Chapter 21: Charlotte and the White Jewel

I turned the corner, and what was there… was a lump of flesh. And worse, it was melting. A slab of meat that had turned into a slimy sludge.

"...What the hell is this?"

Sure, it looked disgusting, but my honest reaction really was just: what the hell.

"Ugh, it’s moving."

The half-melted lump of flesh squirmed, crawling around like some slug. Gross. Absolutely disgusting. What is this, a monster?

So this was the "something" I’d been sensing ever since I entered this floor. This thing? Really? Why?

It sat right in the middle of the path, and it didn’t look like I could just ignore it and walk past. …What should I do?

Is it harmful? Doesn’t seem to have noticed me. Not like it has eyes. Does it even see?

Strangely enough, I didn’t feel all that threatened. Maybe because its movements looked kind of dumb? Honestly, I couldn’t tell you the reason. Just a gut feeling. Yeah, gut feeling.

Should I approach it? Too risky? Should I just wait here? But the best waiting spot is right where that thing is. If only it would move aside.

Crap, did it notice me? It’s edging this way. Moving slowly, so maybe it’s just wandering around? Ah—wait, it stopped… no, it sped up!

"Grossgrossgrossgross!!"

The meat lump came crawling at me with terrifying speed. It was just gross. Purely, simply, disgustingly gross. Nope, I’m out.

But damn, it’s faster than I thought. It’s catching up.

"Time out, time out, time ouuut!"

Of course, yelling didn’t mean anything to a monster. I was pushed down, helpless.

The stench hit me hard! Overpowering. Absolutely reeking.

"It’s all slimy! What even is this!?"

Thick slime soaked into my clothes. Luckily, it didn’t seem like I’d be killed instantly.

Heavy. Way heavier than it looks. With it being all slime-like, pushing it off was impossible.

The more I struggled, the more it felt like I was being absorbed into it.

This slime—don’t tell me it’s digestive fluid? My skin wasn’t stinging, so hopefully I wasn’t dissolving. I wanted to believe that.

Still, the situation was far from good. If another monster showed up, I was done for. And if this thing covered more than my torso, like my face, I’d suffocate.

Didn’t take long before I was exhausted and couldn’t move.

Fortunately, it didn’t do anything beyond lying on top of me. Sometimes I felt it squirm, but it wasn’t actively harming me.

What even is this thing. Just… do whatever you want already…

"Charlotte-chan!?"

Ah. That was Trishel’s voice. Looks like they came to get me. Thank god, someone who could actually help.

"What in the world are you doing…"

"Charlotte-chan, are you okay!?"

"Is this… supposed to be a monster?"

The rest of the split-off group arrived. Finally, rescue.

"Please get me out of hereee!"

"So… what exactly is this situation?"

"That’s what I want to know!"

Even with them here, the meat slime didn’t budge. It just quivered curiously. Seriously, what the hell is this thing?

The three of them exchanged glances, then looked back at me.

They could see I wasn’t hurt, but being pinned by some monster without anything else happening must have been confusing. Don’t worry, I don’t get it either.

"What do we do?"

"Get this thing off me, or pull me out of it!"

"Pull you out, huh…"

Riven looked a bit troubled. Well, fair. I was pretty much swallowed up to the neck by the slime.

Pulling me out would mean yanking me by the head. …Yeah, no thanks.

"…No, just get this thing off me instead!"

"Think brute force will work? Well, let’s try it once."

Reynard gave it a go right away. But his hands just slid right through the slime.

"Doesn’t look like it’s working."

"Then pulling you out is the only option."

Riven sounded all too willing to go with the head-yanking plan.

Can’t you hesitate just a little? Sure, it’s safer than staying stuck. But still!

"Isn’t there any other way, please!?"

"We don’t exactly have time to waste here…"

"Then how about this?"

This time, it was Trishel. Flames flickered above her palm.

"See this? Burny burny~"

She slowly brought the fire closer. Looked like she was planning to roast the slime off.

Would that really work…? I wondered, until I saw the slime squirm away from the flames, inch by inch.

Wait. It’s working!?

Trishel’s plan worked, and the meat slime finally slid off me.

That said, I was an absolute mess. Drenched in its fluids, filthy slime dripping everywhere.

Should I just be grateful that being attacked by a monster ended with only this much damage…?

"Here, Charlotte. You must be struggling with the paralysis poison after being soaked like that. Drink this."

"Thank you ver—huh?"

Oh, right. The monsters in this dungeon have paralyzing toxins in their fluids.

But I didn’t feel paralyzed at all. Just disgusted at being slimed.

"I… I’m not paralyzed."

"What did you say?"

Reynard looked genuinely shocked. Now that I looked closer, they were all pretty slime-stained too.

