Book 2: Chapter 4: (1)

Getting back a knight’s sword

We laid Ria on the bed, and Deet checked her wrist carefully.

Shizuku and I watched from beside the bed.

「It’s okay……Her breathing and heartbeat are normal. She does seem to have a slight fever, though.」

Shizuku and I breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.

「Phew. I’m glad.」

When I’d lifted her up and carried her back, I’d tried to talk to her, but she hadn’t responded. I was scared to death.

For now, at least, I don’t have to worry.

「But……well, why did she collapse, then?」

「I bet it was psychological.」

I was a bit surprised by Deet’s answer to my question, but I kind of understood her point.

There were times when Ria showed fear towards the dungeon.

「Psychological, huh?……She was only going into the dungeon by herself to swing her sword around, so I thought she’d be all right.」

「Maybe she knew she wouldn’t be, so she went to swing her sword about on her own in order to overcome it.」

Come to think of it, I remember Ria saying that she wanted to train by herself. What Deet was saying was probably right.

「She’s probably traumatised.」

「In that case, she could stay here and recover at her own pace.」

Deet smiled gently. I felt a surge of affection.

For now, I decided to forget about my room, and the fact that, the more time passed, the more danger Enami was in.

「Even so, it’s a bit worrying that she has a fever, isn’t it?」

「Yeah.」

「Maybe I should go an buy a thermometer and an antipyretic sheet.」

「What the heck are those?」

「Items in this world. A thermometer can accurately measure how high someone’s fever is. The sheet eases the fever a little.」

「Really?」

I was about to set out for Tons Quijote, but after a bit of thought, I asked Shizuku,

「If I’m not here when Ria wakes up, she might worry, so could you disguise yourself as me and stay by her?」

But Shizuku didn’t turn into me.

「Master…」

「Huh? Shizuku, what’s wrong?」

「I think it would be better if I took on Miss Deet’s shape rather than yours, Master.」

「What? Why?」

Shizuku said that it might give Ria more peace of mind to have someone of the same gender stay by her.

Deet agreed.

「Indeed. She might also not want you to see her looking weak, Thor.」

Perhaps they were right. Well, if I got Deet to stay with Ria, maybe I could go out shopping.

Then Shizuku made a suggestion.

「Since I’m watching over Lady Ria in the shape of Miss Deet, how about you go shopping with Miss Deet, Master? I’m guessing there are things that the two of you want to talk about.」

How clever Shizuku is! And that will probably start…

Lying on my stomach on the tatami, resting on my elbows, I supported my head with my hands. This posture allowed me to watch Deet and Shizuku easily.

「She’s too cute!」

Deet hugged Shizuku close, looking excited. Deet’s body sank deep into Shizuku, whom she was embracing.

Deet’s eyes widened in surprise, but I grinned.

In an instant, Shizuku stretched out over Deet’s body.

「Yuck! What the heck……」

Deet covered her chest with her hands.

Stretching her own body thin, Shizuku scanned Deet’s body.

Shizuku finished the scan of Deet’s upper body, and then finally……From her firm thighs downwards, she slipped easily into her black knee-high shoes.

「Th-that tickle…….ahhhh!」

「Hehehe… In order for Shizuku to scan your body, Deet, you’ll just have to put up with it.」

After a while, Shizuku separated herself with a jellylike wobble from the tips of Deet’s toes. Deet had given up on standing, and was lying down limply on the tatami.

「Now I’ll be able to transform myself into a perfect copy of Miss Deet! I didn’t scan the internal structure, but everything on the surface should be spot on!」

「Well done, Shizuku!」

I hadn’t seen Ria being scanned, but I was as pleased as could be that I was able to watch Deet’s scan.

Then Shizuku transformed into the exact image of Deet. Deet heaved a wild breath.

「Aah… Th-that’s amazing, for a white slime!」

「It must have felt great, right?」

「That’s not what I meant! I mean her shapeshifting ability!」

Come to think of it, Deet had never seen Shizuku take the shape of a human before.

