Kurusu smiled as he presented Suu with the yellow raincoat and boots. "There you go, now you won't have to run naked anymore," he said.

Miia cooed in delight. "Oh, Darling is so thoughtful!"

Suu eagerly accepted the clothing, although it took several attempts to put them on correctly. At first, she tried to absorb the garments into her body, causing them to float inside her. After explaining that this wasn't the proper way to wear them, she put the raincoat on like a skirt and the boots on her shoulders like pauldrons.

Realizing that she could use some help, we decided to show her how to put them on correctly. With gentle instructions, she soon had the raincoat and boots on precisely.

After that matter was addressed (heh), Papi immediately took it upon herself to teach Suu essential things in a way that was uniquely her own.

"Papi is Papi!" she declared to Suu when she took the slime girl by the window.

"Papipapi?" Suu repeated, tilting her head curiously.

I have pulled away from the adorable exchange by a concerned Centorea and Miia, who ushered Kurusu and me into a huddle. "Master, Bando-sama, I believe this to be a delicate situation," the centaur started.

Said the girl, who had drawn her sword the instant she noticed Suu.

"I already discussed the situation with Smith-san," I said, knowing that would be the most efficient way to resolve this. Everyone turned to me. "She informed me that the Cultural Exchange Bill doesn't include slimes, so she said it's not her issue."

"Even if Smith-sama failed to respond appropriately," Centorea argued, "we still need to figure out a solution for this liminal."

"Why not just let her stay here?" Kurusu proposed, glancing at the slime, happily playing with Papi. "She's just a child, after all."

"I agree," I added. "Suu doesn't seem to understand much, so it would be cruel just to send her away. Besides, I doubt we could even do it if we tried."

"Don't look at it that way, Miia," Kurusu placated with an easy smile. "We need to help Suu learn how to socialize and other things, so try to see it as us raising a child!"

Miia and Centorea were both taken aback, their faces flushing with a hue of pink usually reserved for roses. Kurusu, for his part, didn't seem to expect such an emotional response to his words if the sweat beading on his brow was any indication.

"O-Oh, if she's just a child, it can't be helped!" Miia proclaimed, fanning herself and giggling hysterically.

"I s-s-suppose M-Master makes a g-good point," Centorea muttered, turning away to hide her blush.

Kurusu, you magnificent bastard Putting those stock harem protagonist charms to good use to bring harmony back to the household. Still, seeing Miia and Centorea blushing and acting all giddy, I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Give me a break. But a small smile crept onto my lips.

"Dude, you really need to watch yourself when saying stuff like that," I whispered to him as the other two were preoccupied with whatever fantasies they were indulging. "You can't just drop the responsibility of raising a kid like that!"

Kurusu insisted, "I don't see the issue; I was just being honest! Besides, if everyone's happy, then I'm happy."

I scrutinized each of the girls and saw that, indeed, all four of them seemed content with the situation. It was far more peaceful than the alternative, and it likely could've ended up worse despite my attempts if Kurusu hadn't spoken up. "Well, you do have a point," I conceded, "Anyway, I'm just going to hang with Suu a bit more to see how she's handling things. What about you?"

"I'd like to join you, actually," he admitted, "If she's going to start living with us, I'll have to find out her needs sooner or later, right?"

"Papi greeted us with a cheerful, "Big brother, Boss!" as we joined her and Suu, kneeling by the window. Miia and Centorea hovered behind us, ever-watchful. "I've been teaching Suu words and stuff! Tell them, Suu!"

Suu smiled and said, "Hellooo," before her green eyes rested on me. Her smile widened, and a single feeler rose to poke me in the nose. "Boop."

I responded accordingly and asked, "What else have you learned?"

Suu pointed at me and said, "Big brother" to Kurusu, "Boss" to Miia, and "Loud snake lady" and "Scary horse lady" to Centorea.

It was hard to contain my laughter at the sputtering response as Miia shouted, "Hey, Papi! Don't go teaching her to say mean things!" Papi giggled and stuck her tongue out, making the moment even more amusing.

"Now, now, Papi," Kurusu chided, although his tone wasn't harsh, "It isn't right to encourage bad behavior, okay? Now, Suu," he scooted closer to get the slime's full attention. "My name is K-"

"Boss!" Suu cheerfully interrupted, clearly proud of herself.

"... I wonder what it's like to be called by your real name..." he sighed, his head sagging. Feeling pity for the poor guy, I patted his back and consoled him. "There, there, buddy. I understand your pain."

Kurusu forced himself to cheer up and loudly said, "Anyway! This is Miia," he gestured to the lamia, who broke away from glaring at Papi to wave at Suu kindly. "And this is Centorea." The centaur gave a polite nod.

