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

I don't want Nao to be alone here.

"Yes, they're all good people."

Nao left with those words and walked straight to the tree. Not wanting to be left behind by her and Slime-chan, I sped up to catch up, making a huge noise. I'm so sorry, I won't do it again.

Only after seeing this tree up close can you truly appreciate its towering height and beauty. Standing beneath it, I, shorter than a human, would look like an ant.

"The Tree of Perseus. Its age is unknown, a tree that gathers the outstanding souls of people from various eras and timelines, allowing these souls to continue."

The magic eye revealed information about this tree in my field of vision; perhaps it is because of it that Nao has been able to maintain this posture.

Hmm...it's probably the culprit that gathered the ghosts...but I don't care about that anymore, because it's just too beautiful.

"Ah... Mr. Swordsman." Nao spoke to the person sitting under the tree.

It was a black-haired man, shirtless, covered in scars. When I met his golden eyes, I felt a chill run through my entire body, as if I had been thrown into an ice cellar.

"...?"

The black-haired man seemed to be in a daze, his eyes fixed on Nao walking towards him. He returned a stiff smile. Ugh… this guy's smile is so terrifying, it's like a cold laugh.

"Zhou, a native of Dong, is currently a spirit. However, he was once a powerful swordsman, and even having lost his original form, he still possesses power beyond the reach of ordinary people."

...What happened? Garbled text?

This is the first time I've seen the Demon Eye do this. It didn't display that person's information completely, which is strange... Speaking of which, this person's name is something like Zhou.

I immediately understood who this person really was—an Earthling.

And he's Chinese.

Chapter 42 Someone

Since it's too troublesome to address him, let's just call him Zhou Dong for now.

Zhou Dong has black hair and yellow skin, but his eye color is different from that of ordinary Earthlings. Based on the information given by the Demon Eye, I suspect he is from Earth. Moreover, the light armor he wears on his lower body is the kind worn by warriors in ancient times, giving him a samurai-like appearance.

Maybe he's not from the same generation as me.

Zhou Dong noticed my gaze and turned his eyes to me. A cold light flashed deep in his eyes. My God... I was so scared that I instinctively tried to use the rune stone to deflect the attack, but it wasn't an attack. He just glanced at me casually.

Wow... Were people in ancient times really this scary?

Nao, observing the interaction between Zhou Dong and me, seemed to sense something and asked Zhou Dong, "Does Mr. Swordsman know Rin?"

"..." Zhou Dong shook his head. "No, I don't recognize it, I just sensed a familiar aura."

This is it——!

"What is this?"

Zhou Dong suddenly looked over again. "Wow, so you can talk too? Don't look over here, it's kind of scary."

"Speaking? What is that?" Zhou Dong was completely confused.

Ignoring his questions, I got straight to the point.

Are you from Earth?

"Earth? Earthlings?? I'm not human anymore, am I?" Zhou Dong was still completely confused; I could even see a bunch of question marks above his head.

Wow, they actually use such an ancient self-designation! I've learned something new.

"Ah, could it be that Rin and the swordsman are from the same place?" Nao steered the conversation forward. "The swordsman is from another world, isn't he? And Rin too?"

I do indeed come from another world...

I gave her a vague answer, and then someone bumped into me. Turning around, I saw an unhappy Slime-chan, probably upset about being excluded. Sorry, you probably wouldn't understand our conversation, so maybe you shouldn't listen.

"I'm sorry," Zhou Dong lowered his head, "I have no memory of the past, and I am unaware of anything you are referring to."

Huh...did he lose his memory?

Zhou Dong is different from me. I was reincarnated with my memories, while he only arrived here as a soul, so he has no memories of his past?

More than that, I want to know where the box is.

"Ah, excuse me, swordsman, please excuse me."

"It's alright."

Nao said goodbye to Zhou Dong and continued leading me to the base of the tree trunk. I saw the box Nao had mentioned.

"This is it...!"

Nao clumsily dragged the suitcase to me. I thought she should have emptied the contents first. Oh wait, what if the suitcase was locked?

"Is this what you need?" Nao asked.

Yes, this is it. What's inside?

I was very interested in what was inside because I smelled a very fragrant aroma that felt familiar.

"Some gold and silver jewelry and things like that," Nao said casually. "Not much, she just collects them occasionally to play with."

With that, Nao opened the box. Inside were all sorts of gold and silver jewels, but they only filled the bottom of the box.

Even so, this amount should be enough for my food for a month...

"Okay, wait a moment."

Nao lifted the bottom of the box and turned it upside down. All the treasures were poured out in an instant. She didn't feel any heartache at all. Rather, she didn't care about these things since they weren't hers.

"Okay, that's fine." Nao gestured for him to proceed.

Hmm... if I could, I'd also like the stuff that was poured out.

Don't look at me! What can I do?! People need food to survive, and that applies to mimics too! Tsk, I know I'm greedy, fine, I don't want it.

"You can take all those things without worry," Nao said casually. "I just collect them for fun. I don't know why she keeps bringing them out these days."

Well done, you freak!

"So, what are you going to do?" Nao seemed very curious about what I was looking for the box for.

Replace the shell.

This is how I answered her.

The mimic can be fully restored simply by changing its shell.

I approached the box and took a look; the Demon Eye provided information about it.

"An old magic iron chest, made from iron ingots that have been affected by magic for a long time. It is very sturdy and can be imbued with some magic."

Wow, is that amazing?

I shed my original shell and found Nao watching me with great interest, while Zhou Dong on the other side kept glancing over. Waaaaah~ Don't look, it's so embarrassing!

