The Honey-Ball Gambit
Serian hurried toward the alchemy laboratory, drawn by Ella’s urgent voice. “Chief! You’re here?!” As the heavy blast door swung open, she found Golden Hand Hersene and the entire alchemy team already gathered inside. Through the observation window, a few staff members were frantically wrestling with the Mimic Slime. The creature had reverted to its original form now that its transformation time had run out. Gone was the soft, adorable rubbery shape from that morning—in its place was the hideous, sticky, original green blob.
“What on earth is going on?” Serian asked as she approached. Hersene greeted her like a savior. “Ah, Chief! Perfect timing!”
“Don’t we still have some time before the meeting?”
“Well… we thought we’d get everything ready before you demonstrated it yourself. We tried feeding it rubber tree sap to keep it in its mutated state, but…” A deep look of distress crossed Hersene’s face. “The thing is—”
“The thing is?”
“That Mimic Slime… it absolutely refuses to eat the rubber tree sap.”
“Huh? It was eating it just fine earlier,” Serian muttered without thinking.
Hersene’s eyes widened. “…Earlier?”
“Ahem. Anyway, let me take a look.”
Serian cleared her throat and gestured for the staff inside the glass enclosure to leave. Then, without hesitation, she stepped inside herself.
“There, there… be a good boy, Chorong. It’s bad to be picky.”
Serian whispered gently to the massive slime. At some point she had even come up with a name for it!
“Ch-Chorong…?” Ella, who had followed her in, echoed in surprise.
Whitey is white, so he’s Whitey! Chorong is green, so… Greeny? No, his eyes are so bright and sparkly, so Chorong! It was the profound and flawless naming sense one would expect from a genius.
“H-hmm… I see. That’s… cute, Chorong.” Ella forced an awkward smile. Calling something that big and grotesque Chorong… was there a more mismatched nickname in existence? As expected… geniuses really do have their eccentric sides… She nodded vigorously, trying to convince herself.
“Chorong~ Come here.” Serian approached the slime with a sack full of rubber tree sap. But—
KWEEEEEEEEEK—!
Chorong let out a ferocious roar completely unlike its gentle morning demeanor and swelled up threateningly. Hmm. Looks like there really is a problem.
“You were eating it fine before… Come here.” The moment Serian took one step closer, the slime dragged its gooey body in terror and fled to the corner of the wall.
“Tsk! Just eat it! Eat!”
Finally losing her patience, Serian shoved the massive sack straight into the part of the slime that looked like a mouth. Chomp chomp— Only after being force-fed did it reluctantly begin to chew. Seeing Chorong’s cheeks puff up again, Serian nodded in satisfaction.
“Good! That’s right, you have to eat a lot to grow big and strong.”
“Um, Serian,” Ella asked cautiously from behind. “Doesn’t it… look like it’s suffering?”
“Suffering?”
Just as Ella said, although Chorong was chewing, its large eyes were squeezed shut. Its squishy green body was trembling violently as if in spasms. And then—
URRRRRP—!
Chorong suddenly opened its mouth wide. The rubber tree sap it had been force-fed came gushing back out.
“?? What the— Why is it spitting it out?”
While Serian stood there dumbfounded, tap tap tap! Someone knocked on the thick reinforced glass. When she turned, she saw Kaizen standing there, now neatly dressed in a brand-new uniform.
Oh right… I did tell him to follow me.
She had called him in advance because the real experiment would need a test subject… or rather, a guinea pig! The reinforced glass of this lab was specially made—once sealed, it completely blocked all sound from the outside.
Does he want me to come out?
Kaizen was gesturing for her to step outside for a moment. Serian left Ella in charge and exited the enclosure.
“What is it, Lieutenant? Do you have something to say?”
“By any chance… Lady Serian? Are you trying to feed that demonic beast the same ingredients I drank earlier?”
“Yeah, why?”
“I’m afraid that might be…” Kaizen scratched his head awkwardly.
“Why? It’s fine, just tell me.”
After a brief hesitation, Kaizen finally made up his mind and spoke.
“If it’s alright with you… perhaps you should adjust the formula slightly. The potion I drank earlier… well, how should I put it… the taste was…”
A short while later, Serian’s dazed voice echoed through the laboratory.
