[12 hours until Jeanne leaves.]
Inside Elmsworth Manor, in a room that was less luxury and more function, stood a neat looking butler. His white beard was trimmed meticulously, matching the pristine black suit he was wearing. A cloth was in his hand and he was polishing the silver.
On a table next to him was an upside-down bowl of glass, a slime was trapped inside it.
"I shall ask one last," Charles' voice echoed.
"Who are you and what are your intentions with Miss Ella?"
Jack sighed. So it was the Terminator-butler after all. Unfortunately he already tried screaming in the hall but Charles had used some black magic to mute his body.
"I am Jack and I was horny so I fooled around with your mistress. Satisfied?" Jack said.
For a split second he saw the butler's calm demeanor falter. This slime was acting aloof. So he went to his closet and pulled out a small red box with black runic markings on it.
Placing it down next to Jack, he opened it and took out a small needle and an empty glass vile.
"This will kill your soul, not your body," Charles said.
His slime form trembled from the ominous implication. "No more reincarnation?" he asked.
Charles grinned, "So you are a demon."
The butler was sure this demon was far more special than other ones. However he didn't know how.
[Host that was a fake soul-needle it's just a placebo it's meant for psychological warfare. He is trying to trick you into confessing.]
A sigh of relief came to him. Charles curiously watched the slime change expressions like he was told something yet no sound was ever made An eyebrow raised.
"What made you relax, demon?" The butler asked.
Jack didn't say anything. He wasn't going to fall for another one of these trick questions. That was something else he learned from police interrogations.
Then Charles took out all the needles and his hand glowed black. After 1 second all the needles merged into one black evil glowing one. This one felt far more powerful.
[That one is real.]
"Fuck," he blurted.
He immediately changed tunes. Jack spilled every single bean he knew about himself except for a few key elements. The world he came from, the handholding system and that he was a human in a former life. He even confessed about the quest he got and why he needed to free Aria.
Charles was sitting for half an hour hearing the slime go on about a ghost-hand skill and about evolution and everything. As soon as Jack stopped talking, he put the needle away.
The butler crossed his arms and sighed.
"You are deranged. There doesn't exist anything such as a handholding system. The only ones that exist are designed to certain beings."
This put Jack into a shock state.
"Wait what? Are you saying you know more about my system than me?" Jack squeaked.
Raising his eyebrows, Charles decided to indulge in this peculiar slime.
"Slime Slayer. Demon Slayer. Eld.." He paused, deciding not to name the last entity. "All of these slayers possess a system that makes them the natural counter to a specific being."
The butlers explanations hit Jack like a bucket of cold water.
"So if I meet this Slime Slayer I'll die? They're the natural counter?"
"You'll be turned into points to make them stronger," Charles clarified, with a subtle shift in posture that hinted at a deep-seated reverence for the hierarchy he just described.
Silence fell on them like two awkward strangers on a date. Jack whistled not knowing wether or not he was going to be squished by this guy. However the butler didn't make any move to end him.
"So are you related to Lorena? I get the same vibe." Jack decided to change the subject, a desperate attempt to steer the conversation away from existential dread.
Charles raised an eyebrow. "Lorena?"
"The little girl with the black-eyes," he added.
Immediately the butler's face turned ashen, stripped away from all its color. In that fleeting moment Jack saw a flicker in the butlers eyes that went from duty to pure terror. This old man was not afraid of demons. He was afraid of her.
"You spoke to Mother?"
The old man whispered, a rare break in his formal facade that made Jack's slime quiver. Instantly the butler was in front of Jack. His eyes widened as if a ghost had possessed him.
"And lived?" he added.
"She did not strike me down," Jack squeaked, "Said something about... someone caring for me. Do you know who?"
Narrowing his eyes, the butler poked the slime with a black-glowing finger. But the glowing finger disappeared just as quickly.
"I do not know," he said, "I'm merely a few centuries old."
Charles lifted the glass bowl.
"If Mother didn't kill you then I won't kill you." the butler said.
Hopping out, Jack stared curiously at the man.
"Can you help me get the keys?" he asked, gesturing in the general direction of the slave chambers.
The old man shook his head.
"Why would I help?" the butler scoffed, "I couldn't care less about a halfbreed. If you free it, it's on you."
The butler looked at Jack with something close to pity but not quite.
"How about a trade?" Jack said like a proper devil offering a contract.
"Ella's interest in me obviously annoys you so... I'll never see her again." Jack continued.
This made Charles think, it was too good to be true.
"In exchange for a magical weapon," Jack added, hoping a weapon exists somewhere else in the house.
Charles's gaze flickered toward a far wall of the study. There, mounted above the cold fireplace, was a short, beautiful dagger with intricate silver runes etched along its blade. Its handle was made from what looked like polished moonstone.
"That's the rune-carved Silver Moonlight Dagger. It once belonged to a legendary elf assassin, renowned for silent, icy takedowns."
Jack was salivating. This was perfect.
"Wait why isn't it locked up?"
"I use it as an insect swatter sometimes," Charles deadpanned, "I thought it'd be a waste to kill Robin and not keep her weapon."
A chill went down Jack's spine.
"You killed a legendary elf assassin?" he squawked.
The butler dusted the dagger on its plaque. "The Elmsworth family has many enemies."
Charles gave the slime the dagger.
"Now begone before nightfall. Or our deal is off and I turn you into a polishing rag."
Clutching the magical dagger, he gave one last look at the butler, who was polishing the dagger-less plaque.
Jack dragged the dagger behind one of the vases, hiding it from any potential patrols. Its runes glowed faintly. A small trail of blue light followed him.
[Magical Weapon Slime evolution is available. Do you wish to purchase this for 800 HHP?]
[Yes/No]
[WARNING: This will permanently replace your Weapon Slime evolution. You will lose all non-magical weapons.