Chapter 34: Learning Humanity
Tanaka fell again.
This time...
It was entirely his own fault.
His right foot crossed in front of his left.
His balance disappeared.
And he landed face-first into the soft grass.
"..."
The little slime bounced over immediately.
Boing?
"I’m fine."
Tanaka pushed himself upright, rubbing his forehead.
"I think."
Walking as a slime had been simple.
Bounce.
Roll.
Stretch.
Human legs, however, insisted on something called coordination.
He was beginning to dislike coordination.
Three days had passed since his transformation.
The entire village had accepted his new appearance surprisingly quickly.
Mostly because every morning he greeted everyone through Thought Communication before speaking aloud.
The familiar voice reassured them.
Even so, the younger monsters couldn’t resist staring.
Especially the children.
A tiny goblin peeked from behind a tree.
A young kobold whispered something.
Several little rabbits hid behind bushes, watching the strange two-legged version of the Great One.
Whenever Tanaka looked their way...
They immediately pretended they hadn’t been watching.
By the fourth day...
Walking became easier.
Left.
Right.
Left.
Right.
No falling.
Mostly.
The Alpha Wolf walked beside him through the forest.
Every few steps, the wolf glanced sideways as if making sure Tanaka hadn’t suddenly forgotten how legs worked again.
"I noticed that."
The Alpha looked away innocently.
Tanaka sighed.
"I’ve been a human before."
The wolf tilted its head.
Tanaka smiled.
"A very long time ago."
Hands were even stranger.
Slimes didn’t grab things.
They absorbed them.
Now...
Tanaka had fingers.
Five of them.
Each capable of moving independently.
It fascinated him.
He spent nearly an hour simply opening and closing his hand.
Then picking things up.
A pebble.
A leaf.
A stick.
A crystal.
The little slime watched the entire experiment.
Finally...
It bounced onto a rock.
Picked up a pebble by absorbing half of it into its body.
Then proudly presented it to Tanaka.
"You’re making fun of me."
Boing!
It absolutely was.
A week later...
The goblins presented him with a gift.
It wasn’t impressive.
Just a simple wooden sword.
Crude.
Uneven.
Obviously handmade.
The young goblin who offered it scratched the back of his head.
"We... wanted to see if humans really hold weapons."
Tanaka accepted it carefully.
The moment his fingers wrapped around the handle...
Something stirred.
The memories he had inherited from the bearded hunter shifted.
His grip adjusted naturally.
His stance changed.
His shoulders relaxed.
Without thinking...
He swung.
The movement was clean.
Precise.
Efficient.
The wooden blade sliced through the air with a sharp whistle before stopping exactly where he intended.
Tanaka blinked.
"..."
He hadn’t planned that.
Again.
He swung once more.
The same smooth motion.
No hesitation.
The Alpha Wolf’s ears rose.
The goblins stared.
One whispered,
"He’s... good."
Tanaka looked down at the sword.
"So these are your memories."
Not his.
Borrowed.
But usable.
Very usable.
The discoveries didn’t stop there.
A goblin blacksmith had recently finished a leather vest using monster hide.
"Try it."
Tanaka slipped it over his shoulders.
It fit.
Perfectly.
The leather settled comfortably across his body without restricting movement.
Next came simple boots.
Then gloves.
A belt.
Each piece stayed equipped.
Nothing dissolved.
Nothing disappeared into his slime body.
He could actually wear equipment.
Tanaka smiled.
That...
Was useful.
Very useful.
Eating turned out to be a disaster.
The rabbits had prepared a meal to celebrate.
Roasted mushrooms.
Wild berries.
Fresh herbs.
Grilled river fish.
Tanaka looked at the food.
"It smells amazing."
The rabbits looked delighted.
He took his first bite.
Chewed.
Swallowed.
Paused.
"..."
The little slime watched expectantly.
Tanaka smiled.
"It’s... good."
Then he reached for another bite.
This time too quickly.
He inhaled a piece of mushroom.
Immediately...
He started coughing.
Violently.
The wolves jumped to their feet.
The rabbits panicked.
One goblin shouted,
"The Great One is dying!"
"I’m not—"
Cough.
"Dying!"
Cough!
The little slime repeatedly bounced into his leg as if physical encouragement might solve the problem.
Eventually...
The mushroom surrendered.
Tanaka breathed deeply.
"Humans are poorly designed."
The rabbits looked offended.
"The food wasn’t the problem."
"I know."
"It was me."
The goblins laughed.
The wolves made strange chuffing noises that sounded suspiciously similar.
Even the Alpha looked amused.
Speaking became easier every day.
His voice grew steadier.
His words flowed naturally.
Some evenings he deliberately spoke aloud while maintaining telepathy at the same time.
The younger monsters found this incredible.
They listened to both voices simultaneously.
One inside their minds.
One through the air.
It became a game.
Several young slimes tried speaking out loud.
"Bo..."
"Bo..."
"Boing."
The entire village applauded.
Tanaka laughed.
"Close enough."
One afternoon...
He discovered something unexpected.
Smiling.
Not the emotion.
The expression.
As a slime, happiness had simply been... felt.
Now his face moved.
His lips curved.
His cheeks lifted.
The little slime froze.
It bounced closer.
Then reached out with its tiny gelatinous body and gently poked his cheek.
Squish.
Tanaka blinked.
"What?"
The little slime poked him again.
Then his nose.
Then his forehead.
It bounced backward triumphantly.
Apparently...
It had confirmed humans were, in fact, squishy.
The nearby rabbits copied it.
One carefully poked Tanaka’s arm.
A goblin pressed one finger against his shoulder.
Even the Alpha Wolf cautiously nudged his hand with its nose.
Tanaka sighed dramatically.
"So this is my life now."
Nobody denied it.
As sunset painted the sky gold, Tanaka stood at the highest point overlooking the territory.
The village had changed.
So had he.
Below, goblins repaired fences.
Kobolds expanded storage buildings.
Rabbits harvested herbs.
Slimes trained the younger generation.
Wolves returned from patrol.
The little slime bounced happily between every group, somehow managing to involve itself in everyone’s work without actually helping very much.
Tanaka smiled.
A real smile.
Not because he was practicing anymore.
Because it happened naturally.
He had spent over a year learning how to live as a monster.
Now...
He was learning how to be human again.
And strangely enough...
That felt even harder.
He looked down at the wooden sword resting comfortably in his hand.
Then at the leather armor covering his body.
His human form wasn’t merely an appearance.
It was another way to fight.
Another way to protect.
Another step toward the future.
Somewhere beyond the forest...
Humans still believed this land belonged to monsters.
Tanaka quietly tightened his grip on the sword.
One day...