It all started with a lunch break.
Kazuki sat on the guild rooftop, legs swinging over the edge, munching on grilled skewers. Smile lay on his head like a weird, wobbly hat again. Tala napped nearby, wings stretched. Oro was curled up in a sunbeam like a coiled judgment noodle.
Peaceful.
Which meant it was about to go horribly wrong.
"Target confirmed. Initiating Operation: Bounce-n-Grab."
Kazuki sneezed.
Across the street, inside a moving noodle cart, six cloaked figures huddled in cramped silence.
"Is that… a squirrel in armor on his shoulder?"
"No, that's the hawk."
"…He has multiple companions?"
"Focus! We only need the slime. It's the legendary one they call Smile."
"The bouncy one with eyes?"
"Yes."
"…I thought it was a hat."
"Just stick to the plan!"
Back on the rooftop, Kazuki yawned. "I feel weirdly watched."
Smile blinked.
Suddenly—SNAP.
A smoke bomb exploded.
FWOOSH!
Kazuki coughed, flailing. "Wha—SMOKE?! WHO STILL USES SMOKE BOMBS?!"
When the air cleared…
Smile was gone.
"…"
He blinked.
"Wait."
He stood up.
"SMILE?!"
From the street, a suspiciously fast-moving noodle cart peeled around the corner, wheels screeching, trail of dumplings behind it.
Kazuki pointed. "That cart stole my slime!!"
Tala screeched into the sky and launched.
Oro hissed and slithered down the walls like a living rope.
Kazuki jumped into action—and immediately tripped over the edge of the roof.
He screamed.
Then bounced off an awning.
Then landed perfectly in a barrel.
"…Ow. I'm okay."
Achievement unlocked: Accidental Parkour God
✦
Inside the getaway cart:
Smile sat peacefully in a glass orb labeled "Specimen A."
The thieves celebrated.
"We did it! We captured the ultimate mana beast!"
"He's so squishy!"
"Careful—don't poke it too much."
Smile blinked.
And then—
grinned.
Smile has activated [Containment Breakdown].
– Result: Absolute slapstick.
The next three minutes were chaos:
• The orb bounced.
• The orb multiplied.
• One of the thieves turned into a chair.
• Someone's pants caught fire from inside.
• The noodle cart began speaking Latin.
• The cart exploded into fireworks spelling the words: "BOING!"
Kazuki arrived just in time to see everything go wrong.
Smile was sitting atop the wreckage, untouched, happily sipping bubble tea he definitely did not have earlier.
Kazuki stared.
"You escaped?"
Smile blinked and raised a slime limb.
Holding a wanted poster with Kazuki's face on it.
Below it, in red ink:
"WANTED: FOR HARBORING A CHAOTIC ENTITY – 1,000,000 ENA REWARD"
Kazuki froze.
"I'm… the criminal now?"
Smile jiggled.
Oro slithered over with a deadpan expression that said "I told you so."
Tala landed and dropped a helmet on his head. Not for safety. For looks.
Kazuki groaned.
"I'm just a guy. I just wanted lunch."
Smile rolled onto his head again, satisfied.
And the forest began whispering again.
"The Slime Lord has passed his trial." "The Squirrels shall rally once more."
Kazuki sighed. "This is fine. Everything's fine. Totally normal."