They must have fought quite a few battles on their way here. If that’s the case, it’s only natural they’d assume anyone covered in monster fluids would be paralyzed by now.

"Heyyy. What should we do with this thing?"

Trishel was the one driving the meat slime into the corner with flickering flames.

It wasn’t attacking, and its behavior was odd, so maybe she was hesitating about what to do with it. Honestly, I half expected her to roast it on sight, but she was calmer than I thought. Thank god for that.

Riven joined in, keeping an eye on the slime. He was watching it carefully, like it was something peculiar.

Now that it was the one being driven into a corner, it trembled quietly. Seeing it like that… I almost felt sorry for it. Almost.

"…Is this thing really a monster?"

"What do you mean?"

The one voicing doubt was Riven.

"We’ve fought monsters all the way here, but none were amorphous. This one doesn’t even have a core body. It’s entirely formless."

"Some dungeons do have monsters like that, but yeah, not here. I’ve never seen one like this, not even as an irregular."

"And another thing—every monster I’ve ever encountered attacked us the moment it saw us. This one? It’s just sitting there."

He was right. I thought it attacked me, but really, it just pinned me down.

So what is this thing?

"It’s still trying to get to Charlotte-chan, even now…"

Why? Why is it so fixated on me?

Creepy. It already slimed me enough.

"Can I just burn it alreadyyy?"

"Wa—wait a second!"

I almost gave permission, but stopped myself at the last moment.

Carefully, I edged closer from behind Trishel and Riven.

Something about it felt… different. Off.

But up close, it was still a meat slime. Filthy, dripping with slime.

Maybe I was imagining things?

"…Ah."

"What is that?"

"A white… jewel?"

When I approached again, its surface rippled, and a white jewel emerged.

So out of place against its disgusting body, yet it pushed the jewel outward, as if offering it to me.

"…Doesn’t it look like it’s telling you to touch it?"

"Eh? Me? Why?"

"Just a feeling."

At Trishel’s words, the meat slime trembled, as if agreeing.

Seriously… what is this thing? Can it understand us?

I stretched out my hand, hesitant. The slime pushed the jewel toward me, almost insistently.

Puzzled and wary, I finally touched the white jewel.

—And in that instant, the world before me changed.

A white-haired woman, a small child, a seamless house, matching pendants.

The statue of a god, prayers of healing, bells ringing, a town where day and night never changed.

Trees dancing madly, flowers singing, gusts of raging wind—

In a flash, the scenery before me shifted again and again.

It felt like images were being projected directly onto my retinas. Not a memory. Not a reliving. I was just… watching.

Before I knew it, I had lost all sense of time, completely absorbed in the vision.

A peaceful world, a place that felt like I had seen it before. I forgot why I was here, what I had been doing, and simply gazed at it.

A longing, a nostalgia, filled my chest. So strong I even forgot to breathe.

"Heeey, Charlotte-chaaaan?"

"…Huh?"

"You suddenly started crying. What’s wrong?"

"Eh?"

"Huh? Am I… crying?"

Being spoken to brought my awareness back to reality.

I quietly looked down, and drops of liquid fell to the ground.

Ah. It’s true. I’m crying.

"Huh? Haha… what is this?"

Gradually, the feeling sank in. At the same time, something I hadn’t understood before became strangely clear.

Now I understood why I had been so terrified when I entered this floor.

It was loneliness. The fear had come from being completely alone.

What had made me feel that loneliness? The meat slime.

I didn’t know why it had that feeling. I didn’t know why it had reached me.

All I knew was that it had been scary. Scary, wandering endlessly, seeking something. That much I could understand.

I couldn’t help but hug myself.

The coldness of the emotions I had felt made me shiver as if I were freezing.

"Oh… it’s deflating."

While I did that, the meat slime gradually shrank. As if it had completed its purpose, a white jewel fell from its body and scattered across the ground.

Its trembling form slackened, spreading weakly across the floor.

"…What was that all about?"

Riven said, clearly not understanding.

Fair enough. I didn’t fully understand either.

But there was a sense of satisfaction that this had been necessary. That this encounter between me and it had happened, and this was how it ended—it was supposed to be this way.

"Everyone, listen!"

Reynard’s voice rang out. At the same time, as if an earthquake had struck, the dungeon began to shake violently.

"What, what, what!?"

"It’s shaking!"

"What the hell is this?"

Trishel looked remarkably calm, but this wasn’t the time to worry about that.

"Ah."

The ground beneath us cracked open, creating a hole that led straight down.

Visibility was poor, and packed together as we were, all of us were within the range of the fractured floor.

"Woahhhh!"

"Reynard, does this happen often!?"

"No, no way something like this happens!"

We fell straight down, five floors—into the area boss’s floor.