News of victory rang throughout Rome.
The triumphant generals marched amid cheering crowds.
Nike's trumpets sounded ceaselessly in their ears.
The joy of victory stretched to the ends of the city walls.
And one could tell from their happiness.
True victory was not completed on the battlefield.
It was the cozy refuge to which they could return and shed their bloodstained armor.
It was returning home to the families waiting to hear their tales of valor.
That was surely the sweetest spoil a victorious warrior could enjoy.
As I passed through the distant tunnel of light, I found myself eagerly awaiting my reunion with her in this adorable jelly body.
***
FLASH.
A dazzling white light rippled.
My vision turned white, then gradually focused on a familiar scene.
I looked around. The Dragon's nest had become quite familiar by now, and the rubble from the stone passage I had smashed still lay scattered across the ground.
Beyond it, she waited for me atop a soft cradle lined with Supreme-Grade Mana Stones, reclining in precisely the same posture as before.
'Hmm, at a time like this......'
I composed myself for a moment, then gently vibrated my core.
"I'm back."
"Hehe, have you returned?"
It was a neat, courteous greeting delivered with all the respect I could muster. Fortunately, her red lips curved into a gentle arc.
However, silence soon settled over us again.
In truth, that was only natural, because a 'Dragon in human form' and a 'human in Slime form' were facing each other in the same space.
It was an unbelievable combination, so an awkward air could not help lingering between us.
'Hmmm, at a time like this......'
I puffed my jelly body into a round shape.
Bracing myself against the floor, I stretched my adorable little arms into the air.
TA-DA—!
"I've brought back a trophy!"
I triumphantly raised the Forest of Beginnings Trophy over my head. A mysterious halo seemed to pour from beyond it, making it sparkle brilliantly.
Pfft.
After watching in silence, she could no longer hold back and let out a breathy laugh.
"How commendable, little one."
After saying that, she caressed the air with an elegant gesture.
Warm mana softly swept over my head.
"Judging from your appearance, it seems you went for a stroll through the Tower......"
Her amethyst eyes gleamed with deep interest. I drew mana into my core and made it vibrate powerfully.
"Indeed. It was a considerably more delightful stroll than I expected."
My answer was glib.
She covered her mouth and giggled.
"Remarkable. You must have faced the other demonic beasts and humans lurking within the Tower."
"Ah, of course. It was not an easy fight."
I bounced my jelly body elastically to draw her gaze.
I swelled my round body as much as I could and shook it from side to side, building the mood.
"I went and taught those arrogant fellows a rather painful lesson."
"A lesson?"
"Yes. Do you know what happens when a horde of stuck-up humans gather together?"
She tilted her head slightly with interest.
"They become so busy watching one another to see whose back they should hide behind that no one steps forward."
My barbed joke brought a pleased chuckle from between her red lips.
"This is what those foolish humans looked like. They wore armor that looked impressive and held their noses high."
I stretched my jelly body long and tall. With squishy jelly that had no skeleton whatsoever, I could not finely sculpt human features.
Even so, I desperately acted out the scene from that moment.
I stood ramrod straight and strutted from side to side with a swaggering gait.
I bumped around and shoved the others forward first with clumsy, cowardly motions.
With this single body, I portrayed every part of the scene in spectacular fashion.
In the past, I had been called an S-Grade Hunter and revered by countless people.
A God of War who had split the heavens and shattered the earth with a single sword.
Yet here I was, a Slime performing with all my might to survive.
Even I found it absurd enough to laugh at, but like a clown onstage, I rolled on without stopping.
"Before those men, who thought themselves the center of the world, the forest's master appeared."
ROOOAR—!
I used the vibrations of my core to imitate the Orc Chieftain's rough roar.
I instantly swelled my body to an enormous size, then brought a blunt jelly arm crashing down through the air.
"A single swing of its club sent the arrogant humans flying like bundles of straw......!"
I flung myself away and pretended to become a piece of jelly flattened against the ground.
"Then what do you think happened to the fellows hiding behind them?"
Her eyes sparkled.
"What happened?"
I flattened myself against the ground.
My transparent jelly trembled wildly, portraying someone paralyzed by fear.
They had utterly forgotten the power they once boasted of and crawled across the ground to survive.
It was the wretched, ridiculous flight of those humans.
"They finally realized they were nothing more than walnuts with slightly harder shells."
It was truly avant-garde art that pushed a Slime's flexibility to its limits.
With the addition of my comical trembling performance, I delivered the perfect finale.
"Hahahaha!"
That adorable yet dynamic reenactment finally made her burst into laughter.
Clear, pure laughter like jade beads rolling across a silver tray filled the cavern.
"Pfft, truly. You are the most delightful and amusing Slime I have encountered in my long life."
She even wiped away the tears gathered at the corners of her eyes, her languid face coming vividly alive.
Her reaction made the bridge of my nose sting for some reason. I had never imagined that a Dragon would acknowledge me in my lifetime.
"It could not have been easy to survive, yet you acquitted yourself bravely."
Amid all that, she propped up her chin and met my gaze languidly.
