The Slime Doesn't Die from Mana Transfer-Chapter 47 : Massage

After a round of training.
Rozelite collapsed limply onto the ground, her whole body drained of strength.
Red, swollen marks covered her skin where Winnie’s sword had struck. Her arms, cheeks, forearms… any patch of skin exposed to the air had been mercilessly assaulted. And beneath the clothes, naturally, she hadn’t been spared either, though at least it didn’t look quite as miserable there.
Winnie slid her sword back into its sheath.
“Rest properly tomorrow. We’ll continue tomorrow night.”
“Yes…”
Rozelite’s reply was so faint it was barely a whisper.
Once Winnie had walked off into the distance, Russell crawled out from her collar.
“You holding up? Think you can make it back?”
“Of course I…”
She tried to push herself up, using the wall for support. But her long legs, wrapped in black stockings, were trembling nonstop. She couldn’t even stand steadily.
“Enough. Don’t force it,” Russell said firmly.
“Rest after training is just as important. No need to push yourself pointlessly.”
He directly took over her body. The trembling stopped instantly.
Rozelite bit her lip.
“But… if I can’t even handle something this small, then one day I’ll still end up dragging you down, Mr. Slime…”
“Don’t think that way, Rozelite. We’re two in one, a shared destiny. There’s no such thing as dragging each other down. We support each other, encourage each other, and keep moving forward together.”
“….”
Rozelite didn’t answer.
She simply allowed Russell to control her body, walking step by step back toward the inn.
At some point, the snowfall had stopped.
The thick clouds overhead had parted slightly, and bits of starlight dotted the sky.
“When you finish learning from Winnie, it’ll be about time for us to be on our way,” Russell said.
“…We’re finally going home?”
Rozelite pressed a hand against her stomach.
In this moment, she felt no uncertainty or fear about the long journey ahead—because she had Mr. Slime with her.
By the time they returned to the inn, it was already late.
Russell ordered some food from the innkeeper, then went upstairs and opened their room’s door.
The instant he released control of her body, Rozelite collapsed face-first onto the bed.
Even if Russell had been moving her, it was still her own body in the end. The fatigue in her muscles didn’t disappear. It only piled up further.
Rozelite buried her face in the pillow.
“Mr. Slime.”
Her muffled voice came from within the pillow.
“Please close the window…”
“Again?”
Russell sounded exasperated.
“Fine, I’ll close it. But tonight, you’re taking a bath before you sleep!”
“Mmm… but I’m so tired… and my whole body aches…”
Rozelite touched her swollen, sore skin. Though there was no bleeding, the pain seemed to grow clearer with time—so sharp now she could barely bear it.
“Anyway, up. Bath first.”
As he spoke, a tentacle extended from her back, pouring steaming hot water into the wooden tub.
Soon, warm vapor rose up, driving the chill out of the room.
“Mmm…”
Rozelite rolled onto her back, lying on the bed. She reached to undo the buttons on her chest, but after fumbling for some time without success, she gave up.
“Mr. Slime…”
“You…”
A tentacle brushed lightly, and the buttons popped open.
It didn’t stop there. The tentacle slipped toward her wrist, locating the thin ties hidden inside her sleeve cuff. With the precision of fingertips, it hooked and undid the knot. The restraint loosened soundlessly, revealing a pale forearm faintly etched with red marks.
Then, the tentacle slid down to her waist.
Rozelite’s body tensed ever so slightly, then loosened again under the weight of her exhaustion.
The tentacle found the buckle of her shorts, nudged the clasp open, and slipped inside the waistband, hooking both sides.
The rough fabric inevitably rubbed against her thighs, sore and swollen from the day’s training. Rozelite’s brows furrowed; instinctively, she wanted to curl up, but even that much strength she no longer had.
The tentacle hooked around the edge of her stockings and carefully rolled them down, peeling them away inch by inch.
Her stockings slid from her thighs, past her knees, down her calves, revealing pale skin faintly covered in the crisscrossing red marks of training, especially around her knees and ankles.
Rozelite instinctively pressed her legs together.
“Not a light beating,” Russell remarked simply, without extra thought.
“Get in the bath. I’ll give you a massage while you soak.”
“Massage?”
Rozelite repeated, puzzled, as she followed his guidance and let her bare body sink into the hot water.
The warmth immediately eased the ache in her muscles.
Her whole body slackened in relief, slumping into the tub. She didn’t want to move a finger.
And then, suddenly, she sucked in a sharp breath.
A tentacle had silently wound around her calf, circling upward in spirals.
It wrapped her entire leg.
“W-What are you doing, Mr. Slime?”
Rozelite asked, startled.
“Massage.”
Russell answered as if it were obvious.
“After strenuous exercise, massage helps relax muscles, stimulate circulation, and speed recovery. It’s part of training too.”
“R-Really…?”
Rozelite thought back.
Indeed, back when her sword instructor trained her, she remembered the palace maids would often massage her afterward.
“As expected of Mr. Slime… you really know so much.”
Rozelite sighed in admiration.
She carefully shifted her posture, sinking deeper into the bathwater, leaving only her bound leg and her faintly flushed face above the surface.
The tentacles coiled around her leg began to move.
No longer just holding her, they pressed rhythmically, with perfect timing.
The pressure wasn’t harsh. It was incredibly precise. Like countless fingertips, they kneaded along the taut line of her calf muscles, pushing and rolling steadily upward.
“Mm…!”
Rozelite let out a sharp, muffled moan before she could stop herself.
“Th-This is massage?!”
The slick, cool sensation combined with the exact force that penetrated deep into her muscles. Her nerves tightened all at once, only to unravel the next instant, as though someone had forced open a tangled knot. A wave of throbbing ache spread from the spot, bringing with it an odd, tingling pleasure that made her scalp prickle.
“W-Wait, Mr. Slime… this feels a little…”
Rozelite’s voice trembled.
“Relax. Leave it to me.”
Russell’s voice remained steady.
After her calf, the spiraling touch crept higher, softly wrapping around the back of her knee, bringing an even deeper, bone-melting ache.
Rozelite bit her lip.
Her body quivered faintly in the hot water, her gaze unfocused as she stared at the pale-blue tentacles writhing around her submerged body. Dangerous thoughts she absolutely shouldn’t be thinking began creeping into her mind.
Smack!
Russell flicked her head.
“Stop letting your imagination wander. Relax your body, don’t stay so tense.”
“…Oh.”
Rozelite ducked her burning-red face beneath the surface of the water.
Glug, glug.
Bubbles rose to the surface.