CH 348.1

This is the downtown area of the royal capital. The sun, which has just emerged, shines across the walls and windows of a three-story apartment complex.

(…..It’s morning, huh.)

I squirm around on the bed with my eyes closed. In my previous world, I hold the titles of 『Sleepless night』 and 『Morning as if I fell into the bottom of the well』, but it’s been different since I moved to this world.

I can now sleep soundly and wake up in a snap.

(It’s thanks to the daily full-body workout at the brothels, I guess.)

The gym membership fee. I haven’t gained anything from it, but this is the one thing I have been able to do without neglecting it.

『What one likes, one will do well.』

It’s just as the saying goes.

I will shake my manhood until I run out of energy, and then I will take a good rest and recover. The diligent daily routine has made me the Dr. Slime that I am today.

(Still, this is weird…)

According to my senses, it’s not time to get up yet. And it seems I didn’t wake up naturally.

I feel as if something is repeatedly telling me what to do.

(Muu…)

As I lay there with my eyebrows furrowed without opening my eyelids, a wave of thought echoed in my head.

『Wake up.』

I identified the culprit. It was Imosuke, the spirit beast in charge of managing the garden forest, and the leader of my familiars.

『It’s done!』

Normally, I wouldn’t be able to tell what’s happening with just this. But since Imosuke and I are in frequent conversation, I know what he’s trying to say even without context.

What comes to mind is the Pomelo tree that stands by the pond in our garden. I am sure he is talking about this fruit.

(“It’s finally ripe”, is what he’s trying to say is it?)

They already had a number of heavy-looking fruits hanging from the tree. However, I had not harvested them, as Imosuke-sensei, a botany specialist, insisted that they would taste better if left to ripen on the tree.

I guess the fact that he woke me up at this hour with his little wart-like feet means that he wants me to harvest them in the morning.

『I want everyone to eat it when it tastes the best.』

As the ones who planted the seed, it is a natural feeling. So I decided to get up with all my might instead of pulling up my blanket and going back to sleep.

It was cold wearing just my pajamas, so I wear a thick jacket, put the caterpillar on my shoulder, and went to the kitchen. I put the sheathed fruit knife in my pocket and went out into the garden forest, where the morning dew glistened on the leaves.

「Morning.」

I found the dung beetle and the turtle directly under the pomelo tree and greeted them. The dung beetle returns the greeting from a flat stone on the shore, while Zaratan is floating in the pond.

(Your dignity is falling apart, you know?)

My cheeks relaxed when I see the turtle. Zaratan himself didn’t seem to notice, but his tail kept slapping the surface of the water perhaps because he can’t wait to eat it.

(Well, I can’t blame him. He’s the one who looks forward to it the most out of us after all.)

This turtle is actually a great spirit beast that can grow up to 200 meters in length once he leaves the garden forest, and his name is widely known throughout the world.

In fact, if you check out an illustrated book from the library, you will see a color spread depicting the turtle’s appearance, with a lengthy explanation beginning on the next page.

『Why does such a being live in a pond on a rooftop in the downtown area of the royal capital?』

There is only one reason, and that is because this is the only place where pomelos can be found.

Zaratan was very fond of the pomelo fruit. But apparently, hundreds of years ago it disappeared from the area around the lake in the Spirit Forest where he dwelled before.

『The plump, pale yellow citrus fruits that the turtle has longed for.』

The tree of such fruit was revived in the garden forest, and the turtle came here with its extraordinary abilities.

As a motivation for a high being such as a great spirit beast, I guess you could say that it’s cute. But I give it high marks.

(I always think that it’s nice to live a life where you’re passionate about what you love.)

I who have similar wishes always think that way.

As I was thinking this, Imosuke, who was riding on my shoulder, pressed my cheek with his head.

『A speech.』

The ceremony at the first harvest of the season. This is what the caterpillar, the leader of my familiars seems to be thinking about.

Judging from the way the dung beetle and the turtle are looking at me, both of them must have agreed to this.

「Please allow me, then.」

I set Imosuke down next to Dangorou and coughed lightly.

「The fact that we can harvest much more than we do last year is thanks to the efforts of the three of them here. And for that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.」

I said my thanks first, then continued.

「――As the saying “Three arrows, three pillars of stability” goes, three people together are about nine times as wise and resourceful――」

Thinking that I should say something nice, I continued talking after that. I noticed a strange series of noises and turned my attention to the source, which turned out to be the tail of Zaratan, moving up and down in the air and on the surface of the water.

The sound was like fingers tapping on the top of a desk.

「――That is all.」

I reflected on the situation and end my speech.

I used to get fed up with long speeches from principals, presidents, and other dignitaries, but I felt differently when I was the one doing the talking.

I couldn’t feel like I had fulfilled my role unless I said something long enough, and moreover, something that made them nod.

「Now that’s out of the way, Imosuke, would you please?」

I bend over and lift the caterpillar with both hands and place him on top of the branch. The caterpillar bows to everyone from high above and then smacks the branch with his butt.

『Pan pan pan paaーn!』

As soon as he let out such a wave of thought, a fruit that looks too heavy to hold in one hand falls. I immediately catch it and place it in front of Zaratan.

「One more.」

At my request, Imosuke moves sideways on the branch and does the same thing. I catch the light yellow sphere in the same way, but this time I hold it in my hand and squat down on the grass.

The reason I don’t just sit on the grass is to avoid getting my pants wet from the morning dew.

「Now then.」

Prompted by everyone’s gazes, I eat it first.

I take out a fruit knife. Then I make a horizontal and vertical slit in the butt of the pomelo, peel off the thick, hard outer skin, and break the sphere wrapped in the white soft skin with my fingers.

(…..How beautiful.)

Furthermore, when I carefully remove the thin layer of skin, it exposes the translucent, pale yellow flesh.

As I let out a breath of admiration, I felt a strange sensation and turned my head to Imosuke.

「Hey, isn’t this thing glowing?」

The caterpillar who stares at me from above a branch and the dung beetle on the ground who lifts the front half of his body and looks up at me.

『Put me down.』

As the fifth instar larvae of the swallowtail butterfly begin to waddle on the branch, I reach out my hand that is not holding the pomelo and place him on the ground as he asked me.

Next, I placed the pulp into the shadow of the tree. And as I thought, it emitted a white light, albeit faint.

『Ohhh—!』

Dangorou looks up, and next to him, Imosuke nods deeply and sent out a wave of thought.

『It turned out great.』

The two animals turned their heads to each other and do a high-five with their heads. Zaratan, on the other hand, was frozen with his mouth half open.

The feeling that came from him was surprise. It was the first time in his long life that he had ever seen a shiny pomelo.

「This is amazing. Well done you guys. It turned out to be much better than I expected.」

This is surely the result of the combined efforts of Dangorou, who is an expert in soil, Zaratan, who can be trusted with the water, and Imosuke, who specializes in taking care of plants.

I crush the shining, or rather, slightly glistening pulp in my mouth.