Suddenly, I Became a Slime

The long wait between me and Kim Cheonsu has been going on for quite some time.

I thought we’d be able to return quickly since the identification tags had been collected and the bodies retrieved, but that wasn’t the case.

Well, I figured we could take a longer break since the hard work was done.

...Still, isn’t it odd that we can’t leave until a new exploration team departs and returns to what used to be a swamp before I went in?

"When can we go back, seriously...?"

Kim Cheonsu, who had been gloomy ever since the shock from a few days ago, muttered weakly. It didn’t seem intentional on his part.

What is this feeling?

When I look at Kim Cheonsu sprawled out in the tent, I’m reminded of my days working at a company.

Like when someone stubbornly clung to their position despite making a mistake, and their desk was unceremoniously moved into the hallway.

Hwangbo Yul also hasn’t shown up, except to deliver food for Kim Cheonsu and me.

...If there is a reason, there’s really only one.

It’s certainly not Kim Cheonsu. It’s clear he’s stuck here because of me.

The reason we’re still here is likely due to the jelly horde that appeared after consuming the inner core (?) of the toad.

But if I think of it that way, I can’t entirely blame them for this situation. They might’ve thought I could handle the jellies alone, but who could’ve predicted their numbers would increase like this?

If I didn’t foresee it either—how could they?

Honestly, if I were a human instead of a jelly, I’d probably be horrified.

...Thinking about it like that,

It’s impressive how Kim Cheonsu is lying at the center of it all, grumbling about wanting to go home. Does adaptability like that make him suited for this kind of work?

That thought annoyed me a little, and just as I felt that way—

A round jelly and a small girl-shaped jelly riding on top of it started bouncing out from the jelly horde. The girl-shaped jelly, mounted as if on horseback, hopped straight onto the prone and groaning Kim Cheonsu’s stomach.

Splat!

“Ahhh!?”

Kim Cheonsu’s body jolted at the sudden ambush. From my perspective, it looked like he was more bewildered than in pain.

No, it was the kind of face that said, “Why is this happening?” Seeing that expression improved my mood a bit. As I chuckled silently to myself, the girl-shaped jelly on his stomach began bouncing energetically.

It looked so cheerful that I wondered if its mood was influenced by mine.

Kim Cheonsu, finding solace in this minor disturbance over complete silence, sighed deeply but didn’t say much.

However, the longer I watched, the more dangerous it seemed.

Not that Kim Cheonsu’s life was in danger or that the girl-shaped jelly posed a threat.

But wouldn’t Kim Cheonsu’s reputation take a serious hit if someone else saw this scene? The girl-shaped jelly was small, resembling a young girl… and being tiny made it seem even riskier.

While it might not be enough to get him arrested for interacting with an anomaly, anyone witnessing this would certainly think less of him.

"...What are you doing?"

“Ack!?”

Exactly, like now.

Hwangbo Yul appeared just in time and froze at the sight of the jelly bouncing on Kim Cheonsu’s stomach. Her voice turned his face pale as he shot up from the ground, waving his hands frantically.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but this is a misunderstanding! I didn’t do anything!”

“Even if it’s a friendly entity, behaving like that...”

Trailing off mid-sentence, Hwangbo Yul shifted her gaze to me. That alone conveyed her meaning loud and clear, leaving Kim Cheonsu’s face pale.

“It’s not like that!”

Kim Cheonsu, desperate, dashed over to me and pleaded.

“Right? I’m telling the truth, aren’t I? It jumped on its own!”

“Hmm..."

Hwangbo Yul seemed to be waiting for my answer. Of course, I couldn’t talk, so a nod would suffice. Somehow, I found the whole situation amusing. Maybe because it played out exactly as I’d imagined it in my head.

Still, if Kim Cheonsu really got fired over this, it’d be a problem. I nodded in agreement with his words.

After all,

The jelly suddenly leaping onto Kim Cheonsu was probably because of me. Clearing up the misunderstanding was my responsibility.

