Although Kamisaka Yuto had cooked for all sorts of strange beings over the past two months, this was the first time he had seen a creature as special as a Slime.
After all, the people or creatures he had met before were all made of flesh and blood.
'A Slime...'
'Does it even have flesh and blood?' Yuto pondered this in his mind, though his hands never stopped moving.
Since Rimuru wanted to eat something sweet, he naturally had to satisfy him.
Previously, he had made a sweet Tamagoyaki for Erina.
In fact, Tamagoyaki could also be made savory; it was just that at the time, Yuto had considered a girl's palate and made it sweet.
Now, he planned to make a dish of Candied Sweet Potato.
The kitchen knife in his hand was like an agile fish swimming.
He held down the sweet potato with his fingers and deftly cut it into rolling chunks. Each piece was a different size, which gave them a distinct, irregular pattern.
He poured vegetable oil into the wok and turned on the heat.
Rapeseed oil was more suitable for cooking dishes that required deep-frying. Picking up a slotted spoon, he scooped up the sweet potato chunks and placed them into the oil, which was already heated to sixty percent.
Sizzle—
Oil splattered everywhere.
The surface of the somewhat raw sweet potatoes was immediately coated in a crispy, golden-brown shell.
After frying for a short while, Yuto lifted the slotted spoon.
Once the oil temperature rose a bit more, he placed the sweet potato chunks back in to fry again.
The second frying made the sweet potatoes even crispier, forcing out the oil they had absorbed during the first round.
After the sweet potatoes were fried, Yuto left only a little oil in the bottom of the wok.
He pinched a few pieces of rock sugar and sprinkled them directly into the pan. The splattering oil was like tiny waves as he quickly stirred the small pieces of rock sugar.
Sugar melts quickly when exposed to high heat. Caramelizing the sugar is the most crucial and most difficult step in making Candied Sweet Potato.
Unlike other ingredients, the heat control required for sugar is even more critical. A little too much heat, and the sugar will turn bitter and black.
If you stop too early, the sugar's color will be pale and look unappealing.
In just a few seconds, the rock sugar had melted into a soft, paste-like consistency.
Its color also changed from white to an extremely appetizing mix of warm yellow and red.
'Now!'
Yuto tossed the sweet potato chunks back in.
The crispy sweet potato chunks quickly mingled with the prepared syrup, like a pair of inseparable lovers. Yuto's control of the wok and spoon was extremely precise.
Every single strand of syrup coated the sweet potato chunks perfectly.
With a slight flick of his spoon, he pulled up a long, thin thread of sugar. He turned off the heat and plated the dish.
The golden, crispy sweet potato chunks were enveloped in distinct sugar threads, as beautiful and alluring as a seductive, light veil.
"Here you go, Candied Sweet Potato." Yuto smiled as he placed the dish in front of Rimuru.
He was a little curious.
'How would a Slime eat? Would it swallow it in one gulp? Speaking of which... Does a Slime even have a mouth?'
"Thank you!" Rimuru said his thanks in a cheerful tone.
His gaze was fixed on the Candied Sweet Potato before him.
Under Yuto's curious watch, Rimuru directly enveloped the food with his Slime body—including the plate!
Then, the next moment, he spat out a plate that was as smooth as new.
Yuto picked up the plate, glanced at it, and came to a conclusion: this plate was cleaner than if he had washed it himself!
"Mmm!!! It has flavor!!!!" Rimuru's reaction startled Yuto.
It was like the joy of a child who hadn't eaten candy in a long time finally getting a taste.
From Rimuru's words, Yuto couldn't help but speculate.
'Could it be that he couldn't taste anything he ate before?'
"Waaah, I'm so moved!!! I can finally taste something!!!"
Tears flowed from Rimuru's Slime body, although the tears were instantly absorbed back into his form.
"Rimuru, you couldn't taste anything you ate before?" Yuto couldn't help but ask.
"Yeah, because I become a Slime's, I don't have any taste organs. This is the first time I've ever tasted anything!!!"
Hearing Rimuru's words, Yuto's mind began to wander.
'Became a Slime... In other words, he wasn't a Slime at first...'
"Rimuru, you weren't a Slime before?" Yuto asked curiously.
"That's right, I was a human before! A pure human!"
This time, it was Yuto's turn to be surprised.
This was one of the reasons why he was willing to run the shop even if he didn't earn much.
Interacting with all sorts of visitors from other worlds—that was what was truly interesting!
...
In the early hours of the morning, one person and one Slime were chatting cheerfully.
"Transmigrated to another world and then came here... that's a rather fantastic experience." Yuto marveled at Rimuru's story.
