I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level Max Level Witch - Volume 10 - Chapter 3

  WE WENT TO THE ADVENTURERS’ MEET WITH MY STEPDAUGHTER  

“She’s not here today, either…”

As I stared at the calendar, the slightest hint of a frown crossed my face. Probably—I wasn’t looking at a mirror.

“Madam Teacher, Miss Beelzebub came by three days ago,” Halkara said from the kitchen as she washed the vegetables. Apparently today was not a day at the factory for her.

“No, I’m not waiting for her.”

“Then have you ordered something to be delivered? So many places deliver by wyvern now; it’s so nice~”

“Is that how they do it now…? The times sure are changing… But that’s not it, either.” I didn’t think Halkara would guess correctly, so I jumped straight to the answer. “You know I’ve got a stepdaughter, Wynona.”

“Ah, yes. The one you mentioned before.”

I’d filled Halkara in on the story after we spotted her at Canimeow’s booth before.

“I never really expected her to be excited about coming to visit, but…I thought she’d have said hi at least once by now. That’s why I’m waiting. I guess I’ve gotta go to her…”

But I had a feeling I wouldn’t be welcome if I went by myself, and I’d certainly be bothering her if I took the whole family along. Point is—I wanted to introduce her to the rest of the family, but that would be hard unless Wynona came to the house in the highlands.

“Wynona was the first-place winner in the newcomer division of This Adventurer Is Amazing! right? Adventurers that sometimes come to buy our products were talking about her.”

“I see… I guess she’s kinda famous, huh?”

“But the further up the ranks you go, there is an emphasis not just on strength but on looks and a memorable persona. Many adventurers say that those rankings are unreliable.”

And here comes reality!

“It is essentially just a popularity vote, after all. In the past fifty years or so, all the top places, including the newcomer division, have been given to women. The adventurer industry is dominated by men, so all the girls that are popular with the male adventurers go straight to the top.”

“So they’re just voting for their favorite idols!”

That system had more problems than I thought.

“On the other hand, adventurers with strangely wide networks of connections will get in with guild staff who have voting powers. They always end up in the middle of the general rankings. There are quite a lot of problems.”

It was kind of sad to hear about how all these politics were in the adventurer industry, too…

I had believed it was more for people who lived life on the edge.

But I guess total hermits wouldn’t get any votes since no one would know about them…

“Supposedly all rankings solidify like this at some point or another. Miss Beelzebub said that the most famous restaurant rankings in the demon lands essentially have the same few at the top every year, so it’s no longer interesting.”

“I guess the most famous ones would always be at the top, huh.”

I doubted any super well-known places would change their flavors all of a sudden every year. Once someone takes the top, it’s hard to kick them down.

“If something reaches the top twice in a row, the demons have normalized putting it into a ‘hall of fame.’”

“People sure have all sorts of ideas, don’t they? Oh, we’re off topic.” I wasn’t here to chat about how rankings worked. “Anyway, I wanted to introduce Wynona to the family. She’s Falfa and Shalsha’s younger sister, which makes her my (STEP)daughter. But she hasn’t come by yet… Maybe I should just send her an invitation…”

“Ahhh, but if she ranked first in the adventurer newcomer division, then she must be incredibly busy right now. Wouldn’t she be touring around the country?”

“Oh, you might be right…”

Adventurers had to go on adventures, after all, and if her travels took her too far, she wouldn’t come back for months.

“Whether she can go from newcomer hot stock to the upper echelons of the general rankings and gain stable work as an adventurer hinges on these moments now. I believe she will have to travel to guilds all around and advertise herself. Those guilds will be getting plenty of visits from other cute and pretty girls, after all.”

I didn’t really want to hear about the cruel reality of the idol—er, adventurer industry!

“It isn’t much of a problem for elves or other long-lived races, but they will lose popularity once they start aging. A very famous female ex-adventurer once wrote in a book, Female adventurers must make as much money as they can, when they can. Don’t expect any pampering when you reach your forties or fifties. Earn your life savings in your first ten years and retire early.”

I’d lived in this world for three hundred years, and I was starting to think this fantasy world was really lacking in the “fantasy” part.

“Which means that your Wynona will be working her hardest right about now. Her youth will be her peak.”

