Cherry & Lime

“We’re here,” Shora said, opening a large wooden door.

Fortunately, we had enough time before reaching the library to calm down somewhat.

Accidentally gave our relationship away… Can’t believe that actually turned out well.

The library was impressively vast, with numerous bookshelves spanning three stories, and no shelf was empty. Lacquered wood and elegant craftsmanship were visible everywhere.

We were led to a large, open area near the back, where a young girl was basking in the sunlight with a book in her hands.

Seeing us enter, she closed her book and walked up to us. She was torn between being excited to see her dad, since his visits were rather infrequent, and being nervous about the two strangers with her parents.

Ellecor wrapped her in a big hug and warmly said, “Hey, sweetie! How’s my favorite person doing?”

“I’m doing well,” came her muffled reply. They separated, then she continued, “I’m currently reading about an ancient civilization that existed on the Creorsc continent.” She looked over at us. “Who are the new people?”

“They are Jade and Allamyne, questers,” Shora introduced us.

We then sat down at a table near a window that had enough seats for all of us.

“’Questers’?” she repeated, examining us. She was obviously wondering what business a pair of questers had in the royal villa.

“I think it would be best if Jade explained why we brought them here today.”

Okay, here goes.

Nervously, I began to explain, “I’m… like you. Growing up, people thought I was a boy. And when I insisted otherwise, my situation became bad enough that, for my own safety, I had to run away from home.”

Her eyes were wide as she looked at me. She looked at her parents for confirmation that I wasn’t lying, and they nodded and smiled in return.

Suddenly, her mood dropped a bit. “So, what then, you drank that stupid elixir, and now you’re here?”

I shook my head. “No. I was previously a human, but a few months ago, a bizarre magical accident turned me into a person made of slime. From there, my body’s shape changed on its own, into what you see before you today.”

“So… there’s a way, then? Without it? You can really do it?”

I could only feel heartbroken as I couldn’t guarantee anything right now. “That’s unknown, I’m afraid. What happened to me was an accident involving ancient ritual magic, which isn’t something that can or even should be repeated. I was brought here to see if only the results of what happened to me can be reproduced, not the process.

“I only just met your parents a few hours ago, but in the coming days and weeks, I’ll be working with people to figure things out.

“But the other reason I came here, one that I believe is equally important, is because you’ve never met anyone else who’s had to deal with these issues before. In fact… neither have I.”

Her mouth was left hanging slightly open while she sorted out her thoughts.

“If I may,” Allamyne started, “I’ve known Jade for a few years now, but her transformation is still recent. Up until it happened, no one in the group knew that Jade, her real self, was who she actually was.”

After looking at me to make sure talking about me was okay, she continued, “She went through many bad experiences in the past because of people who found out about her, so she was scared of losing us as friends, or worse. That’s why we had no idea until then.

“From the time we met and up until her transformation, she always seemed depressed, and… stifled somehow. But after the incident that changed her occurred, and all of our party accepted her as she is, she became probably happier than I’ve ever seen anyone be before.

“And her personality… I’d say that it’s generally the same as before. She’s like a new person, but also not. She’s still the same person, but she no longer seems muted or dulled somehow. I guess she’s the complete version of herself now, is what I’m saying.”

I decided to pick up where off. “I think that sounds about right. A few months ago is when I felt like I could see color for the first time. The gray clouds that were constantly hanging over me vanished.

“And though I only got to spend a few weeks between sorting out my abruptly changed life and being suddenly called here, those few weeks of not being hated for being myself were… well, I suppose euphoric would be a good word to use, but it feels like it’s more than that, even.

“There’s still the anger and frustration I feel because society only allows people with specific types of bodies to behave in certain ways.

“There are times where I feel like I’m somehow an impostor, or that I don’t belong or deserve to be here or even be happy like this. Or how I still fear what might happen if anyone ever finds out.”

