Rubber Human Project 4: Wait, Why Is That Actually Real?!
Serian screamed inside her own head. That sticky, squishy, overwhelmingly visceral sight. The translucent monster filling the entire cage. A mimic slime—something that should only exist in the tropical swamps at the southern tip of the continent—was wriggling and alive, staring straight at her.
The perfect stalling tactic she had counted on to buy her at least a full year had turned to ashes in a single instant.
…This can’t be happening.
It really was a genuine mimic slime. How on earth had things come to this?
Serian realized yet again that her plan was veering wildly off course and felt despair wash over her.
Why does everything I say immediately go wrong?!
She was on the verge of losing her mind completely. In all her life, Serian had almost never experienced a plan of hers falling apart. Reaching 2-star mage before entering the academy, solving long-standing alchemy conundrums, graduating at the top of her class, earning her appointment as special development officer—every single one of her life goals had unfolded exactly as scheduled.
Those repeated successes had created a virtuous cycle of self-confidence and belief in her own competence. Yet ever since her memories returned, nothing seemed to follow the script she had written. She was starting to feel genuinely disappointed in this newly incompetent version of herself.
Hiiing…
Just in case, she examined the mimic slime more closely. Maybe it only looked similar on the surface. Maybe it was injured or defective in some way. But no matter how she looked at it, the creature was in peak condition.
Damn it all…
There was nothing to do but feel disappointed. This time she had been certain—absolutely one hundred percent certain—of success. That was why she had spent the whole night excitedly drafting the project proposal.
Serian’s face fell with disappointment. Of course, since her expressions rarely showed on the outside, to everyone else she simply looked cold and indifferent as always. The only person who might have noticed the subtle shift was Ella, but the senior officer who had accompanied her as adjutant was in no state to study Serian’s expression.
Her face had gone deathly pale, and she had unconsciously retreated several steps backward.
“Hiiik—!”
That was right. The mimic slime was originally a boss monster that lived in swamps. The aura rolling off it was on an entirely different level. Combined with its overwhelmingly massive size and grotesque, hideous appearance, the effect was devastating.
Ella, who had spent her entire career in the Armaments Bureau fiddling with blueprints and prototypes and possessed zero real combat experience, could only stagger back beneath that crushing pressure. Her breathing had grown ragged and cold sweat beaded on her skin.
“Hoo…”
Second Prince Kaion stared at Serian with astonished eyes. He had walked countless battlefields and taken part in subjugation missions against every imaginable monstrous beast. Yet even for him, something this gigantic and alien was unfamiliar. Even a veteran like him felt a momentary wave of revulsion and bewilderment.
But Serian didn’t even blink. Far from being startled, she actually took another step closer to the cage. Those signature cold, expressionless features and clear blue eyes simply studied the enormous monster, calmly assessing the condition and value of this new experimental material that had fallen into her hands.
Although it had to be her first time seeing one in the flesh, she showed neither surprise nor hesitation.
As expected… she really is no ordinary person.
Kaion was impressed. Before her appointment as development officer she had been nothing more than a noble young lady with no battlefield experience whatsoever… yet her courage and spirit could rival any battle-hardened veteran.
Inside the Armaments Bureau’s alchemy laboratory, a massive reinforced-glass cylinder stretched all the way to the ceiling. Trapped inside it was the mimic slime that had been delivered only yesterday.
From this afternoon onward, Serian had planned to bring Golden Hand Hersene and the rest of the Bureau team to demonstrate the potion-making process. Yet here she was, having come alone long before dawn.
The reason was simple: an inexplicable anxiety had taken hold of her.
After so many consecutive failures(?), her confidence had plummeted. The thought What if… I fail this time too? had kept her awake all night.
Of course, her overall plan hadn’t gone completely off the rails yet. Obtaining the mimic slime faster than expected was an unforeseen bonus, but the true core of the “Rubber Potion” project lay elsewhere.
The entire point—the beautiful kick of failure—was that rubber could not withstand excessive voltage like a lightning strike. In other words, it would burn. Therefore the plan remained perfectly valid. All she had to do was feed the monster rubber-tree sap as if nothing were wrong and complete the potion normally. If she managed that, the project would fail successfully(?).
…….
However, after so many failures Serian had turned into a complete coward. Even the “obvious failure” now seemed suspicious. If some unexpected variable caused her to succeed in front of everyone, it would already be too late. So she had come early to test the potion herself first.
“Is it tasty?”
Chomp, chomp. On the other side of the thick glass, the mimic slime was greedily devouring an entire sack of rubber-tree sap. Its cheeks had puffed out adorably. A round, bouncy slime.