「You should be able to trade her for a high price……」

「A high price……?」

「If you sell a white slime, you’ll be able to build several mansions with the money. The kind of mansion nobles live in.」

Apparently, it was true that white slimes were misused by humans. No, by dark elves, perhaps? I realised that Deet was looking greedily at Shizuku.

「N-no!」

I would never allow her to sell clever Shizuku.

Deet thumped me.

「What the heck?!」

「I wasn’t going to sell her!」

♦︎ ♦︎ ♦︎

Stroking the bump on my head, I walked around Tons Quijote with Deet.

「Humans are such cheapskates!」

Deet was still angry, and her gaze was keen. Incidentally, in order to go out into the town, she was wearing my jeans, shirt, and hat, and her pointed elf ears were skilfully hidden by her hairdo. Even though this beautiful elf was wearing men’s clothes, she looked really good, but I thought maybe I should buy her some cuter women’s clothing. Perhaps that would improve her mood.

I bought the thermometer and the anti-pyretic sheet.

Come to think of it, Deet looked like she had really enjoyed eating those crêpes.

「Want to have crêpes again?」

「What?」

「You liked them, right?」

「Y-yeah.」

Deet’s eyes shone happily.

「Thanks to you, Deet, it looks like we’ll have some extra money, so shall we buy some for Ria and Shizuku too and eat them back at my place? I’ll get you the banana chocolate cream one you had the other day – how about that?」

「Don’t bother! Humph!」

……Her mood had been good until just now, but it had suddenly got worse again.

「You really don’t want one?」

「I don’t!」

「O-okay! Then one strawberry chocolate cream, one crème caramel chocolate cream, and one blueberry cream, please.」

When I said this to the young woman selling crêpes, a telepathic shout of 「And a banana chocolate cream one!」rang out.

The woman looked about, bewildered.

「S-sorry, please can I have a banana chocolate cream one as well?」

「Huh? Ah, of course.」

I took the crêpes for the four of us.

「Thor, why don’t you understand my feelings?」

Even if someone had told me to understand a woman’s feelings…… But I did want to make Deet happy. So, taking the hint, I turned towards the clothing section.

「Ah…They’re having a summer clothing fair!」

Well, Tons Quijote wasn’t a clothes shop. It was a bargain sale, so rather than selling things in advance of the season, they were probably just selling off last year’s unsold goods.

「Deet! I’m going to that section over there!」

「Wait! Thor!」

With Deet shouting at my back, I approached the summer bargains cart.

「Ah! Isn’t this nice…」

Just as I expected of summer clothes. They showed a lot of skin.

But, come to think of it, Deet was used to wearing black leather leotards, gym shorts and school swimsuits.

Now, she was wearing a man’s jeans, shirt, and hat, but perhaps here I should look for clothes that were neat and tidy rather than sexy.

「What are you looking at?」

「Japanese clothes. I was thinking of buying some for you, Deet. You can choose what you want.」

「Japanese clothes?! Is that okay?」

「Yeah, go right ahead!」

After all, Deet is a girl. She seems to have a weakness for fashion.

「I bet my status will go up again, won’t it?」

……Apparently, that’s for pragmatic reasons.

♦︎ ♦︎ ♦︎

「Denim shorts, and a small black tank top……」

Deet brought over sexy foreign clothes.

After all – how should I put it? – I was beginning to understand her fashion sense.

But I was also wondering whether neat and tidy clothes would suit her as well.

「Those are great, Deet, but how about these?」

「W-what the heck are those?」

「We’d call them a straw hat and a white dress.」                   

Of course, the skirt was long, and the bodice wasn’t open.

「That stuff’s embarrassing.」

I didn’t understand why Deet was embarrassed.

She usually goes about with her buttocks and thighs on show, but…

「But I think they’ll suit you. And you’ll be able to cover your ears with the straw hat. There are changing rooms over there, so why don’t you try them on?」

「Changing rooms?」

「In Japan, we try clothes on before we buy them. Men mostly to check that they’re comfortable, and women mostly to check that the clothes suit them. 」

When I’d said that, Deet picked up several pieces of clothing.

In the end, she did take the straw hat and the dress.

「Just in case. I might not try these on, okay?!」

「G-got it!」

And then the mini fashion show began.