Monster no Goshujin-sama - Volume 3 - Chapter 24

Monster no Goshujin-sama: Volume 3 Chapter 24: A Strange Dream

Translator: Ai-sama
Editor: iwCJ

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~Lily’s PoV~

“……Haa”

A sigh melted into the cool mountain air.

I was walking alone in the mountains.

I got caught in the landslide that Gerbera caused in order to repel the attacking [Idaten], and was separated from everyone else.

Now, I was heading towards where Master is.

“……”

Contrary to the refreshing mountain air, my steps were heavy.
And, moreover, my heart was heavy.

“Haa”

Once more, I sighed.

……Again, I was unable to properly protect Master.

Of course, though I said “I was unable to protect,” currently, he’s safe.

However, that was just in hindsight.
The fact that I was unable to protect Master didn’t change.

When Iino attacked Master, I was the one who was closest to him.
And yet, Iino easily passed by me, and Master was hit.

It was good that Iino didn’t didn’t have the intention to do that, otherwise, Master would probably no longer have his life by now.

Even after that, it was a mess.

No matter how many times she attacked, no attack reached Iino.
She was simply ignored, and if she knew that she was being held back on, she would have even felt depressed.

“I thought I’d gotten stronger though you know……”

Those words of complaint, were also true in one respect.

After I was handily beaten by Juumonji at Fort Tillia, I became painfully aware of my lack of strength.
I’ve been putting my efforts towards doing something about it.

As a result of that, I have unmistakably become stronger.
Not only in terms of simple combat experience, but also as a monster; the me now can’t be compared to when I met Master.

I’ve preyed on many monsters, especially at Fort Tillia.
Within my body, there are now hundreds of monsters swirling around.

Although it’s not possible to display their full power when only in one form, it’s possible to display a fighting ability that makes the monsters of the outer layer of the sea of trees into things that aren’t even opponents.

……Still, it wasn’t enough to take on the [Idaten] Iino Yuna as an opponent at all though.

Of course, she was also a bad opponent.

The [Idaten] Iino Yuna, who was even well-known within the Colony.
She has two names, which was rare even in the expedition force made up of cheats.

She is nearly the strongest fighter in the world, so to speak.

Even Gerbera, who was able to persist against Juumonji of the expedition force, was being knocked around.
It can’t be helped even if I can’t oppose her.

However, considering the fact that they had been forced to clash with Juumonji, as well as Iino, in the just past two months, it was also a fact that she was in a situation where she couldn’t say such a thing.

……What should I do?

For example, partial mimicry.
Thinking that if realized, there was a possibility that it would become a significant power up, I experimented to see whether or not I could transform only a single part of my body into that of another monster, while still mimicking the form of a girl.

But, it wasn’t going smoothly.
There wasn’t even a chance of it going smoothly.
Because the limits of my species, stood before me as a wall.

Other than that, another one of the plans――I couldn’t mimic Mizushima Miho’s cheat ability either.

Did this mean that my mimicry ability, with its inevitable deterioration, couldn’t reproduce the non-standard power of a cheat ability?
Or, was it because Mizushima Miho herself hadn’t yet awakened her cheat ability, so there was nothing to mimic?

Either way, the conclusion is the same.
In the end, there are things that I, an imitation, can’t reach no matter how hard I struggle.

That obvious fact, pained my chest.
That pain, like waves that come and go, call and awaken unhelpful thoughts.

――If the one who was here wasn’t me, but rather Mizashima Miho.
――The things that an imitation can’t do, the real one would be able to do.

I know these are just meaningless suppositions.
I also know that it’s a bad disposition.

Still, especially recently, I’ve had many opportunities to think about these things

‘If only I were the real thing.’
It’s because I’m an imitation, that I can’t help but think that.

……However, Katou-san seemed to think about it in a different way.

She said that the deterioration that comes with my mimicry ability, shouldn’t be “I cannot do it,” but rather “I can do it but incompletely.”

‘As such, it should be possible to mimic, albeit imperfectly, the [predisposition to manifest cheat abilities] that Miho Mizushima possessed as a transferee’――was what she asserted.

It doesn’t matter whether I’m an imitation or not.
There must be some other reason.

True. If you asked me, I feel like that’s certainly the case.

……But still, it doesn’t change the fact that I can’t do it though.

“Haa”

When I noticed that once again, I had unconsciously sighed, I shook my head.

Brooding over it won’t help.

Being alone is no good. I can’t help but feel depressed.
I have to quickly join up with Master and the others.

I naturally quickened my pace, and hurried forward.

“……Master”

A gnawing feeling slowly grew in my chest.

I want to hurry, and confirm his safety with my very eyes.

It was vexing that I couldn’t quickly reach my destination.
I should have already walked for quite a while now though……

“……Are?”

Speaking of which, just how long have I been walking like this?

I suddenly stopped in my tracks when I was confronted with a question I couldn’t ignore.

Wait a moment.
This is strange. Why is it, that I don’t even know something like that?

“It’s natural that you don’t know”

I found myself in front of a lone girl.

“After all, this is a dream”

――At that moment, the world shattered.

The scene of the mountain I was walking on flew about like glass, and I was thrown into the darkness.

I couldn’t even let out a single reaction.
In the pitch-black world, the girl who had called out to me earlier was floating in front of me.
The girl leaned forward with her hands clasped behind her back, her flaxen hair swayed as if it were in water, and she was trying to look at my face from below2――she was “myself.”

……I see.
This abruptness, this incomprehensibleness, it must certainly be that of a dream.

I guess this is what’s called lucid dreaming.

But, where in the world did this come from?
I’m sure that I was walking on the mountain to join Master, who I was separated from because I was caught in the landslide.

And then……then.
What happened? I can’t remember.

As I held my forehead, the [me] in front of me asked:

“There are other strange things, aren’t there?”

Other things? ……Aah, that’s true.

I am a Mimic Slime. I’m a monster that doesn’t need to sleep.
Despite that, why am I dreaming?

Naturally, to dream, you can’t keep your consciousness.
That means that the me in the real world has lost unconsciousness.

Something happened. Something that made me lose my consciousness.

“Saa, wake up”

Right, I have to wake up.

“If you don’t hurry, [Majima-kun] will die you know――”

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Though most of the chapter is in first person (Lily’s), some parts of the text are in third person.
It’s this (if my description sucks (which kinda does (is this from Dokidoki Literature Club?))):