Then again, who could tell? All baby slimes looked the same in black and white. However, the brand was, without a doubt, Lily and Bell's Juice Emporium; the juice company our families had planned on opening prior to the incident.

'Did you know?' I asked Coffee. 'That it's been half a year already?'

'No. We could've been teleported a few days or even a few seconds into the future. There was no way of telling,' she said, sitting next to me. She was wrapped in a towel, and smelt like fresh lavender. Her scent was soothing, helping to reduce my frustration at our present circumstance.

'Sigh, I'm not holding it against you or anything. I'm just confused... what do we do now?' I murmured.

'I knew it! You guys are involved with The Morana Incident, right? Right?' Liz excitedly plunked down on the box opposite us.

'...What's it got to do with you?' Coffee crossed her arms.

'I told you I'm an author. I scour the world for the epic and mysterious. Anything and everything is my inspiration! What happened in Morana got my senses tingling, and I can sense that there is something huge and amazing that I can write about. I've been trying to locate people affected by it ever since,' Liz said, almost without breathing. 'And I've finally found them; you!'

'Sorry, but we were just teleported here not too long ago. There isn't much to tell, I'm afraid,' I said.

'That's fine. I don't want second hand information anyway. Please, let me go on an adventure with you!' Liz clasped her hands together and looked at us with a twinkle in her eyes. Her passion went past normal desire and bordered on obsession, as suggested by the drool dribbling from the corner of her mouth.

'No way,' Coffee stated. 'Why should we accept such a ridiculous request? You're also a carnivorous species with an almost unsatiable stomach. It'd be impossible for us to bring enough food for you.'

'Well, in exchange, I can tell you everything that I have regarding the incident. I've done a lot of background research. As for food, there's a way that we can get around that,' Liz said, standing up and walking over to her bookshelf. She opened up a old and tattered book, and brought out a small, black ring made of three intertwined helices of different colored metals. As soon as it was removed from the book, it emanated a weak mana signature that reminded me of... the void matrix?

'?! How do you have that?' Coffee exclaimed. 'I thought they were all destroyed after the First Dungeon War.'

Dungeon War?

'My only parent--my father, was Gaben von Morningwood, brigadier general of the Mimic Army, and commander of the 13th special division. Before he died, he gave this to me to safeguard... his important things,' Liz closed her eyes, almost certainly reminescing about a painful past.

'...I'm sorry.'

...

'Don't be. Before it causes misunderstandings, I'll have you know that he was executed by the former Vampire Queen as a war criminal. I don't have anything against vampires though. He offered up his life willingly in exchange for maintaining neutral relationships with the vampires following the war,' Liz said, fists clutched tightly.

'I understand. Forgive me for probing,' Coffee said. Liz nodded solemnly.

'I'm sorry about what happened to your father,' I said. 'And also about having to ask this question too, but... what is that ring?'

'It's a legendary grade magical item called The Void Ring,' Coffee explained. 'It can store up to ten tonnes of tangible materials, excluding living things. It was used to smuggle weapons, equipment, and food to troops during the First Dungeon War.'

'Only Emperor-Class Blacksmiths were able to manufacture such amazing items, but they were all forcibly executed following the war for the sake of maintaining the peace. That's how valuable these were,' Liz added. 'Their possession and usage are pretty much taboo, so I'd appreciate it if it was kept a secret between us three.'

Ah, so that's what it was. I could see why it was so valuable, too. Wars were won or lost depending on not only the quality and quantify of soldiers, but also on the ability for armies to resupply. A cheat-like tool that could accomplish this with minimal effort to transport was invaluable.

It would also be invaluable for our voyage.

'We can store a bunch of food in this, is what you're saying,' I guessed.

'Yep,' Liz said. 'There's just one catch.'

'We're going to have to acquire the food from somewhere?' I sighed.

'If by acquire, you mean stealing, then yes,' Liz smiled weakly.

Why can't we ever get anything done in a way that doesn't screw other people over?-- is what I would've said, but decided to save it for a later discussion.

'Why are you promoting this? Aren't you supposed to be a part of the Kingdom's police--err MSG?'

'I'm an author, how many times do I have to tell you? My only goal in life is to write the greatest tale to be ever written!' Liz declared, dabbing like a baws.

'What do you think?' I asked Coffee softly. 'I think that ring can be useful for us.'