"Hm." Suu looked everyone over again, taking in the new information before nodding with a smile. "Okay, I understand."

"So," Kurusu asked, "are you hungry, Suu? I know we just had dinner, but..."

"Hungry?" Suu furrowed her brow in confusion.

"Actually," I intervened, "I looked it up. Slimes need a steady water supply and occasional protein to survive. Though they can eat just about anything."

"Oh, that's a relief," Kurusu breathed, "That shouldn't put any further strain on the food budget."

Suddenly, a thought struck me.

"... Didn't I tell you that food is covered under living expenses by the Cultural Exchange?" I asked, partly toward him and partly toward myself. "I'm sure I mentioned it, right?"

Kurusu made a sound that was a strange mix of joy and pain. I couldn't believe such a noise could exist, but here he was, pioneering the way forward. "Why doesn't anyone tell me anything?" he whimpered, tears streaming down his face.

"I thought you already knew, Darling..."

"I, too, made that assumption, Master. I beg your forgiveness."

"Papi had no idea!"

Suu's eyes widened in surprise as she noticed the tears falling from Kurusu's eyes. Before anyone could stop her, she had already latched onto him, her arms embracing his body. Everyone present gasped in horror at the sudden turn of events and rushed forward to pry her off Kurusu. I shouted desperately, "Suu, no! Bad!" in a desperate attempt to save the man who was our home's owner.

We must have been an unusual sight, a human, a harpy, a lamia, and a centaur, all entangled in a giant blue blob, desperately trying to free a gurgling human from its center. The unfortunate side effect of this attempt was the slime that was now everywhere.

"NO BOOP!" I shouted, hoping my instinct was right. "NO BOOP!"

A smile fell from Suu's face. "No... boop?" she asked in a small voice as her form began to shrink away from Kurusu, who could take a deep breath as soon as he was free. The girls rushed to his side while Suu continued to recede, eventually ending up in my lap. She looked up at me, her expression unsure. "Suu... bad?"

"You're not bad, Suu," I assured her, leaning down to meet her eyes. "But you did a bad thing, okay? And if you do bad things," I raised a finger to just shy of her nose before pulling away. "No boop."

Suu nodded, but the confusion remained in her expression. "What's... bad?" she ventured.

I thought exploring lighter topics such as morality, the philosophy of good and evil, and the like was a clever idea, so I suggested it. "I'll teach you as we go," I said, touching Suu's shoulders.

"Papi can help too!" the harpy chimed in, kneeling at my side and petting Suu's head. "That's what family does!"

Suu repeated the word as if tasting it, and when she found that she liked it, she giggled.

After that, everyone was cheerful, so we all agreed that we needed a shower. Not all at once, I clarified, which earned some disappointed groans. Papi and Miia went first, and Centorea insisted on staying on guard while the rest of us were "vulnerable." I figured there was no harm in satisfying her request, so I allowed it, though I had to draw the line at her joining Kurusu.

We stood outside the bathroom, Miia had gone to bed, and Papi had taken Suu to the living room to "make extra sure she knows good and bad." There was an awkward silence until I spoke up.

"You were right about Suu being dangerous," I said. "I got too caught up in her cuteness and didn't consider her species. But I should have listened to your warnings."

Centorea shook her head. "It's not your fault. We both rushed to conclusions without any knowledge of her species."

"Well, I still want to thank you for your opinions," I said, embarrassed. "It's good to have a skeptic around, even if you sometimes take it too far." I chuckled nervously.

Centorea smiled at that. "I suppose I do, don't I? I appreciate you as well, Bando-sama. Your presence serves to avoid a great deal of, how do I put it, avoidable drama?"

I grinned. "That's more or less my primary goal," I told Centorea before letting out a big yawn. "Hoo boy, I need to sleep after this. Tomorrow's a big day, after all."

"Oh?"

"Right, I forgot to tell you guys, but Smith-san just hired me as a liminal counselor," I informed her, "Ya know, helping out some of the more problematic species that have issues adapting to human society, stuff like that. It's only once a week, but the pay is decent, and besides, I figure it's a nice chance to learn more and do some real honest good."

Centorea's face lit up with admiration, her eyes sparkling with pride. "That's wonderful, Bando-sama!" she exclaimed, "I'm sure you'll be excellent at it. You have a heart of gold, and it's nice to see you put it to good use."

I smiled back at her, feeling a warmth in my chest that I hadn't felt in a while. "Thanks, Centorea. That means a lot coming from you," I said before walking into the bathroom.

As I closed the door, I barely heard Centorea whisper under her breath, "' Do some honest good'..."

To be continued!