...At least, I hope so.

Upon seeing my nod, Hwangbo Yul decided not to pursue the matter further.

Listening to Kim Cheonsu’s grumbling filled me with sympathy. I patted his shoulder, only for him to shoot me a look that screamed, “You’re part of the problem and the solution!”

Ahem.

Isn’t it good that everything worked out?

Without me, you’d have been labeled a weirdo obsessed with anomalies.

Feigning ignorance of his gaze, I turned my head away, pretending not to notice. Meanwhile, Hwangbo Yul coughed lightly and spoke up.

“We’ve finally received permission to return.”

“F-Finally...!”

No wonder Hwangbo Yul had been empty-handed; she no longer needed to deliver supplies. If she’d brought even an empty box, my spine might’ve chilled.

Anyways.

While Kim Cheonsu cheered and I watched the jellies, relieved that we were finally going back, Hwangbo Yul pointed at the jelly horde with a hesitant expression.

“So, do you have a way to transport them? Moving them conventionally is an option, but in that case... we’d lose the ability to stay covert.”

“That’s true. There’s… a lot of them.”

Kim Cheonsu sighed as he gazed at the jelly horde surrounding us.

Even I thought it was a lot.

After all, these were the ones spread across that enormous swamp, gathered into a single place. Of course there’d be a lot. The fact they weren’t increasing in number anymore was already a relief.

Kim Cheonsu sighed again while looking at the jelly horde, then turned to me.

“Don’t you have any ideas?”

“....”

Are you seriously asking me?

...Well, it’d be just as odd to ask Kim Cheonsu, a chef, about these creatures. I barely understand myself.

What should we do?

Clearly, we can’t use the boxes from before to transport them.

How many vehicles would it take to move all these jellies to where I came from?

I couldn’t even guess.

Since they wanted to move me discreetly, they’d need to find a solution.

After pondering for a while, two options came to mind.

One, leave the jellies here. Explaining things to them would be difficult, but considering they’ve acquired abilities from eating the meat chunks, maybe I could control them remotely and keep them in place.

I did feel some sort of connection with them. That’s probably why the girl-shaped jelly was bouncing on Kim Cheonsu’s stomach.

But this option seemed risky.

What if they went out of control after I left? If they couldn’t resist hunger, they’d likely devour their surroundings.

That’d be Swamp Season 2, with a jelly-girl boss instead of a toad.

...And the boss they’d have to kill might even turn out to be me.

So, this option was off the table.

That left just one choice.

If we can’t transport them separately...

We transport them all at once.

Meaning...

I’ll swallow all the jellies.

It sounds odd, but ever since becoming a jelly, I’ve never felt full.

I’ve felt satisfied enough to stop or sensed danger if I didn’t eat, but I’ve never reached the point where I couldn’t eat anymore.

It’s like having a four-dimensional pocket to store items in.

While I could still taste flavors clearly, I had no complaints about that.

Anyways.

If I swallow them all, I should be able to bring them back. It’s probably the best solution. I also feel uneasy about leaving such an unmanageable number behind, so this kills two birds with one stone.

Yes, this is the best idea.

Being slim and lightweight even after eating a lot would make transport easy.

With that decided, I gestured to Kim Cheonsu and Hwangbo Yul by making a circle with my arms.

Noticing my gesture, their eyes widened as they stared at me.

Good.

They say to strike while the iron’s hot, so let’s do this now.

I want to return as quickly as possible and enjoy the rewards waiting for me. I also missed those waiting for me back there.

So, I sent a mental signal to the gathered jellies.

Join me. Come inside me now.

The reaction was immediate.

The jellies started swarming towards me.

“W-What the heck!? “

“Did you do this?”

Ignoring their surprised voices, I nodded silently and began absorbing the jellies into my body.

The sensation of the jellies entering my body was... not great. But finding a workable solution put me at ease.

...At least for now.

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