Tray.
A flat surface used to carry and move objects.
It was one of the tools the slime saw most often while interacting with humans.
The very first time it saw one was at the Ludendion mansion where it lived with Jessie.
It had watched the attendants carry snacks and meals with trays.
Even after leaving the Ludendion mansion, trays were everywhere it went.
When it was with Godrick’s party, it saw trays in restaurants, and when it was at church, it saw the followers using them to carry meals.
To the slime, a tray was the most frequently seen human tool—and also something it really wanted to try mimicking.
Most of all, all it had to do was widen its body into a circle, so the shape wasn’t even complicated.
After learning a new skill, the slime poured more mana into shaping its tentacle.
‘Big tray!’
Woooong!
As it infused mana, the tip of the slime’s tentacle transformed into a tray and began to expand in size.
Of course, when the slime did this, the chat window exploded with reactions.
▶What is that lolololol
[Squishy Queen]▶ So you’ve finally acquired a skill, my kin!
▶But why’d you make it like that?
[Just Slam First]▶Hey, Squishy! Why’d you make your tentacle look like that?
Fenrir, who was watching the stream out of boredom that morning, asked, and the slime immediately responded.
▷Tray! A tray!
[Just Slam First]▶A tray?
▶ Hold up! What’s a tray again? It’s that flat thing humans or punks like elf use to move stuff! Clarify!
▶ Ah~ That thing used to carry food?
[Noblesse Fire]▶ But why a tray though?
[Squishy Queen]▶ Tray or not, who cares! What matters is that my kin has gained a new skill!
▷I can lift!
▶Lift?
Reacting to the chat, the slime bounced up and down.
▷Amelia! I can lift! Paulen! I can lift! This time, I’m the one lifting!
The slime had always been the one being carried or mounted.
And to the slime, being carried or mounted by someone was a “good experience.”
It loved being able to see the world from a different perspective and look around from high up.
That’s why it wanted to give the people who had shared that joy with it the same experience.
By placing a person on the tray-shaped tentacle it made and lifting them, maybe they would feel that same joy—it was a simple and sincere thought.
That’s why the tray came to mind first.
▶ Lololol is it for lifting humans now?
▶Is it to show the difference in strength?
▶Yeah right.
[Thread-Lady]▶ There’s no way our cute Squishy would do that.
“Kyaaa! Wh-what is that!?”
And at that moment—
Amelia, who had just woken up, screamed upon seeing the slime’s tray tentacle.
Bang!
“What’s going on, Amelia!”
Hearing her scream, Paulen rushed into the room.
“Paulen! J-Jiggly just—!”
“Jiggly? Huh? Wait, Jiggly’s tentacle... is flat?”
‘Paulen!’
Boing! Boing!
The slime immediately moved toward Paulen and focused even more mana into its tentacle.
And not just one tentacle.
Pop!
It brought out another tentacle, also shaped like a tray, and concentrated mana to expand its size.
Brrrrrrrrr!
As it focused its strength and mana, the slime’s body began to tremble naturally.
“What in the world...?”
Even Paulen, who was usually quick to understand the slime’s intentions, couldn’t figure out what was happening right away this time.
‘Paulen-ta!’
Once the tray tentacle was wide enough, the slime slightly lifted it toward Paulen to convey its intent.
This time, its gestures reached Paulen.
“You’re not saying... you want me to ride on it?”
‘Yup!’
The slime bounced in place as if saying, “Correct!”
“Ha, haha! I never thought I’d see the day I’d ride on Jiggly.”
“Paulen? You’re seriously thinking of getting on?”
“Yes. Well, Jiggly is telling me to ride.”
“But what if Jiggly gets squished while you’re on!?”
“Amelia, the dumbbells and barbells Jiggly lifts weigh more than I do.”
With a reassuring smile, Paulen sat down on the tray tentacle the slime made.
“Oh, it’s so soft.”
The slime’s tray tentacle had more cushion than expected.
‘Height!’
Feeling Paulen’s weight, the slime used more mana to extend the length of the tentacle.
“Oh, oooh?!”
“Paulen!?”
Once the tentacle had extended beyond a certain height, the slime bent it to lower the elevation.
Then it began to repeatedly stretch and bend the tentacle.
“This is...!”
The rising and falling view, along with the soft sensation of the tray tentacle, brought back memories for Paulen.
The partner was different, and his body size had definitely changed.
– Hahaha~ Do you really like this that much, Paul?
– Yeah! Do it more, Dad!
– Alright, alright, if my son wants it, I’ve gotta do it! Higher, higher~
– Yay!
The childhood memory of his father lifting him up tugged at Paulen’s heartstrings.
“Sniff!”
“Paulen!? Why are you crying?”
“Oh, I just suddenly remembered something from my childhood with my father.”
“Huh?”
Naturally, Amelia couldn’t immediately understand what Paulen meant.
Unaware of her confusion, Paulen wiped his tears and fell into thought.
“I was just caught in nostalgia. Thinking about it, this isn’t really just lifting me up like a game… That’s it! Jiggly is using me like a barbell right now!”
Amelia was too stunned to speak at Paulen’s absurd declaration.
“Sniff! Jiggly! So you wanted to use me as a barbell to work out, huh? I’m touched, but I’m too light! You should’ve told me when I had my armor on!”
‘Huh?’
▶ What’s up with this human… scary.
[Gothic Luxury Bone]▶ His brain is completely ruled by muscles.
[Just Slam First]▶ Muscles again? Doesn’t this guy ever get tired of that?
