TL: Yuki

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My name is Cozette Izfield, and I am the daughter of a frontier countess who protects her country from the threats of the monsters that live in the vast Demon Forest. I have two brothers and no sisters.

 

Our territory of Izfield has strong knights to hunt the monsters of the Demon Forest, and we are in a constant state of war with them. I’ve heard that other territories have jobs such as hunters, but not in this territory. The knights, adventurers, and mercenaries are laughing, swinging their swords, bows, and staffs, and beating the demons to a pulp. The food we serve in our the tables are mostly killer rabbit meat. It’s such a wonderful, cozy territory.

 

By the way, a common funny story around here is,

 

「 Yesterday, I bit into a piece of meat and got a crunch, which turned out to be a magic stone.」

 

「 That’s also what happened to me the day before yesterday.」

 

「 It’s all the same when you continue to eat that stuff.」

 

「「「HAHAHAHAHA」」」

 

That’s what is common around here. Isn’t it nice?

 

 Unfortunately, I’ve never experienced 「 That 」.

 

Thanks to our territory, the people in the territories behind Izfield and the royal capital can live comfortably and peacefully. Many thanks for slaying the demons, it has given us the wealth that comes from the Demon Forest, and keeping us safe.

 

By the way, that’s why people around me called me “Miss” or “Princess” and I was brought up with great care.

 

Well, our territory is not the only territory like that. There are a number of other frontier territories, each with their own neighbors and their own stakes like the Oceans.

 

……Even though I am doing my best in this way, it seems that behind my back I am being called a barbarian or a countryside aristocrat. Well, I don’t care about them. My father always says that those people are the ones who will die if you beat them, the ones who can only bark with their mouths in frustration. That’s what my father says, so I guess he’s right.

 

It’s certainly true that no matter what we say with our words, the forest wolf won’t wait for us. Even a sheep will kick its hind legs and resist. Power is the absolute force that prevails over everything else.

 

 ――Now let’s talk about me.

 

Ever since I can remember, I have heard voices. It seemed to come from within my ears, or from within my heart.

 

It’s not that I am crazy……probably.

 

The first time I heard the voice was when I was three years old. When I was feeling frustrated, the handle of a cup of tea was on my left side, and I couldn’t stand it, so I got angry.

 

I knock off the cup and glare at the maid, who lowers her head.

 

A feeling of indescribable emotion welled up in me.

 

 I don’t need a maid like this!

 

Just when I was about to open my mouth.

 

《 No, you can’t!!》

 

Suddenly, I heard a voice that I had never heard before. Startled, I looked around. Of course, there was nothing, and no one. Only Maya, the blue-faced maid, was there.

 

「 O, Ojou-sama 」

 

「 Eh? Eh……that, that enough, just go 」

 

「 Hai, I’m really sorry about that.」

 

「 Hmm……」

 

 My thoughts were completely distracted by the voice, and I couldn’t care less about the maid’s crude behavior (which was crude in my opinion at the time).

 

 ◇

 

The voice could be heard from then on. When I tried to fire the knight who greeted me because his beard looked dirty, when I tried to tell the gardener I saw to get out of my sight because he was dirty with mud, when I tried to take a maid’s necklace because it was so beautiful (later I heard that it was a memento of her mother).

 

Not knowing when I was being watched made me practice harder. The teachers were very happy to teach me so many things. Thanks to them, I learned the joy of studying. It’s good to have more knowledge.

 

I’ve started training and so on. As long as I don’t know what the Voice is, it might become my enemy. I’ve been praised for my good muscles, though I’m still learning simple physical strength and bodywork to protect myself.

 

One of the most terrifying instances was when I didn’t like my stew for dinner and turned it upside down. The voice was so strong that I thought the whole world was shaking and told me not to waste food. I spent three days shaking and praying under an inexplicable pressure.

 

Later, I learned that many people, farmers, merchants, knights, adventurers, etc., were involved in making the stew and spent many days in the process. We, the nobles, are the ones who manage the lives of these people and guarantee their peace.

 

In other words, as a result of our work, the people can live their daily lives, and in turn, the stew is made. More to the point, I’m just a child. It is your parents who have done the work. I didn’t do anything. I simply receive.

 

 Instead of thanking them, I only wasted their time and effort!!!

 

It is natural to be strongly offended.

 

Furthermore, people need food to live. Throwing it away is something that should never have happened.

 

The pressure was gone after I understood and strongly reflected on the situation.

 

The “voice” has always been there to keep me going and to stop me whenever I needed to.

 

 ……Looking back at myself again, I’m not a good person. I’m just a selfish girl.

 

If I didn’t hear that “Voice” at that time, I would have turned into a demon in human skin, created by the Izfield domain. A woman of fear who would erase anything and everything she didn’t like. It’s so ironic that it even scares me.

 

「 What are you? Are you a god? A spirit?」

 

I asked her about it, but she wouldn’t answer me. It just didn’t seem like a bad thing. I always felt a kindness from the voice. And in retrospect, I felt that the voice was always guiding me in the right direction.

 

I have come to think of the voices as spirits.

 

 ◇

 

「 Your 『 Job 』 is a ＜ Slime Master > 」

 

「 haah……?」

 

The priest looked at me with an indescribable expression.

 

I was five years old, and my father was taking me to church. I was five years old when my father took me to church to receive my 「 Job 」.

 

For the first time in my life, I was going outside. I was dressed up very nicely, and my father took me in his arms and put me in the carriage.

 

The rickety floor, the colorful streets, the many people. I realized that there were so many people in the city outside the lord’s mansion.

 

The church was also very large, with shimmering stained-glass and wonderful statues of various gods.

