Today, as usual, I was sucking up water by the spring.

I have to be careful not to drain it completely, though.

Rustle rustle

I suddenly sensed something moving in the bushes, so I quickly turned that way.

"Big brother, they said we shouldn’t go far from the village because monsters might appear..."

A small girl whispered while clutching the hem of the boy next to her.

"But we really need water, Chiko. The crops in the village are withering because it hasn’t rained in so long."

The boy called "big brother" replied.

Come to think of it, has it rained at all since I reincarnated as a slime and settled in this forest? I don’t remember any.

Though I did spend quite a while sunk at the bottom of the spring.

"But... the village chief said the spring in the forest has been poisoned..."

The girl called Chiko murmured anxiously.

"That’s what they said, but we can only get a little water from the well, and Mom’s condition isn’t getting better. We need water no matter what. If there’s even a small chance, we have to check it out."

Trembling slightly, the boy still walked forward step by step toward the spring with determination.

"Kanta, big brother..."

Wait, what!? So the big brother’s name is Kanta!

Then the little sister should be Mei, not Chiko! (Total nonsense on my part.)

The siblings came into view, then suddenly broke into a run, passed right by me, and crouched down at the edge of the spring.

"Th-the water’s so clean..."

"R-really, Kanta! It’s sparkling!"

The boy named Kanta plunged his face into the spring and started gulping down the water.

The girl named Chiko scooped water with both hands and began drinking as well.

"Pwah! I feel alive again!"

"Big brother, it’s delicious!"

After drinking their fill, the siblings looked happy as they chatted. Then they glanced sideways and finally noticed me.

"Waaaah!"

"Kyaa!"

Startled, they fell on their backsides in surprise.

Well, of course they’d be shocked.

By the way, while I’ve been able to communicate with Chick and the Wolf Fang Clan, this is my first time meeting humans! First contact with people at last! Man, I’m nervous, even if they’re just kids.

I need to approach this in a friendly way.

(So, I’m...)

Wait, I can’t speak out loud!? Oh no! It’s been so long I forgot!

How am I supposed to communicate?

"Is it a monster!? I’ve never seen one like this... Chiko! I’ll hold it off! You run!"

"I’m not leaving without big brother!"

"Chiko! Hurry and run!"

Aaaah, this is no time to be feeling warm and fuzzy over their classic sibling exchange.

I need to show them I’m not hostile or they’ll be scared.

For now, let’s try writing on the ground.

"I’m not a bad slime~"

"Wh-what? The monster is writing something..."

"Big brother, can you read it...?"

"You idiot! Of course I can’t read. Only the village chief or Granny Zeidel can."

Whoa! The literacy rate in this rural village is low, as expected from another world!

Then it’s time for my ultimate technique: deadly pantomime!

"Uwaah! It’s starting to wiggle around!"

"It’s kind of cute, maybe..."

The siblings seemed to calm down a little, but we still couldn’t communicate properly.

It probably just looks like some weird dance. What now? Hmm...

『Boy, can you hear me?』

I circulated my energy and tried sending telepathy.

"Uwaah! A voice just echoed directly in my head!"

"Big brother, I can hear it too!"

Eh!? It actually worked!? Nice! You really should try things first!

Thanks, Mr. Try-It! (makes no sense)

So telepathy works on non-monsters too.

『I purified the spring water, so it’s really clean. Drink as much as you want.』

"R-really!?"

The girl asked happily.

『Yeah, drink plenty.』

"Are you a water spirit?"

In response to the boy’s question, I changed my body from Derone Mk. II form into a beautiful blue Tear-Drop shape.

What? When did the Derone form evolve into Derone Mk. II? Just ignore that. It’s a mood thing.

"Uwaah! It transformed!?"

『I’m not a water spirit. But with the power of the water spirit, this spring has become a miraculous spring. You two should also receive its blessing.』

Was that wording a bit difficult?

"Blessing...?"

『It should help fix physical problems and improve your condition.』

"F-for real!?"

Kanta looked excitedly at the spring. Did something happen?

"Hey, can you help our mom too!? We want to give her lots of water, but she’s too sick to get up..."

He looked down sadly.

I immediately activated my overhead view image.

