In the center of the Deep Forest, in front of Mother Dragon.

The ordinarily dense magic further condensed into one spot.

The converged magic gradually materializes, becoming a giant crab.

A monster of the race Death Crab.

After four pair pincer crab completely materialized he bowed towards Mother Dragon–towards Kaa-san.

“You have my gratitude Mother Dragon.”

“It’s fine, this too is my role. I who is enshrined at the core of this Deep Forest.”

“Even so you have my gratitude.”

“All right,thank you for you consideration.”

The crab gives a deeper bow and departs from in front of Kaa-san.

With this all the monsters killed by the heroes raid have been resurrected.

Monsters killed within the Deep Forest can, as long as Mother Dragon is alive, be revived any number of times with the thick magic in the forest.

On the other hand if Mother Dragon is killed, the opportunity to resurrect will be lost and death shall be permanent.

The reason the monsters of this forest for intercepting the assault of the heroes is this.

☆

The Eastern Deep Forest, we who are called the weakest forest are here.

The goblin Terry.

The imp Lily.

And finally me, the slime Ryu.

We three childhood friends gathered and talked about yesterday.

“Anyway, yesterday was really a waste.”

“What was a waste, Terry.”

“Since Lily also fought you understand right? The amount of priests yesterday was more than usual.”

“Now that you mention it, there were a lot huh. A, there was someone unique amongst them, a white elf.”

“What did you sayyyy!”

After Terry opened his eyes wide, he held his head and looked up to the sky.

“What the hell! What the hell!! What the hell!!!”

“Its that serious a thing huh.”

I let out a forced laugh.

“Damn straight. Its a priest you know! What’s more, a white elf! No matter how you think about it, despite looking innocent they’re a race that gets dripping wet and naughty when you provoke them just a little aren’t they.”

“O,ou……”

“I-is that how it is?”

Terry’s spirit overwhelmed Lily and me.

As a childhood friend we understand Terry very well, even so we are overwhelmed by the zeal that Terry shows from time to time.

Well, it’s not like I don’t understand what he’s saying.

Being a former human, I can understand the the pleasure of watching the corruption of a white elf priest–a sacred woman of a prideful race.

“Fucking hellllllll!”

Well not to the extent of crying tears of blood like Terry however.

“However, yesterday was a shame.”

Lily the imp who was floating was slightly depressed.

“I believed I had gotten a little stronger, but as I thought in front of a real party of heroes I wasn’t able to do anything. A~ah, I want to quickly get stronger and be of use to Mother Dragon.”

“I want to get stronger tooo.”

I almost burst out in laughter.

Terry and Lily, even though they both [Want to become stronger], they’re reasons seem quite different.

“There’s no helping it right, Lily is an imp, Terry is a goblin……and I’m a slime. Its obvious that we’re no match for a real hero.”

“But……”

“If it’s come to this, let’s make a party.”

“Oi Oi What are you saying.”

Terry raised his fist to the sky(so I say but trees cover the sky above) almost like a bronze statue pose.

“A party, party, those heroes also make a party to kill Mother Dragon right? In order for the weak to compete against the strong making a party is obvious isn’t it.”

“Ah, I see!”

“……fumu.”

The positive Lily, and I actually became an interested, too.

I was moved by Terry saying the weak.

Its certainly true, strong monsters want to act independently and weak monsters want to act in groups.

I don’t want to be involved in troublesome matters so I hide my true strength.

The world is such that if you carelessly let it be known that you have power you’ll be entrusted with various things.

Even if you try to refuse it that uses up stamina, so I am trying to hide the fact that I possess strength.

If despite being a monster, you’re weak to the extent of making a party the probability of being caught up in troublesome matters will definitely fall.

Once more I look at my childhood friends and myself.

The goblin Terry.

The imp Lily.

And finally me, the slime Ryu.

A line very much that of The Small Fry Monsters.

Yea, if it’s like this.

“OK, let’s make one.”

“Alright! Then we have to decide on a party name.”

“What would be good?”

“……After all a strong like name would be good right?”

I thought for a moment and I suggested so.

We’ll seem like even more like small fries if we pick a name inappropriate for weakling monsters.

“Right, what kind of name would be good.”

“Terry 2:5―”¹

“How about Dragon Knight.”

I interrupted Terry and spoke with great confidence.

Lilly tilted her head and asked for an explanation.

“Why Dragon Knight.”

I bounce into a position for Lily get on board.

“I’m a dragon, if Lily gets on it’s Dragon Knight.”

“I see, if Ryu doesn’t call himself a dragon Mother Dragon-sama will get angry.”

“Yup.”

It is as Lilly says.

I who reincarnated as slime, for some reason I was born in Mother Dragon’s, Kaa-san’s nest.

Almost as if reverse-imprinting, Kaa-san decided to treat me who was born in her nest as her true son.

If I call myself a slime instead of a dragon I’ll be scolded again.

As such there is a reason for me to call myself a dragon, but that is separate.

