After chatting for a while with Naohara and Herohero, Momonga resumed testing the items.
[Mirror of Remote Viewing]
This item allowed long-distance observation of a target and could obtain part of their information. However, back in the game, it had mostly been used to scout terrain.
After all, most players carried anti-detection items.
But now that they were in another world, Momonga found himself looking forward to seeing how it would perform. Perhaps it would prove far more useful here.
He placed a skeletal hand on the mirror's surface and began channeling magic into it.
As the magic flowed in, the mirror rippled. A layer of mist spread across its surface before gradually clearing, revealing an image.
The viewpoint seemed to be from high in the sky. A stretch of grassland came into view, along with the entrance to Nazarick.
"Didn't expect this thing to be this useful."
Momonga sounded pleasantly surprised.
It almost felt like watching television.
"Yeah, it's pretty handy for spying."
Naohara grinned from the sofa.
The scene reminded him of an old anime called Naruto, where the Third Hokage often used similar techniques for surveillance.
"Don't talk nonsense, Naohara. Why would I do something like that?"
Momonga shot him a look.
What kind of person did they think he was? Spying on people like that? That was an attack on his integrity.
"I'm just offering a suggestion. No need to get so defensive."
"Your suggestions aren't exactly great ones."
Herohero added lazily while enjoying Solution's massage.
"You two… forget it. I'm not arguing with you."
Momonga decided to ignore his two so-called friends and continued focusing on the mirror.
His skeletal hand moved slightly, and the image shifted.
The scene expanded outward from Nazarick, passing forests, wild animals, and rivers before finally settling on a village.
"There are humans in this world too?"
Momonga sounded surprised as he looked at the tiny figures moving below.
"Isn't that normal?"
"It'd be stranger if there weren't humans."
Herohero and Naohara walked over to the mirror. Herohero didn't see what was so surprising.
"…True."
After a brief pause, Momonga nodded.
"Something's off. Zoom in a little."
"Alright."
As Momonga adjusted the angle and magnified the image, the situation below became clear.
A massacre.
A group of knights in ornate armor, wielding sharp swords, were cutting down villagers dressed in rough clothing.
With every swing of a blade, crimson arcs sprayed into the air.
"It seems people in this world aren't that strong. Those knights aren't using any supernatural abilities."
Herohero ignored the slaughter itself and focused on evaluating their strength, quickly giving them a low rating.
"Don't be careless. They might just be expendable troops. We haven't seen the real powerhouses yet."
Momonga shook his head.
Even if these knights looked weak, that didn't mean there weren't stronger individuals behind them.
"…Don't you think your focus is a little off?"
"They're slaughtering people, and you're analyzing their combat ability?"
Naohara looked at the two of them, speechless.
Momonga and Herohero both froze.
He was right.
That should have been the main point.
Under normal circumstances, seeing something like this would have made them feel sick.
Yet instead of reacting emotionally, they had calmly begun discussing combat strength.
For people who had never witnessed such bloodshed firsthand, their reaction was far too composed.
"Momonga, how do you feel looking at something this bloody?"
"Nothing at all. If anything… it's a bit boring."
"And you, Herohero?"
"About the same. It's like ants are being crushed, not people. I don't feel a thing."
Momonga and Herohero continued staring at the mirror, observing the massacre closely. No matter how long they watched, not a trace of discomfort surfaced.
Naohara fell silent, then turned inward and examined his own state.
The conclusion was the same.
He felt nothing.
If he hadn't deliberately drawn attention to it earlier, he probably would have ignored the slaughter just like they had.
"If this were the old us, we definitely wouldn't be reacting like this."
Naohara looked at the two of them thoughtfully.
"It seems these new bodies aren't just giving us power. They're subtly influencing our minds as well."
Body and soul were never truly separate. Now that they had changed bodies, it was only natural that their minds would be shaped by them.
There were no obvious side effects, but their perspectives were clearly shifting.
"Come to think of it… I sometimes get the urge to swallow living creatures and dissolve them."
Herohero's tone grew more serious.
"I've noticed it for a while. The instincts of a slime are guiding me."
"As for me," Momonga said calmly, "when I see life extinguished in front of me, I feel a kind of pleasure."
"I thought it was just my imagination at first. But now it's obvious—my mind is adapting to this body."
As an undead, he felt no sympathy toward life.
The emotions he once had as a human were fading, replaced by the detached mindset of the undead.
"I'm not much different."
Naohara looked at the black scales covering his arms.
"The Dragonoid instinct makes it impossible for me to feel pity when these humans die. Sometimes I even find the scene… aesthetically pleasing."
Their memories hadn't changed.
But their personalities were gradually shifting away from being human, aligning more closely with their respective races.
