62 His Name Is Punyobaron

「I’m not a pervert! I’m Cindy the Slime Tamer! I’ve heard the rumors about a colorful slime and this village and came to take a look!」

The girl introduced herself and explained the reason behind her arrival.

She looks ordinary. Perhaps all this pervert business is a giant misunderstanding.

「But this Slime-san is too gorgeous, so I couldn’t restrain myself from hugging and licking him!」

「A pervert after all!」

「Puni!」

Iris and Punigami screamed from below the blanket.

「I’m not a pervert! Just a slime enthusiast!」

「Have you no self-awareness? You shouldn’t be like that~」

「Indeed. Being a pervert is fine, as long as you are self-aware and don’t inconvenience those around you. One doesn’t lick unfamiliar slimes」

「Uu…..for that I apologize……but I’m not a pervert! Anyone wants to lick a slime one or twice in his life!」

Cindy retorted with a serious expression.

Still, no one nodded.

Instead, the room was full of dumbfounded people trying to process her words.

「Yes….okay……I don’t really understand but stay strong. There must be someone who can understand you somewhere in this world」

Eclipse chose the route of encouragement.

What a nice girl.

She must’ve felt loneliness radiating from this pervert.

「W-Why am I being encouraged!? There are plenty of people who share my school of thought! All slime tamers are this way!」

Cindy screamed.

「What is a slime tamer in the first place?」

「An important question indeed! Slime tamers befriend the slimes, share their hearts, and live together! Right, Punyobaron?」

「Punyo!」

The pink slime behind Cindy bounced with a pyon.

They do seem to be friends.

「No ja. So that pink one’s name is Punyobaron? Back on topic, does that mean Iris is a slime tamer too?」

「You must be on some very good terms to share one bed together! You must be licking him every night!」

「No one does that!」

Iris poked her head out to retort.

And then their eyes met.

「Hiyaa, stranger!」

Her fierce momentum caused by agitation didn’t last long enough to have an actual conversation.

Especially since her opponent was a pervert.

「Iris is the same as always around strangers」

「It’s alright, Big Sis. Muriel and I will escort the pervert outside our village」

「Leave it to us!」

Muriel and Eclipse grabbed Cindy by the arms and tried to drag her away.

「Wait a second. Don’t pull on me……I have an appointment with the blue slime……..save me, Punyobaron!」

「Punyo!」

The pink slime by the name of Punyobaron used a ramming attack again the two.

But slime is still a slime.

No matter the momentum behind it, it’s not very effective.

「Ahaha, it tickles」

「Reminds me of Punigami」

「Kuh, even Punyobaron can’t stand against a human….!」

Cindy’s face manifested deep frustration.

Meanwhile, Muriel and Eclipse gradually dragged her away despite constant tackles.

At that moment.

The Lord, Sheryl, and the dragon girl, Marion came to the church.

「Iris-sama. I saw a person with a pink slime…..ah, there she is」

「Why is it trying to hit Muriel and Eclipse……?」

The two didn’t seem too surprised by Cindy and Punyobaron.

It sounded like they knew about them beforehand.

「No ja? Are you two friends with this pervert?」

「I don’t have any perverts as friends!」

Marion screamed as she turned red.

「I’m not a pervert!」

So as Cindy did.

「Well, there are many weirdoes in this village. I don’t know what kind of pervert you are, Cindy, but let’s get along. Everyone here is a comrade」

Sheryl spoke nonchalantly.

Iris wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about befriending the slime licker, but she refrained from retorting for now.

「…..It appears to me that you are acquainted with Cindy」

Iris spoke as she slightly poked her head out of the blanket and refused to look in Cindy’s direction.

「Well, I saw her wandering around the hill a while back. She brought a slime with her and didn’t look like one of ours, so I approached her. There, I coincidentally met Marion-san in the middle of her stroll」

「Just so you know it, I wasn’t about to come here to play because I have too much free time!」

Marion was desperate to deny.

「She told me about her quest for a colorful slime. My my, the rumors about Punigami-sama spread far and wide. In my delight, I told her where to find him before seeing her dashing up the hill as fast as she could. I became curious, so here I am」

「What was it again? Slime Tamer? You seem like a good match. That said, Iris is scared of all strangers without exceptions. You can probably get along as you discuss slimes together」

Marion put her hands on her waist as she preached.

As if asking her to do something about her social skills.

However, one doesn’t need to be Iris to try to make some distance from the pervert.

「We won’t get along! That Cindy over here licked Punigami on their first meeting.」

「Punii…..」

「Eh……out of nowhere….!? We have a pervert here!」

Marion screamed with a pale face.

「…..Is that so? There was a time when I licked Iris-sama before」

Sheryl fell deep in thought.

Come to think of it, that did happen before.

「What!? When did you do something so envious…..I mean, horrible to Iris!?」

「With some effort. You can do the same any time you want. Iris-sama will resist, but you’ll still be able to get away with it!」

「R-Really…..?」

Marion gazed at Iris as she gradually turned red.

「No, you won’t get away with it! Don’t waver, Marion!」

「I’ve almost fallen into Sheryl’s trap!」

「Who cares about that. Since your goal in licking Punigami is complete, it’s about time you go back. Or do you want to lick him some more? That’s not allowed, I’m afraid」

「No no, I do want to lick him……but that’s not why I’m here! I’m here to challenge that blue slime to a match of slime sumo!」

「Slime sumo……what it even is?」

Muriel tilted her head.

The resident of the capital, Sheryl, and the dragon girl, Marion, didn’t seem to know either.

As a matter of course, neither did Iris and Eclipse.

「Punin?」

「The hell is that?」The one with the biggest chance to know a thing or two seemed rather confused too.

「How could you not know about slime sumo!? Even though you are on such good terms with your slime! It’s an essential part of the slime battles!」

「Even if you say that……what is the slime battle in the first place?」

Curiosity trumped over sociophobia as she asked the question.

「Slime Battle…..it’s a sports event that allows slime tamers to compete against each other! Wisdom and courage. Effort and spirit. It’s a complex sport that requires a vast variety of skills. The slime sumo is the cornerstone of them all! The owner of the strongest slime gets great respect from all the slime tamers!」

「Oh…..there are so many slime tamers…..」

「Of course! Our kind can be found in any corner of the world!」

Having said that, Cindy puffed her chest in pride.

Then with a clap of her hands, Sheryl remembered something.

「I saw some people bringing slimes to the capital from time to time. Apparently, there are plenty of slime users amongst monster tamers. Other monsters aren’t even allowed in the city」

「Then why are the slimes okay?」

Eclipse couldn’t help but ask.

「Because they are weak…..that’s why」

「I see」

Interested in the topic, Punigami jumped out of the blanket.

「Puni! Puni!」

That’s slander, or so he said.

「Punyo! Punyo!」

「That’s right, that’s right」agreed Punyobaron

Apparently, that statement their soft spot.

They are weak though.

「You shouldn’t call them weak! They just don’t wish to cause any harm! They are by no means weak! They are only soft from all the kindness stuffed inside of them!」

「Puni!」

「Punyo!」

「Hawawa……I apologize….slimes aren’t weak. Slimes are great…..」

Sheryl quickly conceded after being pressured by an enthusiastic slime tamer and two slimes.

「As long as you understand. Come, let’s have a match!」

「Bothersome……do I have to?」

「Punini!」

「Aren’t you motivated………can’t help it then…….」

Her initial plans of napping until noon had to be postponed.

「Yay! Iris is awake! It’s only the morning. Amazing~」

「It’s a miracle!」

「Excellent, Iris-sama! I’ve always believed in you! Yahoo!」