“Wynona is Falfa and Shalsha’s little sister—a slime spirit, basically, so I don’t think she’s going to age at all looks-wise.”

“Still, once you start falling from the top, people see you as a has-been, on the way out. She must stick to it now.”

“This really isn’t glamorous at all…”

“The ‘has-been’ label is more trying than you might think. That negative image is difficult to shake off, so it’s best to train your hardest while you’re an unknown and then shoot up the rankings all at once.”

Halkara sure was talkative. Was she like this when it came to the pharmaceutical industry, too?

“Veterans past their glory days will sometimes don masks and ‘debut’ as mysterious masked newcomers; it feels almost like a game. The famous female ex-adventurer also wrote in her book, Making a comeback is far more difficult than simply debuting and basking in the praise.”

I was wanting to read this woman’s book.

“Well, I guess that just means Wynona’s very likely traveling around the country. I hope she’s walking the right path for an adventurer.”

Which meant she definitely wouldn’t be able to come to the house in the highlands.

Back in my past life as a corporate wage slave, I was scarcely able to go anywhere… I didn’t have any energy to do fun things on the weekends, and I barely had any weekends to begin with anyway.

Just as that thought crossed my mind—

There was a knock on the door.

“Oh, who could that be?” I went to the front and slowly opened the door.

Well, well. Speak of the devil, as they say.

There stood Wynona.

Just like last time, she had that sullen and haughty vibe around her.

“Greetings, Stepmother. It’s me, Margrave Wynona of Idell.”

She made sure to remind me what exactly our relationship was.

“Oh, yeah, it’s been a little while,” I said. “Are you here to hang out today?”

Right now, I didn’t really care that she was leaning so hard into the step part of stepmother. I was just happy that she came to visit. In all honesty, this was perfect timing.

“No, I am not here to ‘hang out.’ Unlike you, Stepmother, I am rather busy.”

Is that what you say to someone you haven’t seen in a while…? But I’ll hold my tongue. This is just how she is.

“I have come to you today for some advice. I thought you might know how to deal with this issue.”

If she was coming to me for advice, then I really wished she’d be a little less arrogant, but I kept my mouth shut.

Not all children showered their parents with love. But for a daughter who acted so brazenly, this was actually fairly typical behavior.

I also had more daughters now, so I needed to mature as a mother!

“Sure, then take a seat. And since you’re here now, I’ll go get the family.”

“All right. As a compromise, I suppose that’s—”

I left the room before she finished speaking; I knew I’d get pissed if I heard the full sentence. Compromise, she says—compromise!! That’s not something someone who’s asking for help says!

I trusted that Halkara, who had been washing vegetables in the kitchen, could deal with Wynona well enough.

I went around and gathered the people in their rooms, our ghost who was just floating around, and our mandragora who was in the dirt outside. Unlike regular households, you had to go pretty far afield to find where everyone normally liked to hang out.

Anyway, I at least created an opportunity to have everyone introduce themselves.

“All right, this is Margrave Wynona of Idell. She’s a slime spirit and basically Falfa and Shalsha’s younger sister. Which makes her my—”

“—Stepdaughter, essentially,” Wynona cut me off. It sounded like she wasn’t going to budge on the step part of my title. “I make a living as an adventurer. I believe some of you may know of me already.”

“Yes, I got your autograph just now!”

So cheeky, Halkara.

What was written in her notebook said, All is white. Wynona. Was that her motto? I guess that works, but I dunno…

“Falfa’s so happy you’re here~!  ”

“Shalsha welcomes you as your older sister. Your older sister.”

Of course, Falfa and Shalsha readily welcomed her. Shalsha especially seemed delighted to be able to act the part of big sister now. She even repeated that part twice.

“It has been a long time, Sisters. I am Wynona.”

Wynona daintily lifted her all-white clothing and politely curtsied like a noble. Her hardened expression softened a little bit for them, too.

But even though she looked like a noble, she wasn’t actually of any aristocratic heritage. She was just calling herself the Margrave of Idell. I mean, she was a slime spirit who was born not too long ago, after all…

“So you’re Big Sis’s daughters’ little sister—which means you’re family already. I’m Rosalie the ghost, nice to meetcha!”

“Sandra, the mandragora. A slime spirit won’t damage plants, which makes you better than humans.”

