Chapter 93: On the snowy field |
Something felt awkward.
I mean… uhm, walking while wearing clothes.
Thinking about it, that was a bit… strange.
Even though I’ve lived as a human for much longer… I already feel uncomfortable acting like one.
I guess there’s a reason why humans are said to be adaptable creatures.
But, honestly… I can’t help but feel uncomfortable.
Wearing clothes was fine when I was a human.
Since I didn’t have a hobby of walking around stark naked.
However, there were still various reasons why I didn’t wear clothes until now.
Even if I could have done it back then, it was better not to wear clothes since they would get sticky and wet.
…It might also be because those who captured me didn’t give me clothes, and no one questioned it.
Anyway.
Actually, I think the reason I’m about to say now is bigger than the one I just mentioned.
When you dress up like this without a single gap…
Your field of vision narrows.
The 360-degree view that used to fit entirely in my eyes narrowed as if I was shoved into a box with a hole.
This is… extremely stuffy.
It doesn’t feel like hiding my strength, but sealing it makes it quite unbearable.
…I wonder how long it’s been since I saw the world through a slime’s perspective to feel this discomfort.
I don’t know.
But since everything is white wherever I look, I feel like I might adapt quickly.
Will I have to adapt to a slime’s perspective again after this ends?
…I feel like I’m filled with rage towards Kim Cheonsu.
Hey, can't you hear me? Hmm... what's wrong with this? Is it broken because it's too cold? If you can hear me, stop for a moment.
Han Seori’s tiny voice was heard.
While I was walking and thinking about other things, it seemed Han Seori had contacted me.
Hearing her serious voice, I stopped my body as if frozen solid.
Then, along with Han Seori’s sigh of relief, her small voice rang out.
Fortunately, it doesn't seem to be broken. Were you thinking about something else...? Ah, you can't answer anyway.
Not being able to speak wasn’t all bad.
Like mumbling about how it’s more comfortable to walk around naked…
Or having to desperately come up with an excuse.
…If there was a notebook, she might have told me to write it down.
But there’s none at the moment.
Pretending to listen to her for a bit, she spoke with a somewhat ambiguous laugh.
To get to the destination, from there... turn right... haa... it's a bit difficult to explain since everywhere is covered in snow.
It seemed I had strayed from the route while thinking about other things.
I feel like I’ve become a strange person who leaves the navigation on without following its guidance.
Come to think of it.
Can’t you tell me the direction with an arrow like before?
There must be a separate reason you can’t do that, right?
Han Seori is such a smart person.
…She didn’t really forget, did she?
While I was feeling a bit doubtful, Han Seori spoke with a laugh as if a good idea had come to her.
Ah, can you try stretching your right arm forward? Yeah, like that.
As I stretched my arm as she said, the loose clothing fluttered, and cold wind came in through the gaps, tickling my jelly.
Waiting with a creepy feeling, the next instruction soon followed.
Now, can you slowly spread your arm? Yes, good job. Slowly... Let's see... Ah! Stop!
This time, I stiffened my arm like a child who shouted “freeze!” and Han Seori let out a satisfied laugh.
That's the exact direction. Keep going that way until I tell you to stop.
…Although I’ve gotten used to being praised like this, I couldn’t stop my jelly from jiggling without realizing it.
Haa.
How nice would it be if the manager who ordered me around me was like Han Seori?
…But then I thought about Han Seori ordering around Kim Cheonsu, and I realized that if I wasn’t an anomaly, it might have been quite hard.
But still, I thought it was better than the manager.
Because…
Han Seori is… quite attractive, you see
It’s not lookism. This is just inevitable.
People naturally feel favorable towards pretty and beautiful things.
Maybe the reason Kim Cheonsu and Han Seori treat me gently is that my appearance is cute.
Like, if I looked like a monster from a novel or game, wouldn’t the situation be a bit different from now?
…I don’t know.
Since I can’t open Han Seori’s head to check, my thoughts could be wrong.
Anyway.
I turned in the direction with my jelly stretched out.
To move in the direction Han Seori pointed.
In the midst of that.
Something is coming...
Along with Han Seori’s very small voice, I heard footsteps approaching me.
*Crunch, crunch.*
Footsteps trampling the white snow and drawing near.
Han Seori said there was a possibility of encountering humans, so I thought it was a needless worry.
But it seemed like it wasn’t an unnecessary fuss.
I moved my feet, creaking as if I hadn’t seen them to avoid them.
But what if that stimulated them even more?
“Huh? What’s someone doing out here?”
“Judging by the height… seems like a kid.”
