I became the slime toy of the evil dragon girl?

Honeydew Town

This is a small border town located in the eastern part of the Ash Kingdom. Like many towns near the Monster Forest, it is a place where adventurers come and go.

However, Honeydew Town is also close to Sweet Forest. Compared to the Endless Monster Forest, the monsters in Sweet Forest are more basic. Apart from the goblins that are found all over the world, there are only some low-level monsters.

Furthermore, the Sweet Forest produces a large quantity of extremely delicious Starlight Berries, and even occasionally, rarer Magic Berries.

For example, the Dreamy Silver Dewberry; if you're lucky enough to find just one, it's worth at least what a novice or low-level adventurer would get from clearing three goblin nests.

Therefore, this place is practically a gathering place for novice adventurers in the Ash Kingdom.

In addition, the local berry picking and processing business is very developed, and merchants from all over the country, and even alchemists, come here to buy some of the specialty plants of Sweet Forest.

This has resulted in Honeydew Town, despite being called a town, actually possessing a level of prosperity that surpasses most cities.

Two years ago, the name of Sweet Forest finally reached the ears of the current Demon King—the Black Dragon Vivian Claudia Solnax.

Since then, most of the Sweet Forest's produce has been monopolized by dragons, and human adventurers can only obtain a few berries and magical plants that slip through the fingers of high-level monsters.

The evil dragon even set up a small teleportation array and monster camp in the Sweet Forest.

High-level adventurers rarely come to Honeydew Town.

The lower-level adventurers were helpless against these endless streams of high-level monsters and were forced to leave Honeydew Town one after another.

Honeydew Town became desolate after that, and the once bustling town was deserted.

Only a few people who couldn't leave this place remained, occasionally venturing into the Sweet Forest to pick up berries left behind by the monsters to make a living.

Until last week, perhaps it was the mayor of Honeydew Town's two years of persistent reports to the kingdom's central government that finally annoyed those noble lords.

Of course, it's also possible that some important figure in the kingdom also wants to try a taste of the Sweet Forest's specialty.

The kingdom mobilized its most elite forces—a squad personally led by an 8th-tier hero.

They destroyed the teleportation array that the evil dragon had set up in the Sweet Forest and stole all of the Sweet Forest's produce for that month.

They also slaughtered the monster camp guarding the teleportation array.

This even includes the gargoyle leader, a seventh-tier monster that has been able to stop adventurers from crying at night in Honeydew Town for the past two years.

The news had not yet spread, and the town remained deserted.

Bingo Tavern.

Business was equally bad there, and the tavern owner was rummaging through something with a worried look on his face.

As the tavern owner, he had access to a wide network of information and had long known that the hero had destroyed the monster's teleportation array.

He was hoping that his tavern could regain its former glory.

But then he heard some bad news.

The monsters returned in just a few days, bringing not only a large number of monsters but also an unimaginable amount of magical materials.

Perhaps it's revenge, to blow up the entire town of Honeydew?

"We should have sold the tavern sooner..." the owner muttered to himself. His brows furrowed even more, but his hands didn't stop rummaging through the tavern.

Finally, he found a dozen or so berries in a bucket to use in the concoction...

"Ladies, two glasses of berry juice and one glass of strawberry milk, please enjoy." The pub owner tried his best to appear welcoming.

There was nothing they could do; the tavern hadn't sold a single drop of alcohol in three days.

Even novice adventurers who only drink juice can no longer be ignored as they were during the prosperous times.

Moreover, they also purchased intelligence, making them a rare and valuable client.

A short, blonde girl carrying a sword and shield accepted the juice from the shopkeeper with both hands and said with a worried expression.

"Boss, are we really going to Sweet Forest? But the boss told us that hundreds or even thousands of monsters are already stationed there."

A red-haired girl, wielding a massive magic wand but clad in tight leather armor, replied, "Of course we're going, Nicole! Don't always think about backing down. You're a genius warrior, already at the third rank just after coming of age!"

Nicole tapped her fingers on the glass full of juice, some of it even spilling onto her fingers.

She hesitated for a moment before looking up at the red-haired girl and saying, "Phoebe, I know, but..."

Boom!

The red-haired girl Phoebe suddenly slammed her enormous wand, which was several heads taller than Nicole, onto the ground, interrupting Nicole's retreat. It was more like a giant warhammer than a wand.

"No buts, Nicole, didn't you dream of being a hero? Things others dare not do, things others can't do, that's what we have to do!"

Phoebe became more and more excited as she spoke, and even stood up on the bench.

"Our Gilded Rose Squad has finally been formed today, and this is our first mission!"

After Phoebe finished speaking, she took a big gulp of strawberry milk.

He then crushed the packaging bag, as if a flame was burning in his eyes.

Nicole sighed as she looked at the red-haired girl's spirited demeanor, and continued to have second thoughts.

"Our squad doesn't even have a proper mage, let alone a hunter or a ranger. We can't even cast a detection spell. We probably wouldn't even know if we ran into a monster. Maybe...?"

Phoebe patted her ample bosom, proudly raised her chin, and said to the others with her nostrils flared, "Hehehe, why am I not a mage?!"

"I know Flashbang! And I spent a fortune on a telescope. Besides, Barbara can also use Evil Detection!"

Phoebe patted the head of the white-haired girl beside her and continued, "Right? Barbara?"

The white-haired girl put down the thick holy book in her hand, touched her head with one hand, her lips slightly parted, and looked at the other two with a confused expression.

It took him several seconds to manage to stammer out, "Ah...ah? Oh, right!"

Phoebe didn't care whether the other person heard what she was saying or not.

All she knew was that she had gained the approval of the squad's priest, which gave her an advantage in the votes.

"We're just scouting from afar, there's no danger at all. All we need to do is gather intelligence before the kingdom's main force arrives, and we can reap unimaginable rewards. Maybe we'll even have a chance to expose the monsters' plans! Nicole, don't worry! You have to believe in yourself, and you have to believe in us! We'll definitely become the strongest adventurer team in the future!"

Nicole covered her face, beginning to doubt whether returning to her hometown to form an adventure team with her childhood friend was a mistake.

Seeing that everyone had finally stopped opposing her plan, the red-haired girl excitedly stepped onto the table, raised her arms, and shouted, "Let's go! Tomorrow morning!"

......

......

At dawn, the exploration team had already gathered at the monster camp.

"Set off!"

Qiqi, carrying a bulging, jingling backpack, shouted excitedly.

Suddenly, a black sphere exuding a dangerous aura fell out of the backpack.

Amidst the horrified gazes of the crowd, Qiqi hurriedly picked up the ball.

"Oh no, my zha... divination crystal ball."