Slime.
In RPGs, they're the representative monsters that appear right at the beginning.
They're usually set up as weak enemies.
I don't feel any menace from them.
They don't seem to be hiding any claws either.
It really drives home how abnormally strong the monsters in the ruin were.
"There's no golden element on those slimes at all…"
Most of the monsters I've encountered so far had golden parts where eyes would be.
Even that upper-body plant-like horse had something like golden eyeballs.
The only exception was probably the dragon zombie, which didn't have eyeballs to begin with.
In any case, at the moment I don't see any golden elements on these slimes.
"..."
They don't seem to have noticed me.
They're probably too preoccupied.
Because,
"Pigyu!"
"Pi, gigi… gi…"
"Gi!"
"Gyuu, i!? "
"Gi!"
"Pi!? Piii~…"
"Gi!"
"Kyuu!? Kyuuu~…"
A fight is breaking out.
No—calling it a fight might be generous.
It looks more like one-sided lynching.
There's one slime that's noticeably smaller than the others.
That small slime is being cornered and attacked by the other five.
The little slime retreats with movements that suggest fear.
"Don't, don't do it~!"
It almost feels like I can hear its voice.
This doesn't feel like simple playing around.
I decide to watch for a while.
The small slime gets squashed flat with a *funyuuu*.
It looks like it's desperately bowing its "head."
I mutter without thinking.
"…That's no good, you know."
I'm not saying you should never ask others for help.
But help isn't guaranteed to come.
You have to fight.
The first person you should rely on is yourself.
"Pi, iiiii… i~…"
The small slime's color is fading.
Or rather… it's turning closer to gray?
Are the other slimes seriously planning to kill one of their own kind like this?
Compared to the ruin's monsters, their killing intent is extremely hard to read.
Probably because they're weak monsters?
It's difficult to judge whether this is genuine murderous intent or not.
"..."
No good, huh.
That's what I thought—when it happened.
"Pi, giiiiiiiiiiii—!"
The slime that had been squashed and faded in color suddenly leaped forward.
Goh!
Gah!
The slimes clash with a hard sound.
It seems they harden part of their body when attacking.
"Piiiiii! Bigyaaa—!"
"Pigi! Gi!"
However,
"Pi, giiii—gyuk!?"
Outnumbered.
One against five.
And its body is smaller than the others.
"Gigigi! Gii—!"
"Gyuu!? Kyuu!?"
There's no way it can win.
In short,
"That's exactly it."
The corners of my mouth naturally lifted.
I push through the grass and walk toward the slimes.
I thrust out my arm.
"[Paralyze]"
The slimes' movements stop.
"Gi, gyo, i!?"
A wave of confusion envelops the slimes.
"[Poison]"
I apply [Poison] to all five slimes.
The slimes turn a poisonous color.
At the edge of my vision, a translucent [Lethal] indicator appears.
"So this is where I change the setting…?"
I tap the display once.
*Click.*
The [Lethal] indicator switches to [Non-Lethal].
"Lucky I ran into test subjects so quickly."
What I sense from the slimes is fear.
Fear of death?
Or fear of me?
I can't detect any killing intent directed at me.
"Mo, gogo, go, gogo…!?"
"Pu, gi, gi…!"
I look down at the five slimes.
"Kuku… Sorry for barging in so rudely. But well—watching a bunch of guys gang up and torment one obviously weaker one isn't exactly a pleasant sight… So I just meddled a little to satisfy my own feelings."
Multiple target designation.
I tap the [Release] indicator next to the yellow gauge of one out of the five.
The display switches to [YES / NO].
I press [YES].
I also release the poison on that one.
I wipe the smile from my face.
"Get lost."
The faded-colored slimes crawl backward.
Keeping their guard up against me.
"Kyuu, oo, oo… oo…"
"Pi, gi, gi…"
It feels like they're dragging themselves backward with their hind parts.
With my current status, I can easily beat these slimes.
I'm confident of that.
Plus, they seem to be on the verge of death from the poison effect now.
One stomp would probably finish them.
The five slimes disappear from sight.
I turn toward the lone remaining small slime.
"From the looks of it, they probably don't give much experience… And if this one was family or something, killing it without even hearing what it wants would feel kinda wrong…"
It's perfectly normal for family to harbor murderous intent toward their own kin.
Well—at least it was "normal" for the old me…
I speak to the small slime.
"I'm going to release that 'thing' keeping you from moving… After that, do whatever you want. Oh… I'm not going to kill you, so don't worry about that."
Maybe because the Soul Eater could understand intent to some degree.
I find myself talking to monsters as if they can understand me.
I don't know if it actually gets through.
I approach the small slime and crouch down.
"I'm going to say something a little arrogant now, okay?"
"Pi, gi?"
It doesn't seem afraid.
Weird little guy.
"Sorry for taking so long to help. But still… you did good. Standing up to them in that situation felt pretty refreshing."
"Pi, i!"
"…Even after you can move again, don't attack me, alright?"
"Pi!"
It feels like we're actually having a conversation…
Maybe it's just my imagination.
I release [Paralyze].
"Pi! Pi! Pii!"
Hm?
Its color is returning…
Maybe slimes recover vitality over time.
I stand up.
"See ya. Live strong."
Once again saying something arrogant, I readjust the leather pouch on my shoulder.
I turn my back to the slime and start walking.
At least I got to test the new skill functions.
It also helped me sort out my emotions, but the main purpose was the test.
Not bad.
These new functions seem useful.
▽
It's probably been a decent distance since that spot where I encountered the slimes.
"..."
The sound of grass rustling follows behind me.
Rustle.
As expected.
I sigh and turn around.
The small slime from earlier—now with leaves stuck to its body—is following me.
I scratch my forehead with a fingertip.
"Don't you need to go back to your companions? Or are those guys not the only ones in your group?"
"Pi, giiii…"
The slime squishes a little.
It feels like it's hanging its "head" in dejection?
I face forward again.
I start walking once more.
After a while, I stop and turn back.
"Piii…"
This is troublesome.
"You planning to follow me like this?"
"…Pii?"
"Can't I?"
Because I kept encountering monsters in the ruin.
Somehow—I feel like I can grasp its intent.
"Slime, huh."
It doesn't seem like a ferocious monster…
How should I put this.
It doesn't have that "creepiness" the ruin's monsters had.
For example—the frenzied golden color.
It doesn't have that feeling.
Are there monsters in this world that aren't dangerous?
No… thinking about it, humans are the same.
There are humans like Kirihara and Oyamada, and humans like Sogou and Kashima.
"But still… I don't even know if I can bring a monster into a town or village…"
"Pyuuu…"
I can strongly sense how dejected it is.
For some reason, at that moment, a memory from the past suddenly flashed through my mind.
I once took a weakened cat to the vet.
Yeah—and I think Kashima Koharu from class was with me.
The reason her name came to mind earlier might be why she suddenly appeared in my head now.
After that, Kashima took the cat in.
My aunt was allergic to cat fur.
So we couldn't keep it at home.
When we left the vet after entrusting the cat, I looked at its face.
It looked anxious.
"I'm glad I was saved. But… what's going to happen to me from now on?"
For some reason, that kind of lonely, uneasy voice seemed to reach me.
The cat had no collar.
It was probably a stray.
That cat was all alone.
There weren't even other cats watching worriedly nearby.
It must have wandered alone in solitude for a long time.
Right now, I feel a strange sense of kinship with that cat.
I understand why.
Probably because that cat was the same as "us" right now.
"I see… so you're also—"
A lonely being cast out from the group.
"A defective one, just like me."