The following afternoon, Mona went to file for a leave of absence, as she would be unable to attend the laboratory for the duration of the project.
The Dean of Academic Affairs had apparently sent word ahead; the paperwork was processed in an instant, without a single question as to why she was taking leave with the second semester nearly over.
Mona stepped out of the department office with mixed feelings.
To be frank, she was overjoyed at the thought of never having to run into certain obnoxious people in the laboratory again, Jake included.
Washing her hands of that hopeless hair-growth formula was an immense relief as well.
Yet parting with the slimes she had cared for so attentively left a lingering pang of regret.
She had already handed over their maintenance procedures to a junior researcher, but she headed toward the culture room to check on them one last time.
“…Hm.”
The moment she stepped inside, Mona rubbed the tip of her nose.
With the weather growing colder by the day, the air in the culture room was far drier than usual.
‘I’ll have to leave a note on the board to keep an eye on the humidity.’
Mona sprayed water around the room with an atomizer, then dampened several cloths and laid them out around the slime containers.
Once the air felt sufficiently damp, she inspected the slimes in their vessels one by one, checking their color, translucency, and movement.
Since it was her last day, she even shared a portion of salt moss, their absolute favorite treat.
Named for its resemblance to salt crystals, salt moss harbored trace amounts of demonic energy, meaning it could only be obtained through the black market.
It was usually far beyond Mona’s budget, but thanks to the research stipend recently deposited into her account, she now had more than enough to splurge on a lavish feast for them.
‘Now, only that one left.’
Carrying the remaining salt moss, Mona made her way toward the center of the workbench.
While the other slimes were roughly the size of a child's fist, the one in the middle of the bench was as large as a grown man's.
Despite its bulk, it was an incredibly picky eater and extraordinarily sensitive to its surroundings.
In short, it was terribly finicky.
On the other hand, it possessed the largest, most resilient viscous core, boasted remarkable regenerative abilities, and interacted with Mona far more actively than any other.
Even now, having recognized the tasty treat in her hands, it was bobbing up and down until the culture fluid sloshed against the glass.
Bloop, bubble—
((^o^))
o
O
○
As if understanding every word, the slime puffed out a string of expanding bubbles.
The slime had been eagerly devouring the moss, but at her plea, it abruptly spat the morsel back out and began rolling its round body from side to side.
…Was it just her imagination?
It looked just like a petulant child throwing a fit because someone was leaving.
Mona watched with an odd look as it tossed and turned on the bottom of the container, only to startle and spin around.
Someone had just walked into the culture room.
The junior who had taken over the task of preparing culture fluids lit up the moment he spotted her.
Not really.
The junior pointed at the ingredients lined up inside the culture room.
His brief cheer at her agreement faded almost immediately, replaced by a deep sigh and a look of pure despair.
Having endured that exact misery herself, Mona swallowed a bitter smile and stepped out of the culture room to follow him.
And then…
Squish~!
While Mona was away, leaving her bag behind on the counter.
The slime ceased its rolling and its round, button-like eyes gleamed.
((+ω+))
Before long, its translucent mint-colored body began squishing and squeezing past the gap in the container's stopper.
Slitherrr—
Gliding with remarkable speed, the slime slipped quietly into hiding.
Right inside the peddler-sized bag Mona carried everywhere she went…
***
…Was it just her imagination?
Her bag felt unusually heavy today.
It was probably just the weight of tension and dread weighing down her chest.
Just thinking about the terrifying man she was about to face made her heart flutter with dread and turned her hands and feet ice-cold.
Mona was currently waiting for the second assembly.
Four days after the first gathering, the project assembly convened once again in the same former military command post.
Mona stepped into the conference room with footsteps as heavy as a convict dragged toward prison.
Unlike the stiff, hush-filled air of their previous meeting, the participants were already murmuring in casual conversation today.
Mona scraped together every crumb of her nonexistent sociability to eke out a greeting.
The one who spared her any awkwardness by answering was the handsome man everyone had welcomed as ‘Lord Noel’ last time.
Mona still had no real idea who Noel was, but his courteous demeanor and warm expression put her slightly at ease as she took her seat.
Noel broke the ice smoothly, looking across the survey team members seated around the table.
Mona counted the members through her spectacles as well, taking in their faces.
The project numbered eight participants, including their commander, Rihart.
Yet these eight were not the only ones entering the Land of Chaos.
According to the imperial official, four escorts would accompany them to ensure the survey team’s safety.
‘Twelve people honestly feels like a bit too many.’
Too many cooks spoil the broth, as the saying went.
‘…Which means it’d be just fine if Rihart never showed up at all.’
It was right as she was indulging in that greedy wish to see the ship's captain discarded.
Having proposed the introductions, Noel graciously took the floor first.
It was a succinct introduction, but Mona’s eyes flew wide.
…Lotus?
No matter how ignorant of high society Mona was, her general history exams had made sure she knew the name Lotus.
The Lotus Ducal House.
One of the Empire's founding families.
‘No wonder everyone looked at me like I was strange for not knowing him.’
He was the one person who had helped soothe her terrible social anxiety, but hearing his name suddenly made him feel a universe away…
With Noel Lotus finished, the introductions continued clockwise around the table.
With his gaunt build and pale complexion, Enoch struck her as a rather frail scholar.
‘…Is double majoring the latest trend in high society or something?’
Healing magic and herbalism were one thing, but pairing magical formulas with archaeology was another entirely.
To keep up with high-society trends, should she have at least pretended to listen when Professor Jerome urged her to join the Department of Magical Formulas?
Regardless of Mona’s inward shock at this highborn habit of pretending to be an expert after dipping a single toe into a field, the dazzling introductions carried on.
And at last, it was Mona’s turn.
Having nothing else in particular to add, she stopped there, plunging the room into a brief silence.
“…Ahem!”
Just then, the punctilious-looking man who had introduced himself as Parmin cleared his throat and spoke.
“…?”
Parmin was subtly insinuating that Mona was not here because of any outstanding talent, but merely because the scarcity of monster researchers had handed her a lucky seat on the survey team.
It was also a veiled boast of his own connections to the imperial court.
Unaccustomed to the veiled barbs of aristocratic banter, however, Mona simply sympathized with the court's plight and replied evenly.
“The Department of Monster Studies isn't marked on the academy map…”
“Pfft!”
Right then.
A smothered burst of laughter erupted from near the entrance.
Everyone who turned toward the sound widened their eyes in unison.
Rihart was striding inside, accompanied by four Black Knights elites who were currently the most renowned figures in the entire Empire.
