Rewinding time to when Slime turned off the stream at Troll's request.
The Slime Queen was completely flustered.
She was horrified when she heard that the magic circle could explode and put Slime in danger.
Then she was relieved when the skeleton appeared and shattered the barrier protecting Slime.
However, when the bony hand poked and prodded Slime a few times and then the broadcast suddenly cut off, she couldn’t help but panic.
‘What in the world happened!’
If the broadcast had cut out after an explosion, she would’ve immediately understood the danger.
But the stream just ended out of the blue after Slime climbed onto the skeleton.
Normally, a broadcast ends either when the streamer shuts it off or loses consciousness, like when they fall asleep.
This case seemed more like the former than the latter.
There was no explosion, so there was no reason Slime should’ve suddenly blacked out.
‘Why did my kin shut off the stream?’
The Slime Queen closed the window and began endlessly refreshing the list of streams.
But even after over an hour, there was no sign of Slime starting a new one.
‘What the heck is going on?!’
Without Slime going live again, she had no way of knowing what had happened, and the uncertainty was maddening.
‘Did someone convince my kin to shut off the stream?’
That was the only plausible explanation.
And who could possibly persuade Slime to do that?
‘Obviously, one of the viewers! Someone on the Derxia continent, no doubt!’
As soon as she arrived at that conclusion, the Slime Queen fumed with anger.
Trying to save Slime from danger was commendable, but making her this anxious by cutting off the stream was unforgivable.
Watching Slime’s stream had become part of the Slime Queen’s routine.
Now that it was gone, her yearning to have it back only grew stronger.
So she opened her own stream to gather any possible updates on Slime.
The title was: [If You Know What Happened to My Kin, Come In!]
Right after going live, people started joining.
▶What’s this room?
-Anyone is welcome! If you know anything about the sudden end of my kin’s stream, speak!
[Noblesse Fire] Looks like Squishy Queen couldn’t wait and opened a stream.
[Gothic Luxury Bone]▶So even Squishy Queen doesn’t know what happened to Squishy.
[Thread Lady]▶Where did our cute Squishy go?
▶I know.
-You do?! What happened to my kin?!
▶ I know that I don’t know, lololol.
[“Fun Comes First” has been kicked.]
▶ Ugh, trolls again.
▶ They’re everywhere. Even beside you!
▶ But seriously, where did Squishy go?
Once the Slime Queen opened her stream, other frequent viewers of Slime’s stream began flooding in.
But not a single one knew where Slime had gone.
Naturally, the conversation turned to the mysterious skeleton that appeared before the stream ended.
What was up with that skeleton?
[Noblesse Fire]▶Hey, Skeleton, you sure you don’t know anything?
[Gothic Luxury Bone]▶Just because a bone showed up doesn’t mean it has anything to do with me. As if a shut-in dragon who only sees what he wants would understand.
[Noblesse Fire]▶Didn’t I tell you not to pick fights, you punk?!
[Gothic Luxury Bone]▶Do you even know who started it?
▶ These old-timers never go a day without arguing.
[Just Slam First]▶So does no one know anything about that skeleton that looked like it’d snap in one bite?
▶ No clue?
▶ It did look human though.
There was a clue—based on the skeleton’s form seen in the third-person stream window.
It had popped out of a dark void and poked at Slime several times. It had the shape of a human hand bone.
But even noticing that wasn’t enough to identify it.
Noblesse Fire was a fire dragon, Gothic Luxury Bone was a bone dragon, Thread-Lady was an Arachne, and Just Slam First was a Fenrir.
And Squishy Queen was the Slime Queen.
Among veteran monsters familiar with the system, most could guess which nicknames belonged to which creatures.
After all, it was always the same regulars.
And among all those monsters, none seemed like they’d have human bones.
And even if someone did, it would’ve just been a troll claiming to be human in the chat—not worth engaging.
In the end, the Slime Queen was no closer to finding answers.
‘So frustrating! I might as well just go to the Derxia continent myself!’
The Great Continent and Derxia were separated by an ocean, so travel wasn’t easy.
Only monsters capable of long-distance flight or ocean traversal could do it.
But slimes didn’t need to breathe, so if she really set her mind to it, she could probably cross the sea.
That’s when it happened.
[Free Spirit]▶Looking for Squishy?
‘Troll!’
The one appointed as Slime’s stream manager.
And the one whose absence had been a mystery—finally appeared.
-Troll! Do you know anything about my kin?!
▶Yeah, I know.
-You do?! If you’re lying, I’ll curse you to the heavens!
[Thread-Lady]▶Troll, do you really know where our adorable Squishy is?
[Noblesse Fire]▶Troll tends to stir up drama. He’s probably lying.
[Gothic Luxury Bone]▶Jumping to conclusions is a bad habit.
[Just Slam First]▶So where’s Squishy?
[Free Spirit]▶With me.
‘W-What?!’
Troll’s statement shocked not just the Slime Queen but everyone watching.
