“Well…
alright, let’s hear it then,” Lumine asked cautiously.
“That’s right, spill!
What kind of strange monster are you anyway?” Paimon chimed in, peeking out from behind Lumine’s head.
“Hey now!
Compared to me, you’re the one who looks way stranger!” Eve puffed out her cheeks, firing back at Paimon.
Anyone would be offended if someone called them a monster!
“Uh, well…” Paimon faltered, instantly lowering her head and twirling two fingers together in embarrassment.
“Haha, alright Paimon, stop teasing her,” Lumine said with a gentle smile.
Bathed in the sunlight, Lumine’s soft smile was as sweet and radiant as an angel’s.
“Let’s hear what the slime has to say first.”
“O-okay!” Paimon muttered, looking abashed.
Only then did Eve clear her throat and begin in a subdued tone.
“My name is Eve.
As you can see, I’m just a slime!”
“I’ve lived on this continent for a very long time.
But then, one day, I laid eyes upon a goddess—someone incomparably gorgeous, gentle, kindhearted, and breathtakingly beautiful.”
“She was bathed from head to toe in a radiant green light.”
Eve spoke with utmost sincerity, while Lumine and Paimon listened with rapt attention.
As for the “goddess” in Eve’s story, well, anyone could guess who she was referring to.
“Ever since that day, I don’t know how, but I suddenly gained the ability to speak.”
“Not only that, I even turned white,” Eve added.
“Ah, now that you mention it, you really *are* different from the other grass slimes I’ve seen.
You’re so white!”
Lumine stared unblinkingly at the three white grass leaves atop Eve’s head.
Faced with this unusual little grass slime, she couldn’t help but find it rather endearing.
“So after that, I just traveled around, wandering here and there bit by bit…”
“Until I ended up right here.”
Lumine and Paimon exchanged nods.
“That goddess Eve mentioned…
is she one of the Seven Archons Paimon told us about?” Lumine asked, turning to look at the pixie.
“I dunno!
Green…
maybe the Anemo Archon or the Dendro Archon?” Paimon scratched her head, shaking it in uncertainty.
Sensing the atmosphere had reached peak theatricality, Eve smoothly shifted her tone.
A wave of palpable desolation washed over her voice.
“I’m just a harmless, weak, and pathetic little grass slime, whose only wish in life was to munch on a sweet flower to fill my tummy.”
“I never imagined…
never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d almost get skewered to death right here…”
At that, Eve deliberately lowered her head, squeezing out a couple of stray teardrops.
“This…
I’m so sorry, Eve,” Lumine said remorsefully, hanging her head.
“Yeah, sorry for saying those things earlier,” Paimon echoed, drooping as well.
A classic display of humble apology.
“Oh well, whatever.
“You guys should get going!
Ah, too bad…
now that I’m injured, I won’t even be able to forage for food.”
With a heartbreaking sigh, Eve slowly turned her back to them.
Suddenly, Eve felt her entire body lift off the ground, ascending rapidly into the air.
“W-wait, hold on…”
Before she could process what was happening, the world spun around her.
In the blink of an eye, Lumine’s clean, lovely face filled her vision.
At that precise moment, she was so close to Lumine that she could practically feel the girl’s breath against her skin.
A sudden blush crept up Eve’s old, experienced cheeks.
“It’s alright, Eve!
Since things turned out this way, let me take care of you,” Lumine said with a warm smile.
“My name is Lumine, and she’s my emergen—uh, my best friend, Paimon,” Lumine introduced herself and Paimon in one breath.
“Hey!
Wait a minute, why do I feel like something weird just slipped out right there?” Paimon hovered behind Lumine, crossing her arms and puffing out her cheeks.
“O-okay then…” Eve stammered shyly.
*Plan success.
Rooting confirmed.*
Lumine cradled Eve right against her lower stomach, pressing the slime directly against her chest.
“So soft…” Eve thought, feeling her face grow even warmer.
Even though she was currently rocking a female avatar, this was her very first time pressing this intimately against another girl.
An oasis of serene comfort.
As Lumine walked forward, cradling Eve, the plush, yielding sensation of the slime in her arms gave her a strange, novel comfort.
“So soft…” Lumine muttered inwardly, her hands instinctively marveling at the texture.
She’d never imagined slimes could feel like this.