No, I’m not a kid, you know?
…That’s not the important thing.
I took big strides to avoid them. Holding onto the ragged clothes with my jelly so they wouldn’t fall off.
“Huh? Wait! Where are you going!? It’s dangerous over there!”
“Kid! We’re not bad people! We’ll help you, so can you stop!?”
Have you ever seen bad people say they’re bad?
And good people don’t say they’re good themselves, either.
…Ah, they didn’t say they were good people.
Anyway.
Whether those people were good or bad wasn’t important to me.
I ran at full speed because I didn’t want to become a blue-skinned alien appearing in the snowy field.
But.
“K-Kid!”
“Ah, ah, why is he so fast?”
As if their self-introduction that they weren’t bad people wasn’t a lie, they began to persistently chase after me.
Honestly, if I saw a small silhouette wandering around in a snowstorm like this, I would have been worried too, so I could understand their feelings.
I understood their intentions… but please, just go away.
While feeling troubled and running.
Can you turn your face back for a moment after counting to three?
Is there some kind of trick?
Like a tranquilizer needle flying out from a device filled around my face?
…Uh, then wouldn’t those people die?
Feeling shivers through my jelly at the thought, I counted to three with a “no way” feeling.
Three.
Two.
One.
Feeling like I should throw a spinning top, I looked back.
“Big brothers! Let go before I report you to the police!”
“Wh-What!?”
“Ah, no, we were just trying to help…”
An oddly irritated voice, not Han Seori’s, rang out.
Hearing that voice, the men flinched as if shot and stopped in their tracks.
While they hesitated to make excuses…
I ran even faster and hid my body in the snowstorm.
The men who had been chasing me from behind seemed to have given up, as I no longer felt their presence.
Only then did I bubble up a sigh of relief and took a moment to examine the surroundings while hiding behind a large tree that came into view.
Thank goodness it worked out. Otherwise, I would have had to use another method.
…What other method would that have been?
I tightly shut my jelly, not wanting to think about it.
Ah, I can’t speak anyway.
More than that, the voice from earlier bothered me.
…It felt as if I had called those people “Big brothers!”
Honestly, if Han Seori hadn’t been watching, I might have dry-heaved.
Ugh.
Gross.
But my effort wasn’t in vain, as Han Seori delivered good news to me.
But you came in the right direction. Like this... turn around and go straight.
It was fortunate news amidst misfortune, so I trudged along the snow.
*Crunch, crunch*
Not long ago, my weight was so light that I couldn’t even leave proper footprints, but now that I’m wearing shoes, footprints are left behind.
…Although they soon disappeared in the blowing snowstorm.
I shook my body, and the snow that piled up on my clothes fell off with a thud.
Is this really Korea?
Judging by the sturdy young men I met earlier, it can’t be anywhere but Korea.
I was feeling a bit dizzy from the spicy snowstorm I couldn’t even taste in the military.
A place that was clearly far from white caught my eye in the distance.
It was presumed to be a cave with a pitch-black mouth open.
Seeing that, Han Seori spoke in a tense voice.
That's where Cheonsu's signal was last detected.
…Hmm.
I sincerely hope he’s just there.
With that earnest wish in my heart, I headed towards the place presumed to be a cave.
They say the universe helps you if you sincerely wish for it, don’t they?
Please… please.
As I entered the cave, which was somewhat warmer than outside.
A strange sight greeted me.
It seemed Kim Cheonsu had been here.
There was a dying campfire presumed to have been lit by him.
…And new-looking toys were scattered all over the place.
It felt very bizarre.
It was as if Kim Cheonsu had gone mad from the cold and played with toys… then ran out.
…It feels like too much, but that’s the gist of it.
This is...
Separate from that, like Han Seori’s uneasy voice.
The situation didn’t look very good.
It would have been nice if Kim Cheonsu had stayed here obediently… but it seemed he had chosen to move.
I had no interest in the toys, so I immediately turned around.
Han Seori would have wanted that, too.
Then a toy got caught on my foot.
Lowering my gaze, I saw a 4x4x4 cube, though I couldn’t fathom whose preference it was.
…Staring blankly at it, I thought it would be a waste since Kim Cheonsu had gone through the trouble of bringing it, so I put it in my pocket.
You still... like cubes, I see.
No, that’s not really the case.
Feeling embarrassed for some reason, I went outside.
A strange trace caught my eye.
Although it faded as it was covered by snow, there was a mark as if something had been dragged on the ground.
And.
…For some reason, towards that direction.
My knowledge pouch perked up.
