Chapter 7

"Hmm..."

I woke up in the middle of the night for no particular reason.

Looking around the dark room, I saw moonlight streaming in.

Ra and E, along with their respective magical beasts, were sleeping in a small form.

I was thirsty.

Holding Fios, who was lying next to me, I stood up and left the room.

I thought to myself.

I had naturally picked up Fios and moved with him.

It wasn't a bad thing.

I had started carrying Fios around with me after I got older.

I couldn't remember when it started, but it had become a habit, and Fios would come to me whenever he sensed my movement.

I would wait for Fios to come and then carry him before moving.

Both J and Fios were doing this past habit naturally.

With a groggy, half-awake mind, I thought.

Is this Fios really Fios?

I wondered if the Fios I had met in the past and the Fios I was holding now were the same individual.

I thought Ra and E were the same magical beasts, so they should be the same individuals.

But it was different from the Fios I had experienced life with.

The Fios who came to me without being called was the past Fios, not the current one.

Perhaps he just happened to be nearby, I thought while opening the lid of the water barrel in the kitchen and peering inside.

Looking at the contents, I thought it was about time to fetch more water and poured some into a glass.

"Phew"

Holding Fios in one hand and the glass in the other, I moved to the table.

I placed Fios and the glass on the table and sat down in a chair.

The chair creaked loudly, and I didn't even know how long it had been there.

"Do you want to drink?"

I drank about half the water and placed the glass in front of Fios.

Fios then leaned over the glass.

Right there, the moonlight was shining through the window, and Fios's translucent body glowed blue in the light.

I could see the glass inside his body, and the water level was decreasing.

I reached out and touched Fios.

Every time I touched him, it felt strange.

It felt like touching water, but it wasn't water.

There was a smooth, indescribable sensation.

When I pressed harder, my hand sank into him.

Fios trembled as I touched him.

He was happy.

Fios's emotions gradually seeped into my heart, and I felt happy too.

If this alone could make both Fios and me happy, I should have understood Fios better much earlier.

"Hmm, is that E?"

"Are you awake?"

I heard footsteps and turned around to see E.

She rubbed her sleepy eyes and, like me, fetched some water.

"Hey"

"What is it?"

"Um... were you disappointed by the slime?"

I had been crying uncontrollably.

From the look of it, she seemed to have been deeply shocked by the fact that the slime was a magical beast.

E sat down next to me.

She had never seen me like that before, so it was a shock to her too.

"No, I wasn't disappointed."

I smiled gently.

At that moment, I had been happy.

I had met a friend I thought I would never see again.

So many things I was grateful for, things I wanted to apologize for, and things I wanted to do if I could meet again had flooded my mind and overflowed as tears.

"Really?

You don't have to force yourself..."

"I'm not forcing myself at all.

It's true that I would have been disappointed in the past, but now... I'm glad it's Fios."

"...So you're getting along with the slime now?"

"Yeah."

For some reason, it felt like I had been with this Fios for a long time.

"Well, that's good.

But, you know, Ra and I are here.

No matter what happens to you, we'll take care of you."

E took a sip of water, looking a bit embarrassed at her own words.

I smiled, remembering that Ra had said the same thing.

"Yeah, I'll count on you if I need to."

In the past, the two of them had tried to help me when I was in trouble.

If this life doesn't work out, I'll rely on them a lot.

"But I'll try my best."

"Right.

We never intended to make a magical beast contract, and it's not like it's a bad thing."

We had been living a life close to the bottom.

Not all poor people make magical beast contracts, and with no money now, it wasn't something we should do.

No matter what kind of magical beast appeared, the situation wouldn't get worse.

Even if it didn't get better, it would be the same as before.

"But... don't overdo it, okay?"

E looked a bit worried.

She wasn't doubting me, but she was concerned that I might be forcing myself and putting on a brave face because Fios was a slime.

"Hehe, look."

I held Fios up with both hands and illuminated him with the moonlight.

"Isn't he beautiful?"

"Yeah..."

"Nobody knows what will happen in the future.

But I think if we try our best now, we can change things."

E looked at J's profile as he gazed intently at the nucleus moving slowly inside Fios.

"...You seem to have grown up a bit."

For a moment, E thought J didn't seem like J.

His gaze seemed a bit deeper, and he seemed more composed.

"It's okay if you're doing well."

E stood up from the chair.

"You should go back to bed too, J?"

"Yeah, I'll go to bed after I zone out a bit more."

E returned to the room.

"Well, it's fine."

J turned his gaze back to Fios.

It was okay if this Fios was different from the past Fios.

What mattered was what we would do from now on.

"I'll try my best this time.

Would you like to help me again if you can?"

I asked Fios, who didn't answer.

Fios, held in both hands, stretched out and touched the tip of my nose.

It felt like he was answering me.

"Actually, I have an idea."

I placed Fios on the table and cradled him in both hands, leaning over the table.

I naturally ended up using Fios as a pillow.

"Hehe, don't shake, okay?"

Fios was trembling happily.

I wanted to sleep, but the vibrations were keeping me awake.

"Hehe, hehe..."

The vibrations felt strangely ticklish, and Fios was so happy with J's laughter that he couldn't fall asleep for a long time.