Days passed with Shizu remaining unconscious, but all four of us stayed hopeful for her survival.
She had nothing physically wrong with her, at least nothing that some potion could fix. That was one of the first things I tried, but it didn't do anything to help her condition.
Gradually, she seemed to age decades, no longer looking like the young woman I'd gotten to know, but that didn't stifle the closeness that's grown between us in the short time we'd spent together.
The trio and I remained at her side the entire time, waiting for Shizu to wake up again, but I was beginning to grow unsure that would happen.
The quiet of the cave was suddenly interrupted by a small, shallow gasp that grabbed our attention immediately. Shizu finally opened her eyes again and turned to look at Eren, Kaval, Gido, and me, smiling weakly after noticing us.
"Thank…goodness…you are all…safe…" she mumbled in a mere whisper, too tired to manage much else. "When I lost control of Ifrit…I feared the worst would happen…"
"Shhh…it's alright, Shizu, none of us were badly hurt." Eren kindly explains, sensing the worry in the woman's voice.
"Yeah, we're a B-ranked team, y'know!" Kaval declared with a chuckle.
Shizu smiled warmly at this.
"So bold, just like Hinata-chan…and enduring hardships with a smile, just like Yu-kun…my old students, now grown up…I wish I could've seen them one last time…" Shizu whispered wistfully to herself before she turned her dark eyes toward me.
"Slime-san…come closer…"
I hopped right to her side as she asked. Happy to see me, she smiled softly.
"You ate my curse…didn't you, Slime-san?"
"Yes, I did."
"It feels nice…to be free of that burden…but…I believe I won't last much longer without it."
"No!" I exclaimed, shocked. "You're going to get better!" I insisted, but Shizu just shook her head slightly at my assertion.
She fell silent for a moment, staring up at the cave's ceiling.
"Are you willing to hear the last wishes of this old woman?" she asks me calmly.
"Sh-shizu…n-no…you c-can't!" Eren sobbed off to the side, no longer able to contain her tears. Her two friends patted the girl on the back, both wearing sullen expressions of sadness.
"Y-yes…"
"I went on this journey…for two reasons…I was a teacher in Englesia…and my five young students…I was trying to find a way to save them from their fates. And my Demon Lord…the one I spoke with you about…I wanted to tell him off for what he did to me…just once…"
"I…"
I was at a complete loss for words. I'd never lost a single person close to me in either of my lives and I just didn't know how to handle this sort of thing. But, I needed to be strong and carry on Shizu's wishes; it was the least I could do for a fellow countryman and someone I consider my close friend.
"I'm just a slime, but I'll try my best to carry out those tasks for you, Shizu-san," I assured her.
"And you three…please stay safe…try your best not to be so reckless…"
Eren nodded her head, still sobbing.
"Yes, Shizu, I'll keep these two safe," Kaval answered.
"Same here. We won't go dyin' unnecessarily." Gido added.
Shizu, seeming satisfied with their answers, again turned her attention to me.
"I know this is selfish of me…but, can I ask you for one more thing of you?"
"Of course."
"Eat me."
"Wh-what!? I could never-"
"This cruel world…I don't want to be buried in it…please, eat me in the same way you did my curse so that I may rest within someone I know and trust. Someone from my true home. Please, Slime-san…no, Satoru-san…"
I glanced back at the trio and found them staring with even more shock and horror than I was, but they didn't say anything.
"If that's what you want, I will do it. By my name as Mikami Satoru and Rimuru Tempest, I will carry out your last wishes."
"Thank…you…"
Shizu's words barely escaped her lips before she seemed to drift off to sleep, likely one she'd never wake up from.
Shizu was gone.
Her once black hair had turned stark white; her fair skin was old and wrinkled now… just how old had she been? If slimes could cry, I'm sure I would right now; but there was something I needed to do.
"Um…" I said to the three humans behind me, the two men beginning to join Eren in her sobs. "P-please don't watch…"
If I was going to do this, I didn't want the last thing they saw of Shizu to be her disappearing.
[[Notice: Would you like to use the Unique Skill, [Predator]?]]
[[Yes/No]]
Yes.
I spread my body gently across Shizu, engaging my skill and leaving nothing behind.
