Girl in the Box: Please tell me why I was reincarnated as a mimic monster!

So the question arises: how exactly did Ning acquire this skill? Li was very curious about this, because it concerned Ning's chastity.

"I'm telling you..." Ning sighed, tapped her head, and said irritably, "Isn't there anything else on your mind all day long besides this kind of thing? I'm starting to think about whether I should set aside some time to give you a lecture."

"Then you should explain the origin of this skill to me first!" Li said in exasperation.

Because slimes are a genderless race that reproduces through fission, they cannot reproduce through mating, let alone mating with other races. It's impossible for them to even imagine doing so. Therefore, this skill cannot be innate. This leads all the speculation to the only possibility, making it impossible to dismiss the question entirely.

"I bet you're probably having an affair because of that," Ning said, rubbing her temples with a headache. "Let me make this clear, I haven't done anything to betray you. Why do you look at me like I caught my husband cheating? Remember when I told you I could strengthen myself by assimilating other slimes and stealing their abilities and skills? I accidentally acquired this skill while assimilating other slimes outside the dungeon, so please don't look at me like that, okay?"

"Huh...? It's that simple...?"

"Yeah, how much more complicated do you want it to be?"

Is that all?

"You're so annoying..."

Li breathed a sigh of relief. She thought the origin of this skill was very complicated, but it turned out to be so simple. It made Li so nervous, and she even did that to Ning. She needs to reflect on her tendency to overthink things.

"There's nothing to worry about now, right?" Ning asked.

“That’s all,” Li stretched and helped Xiao up from the sofa. “I’m going to make dinner. What would you like to eat tonight?”

"Hmm... turtle?" Ning said.

"…Huh!?" Rin also misunderstood this time. "No, no, why would you suddenly bring this up?"

"That's because you seem very anxious," Ning said bluntly. "Well, probably a lot of people have told you about this, so it's normal to feel uneasy because I didn't explain it clearly to you. If you want to see results quickly, I'll cooperate with you, but I think it's still a bit too early to have a child now."

"what……?"

He looked surprised.

"Do you think I can't tell what you're thinking?" Ning said helplessly.

"You know..." Li said helplessly, "It turns out I was just entertaining myself all by myself..."

"If you'd like to come tonight, that's fine too," Ning said with a smile.

——!

Li subconsciously took a step back, because she instinctively sensed danger—danger to her chastity. Meanwhile, Ning's eyes flashed with a wolfish glint. Ning's words, on the surface, implied that Li couldn't resist, but in reality, it was Ning herself who couldn't resist. Moreover, her expression suggested she would pounce on Li the moment Li was slightly off guard.

"We'll talk about it tonight!" Li gave her a heads-up, "Not now!"

After saying that, she turned on the light and went into the kitchen as if fleeing. After she left, Ning stopped trying to move and obediently leaned back on the sofa to rest. She had noticed Li's unusual behavior a while ago, but Ning didn't plan to say anything unless Li asked. Unlike Li, she didn't actually want children. Li belonged to her alone, and having another child would be a real headache.

In short, this skill needs to be temporarily sealed.

Ning silently used other skills to mitigate the effects of the interspecies mating skill; if Li actually got pregnant, she would be in trouble.

"Sister Ning..."

"...? Xiao, are you awake?"

"Hmm...you just woke up, right..."

It turned out that Xiao had already woken up while the two were talking about having children, but she thoughtfully didn't disturb their conversation. Ning only just realized that she was awake.

"Hehe..." Xiao chuckled mischievously, "Are Sister Li and Sister Ning going to have a baby?"

"I guess so..." Ning replied perfunctorily.

"Then Xiao will have a niece..." Xiao looked quite happy. "That's great, our family will have another member."

"……Um."

After seeing Xiao's performance, Ning began to reconsider the matter.

Chapter 13: The Final Disposal of Hale

Three days after meeting with Ymir, with two days left until the deadline given by Li, today is the day for the alliance to hold talks on the final disposal of Hale.

The location was set in the newly built Alliance Council Hall in Akihabara. The core figures of the alliance and their followers, basically divided into four factions, were now seated around the round table in the large ivory-white building.