“So… you’re saying the potion I made tasted like absolute dogshit?”
“N-no! That’s not what I meant! It’s just that good medicine always tastes bitter, right?! It was only… a little… the flavor was… rather unique!”
Kaizen broke into a cold sweat as he desperately tried to explain himself.
Hmm…
“L-Lady Serian?”
Kaizen was internally panicking, thinking he had hurt her feelings, but Serian was completely unfazed! After all, taste had never once been a consideration in her potion-making process!
Still… even slimes must have preferences. Maybe I was too careless?
Serian fell into serious thought. She had been so excited about finally perfecting her resignation project, but if the main ingredient—the Mimic Slime—refused to eat, the whole thing couldn’t even begin. How was she supposed to coax this thing?
While she was clutching her head in frustration, Practical Officer Martin approached cautiously and held out a box.
“Chief Development Officer, I’ve obtained the item you requested last time.”
“Ah… thank you. Just leave it there.”
Serian didn’t even glance at the box. Her mind was entirely occupied with figuring out how to get the picky eater to consume something disgusting. Forcing it down like before seemed difficult, and starving it into submission… No. Absolutely not. The image of round, squishy Chorong shrinking sadly flashed through her mind. Serian had infinite tolerance for cute things.
“Oh! Serian! What’s this?”
Whether she knew about Serian’s dilemma or not, Ella’s eyes sparkled as she peered into the box. Inside were beautifully wrapped golden orbs that looked incredibly appetizing.
“These are desserts, right? As expected of you, Serian—you prepared snacks for us because we’ve been working so hard?”
At her words, the ears of the nearby team members perked up. A young alchemist glanced inside the box and cried out in shock.
“Wait, isn’t this… the legendary Honey-Ball?!”
That single sentence sent the room into an uproar.
“You prepared something this precious for us to eat?!”
A junior team member approached Ella in confusion. “Um… what exactly is this? Why is everyone losing their minds over it?”
“Well, it’s a type of bug. A bug.”
“Excuse me? You eat bugs?”
Indeed. This was the so-called Honey-Ball. It was a magical creature resembling a firefly known as a Brainlight Bug. When food was scarce or during mating season, it stored nutrients in a pouch on its abdomen in the form of honey. The flavor was uniquely and intensely sweet, making it a top-tier dessert even among gourmets. One could say it was one of the three great delicacies of this world—alongside truffles, caviar, and foie gras!
Not just anyone could eat it. It could only be harvested at specific times in specific locations, so even most high nobles rarely got the chance to taste it. The team’s reaction was perfectly natural.
Whoa— Our hero really is on another level! Preparing something this expensive as a snack? As expected, working under a great person means you get to experience everything life has to offer!
“Chief Development Officer! Thank you so much!”
“Serian! I’ll enjoy it!”
Thank you for the meal~
The moment Ella excitedly picked one up and moved to take a big bite—
Smack!
“Tsk, hands off.”
“?? Why, why?! Come on, Serian…!”
“I bought these for Whitey.”
She had specially ordered them for the picky eater Whitey, but it seemed they had taken longer to arrive than expected.
“R-really?” Ella licked her lips in disappointment. “Then… could I maybe have just one? I’ve never tried it before.”
“No. Do you have any idea how expensive these are?”
The instant Serian firmly refused—
…Wait a second!
A brilliant idea flashed through her mind.
This is it.
“What? You’re going to feed something this expensive to that monster?” Ella asked, looking utterly flabbergasted.
“Tsk, Chorong might hear you. From now on, call it Chorong.”
“R-right. Chorong. But why waste something so precious on it?”
Exactly. Serian planned to use these as bait for Chorong. It wasn’t because she thought Chorong was as cute as Whitey… not at all! Everyone knew the universal rule: after feeding a child bitter medicine, you always give them a sweet candy afterward. That was why cold medicine came in strawberry syrup flavor and toothpaste in melon flavor. It was common sense to follow something bitter with something sweet.
Sorry, Whitey…
Big sis will buy you something even tastier next time! I’m sorry! This is all for big sis’s resignation!
With that silent vow, Serian picked up the box of Honey-Balls and stepped back into the glass enclosure.