[[Report.]] [Great Sage] said, [[Mimic: Human acquired. Would you like to mimic this species?]]
Uhh… for some reason, I hadn't ever thought that if I ate a human, I could gain that form again. Perhaps it's because I used to be human, so I could never think of eating one… though in hindsight it made sense, and despite all the perks I had as a slime, I missed that form. Scenes of my old life flashed across my mind, and I thought yes.
[Great Sage] did most of the work for me; I was pretty adept at using [Mimic] on my own now, but for new forms, it was still tricky. Before I knew it I was sitting on the ground, looking down at my new hands and feeling something familiar run down my cheeks.
I was crying.
I was also naked, I realized in horror, and quickly produced Shizu's cloak from my stomach to wrap around myself. Thankfully, Eren, Kaval, and Gido were still politely turned away.
"Um… you can look now," I whispered, feeling a little strange speaking with lips after so long. I hadn't taken a very good look at myself yet, just drew the white cloak tightly around myself and let the tears fall. My vision was strange, too–after getting used to [Magic Sense] it felt kind of limiting to see through human eyes.
All three turned around and stared at me in shock.
"Is that you, Rimuru?" Kaval asked.
"Yes…I don't look weird, do I?"
Their disbelieving stares are starting to make me feel self-conscious, and since I have little idea of my appearance, I'm starting to imagine the worst.
"No, it's just…you look like a smaller Shizu…" Eren muttered, wiping the tears out of her reddened eyes.
The two men nodded in agreement at her observation.
I did almost immediately realize that my form was a lot smaller than what I expected, but learning that I have a striking resemblance to Shizu is a surprise. It makes sense if you think about it, though, since I'm directly mimicking her form.
Suddenly, Eren springs forward and scoops me up into a tight hug.
"Let's all carry on Shizu's memory…together!" she declared.
The tears kept streaming as I let her hug me tightly, quickly joined by Kaval and Gido, all wanting to pay their final respects to our friend through me.
"We can't have you walking around naked like that, Rimuru!" Eren suddenly pointed out after everyone stifled their sobs and calmed down.
"I can just return to my usual form until I get some proper clothes, though…"
"No, no, I think I have something that should fit!"
Eren pulled out a fairly small bag with a strap and reached inside with one arm. The bag was much deeper than it seemed it should be by looking at it, covering Eren's arm all the way up to her shoulder.
"Oh, this is a bag enchanted with spatial magic. I got it as a gift from my cousin, actually. It's super useful!" she explained, seeing my confusion.
She soon pulled out something, her eyes lighting up and she said "Ah, there it is!"
She held it up for me to see, smiling gleefully.
"Uh…Eren?"
"Yeah?"
"Um…that's not…well…I don't think…could I maybe try on something a little less…girly?"
I tried to break it to her gently because I know that Eren is just trying to be nice here, but I'm reluctant to wear what she just picked.
"What do you mean, Rimuru? I think it would look cute on you!"
"Um, well, I'm sort of a… guy? But not really? I used to be, anyway, but…" I trailed off, not really wanting to start a massive tangent about my life story.
Eren just tilted her head to the side in response, confused by my answer, and I don't blame her. My explanation made no sense without context, I realized, so I need to try again or I'll get nowhere with this.
"I'm an otherworlder, just like Shizu-san…but a different type. I died in my previous world and got reincarnated here as a slime. I was a man in my previous life, but my new slime body…doesn't seem to be male or female. But, I still see myself as more of a man, so wearing that…"
"Oh! No wonder Shizu trusted you so much! Why didn't you tell us sooner, Rimuru?!"
"Well, that sounds like a pretty crazy story to me, Eren. I bet Rimuru wasn't sure we'd believe him." Gido pointed out.
"Yeah, I'm not saying I doubt you or anything, Rimuru, but I've never heard of anything like that happening before." Kaval shrugged.
"But Rimuru, aren't you using Shizu's body right now?" Eren asked.
"What?"
"I mean, you look a lot like her, just younger, so…"
"Nononono, I don't have what you're thinking! Like I just said, my body is genderless!"
That was actually the first part I checked a minute ago when I scoped out this form with [Magic Sense].
"Dang…and I was hoping I could see you in this…" Eren muttered, disappointed that I apparently just ruined her fun.
