Suddenly, I Became a Slime

Chapter 23: The Melancholy of Han Seori

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Please enjoy this bonus chapter as a small token of my appreciation for DerpyFoxKit’s contribution to my translation work.

Han Seori let out a deep sigh.

Although reaching a conclusion had been postponed, the topic they had discussed was not particularly pleasant.

It was because the Anomaly, the ‘All-Melting Slime’, with its bleak name, came to mind.

They had just been talking about it, so it seemed natural in a way, but Han Seori let out another deep sigh as she took a step forward as if there was another reason.

Entering her personal space and sitting in front of her desk, she made a bitter face as she looked at the candy rolling around on the desk.

There was no other reason, but Han Seori, who recalled the ‘experiment’ mentioned earlier, closed her eyes and reminisced about that time.

At first, it was curiosity.

The slime girl seemed to ‘consume’ things by melting them, but her body didn’t grow.

There was a situation where she shrank and then grew, which was a bit strange. Also, if she had accepted something, shouldn’t there be feedback?

…One couldn’t expect common sense from an Anomaly, but it was undeniable that it was an interesting aspect.

It was still ambiguous what kind of mindset Han Seori had when she brought in the ‘All-Melting Slime’, but she was also one of those who studied Anomalies.

It didn’t seem like a question to be taken lightly.

The weight measurement started from that small question.

At first, Han Seori directly measured the weight after feeding her something.

Despite trying several times with the feeling that there was no significant change, Han Seori couldn’t feel any increase in weight with her senses.

Since it was an experiment filled with personal feelings anyway, Han Seori would smile satisfactorily and move on to the next step.

Next, Han Seori brought in a scale that could measure quite heavy weights. The weight and precision were quite excellent, so it seemed perfect for the experiment.

Han Seori, who brought the scale, lifted the slime girl, who was tilting her head, and placed her on the scale.

‘…There’s no particular rejection to the scale.’

She wondered if there would be any reluctance to measure the weight since she had the appearance of a girl… but there was no such indication.

Deep inside, Han Seori’s thoughts leaned more towards the idea that the human consciousness might remain inside the slime girl.

The scale that was already tilted seemed difficult to revert without considerable effort.

If the consciousness of a person named ‘Han Hosu’ was really inside that girl.

…A normal young man taking on the appearance of a girl and behaving like that would have to be seen as such. She couldn’t help but blame the young man for such behaviour.

It didn’t seem quite right.

Considering the personal information she had read, he didn’t seem like a person with such preferences.

Well, it could be a secretly hidden hobby… but, well. That’s a bit… isn’t it? Even if humans reveal their hidden nature in a crisis situation, for that nature to be the appearance of a little girl…

…Anyway.

What mattered now was the weight.

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With that thought, Han Seori lifted the slime girl high.

She placed her on the large scale.

However.

The scale’s needle only quivered slightly from the impact when the slime girl touched it, but for some reason, it refused to move.

“Huh?”

Han Seori stared at the needle with blank eyes.

‘0’

Is this… possible?

She kept blinking at the unmoving needle for a long time.

Then, as if in disbelief, she once again stuck her hand under the slime girl’s armpit and lifted her up.

Along with the soft and squishy sensation, she felt weight.

She wasn’t heavy, but she wasn’t exactly light either.

To be specific, she was just the right weight to lift. Oddly enough.

‘…As expected, an Anomaly is an Anomaly.’

Faced with the strange characteristic that appeared unexpectedly, Han Seori pondered for a moment and then headed outside the quarantine room to where the Anomalies that had already been deemed ‘safe’ were gathered.

‘It should be in our branch.’

Arriving at the storage room, Han Seori scanned the list and, upon discovering what she wanted, filled out a withdrawal form.

“Confirmed.”

“Good work.”

After submitting the withdrawal form and taking the Anomaly, Han Seori returned to the slime girl… the ‘All-Melting Slime’.

Then, she placed a scale in front of the slime girl.

At that, the slime girl blinked her jelly and seemed a little perplexed.

‘…Has she never seen a scale before?’

A small weight was added to the scale in her mind. The already solidified prejudice firmly rejected other opinions.

Perhaps that was what she wanted to believe.

Han Seori once again lifted the slime girl and placed her on the scale.

The scale, which looked like an ordinary scale, was also an Anomaly despite its appearance.

That Anomaly, named ‘The Dieter’s Sorrow’, moved the needle regardless of the situation the subject was in.

It was an Anomaly that only did that, so it was judged as ‘safe’ and was occasionally used in incomprehensible situations.

Yes, just like in this situation.

When the slime girl was placed on it, the needle of the cutely designed scale slowly began to move.

Seeing that, the slime girl seemed to find the moving needle fascinating and stared at it blankly.

Seeing her reaction, Han Seori felt both a chill and excitement as her guess was confirmed. She seemed like someone who had made a thrilling discovery.

