"I am the future king of Pheremoor!"
That proclamation made all the soldiers laugh at him. Amongst all the laughter, it was the noble one that was most distinguishable.
"You!!! King?!!" and he burst into scream-like laughter once more. "Even the king's children themselves has potential to not be king!!! What made your peasant mind think that way?!!"
"Kid, perhaps you have no knowledge of the law," the leader person spoke. "Any form of proclamation of being king is considered as high treason."
"So?" asked Felgard.
"If so," the leader person held the handle of his sheathed sword. "I could kill you right here, right now."
"Just try it!" provoked the airheaded fool.
"Shut it!!!" shouted Xez. We all ended up looking at him. "I understand. Mama and I will leave this place. After all, it doesn't matter where. As long as we are together, Mama and I will be fine. So please, no more fighting!"
"Perhaps I should second that notion," I sighed. "After all, it's best for the slime to be away from humans as much as possible. I believe you agree with me, knight leader person."
Hadenbridge then let go of his sword before responding, "I believe it is so."
"H-hadenbridge!!! What are you saying!!! That slime should be eliminated!!!" demanded the loud noble.
"Mr. Normsworth, I believe I am giving orders here," glared the leader person. It made the noble shut his yapping mouth. 'Now then miss mage, I believe you have an idea to get that large lump of goo away from here?"
"Of course," I replied as I looked at the teary-eyed boy next to me and sighed. "Not like I have any other choice."
Facing the massive frozen slime in front of me with Felgard, Xez, and the rest far behind as instructed, I prepared the spell for operation get-the-slime-away-from-here.
"Unfreeze," I waved my staff before pointing it at the slime. By that, mist covered it and rose upwards, releasing the beast from being solid. It once again moved and swayed like before.
"Mama," Xez murmured.
"Sun Child," I raised my staff above, and Sun Child appeared from above the slime. "Heat!" it made Sun Child burn brighter than before, emanating more light from it. It made the soldiers cover their eyes from brightness, some backed away from the extreme heat. The slime then began to evaporate it's body in response to the heat.
"Mama," Xez ran towards me. 'Big sis Friesha, what are you doing?"
"Trust me Xez," I replied to the tiny boy, maintaining my pose. "Like I said, slimes don't feel pain aside from Borlinne flower extract. What I'm doing..."
As soon as the mist subsided, what can be seen is a large bluish ore with sapphire-like crystals.
"... is reducing the slime to its solid form," I continued.
The people looked amazed at how an entire lake vanished into thin air.
"Now go, get your mama," I commanded the tiny boy.
"Ah, ok!" he dashed towards the ore and picked it up. It was almost the size of his head. "Mama?"
"Don't worry," I said in a comforting tone as I walked towards him. "Your mama will be fine. Its their emergency state when in peril. All you have to do is let her be for a few days and she'll be back to her normal state. Although this time, be sure to be somewhere away from humans."
"Oohh!" Felgard came closer and marveled for himself.
"What just happened?" the soldiers murmured to themselves. "What did she do?"
"So that's why," chemists began to chatter as they might've discovered something.
"Why? Don't you know slimes do these kinds of things?" I asked with a boastful tone. "Well no wonder. A slime this big shrank to something this small. It would only mean normal size slimes would shrink to something hard for the human eye to see."
"No wonder slime problems are annoying," the leader person, Hadenbridge, said. "We've been facing the same slime over and over again back in those villages."
The tiny boy smiled at me, "As long as she will be back to normal, that is enough for me. Thank you big sis Friesha!"
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"W-well of course you have to thank me! Y-your lowly origin should be so grateful!"
"Yes, I really am!"
"R-right?! Be sure t-to remember my greatness," I raised my head in pride (without blushing of course).
"You really are too easy..." whispered the airhead.
Hadenbridge gazed at us until a soldier got his attention.
"Sir, what should we do now?"
"Ah, yeah about that..." he replied while thinking to himself. "We go back."
"S-sir? I mean-"
"Yes, we go back," the leader person turned his back from us and into the forest. "The slime has been eliminated and the people is safe."
'But sir!" a chemist ran towards him. "If we take that ore to headquarters, you might be promoted to the forward capture infantry."
The leader person stopped and stared at the chemist, "You think I would shame myself as to bring to headquarters someone else's achievement?"
"Think of it sir, if you bring that mage too-"
"Shut your mouth, or else I'll be ridding it off of you," Hadenbridge stared with hatred. "I already backed away from our fight. I am not so improper as to take back my word."
The chemist backed away from him.
"Also, if we were to fight again," he looked back at me. "I am in a complete disadvantage."
I returned to him his gaze as I narrowed my eyes. He was truly a skilled fighter. One wrong move and I would lose my life, is what I sense from him. I somehow felt relieved knowing we might not meet again.
