He barely picked at his meals, and even when the slime brought him a drink he didn’t light up the way he used to. He spoke to him far less, too, just sitting there alone or muttering something at the wall in a hollow, faraway voice. Even when the slime worked up the nerve to climb onto his lap, there was no reaction, and he’d gotten terribly lax about training.
Why is he like that?
He was worried, but Dojin wouldn’t even look at him, so lately they’d hardly talked at all. He’d never minded that his own words couldn’t get through to Dojin... but now his heart felt so gloomy.
Then, all at once, the slime shook his round body hard.
No. No way. I can’t go weird too. Right now I’m Dojin’s precious friend. When Dojin’s having a hard time, I’m the one who has to stay beside him and protect him.
Recalling that word Dojin had used once, friend, the slime steeled himself.
If nobody else will, I have to be the strong one.
The slime set to work absorbing his own share of the fruit. But maybe it was because Dojin wasn’t eating with him; somehow he couldn’t work up any appetite either, so he ate only the tiniest bit, far less than usual, and then just cleared the table.
Once he’d tidied everything around him spotless, he measured the light inside the cave with his whole body. And then, gathering his courage, he went up to Dojin again.
M-myu...?
He’d been brave enough to call out, but there was still no movement. The slime braced his body tight, bounced over with little bbyok, bbyok sounds, and pressed himself lightly against Dojin’s back. Only then did Dojin faintly turn his head. Looking at that bloodless face, the slime jumped where he stood.
Koong, koong!
“It’s patrol time!”
Once a day, after their routine was done, the two of them patrolled the cave. Patrol was what they called it, anyway — in truth it was hardly different from a walk.
The slime absolutely loved strolling through the cave with Dojin, just the two of them. Walking the paths he used to wander alone, now with Dojin beside him, felt like painting new memories over all those lonely days.
What if he won’t even go for a walk...?
He was fidgeting with worry when Dojin slowly pushed himself up.
“...!”
The slime held down the body that wanted to spring into the air and swallowed his excitement. What a relief. I knew it. Dojin can’t resist a walk either — I mean, a patrol!
But oddly enough, Dojin had pulled his combat gear on over his clothes. The way he’d explained it before, combat gear was what you wore when you deployed into a dungeon and when you fought.
He’d worn it a few times at the start, but before long he’d gone around in nothing but a thin shirt. So that outfit had been shoved into a corner ever since... what was the occasion today?
The question flickered through him for a moment, then stopped mattering. No — if anything, it was a good thing. Because Dojin looked incredibly cool in his combat gear.
Gazing at that rough, rugged combat outfit of Dojin’s, the slime went flushed in the cheeks.
“...”
“...Let’s go.”
Tooong.
He hopped along bashfully and fell in at Dojin’s side. Dojin still said nothing. He’s probably still in a bad mood, so I’ll just follow along quietly.
Bbyok, bbyok. But the delighted little squeaks of friction were no easier to hide than the blush.
Crunch, crunch.
They walked on through the endlessly dim cave. Now and then the slime felt Dojin’s eyes on him.
There was none of that warm look from before, but if he glanced over every so often, he clearly knew the slime was there with him, and that was enough. If anything, the slime meant to put his own strength into getting Dojin back on his feet fast.
After walking a long while, Dojin came to a dead stop in the middle of the murky cave. The slime looked up at him, puzzled. Dojin let his eyes travel slowly over the ceiling and then the floor, and muttered under his breath.
“Nothing here either...”
What has he been doing all this time?
Unlike usual, Dojin kept stopping in the middle of their walk. Then he’d lift his head and scan the place with nothing but his eyes — the cave ceiling, the walls, everywhere. What was going on? The strange sight had the slime tilting his whole body.
...I think he’s looking for something.
And that was the moment he thought it.
Whish. Thunk.
Kee...!
A small shriek came from somewhere. He whipped around in alarm — and there was Dusty, the one who had greeted him so happily just yesterday, impaled on something sharp, his little body shuddering.
“Dusty...!”
Dusty was a very small grey ball of fluff. He’d only just appeared, so the slime had promised himself he’d teach him anything he didn’t know yet.
Dusty trembled all over, and then he stopped moving. The slime stood rooted in place, staring blankly at him.
Meanwhile Dojin strode over and pulled the sharp dagger out of Dusty’s body. Then he clicked his tongue. “No way something like this is the boss,” he muttered.
“...”
The slime couldn’t make a single sound. He only looked at Dusty.
