Li En returned to his lord's cabin, eager to check whether Rimuru's ice crystal had begun to melt.
As he stepped inside, warmth from the fireplace enveloped him.
The massive ice crystal that had encased the bathtub earlier was now completely gone.
"Rimuru?"
Delighted at the possibility that the ice had melted, he hurried over.
Inside the wooden tub, all that remained was a slumbering girl.
Haa~ Haa~ Fuu~ Fuu~
Her face was innocent and peaceful, long lashes resting over closed eyes. Her delicate skin had a faint translucence under the light from the window, and her wavy, light-blue hair spilled into the water.
A dark-blue lolita-style dress complemented her fair complexion.
Like a youthful, adorable little princess, she exhaled tiny bubbles with each breath.
Seeing Rimuru's sleeping face, Li En found her almost unbearably cute.
Gently, he shook her, trying to wake her up.
"Hey, wake up."
"Mmm~ Just five more minutes…" Rimuru replied in a milky, drowsy voice.
"Come on, look who's here."
Rimuru cracked one eye open, gave Li En a bleary glance, and promptly shut it again.
"Lemme sleep a bit more, haa~ fuu~"
Hearing her plea, Li En gave up on waking her.
He sat down against the tub and pulled up Rimuru's status panel.
[Name: Rimuru]
[Race: Demi-Human / Slime]
[Rank: S-Class]
[Class: Warrior]
[Level: 6 (324/600) (Tier 1) (Current Cores: 1)]
[Attributes: Strength 20, Agility 14, Intelligence 9, Spirit 5, Constitution 22]
[Skills: Slime Impact (Can transform into a giant slime to crush enemies), Slime Secretion (Converts body into corrosive liquid to dissolve objects), Division (Splits into weaker copies based on core count)]
[Talents: S-Class Mimicry (Temporarily mimics the appearance and mannerisms of consumed targets but cannot replicate their skills), A-Class Gourmet (Slimes have an excellent appetite—no dietary restrictions. First-time consumption of a new species increases size and HP by 20%), D-Class Chef (Due to gourmet talent, can cook food—though dishes often come with traces of slime secretion, much to diners' dismay. Note: Some find this… uniquely flavorful.)]
[Satiety: 5]
[Loyalty: 100]
"Her level dropped quite a bit," Li En mused.
Earlier, he had seen Rimuru crystallize, her energy continuously leaking out—energy that the wolf girl had been steadily absorbing.
But unlike normal slimes, which turn to ice only after exhausting their mana, Rimuru had been losing mana because of her frozen state.
This was something Li En had never encountered before.
First, he had summoned Shire via the recruitment tome, meaning she had died and become a spirit.
Now, Rimuru had been sealed in ice—alive, but trapped.
Does this mean some of my former harem members are dead, while others are still alive somewhere?
Does that mean I'll have to search for them instead of just summoning them all at once?
The thought filled him with anguish.
"Gods of Genesis designers… Do you have any idea how much this hurts?" he wailed.
Before he could wallow in despair, several blue tentacles yanked him into the tub.
"Ack—!"
The world spun as he tumbled into the water, splashing half of it onto the floor.
Flat on his back like an overturned turtle, he stared at the ceiling—only to see part of the water on him coalesce into the upper half of a girl's body.
"En-en!" Rimuru chirped excitedly.
"Rimuru?"
"It's really En-en!" She pounced, pressing her face against his, slime dripping onto his cheeks.
The sensation was like overflowing jelly—smooth and slippery—though Li En was still in full armor.
"Wait, hold on—Rimuru, first tell me: why were you in that cave?"
"Rimuru couldn't find En-en. Where did you go? Why did you disappear?" She tilted her head in confusion.
Before he could answer, she shrugged and giggled.
"But it's okay now! En-en is here, ehehe~"
"Wait, seriously, Rimuru—"
"En-en… Rimuru is hungry." She licked her lips.
"…Fine."
Li En pulled out some slime cores from his system inventory and began feeding them to her one by one.
Rimuru absorbed each core, merging it into her body.
Next, he offered her some spider meat from yesterday's loot.
He watched as the spider legs dissolved inside her without any corrosive damage to himself—proof of Rimuru's precise control over her secretions.
Soon, her [Satiety: 100] was reached.
"Nn~ En-en, Rimuru wants more." She rubbed her lower abdomen.
Li En knew exactly what she meant.
"Alright, but help me take off my armor first. And we're staying in the tub."
Rimuru grinned before morphing into a giant, gelatinous slime.
Her maw stretched wide—then gulp!
Li En vanished inside her, his armor clattering to the floor.
…
Some time later, Li En crawled out of the tub, looking thoroughly drained.
After a morning of intense combat, his afternoon had been… equally strenuous.
His partially recovered mana was now fully depleted again.
He trudged to the fireplace to dry off.
[Ding! Intimate Touch activated. Select a skill or talent to copy.]
Li En chose [No.]
Rimuru reverted to human form, peeking over the tub's edge.
Honestly, she was fascinating—sometimes fluid like water, sometimes soft like jelly, sometimes elastic like rubber, and sometimes dense like clay.
A single entity with endless textures.
Li En handed her fire and ice elemental crystals to absorb.
With the fire crystal, her skin glowed crimson, radiating warmth.
With the ice crystal, she turned frost-blue, exuding a gentle chill.
"This is the best we can do for now, but at least extreme heat and cold won't bother you anymore," he murmured.
"Rimuru."
"Yes, En-en?"
"We have a guest to entertain."
A mischievous smile curled on his lips.