"Hadenbridge!!!" the loud noble, uh, Wormswoth was it? began chasing after him in anger. "Don't tell me you will let that enemy of humanity go?!!" The worm pointed at me. "Think about the recognition I'll get-err I mean you'll get when you successfully bring that thing to the high king!!!"
He neglected the worm and his tailing companion and walked to face me, "Miss mage!"
"What?," I replied.
"If I were you I shouldn't too carefree," he shouted at me. "For some reason, news has already spread that a mage is still alive. Therefore you are always in danger."
"I don't care!!!" yes, I do not care. the moment I stepped out of my mother's hideout, I was already prepared for danger. I was already anticipating for humans to begin chasing after me. However, I shalt not fear. Never again, for the sake of my entire race.
* * * * *
"So, what will you do from now on?" Felgard asked Xez caressing the ore on his lap.
"I don't know," he replied as he looked around what was once his hideout. Now an open area basking under the sun. "Mama and I spent our entire lives here. I don't have anywhere else to go..."
"What about living in that town near here?" I recommended.
"No, I won't live with humans," he pouted.
I sighed before saying, "Look here, you're not a slime. You're a human."
"I am a slime!" he replied slightly mad. "I just look like this because I'm small. But once I'm bigger, I'll be like Mama!"
"Slimes don't start being human before growing up," I stated with facts. "What they do is duplicate once reaching a certain size. What makes you think you are a slime to begin with?"
"I really am! I can produce slime parts from my mouth!"
"That's human saliva!"
"I remembered one time I released slime parts from my nose!"
"That's basically snot!"
"I-I can release some weird slime thingy from my lower behin-"
"Speak no more!!!"
I could only sigh from his argument. Seriously, what happened to this kid?
"I know I'm different..." he began to look gloomy. "I couldn't remember anyone aside from Mama. I grew up with her, I know nothing else."
Felgard then spoke, "If you really are a slime, why are you wearing clothes?" That was actually a nice question.
"Mama forced them to me," he sulked. "It was one time some kids came to take a swim. Mama took some of their clothes away for me."
"I see," now I know why his clothing was like mixed up.
"I don't really know what to do," the tiny boy sulked, tilting his head further down.
"Friesha, do have any ideas?" the airhead asked me.
"Why are you asking me?"
"I mean, you second the notion about him leaving this place..." he was right but...
"I know now," the tiny boy voiced out. "I will find another place."
"Find? On your own?" asked Felgard.
"Yep!" he stood up, hugging the slime ore to his chest. "All this time I have always relied on Mama. It's my turn to return the favor."
"But where will you go?" asked Felgard.
"Anywhere!" was his energetic response. "I will find her a better place. Maybe to where slimes like us will be accepted."
"Now where would that be?" Felgard looked at me, anticipating an answer.
"You want me to answer?" I felt like I have no other choice. "Too bad, I know nothing. I am not some slime expert."
"It's okay," the tiny boy flashed me a huge smile. "I'll find one on my own."
"Are you sure?" questioned Felgard.
"Hey," I called his attention. "He's already made his decision."
"Ah, oh," he muttered.
"But before that," the tiny boy placed the slime ore down before heading towards one of his food boxes. " Let's eat!"
Seeing the fruits he held in his tiny hands, both our stomachs began to growl all together.
"Ah yeah. We haven't had anything to eat," the airhead scratched the back of his head.
"I-I wouldn't mind taking a small bite," I flustered after they heard my stomach growl.
"Let's dig in then!!!" the tiny boy shouted.
That noon, the three of us ate our fill of the tiny boy's remaining food, mostly fruits and some meat. Xez would even play with his food by juggling them before catching with his mouth. The airhead could only try but obviously failed. That noon lasted for quite a while, well, that was how it felt after Xez wouldn't stop talking about random stuff. Some were about his Mama or a funny incident he did in town. Seeing how Felgard's eyes sparkled from such trivial matters was more proof of being an airhead. Seriously, are humans like this?
"Well then, bye bye!" Xez smiled as he couldn't wave his hand with the ore he was carrying.
"Take care!" Felgard waved his hand to its full extent as he shouted at the tiny boy who shrank further as he went his way towards the forest.
"Okay!" was the last word we heard before his tiny body was swallowed into the depths of the forest.
"Will he really be fine?" said Felgard to himself.
"If you're worried, why don't you go with him?" I asked as I turned towards the opposite direction.
"Ah! You're leaving?" he followed from behind.
"Of course! I have no more business here," I answered as I waved my staff in front of me.
"Oi!"
Before he could get closer, I was already levitating on air.
"Wait!" was all I could hear after I rode with my staff towards the sky.
The wind played with my hair as I passed above the trees. I then sighed after what happened a few hours ago with the kid replayed back in my busy mind. Being together with them was quite amusing. Well, I believe I shouldn't lie about it at the very least.