Chapter 28: Fashion Terrorist

The courage to deceive my family.

You say courage isn’t for things like that?

There’s a saying, you know. You need to have the courage to refuse.

I refuse to tell the truth!

Since I’ve gained the courage to deceive my family, I’m going to go back to my parents’ house for the first time in a while.

Before that, there’s something I need to decide beforehand.

Because I have to tell this story when I get home, too.

The course registration season is coming soon.

I need to decide whether to keep attending school or not.

How can I keep attending, you ask?

I’ll go to school wearing a Slime mask!

College students have freedom of dress!

Of course, that’s a joke.

I have the courage to try, but then my real name would be leaked.

It’s fine if my real name is exposed, but my family relations would be dug up too.

That won’t do.

There are other ways.

An amazing way to keep attending school without my identity as SLimelove being exposed.

If I planted pathogens in <Pack Slime> and spread them nationwide, classes might switch to non-face-to-face.

That’s an act that would incur divine retribution, so I won’t do it.

Not going to school this time is confirmed.

The choice I have to make is whether to take a leave of absence or drop out.

Let’s take a leave of absence.

There’s no loss in taking a leave of absence instead of dropping out.

I do wonder what meaning a college degree holds for a Slime, an Alchemist with 260 million won in daily sales, a W-tuber with 1 million Subscribers.

Are you going to get a job?

Degree or not, a Slime will fail the document screening.

It’s even scarier if they don’t fail me in the document screening.

While I’m thinking about it, I’ll apply for a leave of absence right away.

Okay. Done.

Now, shall I prepare the script?

The script I’ll use when deceiving my family.

***

“This should be enough.”

The plan for Operation name <<Treasure Hunt>> is complete.

The execution is not today, but later.

Just as movies have release periods, deception needs the right time.

I don’t want to keep coming and going, so I’ll wait until the weekend when the whole family is gathered.

There are things I need to prepare too.

I am a person with manners.

Unlike my younger sibling or mom, I won’t visit suddenly; I’ll contact them beforehand.

Dropping by a grown adult man’s studio apartment without notice!

What if I’m in an ‘Oh my, oh my!’ situation with my girlfriend!

Isn’t it too much not to consider that possibility even a little?

What’s wrong with my appearance!

Honestly, isn’t half the conditions for being a handsome man met just by having clear skin?

There’s probably no one on Earth with smaller pores and smoother skin than me.

And what about the color of my skin? It has a slight bluish tint, but where else can you find someone with skin as white and transparent as mine? I’m definitely a skin handsome man.

And what about the texture? If you touch this soft flesh that sticks right to your hand, other people’s flesh will feel like rough leather.

“This is strange.”

The bluish human in the mirror smiles.

I pulled my cheeks wide with both hands, stretching the smile to its fullest.

Before, I hated this appearance so much.

Every time I looked in the mirror, I felt despair.

It’s okay now.

This damn curse.

“What should I wear?”

I can’t go in the form of a penguin-like Slime, the symbol of the 1 million W-tuber SLimelove.

If you’re a 1 million W-tuber, there’s definitely one person who recognizes you when you use public transportation.

If I don’t want SLimelove’s parents’ house to be known worldwide through social media, I need to wear different clothes.

I used the [Control] and [Transform] skills to create a suitable mask and put it on.

This… no, this won’t do.

They’ll fly over with a lawsuit from the Kingdom of Mice.

How about this?

No. A grim reaper with a child’s body and an adult’s brain might make our house its stage.

You are the culprit!

How about this?

It looks like colorful warriors wearing helmets will chase me with toys.

Ho-pa-ho-pa.

I am your fa….

Should I stop?

I think I’ve gone too far.

I do plan to go in cosplay, but not movie or anime cosplay.

The clothes I make have a unique Slime sheen, so they’re not suitable for cosplay.

Didn’t I say I couldn’t wrap myself up in the middle of summer?

That’s not true.

There are fashionistas in the world who don’t care about the season.

There are people who wear shorts on a snowy day, you know.

What reason is there not to wrap myself up in the summer?

***

I took out the clothes that came by delivery and put them on.

Oversized turtleneck hoodie.

Multi-scarf covering from neck to nose.

Dark sunglasses.

Headset.

Ball cap.

Long white gloves.

Pants.

Work boots.

It’s a fashion that looks like I’d get stopped for questioning, but even if a murder happened nearby and all the witnesses said they saw me, the police would shake their heads.

Because there wouldn’t be a criminal walking around looking like me right now.

First of all, the hoodie design is extremely flashy. Enough to make someone looking at their smartphone absentmindedly lift their head.

I don’t know how to describe it exactly, but if I had to force an expression.

They drew the universe with fluorescent rainbows.

And what about the headset? It’s an LED cat ear headset.

Pants? They’re pants with the twelve zodiac animals embossed in gold leaf.

If you see me dressed like this just once, you’ll remember it every time fashion is discussed for the rest of your life.

That you saw a lunatic obsessed with their own fashion, even if it meant boiling to death.

You don’t have to worry about suspicious watching eyes.

Should I be careful of elders who might slap my back for suffocating them with my appearance?

In the past, I would have trembled in fear of even a bit of skin showing.

But with the [+Courage] buff, I have no such fears.

Room Corner Slime.

Graduating from the corner.

Holding a suitcase that looks like it’s stuffed with cash in one hand, I stepped outside my house after a long time.

No tightness in my chest or narrowing of my vision.

Of course, because I don’t have a heart!

Alright, let’s equip my brain with SOUL.

I’m So COOL~~~~!

Feeling the Beat~ while taking COOL~ steps, deng-gi-deok kung de-re-re-re kung-gi-deok kung-de-re-re-re.

Confidently.

Boldly.

Unstoppably.

Move forward.