I sighed, eyeing the girlish clothing one more time with reluctance, and then back to Eren's sad face.
"Fine. I'll at least humor you by trying it on, okay? No promises that I'll wear it for more than a minute, though."
"Yay!" Eren cheered before immediately looking at the two men in the room. "Out, you two!"
"Wh-what?"
"I said leave the room!"
"Fine, fine. C'mon Kaval, let's wait outside."
Kaval shrugged, then obeyed, leaving me alone with Eren.
"Alright!" She turned back to me with a grin, "let's take off that cloak!"
"Ehhh!?" I squealed, leaning away instinctually. "Um… you're not gonna leave too?" I asked. I had kind of just assumed she'd give me the clothes and I'd change in a bush or something.
"Why would I?" Eren tilted her head innocently.
"I–it's just…" Dangit, the first time in my life a girl asks me to strip, and it's like this! "It feels weird!" I blurted out, having no other explanation.
"Aw, don't be shy!" Eren grinned teasingly. "You said there's nothing to show, right?"
"Well, yeah, but why'd you send Kaval and Gido out if you knew that!"
"Silly," Eren waved a finger in front of me like a scolding mother. "That's Shizu's form, remember? They don't need to see that."
"And you do!?"
"So are you gonna change or not?"
"I–I…" As I searched in vain for an excuse, Eren reached out. Before I knew it, she'd whisked the cloak away, and I was too flustered to stop her.
"Eee!" I shrieked in embarrassment as she lunged at me, shoving the new clothes over my head in one swift motion.
Eren stepped back with her hands on her hips, clearly satisfied with her handiwork. "You look so cute!" She squealed.
"I don't wanna look cute!" I protested. "I'm a man! A bastion of masculinity!"
"But look!" She said again, chanting some sort of spell that made this cool floating rectangle in the air. I could see my reflection in it, though it was hazier than a mirror and wobbled.
Right now I was wearing a long, short-sleeved tunic–one that was so big on me its hem brushed my knees. The sleeves were meant to be pretty high up, but on me, they almost covered my upper arm. The medium-blue cloth went well with my eyes and my new, silvery sky-colored hair. The only problem was I looked like a square, the massive shirt hanging off me with absolutely no contours.
"Ooh!" Eren said excitedly, "this will help!" She produced a silver sash and tied it around my waist, making me look a bit less like a kid in his parent's shirt (if still a bit makeshift.)
"I just don't have shoes that fit you…" Eren muttered in concern, putting a thoughtful finger on her lip.
"That's okay!" I immediately answered, "are you done now?"
"Oh, one more thing!" Eren grabbed my shoulders and turned me around, and I felt her tugging at my chin-length locks of hair.
"Wait, no!" I scrambled to get away, but Eren had my hair (or my slime, I guess,) in a death grip. "You're doing my hair too!?"
"Of course!" She insisted, "it completes the look!"
I sputtered, trying to come up with a convincing argument, but her hands moved quicker than any excuses I could dream up. She couldn't do a lot since my hair was so short, but I ended up with symmetrical braids going from my temples and meeting in the back–a bit reminiscent of a laurel.
"Are you done now?!" I asked again, getting close to my limit of patience.
Eren happily nodded and patted me on the top of my head.
I grabbed the hem of the tunic made into a dress, preparing to take it off, but Eren immediately stopped me.
"Let me show Kaval and Gido first!" she pleaded with puppy-dog eyes.
"Fine," I grumbled as she led me out of the cave by my wrist.
"Behold!" Without warning, she grabbed me by the armpits and hoisted me up, displaying all my girlified glory for the two men to see.
"R–" Kaval sputtered, snickered, then gave up and full-out laughed. "Rimuru!" He guffawed, "she got you good!"
"Shaddup," I whined, probably beet red (could slimes blush? Can I do that in human form? I'll have to check.)
[[Answer: Emotionally induced erythema is included in the functions of Mimic: Human.]]
Well thanks for that, Sage!
I think it was getting huffy with me, but that would be weird so I ignored it.
"Well, that is downright adorable," Gido smirked, walking over with Kaval.
"Isn't it!?" Eren cheered. "I showed Rimuru with Magic Reflection. It's cute, right?" She set me down and leaned over my shoulder from behind. I shrank away, intimidated by the sheer force of this woman's excitement. "Say it's cute, Rimuru!"
