Guardian of the Forest, Please...! While Néma's group wanders through the woods, trying to find the kobold pup's tribe, they encounter a slime asking for help in giving birth to its offspring. In order to help it, Néma allows the parent slime, whom she names Shizuku, to fuse itself with her, thereby forming a symbiotic bond, and take its progeny, named Haku, with them. Guided by spirits, they reach an ancient, sentient tree, the lord of the forest who protects the kobolds from human persecution. Convincing it that she only has the good of these creatures in mind, Néma is granted access to their camp; and on the way they bring down several edible giant beetles called mamushi to gift their meat to the kobolds. They meet their leader, who gets upset because the pup was abandoned by its tribemates, but Néma tries to calm her down and begin negotiations to move them into their new sanctuary.