Overwhelmed by shame, I hurriedly crawled into the magic iron box, then took over the entire box, extending my limbs and pincers. The new shell felt surprisingly nice; despite being an iron box, it was incredibly light.

"So this is what a mimicry monster looks like when it changes its shell..." Nao exclaimed in amazement. "This is the first time I've ever seen anything like it... It's amazing."

No, no, it's not that powerful... It's very fragile when you change the shell.

I felt a little embarrassed. I looked at the treasure on the ground, but to be honest, I still didn't dare to take it.

Nao saw what I was thinking, picked up a handful of treasure from the ground, walked up to me, and looked at me with a smile.

"Take it, consider it a small gift."

is this okay?

"There's nothing good or bad about it," Nao said firmly. "You're my friend."

Friends?...

Look at you, look at you, Slime-chan, you should learn more from Nao.

I opened my mouth and let Nao carefully lower it until I saw her hand outstretched, then I closed my mouth. I will never forget this kindness.

At the same time, I had another ideal.

Hey, Nao...

I want to become someone like you.

Nao looked somewhat surprised, smiled, and didn't say anything, but I could sense her trust in me. We'd only just met, was it really okay to trust a monster so much?

"If it makes sense, it definitely can. You're special." Nao said, as if she were talking about her own situation. "Are you leaving? Let me see you off."

Uh... um. Can I come again?

"Anytime is fine..." Nao nodded. "Ah, but don't come the way you just did. There's actually another way to get here."

...I must kill that guy.

After that, Nao saw off the two uninvited guests and told the mimic "Ree" the way to this place, hoping it would come again. Ri was happy to come and meet Nao again in the future, but the slime didn't seem interested.

Lady Nao looks very happy.

Before anyone knew it, the swordsman, referred to as Zhou Dong, had already reached Nao's side. Watching the two monsters disappear into the distance, Nao couldn't discern the emotions in his golden eyes.

"Yeah, it's really fun..." Nao watched Ri's retreating figure. "I never thought I could talk to a monster. Maybe it's because I'm a monster now? Haha... I didn't know monsters could be so interesting."

"Um... I only arrived here three months ago, so I don't understand what you mean. I apologize." Zhou Dong indicated his incomprehension.

"That's true. How could a swordsman who only existed in this world for three months compare to me, who has lived in this world for twenty years?" Nao laughed self-deprecatingly. "But I still can't see this world..."

"I, too, feel like I can't see this world clearly," Zhou Dong echoed her words.

The atmosphere suddenly became heavy. The two remained silent, unable to exchange a word. After a while, just as they were about to return to the Tree of Heroes, another person arrived.

No, I guess I can't really call them human...

A silver-haired girl dressed in a white Japanese-style robe hurried in. Her silver dragon horns, which could not be hidden among her silver hair, stood there. She looked very healthy, unlike Nao who was sickly. Her whole body was full of vitality.

"Yahoo~ Nao! Long time no see! Ah, and the swordsman too."

The dragon-horned girl waved and ran towards Nao, tackling her down in one go, and then they became entangled. Zhou Dong silently recited "Don't look at what you shouldn't see," blushing as he turned his head away.

"Ah, wait?! Rielfa?! Don't do this?!"

"No way! This is a loving hug!"

"Whoa?!"

Nao was tackled by the dragon-horned girl known as "Leelfa," who groped her all over, even touching her most private parts without hesitation. If an ordinary person saw such a sensual scene, they might have already pounced on her and started a wild fight.

Who is Zhou Dong? He walked away as if nothing had happened.

The reason is simple; this isn't something shameful that can't be discussed with others. Laelfa had a perfectly legitimate reason to "violate" the vulnerable Nao, without a single ounce of malice.

Because Nao cannot live without Rielfa.

"~~~~~~?!"

Nao let out a muffled moan and collapsed onto the Soul Plains, her expression dazed, as if she had exhausted all her strength. Seeing that she was tired, Rielfa stopped and gently released Nao, looking into her eyes, waiting for her to say something.

Once Nao recovered, she first glared at Lelfa with great embarrassment and anger, and then questioned him.

"Miss Rifa, please tell me what you did today."

"Hmm~? Pounce on Nao, my little cutie~?" Raelfa replied casually.

"Two guests came today... and they were really badly hurt." Nao intensified her gaze.

"Oh dear~ Is that so? I'm not here today~" Rielfa clearly looked away.

"You know something, don't you, Miss Rae-Er-Fa?" Nao said, though she was smiling, there was no real joy in her smile.

"I'm so sorry, Miss Nao! I was wrong!"

Relfa suddenly rolled up from the ground and was sitting on her knees. If Li saw this, she would definitely exclaim "Dogeza" in surprise, but that's not what we're talking about now.

“Those two children are quite troubled, especially Li,” Nao sat up and began to lecture, “That child was almost covered in injuries when he got here. Using traps to lure people here is a terrible thing to do. What if others got hurt? If the person involved were to accidentally get hurt, they would surely leave this world filled with remorse. If the goddess Sherna knew, she would surely punish you with divine retribution. So please don't do anything so careless because of a momentary impulse.”

"Ah~ about this, the mimic is a servant of the goddess!"

"...?!"

Nao visibly flinched upon hearing this, her expression turning extremely flustered. Rielfa, on the other hand, looked like a child who had successfully pulled off a prank.

"But you're happy, aren't you?" Rielfa suddenly asked.

Nao paused for a moment, then gave her her most beautiful smile.

"Yes... I'm very happy."