Do or Die: You Die, I Die
What the hell is this ridiculous situation?
Suddenly, Pudding’s body split into multiple copies and started rolling everywhere.
They were a little rounder than usual, but otherwise they looked exactly like Pudding. It was as if a bunch of Puddings had appeared at once. Very small ones, though.
Identical slimes rolled in every direction, yet one remained in place, tilting its head. That had to be the main body.
“Pudding, your bodies are running away. Are you okay with that?”
I stared in bewilderment, but the real Pudding only tilted its head as if the whole thing struck it as odd.
When I scooped up one of the rolling copies, the tiny clone tilted its head exactly like the main body.
Okay… this is cute.
Just by being smaller, it was genuinely adorable.
The clone in my hand wriggled against my skin and began sucking at it. The cool, ticklish feeling made me laugh before I could stop myself, and the little clone tilted its head again.
Meanwhile the other copies kept rolling along or pausing to snatch up small insects. They were doing exactly what Pudding normally did.
“P-P-Pudding!”
“It had babies!”
“Baby Puddings!”
“Good job, Pudding!”
The children must have been on their way to gather duck eggs. They came running over in a noisy rush.
Every time they ran, the empty baskets on their backs clattered loudly.
The kids chased the tiny clones in total chaos.
“Teacher, the babies are eating bugs.”
“The baby’s eating poop. Is that okay?”
“What if it gets a stomachache?”
“You can’t eat poop until you’re bigger! You’ll get sick!”
The children darted around trying to stop the clones from eating dung and rescuing any that tumbled into holes. I couldn’t get a word in edgewise.
Even if I had, the overexcited kids probably wouldn’t have heard me.
Suddenly Kkoma Daejang looked around with a pale face and shouted.
“Pudding’s gone! Teacher, Pudding disappeared!”
The other children finally noticed and their faces went white.
“W-where did Pudding go?”
“Teacher, did Pudding die?”
They asked, but it was clear they had no interest in listening to my answer.
Before I could speak, one child began trembling violently.
“There was an auntie in our village who died giving birth. Did the same thing happen to Pudding?”
I told them no, but the words never reached them.
Even though the main Pudding stood right there blinking, they started running around searching for it.
Ji-geu had been crying nonstop ever since he heard Pudding was missing, wandering everywhere in a panic.
“Pudding… Pudding…”
One child clutched three tiny clones to his chest, collapsed onto the ground, and began to sob loudly.
That set the rest of them off. All the children threw themselves down and wailed.
Hey, kids, listen to me for a second.
“Pudding didn’t die. It just split into several bodies. The ones you’re holding are all Pudding. The main one is that guy in the middle tilting its head.”
I repeated myself several times before it finally sank in.
Sniffling, the children looked at the main body.
They glanced at the clones in their arms, then back at the main body, and tilted their own heads in confusion.
“Teacher, why did Pudding get so small?”
“Will it grow again?”
“Having more than one is nice, but… it doesn’t feel like our Pudding anymore.”
“What do we do?”
Still sniffling, they poured out everything on their minds.
I had no idea either. What on earth was happening?
Was this how slimes normally split and multiplied, or would they merge back together later? I genuinely didn’t know.
The main Pudding slipped past the children and came closer to me.
It let out a happy kkur kkur sound, as if pleased with itself.
Beyond it, I spotted one clone the children hadn’t caught. The little thing was busy swallowing an insect bigger than itself.
Main body or clone, they all seemed to do the same work. Only the main body could speak, though. The others stayed silent.
“But are you really okay with this?”
When I asked, Pudding stretched out a long tentacle and grabbed my finger.
It pulled itself up, and the moment it reached my palm it slyly nudged the original clone I was holding right off.
The clone landed on the ground with a wet splat but of course wasn’t hurt at all. It simply tilted its head as if nothing had happened.
At first Pudding was a little startled, but it soon realized this was the same thing the original main body used to do long ago.
Every so often the old main body would divide part of itself into tiny pieces to explore around the nest or catch food.
Until now, the small Puddings that split off had never been able to manage it.
But now they could.
Kkur… kkur…
That wasn’t the important part, though.
From its master came the sparkling taste of “cute.” The flavor glittered and danced.
Pudding had been wondering how to earn more praise and affection, and now it had the answer.
When it licked the master’s palm, the taste of “cute” was unmistakable.
Perfect.
Well done, me. Truly excellent work.
Pudding praised itself lavishly and clung tightly to its master.
From now on the clones could handle the chores while Pudding stayed glued to the master, soaking up love.
That had been the plan, but it seemed Pudding’s power was still insufficient.
The clones that had been catching bugs or wriggling in the children’s arms began returning.
Instinct told them they couldn’t stay separated any longer. They all rushed back at once.
As they did, the master murmured, “These are really cute.”
The children were making just as much noise about how adorable they were.
Ah, cute me is loved.
Pudding absorbed this vital truth and began pondering the future.
What should it do to become even cuter?
Maybe split into even smaller pieces?
While it licked up the sparkling motes of light drifting from the master, Father-Priest’s voice rang out.
“Oh my goodness! What is this? How adorable. So, so cute!”
At Father-Priest’s voice, the master’s body temperature rose.