Dusty... why aren’t you moving? Why are you just lying there? Are you... dead? Did Dojin... did Dojin kill Dusty?
He was standing there stunned, mind gone blank, when he heard his very favorite voice.
“What are you doing.”
“...”
He turned his body slowly, and Dojin was looking down at him without any expression at all. When their eyes met, Dojin held out his hand. A big, solid hand. The hand that had always wrapped him up warm and held him close.
“Come. Here.”
But that hand killed Dusty. Dusty was so weak... he couldn’t do anything at all. He never did a single thing wrong to Dojin...
A flinch.
The instant he shrank back from Dojin with a little bbyok, without even meaning to, a huge hand came at him fast and snatched his body up roughly. At the harsh grip, a sharp sound slipped out of the slime.
Kee-ing!
Hugging the blue sphere to his chest, Dojin spoke in a low voice.
“You didn’t just flinch away from me, did you?”
The slime didn’t answer. The soft voice came drifting down from above again.
“You didn’t pull away from me over one worthless little thing getting killed, right? Right?”
Something dark and unreadable swam in those pitch-black eyes.
“...”
He still didn’t answer, but Dojin acted as though it made no difference, pulling the slime up onto his shoulder and patting him affectionately. Then he looked at him and moved his lips.
“Are you scared?”
“...”
“What’s there to be scared of? I told you I’d protect you, didn’t I.”
The slime’s gaze drifted to Dusty, who hadn’t so much as twitched. Half of that small, worthless little body was already gone. Dojin caught where he was looking and spoke in a low voice.
“What, you think I’m going to do that to you?”
Dojin let out a dry laugh.
“Don’t be ridiculous. There’s no way I’d ever hurt you.”
“...”
“Some bug that wanders past, now, that’s another story.”
The slime’s body went stiff. If anything, that drew a soft smile out of Dojin.
“Patrol’s done, so let’s go back. Home.”
And with that he scooped the round little shape into his arm and turned away.
The slime stayed rigid, curling in on himself so he wouldn’t have to look at Dusty. Ironically, managing that meant burrowing deeper into Dojin’s hard chest. A big hand closed around him, gentle as ever. It was warm, the way it always was, and yet somewhere inside that warmth he felt something cold.
Dojin went without food again that day.
The slime watched Dojin’s face for any sign of his mood and edged timidly back from the stone table.
Once he’d confirmed the leaf had been cleared, Dojin stripped off his combat gear. Clasps clicked open and the heavy fabric dropped to the floor, piece by piece. Hair all mussed, Dojin spoke in a voice with no rise or fall in it.
“Let’s go.”
“...”
It was the tail end of the day, so they ought to have gone to the bath to wash, but he couldn’t make himself budge. When he stayed put without moving, he felt Dojin’s stare fixed flat on him. He fidgeted, dodging that cool gaze, and then at last gave a little shake of his body. No, no.
“Ah. You don’t want to go?”
“...”
Dojin glanced up at the cave ceiling with a blank face, then lowered his eyes again. The face looking down at him was smiling, but the eyes in it were ice cold.
“Fine, then. I’ll go by myself.”
M-Moong...
He barely got that one sound out and just stood there, and the long legs strode away. Only after Dojin had vanished completely out of the habitat did the slime let out the breath he’d been holding.
I turned down a bath with Dojin again today. He looked upset... is it going to be okay?
Things between the two of them had started creaking a while back. The day Dusty was wiped out. Just remembering that day set his body trembling and filled him with fear. It was the first time Dojin, who had only ever been wonderful, had become something frightening.
I want to stop Dojin from hurting my friends.
Driven by that single thought, he’d tagged along on patrol, shouted, thrown himself in the way, even gotten angry, and none of it had done the slightest bit of good.
If anything, Dojin seemed to find him a nuisance, because there were times he slipped out on patrol alone without telling him. But he could tell even when he wasn’t there. That Dojin had been out hurting creatures as small and worthless as himself.
How do I stop him?
No matter how hard he thought about it, no answer came to him, and it was stifling. All he did was tremble, all he felt was afraid... Which was why, lately, he couldn’t even bring himself to look at Dojin properly.
What do I do, what do I do.
If he’d had feet, he would have been stamping them. He had no idea why Dojin had suddenly turned like this, why he’d changed so much, but one thing was certain: Dojin wanted to get outside, and fast.
If Dojin gets outside, he won’t kill the monsters in here anymore, and... and...
He won’t kill me, either.
