Chapter 39: I Caught the Demon Lord, but I Run My Own Business (01)

No, it wasn't the translucent skin of a slime, nor was it a clump of hair like Mollang's, but the face, expression, and body were exactly like Mollang's usual transformed form.

Only, she had grown to the size of a human.

"Why should I speak?"

"You could speak?"

"I can't talk... it's frustrating..."

"But you're speaking right now..."

"Me?"

Wondering if the artificial intelligence was imitating Mollang, I picked up Mollang, who was rounded like a slime, and her body twitched and moved.

"Why is my body over there... ah...!"

As she lay face down, her arms and legs naturally extended forward, and she fell over, not used to the movements of a humanoid form as she usually moved around using her whole body as a slime.

"Oooh... it hurts..."

Fortunately, the floor was made of a special material that absorbed the impact, otherwise, her jaw would have shattered had it been stone.

'Is this really Mollang?'

"How do you feel?"

Although it had been a mess just before, the homunculi were cleaning up the spilled fluids and even ventilating the area.

Meanwhile, Number 3, waiting, approached and held the shoulder of the homunculus that looked like Mollang.

"What happened? Mollang..."

"We temporarily created a body to transfer her into."

"So that means..."

"A homunculus containing the soul of a pet. It's an experimental technique, but it was successful today."

'Is this really Mollang?'

The bead embedded in Mollang's now slime-shaped body glowed faintly, and Mollang, seeing her own form in my hand, was confused and tried to crawl over but could only squirm while lying down.

"My body, why here? This body is heavy..."

"But perhaps due to low intelligence, she's unaware of the current situation. She doesn't realize she has acquired a new body, even though there should be no physical problems with bipedal movement..."

Number 3's cold judgment continued, but I was just as confused as Mollang.

'Is this really Mollang?'

I was used to Mollang transforming from a blue, blobby slime into a girl, so seeing her in the form of a homunculus girl was disconcerting.

"To call her Mollang..."

Though she was lying down, the naked body of the homunculus was vividly visible through my mana-infused eyes.

Previously, it had just been nipples mimicking those of a human, but now Mollang had proper breasts and nipples.

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Usually, I wouldn't think much of seeing Mollang's naked form, but seeing it realistically formed like a human...

'Mollang's body... it looks incredibly erotic... I hadn't noticed before because it was a slime, but now that I see it, the structure itself looks erotic...'

Swallowing.

Unintentionally, I swallowed, and Mollang was looking at my dick, which had started to rise in front of her.

Dripping...

And then, unknowingly, saliva dripped from her mouth.

Previously, as a slime, her bodily fluids were contained within her shell, so she didn't drool, but now Mollang, having a homunculus body, was rubbing her face on the floor and drooling as she approached me, emitting a sweet smell.

And like she used to do with her slime body, she opened her mouth trying to take my dick in, but I stopped her for now.

'If Mollang acts as usual, she'll definitely bite with her teeth...'

As a slime, she didn't have teeth, so even a strong suck would only increase the suction, but in her current state, putting it in her mouth could result in a painful bite.

Besides, Mollang was also too excited to control her body, so it was necessary to calm her down first.

"Do you like it?"

"We'll have to see."

"That's quite candid of you, especially from the lower half."

'Well, Mollang is naturally arousing...'

"You're just going to see how it goes?"

Someone didn't like my response and interjected into the conversation between Number 3 and me with a tone that suggested dissatisfaction.

"Ha, quite greedy. It's a newly developed technology and there's been a lot of dissatisfaction with artificial intelligence, so we deliberately embedded a 'personality' they would like."

From behind, a voice similar to Number 3's but more human and somewhat cynical spoke up.

"Are you the one? Did you order the 200 gold item?"

The owner of the voice calling me with a twisted tone was a girl who looked similar to Number 3.

If Number 3 had a younger sister with a slight age difference, she would look like this. Unlike the stiff manners of the other homunculi, this girl's human-like tone let me realize she was indeed the owner of this workshop.

Of course, it wasn't just because of that.

'She has a different presence.'

The homunculi here, although not of knight rank, had the ability to use mana circuits to see without interference in such dark places.

And Number 3, judging just by the amount of mana stored within her body, would be at the level of a considerable mage, while the body of the girl who had appeared before me...

'That's not an amount a human could possess.'

She was packed with mana from head to toe, more than even Royal Archmage Pontein.

