Ch.2 I Defeated Slimes and Saved it, Now It's Attached to Me?

"................................................"

"................................................"

Something white and round, like a stuffed animal.

And then, our eyes kept meeting.

...None of the stray cats in this area have faces like that.

I already know the faces of most of them, and there haven't been any newcomers recently.

It's pure white... so is it a rabbit?

But a stray rabbit... maybe it escaped?

As I approached with that thought in mind—

"...Uwaa!?"

Something else jumped out from the bushes... monsters!

"...I, I have to report it!"

Just like I learned in school, I keep my back facing the other direction from the monsters, back off, and first, quietly report it on my smartphone.

Thanks to the movements I've learned through annual evacuation drills, I can maintain distance without tripping over nothing like I usually do.

Those monsters looks like... slimes, so they should be weak, but I remember that an ordinary person like me would get burned by the liquid they squirted.

That's right, ordinary people like me don't have any fighting power.

I'm so bad at physical fitness tests that I'm about the same level as girls who aren't good at sports.

"!"

I raised the umbrella I always carry with me for times like these, but the slimes averted their gaze from me and started attacking the stuffed animal-like creature from earlier.

"Pigii! Pigii!"

"................................................"

The white thing from earlier is just staying still, as if protecting its head.

...Why aren't you fighting back?

If you keep going like that, you'll get beaten.

"Pigii! Pigii!"

"................................................"

Suddenly, our eyes met.

Those clear, bright blue eyes are looking at me.

...My heart leaps when I see those eyes.

——"I wish someone would help me."

Just looking around with that thought in mind, the scene... reminded me of when I was little, and with this appearance and personality, I couldn't fight back, so I just silently endured the bullying.

—Before I knew it, I was charging forward, swinging my umbrella around.

I know it's dangerous, I know it's clumsy—but still, my body does it on its own.

I felt unconsciously that "I had to help this child."

"...Waaaaaah! G-go awaaaaaaay!"

"Pigii!?"

"Eeeeeeyyyyy!"

Just hit it hard, hit it hard, hit it hard.

I continue to hit them repeatedly with the tip of my umbrella, without thinking about anything else.

Was it because they were suddenly attacked by someone who seemed harmless, or was it because they were weak, having wandered out of the dungeon and almost disappearing?

The tip of the umbrella made a squelching sound, and then the slimes scattered, melting the surrounding grass with a sizzling sound.

"...Haaah, haaah... I... I managed to defeat them...?"

I gently pulled the umbrella closer...its tip was melting.

The fabric part is also all gooey.

It's no longer usable as an umbrella.

...It melted this much after just a few hits.

Some of the scattered slime stuck to it... and after waiting a bit, it turned into a crystal.

...I can't believe it, this me.

Someone like me defeating a monster, even if it's just a slime?

I was left with a feeling of deep emotion for a little while, but more than that...

"Are you... okay...?"

It's probably even weaker than a slime, which is weaker than me, like a stuffed animal.

...It's not a normal animal, so it's probably a monster, right...?

But it doesn't seem to be attacking...?

It was bullied to begin with... no, It was almost hunted...

"Okay, I'm going to touch you, okay? I'm not scary..."

"Kyui."

It cried once, but it didn't seem to do anything other than stare at me, so I gently picked it up.

"Waa..."

I thought I might get bitten, but it seems to be fine.

Above all, it's fluffy, soft, and warm.

"................................................"

"................................................"

I made eye contact with that child.

...A stuffed animal... It's kind of like a white horse.

But it looks like both a dog and a cat... maybe because it's a baby?

Also, It has a tiny wart on its forehead.

"...What are you?"

"Kyui?"

When I ask it a question, it chirps back with the same intonation.

It chirps back, like the parrot my friend owns... but.

"...Haaaaaaaa... I'm glaaaaaad..."

"Kyui—"

This seemingly harmless monster is one thing, but the ones from earlier were clearly slimes.

In other words, monsters.

I, a powerless person, managed to defeat some monsters by sheer luck... but one wrong step and I would have been lost.

Before I knew it, I was sitting down, hugging that stuffed animal-like thing.

◇◆◇

"...I see, there's certainly no sign of monsters."

"So you saw two of them?"

"Un."

"Then they must be individuals that came out of a nearby dungeon. ...Yeah, if it were just a regular slime, it would probably disappear within an hour of coming out of the dungeon."

The voices of boys I don't know make me feel relieved.

"You were lucky. If they still had HP left, you probably would have been burned or something..."

"No, if it had been a little longer, it would have just crystallized, right? It was outside the dungeon, and they were just regular slimes."

"Oh, I see."

"Even when I searched for enemies with my smartphone, that white thing was the only one nearby, so it should be okay now. You did a great job."

It took about 10 minutes after I reported it.

The reason it's this fast in the countryside is apparently because there are quite a few ordinary people who are reasonably suited to dungeons, and they summon people who can defeat monsters that are weakened after coming out of the dungeon, like the ones we're seeing now.

Well, you know, you can just bump into them out of nowhere like this...it's dangerous for a weak, ordinary person like me.

Most importantly, it was during dismissal time from school.

In the countryside, depending on the time of day, there's really nobody around...

"Weren't you scared?"

"Considering you're just an ordinary person who've never been into a dungeon before, it's amazing you were able to fight so well."

"Oh, yes. When I thought I had to save this child, I was completely in a daze..."

"Kyui?"

These people... from what I hear, they're from the area in front of the station, but they're probably high school students like me.

Because their uniforms are different from ours... but then they look at the stuffed animal, or rather, monster, I'm holding.

We're about the same age, we're both guys... but why are our heights and builds so different?

It's just like always, I feel like I'm being looked down upon.

Since I'm short, the only people I can make eye contact with are middle schoolers and elementary schoolers...

"But it seems to have become quite attached to me..."

"Oh, so you're a tamer?"

"Oh, right, I remember there being a skill like that."

"Heh?"

"Eh?"

"A... tamer?"

"...Is that not the case?"

"...But in school practical training..."

As I felt the warmth of the plush monster, which nodded its head as if listening to our conversation, I explained about the skill I hadn't activated.

"...Ah, that's right. Tamer and other skills like that won't activate unless certain conditions are met."

"Oh yeah, that's right. I hear that schools in the city let you try out all the different things, but it's not like that here..."

"Well, this is the countryside, after all..."

"Because we're in the countryside, we don't really have facilities like that..."

"Even the school is barely still open..."

The 3 of us sighed.

"...Fufu...Even though we're in different schools, we're still in the same town, right? Thank you!"

"Cute... ahem"

"Hey, you can't try to get ahead of everyone else."

"I know...but still..."

Ah, I'm a little happy.

Lately, I haven't been talking to my classmates at all...because I'm about to fail a year, so all they do is try to comfort me...

It's really reassuring to talk to someone of the same gender who's around the same age, isn't it?

It's a feeling that's different from being with an older person, and different from being with a girl; it's a feeling unique to being with another man.

"...Somehow smells nice."

"Hey, you'll make her hate you!" (TL: They don't know MC is a guy)

"Kyui"

I hugged the stuffed animal that had let out a cry tightly, and for a while I felt relaxed, relieved from the tension I had felt earlier.

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