BONUS * Don't Drink Too Much!
Druid’s POV
I poured liquor into my cup. When I gulped it down, my throat burned.
“Hee hee!” Looking back on the events of the past few weeks, I just had to chuckle. I used to think that I would never leave this village. That it was the punishment I deserved. But Ivy struck down all my stubborn ways of thinking in one fell swoop.
When we first met, I thought Ivy was such a strange boy—even though she was actually a girl. Well, with her short hair and clothes, of course I thought she was a boy. Looking back now, though, I can see she always looked like a girl… It makes me wonder how I ever thought that delicate kid was a boy. Well, I was on the verge of death. That must’ve been why. But for a guy on the verge of death, I was abnormally awake and alert.
“Still, what a strange scene that was…”
I thought that I had died…but to my astonishment, I woke to find a blue slime in front of me. It was a bright blue, the likes of which I’d never seen before. It actually looked happy to see me.
Then, as if that weren’t enough, there was a “boy” nearby on the verge of tears, looking back and forth between the two slimes. Well, when she explained afterward what had happened, I didn’t blame her for being so distressed. If I’d seen one slime split into two, I would have definitely lost my marbles. If anything, I’m shocked that Ivy kept as calm as she did.
Just as I was wondering what I should do, enter the adandara. It was just one shock after another after I came back from the dead. Though I guess it was the series of startling events that helped me remain calm.
“Heh! When I was trying to figure out what was going on, Sora saved me, the adandara turned out to have a name… Hee hee hee! Looking back on it now, that was quite a day.”
“Teryuuu.”
“Hm? Flame?”
Ivy was spending the night at my house, since our cleaning session had taken much longer than anticipated.
“Teryu?”
“Did I wake you up? Sorry about that.”
Flame wiggled back and forth in reply, then it hopped right beside me. Flame, the slime Sora birthed. I’d never heard of a slime giving birth before. I doubt there are any books that talk about it, either.
“What’s wrong, kid? Can’t sleep?”
“Te! Ryu, ryuuu.”
“Oh, I see. But you should still try to get some sleep now. We’re going to be cleaning again tomorrow, and it’s gonna get pretty hectic in this house.”
“Teryu!”
Hm? What’s it looking at? My hands? The liquor cup? “You can’t drink this—it’s alcohol. Besides, you only eat red potions, don’t you?”
“Te! Ryu, ryuuu.”
Oh, wait, it also eats spent magic stones. Well, actually, it doesn’t eat them—it puts magic back into them… Y’know, when you take a moment to just sit and think about it, Ivy’s slimes really are enigmas.
“Ryu?” Flame asked, looking at me and tilting its body a little. It did that whenever it was confused about something.
“Um…I was just thinking about what mysterious slimes you and Sora are.”
“Teryuuu.”
Why is it puffing out its chest? Wait, is it proud to be mysterious? Well, mysteriousness aside, Flame and Sora are extraordinary, and there’s no mistaking that.
“Ryu! Ryu!”
Uh…what is it now? Are you trying to tell me something?
“Ryu! Ryu!”
I don’t get it… I looked at Flame and thought hard, but I had no clue what it was going on about.
“Sorry, kid. I’m not Ivy, so I don’t know what you’re trying to tell me.”
“Teryuuu.”
Oh! Now that I do understand. I’ve made it upset. But this just made me realize something…
“Ivy has quite a gift. It usually takes tamers years to be able to communicate with their tamed creatures.”
“Ryu?”
“It’s not a lie—it’s the truth.”
I’d read books about tamers who happened to communicate easily with a creature every once in a while…but all those stories turned out to be false. It takes a very long time to tame a monster and learn to read all its subtle emotional cues and mannerisms. That’s how you establish a mental connection with it.
“Communicating by thought is no easy feat, but Ivy has already done it on some level… That’s incredible, for your information.”
Huh? My liquor cup is empty. Well…I’m in a good mood today, so I’ll open another bottle. I think I’ll drink something a little stronger.
“Te! Ryu, ryuuu.”
