78 – Meruru’s Great Adventure
The cave in the forest near Kuber, as found on the map.
The surrounding trees and grass were cleared for easy access, and there was a proper path.
Upon examining the map Meruru received, it was a location that could be reached as long as we followed the path properly from Kuber, just as Algot said.
“It’s really locked….”
Furthermore, as Algot said, the entrance to the cave was locked.
Using wooden planks and stones, the entrance was securely sealed, with a door attached to it.
There was a conspicuous keyhole in the door, but Algot did not give us the key.
“To do this in just one day….”
“Huh? Yunoa! What did you say?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
Algot is truly amazing.
To fulfill Meruru’s request, he made this in just one day.
Seeing his skill in blocking the entrance, it reminded me of the headquarters in Halberi Forest, where we captured Aruru. That headquarters also had a rushed construction with the use of straw, and it was obvious that the same person had made it.
Creak, creak.
“Ugh! It won’t open!”
Meruru grabbed the doorknob and shook it a few times in an attempt to open the locked wooden door, grumbling.
Although it seems like a door like this could easily be broken by kicking it without even needing a sword, I just watched from behind.
If I were to help from start to finish, Algot’s intentions would all be ruined.
As the door remained closed, Meruru took out a piece of dried meat from the jar she had on her side and put it in her mouth, then started looking at me with puppy-like eyes.
“…I am your mentor, so you should try to solve it on your own as much as possible.”
Seeing that I showed no sign of helping, Meruru put the jar of dried meat on the ground and struck the door with her wooden sword.
Thud! Thud!
Meruru really lacks strength.
She looks like a child swinging a wooden sword.
Is it really okay to not offer any help at all?
From opening the cave door, Meruru, who had encountered an obstacle, sat behind and watched, spending time slowly.
She scratched the door with her hand, kicked it with her foot, pounded it with her wooden sword, and even threw stones at it…
Using all means possible to open the door, Meruru eventually grew tired and sat down in front of it.
“Ugh! Meruru is angry!… Huh?”
But then, Meruru discovered something on the ground near the wooden door.
A small box made of wood, with a large drawing of a key on it.
The box seemed to assert strongly, “I am a box with a key inside.”
A true Meruru-customized request…
Now that it has come to this, I’m curious about what Algoth has prepared inside the cave.
Meruru furrowed her brow and shook the wooden box, then opened it and took out the key inside.
If she had observed her surroundings a little, she could have found it quickly.
Following Meruru, who opened the door with the key and entered, I followed her in.
Normally, novices are not given requests like demon extermination.
But the request Algoth prepared was a cave slime extermination request.
Even a Meruru I know couldn’t defeat a single Blue Slime.
But I heard that in the cave, they prepared Blue, Red, and Green Slimes, each of them in different types.
I’m a little worried if it’s really okay, but I decided not to help unless it’s a real crisis, so I decided to watch.
Meruru, holding her wooden sword, cautiously looked around and slowly moved forward.
Inside the cave, empty wooden barrels and scattered boxes were everywhere.
There were even broken carts, and torches were hung at regular intervals on the walls, so it wasn’t dark.
…A landscape that seemed intentionally embellished.
Meruru seemed genuinely tense, as if she didn’t know when a slime would suddenly pop out. But to me, this place looked like a theme park for children, rather than a dungeon experience course.
“Oopoop!”
And then it happened.
Suddenly, Meruru made a strange noise.
A translucent red slime fell from the ceiling and covered Meruru’s face.
“Oop! Ooboopoop!”
Meruru swung her wooden sword wildly in the air and spun around in place.
I watched her with interest.
“They’re so small….”
Is this the ‘Meruru-exclusive slime’ that Algot prepared…?
There are even slimes this small.
Are they like slime babies?
The red slime that covered Meruru’s face was only about the size of a person’s head.
Unlike the wild blue slime I saw near the Kuber Forest, which was big enough to engulf Meruru’s whole body.
If it’s a slime of that size, I thought it might be worth raising it as a pet seriously.
Meruru, who was struggling, eventually threw her wooden sword and used both hands to remove the slime from her face.
In no time, other slimes in the cave gathered around Meruru.
They were all small slimes that didn’t exceed the size of a person’s head.
“They’ve appeared in droves!”
“Oh, cheer up! Meruru.”
Meruru cheered on, keeping a safe distance to prevent the slimes from coming towards her.
Meruru picked up her fallen wooden sword from the ground and started swatting away the small slimes.
The battle between the mini slime horde and Meruru was unexpectedly intense.
The slimes surrounded Meruru, bouncing up from the ground and trying to stick to her body.
Meruru swung her sword vigorously at the slimes, but they were surprisingly quick, making it difficult to hit them accurately.
“Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow! Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow!”
Meruru swung her sword wildly, making a strange battle cry.
There was a slime stuck on her back, another on her leg, and one clinging to her collarbone.
