●Character Refresher

Glueworld — Centaur representative. Acting village chief of Village Three

Kierbit — Angel, daughter of Malbit (chief of the angels)

Donovan — Elder Dwarf representative

Tou — Mercury. Captain of the Universal Ship

Gou — Mercury. Acting village chief of Village Four

Loch — Mercury. Young civil officer of Village Five

Hih — Mercury. Military officer of Village Five

Bell — Mercury. Representative of the Mercuries

Miyo — Mercury. Young maid. She works in Shashaato City

Yoru — Mercury. Manager of the teleportation gate in the hot spring area

Futa — Mercury. Manager of the teleportation gate in Village Five. Struggling with character identity

Nana — Mercury. Spy from Village Five. Looks like a village girl

-0-

At Bell’s request, a room for her was prepared inside my mansion in Big Tree Village.

That said, she hasn’t actually stayed overnight yet.

She’ll probably start using it in earnest after she takes on some work outside Village Four.

Well, she does come by often to leave her personal belongings though.

I guess she couldn’t move as freely back in Village Four, huh?

-0-

When preparing Bell’s room, I ended up making rooms for Yoru and Miyo as well.

When they heard Bell was getting one, both of them started shouting how unfair it was.

Well, I don’t mind giving Miyo her own room since she’s been working hard, but…

Yoru, wouldn’t it be easier for you to just stay in the hot spring area?

There’s a teleportation gate there, after all.

「Sometimes I can’t travel when it’s raining or snowing.」

That’s true, but… in that case, wouldn’t you be unable to come here anyway?

「Don’t worry about the little details.」

Alright, alright.

Just don’t forget about Klim and your gate management duties.

「Of course.」

I’m counting on you.

-0-

In the courtyard of the mansion, the mountain elf Ya was standing with her arms crossed, looking quite imposing.

I wonder what’s going on?

「I feel an indescribable sense of danger.」

You do?

Are you alright?

「I don’t know. I don’t know, but… at times like this, it’s best to move the body!」

Huh?

Ya started building a giant snowman.

Other mountain elves soon joined in, silently helping her.

For some reason, they all wore expressions that said, “Guess we have no choice”.

Uh, it’s winter, so don’t just leave your sweat like that, okay?

Make sure to wipe it off or take a bath.

「Got itー!」

The giant snowman they built was a big hit with the children.

-0-

A heavy snowstorm hit.

The first floor of the mansion was completely buried.

Naturally, the giant snowman that Ya and the mountain elves made was swallowed by the snow too.

What a shame.

When I tried to comfort them, they cheerfully replied that next time, they’d make one big enough not to get buried.

The children wanted to help as well.

I appreciate the enthusiasm, but considering the risk of a snowman rolling away or collapsing, make sure to take all necessary safety measures.

Accidents are no good.

-0-

Because of the heavy snow, we mostly stayed indoors.

I sat under the kotatsu, relaxing with Raigiel the father cat and Jewel the mother cat.

On top of the kotatsu table, the wine slime was drinking as usual.

Everything seemed the same as always.

…….

Except for one thing.

Next to the wine slime sat a smaller wine slime that looked just like it.

No way, could it be?

A child born from the wine slime and that pure white holy slime?

But wait, slimes multiply by splitting up, right?

As I wondered, the smaller slime suddenly changed color and turned completely white.

Yeah, that settles it.

It’s the child of the wine slime and the holy slime.

Congratulations.

That child seems to be… drinking sake, but is that okay?

Well, I guess it’s fine.

It is the wine slime’s offspring, after all.

Either way, this is a cause for celebration.

Let’s bring out something special.

I opened the hidden door in my room and took a small barrel of sake from the secret shelf inside.

Then I poured it into a cup, but…

Areh?

This isn’t the sake I know.

What I poured was supposed to be amber-colored, yet what’s in front of me is golden.

No, this isn’t sake at all.

It smells like alcohol, but that scent’s coming from the barrel itself.

Was it switched?

I looked at the wine slime.

N-no, the wine slime might sneak a drink now and then, but it would never pull something sneaky like replacing the sake to cover it up.

It has that dwarven sense of honor.

Which means…

The culprit is the wine slime’s child.

Or maybe not?

It seems the child poured it in, but both of them drank it together.

I see.

As punishment, I ordered the wine slime to go outside and rescue the frozen slimes.

No matter how many times I warn them, there are always a few that end up frozen out there.

-0-

So, what exactly is this golden liquid?

Something produced by the wine slime’s child?

Drinking it restores health?

Heh.

So it’s basically a healing potion, not alcohol.

Then what should I do with it?

It feels wasteful to drink it when I’m not injured.

But pouring what I’ve already put in a cup back into the barrel doesn’t sit right with me either.

And it’s not like someone conveniently needs a healing potion right now…

So I brought the cup of golden potion to Loo.

She’d probably find some way to use it for research.

As for the barrel… I’ll just put it back on the shelf.

Maybe I should make a new hiding spot next time.

I slipped back under the kotatsu and petted Raigiel and Jewel again.

-0-

The next morning.

A pile of frozen slimes was stacked by the mansion’s front entrance.

And in my room, the wine slime was calmly drinking as if nothing had happened.

As for its child… Loo had captured it.

Apparently, the golden healing potion has a strong effect on both physical and mental fatigue.

I can see a lot of people wanting that.

「Just one cup of it, and you won’t need to sleep for the whole day!」

Make sure to get enough sleep regardless.

Also, since it might interfere with growth, kids shouldn’t be drinking it.

We’ll treat it like alcohol…actually, even for adults, they should dilute it with tea or something before drinking.

For now, I’ll have Loo test how much it can be diluted.

The wine slime’s child probably can’t produce large quantities anyway.

-0-

Glueworld: 「I can’t help but feel uneasy about how little I’ve been appearing lately」

Kierbit: 「Same」

Donovan: 「Indeed」

-0-

Tou: 「I thought she’d make a bold move all at once」(Areh? There’s been no progress)

Gou: 「She’s more of a klutz than I expected」(This time it was just Kuzu-san doing all the work)

Loch: 「Right? At this rate, it’ll take years to move things forward」(Maybe Yoru will get ahead first?)

Hih: 「If we interfere carelessly, it could backfire on us. Let’s just watch quietly for now」(Hang in there, Futa and Nana)