▶ You're one to talk when you're always hyped up.
▶ Ah! Muscle-Geek!
[Just Slam First] ▶ Hey! Everything I do is for Squishy’s sake!
▶ Loooool unaware people are the scariest.
“Paulen, no matter how you look at it, I don’t think Jiggly had that intention.”
Having come to her senses, Amelia pointed out Paulen’s misunderstanding.
“What? But he’s clearly lifting me! That means he wants to exercise using my weight—”
“Maybe he just wants to play with us by lifting us up? Isn’t that right, Jiggly?”
Brrrrrrr!
The slime trembled in agreement with Amelia’s words.
“See?”
“It… can’t be! It wasn’t for working out?!”
“No matter how much Jiggly likes exercising, he’s not as obsessed as you. Anyway, come down. I want to try riding too.”
Amelia, secretly amused by watching Paulen go up and down, now wanted a turn herself.
***
Gracie Frail thought to herself.
In less than a month, how many times had she been shocked like this?
As usual, she had finished breakfast and dropped by the villa to join Amelia and Paulen’s morning walk.
And then Gracie witnessed something shocking.
“Jiggly can lift us now, Miss Gracie.”
“Really?”
At first, when Amelia said that, Gracie didn’t think much of it.
‘Well, that’s possible. It is that kind of slime.’
This slime could lift dumbbells she herself struggled with.
So if it just extended its tentacles and wrapped someone up, lifting them should be doable—so she thought.
“Yes! Let me show you! Jiggly, could you lift me one more time?”
Like a proud owner showing off a pet’s new trick, Amelia called to Jiggly.
Boing!
The slime, which had been perched on Paulen’s shoulder, jumped down and approached Amelia, extending its tentacle.
Pop!
‘That’s going to look kinda embarrassing.’
A saintess, wrapped up in a long tentacle and lifted—just imagining the scene made Gracie think the church folks would throw a fit.
Then—
Swoooosh!
“Huh?”
Seeing the end of the slime’s tentacle suddenly widen into a tray shape made Gracie’s eyes widen.
Amelia climbed onto it, and the slime immediately extended the tentacle and began to move up and down.
“It can lift me like this now. Isn’t Jiggly amazing?”
Amelia spoke with the tone of someone saying, “Isn’t our puppy adorable?” and Gracie couldn’t find the words to reply.
‘Am I the weird one? Is it strange that I can’t accept this right away? What is a slime? What is a monster?’
Gracie was on the verge of falling into a philosophical rabbit hole.
Just then, Paulen approached and gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Miss Gracie, you should try riding too. It’s more fun than you’d think.”
“Huh? Ride? Me too?”
“Of course. Jiggly would like it too.”
“He’s right. You should give it a try, Miss Gracie.”
‘Gracie!’
As the slime lowered the tray tentacle and held still, Amelia stepped down.
“Here, go ahead.”
“Are you sure it’s okay?”
“Absolutely. And besides, Jiggly’s… this thing… it’s surprisingly comfy to sit on.”
Unable to resist their encouragement, Gracie sat down on the slime’s tray-shaped tentacle.
“......!”
‘So soft!’
And the pillowy, cushiony softness of the slime could be felt immediately.
It was so gentle on the lower back that it gave her the kind of support that made her think she could sit there for hours.
As a mage who lived in the Magic Tower and often sat for long hours researching or writing papers, Gracie thought—
‘If I had this slime, my lower back would never ache, no matter how long I sat!’
Her opinion of the slime improved even beyond her previous magical tool-related admiration.
While Gracie was lost in admiration, the slime began to move the tentacle up and down just as it had done for Amelia and Paulen.
“Whoa! Oh, oh!”
Startled at first by the movement while lost in thought, she calmed down quickly as the motion was steady.
“Isn’t it more fun than you thought?”
“Y-yeah, it is.”
“Don’t these rides remind you of childhood memories?”
“Childhood memories?”
After the slime’s tray-tentacle ride was over, Gracie spoke up.
“Saintess, could you tell Jiggly something for me? That he shouldn’t do this kind of thing outside.”
“Huh? Why not?”
Gracie explained to Amelia, whose senses had been dulled from seeing the slime’s odd behaviors too often.
“Why do you think? Pointing directions with a tentacle might barely pass as a rare slime behavior, but a slime that creates weird tentacles and lifts people? I’ve never even heard of such a thing.”
“That… does make sense.”
“If the wrong person sees it, they might try to kidnap Jiggly as a rare research specimen.”
“Kid... kidnap Jiggly?!”
“That’s definitely possible. We may be used to him now, but Jiggly really is an extraordinary slime.”
“Yes, you’re right. If something like that ever happened…”
“That would be dangerous. Jiggly…”
“The ones trying to kidnap him would be the ones in danger.”
“Huh?”
“W-why would you say that?”
“I mean, why would the kidnappers be in danger? Isn’t Jiggly the one at risk?”
“What are you talking about, Saintess?”
Gracie looked at Amelia and spoke with genuine confusion.
“Even if he doesn’t mean to hurt anyone, we’re talking about a slime that can spar with a paladin. There’s no way Jiggly would go down easily. I’d be more worried about him resisting and accidentally killing someone.”
“Oh.”
“Hahahaha! Miss Gracie is absolutely right! Jiggly isn’t someone just anyone can mess with!”
Paulen smiled and gave the slime some advice.
“Jiggly, since people might get scared, let’s not do the ‘lift-lift’ outside, okay?”
‘Okay!’
Boing!
The slime responded energetically and bounced in place.