At first, he never would have thought the other party would have such a magical past.
"It is! When I first became a Slime, it felt a little awkward, but now, I'm used to it!" Rimuru was very joyful, his body swaying left and right.
"It seems you're not very satisfied with your past life as a human." Yuto chuckled lightly.
"Eh? Why do you say that?" Rimuru's Slime body very vividly formed the shape of a question mark.
In the process of talking with Rimuru, Yuto had discovered something.
When Rimuru expressed his emotions, he would often materialize his feelings into actual symbols to express them.
When he was amazed, Rimuru's Slime body would form the shape of an exclamation mark.
When he was confused, it would form a question mark.
It was a straightforward but convenient way for a Slime to express emotions.
"Because if you had a good life before you died, you'd probably feel some sadness or something when talking about the past. But you don't. Instead, you seem very satisfied with your current life as a Slime."
Yuto's words made Rimuru fall silent for a moment.
His round, jiggly body stopped its lively transformations. It would just occasionally make a gloop sound, like something moving in deep water.
"Yeah! Thinking back on it now, my life as a human wasn't exactly a success. I was just constantly being pushed around. The reason I might miss my human life is probably because of the friends and family I had as a human. If I could just go back and see them one more time, I wouldn't have any regrets." Rimuru analyzed his own feelings.
He even had it certified by the Great Sage inside him.
He was, indeed, more satisfied with his life as a Slime now.
As for his former human society, he only held onto the nostalgia for his family and friends.
"But I've gained a lot in this other world, too. Even though I can't see Veldora right now, he and I are definitely friends. I also have my Goblin subordinates. They're hardworking and brave, and they respect me a lot. I'm happy living as their protector." Rimuru listed everything he had gained as if they were family treasures.
Yuto didn't interrupt him.
At a time like this, listening was the most important thing.
"And, you know, getting to meet you today, has made this a very memorable day!" Rimuru said in all seriousness.
To him, although Yuto was also from another world, they were both modern humans.
And with that, they found common ground.
When he was with the Goblins, although Rimuru didn't mind their status or appearance, he would occasionally feel a slight sense of disharmony.
In comparison, having an equal conversation like this with Yuto felt a little more freeing.
"Care for a drink?" Yuto took out a bottle of cold beer.
Japanese beer was already light; without being chilled, it was rather tasteless.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!!! It's beer!!!! Let's do it, let's do it, let's do it! Let's have a drink!" Rimuru was thrilled!
Where in the other world could you find something like beer? He had really missed this!
Hiss—Pop!
Yuto opened the bottle and took out two glasses.
After pouring the beer, he handed one to Rimuru.
"Cheers!"
Rimuru used his Slime's mucus to stick to the glass and clinked it against Yuto's.
Yuto drank his normally, while Rimuru poured the beer directly into his own body.
The moment the beer went in, bubbles even gurgled and rose to the surface, but it returned to calm in an instant.
"It's times like these I miss my human body. You've gotta chug beer straight from your mouth for it to be satisfying!" Rimuru was a little disappointed he couldn't take human form yet.
Although he could devour a human corpse and transform into a human body, he still couldn't get over the morality of it.
"Ah! So much time has passed! I have to get back!" Rimuru suddenly noticed the clock.
An hour had passed since he arrived, and he was worried his Goblin subordinates might get into some kind of trouble.
"Alright. You're welcome back tomorrow," Yuto smiled.
"Umm—I have to pay for the meal, but I don't have any money right now. Let me think what I can give you..." Rimuru rummaged through his storage, looking conflicted.
"If you really don't have anything, then don't worry about it. It's fine."
A serving of Candied Sweet Potato and a glass of beer would only be one or two thousand yen at most.
"No way, that's not right. It goes against my principles of friendship. I can't let a friend take a loss!" Rimuru already considered Yuto a friend.
He was a man of principle, so he couldn't accept a free meal!
"Boss, let me trade you this. It's a Healing potion I made. It can basically heal anything as long as you're not dead! It's very effective!"
Rimuru spat out a bottle of beautifully colored potion.
"This is too valuable..."
"It's fine, it's fine. I have lots and lots of this stuff. Just take it, Shopkeeper." Rimuru bounced his way to the door.
His mucus formed an arm and pulled the door open.
"See you tomorrow, Boss!"
Rimuru bounced in place twice, then leaped out the door.
His figure vanished in an instant.... he had returned to the other world.
"His personality is surprisingly childlike." Yuto held the Healing potion and chuckled with a sense of helplessness.
'What a harmless Slime...' he thought to himself.