Be captivated by my outward appearance.

You won’t know my true self.

You who think you know me.

No, you do not know.

No one truly knows me.

Let’s behave quietly on the bus.

A bus is better than the subway. There’s a big difference in the flow of people, after all.

Even though there are fewer people than on the subway, the watching eyes are focused on me, and a lot of photos are taken.

Still, I’m confident that not a single piece of skin was reflected in any cornea or lens.

As I got off the bus, I saw the countdown on the traffic light decreasing.

I’ve got swagger. I won’t run.

Huh? The bus I need to transfer to is approaching?

I’ve got pride. I said I wouldn’t run, so I won’t run.

After the light changed, I confidently raised my hand, crossed the crosswalk, and arrived at the bus stop.

The next bus is in 15 minutes….

Should I have run after all?

While blankly waiting for the bus, I heard footsteps approaching.

“Hello.”

World, is there really someone who would talk to a Fashion Terrorist dressed like this?

“I’m BeautyLime, a broadcaster.”

It wasn’t a person. It was a W-tuber.

“If you have time, could you appear on my broadcast for a bit?”

Of course. If someone doesn’t approach a person dressed like this, they’re not a W-tuber.

By the way, BeautyLime, huh.

BeautyLime is the beauty W-tuber who first reviewed <Insole Slime> and <Pack Slime>.

I checked her hand.

She’s a hard worker who participates in open-run events every day at the Seoul Central Alchemy Center to buy <Insole Slime> and <Pack Slime>.

Looks like she failed today.

“K.”

“K?”

“Okay.”

“Ah, yes. Are you perhaps a musician?”

“Nop. WTube~.”

“Can you tell me your channel name?”

“That’s No, No. Today, I’m off. My sense, people know not.”

She’s flustered.

Tsk tsk, her skills are still lacking. She should handle any eccentricity with a smile.

For reference, BeautyLime is my senior.

“My fashion sense is too early for my innocent subscribers.”

“Ah! Is that so!”

“BeautyLime, what if SLimelove dressed like this?”

“Our PengRhyme is cute no matter what she does.”

An instant reply, huh.

“Looks like you’ve got Slime in your eyes.”

“Huh? Do I have any <Pack Slime> left?”

BeautyLime checked her face on her smartphone screen.

“Didn’t you put on makeup after removing the <Pack Slime>?”

“I did!”

“Then there wouldn’t be any left, right?”

“That’s true!”

Was she always this cheerful?

Or did seeing the fluorescent rainbow universe bleach her brain?

I feel like I might get bleached too.

“Did you participate in an open-run today as well?”

“Yes! I failed today, but I’ll leave earlier tomorrow and definitely succeed.”

“What’s the reason you participate in open-run events every day?”

“Because I really like it.”

“Isn’t it tough?”

“Not at all.”

“I heard you even gather the <Slime> you worked hard to buy and give it as gifts to your viewers.”

“I want more people to love SLimelove.”

She gives out Alchemy Slime products, so why love SLimelove?

“Do you think SLimelove and Alchemy Slime are the same person?”

“They are. I can tell.”

At that moment, BeautyLime’s eyes widened briefly.

“Is there anything you wish for from SLimelove?”

“I’m satisfied as long as they keep uploading videos consistently.”

“Don’t you wish for an increase in <Pack Slime> production volume? It would make it easier to get.”

“I don’t wish for that. Our PengRhyme is already working hard enough.”

“You must really like them.”

“Yes!”

“Would you want a SLimelove doll if one came out?”

“Yes! I definitely want one! Is there one coming out?”

“Who knows? Ah, the bus is here. Thanks for the interview. This is a token of appreciation.”

I took off my hat and placed a slime hat I made on the spot on BeautyLime’s head.

Before she could react, I put my hat back on and boarded the bus.

I thought she might have seen some truth through the fluorescent rainbow universe, but halfway through, something felt off.

I casually tested her to see if she recognized me, and her ‘Is there one coming out?’ confirmed it.

She’s convinced that I’m SLimelove.

SLimelove has never said a single word. In videos, they wear a thick Slime mask. And right now, I look incredibly strange.

How on earth does she recognize me?

Just last week, I would have made a fuss if something like this happened, but now I can just shrug it off.

Maybe there’s no need to separate Alchemy Slime and SLimelove anymore.

Many people already think Alchemy Slime and SLimelove are the same person.

That rumor is outright considered a fact overseas.

The evidence is that SLimelove’s subscribers surged after a 30 million won W-tuber promoted <Insole Slime> and <Pack Slime>.

I had separated SLimelove and Alchemy Slime to guard against their mutual downfall, but worrying about that seems unnecessary since Alchemy Slime’s position is solid. The fact that Alchemy Slime isn’t shaken by trivial matters has been proven by surviving reverse viral marketing.

I was also cautious about my address being exposed through videos as Alchemy Slime, but I’m moving soon anyway. I don’t really understand now why I was so wary of my house being discovered in the first place.

What was I so afraid of back then?

If someone comes to my house, I can just let them experience Slime hell.

Why did I worry about being kidnapped or confined first?

This is all because of the curse.

Damn curse.

The problem is that if my family finds out I awakened as an Alchemist, they’ll worry.

But I can deal with that now.

Fashion Terrorist has arrived!

Open the door!

I’ve come to inflict great pain on your eyes!

I entered the password and opened the door.

“You’re here…? What on earth are you dressed like!”

Exactly my point!

Oops. Now’s not the time to agree with that.

“Mom, Dad. I have something important to tell you.”

Hearing Mom’s voice, I pushed both Mom and Dad, who came out to see, into the master bedroom.

I closed the door and made sure to draw the curtains tight.

“What’s this all about?”

“Don’t be too shocked when you see this.”

I took off my hoodie, hat, and mask, revealing my face.