- Nia -

"Glrlbsch"

"Glrlbll"

"Ehm, Nia?" (Okin)

"Uh, sorry, Okin." (Nia)

I think he grew concerned with these sounds I'm making.

I mean, I found it as well quite unsettling at the start that my giggling turns out like this.

On the other side, this bubbly feeling when I make it is kinda nice.

It feels fun.

"Ehm, is everything alright?" (Okin)

Ever since I transformed, Okin was a tiny bit apprehensive with me.

I wouldn't exactly say that he's afraid, even if the issue those two pointed out, that I could accidentally dissolve him were he to touch my body, was quite unsettling.

Though, I'm rather confident that I got that covered by now.

Yet, no reason to risk anything.

But no, the bigger issue is that it's just all so strange.

Heck, I'm a slime.

It doesn't get any weirder than this.

So it's no wonder that Okin wouldn't really know how to handle interacting with me.

I just hope that he can overcome this.

So why am I giggling nonetheless?

The cause is quite easy to explain.

"Yep, I am. I was just... kinda happy." (Nia)

Yep, it's exactly that.

No lie here.

"You are happy?" (Okin)

A questioning look comes my direction.

He probably thinks I'm crazy, with me being a slime after almost dying, and now having to deal with all that shit.

But yes, I'm elated.

Joyous even.

For one simple reason.

"I, I can see a future. For us, I mean. An actual way to get us free of this shit. How we can move on, have a real life, you know? A way to make everything finally get better for us. We only need to not mess this up." (Nia)

"I'm not really sure what you mean." (Okin)

"The blue one, err…Shari, told me they won’t be able to tend the shop in the future. And when that happens, they'll give us the shop! She already taught me how to make a potion. I'm not yet very good at it, but I think I should be able to manage soon. And whenever she isn’t occupied with her tasks, I could ask her to teach me more. Can you imagine? The two of us managing a shop, and she won’t even take our earnings! We'd have regular money! A place to sleep! Always enough to eat! Real clothes! Well, in my case they'd be more for covering, but, but can you see how great that would be?" (Nia)

God, my eyes are watering.

Or sliming?

Do I have eyes?

Anyway, that was basically the reason why, until now, I was giggling to myself.

Just making great plans for the future is kinda exciting.

I don't know if I’ve ever felt this way before.

This sense that everything is going well.

Okin looks stunned at my thoughts.

I still hope I can get him into this.

It might sound like a crazy, risky scheme, but if it pays out, we’ll be set for life!

"I, I know it sounds like a faraway dream, but we could make it happen! I'm sure of it!" (Nia)

It would at least be worth a try.

Until now, the two of us were merely trying to survive, but having a real purpose to work towards, this would be grand.

"I-if you think so." (Okin)

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Really?!" (Nia)

"I mean, you’ve always had the plans, and you're looking so determined." (Okin)

I know, I'm the older of us two, but I wouldn't have forced him if he was completely against it.

"Yay! Grllbshh!" (Nia)

"Uh, that sound again." (Okin)

I guess it's safe to assume that he's not a fan of it.

"Sorry, I just can't help it. That is how my chuckle sounds now, and it's just so funny, right? Just to think that all this good stuff came to us because I turned into a fucking slime! Glrllbsh! Isn't this ridiculous?! Grlblsh! I mean, I mean..." (Nia)

"Zsch"

Oh no, I think I'm dissolving my clothes.

"Nia!" (Okin)

Damnit, I grew too excited!

But that's not the point right now.

"Okin! Stop!! You know that you can't touch me! Especially not if I'm in this state!" (Nia)

Damnit, that was too close.

Controlling this body will still take some more practice.

Well, it's not like I could bail out of this.

It takes a while till we cool down again, and now Okin looks somewhat sullen.

"Sorry. I, I’m still trying to get the hang of it." (Nia)

"It's not just this. Seeing you... in this state. It's difficult, you know?" (Okin)

"Well, it still beats me being dead, right?" (Nia)

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess..." (Okin)

"Oookin!" (Nia)

"Pffft! Sometimes you totally act like you." (Okin)

"I am me!" (Nia)

"Right. You are." (Okin)

Sigh.

What am I gonna do with this brother?