『Is your village close to here?』

"Yeah, it’s not that far."

『Is the village entrance surrounded by a bamboo fence?』

"Eh, how do you know? Have you been there?"

Nope. I’ve barely moved from this spot at all (lol).

Basically a hikikomori?

I expanded the overhead view and observed the village from above.

『No, I haven’t. So where is your house? Tell me how to get there from the entrance.』

"Ah, yeah. After entering the gate, it’s the third house on the right, then deeper inside — the small one."

『There’s a big empty jar next to the house, right?』

"Y-yes! When Dad was alive, we kept it inside and carried water from the well in the center of the village. After Dad died, Mom did the heavy work, but she got sick, so we moved the jar outside. The neighbor uncle would bring water when he had time. But the well water is running low now..."

『Past the central well on the left is a big field, huh?』

"Yeah, everyone in the village works the fields. Merchants come when we have crops and we trade for various things. But because it hasn’t rained, the crops aren’t growing..."

Tears welled up in the boy’s eyes as he spoke with his head down. He must be feeling helpless frustration.

『Boy, what’s your name?』

"Eh? Ah... I’m Kanta."

"I’m Chiko!"

The girl answered energetically after her brother. How adorable.

『Kanta, Chiko. Can you two keep a promise?』

"Promise?"

『Yes, a promise. If you can promise not to tell anyone you met me here at the spring, I’ll carry water to your house.』

"Eh!? Really!?"

『Yeah, I mean it.』

I can’t let the whole village know about my existence yet. If they find out the spring is clean, a ton of villagers will come rushing here, and worst case, I might get subjugated.

"I’ll keep it! I promise! So please bring water! Help our mom!"

"Chiko will keep it too!"

『Good. You two are kind siblings. Then I’ll keep my promise and deliver the water. Go home carefully for today.』

"Okay!"

"Thank you!"

They had wonderful smiles. It feels good to do something nice, even though I haven’t actually done anything yet.

"What’s your name?"

"Please tell us your name?"

Both of them asked with sparkling eyes.

『I’m the slime Yabe.』

"Bye then! Thanks, Yabe!"

"Thank you, Mr. Slime!"

The siblings cheerfully waved goodbye and headed back to the village.

I ended up with a weird greeting that was half Yabe and half Slime. Oh well.

...

『Logan, you there?』

『Yes! Right here.』

The moment I sent the telepathy, Logan instantly appeared beside me. Where was he hiding? Seriously, this guy’s a ninja.

『Follow those human siblings from a hidden position and make sure they get back to the village safely.』

『Understood!』

He let out a sharp whistle, and three more Wolf Fang wolves lined up.

『Protect those human children so they aren’t attacked by monsters. Don’t let them notice you!』

『Understood!』

The three wolves vanished like the wind. Yeah, total ninjas.

『Boss, are you planning to do them a favor by bringing water to the village?』

『For now it’s just two kids... so it’s not exactly doing them a huge favor.』

『You sure are patient, Boss.』

Maybe being a slime made me more laid-back~.

I continued drawing more water from the spring, preparing to deliver it to the village tonight.

---

Since I made a promise to Kanta and Chiko, I have to properly fulfill my duty.

When the sun had set and the moon was high in the sky, I set off toward the village.

『Boss, I will accompany you with two subordinates for protection.』

Logan brought two of his men and lined up beside me. What reliable guys.

『Thanks. But make sure the villagers don’t spot you, okay?』

『Understood! Leave it to us!』

Well, Logan and his pack’s agility is ridiculous now, so they’re very dependable.

As I began sliding forward, Logan spoke up.

『Boss, please ride on my back. We’ll get you to the village in no time.』

Ohhh! It’s like the relationship between Master Rel and Laga! I’ve always admired that.

『Alright, I’m counting on you, Logan!』

I immediately jumped onto Logan’s back.

『Then let’s go, Boss!』

Thud!

Logan showed off explosive acceleration and instantly reached top speed.

Naturally, I was blown right off and tumbled onto the ground.

...Sad.

『Boss! Are you okay!?』

Logan hurriedly came back. Come to think of it, Master R*el used thread skills to anchor himself when in slime form... I don’t have that! I don’t have any all-purpose thread skills! Damn it! Does that mean a no-cheat slime like me can never be like him!?