“Right, Eve, you said you’ve been traveling for a really long time?” Lumine asked, suddenly recalling something as she stroked the slime.
“Mhm, a long time indeed.
Though honestly, I’ve long since lost track of how many years,” Eve replied after a brief mental pause.
“Then…
have you ever run into a boy who looks a lot like me?
He has blonde hair too.”
Lumine spoke with a hint of desperate longing, her hands unconsciously giving Eve’s soft body a gentle squeeze.
“Never seen him…
wait, ah—not so hard—”
Pummeled by a sudden flurry of accidental squeezes, Eve squeaked out a fragmented protest.
“Ah, sorry, sorry!” Lumine apologized instantly.
Perhaps Eve’s body was just too squishy; her hands had acted on reflex.
Well, the tactile feedback *was* top-notch.
…
After a brief period of bonding, Lumine had already started opening up to Eve about her past.
“And just like that, a mysterious deity took my brother away, and I was sealed away, losing all my original power.
We who had once crossed countless worlds found ourselves trapped right here…
How many years ago was that?
I don’t know.
But I’ll find a way to figure it out.
Ever since I woke up, I’ve been wandering alone, until I met Paimon two months ago.”
Lumine spoke with a gentle, melancholy undertone. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
For a story she had already heard countless times, Eve still listened with unwavering patience.
The god sitting high above Celestia—Eve naturally knew who that was.
The Sustainer of Heavenly Principles.
A deity standing even above the Seven.
Even at the absolute peak of her power, back when she wielded the supreme authority of the World Tree, Eve wouldn’t have dared to cross her.
“So, to find your brother faster, let’s hurry to our first stop: the Statue of the Seven!”
Paimon hovered beside Lumine, offering an encouraging reminder.
“Mhm.” Lumine nodded.
Before long, they crossed the rest of the forest and emerged onto a gentle slope.
A gentle breeze swept past, revealing a breathtaking landscape that instantly filled their field of vision.
Down below lay Starfell Lake, and right at its center stood a dull, lightless statue.
“Look!
That’s a Statue of the Seven,” Paimon chirped excitedly, pointing toward the distant monument.
She was determined to do a stellar job as a guide.
Just then, Eve poked her head out from Lumine’s arms and spoke up.
“Statues of the Seven are scattered all across the continent, symbolizing the Seven Archons’ protection over the world.”
“And this particular one belongs to the Anemo Archon, the god who rules over wind.”
“Eh?
Eve, how do you know all that?” Paimon asked, her eyes going wide with surprise.
Lumine, too, turned her gaze down to the little slime nestled in her arms.
“Oh, I know plenty of things!”
“After all, I’ve traveled across this continent for a very long time.
I happen to carry a whole lot of knowledge in this head of mine!”
Eve looked at Paimon with a smug little smile.
She had zero shame about stealing Paimon’s thunder.
“So, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me.
I am your ultimate walking encyclopedia!” Eve declared proudly.
“Naturally, I can handle a gig like ‘guide’ without breaking a sweat,” Eve added, glancing sideways at Paimon.
This wasn’t just idle bragging.
As the former God of Wisdom, she also held administrative clearance over Irminsul, the great repository of all knowledge in existence.
When it came to information reserves, Eve’s brain was utterly peerless.
“Hmph!
I don’t believe it.
How could a mere slime know so much?!” Paimon puffed out her cheeks, thoroughly disgruntled.
“Oh~?
Then let me ask you, do you know how these Statues of the Seven came to be?
Or what their purpose is?” Eve challenged with a teasing lilt in her voice.
“Ugh…
I don’t,” Paimon muttered stubbornly.
“Well?
What are they?” Lumine asked, her curiosity thoroughly piqued.
She had always felt this particular slime was far from ordinary, and it seemed her hunch was spot-on.
“In the beginning, the very first statues were personally erected by the gods themselves to demarcate the borders of their respective domains.”
“Later on, mortal followers imitated the gods and built numerous Statues of the Seven across various regions.”
“The gods acknowledged their devout subjects’ efforts and imbued those mortal-made statues with their own divine power.”
“As for the purpose of these later statues—whenever a god’s followers draw near, the statue manifests the deity’s blessings, healing and soothing the faithful.”
Eve expounded with effortless eloquence.