That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Vol. 4, page 1
part #4 of Reincarnated as a Slime Series
Copyright
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Vol. 4
FUSE
Translation by Kevin Gifford
Cover art by Mitz Vah
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
TENSEI SHITARA SLIME DATTA KEN volume 4
© Fuse / Mitz Vah
All rights reserved.
First published in Japan in 2015 by MICROMAGAZINE PUBLISHING Co.
English translation rights arranged with MICROMAGAZINE PUBLISHING Co. through Tuttle-Mori Agency, Inc., Tokyo.
English translation © 2018 by Yen Press, LLC
Yen Press, LLC supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact the publisher. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Fuse, author. | Mitz Vah, illustrator. | Gifford, Kevin, translator.
Title: That time I got reincarnated as a slime / Fuse ; illustration by Mitz Vah ; translation by Kevin Gifford.
Other titles: Tensei Shitara Slime datta ken. English
Description: First Yen On edition. | New York : Yen ON, 2017–
Identifiers: LCCN 2017043646 | ISBN 9780316414203 (v. 1 : pbk.) | ISBN 9781975301118 (v. 2 : pbk.) | ISBN 9781975301132 (v. 3 : pbk.) | ISBN 9781975301149 (v. 4 : pbk.)
Subjects: GSAFD: Fantasy fiction.
Classification: LCC PL870.S4 T4613 2017 | DDC 895.63/6—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017043646
ISBNs: 978-1-9753-0114-9 (paperback)
978-1-9753-0115-6 (ebook)
E3-20181102-JV-PC
PROLOGUE
BEAUTY IN ACTION
Hinata Sakaguchi was bored as she sat in her personal room, assigned to her within the Holy Empire of Lubelius’s main palace. This world was just so boring.
She was still fifteen when she fell into this world. It was her first day of high school, the date of the official entrance ceremony, and the only reason she attended was because she didn’t want to be at home. On the way back, passing by the temple she passed by every other day of the week, a sudden gale slashed across her body, so powerful she couldn’t keep her eyes open. When she did finally pry her eyelids apart, she saw a new and unfamiliar landscape before her.
Hinata liked it.
Now, she thought, she was finally free of her mother, who had gotten into religion and never gave a second thought to her family since. Her father had long ago disappeared, so sure it was only a matter of time before he’d hit it big at the horse races, only to find nothing but massive debt at the end. Unable to bear the violent episodes that inevitably followed, her mother escaped into her faith.
All this after Hinata tried so hard to kill her father so her mother could enjoy the life insurance payoff. Just a little while longer, and it would’ve all been in the family bank account. She made sure nobody would suspect a thing. All she needed was for her father to disappear.
Thinking about it, though, she came to the realization that pulling this off right would require her to commit other murders. She’d have to kill the religious officials who associated with her mother, and sooner or later, she’d likely have to take her own mother’s life. That was the result of Hinata’s cool-headed analysis—and that, more than anything, was why she didn’t want to be home.
Here, at least, she wouldn’t have to kill anyone else. Or so she thought, before some men surrounded her.
“Hey, there’s another one here!”
“Whoa! Another young girl, eh? Sweet!”
“Hey, nobody’s gonna know if we have a li’l taste before sellin’ her, will they?”
Oh… So it’s the same thing here. To her, the world was filled with nothing but despair. A world filled with the ugly, the repulsive. A world that should just be destroyed already.
—I will take from them. I will let them take nothing from me.
Confirmed. Unique skill Usurper…successfully obtained.
—I am in the right. My calculations are flawless, for the world is eternally unchanging.
Confirmed. Unique skill Measurer…successfully obtained.
Suddenly, her vantage point was clear. The fog lifted from her heart, sharpening her mind.
If the men in front of me want to take from me, let me take from them first.
—Take their lives.
Then the massacre began. Hinata didn’t even need five whole minutes to kill three men with her own two hands. She was freshly awakened to her skills and not exceptionally gifted with muscular strength, but that was all it took.
Those were the first murders she committed in this world.
Hinata did have people close to her, but she could never believe in them. They were too weak to trust. She felt she might kill them with her own hands sometime. So she left their side.
The killings continued, and with them came knowledge and technical skill. She used those newfound talents as a foundation to become a strongman, one of the rulers of the world.
Days passed…
And then Hinata found him.
The one god she was truly qualified to serve.
Gods actually exist in this world.
She could no longer remember how many she’d killed. Good people, bad people—it didn’t matter to Hinata, for everyone was equal before her god. She continued to fight, never questioning the orders of the one she served. Monsters, too. The orders were absolute, and her god refused to tolerate the monsters’ existence. Thus, with her unchallenged force, she eliminated her god’s enemies.
