Suddenly, I Became a Slime

Chapter 36: Curiosity Killed the Cat

*Glub, glub.*

I stared at what was in my sight as my jelly bubbled.

Curiosity piqued, I tilted my head without realizing it, transfixed by the scene before me.

What could that be?

What came into view was a beautifully sculpted statue.

Statue… I wasn’t sure if I could call it that. I had no idea what the material of that smooth thing was.

It sparkled too much to be stone, and the texture was too much like a rock to be metal.

Putting aside what the material was, I was just wondering why such a thing was in a place like this.

I had seen photos of statues sculpted by Michelangelo, but even those seemed to pale in comparison to the beauty of this statue.

…Of course, those statues had value beyond mere beauty, so it was difficult to say which was superior.

Anyway.

It was a statue beautiful enough to make you stare blankly, even in a situation like this.

Most striking were the wings extending from the smooth shoulder blades, so elaborate they seemed lush even for a statue.

I wondered if it was meant to represent an angel, but it gave the feeling that it would really flap its wings and fly away.

Staring at it blankly, I somehow felt proud.

As if I, too, was as amazing as… something.

…Mm, I must have gone crazy for sure.

*Ahem*.

I bubbled my jelly to come to my senses, then focused my gaze again on the knowledge pouch on my head.

The blunt end of the knowledge pouch was pointing directly at that beautiful statue.

?

Why was it doing that?

I tried wriggling it just in case, but the knowledge pouch remained fixed on the statue, unmoving.

I got a bit annoyed and tried grabbing it with my hand to turn it, but it swung back with a *whoosh*!

It was quite troubling since I couldn’t take that with me.

But I felt regretful about just passing by since it bothered me.

In other words… the cursed curiosity that turned me into the slime was welling up.

I thought I would remember this moment for the rest of my life, so I decided to approach the statue for a little while.

I thought the knowledge pouch might be satisfied with just a brief touch.

But unlike my room, I could see what was presumed to be surveillance cameras here.

No matter how curious I was, I wasn’t a fool who couldn’t tell what was dangerous.

If I had been told I might end up with this body, I would have been careful there, too.

I felt sorry for the knowledge pouch, but I was thinking of giving up when it occurred to me.

If I spit out the mucus… couldn’t I cover it?

I thought I could spit out the mucus like a unit from a slightly old game.

Of course, that unit shoots its spine instead of saliva, but what can I do if I only have mucus?

Anyway.

The plan was to buy time by spitting out the mucus, take a look, and then run away without looking back.

I thought it wouldn’t make much difference to see it up close, but it was still better than just passing by.

They say curiosity killed the cat, but I’m slime, so I should be fine.

I chewed my jelly, imagining spitting out a watermelon seed as I finished preparing.

It was time to use the mouth that seemed to exist only for formality.

Get ready.

*Splat*!

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It was good that I succeeded on the first try.

The jelly shot out with a *splut*! Just like the unit in the game did, as I had imagined.

But.

…I didn’t ask for the power to be similar, too.

I had roughly imagined it sticking to the lens and falling off little by little, but the camera that got hit by my jelly swung around with a *clunk*!

The jelly was stuck all over it, giving a very… strange feeling.

*Sigh*, when did things I do ever go according to plan?

If they did, I wouldn’t be here.

Now that it’s come to this, it would be better to check quickly and come back up.

Daesik didn’t seem to have much interest, so I quickly went down and approached the statue.

It was even more beautiful up close.

It felt so lifelike as if it would really move.

A statue that a collector would want to buy even for a fortune.

But I didn’t forget my situation, so I quickly checked the knowledge pouch.

It was still just pointing its blunt end at the statue.

It showed no particular reaction.

…What did it want me to do?

Enough.

I think I’ve done enough for the knowledge pouch… for my curiosity. I still got chills thinking about those greedy eyes.

So I stuck to the wall again and went into the vent.

As I did, I noticed some strange lines on the statue, but I really had no time now, so I moved through the vent with Daesik.

Crawling through the dark vent, thoughts about the statue soon stopped coming to mind.

A man and a woman can be seen sitting in a dark room.

The man had his eyes closed and was rubbing his temples as if tired, while the woman was staring at the monitor with slightly dry, reddened eyes.

On the monitor was a very beautiful statue that seemed to represent an angel.

The woman, who had been staring intently at the statue, tapped around her eyes with a wet tissue and spoke. Her gaze remained fixed on the monitor.

“Isn’t it about time to switch shifts…?”

The man replied in a low voice to her whiny voice.

“The alarm hasn’t gone off yet.”

“Ah, what’s a few minutes? Can’t you switch a bit early? Don’t you know consideration? Consideration?”

“What are you talking about in this era of gender equality?”

“*Sigh*…”

The woman let out a deep sigh.

Why did that kind of thing have to come in during her shift of all times? Why today of all the many, many days?

She was already worried about her skin, dry and cracked from fatigue, so she grumbled with a dissatisfied face.

“When will that thing even be sold?”

