I received a letter from Alfred.
According to Lu’s translation, he’d been given an uninhabited island and was currently clearing it with his friends. It sounded like a fun project, so I sent a reply encouraging him to do his best. Still, I had to wonder what exactly he’d done to end up with an entire island. I wished he’d gone into more detail, especially since Lu and Flora were fretting over the possibility that he’d been exiled or isolated. Also, I wondered what happened to the plan for him to start a shop.
On the other hand, no letters arrived from Tiselle. Back when she was at the academy, she’d written fairly often, but it seems that was only because Asa and Earth were constantly badgering her to do so. Apparently, they’d even been editing her drafts for her. I see. It looks like I put quite a burden on the two of them. I started to worry that separating them from Tiselle might have been a bad move.
Then there was Urza... I wasn't quite sure what to make of her correspondence. It felt less like a letter home and more like a mercenary corps' official log. She’d mention making friends in various places, but instead of individual names, she listed the names of organizations. She mentioned that Asa and Earth were excelling as unit leaders and asked me to praise them—was that her own little way of acting spoiled? It also felt like the volume of letters she sent to Beezel, Yuri, and the Demon King was higher than what she sent me. I really wanted to believe that was just my imagination.
In preparation for the winter test firing, Yor had been staying up night after night making ammunition. Crim, who lived with her, asked me to tell her to get some sleep. It seemed Yor wouldn't listen to her; or rather, she’d pretend to listen, then wait for Crim to fall asleep before sneaking back to work. I eventually had to threaten her, saying I’d cancel the test fire entirely if she kept being so reckless with her health. I decided to leave the final verdict on whether the test would actually happen up to Crim.
The recovery of the pilot suits and the search for Artie Horse components—including the machines themselves—at the site of the old mine where Wing Demon Crystals were said to be found were on the agenda. Neither was mandatory or particularly urgent. As for the pilot suits, Zabuton and her children were about to go into hibernation, so that could wait until spring. Furthermore, our hands were currently full regarding the Artie Horses we already had. Between those and the airship, the Mountain Elves were swamped. Going out to search didn't guarantee we’d find anything, and finding too much at once would just cause more trouble. I didn't want to push them into doing anything unreasonable.
"Please, demand it of us!" "The more samples we have, the better!" "We’ll make it work somehow!"
The Mountain Elves were brimming with motivation, which was exactly why I felt the rest of us needed to keep a close eye on them.
When winter arrives, the slimes tend to freeze, so I told them to stay indoors. However, slimes are free spirits by nature. Plenty of them simply refused to listen. As a countermeasure, I tried letting them hold onto some Heat Retention Stones. It didn't go as planned; they just digested them. I was a bit discouraged, but after a while, a slime appeared that had undergone a strange evolution.
A Hot Slime.
It was noticeably warmer than the others. I figured this would keep it from freezing, but its base temperature was still too low to help its frozen peers. Then I saw it—it could actually heat itself up. I asked it to look out for any slimes that got stuck in the ice and help them out.
Since the Heat Retention Stone had worked, I wondered what would happen if I gave a slime a Wing Demon Crystal. I decided to run a little experiment. After digesting a crystal about the size of an armful, the slime changed slightly. Its jumping ability was far superior to its peers, and it fell much more slowly. A Feather Slime. It was a classic fantasy creature, but I wasn't sure if there was a practical use for it yet. It mostly just floated around.
Lu mentioned that for these kinds of changes, the individual’s will is paramount. For instance, giving slimes a ton of alcohol doesn't guarantee they’ll turn into Sake Slimes; the slime has to want to become one. So, even if I provided the catalyst, it was that slime's own desire that turned it into a Feather Slime. I suppose it doesn't need to be useful. I'm happy as long as they live how they want. Besides, they're strangely popular with the children.
I was determined to make Yoko take a vacation, which meant I had to step up. Since I couldn't handle all her duties alone, I needed extra help. Malbit suggested a few Angels who were capable but currently idle... but the candidates found out and started resisting. They didn't use words, but actions. They wanted to prove they were actually working. Their "proof" involved spending all morning slowly roasting massive chunks of wild boar.
Why? I mean, it looked delicious, but surely there were other things they could be doing. Then again, I suppose they didn't want to actually work. This roast was the result of them finding the most effort-intensive thing they could do that still technically qualified as "leisure." You can't just leave it over the fire, after all; you have to flip it regularly to keep it from charring. A good roast takes a lot of time and care. It was actually quite helpful.
I decided to tell Malbit they were behaving themselves. The only problem was the quantity. The smell had been so enticing since morning that Kuro’s children had gathered in force, and Ann was counting on it as a side dish for dinner. I told the Angels I wouldn't stop them, but asked if they could do two or three more boars. Since I was the one who went out to hunt them, it wasn't a problem on my end. When I asked if they could start the extras now, they said it would take until tomorrow. I see. I told Kuro’s children they’d have to wait one more day.
The roasted boar at dinner was fantastic. You could really taste the Angels’ attention to detail. The children were thrilled, so I hoped they’d do it again sometime. Oh, right—they're actually still in the middle of roasting those extra boars right now. Well, I hope they keep at it.