OKHS 02

Chapter 2

The cause of the pungent sour smell was the residue the slime could not digest, which had fermented due to the sugar.

Mona poured purified water to dilute the sugar, then transferred the reddened slime back into the glass tube.

Not long after, the slime began to return to its original blue color.

However, the sour smell drifting through the air persisted, so she opened the curtains and windows to ventilate the interior.

Slimes lived in shady places, but it was fine to let them photosynthesize about once a week to increase the regeneration rate of the slime’s core substance, the “point nucleus.”

Rattle.

Just then, perhaps because it disliked the sunlight coming through the window, the slime by the window vibrated inside the glass bottle.

“Just bear with it a little longer.”

When she tapped its smooth head with her fingertips, the slime suddenly stopped moving.

Mona chuckled as she watched it react to her touch.

‘How cute.’

She wanted to play a little more, but it would be troublesome if others caught her like this.

Monsters and humans were basically hostile to each other.

And yet a brainless slime listens to a human?

She’d be lucky if she weren’t accused of being a witch and burned at the stake.

‘If I’m unlucky, I could be put on the operating table and dismantled down to the last strand of hair.’

The mere thought sent shivers down her spine.

If she were a real witch, she wouldn’t feel wronged even if she were burned at the stake.

She had only developed this constitution as a side effect of experiments she’d been attempting for a long time—but who would believe that?

‘I wouldn’t believe it either.’

Some might call her caution a distrust of people.

However, unlike monsters, whose outward appearance matched their inner selves, humans were capricious beings who changed their minds like flipping a switch depending on the situation.

That was why Mona had absolutely no intention of revealing this unique constitution to others.

‘And you’re supposed to suck honey secretly, anyway.’

As long as she wasn’t caught, there were advantages to a constitution that attracted monsters.

For example, being able to secure time for her fandom activities?

Glancing at the time, Mona rolled up her sleeves and took out a slide and a dropper.

Mona’s morning task was to collect the slimes’ point nuclei and bring them to the laboratory by 8 a.m. every day.

When Mona held the dropper to it, the slime provided a point nucleus like a giving tree.

Having finished in an instant a task that would have easily taken the other researchers an hour or two, Mona decided there was now enough time for photosynthesis and lowered the curtain.

“Phew.”

Finally, it’s healing time.

With a serious expression, Mona carefully examined the condition of each slime in the laboratory one by one while adjusting the concentration of the culture solution.

Into the glass jar of the slime that looked strangely listless, she put moss, a special treat, and she replaced the food of the slime that had grown too large with low-calorie mold.

After carefully creating a pleasant environment for the slimes, it was already 8 o’clock.

Mona slung the bag lying on the floor over her shoulder listlessly and headed to the laboratory.

‘……Now I have to return to my real life.’

Ah, I already want to go home.

There were only five people, including Mona, who showed up for work at the monster science laboratory filled with old equipment.

Originally, there were 13 researchers pursuing a master’s degree, but less than half of them were able to properly write papers and continue their research.

This was because the majority were the spoiled children of wealthy nobles.

It was the maddening product of nobles trying to hand an imperial degree to an incompetent child with neither magical talent nor prowess, and an academy that favored the children of nobles who poured in with sponsorship money.

However, it was ironic that all the grass laid out by the wealthy nobles was placed only in front of the popular departments.

“Hey, Mona! Come in quickly.”

As Mona entered the laboratory today without fail, wearing thick horn-rimmed glasses with her gray hair hanging down messily, a researcher urged her on.

“My senior says he needs a slime point nucleus right now.”

“Uh.”

As Mona answered briefly and approached her senior, senior researcher Jake snatched the slide containing the point nucleus.

“Wow…….”

Jake let out a brief exclamation as he transferred the smooth, completely undamaged point nucleus with a dropper.

“Anyway, Mona, you really have incredible dexterity. I couldn’t extract a point nucleus this cleanly.”

Since she had never once interacted with monsters in front of people, the people in the lab simply thought Mona’s dexterity was extraordinary.

“It would be perfect if you’d just write papers that make money.”

“You’re always doing stuffy research about the origins, ecology, and habits of monsters. Who do you think would be interested in your thesis? You should write a really practical paper like me, huh?”

