The crow landed, its talons tapping upon the flat top of a wooden chest. It turned with a hop. Its beady black eyes met Slimantha’s brown eyes. Slimantha smiled and kicked off from the beige wall. She landed upon the gray stones paving the alley. A certain hero, Samuel, still clung to her. Her sudden stop, left his momentum to push him against the slime summoner’s back. Her cheeks flushed.

“You can let go now,” Slimantha said.

“You”—Samuel climbed off of the slime summoner, his face a bit pale—“can run really fast.” He wobbled a bit.

The flush faded from Slimantha’s cheeks, and the viscous blue around her black shoes, her slime boots, dissolved away. She glanced back at Samuel, the long locks of her brown hair swaying cutely with the motion. Her beautiful brown eyes met his blue eyes, and she gave him a smile. “Hope you enjoyed the Slimantha express,” she said, giving him a thumbs up.

Samuel frowned, crossing his arms. “Well, I wouldn’t really call that my idea of a good time.” He sighed, lowering his arms. “Seriously, I kept thinking I was going to fly off of you.”

Slimantha brought her right hand to her lips and giggled. “Well, you look pretty dry now at least.” She poked him. “You’re not so sweaty anymore.” She smiled.

“Come!” the crow said. It still stood upon that flat-topped wooden chest in the alley. It glared at Slimantha and Samuel as the pair turned to it. It then glanced down—glanced down at the chest it stood upon. Its beady black eyes went back to the slime summoner and hero. “Come!” It spread its wings and took off. This time, it flew much higher than it had last time.

Samuel paled. “I’m going to have to climb back onto your back, aren’t I?” he said. His eyes looked distant.

“Climb back onto my back?” Slimantha’s eyes went down from the fleeing crow to the chest it had been standing upon. “Why would you need to do that?”

Samuel glanced up at the crow growing more distant. “You know,” he said. “So that thing doesn’t get away.”

“But the chest, Samuel.” Slimantha gestured to the wooden chest the crow had been standing upon. “Think, Samuel. Think. It totes was leading us to that chest. Why run off after the crow when chest?”

“Fair enough.” Samuel glanced at Slimantha. Then his eyes went to the wooden chest in question. It was a simple-looking wooden chest with a flat top. “I’ll check it out.” He walked up to the chest, Slimantha following. He reached for the lid but stopped short. His hands shook. “Why am I getting a bad feeling about this?” He gulped and then grasped the lid. He flipped it open. A pair of golden eyes stared up at him, and a drop of sweat rolled down his right cheek. “Oh no.” A pair of golden hands reached out and grabbed him by his wrists. They tugged him—tugged him into the chest. The lid slammed shut.

Slimantha blinked, and then a drop of sweat rolled down her right cheek. She stepped up to the chest that clearly was a mimic’s chest. She knocked on its lid. “I kind of need that hero back.” No response came. She pouted. She grabbed the lid and swung it open. A pair of golden eyes stared up at her. Golden hands reached out and grabbed her wrists. They tugged, but she didn’t budge. Slimantha then reached in and pulled back. Both mimic and hero came tumbling out.

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The mimic, a petite golden woman with short hair, fell unceremoniously to the gray paving stones. A raggedy brown short-sleeved shirt and matching mid-skirt clad her. She scooted back over the paving stones, her golden eyes fearful. “Please …” she said. “Please don’t hurt me.” Tears welled up in her eyes. Her gaze darted back and forth between Slimantha and her chest.

“Just relax,” Slimantha said, raising her hands and showing her palms. “You’re safe. I’m not going to hurt you.

The mimic looked at Slimantha and forced a smile. The golden woman climbed to her feet, a slight quiver to her body. Then she made a break for her chest.

“Nope!” Slimantha snagged the back of the mimic’s raggedy shirt. “Bad! No running back to your chest!” The slime summoner’s grip was strong—stronger than the fabric of the mimic’s shirt. The fabric tore and the upper portion of the mimic’s shirt came loose. There was no bra under that shirt.

The mimic’s cheeks flushed bright red. Her arms flew to her bosom. “Kya~~!” She fell to her knees. Tears welled up in her eyes. She looked at Slimantha. “This is my only shirt. Can I go back into my chest now?”

“S-Sorry about that.” Slimantha’s cheeks turned red. “I didn’t mean …”

“You can have mine,” Samuel said, stepping up to the mimic. He pulled off his top, a red long-sleeved shirt. He handed it to her.

The mimic blinked. She looked at Samuel. “Thank you,” she said as she accepted the offered shirt. She swapped it for her own and then looked back at Samuel. “Thank you so much.” The shirt was kind of big on her, but it was better than her ruined shirt at least.

“You’re welcome,” Samuel said and then smiled at her. “Just don’t try to eat me again, OK? Anyway, I’m Samuel the Hero From Another World.” He then gestured at Slimantha. “This is Slimantha the Slime Summoner. You are?”

“I’m Mitsy the Mimic,” the golden woman said. “Sorry for almost eating you.” She bowed in apology. “I was scared.” She then glanced at her chest. “Actually, I’m still scared. Can I go back into my chest now?”

“Don’t worry,” Slimantha said, making eye contact with Mitsy. “You’re safe.” The slime summoner smiled. “No going back into your chest though.”

“Fine.” Mitsy gazed longingly at her chest for a moment before returning her eyes to Slimantha. The mimic held her ruined shirt up. “Can I put this in my chest at least?” Upon getting a nod from the slime summoner, she smiled. She walked over to her chest and placed her ruined shirt into it. She sighed as she closed the lid. With her right hand, she lightly tapped her chest’s top. The next moment, the chest was gone, having vanished.

“What were you so afraid of anyway?” Samuel said, walking up to Mitsy.

“Afraid of?” Mitsy said, turning to look at Samuel. “Getting caught by Valerie, I guess.”

Samuel’s eyes were on Mitsy’s face. “Who is this Valerie?”

“Valerie?” Mitsy blinked. “Well, she’s a dragon woman who had held me captive at a place called Gold Mountain. I escaped though.” She smiled but frowned a moment later. “What if Valerie comes looking for me though? I don’t want to go back. I don’t want to be kept as part of her hoard.” She quivered. “Can I please go back into my chest now?”

“Just relax,” Slimantha said, stepping up to Mitsy. “No need to hide in your chest.” She gave the mimic a pleasant smile.

“You know?” Samuel said, glancing at Slimantha. “You think that maybe this Valerie took Mimi in a case of mistaken identity. I mean they are both mimics.”

Slimantha blinked and than looked at Mitsy. “I don’t know,” the slime summoner said. “I mean they don’t look that much alike.” Her gaze drifted to Mitsy’s bosom.

Samuel sweatdropped. “And why exactly are you staring at Mitsy’s bosom?”

“No reason.” Slimantha turned to Samuel and smiled. “I just don’t think they look that much alike. Maybe this Valerie did take Mimi though.” She then glanced at Mitsy. “Anyway, what should we do with her? Maybe Tabitha could help.” Her eyes went to Samuel. “You need to get another shirt anyway, so why not? Let’s go back to Tabitha’s Apartments.”

“T-That’s alright,” Mitsy said. She gave a forced smile. “I can just go back into my chest. I’m sure I can make do just fine with this shirt Samuel gave me.”

“Nonsense,” Slimantha said, crossing her arms. “We are totes not leaving you to hide in your chest in an alley. You are totes coming with us to Tabitha’s Apartments.” She grabbed the mimic’s left hand with her right hand. “Come on. Let’s go.” She gave Mitsy a friendly smile.