Chapter 46
I have some very good news.
After finishing my email exchange with Ichinose, I once again thoroughly examined the 'Email' Skill from top to bottom.
As a result, I couldn't find a 'Block Function,' but I did discover something like 'Manner Mode.'
Apparently, it could keep the heavenly voice from ringing in my head whenever I received an email.
Better yet, it could be configured even at LV 1. Wonderful.
Taking advantage of this, I immediately set 'Email' to 'Manner Mode.'
This made my mind wonderfully quiet, ensuring me a comfortable state.
Ah, what a relief.
Manner Mode is important, you know.
Even with a cellphone, it's common sense for a working adult to set it to Manner Mode during meetings or when visiting a client.
Having your smartphone ring during a conversation with a business partner and answering it without even excusing yourself is the height of bad manners.
Well, at any rate, I could now go about things calmly.
Hooray.
≪You have reached a certain proficiency level.≫
≪The Skill 'Email' has increased from LV 1 to 2.≫
...
Yeah, I'll pretend I didn't hear that.
'Email' is still LV 1.
That's what I'll tell myself.
≪You have met the required conditions.≫
≪The chat function has been added to 'Email'.≫
≪There is currently one registered contact available for chat.≫
≪Would you like to chat?≫
"..."
I silently selected No.
Next, I checked the email function.
...Yep, the chat function had been added.
Damn it all!
Why did it have to level up at this exact moment?
This is ridiculous!
If it was going to level up, couldn't it have been 'Swordsmanship' or 'Vital Strike' or something else?
I've been working hard to use them!
For now, I'll check the chat function.
Oh, it can be turned on and off. Lucky me.
I turned it off without hesitation.
The number of unread emails had increased by one.
...I'll check it later.
That's for the best.
Actually, I don't want to read it.
Well, shall I resume exploring?
Pretending I hadn't seen any of it, I started walking with Momo and Aka.
"There are more rice paddies around here now..."
After walking for a while, rice paddies came into view.
This was the outskirts—indeed, the very edge—so a scene like this wasn't unusual.
"It's already May, so it's rice-planting season."
The paddies were filled with water, with green rice plants planted in them.
Of course, these rice plants probably won't grow any further.
There'll be no one left to tend them.
Still, what a lovely view.
It soothed my heart, battered by 'Email.'
And I'm scared to check my unread messages. There must be a ton piled up...
"...Hmm?"
As I thought that while looking out over the paddies, something suddenly caught my eye.
―――A slime.
A slime was bobbing gently in the rice paddy.
Quite a lot of them, too.
So these guys were here, too.
As usual, they didn't seem to be doing anything; they were just floating there.
They let the current carry them along, occasionally clinging to a rice plant to eat.
They sure took it easy.
"Whiiine?"
Momo asked what we were going to do with these guys.
What were we going to do...?
"It'd be a hassle to kill them, so why not leave them alone?"
"...(shakes)"
As I thought that, Aka began trembling for some reason.
It dispelled its disguise and approached Momo.
I wondered what was wrong.
"...(shakes, shakes)"
Aka trembled.
Then Momo nodded.
Wait, had they just been communicating?
"Woof!"
Momo barked once and extended 'Shadow' toward the rice paddy.
It caught one of the slimes.
The slime offered no resistance as it was pulled along and dragged to Momo's side.
It looked like we were fishing for jellyfish...
"Momo, Aka, what are you going to do with that slime?"
Curious, I asked, and Aka moved closer to the slime.
Then Aka made a startling move.
To my surprise, Aka began using 'Absorption' on the slime Momo had caught.
"Huh!?"
I cried out in surprise.
Aka spread over the slime's body, gradually taking it in.
The slime being taken in didn't resist at all; it simply let it happen. Its body gradually grew smaller.
It took about a minute.
Aka finished completely absorbing the captured slime and shook its body with satisfaction.
I felt as though its body was just a little larger than before.
It was a fairly shocking sight.
I had no idea... Slimes eat other slimes?
No, biologically speaking, I suppose it's closer to fusion than eating...?
Then Aka came over to me and shook its body again.
What now?
I watched carefully, and Aka's body split into two.
"W-what!?"
"...(shakes, shakes)"
The two Akas trembled.
They seemed a little smaller than when there had been only one.
They were about two-thirds the size they had been alone.
They simply stared intently at me.
"Huh? What is it?"
"...(shakes)"
I got the impression that they wanted me to praise them.
It felt like they were puffing out their chests and saying, 'Look, we can do this, too!'
Could Aka have absorbed the other slime just so I'd praise it?
"O-oh... Wow, Aka. You can do this, too! Yeah, amazing!"
When I said that, the two Akas bounced up and down happily.
Though they weren't really able to jump at all.
Since they looked like they wanted me to pet them, I did.
They were cool to the touch and surprisingly pleasant to stroke.
Aka trembled happily.
"Uu..."
Then Momo rubbed against me.
Apparently, it wanted me to pet it, too.
Haha, what a cutie.
"Good job, Momo. Thanks for helping Aka."
As I said that and petted it, Momo narrowed its eyes happily.
I enjoyed its fluffy fur for a while.
It was blissful.
"―――You want to absorb more companions?"
After I had finished petting them, Aka suggested that.
Apparently, by absorbing fellow slimes, Aka could improve its own capabilities.
As far as I was concerned, that was ideal, but was Aka okay with it?
They were the same species, after all; wouldn't it feel any aversion?
When I asked, it indicated that there was no problem.
Apparently, slimes didn't have that sort of sense of kinship.
If so, I had no objections.
Momo and I caught slimes one after another and continued feeding them to Aka.
There were plenty not only in the rice paddies but in the drainage basins, too.
They must have become concentrated there as they were carried along by the current.
Thanks to that, we were able to feed Aka a great many slimes.
"All right, then. Shall we head somewhere else?"
Staying in one place for too long wasn't a good idea.
As I moved away from the rice paddies, 'Enemy Search' picked up something.
It wasn't human... It was a monster.
And it felt stronger than any presence I'd sensed before.
I immediately hid Momo in the shadows and had Aka disguise itself.
I dropped flat on the spot, used 'Presence Concealment,' and watched for any sign of danger.
I used 'Telescopic Vision' to look toward where I'd sensed the presence.
"What's that...?"
Seeing the monster, I involuntarily widened my eyes.
A monster with a huge, potbellied body and a pig's head.
An orc.
It twitched its snout and looked around as it approached us.
...Is it looking for something?
What should I do?
There was only one of them.
Should I run, or fight...?