"Very well. Since you have proven yourself, I suppose I am obliged to grant you a reward as well."
'Oh-ho.'
My body rippled with anticipation before I knew it.
A reward bestowed personally by a Dragon.
Would it be a Supreme-Grade Artifact, or perhaps an essence containing immense mana?
I focused every bit of my attention on her moving lips.
"I shall specially grant you the honor of calling me by my name."
"......!"
RUMBLE—!
A shock wave burst within me, as if an enormous bell of mana had rung.
The weight carried by a name was never light.
'In another world ruled by mana, the true name of a Dragon, especially one called a primordial mystery, must be more than an appellation. It must be a covenant of souls and an authority capable of twisting the laws of the world themselves......!'
All manner of elaborate ideas began pouring through my mind like a storm.
The countless myths and legends I had read in the past.
For a Dragon to permit an outsider to use her true name was a miracle tantamount to sharing blood.
An absolute contract in which they shared vitality or had to answer the other's call at any time.
The grandiose delusion that perhaps her soul and mine had been joined by a single thread.
'The meaning of her permitting me to use her name of her own accord. Could it mean she has recognized me as an equal intelligence under her protection......?'
The Black Tower's first floor.
No matter how active I had been there.
I still fell hopelessly short of opposing the absolute being before me.
If by any chance we became enemies, the result was obvious.
'So merely earning her favor is already more than valuable enough as a reward. In this harsh, unknown world, I've gained a patron more dependable than any Supreme-Grade Artifact......!'
My core grew hot at the conclusion I had reached.
I deliberately straightened myself with a serious, reverent attitude.
'Ahem. When I think about it that way, this is an enormous gain......!'
Perhaps if I ever faced death while climbing the Tower, she would tear through dimensions to appear as a reliable ally?
I stood my jelly body ramrod straight, lost in that sweet, dreamlike fantasy.
She quietly watched me.
Then she let out another breathy laugh.
'......?'
When I tilted my round head, she lightly waved a hand.
"Haha, I merely tried making a joke of my own. There is no need to look so startled."
"I-I see......!"
Embarrassed, I discreetly shrank back.
Ah, I must have gotten far too carried away on my own. It was a tremendous relief that a Slime's face could not turn red.
My core's rotation creaked with embarrassment, but I quickly trembled while pretending nothing was wrong.
"Do not worry. I have prepared a proper reward."
With those words, she smiled languidly and crooked a finger. My transparent body began to glow softly.
FLASH.
Something warm and weighty was branded deep within my core with an electric tingle.
It was a mysterious sensation, as though warm starlight were seeping into the edge of my soul.
"Little one, I grant you the authority to reside in my nest and manage this place."
She made it sound like nothing much.
But the system messages that appeared before me at that moment were anything but trivial.
[Permission has been granted by a transcendent being.]
[The nest's owner has granted you the authority of 'Nest Manager (Lv.1)'!]
[ Skill ] Nest Manager (Lv.1)
▸Effect: You can manage and operate the nest on behalf of its owner.
This is insane.
She spoke as casually as a college student handing a friend the key to her apartment.
As if it were no big deal.
But judging by the flashy system messages, this was no ordinary reward.
As I was now, I could not accurately gauge what specific functions this administrator authority would grant me.
I had not even had the chance to open the system's detailed menu and check.
But even without checking, my instincts were shouting loudly.
This place was a vast cradle of elixirs where pure mana gathered like clouds.
On top of that, it was a sanctuary inhabited by a Dragon known as a primordial mystery.
Obtaining administrative authority over such a place meant gaining a perfect home that humans in the outside world could not obtain even by spending billions.
I had effectively gained the perfect base camp for surviving in this harsh world.
My core vibrated rapidly with overwhelming joy.
But whether or not she knew my complicated excitement.
She merely smiled with languid elegance.
Before long, she calmly met my gaze.
A deep weight entered her languid eyes.
Not a mere plaything, but a companion to whom she was willing to entrust her refuge.
Her noble gaze fully acknowledged my pride as an equally intelligent being.
"My name is Airi. You may call me that."
"Airi."
"Yes, Airi."
A quiet whisper.
Her silver hair spilled over the cushion like a waterfall.
Her amethyst eyes held me within them.
For some reason, her gaze carried a wistful yet warm light.
She looked profoundly mysterious and enchanting.
An alien beauty breathtaking enough to stop one's heart.
Blue light from the Mana Stones broke across skin so pale it was nearly transparent.
Deep, tranquil eyes that contained the full measure of unfathomable ages.
Her elegance, as if she had transcended every law of the world, overwhelmed even the air within the cavern.
I stared blankly at that dazzling figure for a moment.
Then she moved her red lips again.
"Now, then."
'......?'
"First, clean up the mess you made of my nest."
Her long, beautiful finger pointed toward one side of the cavern.
"Ah, of course."
I slowly turned my round head to look at the passage I had come through.
The thick rock wall lay shattered.
Fragments had flown everywhere, and a dense layer of dust covered the ground.
I had well and truly made a complete mess of someone else's home.
'Hahaha.'
For some reason, a quiet, hollow laugh escaped from deep inside me.