The little girl was no longer there. Now, she was the right hand of her god. She held the title of paladin—chief knight of the Imperial Guard, answering directly to the Holy Emperor—and she bore beauty worthy of the title.
A title that made her the nemesis of all monsters.
Then she was visited by terrible news. Shizue Izawa, her teacher and mentor, was dead. The only person in this world who showed Hinata any kindness.
There were no sentimental memories, no hatred. No name for the emotions that flew in and out of her soul.
—I can’t forgive this. How could some monster do that…?
Her boring days at the palace were over. An icy smile cracked across her beautiful, almost saintly face, and she sprang into action.
CHAPTER 1
TRADING WITH THE BEAST KINGDOM
I could see a bunch of children playing around outside. Three boys and two girls. They ran up to me at first sight, overjoyed to see me.
“Teacher! What’re we gonna do today?” they all asked, their eyes shining—a determined-looking boy; a timid-looking boy; a reticent-looking boy; a lively looking girl; and a wise-looking girl.
They were all my students, and I doted upon them. Today, however, my emotions were a churning mix of happiness, sadness, and loneliness.
“Well,” I said to them, “that’s a good question. What should we do?”
This was my regular life until a bit ago. A life I myself threw away, one that would never return.
—But these are her memories, aren’t they? Not mine.
The lingering attachments of Shizu, back during her instructor days. I could tell, from my viewpoint, that she didn’t want these kids to be involved in her strife. But perhaps they felt abandoned. Perhaps they cried. But even if they didn’t, it was all so…
Hmm? All so what? What was I trying to…?
And then my eyes opened.
—Please. Those children…
Those children? The ones in the dream?
—Please, rescue those children.
Rescue…? What on earth from?
There was nobody to answer. She wanted to have me do something. That much was clear. But that was it. No more words, as her voice plunged into the darkness and disappeared.
The remains of the dream faded away in my mind—the plaintive request left deserted and unnoticed.
This felt like the first dream I had in a while.
Ever since I became a slime, which by definition never slept, the only chance for dreams was during emergencies like exhausting my magical force. It didn’t feel right to me at all, so I forced myself to engage in periods of inactivity on a daily basis—working hard to laze around, in a way.
If it sounds like a contradiction, it isn’t. Giving oneself time to relax is never a bad thing, and there’s no pain in working hard f
“Ahh, now I can live my days in sheer laziness…”
“What sort of nonsense are you going on about, Sir Rimuru?”
She was angry. Shuna’s smile never faltered when she was angry. That’s what made it so terrifying.
Blithely following Shuna’s lead, I crawled out of bed, grumbling to myself. I’d be busy during the day—battle training with Hakuro was on the schedule, as was an inspection trip to see how construction was proceeding. You’d think there was no harm in kicking back a little at night. I had just wrapped up analyzing and assessing the skills I took from Charybdis, so there were no major unaddressed issues left to tackle.
By the way, Charybdis gave me Magic Interference and Control Gravity, both extra skills. Magic Interference, paired with Control Particles, resulted in the new extra skill Control Magic—which, when associated with Multilayer Barrier, gave a pretty hefty boost to my defenses. Magical attacks were nothing to worry about now—that, along with the Resist Magic skill I picked up from Gabil and the rest of the freshly evolved dragonewts, meant I could withstand well near any direct magical strike. Of course, I had Glutton on me, so I could already consume and neutralize any magic attack I could identify—but still, this new stuff could protect me from ambushes and surprise attacks, and that was huge.
As for Control Gravity—well, my research into it certainly paid off. I had always felt it a pity I couldn’t capture Gelmud’s flight magic, but Control Gravity very elegantly solved that problem. I didn’t even need to chant a spell in advance—high-speed flight was now mine, in any shape or form I wanted it.
This time, I didn’t rush things. I hadn’t forgotten the failures I ran into on the way to stumbling upon Water Pressure Propulsion. Trying out whatever jumped into your imagination was a surefire ticket to some seriously unfunny situations. So I took it easy, spending every evening examining my skills. I started by lifting myself into the air and practicing some low-speed flight. I could control my trajectory with my wings to some extent, which helped me pick up the knack more easily than I thought.
Now, I didn’t even need the wings. Multilayer Barrier even protected me against wind resistance; I bet I could break the sound barrier before long with this. But no rush. I’d just keep up the slow, steady practice.
As I thought all this over, Shuna gave me an exasperated sigh.
“Sir Rimuru, you’re being inattentive again. You will be seeing off my brother Benimaru and Sir Rigur today. I want you to focus on being the most majestic figure you can for the big farewell.”
