Chapter 14. Yumi
I have three friends with whom I occasionally exchange text messages.
One of them and I used to frequently meet for drinks after I had just returned from another world.
During those drinking sessions, I would let myself get drunk.
And then, I would confide in my friend about the fact that I was a returnee from another world.
Naturally, my friend didn’t believe me.
He dismissed it as just a joke I was telling to make him laugh.
At first, that was the case.
But as I kept bringing up stories about the other world every time I got drunk, his reaction gradually began to change.
Before I knew it, my friend started doubting my mental state.
He said he was worried I might be crazy and offered to introduce me to someone he knew.
And then, one day,
A woman came to our private drinking session.
Her name was Ha Yumi.
She was the sister of a friend of my friend’s cousin, and her profession was a psychiatrist.
“It’s been a while, Yumi.”
【003】─Yes, it’s been a really long time.
The doctor I met through my friend’s introduction.
Ha Yumi started joining us at every drinking session from that day on.
She insisted on treating my delusions and compulsive lying.
Feeling burdened by it, I gradually distanced myself from drinking with my friend, and over time, we became people who only exchanged the occasional text message.
【003】─I thought you blocked me since you were ignoring all my messages, Geon.
‘Well, you were blocked, though?’
‘I think I blocked you for about a year before unblocking you.’
‘Even after we stopped having drinks, you kept persistently reaching out. You kept insisting we meet one-on-one for a consultation, which I found overwhelming.’
【Pururu】─What’s going on? What’s the deal between you two?
【Mysticism】─😠
【Pururu】─Why are you getting mad? Anyway, hurry up and explain your relationship. I’m getting dizzy here.
【003】─What kind of relationship, you ask? We were very, very special to each other.
【Pururu】─??? Are you Geon’s ex-girlfriend?
【Mysticism】─😡🔪
【Pururu】─Put the knife down, you jerk. You can stab me after I hear the answer.
【003】─Just kidding. We were simply doctor and patient.
【Pururu】─?
【Mysticism】─😶
【003】─Geon had some mental issues in the past. So, as a favor to an acquaintance, I provided him with some care outside of a formal setting.
【Pururu】─Mental issues?
“To clarify our relationship, what she’s saying is true, but it wasn’t a relationship established at a hospital. It was forced upon me during drinking sessions, and I wasn’t even a patient to begin with.”
I quickly explained, worried they might misunderstand.
“And Yumi.”
【003】─Yes?
“Those stories I told you about the other world before, they’re all true. They weren’t just delusions.”
【003】─Ah… You’re still saying such ridiculous things…
【003】─I should have been more persistent in treating you. ㅠㅠ
【003】─But it’s not too late! If you start counseling again, your condition will improve!
【Pururu】─? The other world is real. Geon’s currently in the other world.
【003】─You should get counseling too.
It seemed like the monsters weren’t appearing on Ha Yumi’s screen.
Before explaining the situation and the Assistant, I decided to show her these creatures first.
“Yumi. You can’t see the monsters next to me right now, can you?”
【003】─What monsters?
“Guys, come closer to me.”
[Si-i!]
[Pi-i!]
【Pururu】─Pii-im!
【Mysticism】─🤔
The Dog Spider and Jellyfish clung to me.
With this, they should definitely be visible on the screen.
【003】─???
【003】─What are those?
“What else? They’re monsters.”
It was time to start explaining.
***
Just like I explained to Missy.
I slowly repeated the stories I had first told Pururu.
But Ha Yumi still denied it.
She kept expressing disbelief.
She even suspected that the monsters were just CG created with advanced technology.
She was a difficult person to convince, more so than the other Assistants, as she seemed to believe only what she could see with her own eyes.
However, as time went on,
Her doubts slowly faded, and she started to come around.
I showed her various proofs, like pinching the monsters’ cheeks to show they weren’t CG or special effects.
And crucially,
There was one phenomenon that modern technology couldn’t explain, which made it easier to make her believe.
The broadcast could only be seen by Assistants.
After confirming this fact with her acquaintances, Ha Yumi finally came to believe my story.
【003】─To think that another world actually exists besides the one we live in…
【Pururu】─You finally believe it? You should be more trusting. Why would Geon lie about something like this? ㅡㅡ
【003】─I’m sorry, Geon.