The demons, led by Demon King Xuanze, include: the Lion of Sin Flame, the Thunder Demon Sindessa, the current vampire clan leader Dracula, and Xuanze's little fairy Silena.

The members of the Alyas Elf Kingdom, led by Alice, include: Secretary Zisenno, Evan the temporary agent of the Three Ancient Workshop, Kana, Elf Queen Linf, and the high-ranking water elf Miao.

The Duchy of the Empire, led by Sevi: Imperial General Edman and Princess Lihua of the Duchy.

The group of members of the Little Garden, led by Riho and Ning: the Four Dragon Kings, Olito, the president of the Borg Merchant Guild, the Akihabara Guard Trio, and Kuroba, the Magic Book of Manri.

These are the participants of this meeting.

You're asking why Xia Que and Hao Er aren't here?

Considering their positions, Li ultimately decided not to let them come. Who knows who might attack Hao'er if he spoke up? In a sense, Xia Que had nothing to do with Hao'er's final fate, so she could only be temporarily excluded... It always felt like she didn't have much of a say, but there was nothing that could be done about it... Once everything was over, she could return to her normal life.

To be honest, Li still hasn't made a final decision. She still hasn't figured out how to deal with Hao'er. She's discussed it with Ning, but Ning said she doesn't really care about it and will let things take their course. At this time, Ning is able to remain calm and make the most accurate judgment, but Li can't. Even now, she's still worried about what will happen to those two in the future.

Whether they eventually reconciled is unclear, but she knew that if Hao Er were to die here, the two of them would be separated forever.

Such things kept disturbing her peace of mind, making her somewhat unsettled today.

“Li,” Ning nudged Reasoning’s shoulder, “Everyone’s here, just waiting for you to speak.”

"Eh……?"

After being reminded by Ning, Li realized that everyone present had been waiting for her to speak for a long time. She pretended to be calm, coughed twice to let the sound reach the ears of the others, and brought everyone's attention back.

"Alright, let's begin the meeting." Li infused his voice with a touch of magic, making it louder. "I've called you all here today for no other reason than to discuss the matter of how to deal with Haul, an accomplice in the Old Kingdom incident. Uh... of course, don't always be so serious, relax a bit."

Actually, it wasn't just me who was nervous; everyone else was a little nervous too. Although this matter was important, it didn't warrant making the atmosphere so serious.

"Hmm..." After thinking for a moment, he said, "As you all know, the Hero Xia Que and the Priest Hao Er are currently under the management and protection of our Little Garden. As for the ten Holy Swords, I have disposed of them by throwing them into the spacetime turbulence. We plan to send the Hero Xia Que back to her original world and are currently awaiting her reply. So the only remaining issue is the fate of Priest Hao Er. This matter has been put on hold for so long, it's time to address it, so I would like to hear everyone's opinions."

Priest Hoel, an accomplice in the Old Kingdom incident, is guilty of assassinating several heroes and stealing their holy swords. These ten holy swords were later misused by the Ghosts, the direct forces of the Old Kingdom's king, causing severe damage to the world and destroying several countries. The countries present here also suffered greatly because of these ten holy swords, with heavy casualties.

It could be said that his crimes were so heinous that a death sentence wouldn't be surprising. This meeting was supposed to be meaningless, but Li wanted to see if there were any other, better options. However, most of the people who caused the problems in the Old Kingdom incident had already been dealt with by Elise, leaving only Hoel, burdened with various charges.

That, along with it, came the targeting from all sides... because no one else could represent the old kingdom and bear these accusations, and all the anger would be focused on him.

The first person to raise their hand was Demon King Xuanze.

“Personally, I think,” Xuanze paused, “just execute him like this. There’s nothing more to say.”

“I think so too,” Savi agreed. “I don’t think there’s anything more to say. This kind of crime is truly unforgivable.”

“I agree,” Sindras said coldly. “A dangerous guy like that shouldn’t be kept around.”

"I second that." The Lion of Sin raised its hand to show its stance.

What a bad start...

I'm having a bit of a headache...

The situation unfolded much as she had anticipated. She had expected the meeting to begin this way, as there was little left to discuss; the outcome was already clear. Starting with Xuanze, half the group voiced their opinions, unhesitatingly echoing Xuanze's call for execution.

