Infinite Adaptation: Starting As A Level 1 Slime-Chapter 16: Father

Lunaris hopped through the village in his slime form, bouncing along the moonlit path.

Those guys are so troublesome.

He had spent what felt like an eternity trying to explain to them that he wasn’t their goddess. But they wouldn’t listen. Or rather, they only heard whatever they wanted to hear.

How do they call themselves my believers if they don’t even listen to me?

He sighed.

He looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings.

Where is she anyway?

He had asked the beastmen Princess after they were done with their worship where Luna had gone. She told him Luna had headed this way.

He wondered why she had left. Was something wrong?

Maybe she was hungry and left to hunt.

He continued bouncing forward until he reached the edge of a cliff.

There, bathed in silver moonlight, someone sat gazing up at the massive moon.

This is... a human?

It was a woman with long white hair that cascaded down her back.

She noticed him instantly and turned around.

Her eyes locked onto him.

Crescent-shaped irises. Like tiny moons embedded in her gaze.

What is this?

He had a strange feeling. Something familiar yet foreign.

He transformed into his beast form. Maybe he could intimidate her like this.

At that moment...

She was suddenly there. Right against him. Arms wrapped around his massive form.

"Father!"

So fast?

He hadn’t even seen her move.

Wait. Father?

He looked at her up close and finally noticed something.

She wasn’t exactly human.

Two wolf ears sat atop her head, twitching slightly. A fluffy white tail swayed behind her.

Similar to those rabbit beastmen, but distinctly canine.

"Luna?" he called out hesitantly.

She started giggling, rubbing her face against his fur with obvious delight.

"Is that really you?"

"Mm!" she nodded happily, still nuzzling into him.

"Well... at least you finally understand the difference between father and mother."

He paused.

"No, that’s not the point. How did you become like this?"

Luna tilted her head, still clinging to him.

"I just looked at the moon and..." She gestured vaguely. "It happened."

"Happened?" he repeated.

He looked at her carefully.

Well, she was kind of a wolf. It was said that werewolves turned human during a full moon.

Or was it the other way around?

Wait, did that mean...

He looked up at the massive moon hanging in the sky.

Hmm... figures.

"Anyway," he said, his voice taking on a scolding tone. "You shouldn’t wander around like this without me anymore." 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Luna giggled, still rubbing against his fur.

"I understand~"

I have a feeling she doesn’t.

"Can you turn back?" he asked.

"Turn back?" She looked at him with genuine confusion.

He sighed.

I’m guessing not.

Well, he figured maybe it might get undone once the moon went down. So it probably wouldn’t be a problem.

He looked at her again.

While being human was good for blending in, wasn’t it bad for her combat ability? She had been quite formidable as a Fenrir.

At that moment, footsteps approached from behind.

The Princess appeared, her pink ears lowered respectfully.

"Greetings, Great Ones," she said with a bow. "I have prepared housing for you to rest."

Hmm, that’s thoughtful. Finally, these people know how to treat their goddess properly.

He shook his head.

What am I thinking? I need to clear up this misunderstanding.

"I’m tired~" Luna suddenly announced, stretching her arms above her head.

He looked at her drooping form.

I suppose we can take a rest for now and talk it out the following day.

"Take us there," he said to the Princess.

"Of course, Great One."

The Princess turned to lead the way.

Luna climbed onto his back.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"So tired," she mumbled, settling into his fur. "Father should carry me."

"You can walk on your own."

Luna started pouting.

"Luna always carried Father," she said, her voice sulky. "But Father doesn’t carry Luna..."

He didn’t have a comeback for that.

"...Fine. But stop calling me that."

"Yes, Father."

"You’re still doing it."

"Yes, Father."

"Are you even listening?"

"Yes, Dad."

"That’s not any better."

...

The next day.

Lunaris sat on Luna’s lap in his slime form, the soft fabric of her clothes pressing against his membrane.

The beast Princess had gotten her some human clothes. Though, to be honest, they were more like rags. The Princess herself didn’t seem to be wearing anything all that well made either.

It was the same with their houses.

These people really were hopeless.

Even if he was to agree to be their goddess and exploit them for some benefits, he’d just be punching down. They were in an even worse condition than he had been in the cave.

He sighed.

"Can you explain to me in detail who the Moon Goddess is?" he asked. "And where this place is?"

The Princess straightened, her ears perking up.

"This is the Beast Forest," she said. "And you are the Moon Goddess Lunaris, she who..."

"Not like that."

He cut her off before she could start another worship session.

"Well... how about this. Why don’t you explain why you worship the Moon Goddess?"

The Princess’s expression shifted. The casual nervousness faded, replaced by reverence.

"In the beginning," she began, "there was nothing. Nothing but a single creature known as the Primordial One, floating alone in the endless emptiness."

Luna’s hand absently stroked his slime form as they listened.

"The creature grew lonely in that empty world. And so, it split itself. From one, three were born."

She raised a finger.

"The first - the Eternal Dragon Azurath. He represents the heavens and the earth. He is who the humans worship."

A second finger rose.

"The second - the Eternal Flame Netharis. She represents the abyss. She is who the demons worship."

Then her expression grew even more reverent. Almost worshipful. A third finger rose, trembling slightly.

"And the third - the Eternal Moon Lunaris."

Her voice softened with awe.

"The Eternal Moon is the strongest of the three primordials. She represents balance. She guards the boundary between the heavens and the abyss, ensuring neither consumes the other."

She placed a hand over her heart.

"We beastmen are the result of that balance. A union of human and demon. That is why we worship the Moon Goddess Lunaris. She is our origin. Our protector. Our mother."

Silence filled the room.

Lunaris was deep in thought.

The three primordials?

He hadn’t thought the Eternal Moon would be such a bigshot.

And now I have her daughter with me. Making her run errands for me. Riding on her back.

She wouldn’t find fault with me for that, right?

Then another thought struck him.

Wait.

If she was so strong - the strongest of the three primordials - even if the Princess was exaggerating a little...

Then how was she defeated?

How did she die?

His form stilled.

Is there some deeper scheme going on here?