“Look at that. It’s that same”—an expletive slipped from Latril’s lips—“tree again.” Green grass crushed beneath the swird woman’s black shoes as she walked. Annoyance showed in her steps.

Slimantha glanced back at the irate Latril. “No need to get crass,” the slime summoner said and then gave Latril, her girlfriend, a smile. “Maybe that tree just looks familiar.” Her brown eyes then went to the referenced tree, and a drop of sweat rolled down her right cheek. Latril was right. That tree really did look familiar.

“Well, at least we lost the mist skulkers.” Latril’s golden sword eyes pivoted from the vexingly familiar tree to the rest of their party. She and Slimantha did not walk through the misty forest alone. No, Black, Samuel, Mitsy, and Rose walked along with her and the slime summoner. A sudden stumble from Samuel drew the swird woman’s eyes specifically to the hero. Her steps stopped. So too did the steps of the others. The forest grew quite. The mist blotted out the world around them in white.

Samuel bent over and snatched something from the forest floor. This something came close to tripping him up. He straightened back up and then stiffened. His cheeks went red. He held a pink bra. The mist at his feet thinned. A pair of pink panties matching the bra came into view. The panties lay alongside a long-sleeved shirt and leggings, both shirt and leggings green. A coiled pink strap lay a bit to the side, both a brown pouch and a brown flask next to said strap. A pair of coiled pink ribbons also showed beside the pink strap. Furthermore, both a pair of brown shoes and a neatly folded pink towel lay not far away. Female clothes plus a towel? Was someone … The sound of a splash drifted through the mist. The bra slipped from Samuel’s grip, falling back to the forest floor.

More splashing sounded through the mist. Said mist softly pulsed. Gently, it swirled. Then it opened, revealing a pond. Within said pond, a beautiful woman with long blonde hair and pointed ears bathed. The woman—an elf—splashed a little more water onto her porcelain skin. Then she turned. Her amber eyes met with Samuel’s blue eyes, and she smiled at him. She stepped out of the pond. Water dripped from her tall voluptuous figure.

“May I have my towel?” the elf said, reaching her right hand toward Samuel. The nude woman stood not far from the hero at this point.

“S-Sure,” Samuel said, his face now quite red. He crouched down and picked up the towel from the forest floor. He handed said towel to the very beautiful and very naked woman.

“Thank you,” the elf said, accepting the towel. She then began toweling herself off.

A pair of golden hands—Mitsy’s hands—went over Samuel’s eyes. The petite mimic stood behind the hero. “You shouldn’t be seeing this,” she said.

Black doubled over in laughter. She straightened back up, snickers still slipping out from between her lips. The cat woman’s brown eyes went to Samuel. Her black feline tail swished behind her. “So,” she said, snickers still coming from her, “did you like the view while it lasted?” She doubled over again, still snickering.

Samuel sighed, Mitsy’s hands still over his eyes. He did not try to look at Black. Instead, he just said, “This isn’t funny.”

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The elven woman, now dry, set her towel down onto the grass. She turned back to Samuel, a smile on her face. Her amber eyes then shifted from the eye-covered hero to the others. “Would one of you mind handing me my clothes?” She extended her right hand to them, a smile on her face one more.

Slimantha blinked. “I got it,” the slime summoner said. She bent over and began to collect the requested items from the forest floor. She bundled them up—pouch, flask, and shoes included—and then handed the bundle to the waiting elf.

“Thanks so much,” the elf said, accepting the bundle. She then set said bundle down and began slipping into her undergarments, the pink panties and matching bra. A certain hero still stood nearby with a certain mimic’s hands over his eyes.

Slimantha blinked again. “So,” she said, “I’m Slimantha the Slime Summoner.” The elven woman gave her a little nod of acknowledgment before proceeding to pull on her green leggings. Slimantha continued, “This is my beautiful girlfriend, Latril.” She gestured at the swird woman. “As you can see, she’s gorgeous.” She glanced at Latril now. “And her eyes are so pretty.” The slime summoner clasped her hands together cutely, shifting her weight onto her left leg.

“Thanks for the compliments,” Latril said, her eyes on Slimantha. She gave the beautiful slime summoner a smile and then looked at the elf, who now pulled on a green long-sleeved shirt. “Like she said. I’m Latril.”

“Nice to meet you,” the elven woman said, shirt now in place. The elf’s shirt had a low-cut neckline that flaunted her ample cleavage, and her leggings accentuated her curvy hips and posterior. She slipped on her brown shoes and then bent over to pick up the pink strap, pouch, and flask. “I’m Ashkov the Timeless.” She threaded the strap through both pouch and flask. She then began affixing said strap about her waist.

“Anyway,” Slimantha said, “that’s my girlfriend, Latril.” She flashed Ashkov a friendly smile. Then the slime summoner’s eyes went to Black. She gestured at the witch. “This is my good friend Black. She’s a witch.” She then gestured at Samuel as a certain mimic finally removed her hands from his eyes. “This is a guy I saved from a bear. His name is Samuel, and he is a hero from another world.”

“Please stop introducing me as the guy you saved from a bear,” Samuel said, his blue eyes going to Slimantha.

“The mimic’s name is Mitsy.” Slimantha gestured at Mitsy. “I found her in an alley. And this”—the slime summoner now gestured at Rose the Plant Woman—“is Rose. She’s a plant woman.”

“Nice to meet you all,” Ashkov said, the pink strap now about her waist. The brown pouch showed at her right hip, the brown flask at her left hip. The strap held both pouch and flask in place. Her eyes—her amber eyes—turned to Mitsy. She smiled. “I suppose we have already met, haven’t we, Mitsy?”

“H-Hi, Ashkov,” Mitsy said, taking a step back. “You’re not here to take me back to Gold Mountain, are you?” The mimic took another step back.

“Oh?” Ashkov gave Mitsy a smile. “Why would I do that?” She then looked away from the mimic and retrieved her two pink ribbons from the forest floor. She turned to the pond. Her gaze went to her reflection. Using the two ribbons, she put her long blonde hair up in twintails. “Much better.” She turned away from the pond, her amber eyes going to Samuel. She gave him a smile. “So how to I look?” She sauntered toward the hero, seductively accentuating the sway of her hips as she walked. “Hot, right?”

“He’s not interested!” Mitsy and Rose both said in unison. The two women—one a mimic, the other a plant woman—had both stepped between Samuel and Ashkov.

Giggles slipped out from between Ashkov’s lips, and her right hand raised up to conceal those lips. Her eyes squeezed shut. Then her eyes re-opened, and her giggles stopped. Her right hand lowered down. Her eyes shifted to Black. More specifically, her eyes shifted to Black’s stiffened tail. Had she touched a nerve for the cat woman? Ashkov’s lips twisted into a smile. The mist swirled.