KWEEEEEEEEEK—!
The moment Chorong saw Serian, it let out a roar. Hiiiiik, it’s that person again! The meanie who keeps force-feeding me disgusting stuff! It seemed to be screaming.
Hmm… The resistance is stronger than I thought. If it tasted that bad, you should’ve said something earlier! You silly, stubborn Chorong!
“There… Chorong, good boy?”
Hiding the rubber sap sack behind her back, Serian took out one Honey-Ball and rolled it toward the slime. Chorong watched it warily for a long time before cautiously approaching. It sniffed at the ball with the hole that served as its nose. Everyone watching through the glass held their breath.
And then—
Gulp—!
The slime that had been hesitating suddenly swallowed the Honey-Ball in one go.
“……!”
A change came over Chorong’s hideous face. Its eyes curved into crescent moons and its mouth opened wide. The expression looked… exactly like it was grinning!! A face full of pure happiness, as if it had conquered the world!
So-so cute!
The slime finally approached Serian, mouth wide open. It clearly wanted more.
“Here’s another one!”
Gulp! Grin~
“Here’s another!”
Gulp! Grin~
Once Chorong had gotten used to the Honey-Balls Serian was throwing, she pulled off a classic sleight of hand! A rubber-ball sneak attack in the middle of the confusion! Sleeve trick! Gulp!
?
The slime’s expression turned strange for a moment, but it clearly hadn’t caught on yet. That was because she had already crushed Brainlight Bugs into the rubber sap in advance! Who would have thought she’d be using the same trick she once used on her dog Max from her previous life?
Another Honey-Ball! Gulp! Honey honey—rubber! ? Honey honey—! Grin… Honey honey—rubber rubber rubber! ?
This is literally the rice-barley game, isn’t it?
…This is fun!
After munching away for a while, Chorong began to tremble as if straining. It worked! The once completely green body gradually turned a yellowish cheese color and became round and bouncy again. The transformation into a matte-textured rubber slime was complete!
Serian pulled out her dagger once more. Hiiiiik…! The slime immediately fled to the wall and trembled. Hmm. Sorry!
Thud.
And just like that, Serian successfully obtained a rubber slime.
Rubber Slime Acquired!
Mission: Create Rubber Human — Progress: 1/1 (Core Ingredient Secured)
“As expected of Lady Serian!!”
“How in the world did you figure out how to handle a high-ranking magical beast like that?!”
“You’re truly amazing!!”
The moment she stepped past the glass, the alchemy team burst into cheers.
“Wow! As expected of our youngest. Do the Five Great Families even raise magical creatures like pets?” Ella asked in astonishment.
Compared to Serian, who had simply found the whole thing entertaining, their reactions were wildly overblown. Serian looked puzzled. Hmm… Is that so? She scratched her head. She had only handled it like a dog. To someone who had raised dogs in her previous life, it was nothing special.
But—it really was an impressive feat. Although the creature had a gentle personality, it was still a boss monster! If any other staff member had tried to force-feed it, it could have swallowed them whole in an instant, like a worm wriggling when stepped on. They would have become an alchemist (former) of the Armaments Bureau in a single day.
Hmm… Yeah. It really was dangerous.
Anyone who messed with even a small slime could end up in very deep shit.
“Hmm…”
Hersene, who had been watching, let out a worried groan.
“What is it?”
“Still… this is going to cost a fortune.”
Exactly. No matter how urgent the situation, if making the potion required that many Brainlight Bugs, the cost would be astronomical.
Yes… This is it…!
This was precisely what Serian had been aiming for. Her goal was to waste as much of the Armaments Bureau’s budget as possible on a plan that was destined to fail…! To be fired in the most spectacular way possible!
Serian’s eyes secretly gleamed with cunning once again.
“Alright, alright! Stop cheering everyone! Let’s go make the potion!”
As everyone began moving, Serian, who had been about to close the door behind her, suddenly felt a strange sense of unease.
Huh? Did Chorong always look like that? Something felt… off.
Hmm… But there didn’t seem to be any obvious difference from before.
“Serian! Aren’t you coming?” Ella urged.
Must be my imagination~
“I’m coming, I’m coming~”