"With seven slimes, all of us would have to split up and clean them out separately. While searching for their whereabouts, I discovered the slime had split into seven directions."
"Southwest for the red slime, south for the pink slime, southeast for the blue slime, northwest for the purple, and north for the white. As for the other two slimes you people have discovered, I have no idea where they're," Janis told the two groups that had found a different slime.
"The yellow slime should be from the west," the burly-muscled woman said confidently, indicating its position.
"And the black slime should be from the north-east." One of the elf leaders found the black slime tracks and pointed in that direction.
"If possible, could we take on the blue slime? I still have unfinished business with it." The blue slime was the highest priority, and before anyone could choose where they wanted to go, I was the one who made this suggestion.
The blue slime is the first monster I have encountered in this world. Upon first sight, I was scared and helpless against such a creature. Once I saw it and tried to escape, I was left exhausted to the point where I wanted to sleep.
Waking up to discover that I was being played by it gave me an indescribable feeling. That's why fighting the blue slime is so essential.
Seeing that no one disagreed with me, I sighed in relief. It seemed that each one was deciding which slime they wanted to take, and dealing with a slime that had an unknown effect made them cautious.
After choosing our target, the whole group had to decide which slime they wanted to take anonymously.
"Once we defeat and seal the slime we have targeted, we will assist the others in doing so. We will rotate clockwise." Starting from the southeast, once they're finished, they will rotate to the south, which will continue until the northeast. Those in the northeast will do the opposite and assist the people from the north.
That meant the people from the southeast wouldn't gain any assistance, and Janis and I would be the ones who would take on that burden.
"We will only do one rotation. Once you have done it, you will be returning to town. Until all seven slimes are defeated, that's when we can call this mission complete. If trouble comes and somehow you can't find your target, make your rotation. After finishing, you have done all of that. Return to town to see how our progress is." Now that the task was more straightforward, we immediately went our way.
While it wasn't so noisy before because we were on guard, I felt less secure about this quest. Janis, who had felt this, held my hand firmly, calming me slightly.
"Nothing on this hunt will go wrong, and if anything does, I will protect you." My heart would have warmed up, but knowing these lines were a red flag didn't comfort me.
"Is there something wrong with what I said?" I shook my head, denying it.
"Hmph!" She pouted, unsatisfied with how I reacted and comforted me by rubbing her face against mine, wanting me to comfort her in return. With how hard she was trying and how cute she was, I could only give her a wary smile while rubbing her head.
Unlike her words, her actions did help. After a long time, about ten minutes, she let go and was extremely satisfied with this session.
Comforting each other without any distractions or interruptions, we steadily made our way toward where the blue slime should be.
Janis did most of the work, and the trails left by the blue smile made it easy for us to know we were still on the right track.
"Let's take a break and have something to eat." A few more hours passed following the trails, and it was now around noon. If we continued following the tracks at our own pace, we would be disadvantaged due to exhaustion.
"Hey, Janis. If we do meet the blue slime, could you let me deal with it, and you do the sealing?" The sealing process differed from the sealing stone the first time Janis used it.
The one Janis had used the first time was a sealing stone that would seal the monster for a few minutes. This time, with a sealing scroll that had more effect, the preparations would take a little bit more time.
One person must prepare to seal it, while another must hold it back. Janis may have been stronger and had more fighting experience, but she was much more proficient in sealing than me. Not only was it more effective, but it was also the correct choice. Due to my lack of understanding of the sealing scroll, the chances of me failing to use it were much higher, which I couldn't afford to do.
"There's no need to take all the burden. We will weaken it together, and once it is, all you need to do is make it stay weak, and I will seal it."
"Roy, please remember that being too hasty won't get you anywhere. I understand that you have a strong attachment to this monster, and to put these thoughts to rest, all you need to do is swiftly deal with it. You can put these emotions to rest." She says that, but doing so was harder than it seemed.
"You're right about my strong emotional issue with the slime, but I won't let these feelings get in my way. By the way, the sandwich we made earlier today is great." Before we left, we prepared a large batch of sandwiches just in case we had to stay in the wilderness for more than a few days.
It turns out that sandwiches weren't invented in this world, and with my knowledge of this, I had them made with Janis' taste.
"Break time is over. We can't take too long, or the trail will disappear if we're too late." Done with our short break, we made our way deeper into the forest.