The next day, I accompanied Gabriel to the pearl-cultivation lake. The slimes were hard at work, shaping the core material into perfect spheres and inserting them into the mussels. They then lined the mollusks up in the net and lowered them into the lake, which had been infused with powdered magicite.
All of the work was done by slimes, with no human labor involved. It seemed that they were able to do everything on their own, even without Gabriel’s instruction. They’re so smart, I thought to myself.
It had already been three months since the pearl cultivation project began. I hadn’t expected it to be easy, but it had ended up being much more difficult than anticipated. I felt a little glum at the thought that this would be our last attempt. Gabriel likely felt the same, judging by the conflicted look on his face as he gazed at the lake.
“There’s still time,” he said.
“Any more than this would be pushing it,” I replied. “The closer we get to the wedding, the busier we’ll be.”
“I...suppose you’re right.” His shoulders slumped.
I gently took his hands in mine. “You know, Gabriel, for some reason, I feel like this one will succeed.”
“Really? I don’t feel like that at all.”
“I don’t have any scientific basis for it. If I had to give a reason, perhaps it’s because this is Triste, the slime duke’s territory.”
“None of the previous attempts using slimes worked, though.”
“That’s true. But I have faith.” For once, I wasn’t going to pray to God. I was fully confident that we would produce beautiful pearls. “Whenever I have a hunch like this, it usually pans out.”
“I see. Well, I can believe in anything if it’s coming from you.” Confidence gradually spread over his features. “Fran, let’s check on the pearls together in three days.”
“Yes! I can’t wait.”
The weather later that day was unusually nice for Triste. I couldn’t help but think that it was promising us a bright future.
Three days later, the results of the final experiment were waiting for us. Gabriel and I stood in front of the window, looking at the scenery outside.
“It’s...absolutely pouring,” he said.
“So it is.”
Three days ago, the skies had been clear, and I had rejoiced for our bright future. But today, it was raining cats and dogs.
“Fran, winter rains can easily make one sick,” Gabriel said. “Shall we leave it for tomorrow?”
“No, I want to see the pearls...or so I’d say, but I also don’t want you to catch a cold.”
“I’ll be fine. I’m stronger than I look. If you want to see the pearls, we can go.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, but you’ll have to wear the warmest and most waterproof clothes possible.”
“Understood.”
I figured I would wear several cloaks layered upon each other with a raincoat on top, but Gabriel’s suggested countermeasure was completely unexpected.
“Firstly... On days like this, the ground is muddy and slippery. It will be even more treacherous in a dress. So, pants are a must for your own safety,” he said. “Do you have any?”
“Yes. Not long ago, mother invited me to go hunting with her, so I had a set of clothes made.”
Gabriel was taken aback. “Why in the world would she do that? I’ve never seen her show interest in hunting before.”
“Apparently, hunting with guns is the current fad among women in the capital. The game they catch is turned into coats.”
“What a dangerous trend.”
My mother-in-law probably wasn’t interested in the hunting itself—she just wanted to do what her younger sister in the capital, Mrs. Molière, had impressed upon her.
“Anyway, since you have pants, next is this.” Gabriel held out a red slime. “Have it transform into a coat for you to wear. It has fire properties, so it will warm you through, even on the coldest winter days.”
“Oh, similar to how Wibble heats itself up.”
“Wibble? When did it do that?”
“When I was living in the old part of town, there were nights when it was too cold to fall asleep. Wibble kept me warm.”
Gabriel whipped his head around to look at the slime in question. “Wibble, you can do that?”
“Yup! Wibble just never did it for you.”
“And you slept with Fran?!”
“Heh heh! Aren’t you jealous?”
“Oh, I’m extremely— Erm, never mind.” Gabriel pushed the bridge of his glasses up as he ordered Wibble to transform into a scarf for me. “Lastly, take this.” He held out a blue slime. “All slimes are waterproof, but this light-blue one is especially so. It can transform into a raincoat that won’t let a single drop of water through. Next, I’ll grab a nearby tamed slime and have it turn into an umbrella. You should be safe from the cold and rain with all of these.”
“Gabriel, you’re going to take the same measures for yourself, right?”
“Of course!”
“But if you catch a cold, Fran will take care of you!”
