Chapter 8

Just preparing to depart, I'm stuffing the meat tightly into the bag I received.

Wyvern meat, okay; Berial's hair, okay.

Alright, departure preparations are complete.

We head west into the forest, chatting together towards the goblin village.

It's great, this kind of camaraderie and lively chatter.

I've always kind of admired it.

But just a little... I don't really want to say this, but...

The pace is a bit fast.

Actually, I'm probably just too slow.

Naturally, I end up a bit behind the Daidarians.

I wouldn't know the way anyway, so I'd be behind regardless.

In their natural state, they are faster than me.

I never thought I'd be outpaced not just by goblins, but even by slimes...

Slimes don't even have legs, so how are they so fast?

What kind of mechanism do they have?

For them, it's a normal pace, but for me, it's a bit of a brisk walk.

I need to increase my steps to keep up.

Why don't you just run?

With my short legs and short stride, I have to move my legs quickly to run at full speed.

(It's noticeable and it looks really bad.)

It's designed for aerial combat, so it can't be helped.

Waterfowl are elegant and beautiful because they can't see underwater.

I'm a gargoyle, and even my upper body lacks any beauty.

Of course, I don't hesitate in combat or emergencies.

But to be honest, I don't really want to run in front of people.

It might be too late to care about appearances, but I don't have wings.

I don't think these guys would laugh or mock me, though.

Still, appearance is just one reason, but it's not the main reason I don't want to run.

I'm not that kind of minimalist hearted guy to refuse running just because of my appearance.

There is a proper reason.

You might think I'm talking nonsense, but recently, I've grown an extra eye.

This eye is throbbing every time I move.

There are demons with eyes on their foreheads, but I never thought I'd grow an extra eye at this age.

It's not an evil eye, but it might be similar in that it only shows its fangs to its owner, making it worse than an evil eye.

Damn, why did I have to end up like this...

The Daidarians don't seem to have noticed yet...

You don't believe me? It's not a lie; I definitely have an extra eye.

(The eye of a fish...)

My bare feet hurt with every step.

I really need to buy shoes when we get to town...

Fish eyes aren't treated as injuries, so they don't heal with potions.

"By the way, didn't you say there are edible plants in the western forest?"

On the way to the village, I decided to ask since just walking would be boring.

It might be useful for our future travels.

They say it's a half-day walk, so we should arrive by tonight.

I want to make good use of the time until then.

"Yes, the main ones are Pisa berries, Trent seeds, and Roche grass."

"Hmm~"

I have no idea just from the names.

"Can you tell me more?"

I've learned from experience that trying to show off to Daidarians just exposes my flaws, so I listen sincerely.

Pisa berries are red fruits about 3 cm in size that grow on Pisa trees in the forest. They are hard and tasteless when raw, but become soft and sweet when cooked.

Children eat them as snacks.

Roche grass is a plant used to make potions. It is extremely bitter, and the more you chew, the more bitter it becomes.

It doesn't get sweeter the more you chew, but more bitter...

Thanks to this, the goblin tribe stays healthy and avoids colds, but Daidarians don't seem to like it much.

It's hard to imagine an adult goblin eating it willingly.

They say it's served once a day, and they eat it reluctantly for their health.

Trent seeds are the seeds of the plant monster Trent, which is straightforward.

They burn the seeds before they grow and eat them. They say the crispy texture is irresistible, but the downside is that they can't be stored for long.

Once burned, they deteriorate quickly.

If not burned and stored, the seeds will grow into monsters.

With a status preservation spell, the seeds wouldn't deteriorate, but goblins can't use magic.

The preservation spell doesn't work on living things, but once burned, the seeds can be stored without issues.

If everything could be preserved, immortality would be possible.

Thanks to this, Berial's hair is still fresh.

I don't have any use for it right now, but maybe someone wants it?

Is there a collector of the Demon King's hair?

"We can't treat you to a feast immediately upon arrival, but we will do so."

Daidarian thumped his chest, trying to show his determination.

No... you don't have to try so hard.

I'm curious, but I don't want to eat something that's just bitter.

I'm not a masochist.

"O... Okay, I'm looking forward to it."

But to be honest, it doesn't sound delicious from what I've heard, so I'll just nod.

It would be ungracious to dampen his enthusiasm.

Maybe the survival skills of the Daidarian will make it delicious.

After that, we continued to progress smoothly through the forest...

"Hmm, if we don't walk a bit faster, we might not arrive before sunset."

(Huh?)

Suddenly, Daidarian says something troublesome.

Even at the current pace, it's quite a brisk walk, and if we go any faster, we'll have to run.

My third eye is also in pain.

"Night travel is dangerous due to poor visibility, so shouldn't we increase our pace?"

I need to steer the conversation back on track to avoid speeding up.

With my skills in conversation, it shouldn't be impossible.

"Right... but Baum is still recovering, so shouldn't we avoid overexertion?"

I'm not in a hurry, and it's fine even if it gets dark.

"Oh, right, I forgot about Baum. Sorry, Baum."

Good, he's convinced.

*Pigi Pigi*

"But I've been in top condition since last night, so there's no need to worry."

Baum trembled and sent a telepathic message.

Stupid slime! Don't say unnecessary things, read the room!

*Pigi*

"Can my current form carry a 100 kg rock and move twice as fast?"

*Pigi*

Baum trembled, showing off his strength.

It's hard to say that it's fine to arrive at night...

Well, there's no choice...

If I say my feet hurt now, it might make them worry.

I'll just endure the pain and run.

These guys probably won't laugh at me for running.

*Pigi*

"Please ride on my back, Mr. Albert... What?"

Baum stopped and turned to face me.

What, a... this guy, no, this person.

"Ba... Baum, you..."

Did you notice that I was struggling?

I'm sorry for saying you can't read the room.

You're the best, I'm the stupid one.

I want to hug your transparent body with all my might.

My affection for Baum is skyrocketing.

"A..."

Daidarian also seemed to realize that I wasn't used to walking and apologized with a guilty look.

I decided to take advantage of the kindness of Baum, the supreme being who can read the room.

A unique slime rider is born here.

Baum's elasticity provided an excellent ride.

With a deformation function, it fits my body perfectly.

It's a bit cold, though...

(Thank you, thank you.)

"Still, there are no monsters around."

As a slime rider, I voice a question that has been on my mind for the past few days.

"You're right, it is strange. This area should be inhabited by lesser orcs, so why is it so quiet?"

"Probably because the Demon King Berial led an army to attack."

I share my thoughts in response to Daidarian's question.

"Are you saying that the monsters fled from the area around the castle because the Demon King came?"

"More like high-level demons, like Archdemons or Werewolves. If something clearly dangerous comes, the monsters would flee."

"..."

"That's why the further we go into the forest, the higher the chance of encountering the fleeing monsters."

"I see..."

"I think they will eventually return to their original locations, but we should be cautious since we don't know what's happening around the village where Daidarian lived."

"I understand."

Daidarian nodded solemnly, realizing that his village might be in a dangerous area.

"Don't worry, I'm here now. Besides, the monsters are probably just grizzlies or lesser orcs."

"Y... Yes, by the way, did Mr. Albert come to help us because..."

I'm usually pretty casual, but I do return kindness with kindness.

The same goes the other way around.

Maybe they fled further, or maybe there's another reason.

As we approached the village, there were almost no signs of monsters.

We only encountered a few plant monsters like Lesser Trents.

We successfully arrived at Daidarian's hometown village at dusk as planned.