-My kin is with you?!
▶What? So that skeleton was Troll?
▶Come to think of it, no one knows what kind of monster Troll is.
▶ LOL were you seriously a skeleton? LOL
[Gothic Luxury Bone]▶I suddenly feel a kinship.
[Thread-Lady]▶Please show us cute Squishy~.
▶But why’d you end the stream?
[Free Spirit]▶I just didn’t want my appearance shown. Asked Squishy to turn it off.
▶ LOL
–Th-That’s it?! You made me worry this much for that?! Troll! Argh! How dare you!
▶ LOL look at Squishy Queen getting mad.
▶ She’s shaking with rage lolol
Since her stream was set to third-person from the start, the Slime Queen’s angry reactions were being broadcast live.
▶Hmm, an angry Slime Queen… kinda works.
[“Everyone Say Yes” has been kicked.]
▶Kinda works lol
Immediately kicking the troll, the Slime Queen addressed Troll.
-Right now! Turn the stream back on this instant! I demand to see my kin!
[Free Spirit]▶Okay okay. Gimme a sec. I’ll talk to Squishy.
***
Troll reached out with his bony hand and sent a telepathic message to the slime, who was working out.
Now that he had the hang of it, he didn’t really need to touch the slime to communicate telepathically, and he could’ve just spoken through the still-open private chatroom.
But he liked the soft squishiness of the slime, so he chose this method.
[Squishy, I’m about to go live and show you to the other viewers—is that okay?]
[Squishy]▶A stream? Can’t I turn it on?
[If you do, my face’ll show too, and I’m shy. The others are also wondering how you’re doing.]
[Squishy]▶Okay! It’s fine!
[Got it. Then I’ll close this room and open a new one.]
As soon as he got permission, Troll closed the private room and opened a new one that others could join.
Of course, he made sure to apply his blocklist to keep the trolls out.
The room title was: [Miss You! Temporary Proxy Stream].
[Free Spirit]▶Opened the room ᄋᄋ.
The moment he reported it on the Slime Queen’s stream, viewers rushed in.
▶Room title is f*cking wild lol
▶ Was that the first title?
▶ But I can’t see anything—what’s up with this?
‘Ah, right. I guess it’s hard to see.’
Since Troll’s secret workshop was almost completely dark, viewers unfamiliar with the darkness couldn’t make out anything on screen.
Snap!
Troll snapped his finger bones and used magic to light up the workshop.
Thanks to that, Slime’s form started showing clearly on the screen.
[Thread-Lady]▶Kyaaa! I’m so glad to see our cute Squishy again!
[Just Slam First]▶What the—he was working out?
The stream was in first-person view.
Through Troll’s eyes, viewers could see Slime lifting dumbbells made by Troll.
Squish! Squish!
▶What is that? Never seen that before.
[Gothic Luxury Bone]▶Those dumbbells are different from the usual ones he uses.
▷I made those for him.
[Squishy Queen]▶Oh, kin! You’re safe!
[Noblesse Fire]▶But where is this?
▷My nest.
[Squishy Queen]▶WHAT?! Why is my kin in your nest?!
‘He hasn’t even been invited to mine yet!’
Explain what’s going on.
Troll looked at Slime and gave a brief explanation to the viewers.
A human had tried to get rid of Slime after placing him on the ground.
Troll had the ability to instantly teleport to Slime’s location, so he rescued him and brought him to his nest.
He also clarified that Slime had shut off the stream because he didn’t want to show Troll’s face.
▶So he turned the stream off just because he didn’t want to be seen? lolol
▶ But why did it take so long to turn it back on?
▷I forgot, lol.
▶LOL
▶He forgot lol
[Squishy Queen]▶Do you have any idea how worried I was?!
Now that it was confirmed Slime was safe, the viewers’ attention shifted.
▶So is Squishy gonna stay with Troll from now on?
They were curious about Slime’s next steps.
[Squishy Queen]▶That won’t do! Living with Troll forever?! That would be terrible for my kin!
[Noblesse Fire]▶LOL look at Squishy Queen losing her mind.
[Thread-Lady]▶It’s fine if we get to keep seeing cute Squishy… but honestly, Troll’s place is too gloomy to keep watching.
▷??? Why are you suddenly dissing my place?
[Thread Lady]▶But it is gloomy! I bet air barely flows through, and it looks super dusty!
▶Savage review lolol
▶She said the room ain’t cute lol
Troll took a minor hit from the Arachne’s sudden roast.
‘M-Maybe I should’ve cleaned up a little…………’
▶So is Troll really gonna live with Squishy from now on?
Returning to the earlier question, Troll responded.
▶ After some time, I’m gonna let him head back out. Squishy’ll probably prefer that too.
▶Whew, boring content avoided.
▶Yeah, watching them stuck in one place is dull as heck.
▶Troll’s nest looks way less fun than a human’s place, honestly.
‘These little…!’
Troll briefly considered just ending the stream until Slime left.