“That does sound very tempting! I could catch a cold now and— I mean, how could you say that, Wibble?!”
Apparently, Gabriel wanted me to nurse him back to health. I certainly didn’t want him to catch a cold just for that. “Look, I can play nurse with you whenever you want, so don’t get sick on purpose, okay?”
“P-Play nurse?!” he repeated.
His excessive reaction was making me embarrassed. I blamed Wibble for my weird offer. “Forget what I just said.”
“No, I don’t think I can.”
We didn’t have time for this headache-inducing conversation. We had to get ready and check on the pearls.
“I’ll meet up with you in an hour,” I said. “Is that okay?”
“Will an hour be enough time?”
“Of course.”
And so, we split up to get changed. Nico, Coco, and Rico helped me. To no one’s surprise, Alexandrine didn’t want to go to the lake with us on such a stormy day. Instead, she quacked as if to say, “Have a safe trip.”
I had my hair tied up tightly so that it wouldn’t get in the way. The pants made me feel a bit uneasy since I wasn’t used to wearing them. It was embarrassing having the outlines of my legs visible for all to see.
When I was done, the slimes gathered around me. The red slime turned into a coat, Wibble turned into a scarf, and the blue slime transformed into a translucent raincoat. If I pulled the hood low over my face, I wouldn’t have to worry about getting wet in the rain.
It took just about an hour to finish my preparations. I regrouped with Gabriel and found him dressed in a similar outfit.
“Fran, I’m going to teleport us directly to the lake, so please hold this slime umbrella,” he said.
“Thank you.” I opened the umbrella and held it above my head.
“All right, let’s go.”
“Yes.”
Beneath our feet, a magic circle appeared, engulfing us in bright light. The scenery spun around us, and we arrived at the pearl-cultivation lake amid a downpour that could topple buckets over.
“The rain is worse than I thought,” Gabriel said.
“It really is.”
But as planned, my slime umbrella and raincoat repelled the deluge, and even though it was winter, I didn’t feel the slightest bit cold.
“Fran, are you okay?”
“Yes, thanks to the slimes.”
“That’s good.”
We decided to quickly check the pearls and go home right after. When Gabriel raised his hand, the transforming slime in the lake poked its head out in response.
“Can you bring out the net?” Gabriel asked.
“Okaaay!”
The slime quickly raised the net and deposited it on the ground. As I crouched down near the lake, other slimes came up to me and transformed into a roof over my head.
“Oh my, thank you,” I said. “I really appreciate it.”
The slimes wobbled in response.
In the meantime, Gabriel had ordered a slime to extract the pearls. The slimes here had mastered the art of doing so without harming the mussels. They didn’t even need to use the magical extraction fluid.
I watched nervously as the slime began.
“Open it up aaand...” It gently inserted its tentacle into the shell, and its body quivered upon grabbing the pearl. “Take it ouuut!” Slowly, it pulled its tentacle out, revealing a perfectly spherical pearl.
“Oh!” I exclaimed.
“It can’t be!” Gabriel shouted in disbelief.
At long last, the pearl we wished for was right before our eyes. The slime gingerly deposited the fruit of our labor in the palm of Gabriel’s hand. The pearl had a smooth shine, like fresh cream, and although our surroundings were dark and dreary from the rain, it seemed to have a faint glow.
“Is this what a Triste pearl looks like?” Gabriel mused.
“It’s lovely,” I said.
It didn’t have the glamorous, iridescent colors of the ogre duke’s territory’s aurora pearls, but it was a perfect, pure white, reminiscent of a wedding gown.
“Gabriel, this pearl is beautiful, just like your hair.”
“My hair?”
“Yes! I love it.”
With tears in his eyes, Gabriel looked between me and the pearl. “You don’t know how much I’ve dreamed of seeing your smile next to our completed pearls.”
“Thank you, Gabriel.” I hugged him with all my might, and the pearl in his hand went flying. Luckily, Wibble stretched out a tentacle and caught it. “S-Sorry. I was just overcome with happiness.”
“Don’t worry. We can make as many pearls as we want now.”
We checked the other mussels, and they had produced beautiful pearls as well. Our hard work had finally paid off.
“Fran, have you thought of a name for the pearls?” Gabriel asked.