“You’re an adventurer, huh. You should fight me sometime!”

The rest of the family meeting her now gave their greetings. I was kind of iffy on whether what Flatorte said qualified as a greeting or not, but it probably did in the blue-dragon world. They had games where a conversation immediately led to a fight, after all.

“I will not be sparring with you. It will not earn me a single piece of gold.”

She sure was cold to everyone but her big sisters…

“What?! Winning a fight makes me happy, even if I don’t make anything from it!”

“And? If you wish to spar with others that badly, go enter a tournament or something.”

Wynona handled Flatorte coolly, but what she said made sense—Flatorte could join a martial arts tournament if she wanted to. It was actually kind of weird that she’d never tried to enter them in the past.

“Blue dragons are banned from most tournaments.”

How much trouble had they caused in the past?!

“Tournament operators are not fond of the blue dragons, since they destroy the venues… While it may not be your personal fault, Flatorte, it is partially their own doing…,” Laika explained. It sounded like blue dragons were problem children on a whole new level relative to the rest of the dragons.

“There are at least five tournaments where I, the great Flatorte, am responsible for the ban.”

She was literally on the blacklist!

“Let us set aside the sparring topic for now. I came today because I am in need of advice.” Wynona’s face clouded over.

Even she had her worries. I couldn’t imagine what they might be, though.

“I have actually been invited to clear a dungeon with the party who got first place in the This Adventurer Is Amazing! newcomer party division.”

Huh, so there was a party division.

Adventurers typically acted in groups, so maybe I shouldn’t be surprised.

“That was not so bad in itself. They were looking to enter the skills-review tournament for adventurers who clear the Mina Mia Sagaya Grove to the south as a party. Those who do well there become even more well-known in the adventuring world.”

“Ah, the Mina Mia Sagaya Grove is one of the four great skills-review tournaments for adventurers.” Halkara was following along, but I had no idea what was going on…

“So…what is a skills-review tournament?” I asked. “I’m having trouble envisioning what kind of tournament this is exactly…”

“It seems none of you are particularly knowledgeable in this field, so I shall explain.” Wynona cleared her throat in an affected manner.

She wasn’t acting like she was here for help at all… I really need to speak to her parents. Wait—that’s me!

But I never got to raise her, so this wasn’t my fault. Nope, not at all.

“Nowadays, adventurers are not warring against the demons, human nations are not at war with each other, and every country has their own armies. So adventurers have far less to do than they did in the past. If we take it to its extreme logical conclusion, then we no longer need adventurers.” Wynona’s words were harsh, but this was the objective reality. “Thus, adventurers like to measure their skills in competition. We hold competitions where we explore one specific area at the same time in order to measure our skill. That is what a skills-review tournament is.”

“The adventurer job is turning into a sport, huh?”

“You are generally correct, Stepmother.”

She didn’t have to stick stepmother on there…

“Of course, there are some adventurers who take on odd jobs to make a daily income, and there are some who dedicate their lives to clearing their local caves. However, if one wishes to make a name for themselves in the industry, then succeeding in tournaments and whatnot is extremely important.”

So some people treated it as a hobby, but there were definitely others who were aiming for the top.

Sports in my previous life were just like that, divided between pros and amateurs.

“Oh yeah, I feel like I’ve heard something like that from Natalie at the guild in Flatta…”

“Your slime dispatching must be more of the local type of business, Lady Azusa. You’re like an adventurer clearing the local area of monsters to keep the region safe.”

“You’re probably right, Laika,” I replied. “But slimes can multiply all they want, and they shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Oh, no, if they are left to multiply on their own, then they may harm children, so they must be exterminated!”

“Miss Laika is right,” said Shalsha. “Evil slimes are dangerous.”

“And it’s hard to have any good slimes if there’s too many evil slimes~!” added Falfa.

Maybe what the slime spirit sisters said was true. I still wasn’t sure how to tell the difference between good and evil slimes, though.

“Either way, I understand now that the party that got first place in their division asked you to join them. But I’m guessing there’s a reason why you can’t, right?”

She came to me for advice, so there must have been something wrong.

“That’s correct.” Wynona nodded. “The people in the party were not people I wish to freely associate with, so I ultimately had to turn them down.” Her expression clouded.

