Eyes like purple violets turned toward Mona.
Amid the lingering silence, feeling that an exchange of names was in order, Mona hesitated briefly before opening her mouth.
Her voice was as chilly as her aloof impression, and Mona shrank back slightly, fidgeting with her fingers.
“…!”
Rumble—!
Just as they finished their introductions, the carriage lurched into motion, jostling wildly up and down.
Mona gripped the window frame tightly and peered outside.
‘It’s shaking terribly.’
Looking at the road leading toward the western frontier, it was narrow and utterly unmaintained.
Compounded by the hilly terrain, the carriage rattled all the more violently the faster it went.
Through it all, Natasha—a seasoned knight—sat ramrod straight despite the rough jolts, while Mona, having done nothing but study her whole life, wobbled helplessly like a paper doll.
The problem was that the carriage was cramped, so with every violent sway, her knees repeatedly brushed against Natasha’s.
“…”
Seeing Natasha’s straight brows knit ever so slightly, Mona plastered herself as close to the side of the carriage as possible and braced her muscles.
Perhaps noticing her desperate struggle, Natasha spoke up.
“…”
She said it was fine, but seeing Natasha turn her gaze out the window as if to hide her stiffened expression, Mona sensed the truth intuitively.
‘…She hated being touched.’
I had better be careful.
Yet no sooner had she resolved this than the carriage bucked upward once more, forcing Mona to grit her teeth.
‘I need to work on my core after this.’
Making a fleeting resolution destined to last three days at best, Mona tightened her lower abdomen as hard as she could to endure the rocking of the carriage.
***
After a grueling journey marked by the worst ride imaginable, the carriage finally ground to a halt before their destination just as dusk settled over the land.
‘…Finally, sweet relief.’
Managing to coax her stiff, aching body out of the carriage, Mona slowly took in her surroundings.
The heavy voices of the researchers reached her ears from nearby.
The place they had reached was a modest fief situated right up against the border of the Land of Chaos.
A small stone castle and tightly packed wooden buildings made the modest scale of the territory readily apparent.
Being near the demonic realm and rarely visited by outsiders, the arrival of the horses and carriages drew the townsfolk outside even at this late hour, whispering with curious gazes.
Before long, an elderly middle-aged man came running out in a fluster, bowing deeply toward Rihart as he dismounted.
Flushed with excitement, the lord spoke with an excessively obsequious posture.
It seemed the imperial court had instructed the lord beforehand to yield the castle.
However, even inside, the castle was hardly spacious.
Between the researchers and escorts entering the demonic realm, the luggage-bearing servants, and the imperial support personnel who had come along, it remained doubtful whether such a large contingent could fit.
As expected, the expedition party was split between the main keep and an annex.
Mona was escorted to a two-story annex building.
The interior proved surprisingly pleasant.
Magic stones that looked newly installed cast a bright glow, and servants could be seen here and there sweeping floors and tending fires in the hearths.
‘No wonder every professor is frantic to land an imperial project.’
To be treated like this even on the remote frontier…
Mona watched Hugo deliver his superior’s orders with stolid discipline, and the moment the attendant handed her the key, she headed upstairs to her room.
Her nerves had killed her appetite, so she skipped dinner.
Unlocking the tightly shut door, she saw a room partitioned by a divider, with two beds placed on either side.
Though it was a double room sharing a single bath, the partition afforded enough privacy that it did not seem inconvenient.
To think she would be staying in a more comfortable environment than the cramped dormitories back at the academy.
Shaking her head in mild amazement as she looked around, Mona began to unpack her luggage.
Reaching inside to pull out her clothes, Mona froze.
Crushed peanut shells were clinging all over her garments.
It was utterly baffling.
The peanuts she had tucked into a pouch for a quick snack were stripped down to nothing but husks.
Surely an imperial porter wouldn't have pilfered cheap peanuts of all things.
Perplexed, Mona rummaged frantically through the shell-littered bag, only to flinch when her hand brushed against something soft and squishy.
‘N-No way.’
It was an all too familiar sensation, yet she desperately wanted to believe it wasn't true.
Alas, her eyes locked with two round, black beady beads wriggling their way up the back of her hand.
A slime.
Judging by this vibrant mint color, it was that finicky little creature.
Why on earth was a specimen that belonged in the lab hiding inside my cramped bag?
As she stood there dumbfounded by the incomprehensible situation, the door behind her clicked open.
‘Eek!’
Mona whipped her clothes over the slime in an instant.
She then looked awkwardly toward the person stepping into the room.
Her roommate was none other than the aloof-faced Natasha.
Acknowledging Mona's greeting with a curt nod, Natasha walked over to her side of the room and unfastened the sword at her hip.
Fortunately, she seemed to be heading out for dinner, departing almost the moment she had divested herself of her weapon.
Squish!
((+ω+))
The moment the clothing was lifted, the slime bounced with an eager bob as if delighted to see her.
Bits of undigested peanut drifted inside its translucent body.
When she instinctively snapped at it, the slime abruptly lost its spring and sagged limp.
‘Does this thing actually understand words?’
Disarmed by the slime’s pitifully endearing display, Mona scratched her head, slipping into deep thought.
What was she supposed to do with it?
If she released it outside like this, the local kids would subjugate it in an instant.
‘Should I set it free inside the Land of Chaos?’
…Yes, that was it!
She would carry it in her bag and release it once she found a safe spot where a slime could survive.
Watching the slime blink its round eyes meekly, Mona spoke in all seriousness.
Did it understand the word ‘dragon’?
The slime, previously squashed flat, suddenly contracted into a tight sphere, its black eyes widening even further.
‘Can I just threaten it with dragons from now on?’
It seemed she had accidentally stumbled upon a foolproof cheat code for handling this peculiar creature.
Observing the slime, now rounded like a bouncy ball, Mona emptied a pouch that had contained her writing utensils and compass.
The slime rolled obediently into the leather pouch without any resistance.
The leather pouch bobbed rapidly back and forth.
Come to think of it, slimes were the lowest tier of monsters, but their regenerative capacity was second to none, so enduring in there would hardly pose a challenge.
After sternly warning it like a child to be frightened and securely hiding the slime inside her bag,
Mona felt a heavy wave of exhaustion wash over her.
“Haah.”
To think an escaped lab slime had hitched a ride in her luggage.
What a way to start the very first day of the expedition…
Praying that tomorrow would bring no untoward surprises, Mona collapsed onto the bed, surrendering to her weary body.