Xuanze, capable of single-handedly killing a hero, is an extremely dangerous figure for others. Coupled with the crimes he carries, his execution is not surprising. Their thoughts are understandable; no one wants such an uncontrollable individual to exist in this world, so wanting to eliminate him is not incomprehensible.

Of the remaining half, half looked troubled, while the other half remained on the sidelines, not making any decisions. The half who looked troubled were Alice and Celia, along with a few others who had previously been on good terms with Hale. Li initially thought that perhaps only Celia would hesitate on this matter, but she didn't expect that Alice would be the same.

As one of Hale's few friends, Alice is now in a difficult position. She knew about Hale and Xia Que's relationship back in the Old Kingdom, and she naturally saw that their relationship was unusual. The meeting was pointing towards the worst possible outcome, and as the Queen of the Alyas Elf Kingdom, she had to make the right decision. She was now torn between her best friend and her responsibilities.

The demons have undoubtedly already decided to execute Hao'er; Xuanze made the decision without even needing to consider it. Of everyone present, Xuanze probably had the worst relationship with Hao'er. Although he didn't usually show it, how could someone as vengeful as him so easily forget the near-assassination attempt?

The last small group consisted of a few people with relatively neutral stances: Black Feather, the Elf Queen Linf, the high-ranking water elf Miao, Olitto, Silena, and the other four dragon kings.

The rest of the people shared the same thought as Xuanze: execute them without further ado.

"Does anyone else want to offer their opinion?" Li asked, still unwilling to give up.

Li's gaze drifted to Ning, who hadn't offered any opinion, hoping to get some help from her. Ning simply sighed helplessly, her eyes telling her that she had to find a solution herself. Li, too, hadn't figured out the best course of action yet, and therefore hadn't expressed her opinion.

"I said……"

At this moment, Seria spoke up.

"Can't you think of any other way?" She was completely unaffected by the atmosphere. "Consider this: as King Seric's confidant, surely Hao Er has some outstanding qualities? Our world, which is in dire need of rebuilding, needs manpower and talent. If you so easily deal with someone of such social value, wouldn't you be making a huge loss?"

Seria...

Li finally saw a glimmer of hope.

“Hmph, this is interesting…” Olitto chuckled, a golden glint flashing in his eyes. “Since you’ve put it that way, Celia, I guess I should get involved. Everyone, I share the same view as Miss Celia. I think in this situation, we should make the best use of everyone’s talents. Just like she said, if this Hoel really has some talent that we can exploit, then keep him, use slave collars and slave magic on him, wouldn’t that be great?”

"Is it really that simple...?" Old Man Evan, who had remained silent all along, asked. "As far as I know, this priest possesses the divine power obtained through prayer to break through everything. I don't think a mere slave collar could control him, would it?"

"Ugh, Dad, you're so annoying!" Kana suddenly snapped. "Why don't we just follow this route?! This is such a waste of my time! Can't I handle this kind of trivial matter?! Strengthening a mere slave collar is a piece of cake!"

No, no, no, once it reaches your hands, it's no longer an enhancement, it's more like a drastic modification...

Li thought to himself, "That's what I'm complaining about."

Thanks to Teria, the meeting began to veer towards a different outcome. Fortunately, Teria was a straightforward person, and she wasn't swayed by the atmosphere, able to express her thoughts. At this moment, Li also began to ponder what kind of ending she truly hoped for for Hale.

"Um..." Chu Chu raised her hand timidly, "Please don't fight... I hope that no one dies..."

Chu Chu gave a rather subtle answer; simply put, she didn't want Hao Er to be sentenced to death.

"Hey, Li," Negi suddenly spoke up, "I happen to be short an assistant. Since you guys say that guy is so capable, why don't we just leave him here and let me handle him?"

"Huh? Huh? Wait a minute, why are you focusing on this???"

Neki, who was more powerful than Seria, directly demanded the man. In terms of acting independently, she was probably on par with Xuanze. Only after the winds shifted to a more normal direction did Li finally breathe a sigh of relief. Li glanced at Salid and Finoer; neither of them pursued the matter of Reilfa nor offered any opinions, but this was already the greatest help Li could receive.