"Have you come, mother?"

"Yes. Originally, I was going to leave you all to the tour and neglect you... but I wanted to see the face of the insolent one who gave our workshop 2 stars."

"Ugh..."

Dripping with drool, I stuffed my dick back into my trousers and adjusted my clothes in front of the workshop owner.

"Basically, you should have given 5 stars during the discount period instead of 2, right? And you mention a corpse? Does your corpse breathe and secrete mucus?"

The voice was pleasant like a nightingale chirping, but the content was that of an angry 50-year-old boss, letting me realize that this girl was not what she appeared to be.

It seemed she wasn't trying to hide her identity either.

"Frederic Endymion... no, now it's just Frederica."

"I'm Ban."

"I know your name. It was on the application."

Endymion? I've heard that surname somewhere...

"Even now, you're transferring your pet's intelligence over here..."

Pointing at the slime in my hand, the girl grumbled, referring to the object with the bead in it, Mollang's core.

"Slime?"

"Yes?"

"Are you seriously implanting a relay in the slime?"

I showed her the bead connected to Mollang's core and transferring consciousness.

"Yes, but Mollang isn't acidic, so it won't dissolve."

"No, it's not about the acidity. That doesn't make sense... Slimes lack even the basic intelligence of animals, not moved by instinct but merely a simple creature that moves when there is something to digest?"

'The slime listening to this would feel bad.'

Indeed, that's how they are described in monster ecology. So I also used to think whether Mollang's jealousy was really jealousy or just an instinct to guard the place where food appears.

Lately, her actions seem genuinely driven by jealousy.

"Uh... master... food... food..."

Unable to control her body properly, Mollang in the homunculus body buried her face in my groin and drooled.

"Oh, no, stop that."

"Slurp..."

As Mollang buried her face in my groin and drooled, I pulled her face away and asked the owner.

"Aren't high-level slimes supposed to have intelligence?"

"Hardly. They're capable of complex transformations due to their structure, not because they're pure slimes with special measures within."

Then what exactly is Mollang?

"Unless it's the god of slimes mentioned in the pantheon, slimes can't have intelligence."

"Eh, so you're saying Mollang is a god?"

"Hardly. That's a matter of faith, and even that only holds if there's a theory that every monster has a god looking after them."

So what are you saying, exactly?

"Give her to me for a moment."

Wondering if I should hand Mollang over, I looked down at her drooling with her face buried in my lower half, but it seemed she had little interest in her own body right now.

"Fascinating. If my guess is right, 'this' isn't just any slime. It might even be related to the Demon Lord..."

"The Demon Lord?"

It was almost a term from ancient history books, but the moment I heard it, a name flashed through my mind.

An enormous amount of mana surpassing human limits, and Frederic Endymion... the alchemist...

"Hmm? Could it be?"

Unsure of the hypothesis, I closely examined the face of the girl who was fiddling with Mollang.

Certainly, there was a resemblance to the portraits of the Endymion family, renowned for their alchemy.

Specifically, it was somewhat like one of the seven statues in the central capital’s Hero Square.

Not exactly the same, but if she had a daughter, it would be easy to guess that this would be her face...

"Frederic Endymion."

"Is there a problem?"

"The legendary alchemist who melted General Kreton, the Iron Behemoth of the Demon Lord's army?"

"That was 300 years ago."

The moment I realized the identity of the girl before me, I couldn't help but exclaim aloud.

"A legend among legends, isn't it!"

To be specific, it was to this extent.

"You, the last member of the Hero's party?!"

300 years ago, when a full-scale war broke out with the demonkind, humanity's last line of defense was held by knights and volunteer soldiers, and seven elite were charged with countering and defeating the Demon Lord at the core.

"You'll make my ears fall off. Yes, it's me, so stop yelling."

Although she said this, the corners of her mouth turned up and a hint of laughter could be heard in her voice, which had been full of complaints moments before. She seemed quite pleased that I recognized her.

"Of course, you'd be surprised to find a legendary hero from the stories right before your eyes. Does a bit of respect begin to form now?"

It was true, a feeling of respect was forming.

But at the same time, I couldn't help but blurt out these words.

"Why would someone so great be doing something like this?"

"......"

Ah, I messed up.

The moment I spoke those words, I saw Frederic Endymion's expression harden, realizing my gaffe, but it was too late to take back what had been said.