“Hm? Oh, you’re talking about Ivy. Yeah, she really is amazing.”
Flame was jiggling with a soft look in its eyes. It definitely looked happy.
“Are you happy to hear me say Ivy is amazing?”
“Te! Ryu, ryuuu.”
“Yes, I agree. She’s an amazing, wonderful girl.”
“Te! Ryu, ryuuu,” Flame sang merrily.
A smile spread across my face. Is it just me, or does this drink taste even better now?
“Ryu?”
“Hm? You’re tilting yourself again? Got a question for me?”
Flame and I stared at each other. Was it a question about me? I did think earlier that this liquor tasted really good… Maybe it saw that joy on my face?
“I was just thinking that my daily drink tasted better than usual…and it’s probably because I’m enjoying your company, Flame.”
“Te! Ryu, ryuuu,” Flame sang, a little louder now.
“Flame, can you tone it down a little? You’ll wake Ivy.”
“Teryu,” Flame said, hanging its head a little.
Is it feeling guilty? Now I can see why Ivy thinks Flame and Sora are so cute. They really are cute. I rubbed Flame’s head, and it narrowed its eyes and jiggled in reply. Ahhh, this liquor tastes so good.
“Teryuuu!”
“Are you trying to…tell me I’m drinking too much?”
That’s a stretch.
“Te! Ryu! Ryuuu.”
Huh? Was I right? Really?
“Teryu?”
“Don’t worry. I haven’t really drunk that…much…huh? Am I on my fifth bottle now?”
“Teryu!” Flame jumped onto my lap as I poured more liquor.
“Flame?”
“Teryu!”
Is it trying to tell me to stop drinking? “This is the last one, okay? I promise.”
“Teryu.” Flame jiggled side to side.
Guess that’s a no. But I don’t want to waste it. Okay then!
“Teryuuu.”
“Ahh, what a great drink.”
Flame glared at me.
C’mon, no need to get mad at me… “I’ll be fine. I’m not drunk. And I can work just as hard tomorrow as I did today.”
“Teryu?”
“It’s not a lie—I mean it.”
“Teryu?”
“Yes, really.”
“Te! Ryu, ryuuu.”
Oh, good, that convinced it. Still, I wonder how I drank five whole bottles without noticing?
“Flame, it’s gotten really late. Let’s turn in.”
“Te! Ryu, ryuuu,” Flame sang, bouncing toward the door. It was probably going into the room where Ivy was sleeping.
“Good night.”
“Teryuuu.” Flame bounced out of the room.
I carried the empty bottles and my cup, as well as the plate I’d used with the snacks Ivy made for me, into the kitchen. They could wait until tomorrow to be washed.
“Flame and I sure opened up there.”
Sora and I had clicked from the very start, since it had such a bold personality. But it really was fun to get closer to Flame little by little. I returned to the dining room and spread out the blanket I kept tucked away in the corner of the room.
“Gee, I’m sleepy,” I yawned.
I’m feeling a nice buzz… I should fall asleep in no time. But wow, Flame sure was an interesting drinking buddy. If I learned to communicate better with it, that would be fun.
“Huh…?”
I thought back to my interactions with Flame. Building a mental connection with a monster was supposed to be very difficult…but did I actually kind of do it? Yeah…I did. Flame helped by doing its best to communicate with me…
“Ha ha! Yet another thing that makes you guys rare.”
I’d encountered many a tamed slime in my day, and their behaviors were definitely much more diverse than those of their untamed counterparts. But slimes like Sora and Flame that emoted with their entire bodies? I hadn’t encountered anything like that before. They really were fascinating.
“And I guess I’ll devote my life to protecting them, too. Never dreamed I’d have someone like that in my life.”
My parents did love me, but I was never able to fully accept their love. I’d thought I didn’t deserve it because I’d stolen my brothers’ stars.
“It’s up to you how you want to live your life… Right, Ivy?”
When I lost my arm, my life as an adventurer ended. But the rest of my life is up to me. Well, I guess I can’t get started until I finish cleaning my house. I’d better rest up and put in another hard day’s work tomorrow.
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