Grumbling internally, I jumped back onto Logan’s back again.

『Boss, how will you hold on?』

The only way is to use tentacles, obviously. (Why am I suddenly speaking in Kansai dialect?)

I stretched tentacles from both sides and connected them under Logan’s belly.

『Uhyahya! Boss! That tickles! I can’t do it!』

The moment I wrapped the tentacles around his stomach, Logan started thrashing around. Hey, stay still or I’ll fall— Squish!

Because Logan rolled over, I was pressed against the ground and flattened. This is too much.

『Aah! Boss, I’m sorry!』

I learned that Logan is surprisingly ticklish. Not very useful information, though.

In that case, I’ll grab the fur around his neck directly.

I jumped on again, felt the texture of his fur through the contact points of my slime body, and then wrapped part of my slime body around the fur to hold on tightly.

This way, I shouldn’t fall off even if I get shaken around.

『Alright, let’s head for the village.』

I finally managed to depart for the village. Time to deliver plenty of the promised water!

――――――――――

We arrived in just three minutes. Logan is seriously fast.

『Make sure the villagers don’t notice us.』

『Understood, Boss!』

I jumped down from Logan and slid toward Kanta and Chiko’s house.

This is their house. The big jar is outside and completely empty.

I extended a hose-shaped tentacle into the jar.

But I can’t just pour water in like this. It looks like it hasn’t been used in a while, so I should clean it first.

I created an air intake on my back, sucked in air, and blew it out through the hose tentacle to blast away dust and debris inside the jar.

Then I poured clean water from the hose into the now-clean jar.

Glug glug glug~

Good, it’s full.

While I was at it, I gently tried to open the door of Kanta and Chiko’s house... but it wouldn’t open.

They probably have a doorstop bar in place. Makes sense to be cautious. Still a little sad, though.

But that doesn’t matter— I’m a slime, after all.

So I slipped through the gap in the door and entered the house.

Inside, their mother, Kanta, and Chiko were sleeping on thin futons.

I went to the kitchen-like area where pots and water pitchers were placed.

Might as well fill these too.

Glug glug glug~

I wonder how long this much water will last them. Maybe a week?

I’ll ask Kanta next time.

Next, I moved to the field.

The crops were indeed withering.

I reshaped the tip of my hose tentacle into a watering can shape.

Shoosh shoosh shoosh~

It was a large field, but I worked hard to water it.

Shoosh shoosh shoosh~

I moved between the ridges, watering evenly across the whole area.

After all, this is Miracle Spring Water blessed by the water spirit.

Maybe the crops will grow abundantly or become huge.

...The trees and flowers around the spring had grown really vigorously. I can have high hopes for this field too.

It was quite a big field, but I somehow managed to finish watering everything.

Alright, time to head back. Hey, Logan.

『Yes!』

I quickly got on Logan’s back and we left immediately.

『Doing good things feels great~』

『I’m glad, Boss!』

―The next morning, in the village―

"Mom! Mom! Look! The jar is completely full of water!"

"Eh!?"

"Big brother! The pitcher and the pot are full of water too!"

"Wow! It’s true!"

"Eh!? What’s going on?"

The mother asked the two children.

"Big brother, do you think Mr. Slime did this?"

"You idiot! Chiko, that’s supposed to be a secret!"

"A secret? Did something happen?"

The mother asked Kanta worriedly.

"It’s nothing, Mom. But I’m sure the Water Spirit gave us this water! Definitely!"

"Mom, drink some water!"

Chiko poured water from the pitcher into a cup.

The mother sat up from her modest bed and sipped the water.

"...Haa, I feel so much better. Thank you."

The siblings smiled happily at their mother’s smile. Going to the forest spring by themselves had been a big adventure for them, but it ended in a great success.

"...Village chief! Look! There’s water in the fields even though it hasn’t rained..."

"Ooh... Could this be God’s blessing...?"

"Just what is going on...?"

For a village that had been suffering from a long drought and water shortage, seeing the fields abundantly watered with no sign of rain and the well nearly dry was nothing short of a divine miracle.