“Oh yeah, that was today. Sure thing.”
Ah, yes. Benimaru and crew were heading off today.
Several months had passed after Milim’s departure. Several calm, chill, and very peaceful months. I was busy as always, but still, extremely chill.
One day, though, a messenger appeared from Carillon, the Beast Master and one of the land’s demon lords. I hadn’t forged an official agreement with him on paper, but it appeared Carillon was a man true to his word. As the messenger put it: “Let us send envoys to our respective nations, so they may see for themselves whether forging trade relations would be beneficial to both sides.”
I gave my immediate approval, and Carillon had already given his. Which brings us to today, the historical day of departure for our envoy mission to the Beast Kingdom of Eurazania.
Benimaru, a gifted warrior and my right-hand man, would lead the envoys. For his assistant, I appointed Rigur, son of Rigurd. Their mission: to travel to other nations and report what they observed, so I could figure out how to run my own country. They were accompanied by a small group of other hobgoblins, all candidates for future leadership roles in my government.
They would be representatives for the Jura-Tempest Federation, Tempest for short. Our nation. A brand-new one, and thus, inexperienced in almost every way. We needed to compensate for that, and toward that end, we were all working together, putting in the maximum effort on a daily basis. It’s thanks to that work ethic that I think this envoy mission to Eurazania should bear some serious fruit for us.
We were also fully prepared to receive the Beast Master’s own team. They’d come here, look around our nation, and (hopefully) come back with some complimentary things to say. If all goes well, we’ll stay on good terms and (again, hopefully) begin formal trade—and from there, formal diplomatic relations. It shouldn’t take long.
But that was still ahead. One step at a time. For now, I needed to focus on seeing everybody off.
Awakening my conscious, I assumed human form. There was a ceremony scheduled, so I changed to some suitable formal wear. Looking back, I sort of miss the days when we had almost nothing to wear. Now, we’ve got almost every type of clothing you could think of. A much better selection than I ever had in my closet back in Japan.
And really, in terms of the conveniences we now enjoyed in life, it was just incomparable to the early days. We solved the sugar problem, for one, so we currently had a steady supply. It helped us add stews to our cooking repertoire, and there was even a selection of candy available, albeit not a big one. At this point, now that I had mastered the art of taking short naps, I figured the next question to tackle was entertainment.
But I still had a long road to travel. All these ideas kept storming into my mind, one after the other, and it made things tough. No matter how hard I worked, I never seemed to run out of new wishes and desires. There was no telling when I’d be able to sit back with a big bag of potato chips and veg out in front of my game console all day.
I wasn’t willing to give up on any of these goals, though. And that’s why I needed this envoy team to do their best and make international trade a reality.
So there I was, in our city’s main square, standing in front of the crowd in my finest attire. It triggered a small, excited uproar among the monsters, in all their many species. I didn’t make a habit of addressing them in human form. The cheers and shouting seemed like they’d go on forever, but a single “Silence!” from Shion shushed them all in an instant. Nice one, Shion. She was so good at handling these kinds of rowdy scenes.
With the monsters calmed down, I decided to give my team a few encouraging words.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you will do your best for me!”
“…Is that it?” the perplexed Shuna asked.
Hmm… Was that too short, maybe? My high-school principal droned on so long that nobody listened to him, so I figured shorter is better for speeches like this…but maybe this crowd was more excited about what I had to say.
“Yeah, maybe that wasn’t enough? I’ll give them a little more…”
With that, I decided to run down the list of things I wanted my envoys to watch out for. The Beast Master Carillon was a demon lord and certainly one of the more warlike ones. I couldn’t be certain the rule of law even existed in his domain.
“Right, listen up. You’re about to travel to a nation of magic-born who never believed in anything besides ‘Might makes right.’ Underestimate them at your own peril. If you let up, they’ll make you do whatever they say. You might lose to them in a fight, but I want you to make damn sure you don’t lose to them in heart! Remember: Your companions and I are behind you all the way. Keep that in mind as you tell them about what we’re seeking. If you think a fight is brewing, run away and come back. One mission here is to see if we can remain on good terms with these guys going forward. I don’t need a relationship where we have to hold our noses and merely tolerate them. I want you to see matters with your own eyes and make sure we can maintain a kind, friendly rapport. I’m counting on you!”
The moment I wrapped it up, the square was filled with wild cheering. It was like being in some pop idol’s concert. What I said probably didn’t matter. They were just really keen on listening to me. I’m sure the envoys themselves were paying attention, but the rest were just treating this like a big festival. Ah well. The fact they listened at all indicated a pretty well-disciplined set of monsters. That’s a pretty big step for them.
