"Whoa! That sounds amazing, you two... By the way, I spent the night using Gin-chan's tail as a body pillow, ssu!"
She’d slept while hugging a fluffy fox tail? Seriously?
"...I-I’m not jealous at all, you know!"
"...Ugh, I’ll just have to unlock Nika-chan’s wings and counter with a down duvet, dao!"
"I’m jealous of both of yours, ssu. Next time, I’ll craft a king-sized bed box so we can all sleep together. Ah, but we’re short on Gin-chan tails, ssu."
"I wonder if Miti-chan could mimic one. She can already turn into a cat beastman, so maybe just a fox tail is doable...?"
"Slimes really are convenient, dao."
By the way, it turned out that Nika-chan wasn't actually human.
You’ve got wings growing out of you? You’re an actual angel. Maybe that’s why she could purify Defilement.
"I thought it was just a bump on my lower back, but it was actually a wing, dao. It seems like it grows whenever I purify Defilement, dao."
"Huh. Interesting."
And so, the battle of the beds ended in a draw.
Now then, it was time to resume our wagon journey...
First, I had to clean up the monsters that had died outside our Home during the night. Most were small insect-types, but there were a fair number of birds as well. Maybe I’d have Penpen turn them into yakitori.
"Hie... S-So many monsters attacked us? I didn't notice a thing."
"Ah, don't worry about it. Our Home won't even flinch against small fry of this level."
"Looks like the birds came to eat the bugs, then got zapped and died themselves, dao?"
"The birds are still fresh, so that seems to be how it went, ssu."
Actually, I’d configured the defenses to retaliate with a "zap." The corpses scattered outside were the ones that hadn't survived the shock. The ones that lived through it had likely fled. I wanted to say I didn't care for senseless slaughter, but since they provided experience points, I couldn't help but click my tongue whenever any of them escaped.
"If we leave these here, medium-sized monsters that prey on birds will probably show up next, dao."
"And if large ones that eat the medium ones show up, our Home's current defenses would have a hard time. It drains MP, too."
"They’d probably break through a Simple Offensive Barrier without dying, ssu. I just hope they’d run away."
On the flip side, if I placed the Home in the middle of a locust swarm, could I just rake in infinite experience?
...No, my MP would probably bottom out. Besides, it was likely more efficient to just hunt monsters normally.
"Well, let's head out. Same seating arrangement as yesterday, right?"
"I wonder if we'll arrive today, ssu."
"We’re counting on you, Coachman, dao!"
"...Ah, yes, sir."
I stored the Home, and we were off. Miti-chan, make sure to keep an eye on the Merchant.
"Lord Spirits! Bandits ahead!"
"Uo... Hold on, dao. I'm at a really good part..."
"Hey, Alto. The enemies are closing in. We’re deploying."
"They're just small fry anyway, and none of them look cute, dao. I’ll leave it to you... Hmmm, wait, is this checkmate, dao?"
"Who knows? Hehehe."
Leaving the two of them to their board game—which they’d outfitted with magnets to counteract the wagon's swaying—I stepped outside.
"Still, bandits really do show up a lot around here."
"E-Err, yes, Slime-sama. It’s because we’ve chosen this specific route."
I see. So we were taking the dangerous "shortest path for the reckless" route.
...Oh?!
"Hey, Alto! Penpen! There’s a cute girl!"
"Seriously, dao?! This is no time for board games, dao!"
"Hey! Running away because you're losing is cheating, ssu!"
It was indeed a cute girl. Assuming it wasn't a "trap," anyway.
However, a halo was floating above her head—a simple, plain ring.
"Uo? There's a ring floating over her head, dao..."
"Is it a player, ssu?! A PKer, ssu?! ...Wait."
"Gah?! T-Three Spirit-possessed?! W-Wait! Just listen to me!"
"Nope! No questions asked! Hyah-ha!"
Regardless, we wiped them out. Player or not, bandits must die—I show no mercy. However, I did make sure to capture the cute one.
As a result, the cute player girl was successfully taken prisoner.
...I mean, we had three of us! There was no way she could win. Even if the opponent was a "First Character," we had a combat-focused "First Character" on our side as well.
"No, you've got it wrong! This was a request! It’s a misunderstanding!"
"Uo-uo-uo! Even if you're a player, anyone who PKs is a criminal, dao! You have no human rights, dao!"
"Please, check with the Adventurer's Guild! I’m begging you...!"
Suddenly feeling like her face looked familiar, I decided to ask for her name.
"By any chance, do you go by Aruru on the Wiki?"
"Aruru? ...U-Um, Lord Spirit... are you an acquaintance of Mahariku-sama?"
"Ah! This girl is Aruru-shi's Third Character, dao! She’s the one from the screenshots, dao!"
"What?! That player already has a Third Character, ssu?!"
"No, actually, there was a theory that she might still be on her First Character, dao."
"What does that mean, ssu?"
If I recalled correctly, Aruru-shi’s gameplay style was more like a company management sim, and her "subordinates" were increasing in number. This character was that Third Subordinate.
"So she's a player who contributes to the Wiki, ssu. Got it."
"So, um, could you please release me...? No?"
"No, dao."
"P-Please check with the Adventurer's Guild, they'll tell you it was just a quest...!"
"Well, even if that's true, we’re treating you as a prisoner until we reach the town and can confirm your story."
"No way... Good grief."
And so, having captured a fellow player's subordinate, we arrived at the town of Suriado that evening.