29 Chapter 23: The Legend of the Four Goddesses (1/2)

Fleur has eaten and rested,

Purin had finished preparing preserved food,

I am floating, and so…

We depart!

Purin: ”Useless trash, purin.”

[You there, shut it!]

I ignored Purin's mind reading again and went my way.

We're walking using the trail often used by travelers to enter and exit the forest. I never thought that this was a trail used by the travelers. If I did think of that, I may be out of this forest even before meeting these two.

Purin seems to know her way, in and out of this forest, so I leave it to her and act as a guide to lead us out of here. I don't feel exactly safe with her leading the way, but I believe her loyalty towards Fleur overpowers any ill intent towards me. I bet she won't do anything that may hurt her master, after all.

As usual, the sky is covered with dark clouds. Some of the light comes from Glow Stones, stones that have absorbed Crysaztel to a degree where they are infused with it and becomes a magic crystal. Those stones are called Glow Stones. Thinking they may end up useful in the future, I store a few of them whenever I stumble upon some.

Correction, a lot of them. I'm also thinking of how I can use them to make better weapons using my Weapon Create skill.

Right, right. I'm also using the Store skill to store the luggage Fleur needed from the dungeon. Well, it's not that much, anyways. So right now, it looks like we're just out for a walk instead of a long travel.

See? I'm not useless, right?

Right?

[Fleur, are you really sure you're okay? Your face is still red.]

Fleur: ”Eh?! A-Ah! W-Well… It is hot, I… guess?”

It's cold, though.

Hmmm… Suspicious.

Oh well. It looks like she's energetic enough for a walk and is fine like she says so, so there's no need to worry. I'll just look out for her and hope nothing else bad happens.

[Purin, my friend. Where are we heading to?]

Purin: ”Do not call Purin thine friend, purin. We are not, purin.”

[Come on, don't be like that. We're travelling buddies now.]

Purin: ”…”

Ignored, huh?

I'm really hated for some reason. Am I really that worthy of a rival? I really don't think so, if you ask me.

I'm a much weaker monster than her. I can't use magic. I know next to nothing about this world. I don't even know much about her master, if anything.

[Purin, my friend.]

Purin: ”Purin is telling thee to not call Purin 'thine friend.'”

[Do you not like me?]

Purin: ”I abhor thee.”

[O-Ohh…]

That much… It even went past the degree of hate, huh?

I was thinking of at least getting along with her since we'll be travelling alongside each other from now on. I don't know what will happen from now on, we may be attacked by monsters much stronger than us. That's why, I at least want to be able to cooperate with her.

But with this… *sigh* It's far from treating me as an acquaintance, I feel like I'm treated less than a bug.

Purin: ”Purin IS treating thee lesser than a bug, purin.”

[… Stop reading my mind.]

Geez, this slime…

[Fleur, my dear. What do you think I should do?]

Fleur: ”Ciel, my dear. I think you can only persevere on trying to get along with her. Fufu~”

Oho. This girl rides along well.

[I see. But from the looks of things, if I try that, I can only imagine myself getting cursed to death.]

Fleur smiled dryly at my remark.

Well, it's nothing that needs urgency. I can just get along with her from here on out. I mean, we're both monsters. Monsters alike should stick together in times of need, right? Right?

Anyways, let's just focus on the road. We don't know when a hostile monster may pop out to attack us.

Hmm… Wait a sec. Now that I think about it…

[Fleur, I only noticed now but, why are there no monster approaching us? We've been walking out in the open for quite a while now.]

Fleur: ”Ah, you see. That is because of Purin.”

Hearing her name, Purin jerked while bouncing.

[Hohoh. I see, I see. So it was because of the Grand Slime, Purin, huh? That makes sense.]

Fleur: ”Yes. Purin is not only strong but is also well respected among the monsters around this area.”

Fleur giggled gently. It looks like she noticed my intent and got along with my silly quip.

[I see. It's no wonder. It's Purin we're talking about after all. Maaan… We're really saved. It's all thanks to Purin, right?]

Fleur: ”That is right. Fufu.”

She glows red even more brighter with every words spilled out of our mouths. Mufufu. It's working.

[You're a great help, Purin. Thanks.]

Purin: ”H-Hmph…! I-It is not like Purin is doing this for a scum like thee, purin. Purin is doing this for Milady, purin! D-Do not misunderstand, you trash!”

T-Tsundere…?

Okay! Explanation time! *clap* *clap* *clap*

(Tsundere is a Japanese term for a character development that describes a certain person who is initially cold, is then gradually showing a warmer, friendlier side over time. Most often, these characters tend to shy away from their true feelings and instead, show a thorny or snappy attitude to hide their embarrassment. The word is derived from the terms 'tsun tsun', meaning 'to turn away in disgust or hate', and 'dere dere' meaning to become 'lovey-dovey.')

W-Well… I doubt she's anything but lovey-dovey to me right now. I can only feel the tsun.

*sigh* Enough teasing. One wrong move and I may find myself cursed to death. I don't want to waste my precious resurrection in a trivial matter.

Let's just say, I learned that she's not that bad to be with after all.

…

..

.

Wait, what?

[So we have to cross this mountain range to get out of this forest?]

It has been a week since we departed from the cave. During the day, we traveled with Purin, sometimes dealing with monsters. It seems like there are monsters who haven't yet heard about the strongest monster in that area. Or like, they can't just perceive it with their low Intelligence Level.

With all that, I helped Purin defeat the monsters from here and there, using Soul Consume whenever I get the chance. Because of that, I leveled up to level 35. It looks like the average level of the common monsters here are around 30 to 35, so it's getting quite hard for me to level up. The lower my opponent's level is, the lower the experience points I get from them, after all.

The notification to evolve appeared when I reached level 32, but it looks like I can still level up without doing so. Perhaps, I can get to a different evolution if I tried to avoid evolution as soon as possible.

I mean… Inferior Ghost…?

If there are other possible evolution for me to have, then better.

During the night, we will rest. Actually, we just make Fleur sleep since Purin and I don't need sleep in the first place. She was insisting to not be worried about her and continue our travel, but it's clear that she's been pushing herself. Well, there's also her excitement about her very first journey so it's not like I can't understand.

But a rest is a rest. I've also been curious about her face getting flushed from time to time. I want to observe her condition as much as possible.

Back to present.

Purin: ”It is not necessary use this route, purin. However, this is the safest exit, considering where we would end up after, purin.”

We're exactly in front of a huge entrance, made by a naturally formed rocks – It's the entrance to the Dastrientel Mountain Range. A mountain range with caves as interiors and is also considered as a dungeon by adventurers. It is also one of the few entrance and exits of this forest.