NOVEL NEXT Ch3 - It's you!
Chapter 3: It’s you!
Having finished a simple breakfast of bread and soup at the guild dormitory, Lena walked with a strong step toward the plains once again.
(“Alright! Today is a new day! Rise, my positive spirit!”)
She was quite determined.
Yesterday’s monster-taming attempts had ended in disaster, but she couldn’t afford to stay down for long. “I hope I can find a companion to walk beside me this time,” Lena murmured.
With her braid swaying in the wind, she continued to walk through the town of Danatzera, still wearing her sailor uniform. Perhaps due to some information passed on by the guild, the men in town kept their distance from Lena.
She politely greeted the sleepy-looking gatekeeper with a “Good morning” as she passed through the gate. The gatekeeper, still drowsy, let her through without checking her guild card. Lena chuckled wryly, wondering if that was really okay.
Today, before searching for monsters, she planned to properly practice using her whip. The monsters had seemed stronger than she expected, so she gathered her courage and resolved to give it her all, even more than yesterday.
“Alright!”
She decided to start practicing near the town wall, picking a spot far enough away from the grassy areas and rocks to avoid accidentally attracting monsters.
“Okay… for now, let’s just give it a swing, shall we?”
Since she didn’t know how to use the whip correctly, she would have to figure it out through trial and error.
It was a rather unusual weapon, and none of the guild members had experience with it. Normally, novice adventurers used swords or clubs. Lena would have to experiment and find her own way of wielding the whip.
She gripped the handle more firmly and cracked the whip toward the ground. Crack!
“!”
It was clumsy, but the whip managed to hit the spot she had vaguely aimed at.
“Wow!”
Her voice rose in excitement as she realized she had done better than expected.
Feeling a bit thrilled, Lena kept cracking the whip toward the same point, repeatedly striking the ground with a Crack! Crack!
… Slowly, the whip’s trajectory began to straighten. She was pleased with the progress, but of course, the whip’s current power wasn’t even enough to defeat a low-level monster. Ignorance was bliss, as they say. Still, she was practicing without losing motivation, which in a way, was a blessing.
“Hang in there, Lena! Keep up the good work,” she encouraged herself.
As Lena watched the whip rhythmically crack, she tilted her head.
(“I feel like I’ve seen this movement somewhere before… Oh, that’s it! It’s just like jump rope! The kind we did at school sports festivals.”)
Nostalgic memories of her school days began to flash through her mind like a slideshow.
She remembered getting hit in the face with a volleyball, tripping during short-distance runs, and always being the one to hold the team back during sports festivals due to her lack of athletic ability. And now, here she was, risking her life in the great outdoors.
(“Life really is full of surprises, isn’t it?”)
A dry chuckle escaped her lips. Poor thing.
Sigh
Not wanting to dwell on depressing thoughts, Lena focused back on swinging the whip in front of her, hitting the ground over and over again.
Crack, crack, crack!
Then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something that wasn’t the green of the plains. She turned to look.
“Huh?”
(Boing!)
“Ahhh!”
She let out a surprised yelp and fell on her rear. Clumsily, she scrambled to her feet.
It was the same red and blue slimes from yesterday!
▽ Two slimes have appeared!
They bounced around in their usual comical manner, just as she remembered them. This could be considered a reunion.
“N-no way. Did you come back to see me…?”
Lena, moved by the encounter, asked with a hint of emotion. The slimes responded with their bouncing movements.
“(Boing-boing!)”
“!”
They gave a bigger bounce and then, noticing the whip she had been swinging, they seemed to think, “This looks fun!” and rushed toward it. As carefree as ever.
“Ah! No, wait, that’s dangerous!” Lena panicked.
But the slimes were blissfully unaware of her concerns. The whip, with its weak strikes, posed no real threat to them, so they weren’t scared at all.
The slimes cheerfully bounced along, skillfully dodging under the whip as it cracked toward the ground. When the whip was on the ground, they would jump over it, and when it swung up, they’d land just in time.
(It’s just like jump rope…!)
The small slimes bouncing around, just like before, were incredibly cute.
(Wow… wow!)
Lena’s heart quietly melted as she thought about taming these little guys. Even though she was essentially playing along with them, she found herself getting into the rhythm, helping them with their “jump rope” game.
Her heart, which had been worn out by anxiety about the future, was slowly being healed in this moment. Despite the fact that the plains were filled with dangerous wild monsters, this little area felt calm and peaceful.