Allamyne put her hand on mine. I’d told her these things in private before, but I still appreciated her care for me. “The biggest, and most difficult thing, though, was the overwhelming loneliness I lived with. I didn’t know anyone else who felt the way I did growing up.

“I didn’t have anyone I could talk to, and out of everyone in that village I grew up in, not one person there was empathetic toward me or even attempted to understand me. I even tried talking with others outside my village on rare occasion, but it just never went well.

“And that’s why I’m so glad to meet you. I’m happy to know that I’m not the single person in the entire world who’s like this. Just knowing that you exist makes me feel better because I have someone I can relate to, someone else who understands just how hard it is.”

I was crying as I described how I was feeling. The amount of trauma I’ve endured and the happiness of finally having people I can talk to about this was intense.

“Thank you,” Shora said as a couple tears ran down her cheeks. She wasn’t the only one crying, either.

———

We stayed and talked for several hours, but we eventually did have to return to the castle. Shora remained in the villa with Incori, which was the princess’ name, as we had finally learned.

She chose it herself, and it was a word from an old language that meant “sunlight sparkling on water”. Ellecor and Shora had both been distracted enough throughout the day that they’d forgotten to mention her name to us earlier.

She was sad to see us go, but her parents did promise her that we’d be able to meet again.

Upon returning to the castle, Sanor and Mallok began bombarding us with questions. Despite being told that we were only going to visit, as well as the apparent safety of our situation, they still just couldn’t feel at ease.

We explained to them the royal couple’s views on various topics, gender and sexuality specifically, to which they were just as surprised as we had been.

Just a few years ago, their views had been radically different. Since then, they’ve been reevaluating their lives hard. So much so that it even relieved a lot of my girlfriend’s tension, as she has a lot of unpleasant memories of this place.

With all the serious stuff out of the way, Sanor obligatorily complained about how two whole days of etiquette training ended up not being needed at all.

———

The following day was my meeting with the court mage, a kind lady named Mirst.

She asked me numerous questions, cast a plethora of spells that gave data about my body, and also used some devices to get even more data. It was pretty nerve-wracking, but other than a few odd sensations after some spells had been cast, I didn’t have to deal with a lot.

The part that I had been really nervous about had been when she found out about my healing ability. I’d been afraid of being studied invasively because of it, but that proved to be a needless worry.

It actually gave her a sense of relief, as it meant that Incori wouldn’t have to worry about dying as easily as an ordinary slime could, assuming this all works out as we’re hoping it will.

I also demonstrated my slime abilities, and she determined that the mana I emit to attach myself to surfaces would suffice for her to study.

Allamyne stayed with me the whole time, and as the tests continued over the following days and weeks, she was there for most of it. Sanor and Mallok would check in regularly as well, which was appreciated.

At that point, she had gotten all the data she possibly could without actually doing anything yet. I had a few days’ reprieve from all the testing, and when she was ready again, it was actually easier than before.

She had constructed a lot of devices and enchantments. I would meet her early in the morning, she would test them out, and then I would be done for the day by noon at the latest. She would then work on altering or constructing new devices for the next day.

Those tests with all the devices began to give me this unusual feeling of energy permeating me, and as days went by, that feeling became stronger during the tests. It didn’t hurt or affect me in any way other than that.

Mirst explained that the sensation been feeling meant she was making progress. Her simplified explanation was that it was a spell being cast through my body.

Having free time again, I joined the others in training. Stuck at the castle, we couldn’t do any quests at the moment. So we trained instead.

We hadn’t left the castle grounds yet, either, as all four of us were just commoners whose reason for repeatedly entering the grounds would be questioned.

When we weren’t training, we read books from the section of the library we’d been given access to, or just talked with each other.

It was during training one day that another advantage of my new body suddenly became apparent to me; I couldn’t get out of shape. I could just laze around for a long time and never get any weaker, but on the other hand, I could never get any stronger, either. Exercising hadn’t improved my body in the slightest.

