"And after everything... everything was finally going so perfectly! Why do you have to get in the way of me building my Ideal World!?"
"Naruru! Stop acting like a spoiled brat! Look at what you've done and think long and hard about the consequences!!"
Naruru, the daughter of the innkeeper Serel and the true identity of the "Fake Melt," wailed at the top of her lungs. Now that she had shed her mimicry, she blubbered with tears streaming down her face in a display that was beyond childish—it was infantile.
Yet, despite her tantrum, she was clearly far too old to be called a child.
She didn't possess a soft, pleasant plumpness like Presia, nor the sturdy, lively build of her mother, Serel. To put it bluntly, she was a bloated pig of a woman. A mountain of flesh, born from years of gluttony and a complete disregard for her own well-being, stood before them.
It wasn't just the weight; her hair and skin were slick with grease, as if she hadn't touched a bathtub in weeks. Seeing an adult woman who looked twice the age of Yugo and his friends wailing like a toddler was more than just bizarre—it was genuinely horrifying.
Yugo was so repulsed that the anger he had felt only moments ago began to drain away, replaced by pure disgust. Still, he knew he had to get to the bottom of this. He looked at her and demanded an explanation.
"What was the point of all this? You locked up your own mother and replaced everyone with fakes... what were you actually trying to achieve?"
"I already told you! I wanted to create my Ideal World! An Ideal World where I don't have a nagging mother telling me to get a job or leave my room! A world without these stale, pathetic country bumpkins who are happy living in a remote village like this! I wanted a place where everyone worships me, pampers me, and lets me live however I want! I thought that with the power of the Slime, I could finally make that dream a reality...!"
"Y-you... you put all those people through that hell for such a pathetic reason? You have to be kidding me!"
"What's so funny about it!? If I'd been born in the city like you people, I’d be married to a handsome prince and living the high life by now! But because I was born in a dump like this, I have to hear 'work at the inn' every single day! There’s nothing here but small-time men who are satisfied with their boring lives... it’s the absolute worst! So the least they could do is help me be happy! Don't you dare hate me just because they were locked up for a bit and had their Magic Power drained to keep my Slime Clones alive!!"
"Listen to yourself! The only reason I started nagging you was because you grew up to be a lazy good-for-nothing who never left her room! Your selfishness only got worse after your father died... If I’d known it would come to this, I should have hardened my heart and kicked you out of the house years ago!!"
The sheer absurdity of Naruru’s motive left Yugo and everyone else in the room stunned.
Looking back at how she had left the poisonous mushrooms in such an obvious spot, Yugo couldn't help but wonder if she was simply an idiot in every possible sense of the word. While the group processed this, Cyan and Egos stepped forward, looking pale and trembling as they addressed Naruru.
"S-say... just to be sure... those versions of Melt and Anhel that came to our rooms... were they Slimes?"
"Y-yeah... the ones we thought we were... you know, 'holding'—were they clones!?"
"Oh, don't worry! Those weren't Slime Clones at all... that was me! I just used the Slime's power to change my body shape! Hehe... I was so happy to be the first woman for handsome boys like you! You were both so passionate... I think you’re going to have to take responsibility for me now!"
"U-u-ugggghhh!"
"Hwargh...!"
Hearing Naruru’s confirmation, the two of them regretted asking the question from the depths of their souls. They had thought they’d finally reached their peak by being with the heroines they desired, but the reality was that they had shared a bed with a woman who was hideous in both body and mind. The despair of being dropped from heaven to hell was so visceral they both began to gag uncontrollably.
Yugo looked at them with a hint of pity before turning back to the culprit.
"Well, I suppose there are some things you can't take back... but at least we caught the culprit and rescued the prisoners before anyone was killed. You've got nowhere left to run, Naruru. Give it up and come quietly."
"Nooo! I’m going to be happy! I’m going to create my Ideal World where there are no nagging hags, no old men, and no brats! I’ll spend the rest of my life being pampered by handsome guys who actually appreciate me!"
"Yugo," Melt interrupted, her voice cold. "Can we stop being nice to her? I don't think she's going to understand anything until she's in a significant amount of pain."
"I don't mind if you break a few of her bones," Anhel added. "She certainly earned it."
"Don't stop at two or three; break a hundred of them if you have to," Serel muttered. "Daughter or not, I’ve officially reached my limit..."
At any rate, the prisoners were safe and the mystery was solved. The incident was as good as over. All that remained was to restrain Naruru and hand her over to the Security Force.
Yugo was just beginning to relax when he heard Fee’s voice shouting from down the hall.
"Brother! Brother!"
"Fee? What is it? Why are you in such a panic?"
Yugo’s brow furrowed. Seeing his younger brother’s frantic expression, he felt a sudden, cold sense of dread. Fee skidded to a halt, gasping for air before he managed to force the words out.
"He's not there! Shiroi... Shiroi wasn't among the prisoners!"
"What!? But we saw him just a little while ago!"
"The boy we rescued was a Slime! He melted while we were taking him home—that’s how we found out! Out of everyone who was kidnapped, Shiroi is the only one still missing!"
The Shiroi who had been handed over earlier that day had been a fake. Tension surged through the group like a lightning strike. The "solved" case was suddenly blown wide open again.
Yugo turned to interrogate Naruru about the boy's whereabouts, but at that exact moment, the building shook with a deafening thud.
"Whoa! What was that!?"
"An earthquake!? Now!?"
Students and villagers alike fell into a panic as the ground heaved. The tremors didn't stop; they repeated, growing more violent with every passing second.
Yugo looked up and saw Naruru smiling defiantly. She hadn't given up at all.
Before he could move, Melt’s voice rang out as she pointed toward the window.