“Are they really that bad?”

She nodded slowly again.

“They call themselves the Black Knights! They clad themselves entirely in black armor!”

“What?”

I had no idea what she was trying to say, so I stared blankly at her.

“They wear nothing but black! How awful is that?! Clothes are supposed to be white! And of all the colors—black! What absurdity!”

Oh right. I almost forgot. This girl was obsessed with the color white. Even her pets were white animals…

“Hey… Couldn’t you just compromise? Everyone likes different colors, so…”

“Stepmother! I like the color white because I believe it is the greatest thing to exist! I know who I am!”

Wynona was getting worked up. She was going to launch into a rant, and I was tired of it already.

“On the contrary, they do not even care about the color! When I asked these Black Knights why they were so particular about this choice, they replied, ‘Because dirt doesn’t show up on black’!”

“Now, that’s a practical reason!”

“I could have accepted them if they believed all life in the world originated in the darkness or something like that. I could have compromised with them. But I cannot bear even the thought of joining a group who chooses their clothes because it’s easy to clean!”

Wynona was way too concerned about this stuff for her own good, and now she was stuck with adventurers who didn’t care at all…

“And so I lost my cool, and I said to them, ‘Do not talk to me again. If you do, I will bleach your bones white.’”

You even bring it in when you’re picking a fight?!

“But a party is required in order to join the upcoming skills-review tournament. At this rate, I will be unable to participate, and then I will have nothing on my record. I am desperate. I am a drowning woman grasping at straws.”

“Great, good to know our advice means so much.”

Almost a third of me was like, Who cares? on the inside.

But she was my daughter, so I wasn’t going to say that…

“Miss Wynona, I think it would be a good idea to partner up with a different adventuring party,” Laika offered.

Pfft.

A cynical smile crossed Wynona’s face.

“I have no friends.”

“Then make some!”

I couldn’t help but say something. I’m her mom; I can’t stay quiet…

“Stepmother, please do not get the wrong idea. There are no adventurers worthy enough to be my friend. It’s entirely out of my hands.”

“I mean, if that’s how you talk to them, it’s no wonder you can’t make any adventurer friends.”

“And yet I still ranked first in the newcomer division. So?” Wynona glared at me.

I had a feeling she was getting excessively proud after ranking first…

“It is true that I’ve been unable to find other worthy adventurers. The one who placed second in the newcomer division wears cute, pink-heavy outfits, and while the one who placed third does incorporate some white, she mostly uses patterns with an equal amount of black and white. The one who placed fourth mostly wears vibrant primary-color clothes…”

Were we talking about the fashion industry now?

Was her problem that no other adventurer wore mainly white?

“That said, the male adventurers have clear ulterior motives. It’s quite obvious that they simply want to work with the girl in first place of the newcomer division… And then I wonder if they may come to peek on me as I bathe, and the prospect feels so filthy that I cannot even consider it…”

“Ah, so you’re kind of like an idol, aren’t you…?”

Just being a female adventurer in the male-dominated adventurer industry meant the bar was already set higher for them.

“And if I foolishly join an all-male party, then I may garner endless criticism and plummet in the rankings. Thus, the parties that I am eligible to join are limited to begin with…”

It sounded like all the limitations were giving her trouble.

“So… I was hoping you would be able to offer me some of your wisdom…” Wynona’s initially aggressive tone simmered down to almost a whisper.

She was asking for wisdom, but I knew what she actually wanted. She wanted me to join her party.

“Sure. If you want me to, I’ll do it.” I stood slowly from my seat. “As your stepmother, I’d be more than happy to help you out. But I’d get a lot of attention if I join with the name Azusa, so…I’ll need a fake name…”

Wynona looked up at me but then immediately looked away in embarrassment.

“Th-thank you, Step…Stepmother…”

She said it like the mother barely applied…

But a bashful thank-you wasn’t all that bad. I didn’t mind my stepdaughter coming to me for help. Your stepmom’ll do all she can. I’ll show you what I’m capable of.

“Is two people enough for a party?”

“No, we need at least three to join.”

Which meant taking travel to the location into consideration…

I looked at Laika.

“Please allow me to participate!” she said before I could even ask.

“That’s a party, then.”