"Making the best use of everyone's talents..." Dracula stroked his chin and pondered for a moment. "I can understand what you all are thinking. The world does need more manpower and talent right now, but losing him won't have a big impact, right? If that's the case, then why should we keep such a dangerous person? Wouldn't it be better to have one less destabilizing factor?"

“Although I am not entirely clear about what happened to you humans before,” Queen Linf of the elves began, “I understand the ins and outs of the matter, and I believe that handling it according to the Demon King’s advice is the most correct choice.”

“I share the same thought as Her Majesty the Elf Queen,” Miao said. “Such dangerous individuals should not be allowed to linger.”

“However,” Kuroba said calmly, “this person did do something that helped end the war later on, isn’t that a fact? He stopped himself at the last minute, broke away from the old kingdom, and fought for the hero. I think that should lessen his crimes a little.”

“But,” Sindras sneered, “it’s still just death, isn’t it? Your Highness, Princess Elise of the Alyas Elf Kingdom?”

At this moment, Sindras suddenly threw the topic to Alice, who looked troubled. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking when faced with such a hot potato.

“Your Highness, Elise…” Senno called out worriedly from the side.

“I’m fine,” Alice said, pushing her hand away. She then composed herself and said, “I share the same thought as the Demon King and the others: execute the dangerous priest, Hoel. Only in this way can we give an explanation to the fallen heroes and to the people.”

It's hard for Li to imagine what Alice was feeling when she gave that answer. She must have gone through a long internal struggle before arriving at that conclusion, which is understandable. Li could see Alice's clenched fists; she was probably in a lot of pain right now…

"And what about you? Lord of the Little Garden."

Xuanze eventually turned the topic to Li.

What's coming will come, but Li still hasn't found the answer she wants. She stood up silently, looked at the people around her, her mind blank, and then, a sudden idea struck her.

“Then… execute him.” Li paused, realizing he seemed to have missed something, and hurriedly added, “Ahem, no! Don’t jump to conclusions! Let me explain!! I don’t mean execution literally, but execution on a societal level.”

"Execution at the societal level?"

Three identical black question marks appeared above the heads of everyone present; they were all bewildered by what Li had said.

"How could you say something like that..." Ning rubbed her temples, her head aching. She already had a premonition that more trouble was about to unfold.

"Waaah... This is a bit complicated to explain," Riya said, her head throbbing. "Can you give me a little time to organize my thoughts and put my words together? Just a little while."

This flash of inspiration did indeed lead her to the answer she wanted, but she simply stated the answer aloud. This was her own fault; she spoke without thinking, habitually omitting the process and directly pointing to the final result, leaving all the intermediate steps to Ning.

woo woo woo...

After racking his brains for a while, Li stood up again, dejectedly saying, "Anyway! Today's meeting is over! Execution decision! You can rest assured and leave everything to me! I, the Time-Space Dragon King, will be fully responsible for Hao'er's execution! Understand!?"

"........."

Everyone was speechless.

"Understand my foot!" Ning snapped, giving her a chop to the neck. "You haven't explained anything at all!?"

"Because it's just too complicated to explain!!" Li complained, on the verge of tears. "How can you openly hit someone like that!!"

The atmosphere of the meeting became much more relaxed because of the sudden interaction between the two, and everyone smiled knowingly at their friendly interaction.

"Then that's settled." Xuanze stood up. "Since you, the Dragon King of Time and Space, have given your guarantee, I have nothing more to say. Anyway, the final result should be about the same. We demons will take our leave now. See you in a couple of days, Li."

Xuanze didn't say anything more about the matter, but left it to Li to handle. He hadn't planned to get involved in it in the first place. He was only here to formally cooperate with the alliance. As for Hao'er, let him do whatever he wants.

“Then… let’s leave it to Li to handle.” Alice also walked along the platform set up by Xuanze. “Anyway, everyone’s thoughts are similar. Since that’s the case, we’ll leave the matter to the Little Garden to handle the priests. Our Elf Kingdom will take its leave now.”

“Well then, we’ll head back first.” Savi gave Li a trusting look. “I’m leaving it to you.”

Ning blocked the gaze from Li, then made a mocking face at Saiwei. Saiwei, enraged, was about to rush forward when Lihua stopped him. Lihua bowed to everyone and led Saiwei and Edman away. And so, the meeting ended.

"Phew...it's finally over."