"It…" The words caught in my throat. I looked away, gritting my teeth and most definitely blushing. "It's cute," I admitted reluctantly.
"Yay!" Eren cheered, squeezing me in a hug from behind.
"So… can we try something else now?" I begged her.
"Aw…" Oh no, there's that sad face… "I worked really hard on this," she pouted.
You took ten minutes! I wanted to scream.
I desperately wanted to change, but it was not like I had anything better to wear, and I doubted that any outfits coming from Eren would be any more palatable than this one. Sighing in defeat, I decided to just leave things as they are to appease Eren; it's not like anyone but these three will see me like this anyway.
"Alright, I'll leave myself like this since it seems to make you so happy, Eren."
Eren smiled at this and nodded, satisfied with my answer. Then, I turned my attention to the two men who laughed at my appearance just a moment ago.
"Just don't laugh at me anymore for agreeing to this, okay you two?"
"Hehe, sure thing, Rimuru! I get how you feel too, just a little. Eren's played around with my hair once or twice and I just had to sit there and take it." Kaval answered.
"Yeah, I won't make fun of ya again, don't worry. I was just a little surprised you let her go that far with you, especially after I heard ya shouting about being a 'bastion of masculinity.'"
"Honestly, I'm kinda curious about what you looked like before dying, Rimuru," Kaval commented.
"You are? Um, I wasn't really anything special, just an average 37-year-old guy. I was exaggerating when I said I was a 'bastion of masculinity' ..."
I knew I could've shown them what I used to look like with [Thought Communication], but I honestly don't want their opinions on my previous self. I was kinda a failure as a man in the end and getting some color commentary on my appearance didn't really appeal to me.
"Well, Rimuru?" Kaval asked. "We need to head back to Blumund, but you're welcome to stay with us for a few days."
"Oh," I smiled, glancing back at the entrance to the Sealed Cave. "Uh, sure. I would like that."
The adventurers were very friendly with me, but as I walked with them back towards their home they all seemed pretty sad. Well, I was sad, too; enough that I didn't want to eat despite the fact that I'd missed it so much. I didn't want my first meal in my new life to be the trio's soggy rations anyway.
I didn't use human form around them often, first because it was a bit much to have them see me in such a girlish outfit… but I would also catch them staring at me with sad eyes. With [Magic Sense] I knew they did this for hours sometimes when we were walking, but they always looked away when I turned my head.
One day, as I bent over a pot of stew while considering tasting it, I caught sight of my reflection.
It was foggy, warped, and tinted orange, but the face staring back at me wasn't my own… it was Shizu's.
This wasn't my body.
That wasn't my face.
So eventually, I stopped using human form around my friends altogether.
Then came the fateful day. I was being carried in Eren's arms as the trio came to the edge of the forest; the same spot I'd once followed them to.
"Alright," I said as I hopped out of Eren's arms, making her squeal. "I guess this is goodbye."
"Aw, really, Rimuru?" She was starting to pout, crouching down and patting my slime body. "You'd be welcome to come with us. I'll explain everything to the guild."
"Um…" Back to that settlement? Back with humans? The offer tempted me, but my last experience proved I at least needed a way to become less conspicuous first. I don't know how they even noticed me the first time, but that just proved my point.
"Nah," I decided. "I don't think I should. Besides!" Trying to put up a more cheerful mood, I leaped onto Kaval's shoulder. "I still need to map the rest of this forest for you guys. I'll come by once I have a complete map for you."
"Really?" Gido looked at me in surprise. "This forest is–huge–you know!"
"Sure," I said, "but I bet I can cover it, and I have a human form now." I returned to Shizu's form, just this once, despite the sad glint in their eyes. "Once I get the hang of it, I should be able to get far enough in town to find you guys."
"We'll tell the Guildmaster about you so you don't have any trouble when you show up," Kaval promised me.
"Thanks," I smiled. "That means a lot to me." Maybe next time wouldn't be so bad after all.
"We'll be back when we can!" Eren threw her arms around me. I let her for a moment before returning to slime form.
"Alright, I'll see you!" I waved them off with a little slime arm as they walked away until they vanished over the crest of the hill.