We also didn’t have to worry about encountering any nobles, because the areas we were in weren’t places they would debase themselves by being seen there. Essentially, it was a designated commoner zone. All of us were fine with that, though. Living in the castle was already strange enough for us.

Seven weeks after those initial tests began, Mirst confirmed that she thought she had got it down. After looking over everything several times, she decided it was ready to be tested.

———

Myself, my three party members, Ellecor, Shora and Mirst were each standing around one of Mirst’s work tables, which had been cleared of anything irrelevant to the procedure.

Mirst had been sending the king and queen regular reports of her progress, but this was the first time she was discussing the details in person with them.

Mirst began giving a rundown of everything she had discovered, “To begin with, Jade’s transformation into a slime woman is a slightly inaccurate way of describing things.

“Technically, she only turned into a slime, and because her perception of herself is that of a woman, her new body, which did not have a definite form, changed to fit her perception.

“What this means is that, if this works, Incori will have to become a slime in order to change shape. I have also determined, that even as a slime, she would still age normally into an adult. This has to do with mental age and perception of the self.

“Now, when Jade transformed, she described the feeling as being incredibly hot, cold, and above all, painful. The ancient ritual magic running rampant through her body only exacerbated that pain.

“That magic is actually still present in her body, and is now simply a part of who she is. During the test, I will be casting a spell that latches onto the magic, then goes through her body and into the other person.

“I mentioned the pain, because I believe that, with this method, it will be rather minimal, if not present at all.

“The biggest caveat to all of this is that whomever we find as a test subject has to actually want the change to happen. They can’t just be willing to be part of an experiment for money, they have to actively desire and will it to happen.

“Ancient ritual magic is an unusual thing for a variety of reasons, but one of them is ‘intent’. The goblin wanted to kill Jade, so a spell was cast. That spell was doing what it had been intended to do within her body, but as she healed, it then followed her intent, her desire, and changed its purpose.

“The slime that was also being affected by the magic within Jade’s body then provided a way for the magic to follow through on Jade’s desire.

“The effects of the greater restoration potion that had been used also got added to the mix, not stopping at just healing her injuries. A potion is essentially a consumable spell, which is why its effect was easily picked up by the lightning spell.

“The result is that Jade’s rate of healing is now highly-accelerated at all times, with no strain on her body.

“An interesting thing I discovered is that that aspect is actually variable. As it is already a part of Jade, that means that in her case, it can’t change. But when performing the procedure, if a different type of magic is introduced, then that magic will become a part of them the way Jade’s healing is a part of her.

“As a result, however, the person’s healing rate would drop significantly, likely to only around that of an average person’s. In exchange, they will have slime of that other type of magic that was introduced.

“For example, if water magic was used, then their slime would have attributes of water magic instead. They also, in that case, would not have any color to their body, instead being completely clear, like glass.

“As for the innate boost to fire magic that we as flame tieflings have, it would disappear.

“Another aspect of Jade being a slime that she only just recently discovered is that her physical ability is static. She will never become any stronger or weaker, no matter how much exercise she does or doesn’t get. Of course, Jade has all the regular abilities of a slime as well.

“Finally, regarding Incori’s future, she would not be capable of having children the traditional way. The way ordinary slimes reproduce is when ambient mana accumulates inside certain crystals that retain mana. If that mana doesn’t go anywhere for a long enough length of time, it will become a slime’s core, and the body will form around it.

“Slimes are essentially just a creature that comes into existence because of too much mana building up.

“It’s been proven that places with too much mana and nothing to use it up will eventually result in something gaining that mana and running rampant because it can’t handle the strain of all of it. That’s what gives rise to Calamity-class monsters.

“So this means that slimes are actually good for the ecosystem, as they provide an outlet for that excess mana. It is also the reason that it is actually illegal to kill too many slimes, otherwise, the ecosystem is disturbed and-”

Ellecor interrupted her with a cough.

“Ah, I’m digressing a bit. Theoretically, it might be possible for a slime person to induce the forming of a core around a crystal.

