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Chapter 66

"Since every moment is urgent, I'd appreciate it if you could pick up the pace."

Her expression was the most relaxed I'd seen. At Aria's words, the sylph smiled silently and disappeared.

"Ah! The fairy's gone!"

"……It's a sylph. A spirit of the wind."

I thought, How uncharacteristically kind of her to explain everything, when my body suddenly lurched forward. Wooah. Elija caught me before my squishy body could tumble. Nice catch.

"Whoa!"

"Aaaah!"

Everyone flailed their arms to keep their balance.

The wagon had suddenly sped up dramatically!

The luggage in the back clattered and jostled.

"The horses! They're floating in the air!"

From the front, Melden screamed.

What? I couldn't believe my ears, thinking I'd misheard.

"I asked the sylph for help."

The horses are floating in the air, yet the wagon is moving!

Incredibly fast, even though it's not downhill!

Melden's panicked voice faded into the background. He mustn't have noticed the sylph being summoned, since he was on the driver's seat. Poor Melden.

"Melden! Don't worry! Aria's doing it!"

Elija stuck his head out into the howling wind and shouted. What a spectacle.

Anyway, thanks to the spirits working hard, the path was cleared in record time.

"It's like a roller coaster!"

"The wind is whipping my hair!"

"Eu-ha-hat, this is hilarious!"

Me, Leon, and Delro were just happy. When would we ever have such a rare experience?

During this, Elija tilted his head, wondering what a 'roller coaster' was. Oops. They don't have those here. Pretending not to notice, I kept a big smile on my face, pressed against the window.

Once a certain speed was maintained and everyone settled down a bit, they looked at Aria with renewed wonder.

"You command spirits?"

"Not command. They are beings that accompany us. I merely borrow their power."

Aria cut off Delro's words sharply.

Heum. Delro nodded.

"Spirit mages are quite rare among us, but elves seem naturally close to spirits."

Elija also cautiously spoke, saying it was his first time seeing a spirit in person.

"Elves are born connected to nature, so it's only natural that we have good affinity with spirits."

Aria answered as if it were nothing and turned away. She even crossed her arms, signaling no further interest.

But I still had so many questions!

"Aria, are all earth spirits like that?"

"……."

"Sylph looks kind of like me!"

……She wouldn't even glance my way. Fine, let's see who wins.

I persistently moved my upper body to try to meet Aria's eyes, then ppal-jjak hopped onto the lap of Leon, who was sitting beside Aria. Leon naturally hugged me tight. Though I'd gotten a bit bigger in this human form, my weight was still the same as before, so I was very light. You could think of it as having a squishy rice cake on your lap.

……Hmm, plus a few bundles of herbs, a few magic stones, and Elija's gifts for weight?

'Ahem. Still, I'm much lighter than a human!'

I swung my legs on Leon's lap.

And so, the next day and the day after, I kept hovering around Aria, gradually closing the distance.

After repeatedly sitting quietly beside her and staring intently, Aria, who'd initially ignored me and moved away, eventually started ignoring me and going about her business as if I were just a minor annoyance.

"Echo, shall we light a fire?"

"……Ung, but magic stones are precious, so just tell Delro to do it."

Elija's pretty golden eyes curved roundly as he approached me, but I was busy trying to befriend the elf. I'll play with you later!

"……Echo, do you want a candy? I found a few left while organizing the bag."

Candy? I thought they were all gone since we bought so few! My eyes lit up at the news.

"Okay!"

I smiled brightly, and Elija took my hand.

"But later. After we eat, okay?"

He. I'm a slime with excellent self-control.

"La, later?"

Elija's fingers, holding my hand, paused and slackened.

Elija. Dessert comes after a meal. Don't be disappointed, just wait a little.

"Ah."

Thinking about food, a question suddenly came to mind. I quickly spoke to Aria.

"Aria! Are there fire spirits too?"

Elija trudged back to his spot.

"Aria! It's easier to say your name, huh? I can speak clearly now!"

Aria, Aria, Arya.

Aria chewed on an apple with a bored expression. When will Aria ever answer me without ignoring my words……?

That night, Elija patted my head chak-chak and popped a candy into my mouth.

Ah, after flirting with the elf all day, being with Elija is healing……. So warm.

"Echo, do you like Aria that much?"

"Ung. Aria's pretty. And the spirits are cool too."

Just looking at them is healing. With beauty like a meticulously embroidered artwork, she doesn't pick fights like Delro, and she doesn't steal my food either. Keuk-keuk. An elf who eats little—perfect as a friend, right?

Of course, watching the spirits is the number one reason for my interest.

"They're so much fun to watch!"

"I see……."

Elija murmured quietly. Elves are famous for their beauty, after all……. Elija fidgeted with my hand, lost in thought.

Why? Are you thinking about how pretty Aria is too?

I quietly recalled Aria's face—platinum blonde hair, cool gray eyes.

A laugh escaped me naturally. Hehe. Elf unnie is so pretty. Over 200 years old, so it's okay to call her unnie, right?

After falling asleep in a good mood, I woke up the next day.

Full of energy, I decided to try a different approach to Aria today.

'I'll switch back to my small slime form instead of human!'

I recalled when I first targeted Elija's side. There's no better strategy for getting close!

My small slime body bounced around the elf.

How about it? Cute, right? Cute, right? Doesn't it look much more harmless and fragile?

Teop.

"Muing."

The head I'd been trying to make look so cute was roughly grabbed.

"Wha."

Annoyed, I looked up and met Melden's blue-green eyes staring down at me, chillingly cold.

"……Wha."

Melden du-beok-du-beok walked with me in hand.

"Enough of that. Stick by your owner."

And he thump tossed me onto the spot beside Elija.

"Aish!"

Why are you throwing me around!

Trembling, I jumped and stuck splat to Melden.

"You, I cooled you down when you turned blue, and carried you when you drank too much!"

Melden, casually pushing up his glasses, peeled me off and brought me close to his face.

Then, frowning, he whispered quietly.

"……Ever since yesterday, the young master has been checking his reflection in the lake."

Why would he…….

I pouted my lips, but then yesterday's events came to mind. No way.

"As if the young master is lacking anything! He's far more precious than any elf!"

Melden lowered his voice to an almost inaudible whisper, his hand holding me trembling bureureu.

"He spent 10 minutes longer than usual washing up. And then he had this gloomy expression……."

Did he think I'd fallen head over heels for the elf?

Hmm, well, it's true, but still. I awkwardly rolled my eyes.

Aria is certainly dazzlingly beautiful, but Elija is my companion human—why worry? We've been through so much together. I tilted my dangling body to the side.

Had I really been that glued to Aria lately?

"Muuung."

With eyes like a dog that's caused some mischief, I quietly gauged Melden's reaction. How did he even know? When it comes to Elija, he's got unbelievable perceptiveness.

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