“I want to go, too, Mistress!” Flatorte stood, excited for her chance to spar with somebody.

“You are too famous, so no.” Wynona waved her off.

“Does everyone already know the amazing exploits of the great Flatorte?!”

“Many requests have been made in your home region to keep an eye out for you. They want to keep you away due to all the trouble you caused in the past.”

She was also on the blacklist in the adventuring world!

Of our family, only Laika and I ended up participating.

It was the early morning on the day of the skills-review tournament. I was wearing my headband with horns.

“Lady Azusa, those horns…still look very cute on you.”

Laika’s face was red. Why were these horns all it took to get this kind of reaction out of her?

“Laika, you’re not reacting to me with the horns but just to the horns themselves, right?”

“Oh, no, not quite… Horns simply catch a dragon’s attention, that’s all…”

Yes, in other words.

For some animals, a fantastic set of horns made them more attractive. Maybe it wasn’t that unusual.

We were staying in an inn in a town not too far from the Mina Mia Sagaya Grove. The grove was a full day’s journey, due south from the house in the highlands, so even taking Laika to the location meant we needed to stay the night before.

“Ah, it’s all right. I’m planning on acting as Azusard while we’re adventuring, so just treat me like that, okay?”

Azusard was the fake name I used when we cleared the Bugabee Underground Ruins. It wasn’t much of a fake name, but I was trying to pretend I was a dragon.

“Yes, of course, Lady Azusa!”

“Hey, Laika! You didn’t even keep to it for a minute!” I couldn’t believe she messed up our agreement that quickly.

“Ah… My apologies, Lady Azusa—Oh… I did it again…” Laika was supremely flustered. Our proper, polite dragon was so used to calling me Lady Azusa that she was going to have a hard time remembering my fake name.

The real reason was because it would be a huge pain if people found out I was the Witch of the Highlands… She just needed to do her best.

“By the way, Lady Azusa—”

“You’re not even trying, are you?”

She was making the same mistake with such frequency that I was starting to think it was less of a mistake and more just spite.

“A-anyway…” Oh, so she was going with the don’t-use-my-name-at-all strategy. “I wonder where Miss Wynona went. She has been gone all morning.”

When I woke up, Wynona was already gone.

Well, it wasn’t like she ran off without a word—she had apparently told Laika, who was already awake, that she was going out before leaving.

“Maybe—surprise, surprise—she went out to go look for white foods?”

“…That is possible.”

Last night, all she ate was bread and cheese with white rinds.

I told her that an unbalanced diet was bad for her, but she only said, “I am a slime spirit, so no need to worry.” And I couldn’t argue with that…

But wouldn’t that then mean Falfa and Shalsha didn’t have to eat vegetables? I didn’t want them to grow up completely unable to eat any greens, though…

The inn was lively for such a remote town. I could hear laughter coming from the other rooms. I bet the majority of them were adventurers headed toward the grove.

“It feels like we’re all here to climb a mountain or compete in a national sports meet.”

In this day and age, there weren’t a whole lot of fiendish monsters out there, and in a worst-case scenario, the demons would take care of them. Adventurers had no choice but to show off their skills in tournaments and stuff.

“I wasn’t expecting this event, but I am so happy I get to show off the fruits of my daily training!” Laika balled both her hands into fists.

“You really are the model student, Laika. We’ll just take this easy. And…we would probably win by a landslide if you went all out in this tournament… Weren’t you the strongest person in Nanterre Province before I showed up?”

“Oh, no… I was simply full of myself at the time… Others must have been far more worthy than I…”

Telling Laika not to be so humble was like telling water not to be wet. She was the type to genuinely acknowledge her weaknesses whenever she encountered them, and that’s probably what made her get so powerful.

As we chatted, the door opened. Wynona was back, and she was carrying a really big bag.

Her outfit was, as always, white. And it was a dress, which made it really hard to think she would be fighting in it at all. But I guess it wasn’t much different from what Laika normally wore.

“Greetings, the both of you. I was out on a search.”

“A search for what?”

“It would be easier if I showed you.”

She pulled out of the bag…white clothing. And a ton of it.

“What? What is this?”

“Clothes.”

“No. That’s not what I mean! Why did you bring them?”

