. Give me a minute!” Triela
Well, that bet paid off. I shouldn’t get scared. It would be like a horror movie for the slime to escape the pillow and attack. While I’m working on the pillow, I’ll have to get the tolerances tight enough that the slime can’t get out.
“How about some tea?” Secretary
“Thank you” Al
We wait for Triela to get back while drinking the tea brewed by the secretary.
“I found them. Please try it right away!” Triela says as he knocks on the door. So I thank the secretary again then leave the carriage interior.
“Oh, I’m done washing the slime!” Alisha
Alisha is washing her hands carefully, she might have slipped while washing the slime. Slimes digest their food over a long tie, so her skin won’t melt from a short exposure.
“This is blue alligator leather, this is aqua hound leather, and Ludros leather. They’re all water resistant.” Triela says as he lines up the items.
“So there is a blue alligator…” Al
It looks just like crocodile leather, just blue. I wouldn’t want to sleep on that kind of leather.
“It’s an aquatic monster, so it has good resistance to water. The leather looks and texture isn’t well regarded.” Triela
So how about the other two choices?
Aqua hound leather is the skin of a wolf-like monster, it’s soft and fluffy and the color is light blue. Ludros leather is from a monster that resembles a fur seal, it’s yellow, thick, and elastic. I’ll start with the soft aqua hound leather for now.
“Oh, let me examine the slime a little while.” Al
I nervously try poking the slime, it isn’t as slimy as earlier. When I poke it, my finger sinks in a little bit, but the skin stays elastic. When it was washed, did the slime’s reactions slow down? Was it weakened by the water?
I whack the slime to make sure it’s the right level of softness, then lift it up and stuff it into the aqua hound leather. The leather gets heavier from the slime, it’s quite heavy. Then Triela ties up the ends with a string, and it’s an instant round pillow. The final product would be sewed in proper manner, but we’re still in the experimental stage. I can’t help but feel sorry for any other slimes in the area, you’ll be caught soon.
I lay my head down on the experimental slime pillow.
“Oh!” Al
The onlookers are acting a little uneasy, but I had to let out a startled voice when I felt the pillow.
The rubbery feel of the Aqua Hound leather is soft to the touch, it seems to cradle my skin in combination with the slime’s elasticity. The slime’s moderate resistance keeps me from sinking in too deep, which works well. Is the elasticity critical to it being able to return to its original shape?
“How is it?” Triela
“Feels amazing to me” Al
I answer Triela’s question with a relaxed voice. This comfort is life-changing, I don’t want to sleep with my old pillows anymore. I could fall asleep in trees, meadows, anywhere really.
“How about you try?” Al
I tear myself away from the slime pillow and ask Triela to try it.
“Ok, I’ll give it a shot” Triela replies without hesitation.
Ilya and Alisha still look worried beside us.
“Oh, this feeling… I’m sorry for doubting…” Triela says in a sloppy voice with an ecstatic expression.
“Ok, I want to try next!” Alisha
Alisha looks convinced and moves closer. She pulls her hair to the side and lays down.
“Hoh!” Alisha screams.
“What happened! Alisha!” Ilya
“No, well… it feels better than I expected…” Alisha
Alisha responds to Ilya’s worried voice. She looks a bit embarrassed from worrying Ilya. It’s no wonder when you get to feel that level of comfort for the first time.
“Alisha! Let me try it!” Ilya
“Not so fast, I caught the slime and washed it. I should be able to enjoy it a little longer.” Alisha
As Alisha and Ilya go back and forth, Triela and I have our own discussion.
“Triela, this has to be possible…” Al
“It’s comfortable… But slimes are monsters, so the pillow’s safety needs to be verified. First, you’ll have to use solid leather for a good container, then you need to find a way to prevent the slime from escaping. It would not go well if the stuffing escaped.” Triela
Certainly, even slimes are monsters. It will need to be carefully handled.
“We’re still in the experimental stage, I’d also like to try the Ludros leather.” Al
“We should catch more slime! Alisha, Ilya, can you do that?” Triela
“Understood!” Alisha & Ilya say as they jump off.
They seem pretty enthusiastic.
“Hey, what’s gotten into the two of you?” Mark
The three guys saw Alisha and Ilya jumping off in a hurry and called out.
“Did you see a monster?” Rumba
“Aren’t there just slimes around here?” Irving
After I heard Irving, I saw Alisha and Ilya rushing around outside.
“What’s with you two, when I said slime you seemed to get excited?” Irving
“Ok, come over to me, slime!” Ilya
“Huh? I don’t get this. The slime will take care of us? Don’t steal it afterwards? Aren’t you acting weird? Are you reminiscing about your childhood bullying slimes?” Irving
“Alisha has become strange!” Mark
After the two explained the situation, the Silver Wind party spent time hunting down slimes, leaving Rumba to guard the caravan. I watched the Silver Wind party run through the plains and forest searching for slimes, it looked pretty fun to me.
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