“I finally found you!”
『Oh, it’s been a while.』
The one who came was the light blue-haired girl I often run into in the forest.
No, it’s because my search range is wide thanks to my 〖Skill〗.
“Long time no see, Slime-san. It’s a beautiful place.”
She looked around at the surrounding flowers and said, impressed.
The area was truly a riot of colors.
『Well, yeah. I’m growing these with my 【Unique Skill】.』
“【Unique Skill】…?”
Before I came here, the flowers and fruits weren’t as abundant as they are now.
It’s the power of my 【Unique Skill】 that has changed things so much in just one week.
『By the way, what brings you here today? You said you finally found me, so you must have some business, right?』
“Ah, that’s right. Hey, you can see now, right? Slime-san isn’t scary.”
The girl called out to the tree behind her.
Then, after a good five seconds, a young man appeared.
“H-hello…”
『You are, if I remember correctly…』
I felt like I had met this chubby young man somewhere before.
Even if I say I recognize him, the only humans I’ve met are the light blue-haired girl, Jaskal’s group, and then—
『—Ah! You’re the human who was attacked by the Red Monster!』
“Y-yes! Thank you very much for that time…”
The brown-haired young man shook his head up and down vigorously.
『Well, I’m glad you made it back to town safely. Sorry I couldn’t escort you.』
“No, no, no, not at all! I’m already grateful from the bottom of my heart for you saving me from the Chaos Spawn—”
After that, the young man thanked me while stammering.
However, he’s probably still scared and nervous about me.
It feels like he’s just blurting out whatever comes to mind, and the same topic keeps looping.
It seemed like it would go on forever, so I interrupted him.
『—Okay, I get it, you’re very grateful. So, did you come here today just to tell me that?』
“Ah, th-that’s right.”
The young man looked like he had just realized something.
It seems he had completely forgotten.
“Ah, um, that… when you saved me, you were using a spear, weren’t you…?”
『Ah, this one?』
“Yes, y-yes, that’s it!”
When I showed him the amber-colored spear that the upper-level adventurer Jaskal-like man had used before, the young man’s face lit up with joy.
But the next moment, he prostrated himself.
“Please! Please, give me that spear!”
Huh, so there’s a culture of prostrating in this world too—I ended up thinking something irrelevant.
I’m also confused by this sudden turn of events.
But since he just keeps rubbing his head on the ground while I’m dumbfounded, I give a safe reply for now.
『…Tell me the reason. Why do you want this spear?』
While asking that, I already knew the answer.
Probably, the young man is Jaskal’s family or friend, someone in that position. He’s trying to get it back for Jaskal, who’s depressed about losing his weapon.
Honestly, I don’t care either way.
Since I recorded it with 〖Replicant Form〗, returning it won’t cause any significant loss in combat power.
“Actually, that spear is a family heirloom of my family.”
Oh, I see.
“So, I was allowed to take it out specifically to defeat a certain Demon Beast… but it was stolen by someone else…”
He’s being vague, but that “certain Demon Beast” is probably me.
And the part about “stolen by someone else” is probably a lie.
In reality, Jaskal took the spear to kill me, and I took the spear from him.
But if he told the truth, he might upset me, so he made up this lie.
That’s the most logical explanation.
“It still makes me angry just thinking about it. A man named Jaskal forcefully took the spear I had! And in the forest! I can’t believe it!”
Huh???
What’s going on…?
“Ahem, excuse me. Let’s get back to the topic. Jaskal, who stole the spear from me, probably challenged Slime-dono and was defeated. And that’s how the spear ended up in Slime-dono’s hands, I believe… Does that sound familiar?”
『Ah, yeah, it does. This spear was originally used by a human, but when I defeated him, he dropped it, so I’ve been using it. That might have been the guy named Jaskal.』
“…Eh? Slime-san, you fought Jaskal-san?”
『Ah…』
I forgot! I was warned to be careful not to run into Jaskal!
I, if this continues, it’ll be like I ignored the warning.
W-what should I do… How can I make an excuse…?
『W-well, that was… an accident, or something…』
“It’s okay, it’s okay, I’m not trying to blame you. Slime-san is alive, so it seems like it was unnecessary to worry.”
『That’s not true… I was able to beat Jaskal because I had information beforehand…』
The fact that I’m making excuses even though she said she doesn’t care is probably because I feel guilty.
The young man called out to me.
“Excuse me, Slime-dono, is it correct that the spear was something Jaskal had?”
『Ah, yeah, probably. I didn’t confirm his name, but his appearance matches what I heard.』
“Ohh, then that must be our family heirloom, the Moldbreaker!”
The young man, who had been talking while still prostrating, then took further action.
Namely, he slammed his head on the ground.
“Please! Please, give me that spear! I’ll do anything I can if you ask! So please…!”
『O-okay, okay, I’ll do it, I’ll give it back. So please, raise your head.』
And so, the Earth Affinity spear, the Moldbreaker, returned to the young man’s hands.