“As an outlet for mana, you would essentially ‘imprint’ yourself onto a crystal, which could then grow into another slime person.

“And if another person,” she glanced at Allamyne, “were to add their own mana in addition to it, well, it might be like two people becoming parents. The theoretical child would be one hundred percent slime person, though, but with some traits of the other parent or parents.

“So that’s the summary. Questions?”

While the entire Broken Song party was gobsmacked with her previously unstated findings of the possibility of me becoming a mother, which gave me a lot of feelings, Mirst answered several questions from Ellecor and Shora. Afterward, they discussed how they would go about searching for a test subject and what criteria to use.

———

It was a few weeks before they finally found someone for the experiment. I’m not sure what they said or how they found this guy, but he was excited to a disturbing degree.

Mirst had set up a workshop in a discreet building outside the capital center, the entirety of which was reserved for nobility.

The workshop looked just as nice as her one in the castle did, so I got the impression that she sometimes came here to do work that wouldn’t have been acceptable to do in the castle. It wasn’t anything illegal, but just things that, for whatever reason, had to be done elsewhere.

It was only myself, Allamyne, Mirst and Jovnor, the man’s name, here. He was lying on the prepared table as Mirst explained everything to him one final time.

After the explanation was finished and the materials prepared, I sat beside the table, and Mirst positioned herself behind me. According to her, everything being lined up like this somehow helped with the process.

As instructed, I pushed mana into him through my adhesion ability, and Mirst began casting her spells through a device she’d made, which then passed through me before finally reaching Jovnor.

In the device, a large, light blue crystal had been inserted into a special slot. This was the means through which he would become a different type of slime person than I was. He had chosen ice, as he thought it would help him do interesting things with food ingredients that required preservation.

I suppose that, as a quester, healing would’ve been the ideal choice for me, had I been given one. Yet another way I was incredibly lucky.

We watched with amazement—Mirst, through a mirror hanging overhead—as Jovnor began turning completely clear, but with a faint blue tint.

He described feeling the same freezing/burning sensation that I did, and while he did say it was uncomfortable, he didn’t seem to be in any serious amount of pain.

Several long minutes later, a clear, slightly blue man was left on the table in place of the tiefling man that had been there before. He still had horns and a tail, with his horns being made of the same hard type of slime that protected my core and also made up my teeth.

I backed off so that Mirst could properly examine him, making sure that he was physically and mentally okay, as well as take note of any changes besides the obvious.

I was feeling somewhat tired, so I sat with my girlfriend a good distance away from them. I ended up taking a nap, resting my head on her shoulder. With nothing else to do, she joined me.

We were woken up a few hours later by Mirst and Jovnor, who had been declared as healthy, and also wanted to thank me.

I blinked in bewilderment, as Jovnor was looking decidedly less masculine than when I’d seen them last, immediately after their transformation.

Mirst explained for them, “According to… them, they sometimes feel like a man, sometimes a woman, sometimes both and sometimes neither.

“Since the procedure’s completion, their appearance gradually shifted to what you see now, which changes in accordance with their mood.

“Though shapeshifting races are quite rare, there are some among them who change continuously like this.

“So congratulations to the both of you,” she said, smiling. “A lot of doors have just been opened up for likely a great deal of people.”

“Yes! Thank you so much!” Jovnor exclaimed. They hugged both Mirst and myself before immediately running off with a huge smile on their face.

“Will they be okay?” Allamyne asked. “They don’t look anything like they did only a few hours ago.”

Mirst replied. “Part of the reason it took a few weeks to set this up was to prepare the legal change of identity for them. They’re going to be starting over in a different part of the city.”

“So everything worked out, then? We can help Incori?” I asked hopefully.

She smiled and nodded excitedly. “Yes! And though I was able to gather plenty of data from today, after helping her, I should have enough to be able to do this for others without needing to involve you. You’re a nice person, but I’m sure you want to get back to questing, yes?”

I nodded. AAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!