'I agree, but I'm not sure...' she tightened her lips and put a finger to her chin.

'We'd like a chance to think about your proposal,' I said, to which Liz grimaced but agreed resignedly. 'Could you tell us more about your research into the incident first?'

'FIne. Most of the information was mentioned in that article you read; however, there are three critical things missing in their analysis,' Liz said triumphantly, as Coffee grabbed the article beside us and began to skim through it.

'And they are...?' I lifted an eyebrow.

'Well, first, the motivation behind the incident. The timing is too perfect, don't you think?' Liz said.

'Timing?'

'Yes, with everything. The population crisis, the teleportation incident, and the Vampire-Mimic trade alliance. I guess that the article didn't mention the nature of the trade. You'd assume that it was food or some economic commodity, right? But it wasn't. It's the trade of Strecicelium rock for Quanta talismens, Majora horns for Jiro drones, and so forth.'

'That's...' Coffee muttered. 'Trading weapon materials for completed weapons...'

'Precisely,' Liz said.

'So your kingdom is allying itself with the Vampire Kingdom to instigate a war against ours?' I surmised. 'I'm assuming that the food shortage is the primary reason for this, but why cause a mass teleportation event, if it's going to waste war potential by rendering the mimics' powerful magicians useless for a long time?'

'That leads us to the second missing piece of the puzzle. The incident was definitely not directly mimic-originated. Our race specializes in magical augmentations for physical combat, and we have a limited number of long range magicians. If they were suddenly bedridden due to mana exhaustion, we'd know about it in an instant,' Liz said.

'So in the end, it was the vampires?' I asked.

'That doesn't make sense,' Coffee argued. 'If vampires were working with the mimics to start a war with the slimes, why would they send me and implicate themselves if they were going to deny it afterwards?'

She had a point, and it brought another important fact to consider. Why did the mimic reveal himself at the risk of implicating himself? Wait, are we even sure that he was a mimic? If reverting to one's normal form required the release of manifestation mana, why did I distinctly remember him using it to shapeshift? Fuck, were we completely fooled from the get-go?

'I also don't think that it was the vampires,' Liz said. 'I don't know what this sending you business is all about, but the high class magicians of the Vampire Kingdom had a perfect alibi during the incident. They were overseeing a magical tournament for vampiric and mimic youths under 25, and there were even mimic spectators who were allowed to watch.'

'By the process of elimination, that leaves us with the Goblin Kingdom?' I understood what Liz was getting at. The missing piece was an entire kingdom. A hidden force that was moving in the shadows of politics.

'Bingo! Give the slime a Yaksha berry,' Liz grinned. 'Our Kingdom's rulers met up with the leaders of the Goblin Kingdom last year at the neutral city of New Fork to discuss future trade deals. I have a funny feeling that there was more to that conversation than meets the eye. There were rumors that the Slime Kingdom got ahold of enough magical items to disrupt the power balance in the dungeon, and I don't think the other Kingdoms liked that very much.'

'Well, goblin involvement would explain why the mimic who brought you to the Slime Kingdom had to use an Advanced Manifestation Spell to transform into a mimic,' I told Coffee. 'Because he wasn't a bloody mimic in the first place.'

'Now that you mention it...' Coffee's eyes widened with realization.

'It would explain why his mana core wasn't a box like the mimics we've seen so far,' I added, remembering that pulsating black spider-egg-looking core. 'Wait... does this mean that the entire fucking dungeon is preparing to go to war against us? While we are forced to pick up the pieces of The Morana Incident?'

'It would seem that way,' Liz admitted. 'But there's a third piece of the story too.'

'And what's that?' Coffee asked.

'That has to do with the increasing levels of terrorism in our Kingdom,' Liz said. 'It's got foreign interference written all over it. Everything from the mana circuits that are used to power the explosives used, to the people carrying it out,' Liz said.

'Don't tell me...' I groaned. Incredible war potential was building on this side of the conflict. It wasn't possible that the other side was going to turn a blind eye.

'Bingo again. The MSG is investigating whether these actions are tied to the Slime Kingdom, but have been coming up empty handed. Some suspects end up taking instant self-immolation pills and prevent us from doing identification autopsies. Eventually, though, someone will get caught and there will be a justified reason for our Kingdom to retaliate,' Liz's face looked grim.

