In Another World, the Boy Was Spoiled by the Iron Knight!
Chapter 40: The Slime Keeper

Chapter 40: The Slime Keeper

He grabbed it with both hands and pulled it off. It clung to him like a jellyfish, refusing to let go until he e finally peeled it off with force.

What he held in his hand was a blue, jiggly, water-drop-shaped creature, it’s squirming and wiggling in a strange way.

It was alive!

Shiao Yi reflexively threw it across the room.

"Ahh! Puddle!"

A person in black clothes quickly rushed forward and caught the blue creature in their arms.

"That surprised you, huh? Poor thing," the person said gently while hugging the strange, unknown creature to his chest and stroking what might have been its back—if it had one.

"That was so mean of you. Puddle was just saying hello in a friendly way!"

Hello? Did they mean "attacked" by mistake?

"What is that thing?" Shiao Yi asked, suspicious.

"It’s a slime. Don’t tell me—you’ve never seen one before?" the person replied.

His eyes widened in surprise, then he took a long look at Shiao Yi, slowly scanning him from head to toe.

The man who is dressed in a black robe that reached the floor, looked to be in his twenties. He had freckles and hair that stuck out like a bundle of dry straw. By the standards of this place, he was probably considered slim, but to Shiao Yi, he still looked tall and big built. So far, it seemed like every grown man here was taller than Shiao Yi—he hadn’t found a single one he could look at straight-on without tilting his head up.

"Black hair! You must be the new guy who came to the fortress recently, right? The one the captain’s always walking around with?"

Still holding the slime, the man stepped right up to Shiao Yi and peered into his eyes. Please, just keep that blue jelly-thing away from me, Shiao Yi thought, panicking a little inside.

"Wow, really black eyes! So mysterious! I want those eyes. I’d love to preserve them in liquid and keep them on display."

Okay—this guy was definitely dangerous. Anyone who could hold that blue, squishy thing so casually was not normal. Shiao Yi couldn’t stand jelly-like creatures like that. They gave him the creeps.

Just then, something strange in the corner of his vision caught his eye. He turned to look—and froze.

A slimy creature was sliding along the bare, cracked stone wall, leaving behind a trail of sticky mucus. It looked like a slug—but the size was unbelievably huge.

The man with the slime, following Shiao Yi’s gaze, nodded and said, "Ah, that one.is called Slimer. One of my pets. It’s delicious, you know."

"..."

He casually walked up to the giant slug-like creature and sliced off a piece from the edge with a knife. Then, he held it out toward Shiao Yi.

"Try it. It’s slick and really tasty. The texture is amazing."

"It’s your pet, right? Isn’t it cruel to cut it like that?"

"You’re so kind, aren’t you? Don’t worry. Slimer doesn’t feel pain—it has no pain nerves. And it regenerates super fast."

Looking at the creature, Shiao Yi saw that the place where it had been cut was already completely healed—so well that he couldn’t even tell where the cut had been. Still... was it really safe to eat a slug? He was pretty sure he’d heard somewhere they carried parasites or something.

"I—I’m good. I’ll pass..."

"Really? That’s too bad. It’s so tasty."

The man casually popped the piece into his mouth and ate it in one gulp.

Once Shiao Yi started paying attention, he realized just how strange the room really was. On the ceiling, a giant centipede-like monster was creeping along, its shiny exoskeleton reflecting the light as it moved on hundreds of legs. On one pillar, something that looked like a leech had stretched itself out, thin and long, from the ceiling all the way to the floor. Behind a sofa, a creature that looked like a huge sea slug was resting. In another corner, massive worms were writhing together in a group.

—What... what is this room?

—And what the hell is this guy?!

"This room is actually meant for five people, but for some reason, no one wants to stay here with me," the man said cheerfully. "These little ones are really sensitive, you know. I wanted a quiet room further back, not right here near the entrance. But they forced me to take this room. I wonder why?"

As he said that, he glanced at Shiao Yi with a sly smile. He clearly knew exactly why.

"These little guys sneak out into the hallway whenever they want. That’s why no one from the west wing ever comes over here. The only ones who do are Captain Dominic and Mr. Robaire. The Captain would kicks them away without even thinking, and Mr. Robaire would just jumps over them and ignores them completely. That’s why it’s really peaceful and quiet around here. It feels great."

Shiao Yi could only give a strained, awkward smile.

"You’re welcome here too," the man added. "These kids said they like you. Isn’t that strange? You don’t have any magic at all."

"You can tell something like that?" Shiao Yi asked, remembering that Dominic had said something similar.

"Hmm, yeah," the man said, tilting his head. "When I get close, I can just sort of feel it naturally. Everyone has at least a little magic power. The only ones who don’t are dead bodies. As long as someone’s alive, they’ve got some magic in them. But you? You’ve got none at all. From our point of view, it’s like you’re already dead. But you’re clearly alive, so it’s kind of shocking. I’ve never seen a living person with zero magic power before."

"I... I see," Shiao Yi said, unsure whether he was being insulted, complimented, or treated like some rare creature.

"Oh right," the man said, as if suddenly remembering. "Did you come here for something? It’s not often people make it all the way over to this room."