05 – Saria’s Feelings (1/2)

I leave the girl and the middle-aged man, and run through the forest.

「It took a bit longer than expected」

Still I have no regrets.

I do not know their situation or identity, but they don’t seem to be bad people.

Moreover, I love their attitude of not abandoning their companions.

While I was running through the forest in a good mood, I realize that someone is chasing me.

How am I being chased even though I erased my presence?

I carefully look at the surroundings to see the person who is chasing me.

「Pigi!」

It is a beautiful blue slime.

Its size is about 0.2 meters in diameter and is a relatively small slime.

1

The slime is chasing me while crying out with all its might.

Though I am not running at full speed, I am still quite fast; not the speed an average slime can catch up to.

I am curious, so I stopped running.

「You, what happened?」

「PigiPigi!」

The slime is jumping around me as if it has something to say.

A behaviour unbefitting a slime. Normally, slime is a weak monster with low intelligence.

「Hmm」

As I watch the slime, it starts acting meek.

I feel as though it is trying to say「I am not a bad slime」.

2

「Do you want to come with me?」

Somehow I feel like I can understand the slime’s intention, although I do not know exactly why.

「Pigi! Pigi!」

The slime looks at me like it wants to befriend me…,

「Well alright, come along with me!」

「Pigi!」

The slime jumps around happily and leaps onto my shoulder.

My instinct tells me it’s not a bad slime.

If it is a bad slime, I’ll take responsibility and exterminate it.

「You can come with me, but don’t leave my side for the time being」

It will be troublesome if you do bad things while I’m not looking.

「Pigi!」, sounds like the slime is saying 「Of course!」

I run towards the Royal Capital with the slime on my shoulder.

Before jumping over the walls of the Royal Capital, I inform the slime.

「Hide in my clothes so you won’t be seen by people」

「Pigi!」

The slime answers with a single cry and goes inside my clothes. Quite the obedient slime.

It is not illegal to bring monsters into the city, as some adventurers have monsters as their familiars.

However, it is a different story if it is an eight year old child. The guards will surely make a fuss.

I decided to hide the slime from even the retainers after returning to the mansion.

That night, we grilled and ate the bird meat from the birds I caught. It was very delicious.

And after eating, I tried to sleep with a blanket in the stable as usual.

The slime is jiggling like a jelly beside my pillow.

And I call out to RunRun.

「RunRun, let’s go to bed」

「Woof」

Usually, RunRun sits near the entrance of the stable facing outside.

By the way, RunRun noticed the slime immediately because of his sharp sense of smell.

But I was not on alert. After returning to the stable, he sniffed the slime to his heart’s content.

「What is it, RunRun?」

「Woof!」

RunRun runs out of the room with a silent bark, and returns soon after.

Saria is on his back.

「Saria, what happened?」

Saria is still young, so I entrusted her to the retainer who was a former wet nurse.

I sleep in the stable because I was instructed to by the scions. It’s cold in winter, but I can manage it because RunRun is together with me and the retainers offered me a good blanket behind the scions’ back.

「I want to sleep together with Anicha and RunRun」

「…This is a stable, you know」

「I want to sleep together…… No?」

「It’s not that you can’t… … Well, tell me if it’s cold」

「Un」

Saria happily crawls into the blanket with RunRun.

「Ah, it’s jiggling! Kawaii」

「Pigi」

「This is a living thing called slime. Don’t tell anyone about the slime」

「Ok! Fluffy is secret!」

Saria covers her mouth with both hands. So cute.

For a while, Saria keeps happily rubbing the smooth skin of the slime.

「Saria, what happened? Were you scolded by the nanny?」 I ask.

Nanny is the former wet nurse.

「I was not scolded. Saria is good girl」

When I heard the story, it seems she told the nanny she wanted to sleep together with me today and asked the nanny to send her to the stable.

And the nanny seems to have carried Saria near the stable.

The nanny must have dropped her on RunRun’s back when he ran out of the stable a while ago.

I have bothered the nanny retainer unnecessarily.