Chapter 6: Did word get around so fast?

The wind blew at the edge of the forest. a cave, once cold and hollow was suddenly filled with heat and energy. The area was enveloped with hot air as a towering creature bursts forth from its hiding. The animals and even the monsters in the forest are filled with fear as they gaze upon its presence. It didn’t make a move, not yet. The only one that made their move is the wind blowing into the forest, to the center of the village.

…

When I reached the village, I realized that I hadn’t actually eaten anything yet. The sun is already up high, so I still have a lot of time left. I reached into my satchel to see of I had any money with me, only to find out that instead of the cool metallic feel of gold, silver, or bronze, it was the wet slimy embrace of the slime I’ve known too well. I instinctively pulled my hand out of the bag leaving behind a long sticky trail of slime from the bag.

“Yuck, how do those slimes keep their body together from being such a mess” Zeph gagged, while squinting from his eye looking disgusted from the sight.

Slimes usually have a core in their body that acts like the heart and mind of the creature and Laurel is no different. The slime started to squeeze themselves together, their slime leaving from the satchel and going closer to their core. As their slime gathers up to their body, changes from the trail of slime and mucus back into their original form. Laurel popped down into the pavement where I caught them and placed them back to the satchel, away from the money pocket.

Fortunately, it seems that Laurel doesn’t fancy eating metals as all of my money didn’t melt away. Maybe not since some of my coins were halfway into digestion but they’re good enough.

I stopped by the Chug Bug Tavern, one of the landmarks of the village of Wilderhern. It’s where I normally eat out whenever I don’t feel like cooking on my own. The food there is great and it’s one of the places where most villagers hang out and talk about anything. Travelers, merchants and the like always end up here when they visit this village, which means that you can easily find news from other villages and even rumors about many things, Including about spirits and summoning. Though most of the information you get is less accurate than the ones collected from the Archiver’s Guild (which is next door) and the place always gets rowdy in the night, with their loud parties and contests. That’s why I only go there for lunch if I’m hungry.

As I stepped inside the tavern, it was as I expected, the place was cozy and quiet with only the tavern-keep and a handful of other people hanging around. Most of them are resident villagers hanging around as regulars, while a small visiting group of adventurers gathered together at a single large table, eating silently. From the look of their armor and weapons, they intend to at least stay a night to recover, probably repair their items at the local blacksmith. I know Iris is good at repairing weapons, even more so with making them new and better ones, so it won’t take long for them to stay in Wilderhern before continuing their journey somewhere.

“You really like going on adventures, don’t you?” Zeph said, looking over my view as I looked to them intently. In the back of my head, I wondered what kind of tales they bring, their experiences and exploration. I wondered if I was in their group, experiencing their journey with them.

I turned to him and reluctantly nodded, anticipating another pestering from the spirit.

“Relax dude, I still have a lot of doubts and questions about you, but I don’t think I’ll get any answers from here, especially when there’s a lot of people.” Zeph assured me.

“Remember, people don’t see me. If you don’t want anyone else to think you’ve gone crazy, lets leave the matter of talking to spirits when private, ok?” He continued, pretty self-conscious of what happened in the morning. When I went to the tavern-keep to place my order for lunch, she noticed the slime on my satchel and must’ve recognized me for who I was.

“You must be the instructor for the afternoon training, correct?” She asked. Did the word spread too fast; it was since this morning since I was told to be an instructor right? Sweat started to build up in my forehead and fall down like rain. I felt a mix of shock and surprise from her straight-forward attitude. She giggled from my reaction and patted my shoulder.

“I’m sorry for scaring you, I heard from the guards that there is going to be a slime trainer for this afternoon’s instruction.” she said apologetically.

“I was shocked that it was possible to train slimes and even more so when I heard that they were living here all this time. And the fact that it was you of all people… You wouldn’t imagine my reaction when I heard it from Roark, especially when he said that it was you all along.” She continued, her eyes sparkling like a certain spirit.

I thought the entire village knew that me and my family were raising slimes, then again, we didn’t have much presence in the village since we lived further away in the middle of the forest, only coming from time to time. “What do you like to order today?” she asked casually.

“You know what I’m ordering every time right? It’s always the same” I answered.

“What? It’s not too late to try something new aside from the usual Meat Roast and Stew.” She told me.

“Have you ever tried our classic Chug Bug drinks” she grabbed a mug for me to offer.

“It’s still noon, right?”

“Fine” She looked defeated, she placed her mug back to the shelf and started to write down the order and relay it to the chef.

“You can go take any table you want, it’s a free day” she said.

"Thanks" I said, making my way to the nearest table.

"I'm Rosa" she said.

"Reimi" I replied back as I patiently wait for my food to arrive