The sailor-uniformed girl swinging her whip with a smile and the happily bouncing slimes—it was an odd scene, but none of them seemed to care. Perhaps they were all kindred spirits.
After enjoying their jump rope game for a while, the slimes struck a graceful pose and finished their little show. Lena had already put the whip away and was clapping her hands with a pat-pat in applause. There wasn’t even a hint of tension left. Welcome, sense of camaraderie.
In Japan, people often say “cuteness is justice,” and Lena, in this world, might be the most easily charmed person of all.
Maybe these slimes just had a personality like that. Wild monsters are generally supposed to be hostile and wary of others.
“Hey, want some snacks?”
After the playtime settled down, Lena offered them some treats.
▽ Lena took out some chocolate from her bag!
Yes, to make friends, the first step is offering food. She had been thinking the night before, while rummaging through her bag, that if she encountered another monster that seemed capable of communication, she might try this approach.
(Sorry, I’m really not in the mood to fight. But my stats are terrible anyway.)
Although slimes weren’t exactly dogs or cats, it was worth trying.
She wasn’t sure what they usually ate, but if they liked chocolate, that would be great. In a motherly way, Lena smiled softly, her expression relaxed. She even crouched down to meet the slime’s eye level—just like she would with a dog or a cat.
Boing! The slimes, on the other hand, seemed interested in the chocolate. They tilted their jelly-like bodies as if to say, “What’s this?”
“(So cute…!) It’s sweet candy. If you want, try some…?”
Lena broke a piece off the chocolate bar and ate it herself, showing it wasn’t poisonous. Then, she broke the remaining chocolate in half and offered it to the slimes.
Chomp!
▽ The slime ate the chocolate!
As the slime’s jelly body opened wide, Lena tossed the chocolate in. The chocolate’s silhouette was visible through the slime’s body as it floated around inside, gradually dissolving and disappearing.
(Were they savoring the taste?)
The moment the chocolate fully melted, the slimes suddenly started vibrating intensely.
“…!? Oh no, was it poisonous for you? Are you okay… whoa—!?”
“Boioooong!”
Lena, panicking, ran towards the slimes, but they suddenly jumped at her with unprecedented force! Could this be an attack out of anger? Lena braced herself—but it seemed the slimes had just enjoyed the chocolate.
Instead of attacking, they happily bounced around on Lena’s shoulders and head. Relieved, she let out a sigh, though her heart was still racing from the shock.
“…I’d really like to stay with you guys.”
She spoke to the slimes seriously again. As soon as she started talking, they stopped moving.
“Boing!”
“Would you become my familiars? Skill [Familiar Contract].”
With a prayerful heart, Lena activated her skill. Honestly, she wasn’t expecting much.
If they attacked, she would deal with it accordingly. She didn’t want to regret letting them go without at least trying to make them her familiars.
She had seen many monsters, but none she wanted as much as these slimes.
(I want these guys to become my companions!)
With a serious expression, she continued locking eyes with the slimes.
The slimes hesitated for a moment, as if considering, then suddenly bounced into the magic circle of the familiar contract.
“!”
Lena gasped. She was prepared for an attack, but instead, a high-pitched sound, like a bell ringing, resonated in her mind—a beautiful sound, like a blessing.
<
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“…! Wow, I did it—!”
Lena, tearing up, raised her hands in a small cheer, genuinely moved. She lovingly hugged her new slime familiars close.
They didn’t seem to mind either. They nuzzled into their new master’s chest, immediately warming up to her. Overwhelmed with emotion again, Lena began to cry.
“Sniff… Let’s take care of each other from now on, okay, slimes?”
“Yes!”
“…Huh!?”
It seemed communication with familiars was possible. Shocked, Lena’s eyes widened, but she quickly smiled with joy and gently spoke to her familiars again, “Let’s get along, okay?”
The guild had never taught her that familiars could communicate with their masters, but that might have been due to the lack of information on tamers. The tamer profession was rare and not well-regarded, leading to poor information and support from the guild. The guild in Danatzera, in particular, was notorious for corruption, and there were no good rumors about them.
Of course, this young girl, new to this world, didn’t know any of that. How this would affect her future remained to be seen.
“The sun’s still high. How about some training together?”
“Yes!”
It seemed the three of them decided to stay in the field a bit longer. Lena wanted to check the slimes’ stats and boost their strength.
After introducing themselves to each other under the shade of a tree, they began their battle training at their own pace.