“The both of you will be changing into this. It is best to wear a pure-white outfit to display one’s unsullied spirit.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, but then you can see all the dirt!”

And even if you couldn’t, an adventuring party that wore all white was kind of terrifying…

“Stepmother, that other party I told you about calls themselves the Black Knights, so there is nothing to worry about. If they will allow black, then they will allow white.”

“But you know they’re wearing armor, right? This isn’t armor—it’s just regular clothes! Some of this is for a dance festival or a wedding…”

“Yes, and one must display one’s unsullied spirit in a wedding, too, as you must in battle.”

Why are wedding clothes and adventuring clothes the same?

“Stepmother, you will help me, yes? You will obey me. I am not asking you to wear a mourning dress to battle.”

Wearing a dance festival getup to a battle was just about as weird as a mourning dress…

“There are other upsides to this, too.”

“Oh? Lemme hear it.”

“While all the other adventurers are wearing regular clothes, the ones wearing pure-white dresses will be recognized as powerful characters.”

“You’re probably right, but is that relevant to anything?!”

You’d definitely get a boss vibe from us—the ones with a unique design usually weren’t regular old cannon fodder. I’d be on my guard if I were a normal adventurer.

“You understand, don’t you, Laika?” Wynona asked the dragon, who was looking on with interest. She must’ve thought I was being stubborn.

“I-if Lady Azusa says it’s all right, then I will wear whatever I must…”

Laika didn’t do too well with forceful personalities…

But if I refused to change, then I couldn’t participate, and then we’d be back to square one.

“Fine. We’ll change.” I folded. It wasn’t like I was wearing any armor to begin with, and I couldn’t see any downsides besides standing out horribly.

“Thank you.”

I wondered how genuine that thanks actually was, but Wynona still bowed.

And so the all-white party made their debut in the grove.

I personally wouldn’t want to run across us at dusk. We might be mistaken for some otherworldly beings…

“Since you so kindly wore white for me, I will do you a favor and divine your luck for today.”

Wynona slipped out a white sphere from her sleeve. Very fortune-teller-esque.

“Huh, so you can do magic and fortune-telling.”

“The study of magic is quite similar to divination, after all.”

I guess that was true. Maybe I was the exception, since I knew how to use magic before I learned it properly.

“Then you didn’t need to go all the way to Nascúte to have Canimeow tell your fortune… Oh right, you can’t divine yourself.”

Maybe part of the demand of fortune-tellers came from other fortune-tellers?

“Now then, let’s begin.”

Wynona started mumbling something. As she did, the white sphere in her hand began to float.

“Whoa, that’s real magic… And a kind of magic I’ve never heard of before…”

I could use magic, but this looked like it was from a totally different school.

“I am a spirit, so I am able to use unique magic.”

She wasn’t human, so she could probably easily learn from schools that humans struggled with.

“Stepmother, could you move to the side a bit? And, Laika, please come forward.”

We did as she said, and Wynona slowly closed her eyes.

The white sphere shuddered ever so slightly.

“All was once infinitely carved from the singularity… Thence are we all born—you and I, the earth and stars… As we share the same mother, so we share the same destiny…”

Ooh, that was a real incantation.

I knew she liked to emphasize that I was only her stepmother, but I was still happy to see a daughter of mine growing up into a fine young lady. I hoped she had a fantastic tenure in the adventuring world in the future.

“I see it.” Wynona opened her eyes, and her white sphere plopped down into her palm.

“What did you see…?”

This was serious stuff. Even if she didn’t make it as an adventurer, I bet she could still make a living as a fortune-teller.

“Stepmother, your lucky color today is white.”

“That fortune tells you your lucky color?!”

What a silly answer after all that buildup!

“And, Laika, your lucky color today is white.”

“Hey! Do you ever get a lucky color that isn’t white?! You sure you’re not just saying white for everything?”

“You are so rude, Stepmother.”

Whoops, maybe I was going a little too hard.

“When my style of fortune-telling is properly performed, you will always get the lucky color white. It is the superior color, and justly so.”

“White is the default, then!”

The whole thing was for her to proselytize to us about her favorite color.

“And so, it is best to wear your lucky color.”

“Okay, okay! Fine, I get it!”

I couldn’t deal with this anymore, so I just put on the white.