If I who however you look at is a slime, calls himself a dragon it’ll definitely look like a child trying to appear grown up.

As THE Small Fry Monsters it’s a perfectly fitting name.

“Yea! That’s good, Dragon Knight.”

“There’s no helping it, let’s go with that.”

The agreement of Terry and Lilly is obtained, on this day, we officially formed “Dragon Knight”.

☆

The first campaign of Dragon Knight came immediately.

Heroes came attacking less than an after forming the party.

“Kyaaaaa!”

“Abesh!”

The two from Dragon Knight, Lily and Terry were easily done in.

Lily was roasted by a magic flame and flew off somewhere, Terry was quickly cut in half by a sword.

It’s fine since they can be resurrected by Kaa-san later.

“It’s tedious here.”

“Even if you say that, there’s only small fry here, let’s quickly finish them off and advance further in.”

There are ten heroes, compared to yesterday there are far less.

Conversely there were few intercepting monsters here as well.

The majority were injured in yesterday’s raid, and the monsters who were killed got resurrected by Kaa-san, but having been just revived they would not be much fighting strength.

As such there are few intercepting monsters, so few that we of Dragon Knight arrived first.

If that’s all it was then that would be fine though.

“S-scary……”

“huemehn, skarey. huemehn, skarey.”

“Papa, Mama, Okaa-san, save me.”

Though there are a lot of monsters in the circumference, but they’re all smaller than we are larval monsters.

Of course they have almost no combat strength, at this rate there will be a massive slaughter due to the heroes.

If my strength is exposed in front of the children it will become bothersome, that being said I can’t just watch them die.

Even if Kaa-san can resurrect them afterwards watching them die is a little…….

“Oi~, Mireisu, burn them up with wide area magic.”

“Ok here it comes.”

The heroes started to act, what will be will be!

The moment I was about to jump out.

“Wait a moment!”

A man’s voice came from beside me.

I turned to me side and looked up.

A huge mouse was there.

A monster that was bigger than humans, the Big Mouse race.

“Foolish humans, now that this one has come bugh!”

The big mouse was blown away.

He was blown away with a single straight punch from the female martial artist.

“Trifling.”

“Just has a big body.”

” It’s a good example of why it’s not good to judge a monster by it’s appearance.”

The heroes are saying whatever they like.

“Oji-san~”

I bounced towards where the big mouse was blown off to.

When I jumped out the female martial artist tried to to blow me away as well, but I transformed my body.

“Hou, not bad.”

“It really is a bad to judge a monster by its appearance.”

“A slime’s special ability right, however that’s all it is.”

They don’t worry very much that I dodged the attack, they really are heroes who say whatever they feel like.

I arrived next to the big mouse.

“Are you ok? Ne, are you ok Oji-san.”

“I……am…….guegh!”

Because he was consciousness, I made deformed a part of my body secretly and struck his vital point and knocked him unconscious.

OK, if it’s like this.

If Lily or Terry were to do it, things would become bothersome in the future, but if it’s this big mouse there should be no problems.

I used magic and manipulated the big mouse’s body.

The unconscious big mouse opened his eyes wide and stood up.

“He~, he stood up.”

“He wasn’t just looks huh.”

“In that case, I will finish–”

The female martial artist once more closed the distance, she’s fast––but she’s slow.

I manipulated the big mouse’s body and met the woman who rushed in with a cross counter.

The woman is blown off, several trees were mown down.

“W-what!?”

“He wasn’t a small fry!”

“Brace yourself, this is the Deep Forest.”

The heroes’ atmosphere changed, looks like having one of their comrades done in made them get serious.

But they are slow.

What’s more, they’re weak

Even by going all out their power doesn’t reach even a 1/100 of Kaa-san’s power, I manipulated the big mouse’s body and killed them all.

☆

“……Hoe?”

After a while the big mouse woke up.

“A, he’s up.”

“Are you ok?”

“Oji-san, are you injured anywhere?”

Beside the big mouse who woke up are the gathered monster children.

“Injured? No, I’m not……”

“Oji-san is strong huh.”

I mixed in with the children and imitating a child’s tone I said so.

“You beat such strong heroes all by yourself after all.”

“Oji-san was strong.”

“Amazing, strong.”

“You were really cool.”

“……Hoe?”

The big mouse couldn’t take in the situation yet, looks like he needs one more push, I thought as such but.

“……Fu, well it might be like that.”

The big mouse suddenly made a posed face and put on airs.

“Heroes of that level, if they face this one it will be like that.”

“Amazing.”

“As expected.”

“Ne ne, Oji-san, from now on as well be sure to protect us ok.”

“Leave it to me! As long as this one is here this forest’s peace is as good as guaranteed. A-hahahaha.”

The big mouse looked up to the sky and laughed loudly.

What can you say, he has a good disposition.

Additional brainwashing seemed unnecessary, so I quietly slipped out from that place.

Like this I save the children without having my strength exposed.

Today was a pretty good day.

---

1. I think this is a reference to Egashira 2:50: テリー二時五じゅっ―

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