The feeling of “cute” in the master’s light motes increased dramatically.
It seemed Father-Priest’s voice was cuter than Pudding’s smaller body.
Kku… kkuu…
Pudding tried to imitate Father-Priest’s voice but couldn’t manage it. Only its usual sound came out.
“How adorable. To think it could become this small—Pudding really is the cutest.”
Father-Priest stroked Pudding gently.
Hmm. This is nice too.
Father-Priest carried a lot of the master’s scent, and the energy she gave off felt wonderful.
Kkur… kkur… The sound came out on its own.
“It sounds like a cat purring,” Father-Priest said.
The master smiled softly at her words.
Ah, this is good. This atmosphere is perfect.
Pudding stretched its tentacles and wrapped them around both the master’s and Father-Priest’s fingers.
When the two of them looked at each other and smiled, happy light motes poured from the master and sparkled through the air.
Pudding finally understood why Popcorn had brought Father-Priest.
She made the master very—extremely—happy.
And the happy light motes the master released brought joy to every spirit, not just Pudding.
The spirits gathered cheerfully, breathing in great lungfuls of the motes and laughing brightly.
The light and the spirits danced together.
The master’s motes clung to the spirits’ wings and bodies, spreading happiness even farther.
Kkur… kkur…
For some reason Pudding felt like it might cry. It tightened the tentacles holding the master and Father-Priest.
Of course nothing like tears could come from Pudding’s body… wait.
Pudding tilted its head.
Round droplets like water rolled out of its body.
“What is this now? It looks like some kind of capsule?”
The master caught the droplet that rolled into his palm, lifted it to eye level, and studied it quietly.
Unlike the light motes Pudding had produced until now, these droplets were encased in a thin membrane of the same material as Pudding’s body.
They looked exactly like the rabbit droppings it had been collecting around the fields and forest.
Kkur…?
Somehow Pudding felt these were incredibly valuable.
It didn’t know what they were for, of course.
That was always the case.
Pudding never fully understood the effects of the substances its body produced.
It knew only one thing.
Everything that came from Pudding’s body was created out of the desire to make its master happy.
It wasn’t sure, but these droplets were probably doing something similar to what the Sprout that Popcorn cherished so much did.
In any case, they must be what the master needed right now.
Pudding tried to squeeze out more tears, but no matter how hard it tried, no additional droplets appeared.
Kkur…
While it sulked, all the clones climbed up the master’s body and began merging back into the main one.
“It’s getting big again!”
“That’s amazing.”
“I thought having lots of Puddings was nice too.”
The children crowded around the master, chattering noisily as they watched.
Father-Priest’s eyes had gone perfectly round. She must have been very surprised.
When the master smiled at her, she opened and closed her mouth a few times before finally speaking.
“I knew the legendary slime was supposed to be amazing, but this is beyond anything I imagined. This world really is a beautiful place. I’m astonished.”
More happy light motes burst from the master as he looked at her, and the spirits grew even more excited.
Pudding felt moved all over again.
Ah, this is truly wonderful.
A pleasant shiver ran through its body and another droplet rolled out.
Kkur…?
It didn’t know why this one had appeared either, but that was fine.
The master smiled gently and stroked Pudding’s head.
“I don’t know what kind of medicine this is, but good work, legendary slime.”
At the master’s words, Father-Priest’s lips pursed into a pout.
“Are you teasing me?”
“Haha.”
The master’s laughter spread warmly.
When Pudding sucked on his palm, the happy energy flowed straight into its body.
Father-Priest really was important.
Popcorn might be sneaky, but there was no choice but to acknowledge it.
That guy was incredible.
To be able to make the master this happy.
Just as Pudding was thinking that, a pipi sound rang out.
When it looked up, Popcorn was shooting toward them like an arrow.
Kkur…
You’re sneaky, but I’ll admit you’re amazing.
That was what Pudding meant to say, but the moment Popcorn reached the master it flung the baby spirit into the air.
Sparkling light poured from the baby spirit’s body.
“Oh my, until now it hasn’t produced any light at all. It can do it now.”
“And it grew an antenna on its head. Just one little antenna, but it somehow makes it cuter.”
In an instant, the master’s and Father-Priest’s attention shifted completely to Popcorn and the baby spirit.
After finally getting to bask in their affection.
…
That guy really was the enemy.
Pudding stretched out a long tentacle and grabbed Popcorn. The little spirit squirmed and cried pipi.
It was on purpose.
It could have escaped easily if it wanted.
Angry now, Pudding sent out several more tentacles and squeezed tight.
When the baby spirit clung to the tentacles as if trying to rescue Popcorn, Father-Priest murmured,
“How cute… it’s trying to save its friend.”
The master’s voice came from above.
“Pudding, you have to get along. Why are you being so grumpy?”
Kkur…
That Popcorn.
That rotten little—
Fine. This is all-out war. A life-or-death battle. You die, I die.
Still gripping Popcorn with its tentacles, Pudding launched itself into the air.
The added weight sent Popcorn plummeting toward the ground.
The two of them tumbled across the dirt, tangled together, and began to fight.
“Why do these two never get along?”
The master’s muttered words drifted over faintly.