Meanwhile, an unfortunate blue slime jumped towards Meruru’s head and was struck directly by her sword.
Thwack!
The slime was hit by the sword and flew away, light and bouncy.
However, the slimes couldn’t deliver a significant blow unless their core was destroyed.
They were small enough that I could probably crush them with my bare hands, but it seemed Meruru’s strength was a little lacking.
“Slippery, slippery! They’re so slippery!”
Meruru started rolling on the ground to shake off the slimes sticking to her body.
Roll, roll. Roll, roll.
She pressed her back against the ground, using her body weight to squash the slimes.
But even with Meruru’s small size, her weight wasn’t enough to break the slime’s core.
Still, she managed to successfully shake off the slimes that were clinging to her back while rolling on the ground.
Meruru continued to fiercely battle the slime horde even after that.
She screamed, leaped around, grabbed nearby rocks, and jumped wildly among the slime horde.
I sat on a wooden crate at a suitable distance, watching the scene.
This is unexpectedly a sight worth paying to see.
It’s more entertaining than I thought.
It’s interesting that I can’t predict what will happen, rather than watching the fights of the strong.
Thunk!
After a long struggle, Meruru finally found her own strategy.
She stood the tip of her wooden sword and used her body weight to crush the slimes on the ground.
By doing so, enough force was transmitted to the tip of the wooden sword to destroy the core of the slimes.
After a long battle, the slime horde seemed to have lost strength, making this method possible.
In this way, Meruru eliminated the slimes one by one with her wooden sword, bringing the long and intense battle to an end.
***
“Heh… Heh… It’s… It’s so… exhausting….”
Meruru, who successfully defeated all the slimes inside the cave, sat down on the sticky floor covered in slime residue.
She was breathing heavily, to the point where her chest was visibly heaving.
I brought the jerky jar that Meruru had left on the floor and a wooden crate to sit on.
Then I also brought a crate and sat next to her.
“You did much better than I expected.”
My praise for Meruru was sincere.
She clearly had limitations in talent and race.
Even though it was hard to call her an actual demon, the mini slime, Meruru, had proven herself enough with her abilities.
“Ugh… Huff… Cough! Cough!”
She must be really exhausted.
Just sitting next to her, I could feel the heat emanating from Meruru’s body.
Her hair and face were drenched in sweat.
I should have brought some water if I knew it would be this intense.
Since her stamina was completely drained, it seemed better to take a rest for a while before heading back.
After a brief rest and some recovery for her tired body.
Meruru raised her head and opened her mouth.
“It was tough… As expected, being an adventurer is tough for Meruru.”
I didn’t know how to respond.
It was objectively true, but I couldn’t just blatantly say, “Yeah, you’re right. Being an adventurer is tough.”
I simply watched Meruru silently.
“…I know too. Meruru can’t go find her sister alone. Meruru doesn’t have that strength.”
“…”
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“Something was wrong with my sister. Meruru can understand that. My sister was sad. I have to find her and bring her back… But it’s turned out like this…”
I wanted to tell her.
That her sister is already safely staying at the demon sanctuary run by Guild Master Algott.
Once she’s settled in a bit, she can go and meet her.
But it’s not the right time yet, so I have no choice but to turn and speak.
“Meruru, you don’t have to become an adventurer or step forward.”
“I don’t know.”
“Didn’t the Master say it? After we finish this request, we’ll take responsibility and find your sister. I’m the same. I was able to survive before becoming an adventurer because of you. I can promise too. I will definitely make sure you meet your sister again.”
“……”
“Of course, it might be difficult for you alone. But the Guild Master, Tina, and I are all on your side. Meruru, you being healthy and doing well in the guild is for your sister. We will definitely find her and make sure you meet.”
I spoke with confidence in every word.
Well, it’s obvious. Since I’ve already found your sister, it would be strange if I didn’t have confidence anymore.
Still, if I’ve gone this far in the conversation, it would be good to consult with Algot and try to bring forward the time to meet your sister as much as possible.
I also have many questions for the other demons in the demon shelter.
After listening to my words, Meruru remained silent for a while, only twitching her ears, and suddenly took out a small dried meat from a jar and pushed it towards my mouth.
“Here, eat this.”
“Huh? Okay.”
I took the dried meat that Meruru suddenly handed to me and ate it.
It was salty and hard, but the more I rolled it in my mouth, the stronger the meaty flavor spread, and it tasted quite good.
It’s perfect as a side dish for alcohol. Although we don’t have any alcohol.
After finishing our rest like that, we came out of the cave to return to Kubel.
During the return, Meruru didn’t talk about her sister anymore, but she seemed much better than before, for some reason.
I don’t know if she changed her thinking positively, if my words got through to her, or if she felt relieved from moving her body a lot.
But ultimately, it seemed like we achieved the goal of changing her mood.
I watched Meruru wagging her fluffy tail and returned to Kubel.
* * *