“Then…!”

The excited Han Seori handed the nut she had brought for the experiment to the slime girl, and the scale moved its needle by the amount of the nut’s weight.

Eventually, the slime girl, whose insides were gurgling, habitually put it inside her body, and the small nut melted away with a bubbling sound.

The scale’s needle was almost the same as when the nut went in.

“Wow…”

Although she didn’t know how it happened, it seemed that some kind of power that humans couldn’t perceive was at work.

If she had been satisfied with figuring that out, Han Seori wouldn’t have been sighing deeply like she was now, but…

…From there, the out-of-control Han Seori tried putting this and that into the slime girl’s body and diligently measured the increasing weight.

Then, in the mind of the excited Han Seori.

The thought suddenly came to her, would it also be possible to reduce the weight?

Han Seori, whose mind had unknowingly tilted the scale in her head, eventually…

“*Sigh*.”

She ended up crossing an ambiguous line.

It was good to have obtained data, but Han Seori shuddered at the thought of the slime girl’s face, which somehow looked devastated.

‘…If there was a favorability rating, it would have dropped drastically.’

But that was just a personal impression.

…However, Dr. Han Seori, a researcher at this facility, couldn’t deny that it was an incredibly fascinating discovery.

The appearance of storing mass or energy in a place beyond human perception and regenerating the body.

If that was the case, as long as sufficient energy was provided… wouldn’t it mean that she could endure any extreme situation?

If the scale in Han Seori’s mind had tilted towards the idea that the slime girl contained a human’s sense of self, she wouldn’t have had such thoughts.

…But her scale was already biased.

She couldn’t stop her thoughts from flowing in that direction.

The ‘All-Melting Slime’ was an Anomaly.

And the people who were dying without finding a way to deal with the Anomalies were living, breathing humans.

She had been advised to observe the slime girl further, which only added to Han Seori’s already dismal mood.

Han Seori, who had been ruffling her hair, suddenly got up from her seat and took a step.

With her shoulders slumped, Han Seori headed to the quarantine room where the slime girl was.

Unable to muster up the courage to go inside, Han Seori operated the panel with a faint sigh.

Since the inside could be viewed from the outside, she was going to at least see her face before leaving.

In Han Seori’s eyes.

She saw the slime girl lying weakly among the toys.

Seeing her deflated appearance as if she felt somewhat dejected, Han Seori felt both cuteness and melancholy.

Despite providing enjoyable things to match the girl’s appearance, seeing her depressed state made Han Seori think that it would be better to refrain from experiments for the time being.

The only thing moving inside the room was a small slime creature, separated from the slime girl, wriggling around.

It seemed to have no emotions as it attempted to swallow the doll sitting still.

The slime girl blocked a small creature, trying to swallow the doll with a listless touch.

‘…There is still a possibility.’

Won’t time solve this, too?

Han Seori nodded to herself and operated the panel to end the video feed.

Immediately after, she stood in front of a vending machine with only one button, and without even inserting a coin, she pressed the machine’s sole button.

*Clunk*.

She silently picked up the can that was dispensed.

It was a can with no printing on it.

Han Seori swiftly opened the lid and chugged it all down on the spot, then inserted the empty can back into the dispenser.

*Clank*.

Hearing the sound of something falling somewhere, Han Seori, with a slightly reddened face, staggered back to her personal space.

…What does she think of me?

Cutting off my arm out of the blue… I was startled, thinking it was for some kind of research, but I generously let it slide.

After all, I had eaten a lot of things I didn’t want to eat, so it would grow back right away.

But the problem is…

I looked at the toys scattered all around me.

Several toys that young children, especially girls, would likely play with were rolling around.

…Why did you put these in here?

Are you telling me to play with these?

Dumbfounded, I lay flat on the floor, and the slime creature in charge of the garbage wriggled and tried to swallow the doll.

I hastily stopped it.

What if she thinks I’m going to eat people?

You’re really not helping.

After grumbling inwardly for a while, I approached the creature, worried that it might swallow the doll when I wasn’t looking.

I made a posture as if I was going to grab and eat it with both hands, threatening it.

It was a threat that I would shove it back inside my body if it did that again.

…It was a bit embarrassing, but since I couldn’t speak at the moment, I had no choice but to use body language.

The creature seemed to understand, as it just wriggled like before.

It stopped trying to swallow the toys.

Well, that’s a relief if it understood.

I let out a bubbling sigh of relief and looked at the toys again.

Especially the dolls.

Then I had a thought.

It wouldn’t be right to just leave them since she brought them for me, would it?

Friendly behaviour would be better than hostile behaviour.

I picked up the doll that the slime creature had tried to swallow.

…From now on, your name is Alice.

I should play with it for a bit.

It was absolutely not because I was bored.