I’m back, Miti-chan.
I logged back into the game. My position hadn't changed; I was still tucked away in a gap within the facility walls. I assumed these spaces were intended for insulation, soundproofing, or piping, but they were remarkably convenient hiding spots for a slime.
Following my colleague’s suggestion, I decided to see if I could find any other test subjects.
I navigated through the gaps in the floor—or perhaps the ceiling, depending on how you looked at it—and made my way back to the lab where Miti-chan had been born. The sealed floor had already been reopened, and the floorboards had been replaced.
The room had been stripped bare. The slime thought to be the culprit had supposedly been exterminated, and the lead researcher was dead. Since the mess had been tidied up so quickly, I assumed they were eager to move on to their next project.
Well then, time to explore the other rooms on this floor.
I wondered if I’d find a captive girl. There was a chance it could be a boy, or perhaps not even a child at all. An older woman would be fine, too. A guy would be the least interesting option.
Though, realistically speaking, an adult male would be the only logical choice for this kind of research. They’re sturdy, resilient, and last longer.
That was just common sense; you’d get better data that way. Besides, if this was the "Magic Soldier Project," they were trying to create soldiers. Using adult men as a base would yield the most practical results.
Conversely, if I found a cute girl being used as a lab rat, it would just prove that this was definitely a game...
And yeah, it really was a game.
In the third room I checked, I found a girl chained inside a cage.
The chain was attached to a heavy iron collar around her neck. On the right side of her head was a feline ear, while on the left, a red horn resembling fire coral grew in place of an ear. Its silhouette was ominous, branching out like skeletal fingers.
Her right eye was half-open and vacant, while her left was covered by a bandage that served as an eyepatch. Scorch-marked bandages were wrapped around her limbs.
Even her hair was split; the right side was green, but the left had turned red, as if it were being contaminated by the horn.
"...Ah... eh?"
The captive girl’s right eye caught sight of me—a transparent slime with a red core—as I rolled into view. A faint sound escaped her. She seemed conscious and stared directly at me.
I was roughly the size of a human head, but my core was only about as big as a fist. The gaps in her cage were wide enough that I could pass through easily; to me, it was just another narrow hallway.
My first heroine encounter! ...Wait, I still can't speak. I wonder if a slime can replicate vocal cords well enough to talk... Ah— ah—?
I only succeeded in making my body jiggle and wobble. I was starting to think I’d have to spend SP to acquire vocal organs when the girl reached out with a bandaged hand, grabbed a cushion beside her, and tossed it toward me.
It landed with a dull thud.
It wasn't a cushion. It was a child.
The child’s eyes were open, but they didn't move. They didn't react to being thrown, and they didn't seem to be breathing. They were dead.
"..."
Wait, what?
The captive girl continued to watch me.
She hadn't thrown the body to hit me; she had tossed it the way one might throw scraps to an animal.
"...You can eat it. It was... my meal, though."
Ah. So that was how it was.
...Well. I felt for the girl, but I decided to take her up on the offer. I activated my Predation Skill and swallowed the offering in one gulp. ...Alright, I acquired the vocal cords. It seemed that if I focused while using Predation, I could successfully incorporate specific traits.
"Ah. ...Ah— oh, is my voice working?"
"...I didn't think you were a normal slime... but I didn't know you could talk."
"I managed to... analyze that kid’s throat just now."
"I see. Then I’m glad I gave you my meal."
Her meal. She’d said it twice now, but was that really what they fed her?
What kind of research involved feeding children to children? This place was beyond depraved.
"Wait, do you... eat people?"
"They said they ran out of food... some kind of 'cost-cutting' measure?"
"I’m sorry."
"Don't be. I couldn't eat them anyway. We were friends. You... you helped me."
This was too much. The people running this institute were monsters.
Actually, the food shortage was technically my fault. As a small apology... right, I still had the potatoes and meat I’d swiped from the storehouse.
"As an apology... here, take this."
"...A potato. And this meat... what is it?"
"I don't think it's human. Oh, but it’ll taste bad raw. Let me find a way to start a fire..."
"Here."
I was about to open my menu to see if I needed to learn a skill when the girl unwrapped the bandage on her right hand and gripped the potato. Her hand was pitch black, like charred wood.
The potato began to sizzle as it cooked in her palm.
"Thanks. I’ll take it."
"Wow, that’s a handy trick."
"...Is it? I can't even scratch myself when I itch."
"Sorry. I guess it is pretty inconvenient."
"Mm. It’s okay. It’s delicious. Thank you."
She tore into the jerky next. She had jagged teeth—more like fangs, really—and a powerful jaw that ripped through the tough dried meat with ease.
With teeth like those, she looked like she could snap through a Lizardman Tail Steak without a second thought.
"...Thank you for the food."
She tried to press her hands together in a gesture of thanks, but she could only manage to touch her fingertips together.
"Hey... Mr. Slime, are you an angel? Did you come to take me away?"
"Huh? An angel?"
"I heard angels have halos and wings on their backs. You don't have wings, though."
Interesting. So those kinds of stories existed in this world. I could probably sprout some wing-like tentacles if I really wanted to.
"Well, if that’s what you want, I think I can get you out of here."
"Really? Ah... but wait. I have a younger sister."
"A sister?"
"Yes. If I escape, I want her to come with me."
Apparently, the sisters had been captured together, sold by slave traders, and ended up here as experimental subjects.
She explained that she’d told the researchers she would comply as long as they didn't hurt her sister, so she believed the girl was still safe.
"I’ll let you know if I find her. What’s her name? And yours? I’ll need both to find her."
"Right. I’m Annette. My sister is..."
She tilted her head. Her red horn gave a sudden twitch.
"...My sister... wait, her name... why can't I...?"
"Is her name 'Why'?"
"N-no. Why... why can't I remember? I don't know."
The red horn pulsed with a sickening throb, growing slightly larger.
This looked bad. It was vibrating with a heavy, rhythmic heartbeat.
"Wait, Annette-chan. Your horn is acting up."
"Ah, ugh... yeah. I know... hah... hah..."
The horn eventually settled, returning to its original size.
Annette let out a long, exhausted breath, looking like someone who had just survived a violent fever.
"My sister is... she’s my sister. We’re twins, so she looks just like me."
"Got it. I’ll keep an eye out."
"They said as long as I was alive, she’d be safe. So she has to be here somewhere."
I certainly hoped the researchers had kept their word.
Statistically speaking, there was a high chance she wasn't safe at all, but I decided it was better not to say that out loud.
"...What’s your name, Mr. Slime?"
"I’m Miti. Nice to meet you."
"That’s a cute name. Miti-chan. ...So you’re a girl?"
Well, yeah, basically. Since my end goal was to evolve into a slime girl, she wasn't technically wrong!
...Anyway, it looked like I’d have to find a way to remove that horn in addition to finding her sister.
I considered trying to extract it with Predation, but it looked like the damn thing was rooted straight into her brain.