“Haha…….”

Mona just laughed pointlessly as she listened to her senior’s nagging pouring out without fail once again today.

The profitable thesis Jake was talking about was one that involved making cosmetics or hair loss treatments using slime byproducts.

‘But if you want to make a hair loss cure, you should go to the Alchemy department. Why are you in the Monster Studies department…….’

Given that even alchemists say hair is harder to transmute than gold……

Mona narrowed her eyes as she looked at Jake’s broad forehead, which already showed signs of M-shaped hair loss.

Although she was inwardly dumbfounded, Mona did not feel the need to voice her true feelings.

She decided it would be better to talk to a monster rather than have a theoretical conversation about the field of research in monster studies with the snob Jake.

“Ugh, I shouldn’t have said anything.”

Jake clicked his tongue and gestured irritably with his chin as he watched Mona just grinning and scratching her head.

“What are you doing? Go write your research log.”

“Yes.”

“Ah, please manually clean up the fine impurities. And… what was it… it looks like the solvent ratio needs adjusting as well. Since the professor asked us to experiment and record the values including the fine adjustments last month, don’t even think about doing a sloppy job.”

“……Yes.”

Mona, having been loaded with nothing but grueling, unfulfilling, boring assignments, trudged to a corner of the laboratory in a gloomy mood.

“Phew.”

To think I have to waste time on a crappy experiment like this.

I feel suffocated the entire time I’m writing the research log.

‘It wasn’t originally this trashy of a department.’

As recently as three years ago, when Mona chose the Department of Monster Studies, this place had been a place for the academic study of the ecology and characteristics of monsters.

However, the year before last, a new professor was appointed because Professor Emil got injured, and from then on, Mona’s life in the lab started to go awry.

The assignments given by the newly appointed Professor Thomas were less about monster research and more about roughly attaching monsters to trendy experiments.

Naturally, it didn’t suit her aptitude.

While writing the log, her motivation sank lower and lower, but Mona struggled to console herself.

‘Let’s just focus on early graduation.’

But to graduate, she had to pass her first thesis first……

‘Why is there no feedback?’

It had been ages since she submitted her first thesis, and with the end of the semester approaching, there was still no word.

Mona began to grow anxious little by little.

Even if she wanted to ask how things were progressing, that thuggish professor hadn’t even been showing up at the lab lately.

At this rate, wouldn’t her graduation get pushed back?

‘That can’t happen…….’

Mona smacked her dry lips nervously.

“Hey, Mona!”

“Yes?”

“We’re going to have a drink at the pub for the first time in a while today—want to join?”

“I have things to do at home, so…….”

As Mona shook her head, a lab colleague smirked.

“Knew it. I only asked out of courtesy.”

Just then, senior Jake’s shout came from behind.

“See? I told you Mona wouldn’t go.”

“Yeah, she must have some honey pot hidden at home.”

“Good grief, what is there to see in that fingernail-sized dorm room that she crawls back into every day? Mona, don’t lock yourself up at home all the time—come to a party or something.”

“What’s with that look? Dress up a little. Huh?”

Here we go again.

Feeling a bit of irritation, Mona fiddled with her glasses frames for no reason.

“Your younger sister Olivia is rumored far and wide to be the goddess of high society—aren’t you two compared a bit too much?”

“Come on, if I dressed up, I’d just be compared even more harshly. Let’s go, senior.”

“Kuhaha, is that so?”

Watching Jake and his little sidekick of a research student disappear, giggling and bursting with mockery, Mona soon turned away with a tired face.

“Sigh.”

I don’t even have the energy to waste mental strength on those kinds of people.

Having spent all day doing “profitable research” that didn’t suit her aptitude at all, there wasn’t a drop of strength left in her whole body.

‘It’s already 9 o’clock.’

Feeling hunger belatedly, Mona bought a hard, cold baguette sandwich and walked to the dormitory.

Just then, she spotted a familiar figure near the dormitory entrance.

“Young Lady Mona.”

The man with a stiff impression was Parnell, the butler of the Bellose family.

The moment she faced the butler, Mona’s eyes behind her glasses turned cold, and her lips pressed firmly together.