【003】─I had no idea the stories you told me before were true and not just delusions. I sincerely apologize for treating you as a patient.
“It’s okay. It would have been strange to believe it.”
【Pururu】─Did you go around telling people you were a returnee from another world?
“I only said it when I was drunk. I don’t normally talk about it. No one would believe me anyway, and I’d just be treated like a crazy person.”
【Pururu】─So you spill everything when you drink. Isn’t it risky to blurt it out like that?
“It’s fine. Being a returnee isn’t exactly a secret.”
The dimensional mage had also said it was fine.
He said they’d seal my powers to prevent any accidents, but talking about this world was my freedom.
【003】─So…
【003】─My role is as an Assistant, right? What can I do to help? Just let me know.
【Pururu】─What are you asking? He just explained it. You can recharge coins and send them or provide material support.
【003】─Ah, okay. I’ll think about what might be helpful.
【Pururu】─Alright.
【003】─By the way, Pururu.
【Pururu】─What?
【003】─You’ve been annoying me for a while now. Why do you keep talking down to me? Do I know you?
【Pururu】─How would I know you?
【003】─Then don’t talk down to me.
【Pururu】─No thanks.
【003】─You’re really rude. Even online, you should have basic manners. Could you talk down to me if we met in person?
【Pururu】─I talk down to you because we’ll never meet in person.
【003】─I’d rather not talk at all…
【Pururu】─ㅇㅇ
【Mysticism】─🤨
What were those two bickering about?
‘More importantly, those three didn’t show up in the end.’
The invitation message had long expired.
The Assistants who responded to the call were Pururu, Missy, and Ha Yumi.
The three people I exchanged messages with didn’t show up.
‘Or maybe they’re among these?’
Of course, I still didn’t know the true identities of Pururu and Missy.
There might be a chance that they were among my close acquaintances.
Well, I’d find out someday.
There’s no way they’d keep their identities hidden forever.
***
The hot air filled my lungs.
One step, then another.
With each step, the surrounding temperature gradually rose.
At first, it was a subtle change, but soon the heat became unbearably intense. It felt as if molten lava was flowing beneath my skin.
This weak body was really inconvenient.
“Jellyfish. Cast a protection spell on me.”
[Pi-i!]
A transparent veil wrapped around my body.
Only then did the raging heat subside, giving me some room to breathe.
I continued to advance through the cave.
As I walked, I spotted a monster breathing fire in the distance.
【Pururu】─It’s a Fire Slime!!!
【003】─A monster!!! Run away quickly!
【Mysticism】─🥵
It was a slime made of fire.
【Pururu】─No need to run. Geon said slimes are just small fry.
【003】─Oh. So, it’s a weak monster?
【Pururu】─ㅇㅇ If Geon punches it with a “thwack! thwack! smash!” it’ll probably just die.
【003】─It looks dangerous, though…
“It is dangerous. That’s not a small fry.”
【Pururu】─Huh? I thought you said slimes were F-rank, on the level of ordinary people?
A slime with a core is F-rank.
They’re called ordinary slimes.
Since you can kill them easily by destroying the core, even ordinary people can handle them.
But that guy wasn’t an ordinary slime.
“That was about ordinary slimes. This one isn’t an ordinary slime. It doesn’t have a core, which is its weakness.”
There are two types of slimes.
Slimes with a core and slimes without a core.
Whether a slime has a core or not is the absolute standard for determining its danger level and a crucial factor in its existence.
The difference in danger between a slime with a core and one without was like night and day.
And that slime was a coreless one.
【Pururu】─How do you know it doesn’t have a core? It could be hidden inside.
“A slime’s weak point, its core, has a unique property that prevents it from being hidden by other substances. That’s why ordinary people can easily kill them. Moreover, ordinary slimes generally don’t have any offensive capabilities, so they can’t manipulate natural elements like that one.”
Strictly speaking,
That slime didn’t manipulate elements; it embodied them. It was a living natural disaster, an entity that couldn’t be killed by conventional means.
【Pururu】─So how dangerous is that slime?
Slimes without a core are called Demon King Slimes.
In other words, they are at least S-rank.
In my experience, there was no such thing as a coreless slime below A-rank.
However,
“B-rank.”
That guy was B-rank.