Toward complete strangers, they all shared the same indifference.
After laying their thoughts bare, the three exchanged glances.
"This is the price, I suppose," Herohero said lightly. "It's a little troublesome, but nothing serious."
He examined his slime body.
If this was the cost of such overwhelming power, then it was insignificant.
His personality might change slightly, but the bond between him, Naohara, and Momonga wouldn't.
He was still himself.
That wouldn't change.
"As far as I'm concerned, this world has nothing to do with me," Momonga said calmly.
"I don't feel any burden over it. As long as Nazarick is safe… as long as my friends and family are safe, that's enough."
"As for me," Naohara said with a shrug, "as long as the three of us are together, nothing else really matters."
He had only raised the issue to make sure Momonga and Herohero were aware of the changes happening to them.
Beyond that, he didn't care much.
When it came to the people of this world, his attitude was simple.
He would do as he pleased.
"Ugh, that's so cheesy, Naohara. Someone might think we're in some kind of questionable relationship."
Herohero teased, even shifting his slime body into a mock defensive posture.
"Not impossible, you know. Dragons are known for having no taboos~"
"And slimes… well, they're not exactly off the table either."
Naohara licked his lips and smiled warmly, but the words coming out of his mouth made Herohero freeze.
"Hey… you're kidding, right?"
Herohero stiffened and quickly slid behind the calm and silent Solution.
He knew Naohara was joking.
But Naohara was a Dragonoid now.
And dragons were infamous for their… appetites.
With the difference in strength between them, Herohero realized that if Naohara ever seriously decided to "experiment," he might not have much say in it.
"Alright, that's enough, Naohara. Look how badly you've scared Herohero."
Momonga stepped in quickly.
If he didn't intervene, Herohero might actually make a run for it.
And honestly… watching the two of them banter like that stirred a faint, inexplicable irritation in him.
Wasn't he supposed to be Naohara's best friend?
Why did it suddenly feel like he was the third wheel?
"Alright, alright, I was just messing with you, Blackie."
Hearing Momonga tell him not to go too far, Naohara dropped the joke.
No matter how wild he was, he wasn't about to do anything to a slime. Not to mention Herohero was his friend… and a guy.
"Good. Don't joke like that again. You nearly gave me a heart attack."
"I'm not Momonga. He's just bones, so it wouldn't matter for him."
Herohero, reassured by Naohara's words, slowly stepped out from behind Solution and wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead.
Momonga's red eye-lights flickered sharply.
He felt deeply offended.
He almost snapped back that he could manage just fine too. After all, with the item Naohara had given him, [Mask of the Dead], he could transform into a human whenever he wanted.
Sebas, who had been quietly standing off to the side, also let out a silent sigh of relief.
If Naohara-sama had truly decided to force himself on Herohero-sama, that would have been… catastrophic.
As head butler, Sebas had no idea what stance he would be expected to take in such a situation.
He was sworn to protect the Supreme Beings' safety. But if one Supreme Being acted upon another, there was nothing he could do.
And whether such an act even counted as "harm" was a philosophical dilemma he was utterly unequipped to handle.
Despite his mature appearance, Sebas was, in many ways, still an innocent child. Touch Me had never included such knowledge in his settings.
Unlike Sebas, whose thoughts were spiraling into strange territory, Solution felt a trace of regret.
"If Naohara-sama truly ended up with Herohero-sama… would Herohero-sama never leave Nazarick?"
With that thought, she felt a little disappointed.
As an NPC created by Herohero, she naturally wished for her creator to remain in Nazarick forever. Any possibility that might make that happen was not something she would reject.
"Now that we've figured out our situation, what's next?"
"Should we head to that village and take a closer look?"
Herohero asked, completely unaware of Solution's dangerous train of thought.
At the same time, he casually shifted to Momonga's right side, subtly putting more distance between himself and Naohara.
Standing on Momonga's left, Naohara watched this with mild exasperation.
He had just made a joke. Was that really necessary?
"Let's go. We'll have to face it sooner or later."
"What do you think, Momonga?"
Though slightly annoyed at Herohero's exaggerated caution, Naohara still nodded in agreement and turned to Momonga.
Herohero also looked over.
Even if the two of them agreed, Momonga's opinion was still important. If he objected, they wouldn't force the issue.
"What can I say? Since you both want to go, I'll go with you."
Momonga swallowed the refusal that had nearly slipped out.
As Naohara had said, this was something they would have to confront eventually.
Seeing that he agreed, Naohara immediately grinned and slung an arm over each of their shoulders.
The sheer force dragged both of them closer in an instant.
"Then I hereby announce—"
"Nazarick's Otherworld Expedition officially begins."