“How would I know if you don’t know? But who would even buy that? To maintain it like that, you have to work people to the bone like this.”

The woman laughed with a *pfft* at the man’s mumbling.

“Would the kind of people who buy things like that care about that? And it’s not like it moves unconditionally just because you’re not looking.”

“…Well, that’s true too. Who cares about whom anyway.”

If even a fraction of the selling price dropped, they wouldn’t be thinking like this.

As the man grumbled inwardly, an alarm sounded from the smartphone in his pocket.

“Switch quickly.”

“Got it. Stop nagging.”

The man, who had his eyes closed, blinked to adjust them. He still felt stiff, but there was still quite some time left until the full shift change, so he could only sigh.

The man, who was about to slowly switch roles with the woman─

“Huh?”

He felt uneasy at the woman’s sudden sharp voice.

The man quickly looked at the monitor and realized that the screen that should have been showing the statue was strange.

“What’s going on? Why does it look like this?”

“I, I don’t know, it suddenly became like that?”

“Ah, damn…”

The screen that should have shown the statue was full of noise as if it had been damaged by something. The screen had turned blue, so it seemed to be seriously broken.

“This is driving me crazy, really. Let’s go.”

“*Sigh*…”

The man had a bad feeling about it, but he had to go check, so he urged his colleague.

The two people who left the room walked down the dimly lit corridor.

“I always think this, but… It feels like an accident will happen someday.”

“But what’s the use of someone like me at the bottom saying anything? There’s nothing to do but keep your mouth shut and get the money that comes in steadily.”

The man, frowning his eyes, laughed at the words of the woman beside him.

“But it’s a bit better now that we’re out.”

“…You must be happy being so carefree.”

“What is?”

“Nothing.”

How did she end up working here?

Unlike himself, who couldn’t get a normal job, the man thought the woman wasn’t someone who should have drifted to a place like this, so he felt somewhat bitter.

Well, for me… it’s good, but.

While he was thinking this and that, the two arrived right in front of the room they had been monitoring on the screen just before.

In front of the door, the two swallowed nervously with a *gulp*.

The man worriedly said to the woman.

“Hey.”

“What?”

“If you’re going to blink, say so before blinking.”

“You do the same.”

“*Chuckle*… Okay.”

She doesn’t even know he’s worrying for her.

The man grabbed the doorknob and, before opening it, blinked several times as if to blink in advance, making his eyes moist. Then─

He carefully unlocked it and slowly opened the door.

*Creeeak*…

A creaking sound was heard as if it hadn’t been oiled in time.

As the door opened wide.

A very beautiful statue stood before the man’s eyes.

One might be expected to admire its appearance, which seemed to purify the eyes, but the man instead felt terror and broke out in a cold sweat down his back.

…Perhaps it was only natural.

The statue, which should have originally been in the centre, had come all the way to the front of the door.

‘If I knew it would be this nerve-wracking. I should have called someone else.’

The man, who hadn’t wanted to take away time with the woman for no reason, regretted it a little, but he collected himself, cleared his throat with an *ahem*, and spoke.

“…Hey.”

He called out to the woman who should have been behind him like that, but.

“J-Jeonghee?”

For some reason, the woman didn’t answer.

The man, whose back had gone cold, put his hand on the lock to close the door and moved slowly with bloodshot eyes wide open.

At that moment.

*Flicker*.

The light flickered.

The man, who had his eyes wide open, realized in that split second that the statue had come a little closer.

The statue was blocking the door with its body to prevent it from closing.

‘Damn, how can people do this?’

Stay calm.

The man slowly backed away, staring at the statue.

The beautiful statue was looking at the man with a benevolent face.

Feeling chills down his spine, he slowly… slowly backed away without taking his eyes off the statue.

The man, who had put some distance between them, fumbled at his waist while continuing to stare at the statue.

Because the woman who had been with him had disappeared, and the Anomaly that had been confined was walking out the door.

He thought he had to report it.

The man, fumbling at his waist with a sweaty hand, grabbed the walkie-talkie with trembling fingers and turned it on.

“T-This is─”

*Flicker*.

The light flickers again.

“H-Hic!?”

In that short moment.

The statue was approaching the man.

A speed that couldn’t be understood by common sense.

A noise-filled voice came to the ears of the man breathing roughly.

"What? Why are you not saying anything after calling?"

…Right.

If I can just hold on a little longer.

The man slowly backed away and stared at the statue with bloodshot eyes.

Then he spoke into the walkie-talkie.

“T-The… thing we had confined has come out. I-I request backup.”

"Ah, damn, you can't even do that one simple thing properly and what... I'll be right there, so hold on."

…This sucks.

But it’s fortunate that they’re coming soon.

If the light just doesn’t go out until I get a bit further away─

*Pop*.

With the sound of something small bursting.

“Huh?”

Pitch-black darkness fell.

*Squelch*.

*Crunch, snap, splat*!

*Crack*!

The sound of something being crushed could be heard in the darkness.