It was still hideous, but those big eyes and perfectly spherical body made the sight of it chewing away… just a tiny, teensy, minuscule bit… cute.
Ahem.
While Serian was lost in silly thoughts, the slime suddenly stopped chewing. Its whole body trembled as if gathering strength.
“Done!”
Then the sticky, irregular mass began to change shape. The hideous green hue faded, replaced by a soft ivory color. Its surface turned smooth, glossy, and matte. The transformation into rubber slime was complete.
…Wait a second. This…
Huh? The mimic slime she remembered was a vicious green monster. Yet every trace of ferocity had vanished. Now it had glossy skin, a perfectly round body, and those big, somewhat dopey-looking eyes. It had become something else entirely.
Is this really the same hideous monster I knew?
This was totally…
Without hesitation she opened the reinforced-glass door and stepped inside. Then she rushed straight at the slime that now resembled a giant pudding.
Whoosh!
Serian threw her arms around it and buried her face in its body.
This was super—kawaii!!!
When she squeezed even harder, the slime flinched and tried to pull away. Hehe, how cute. Having been kept locked up since it was young, it seemed far more timid than aggressive—like an elephant raised in chains that never learns to resist.
She grabbed the slime’s surface with a gloved hand and pulled.
Sluuuuurp—
It stretched astonishingly far. When she let go, it snapped back with a resonant boiiiing! Perfect rubber properties.
Those soft, plump cheeks stretching out like that? This was pure mochi mochi bliss!
A satisfied smile spread across Serian’s face. Hehe. You pass. You definitely pass.
Right, then slowly now…
Serian brushed off her work clothes and stood. Then she pulled a dagger from her pocket.
The moment the cold blade appeared, the slime instinctively retreated all the way to the far wall. The sight of it flattening itself against the glass and trembling pitifully almost made her feel guilty.
Hmm. Sorry!
Slice.
The sharp edge neatly cut away a portion of the slime. Preparation for the rubber potion was now complete.
“Ta-da!”
Inside the glass bottle before her sat a pale cheese-colored potion. She had named it “Rubber Potion mk.1.”
Hmm… she had made it, but who should she test it on?
. . .
“May I ask… what exactly this is, my lady?”
Kaizen, her ever-loyal blade, looked down at her. The captain of the Night Ghosts had rushed to her urgent summons without hesitation. He held his breath.
An emergency call at the crack of dawn. She had summoned him alone, without anyone else in the Armaments Bureau knowing. This could only be an extremely classified mission of the highest importance. And the heart of that mission was surely contained in the glass bottle before him.
“First… please take off your clothes.”
Serian’s indifferent words carried no emotion whatsoever on her poker face. But at that single sentence, Kaizen’s mind went completely blank.
Take… off my clothes?
He doubted his own ears. Yet she continued to stare at him with that same expressionless face.
Surely she didn’t mean— Kaizen’s gaze wavered. Early dawn. A private laboratory with only the two of them. The empire’s hero had secretly called him here, to this empty place at this hour… for that kind of reason? Because she could no longer hold back her desires…?
But she was his superior! This would violate military regulations…!
Kaizen was thrown into utter confusion. Yet he was a hot-blooded young man in his twenties. His body reacted with complete honesty. His eyes unconsciously traced Serian’s figure.
She looked different from her usual neat and tidy self. Silver hair slightly disheveled from working through the night, heavy dark circles under her eyes, and an expression made languid by exhaustion. All of it gave off a decadent, somehow seductive atmosphere.
Of course, Lady Serian was a fully grown adult. The elegant curves that even her crisp uniform couldn’t hide and her breathtaking beauty created an overwhelming, one-of-a-kind aura that would captivate anyone who saw her.
The soldiers’ worshipful nickname of “Goddess” came not only from her brilliant achievements and charismatic leadership—her dazzling appearance played a very large part as well.
So claiming he had never once had such thoughts about her would be a lie.
…How dare I entertain such blasphemous ideas right now!
But to any observer, it was clear that Serian currently desired his body. In this situation, what was he supposed to do?
Would someone like me… even be acceptable? To dare lay hands on such a sacred person…
But…!
But if it was an order from the development officer…! If the person in question was Lady Serian…! For her sake, he would offer this one body…!
Kaizen’s face flushed bright red. Having reached a solemn decision, he spoke with a grave expression.
“Understood. This Kaizen will gladly…!”
And so Kaizen resolved to offer his chastity for the goddess he worshipped and the empire’s bright future. Once again, he had begun making the worst misunderstanding of his life.