'Well, shit,' I laid back and zoned out staring at the box-shaped light cube above us. This was so much to take in. Everything was thrown at me so suddenly that I had a hard time accepting it. A part of me wished that I could laugh it all away. That I would wake up and everything would be back to the way it was. That I'd still be with my parents, Andrea, and Lily, and building up a corporate empire based on soda. Maybe somehow get a temporary citizenship for Coffee or something. Fuck. Was that too much to ask for?

Wasn't I looking over something though? I stared at Coffee, who was discussing with Liz the other terrorist attacks at great length.

...

'You're creeping me out,' Coffee said, hugging her towel tightly to her chest and breaking my concentration.

'Wait, I wasn't--'

'Isn't it fine? He's a healthy growing boy, after all,' Liz teased. She played with the fold on her towel and began to pull it apart. 'Would you like to see sister's mature beauty?'

'Nope,' I said simply, causing Liz to falter and sink onto the floor almost theatrically. 'Coffee, if it was the Goblin Kingdom who captured you, sealed you, and transported you to the Slime Kingdom, you must have known something that could cause a conflict between slimes and vampires. Can you remember what that is?'

'Uhm...' Coffee put a finger on her chin. A full minute passed, but then she sighed. 'No, I don't remember anything.'

'Regardless, you said before that it didn't make sense for the vampires to be involved with this incident, correct?' I asked excitedly.

'Yeah.'

'So, the goblin brought you to the Slime Kingdom to instigate a conflict between slimes and vampires without consulting the vampires. Afterwards, he essentially told you that the plan had failed and his 'higher ups' didn't care what he did with you anymore. It was then that the teleportation event occurred. I'll bet you my left nut that the teleportation event was an emergency backup plan, and they somehow managed to use the situation to their advantage by forging an alliance with the vampires.'

'I don't want your left nut. Anyway, so what does this have to do with anything?' Coffee tilted her head.

'That means that they manipulated the vampires, doesn't it?' Liz asked, somewhat recovered from her damage pride.

'Yes it does, which also means that the Goblins are not the vampires' allies. There's hope for stopping the conflict, at least for the moment, if we can manage to convince the vampires of this,' I explained. 'And it also means that you're the key, being both a victim of the goblins' ploy as well as a vampire yourself. Coffee, if we set course for the Vampire Kingdom, would you help me explain the situation to them?'

'Hah?! Don't you want to go home?' She looked at me incredulously.

'What good is going home if a war is going to break out?' I stared at her seriously. 'This is the only way I might be able to ensure my family's safety, and I think this is the best way forward for the two of us as well.'

'The three of us, you mean,' Liz chimed in. 'I feel a fantastic story in the making, and I'm not missing it for the world.'

'...' Coffee was in deep thought, mulling things over with that sequence of conflicted expressions on her face again. I hoped this time, she'd actually consider my plan instead of throwing it out the door and trying to force me to accept her own.

'Fine, but only on two conditions,' she finally said.

'1. We will spend the next two weeks here training and planning. You may think you're a hot shot at magic, but you're honestly worse than a pile of manamoo shit.

'2. We have to successfully pull off a food heist to feed this perverted box. Not to mention that we still have to confirm her trustworthiness somehow. I'll look into creating a contract or something.'

'Who the hell are you calling a box?' Liz protested. You're okay with being called perverted though?

'Deal,' I said without hesitation.

At first, I was relieved that Coffee finally listened to what I said, but then noticed a sly, devilish grin grow on her face. If I had any sort of subconscious stimulation from the fact that two half-naked girls were nearby, it was quelled as if my balls were placed in a vat of bubbling magma and then instantly cooled in liquid nitrogen.

I instantly regretted my decision.

'Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. You fool,' Coffee laughed dryly with dead-fish eyes. 'You made a grave error... Welcome... to Coffee's Special Training Hell of Unspeakable Nightmares and More.'

'Haha... I'll leave you guys to it then--' Liz tried to run away, only to have her towel clamped down with Coffee's vicegrip. From the aura she was eminating, evil steam seemed to be escaping Coffee's lips and her crimson eyes were glowing brightly.

'You signed up for this the moment you said you wanted to tag along,' Coffee breathed.

Tears began to form in Liz's eyes.

'We only have two weeks to get you both in shape. Let us begin.'