Beyond the veil of steam, a paradise unfolded.
A place that everyone yearned for—the ideal spot was right there.
Kabal and
But it wasn't just them.
Honestly, what a stubborn bunch. No matter how many times I told them it was no use, they'd still try to tag along.
In the end, it wasn't until
"Damn it! It's so unfair how only the Boss gets to go!"
"Totally unfair, it is... At least let us peek—just once—"
The dwarves consoled a sobbing Kabal and Gido.
They went through this exact same routine every single day, so you had to give them credit for sheer tenacity. But on this particular matter, there was nothing I could say.
—Because where I was headed was...
Still cradled in Shion's arms, I was carried into a separate room.
The hot springs.
That's right. Once again, I had come to the women's bath with Shuna and Shion to soothe the day's fatigue.
Now you can probably understand why they couldn't give up.
Surrounding me were three women: Shuna, Shion, and Elen.
A beauty and two beautiful young maidens.
All three, not a stitch of clothing between them, walked with me toward the bath.
This was bliss, pure and simple.
When they said "a feast for the eyes," this was exactly what they meant.
And today there was one more addition: Demon Lord Milim had joined the fray.
"Ahahahaha! A place this wonderful—this truly is a great country!"
Milim took off running, completely in the nude.
I told her to stop—she'd trip and hurt herself.
If she kept quiet, she was an absolutely stunning beauty, but the moment she opened her mouth and started moving around, she came across like a little kid. That was part of Milim's charm, I supposed...
That said, there was no denying she was gorgeous—so I went about my days feeling grateful for my own good fortune.
◇◇◇ Baths really were magnificent.
When they were hot springs like these, you could expect all sorts of therapeutic benefits, and soaking in them every day was a given.
I used to be a man, but now I was a slime.
I could take on a human form, but I had no gender.
So there was absolutely no problem with me entering the women's bath.
Today, the boisterous Milim was here, but on ordinary days, things were peaceful.
I calmed my mind, let myself relax, and yielded entirely to Shion and Shuna—letting myself dissolve into the gentle atmosphere around me.
And then I'd be lathered up into a fluffy cloud of bubbles, gently kneaded and scrubbed, and tenderly washed from head to toe.
This little scene had become a new part of my daily routine ever since the hot springs were built.
I had no interest in appreciating fine art, but the spectacle before me stirred something deep in my heart.
Shion's body was a masterpiece of toned muscle—and yet, those soft, full fruits hung heavy and ripe with a captivating weight.
Shuna was slender and porcelain-skinned, smooth as polished ceramic. Her mystical fruit was petite, but perfectly shaped and exquisitely beautiful. Against that white skin, two tiny buds of pale rose stood out—and their presence was enough to fill every corner of my memory banks.
Both were extraordinary.
Truly, wonderfully extraordinary.
As for Elen, she kept glancing back and forth between Shion and Shuna, comparing their figures to her own with a worried expression. But Elen was still growing—there was really no need for her to be so pessimistic.
From her perspective, it was probably a major concern, but from mine, it was an endearing little worry.
—And then there was Milim, who had absolutely nothing to worry about at all.
"Ahahahaha!" she laughed, splashing around happily in the springs as usual.
What a kid.
Without a doubt, her mental age was elementary school level.
Oh, and there was one thing I really wished she'd stop doing: using me as a surfboard.
Yes, I could float—of course I could, I'm a slime—but that still felt like it crossed some kind of line.
I mean, being told "you're a lucky guy, a beautiful girl uses you as a toy" might make people jealous, but being used in this particular way was not something I could get behind.
I had just been admiring the beautiful scenery when this sudden indignity was visited upon me.
For a moment, I couldn't even process what was happening and nearly drowned right there in the hot spring.
...Well, not really—I didn't need to breathe, so there was no genuine danger of drowning. But still.
The one who rescued me from Milim was Shion.
She had simply been trying to wash me the usual way and had snatched me back from Milim... or so I thought.
I'd been lathered up with Shuna's special soap—infused with botanical extracts—when Milim seized me from Shion's hands all over again.
"Hey, what the hell are you—"
I panicked.
"Ahahahaha!"
Milim ignored me entirely, stretched my body out long, and began rubbing me against herself like a washcloth.
"Don't use me as a body towel!!!"
The scream tore out of me before I could stop it.
I scrambled free from Milim's arms, slid right out of her grip, shook off the soap suds, dove back into the hot spring, and quickly put some distance between us.
"Tch, Rimuru, you're so stingy!"
Milim pouted at me in disappointment.
Wait, wait—this wasn't about being stingy at all.
Letting your guard down for even a second—that was the lesson here.
But I...
At that moment, I was only on alert against Milim.
I had completely failed to notice that Shion and Shuna were watching our little exchange with the sharp, locked-on gaze of hawks eyeing their prey.
And before I knew it...
I realized I was being used as a body towel by Shuna and Shion too!
I decided to keep it a lifelong secret that I found it—just a little—no, quite a lot—pleasant.