"You know I promised to take care of you and not even this body will keep me from following up on that!" (Nia)

"Okay, I believe you. So, what do we do now?" (Okin)

Seems like I got him a bit more eager.

"Shari said I could look into the book if I use gloves and am very careful. If I really could learn to make at least one thing, this would be great. In the meantime, you could clean the shop! We’ll want it to look nice. Especially, if it's going to be ours." (Nia)

Can't hurt to have it look presentable to the customers.

So I sit down in the backroom of the shop and look very closely into this book.

Here I focus on what it describes, which is really hard as I don't have all of these "letters" down.

Also, I still don't really know how to apply things like ratios.

Though, I don’t have much else to do, but to focus on what's written here.

Shari even wrote me a sheet with all the "letters" and had me try to remember each of their sounds.

Some of the sounds already start to blur in my mind, but I still try to retain them as best as I can.

With the help of this sheet, I'm trying to piece together the sounds of each letter I see on that one page.

Some make words that sound rather nonsensical to me when I speak them, but others make sense.

Especially, numbers are difficult.

Though, Shari also gave me a sheet for those, where she made a stroke for each unit the number means.

Yet I wonder if it was really necessary to burn them into a plate of wood with her finger.

But I can't really complain.

Basically, I got all that I need to at least receive the most basic information from this page in the book.

Some of the comments are even kinda fun.

Whoever wrote this liked swearing a lot.

Although I'm sure I'm by no means proficient yet, I believe I should be able to make some kind of healing potion with this.

Or at least a healing salve.

That one was simple enough.

It's only dissolving the clearsprout, but not completely, and done.

Yet there isn't really enough ingredients left for me to make my own.

But it's certainly not impossible.

With a few more lessons I can totally do that.

Things are looking really good for us.

Once I'm done with the book, I head to the upper rooms.

I want to store it there and then get my rest in the cellar.

Speaking of which, sleeping became totally awkward for me.

It’s like I simply stop thinking for a time, am completely out, and then I suddenly open my eyes again after some hours of blackness.

Nonetheless, a bit of peaceful slumber is still quite nice, as I feel refreshed afterward and the complicated stuff seems a bit easier to get down.

On the other hand, maybe I should complain that I still have to sleep in the slimy cellar.

It's certainly awkward when the residue from Liqu merges with my body.

So I reach the shop's front room, with the stair that leads up.

"Nia!" (Okin)

Okin?

He sounds alarmed.

"What's wrong?" (Nia)

While I really have no idea, I'm aware that this is not the time for shouting.

"We need to escape! They're coming!" (Okin)

"Who's coming? I don't understand." (Nia)

"There are men in front of the shop! I think they want to break in." (Okin)

Burglars?

"We can't stay here! We need to run!" (Okin)

Run!?

I freeze.

"Nia! Nia?" (Okin)

"Okin, I can't run. I can barely walk." (Nia)

Moving in this body is already hard enough, but sprinting on collapsing legs is just completely impossible.

Okin now looks as stunned as I am.

I have to work something out, come up with a plan, but I don’t know what to do.

If I were to move out, not only would I get caught, I would also be in the open for everyone to see.

"The cellar!" (Okin)

"Wh-what?" (Nia)

"Hide in the cellar! Everything is slimy there, so they won't notice you. You, you can make yourself flat, right? Uh, at least I saw you like that when you sleep." (Okin)

Just what do I do while I sleep!?!

No, no, this is not the time.

Okin is surprisingly smart here.

I think that’s the best thing that I can do.

"Okay, but you need to run. Try to escape from the second floor when they enter. And come back when they're gone." (Nia)

"Of course!" (Okin)

So he turns for the stairs.

"Wait!" (Nia)

I almost forgot!

"Nia, it's..." (Okin)

"You need to take the book with you! It's too valuable! We can't let them steal it! Shari said we'd be responsible! You need to take it away!" (Nia)

Or else we’ll get thrown out.

And that now after things finally got a turn for the better.

"Uh, sure." (Okin)

Okin is quite skilled at not getting caught.

I don't think I need to worry.

He'll simply jump out the window and escape in the dark.

So I move to the backroom, closing the door behind me before I move further to the cellar.

"Crack"

They just broke through the door!