Compared to Arthur's melancholy, the other knight of the Slime Kingdom was in a much better mood.
Yano returned to Ironboot Town with a shopping list in hand for basic supplies like a telescope, a magic organ, and some magic paper, his steps light.
He still had to write a letter and commission the Adventurer's Guild to send it to Jade City before the guild closed, so he could mail it to his dear Lola.
He meant to send his regards, ask after them, and also ask Lola to help buy the telescope and follow up on the translation of the two parchment sheets.
After Yano left, the noisy Count Bran stayed behind at the outpost to comfort Arthur, and slowly the castle became noticeably quieter.
But it was only quiet on the surface.
After all, the most mischievous little slimes couldn't speak.
Ever since the little slimes had eaten the spiritual feeding he'd prepared for them, they had grown in leaps and bounds, and the bigger ones were almost his size.
They'd also become much smarter than before;
they had learned to stay up late, and the energetic little rascals swarmed around Little Ka, laughing and roughhousing.
But not all slimes were so naughty.
Slime Mother stood guard outside the nest watching over the little ones, while tiny Little Flower clung closely to her side, curiously taking everything in.
Chen Yu hopped over and patted her little head.
"Your observatory won't be finished for a few more days."
Little Flower nuzzled him gently and asked in a soft, squishy voice, "...Brother...top..."
Chen Yu followed her gaze and looked toward the treehouse.
"You want to go up and see?"
"Yes yes!"
"Then come with me."
Chen Yu said goodbye to Slime Mother, squeezed Little Flower into a blob of gel, hopped up the stairs, and only after entering the treehouse did he let her out.
The Gray Gravel Crystal lit up, its gentle light filling the entire treehouse. Little Flower hopped in circles, staring at the shelves full of books, her eyes shimmering.
"...Brother...curious..."
"You want to read? You can't yet."
"Why..."
"Well...first you have to learn the Common Tongue of this world."
"Common Tongue?" Little Flower's head bubbled with confusion.
Chen Yu suddenly realized something he had overlooked.
When a monster's sentience first sparks, that is the best time for enlightenment. Miss that window and learning a language later becomes much harder.
These little ones had eaten his spiritual feeding;
their sentience had already awakened and they could begin learning.
He nearly forgot—fortunately Little Flower reminded him.
Someday, when he had the chance, he planned to implement broad compulsory education for monsters throughout the Slime Kingdom.
A great monster kingdom couldn't have subjects who were uneducated savages.
"Do you want to learn? I'll teach you."
"Yes!" Little Flower wagged her gel body happily.
To her, nothing made a slime happier than the company of mother and brother.
So Chen Yu opened the book Basic Grammar and Vocabulary of the Common Tongue and patiently began teaching.
Little Flower sat curled in his lap, listening intently and learning quickly.
But as night fell, sleepiness crept in and the little one dozed off without realizing it.
Chen Yu didn't disturb her;
he simply extinguished the crystal light in the treehouse and, for the first time in a while, went to sleep himself.
...
The swamp in summer was stiflingly hot, especially around Chen Yu's swamp fortress. After felling some tall oak trees, unobstructed sunlight baked the swamp water warm.
Even Chen Yu felt his internal moisture evaporating faster than usual, his body bubbling with tiny beads of water.
After days of effort, two more black mud-brick walls rose on the construction site, with only the eastern wall left to fully enclose the fortress.
Other buildings were being built simultaneously.
Two wasp nests were transplanted back onto the oak watchtowers on the north and south sides, bringing the number of Poison-stinger Wasp nests inside the fortress to an impressive eight.
Even the existing Moss Monster farms couldn't supply enough, so they had to expand the breeding grounds.
In the southern area of the fortress, almost every oak tree now had a Moss Monster farm beneath it.
Beetles dug pits at the base of trees, and Chen Yu thoughtfully used tree roots to construct delicate nests for the Moss Monsters.
Irrigation channels were dug around the farms so these beetles no longer had to worry about their nests being flooded.
Besides that, the southern area also opened several neatly arranged mushroom fields to cultivate various tasty mushrooms and mosses.
Everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion.
After Chen Yu fed the slimes and Poison-stinger Wasps with spiritual feeding, his consciousness reconnected with the chubby slime that was still in the slime nest.
Although goblins might have noticed some unusual activity in this part of the swamp, Arthur was watching at the boundary of the territory.
Poison-stinger Wasps patrolled the swamp around the clock in shifts;
if the goblins invaded, they'd know quickly, so he didn't need to be on guard every moment.
With some free time, of course he would explore the dungeon.
The Gray Mist Lake Dungeon was vast, full of bizarre ecosystems: mushroom forests of fungal stone, a Mist Zone perpetually soaked in humid white fog, towering trees and constant rain in a rainforest region, a maze-like passage area with countless caves and chambers...
The dungeon's monster species were too numerous to count and included many creatures with remarkable talents.
This place was a massive treasure waiting to be developed.
If buying magic organs satisfied ordinary talent demand, then exploring the dungeon would allow him to uncover new talents and probe deeper into monster mysteries.
Chen Yu guided the chubby slime to creep out of the small nest and found everything outside still calm and orderly in a strange way.
The slime nest sat in a shallow passage area where few monsters roamed;
only those pesky burrowing worms that gouged holes everywhere could threaten the slimes.
He was about to sneak out to explore when the creamy-yellow Sister Slime noticed his little movement, hopped over, and carried him back.
"...Disabled...rest...be good..."
"......"
Chen Yu glanced at the chubby slime's swollen body stuffed with stone swords;
it did look different from an ordinary slime.
Calling it disabled didn't seem unfair...
After Sister Slime left, Chen Yu peeked out again, then steeled himself and moved even more carefully.
Noticing Sister Slime go to sun the crystal light, he finally slipped away.
"Phew...not easy."
"If only Chubby had Stealth."
Chen Yu slowly writhed his round body and began a new dungeon exploration.
This time his target was a deeper area, closest to the slime nest—the sulfur hot spring district—where he expected unexpected gains.
He walked, paused, and walked again, and monsters kept causing trouble, so he ate a fair amount of food.
[Devour Digestion Lv.5→Lv.6]
[Split Proliferation Lv.3→Lv.4]
[Mud Pellet Sword Crafting Lv.1→Lv.2]
Hmm?
Chen Yu discovered a new change after Split Proliferation leveled up.
He could now split off a slime that had 8% of the original's attributes plus two "other talents," producing a powerful individual.
An idea struck him: he could use this slime to grind proficiency in Magic Stripping.
Tail-severing lizards were hard to find in the swamp;
gaining talent ranks by eating them was nearly impossible. The only option was to constantly devour and strip other talents to gain proficiency.
"Good. From now on you'll be a tool slime."
He planned to split off a tool slime in the treehouse and let it farm there.
Chen Yu's consciousness returned to the dungeon. Catching the scent of sulfur, he hid behind a warm stone, watched for a long time, and after choosing carefully, fixated on a Heatland Giant Mosquito.
He saw the mosquito's tail explode with a "boom," spraying scalding corrosive juices mixed with chaotic mana, which frightened off a predator.
Self-destruct?
Hmm...
This creature's talent seemed rather interesting.