Everyone, the heavens collapsed while I was asleep. Mr. Sli turned into a bad woman!
“W-why did Mr. Sli turn into Anna?!”
Rozelite was dumbfounded.
“…If I’m going downstairs to buy food, I can’t exactly go in my original sli form, can I?”
Russell was speechless.
“No, that’s still… Wait, that’s not the point!”
Rozelite scratched at her head in frustration.
“I an… um, why can Mr. Sli suddenly turn into a human?”
Russell folded his arms, letting out a long, weary sigh.
“Correction. This isn’t becoming human. It’s just 【Mimicry】 and 【Shapeshift】 disguising as human. I’ve always been able to do it, but one, I had no suitable form before, and two, I couldn’t leave your body, so I never had the chance.”
“……”
Rozelite’s mouth dropped open.
She had a thousand things she wanted to say, but in the end, all she managed to choke out was: “So Mr. Sli… is actually a girl?”
“Mm?” Russell tilted his head.
“Slis don’t have genders. But if I had to pick, I’m a man.”
“You’re a man… yet you took on a girl’s form?”
“I could use other forms too. But I can only mimic two humanoid appearances in total. Would you prefer to use the bandit forms from that alley ambush instead?”
“But…”
Rozelite’s face twisted in tangled emotion, as if constipated.
Not sure what she was so conflicted about, Russell simply lifted his skirt to show her.
Rozelite froze.
Beneath the hem, where a woman’s most vital part should have been, there was only pale-blue sli.
“Whether 【Mimicry】 or 【Shapeshift】, it’s only disguise to a certain degree. The inside and essence don’t change. Just because I look human doesn’t an I function like one. And given the skill levels, the precision is limited.”
“I see…”
Rozelite muttered to herself.
For so reason, she felt… relieved.
From beneath the skirt, a tentacle reached out, fishing a few copper coins from under her pillow. After being non-human so long, Russell felt his tentacles were far more practical than fake arms.
“Now, lie down and rest a while. I’ll bring your food up,” Russell said, turning and leaving the room.
Creaaak—
The wooden door closed softly.
Rozelite lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Though her body was weary, she had no sleepiness at all.
It was like lying exposed outdoors, where even the wind gave her goosebumps. She turned carefully, unable to close her eyes in peace.
Ti trickled away.
Every second felt like an eternity.
After a while, footsteps ca from the corridor outside.
Russell pushed the door open with a tentacle beneath his skirt, carrying a tray in both hands.
“All right, get up and eat first. Sleep after.”
“Oh.”
Rozelite sat up obediently.
Dinner was simple: at soup, bread, and so stew.
Nibbling in small bites, she asked softly, “Mr. Sli, won’t you have so too?”
Russell shook his head.
“I don’t need it. You eat.”
“Oh.”
Rozelite nodded and continued eating.
Russell: “……”
What was up with this child?
Why was she suddenly so well-behaved?
“Um, Mr. Sli…” Rozelite whispered, “after I finish eating, will you… co back in?”
“…Co back in.”
That sounded wrong sohow.
After a mont of silence, Russell said, “I haven’t ntioned this, but your injuries are almost healed. I don’t need to stay inside you to maintain your state anymore. Do you understand what I an?”
“…So, Mr. Sli is leaving?”
Rozelite’s face paled.
“Not leaving, exactly. It’s more like, you don’t need anymore.”
Russell spoke calmly.
At first, he had only used Rozelite as a tool to escape the labyrinth. But after his goal was achieved, he couldn’t bring himself to abandon her, so he had remained inside her body.
It wasn’t because he was a bleeding heart, nor from saintly kindness.
It was simply that, as an adult, he couldn’t ignore a child struggling in desperation.
But now Rozelite was no longer in 【Severely Injured】 status.
He had no more reason to stay.
“But…”
Rozelite bit her lip.
“But didn’t Mr. Sli make a promise? That this was a deal—you’d return to the human world, and I’d help you find a way to beco human…”
“That was only to calm you down and help you accept reality,” Russell said plainly.
“Don’t take it too seriously.”
“How could you…”
Rozelite panicked.
A way to beco human didn’t have to be found through her.
After all, that was human territory.
Searching there for a thod to make monsters human was far too dangerous. Not to ntion, Rozelite was a princess—an identity far too sensitive.
It would be far safer to head to demon-dense regions or other labyrinths, devouring monster after monster.
Eventually, he’d obtain the skill to beco human.
If it took five years, so be it. Fifty years, fine. Even five hundred or five thousand years—he would persist.
His determination to beco human would never waver.
As for the ti it would take… he didn’t care.
Sotis the long way around was the shortest path.
After much thought, Russell said, “So… perhaps it’s ti we parted ways.”
“No.”
“Rozelite, what I just said—”
“I said no!”
Her raised voice cut him off.
Rozelite lifted her head sharply, tears shimring in her eyes.
Russell sighed.
“But all good things must co to an end…”
“Why… why say such things?!”
Rozelite clenched her fists as tears spilled freely.
“I don’t want Mr. Sli to suddenly leave! We’ve supported each other all this way, we already promised to return together! Why say this out of nowhere?! Is it because I’m a burden? But I’ve been trying so hard! I’ll keep working harder, until one day I can help you too! Isn’t it fine for us to keep moving forward together?! I’ve never thought of us parting ways!”
As she cried out, Rozelite suddenly shoved the table aside and dropped to her knees before Russell.
Clutching his hand, tears streaming, she pleaded.
“Please, Mr. Sli, I promise I won’t hold you back anymore! If you’ll just stay, I’ll do anything!”
Russell: “……”
Diagnosis: prolonged vegetarian diet.
He hadn’t expected Rozelite’s reaction to be this extre.
It was clear she was overly dependent on him now.
Which was precisely why he thought he should leave.
But in the end, he couldn’t be as heartless as a runaway heiress, spitting cruel words to sever ties.
Parting would co soday.
But for now, there was still ti.
“In that case, let’s make a new pact.”
Russell said, “From now on, we walk together. Never betray, never abandon. Different bodies, one heart. Live and die as one. In other words—a bond of fate.”
“Yes!”
Rozelite nodded vigorously.
She clasped Russell’s outstretched hand and rose to her feet.
A bond of fate…
How wonderful.
////////////////////////////
T/N: Diagnosis: prolonged vegetarian diet.
It’s a joke implying: “This kid is acting way too emotional and clingy, like soone who hasn’t eaten at in forever and is starved.”
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