 

I was taken to a private room and told, 「 You are a ＜ Slime Master ＞ 」.

 

My face is reflected in the polished crystal. I have cream-colored, straight hair and blue eyes. People around me say that I am as lovely as a doll, but I guess they are just flattering me. No matter how hard I try, I can’t change my facial expression, so I guess you could say I’m like a doll.

 

「 Job 」 is a very important guideline for us to decide our life. Of course, you can ignore it. 「 Job 」 and 「 Profession 」 are two different things. However, it is hard to make it big without it. There seem to be exceptions, though.

 

For example, a person with the job aptitude of a < Wizard > has many magical affinities and the potential to use powerful magic. I’ve also heard that a ＜ Farmer  > can tell whether a field is good or bad through his senses.

 

「……Father, are you sure it’s not a ＜ Demon Master ＞?」

 

「 Yeah, I’m sure. The job definitely says ＜ Slime Master ＞.」

 

 The priest is answering the father’s question.

 

＜ Demon Master ＞ is the job that makes demons their followers. It is a job that allows you to understand the thoughts of the demons you have under your command. It is a very flexible job that can be used as a scout with a Wolf or a tank with a Bear. The disadvantage of this job is that it costs a lot of money for food and lodging, and you may not be able to enter towns in other territories. In this territory, which has a demon forest, there are various ways to use this job, and it is highly welcomed.

 

I could see that the priest’s face was getting paler and paler.

 

Bwoosh……

 

I could feel the air inside the small private room getting worse and worse. It’s heavier and more tense.

 

I could see the amount of sweat on the priest’s face increase.

 

By the looks of it, it’s probably not a lie.

 

My job is definitely ＜ Slime Master ＞ it seems.

 

Slimes are the weakest of all monsters. They are everywhere, come in many varieties, are useless, and no one cares about them. They are round, translucent things that shake and tremble. They don’t even produce magic stones.

 

 I’m not sure if it’s a plant or an animal, so they just say that it’s a monster anyway.

 

If they enter the city, they start melting the walls of the houses and get kicked off by feet or crushed by one hand. That kind of monster.

 

Nobles have a duty to lead their people, and in Izfield, where danger is always close at hand, my family has been performing the role of this work for generations.

 

 In my family, where 「 Being Strong 」 has been required for generations, it seems that my aptitude for the 「 Job 」 is also expected to be tremendous. If you’re a ＜ Swordsman ＞, you can slaughter a lot of demons with your sword and even hand out hunting trophies as souvenirs in the royal capital. If you’re a ＜ Wizard ＞, you can use wind magic to cut through forests and earth magic to build forts and many more. if you’re a ＜ Farmer ＞, you can go around the fields and make a big contribution to the self-sufficiency of the territory. One person can do the work of a thousand people.

 

My father also received the job of ＜ Swordsman ＞ and has a wonderful body of over two meters. He has a shining inverted triangle. Even the claw marks on his face are just accessories to decorate his dignified face. I would like to touch the beard around his mouth someday (I heard that only mother can touch it. It’s very passionate). I’m always looking forward to the stories and battle records he tells me when he returns from the Demon Forest.

 

My father, who is usually referred to as the 「 Talking ogre of Izfield 」 because of his unchanging facial expression, right now has a gaping expression.

 

You can see a throbbing aura behind him.

 

「……I see. This is a donation.」

 

「 Y, yes!!!」

 

In the end, the father’s mood was still the same, and I didn’t know what to say.

 

I couldn’t even look at the exciting road ahead of me anymore, and I just kept asking myself what I should do.

 

My mind is elsewhere, and the next thing I know, it’s night and I’m in bed in my private room.

 

I thought I heard something from your father on the way here……. I probably would have answered him straight away. I’m a bad girl.

 

 ＜ Slime Master ＞……How am I supposed to contribute to the territory with this job? I’m not sure what to make of it. It’s a monster that even a child like me could defeat by beating it with a stick. What do you want me to do with such a slime?

 

I imagine that I would be able to live up to the name of the Izfield family if I were to choose any other path.

 

 But even if I have the manpower of thousand of slimes, can it really be enough to become power. I feel that even if I had 10,000 slimes with me, I would be annihilated by a single Forest Rat.

 

「 Uuu……」

 

I rubbed my face against the bed and continued to cry quietly. I must have been a bad child. God must have punished me so that I could not do any more bad things.

 

God, was it the stew at that time that was bad?

 

 Perhaps it was. How very sinister of me.

 

I can’t even apologize to the spirits.

 

I have nothing but regret.

 

◇

 

I found myself in a white space. This must be a dream. I must have fallen asleep because I was tired of crying.

 

 Top, bottom, front, left and right. Everywhere is white. A white space that goes on forever.

 

 In the midst of all this, there was a woman sitting on the ground, eating something crunchy while watching a moving picture.

 

The woman is facing away from me.

 

 Very shiny, short cut, black hair. I had never seen hair as black as night before. At least, not in the mansion where I live.

 

「……Ummm」

 

「 Oh? Hmmm? Cozette-chan?」

 

 The woman turns to look at me.

 

 The voice sounded very familiar to me.

 

「 Spirit-sama……?」

 

「 Fufufu, what’s that 」

 

The woman laughs softly and beckons me over.

 

Even though I don’t know her.

 

I wandered closer to the woman as if I were being drawn to her.

 

「 I am……Ah, only nobles have last names, right? For the time being, just Call me Chiyo. 」

 

「 Y, yes. I am Cozette Izfield, the eldest daughter of the Izfield family.」

 

「 Fufu, I know. Come over here, have a seat.」

 

The spirit seems to be a very friendly person.