It was still early in the morning when Ofris decided to wake me up. He gently shook my shoulders, before telling me the others were already readying themselves to go. Naturally, I still needed some more minutes to get ready, especially after spending the night on the hard ground and not in the tent with Mabel.

There was no helping it. I slowly raised my battered body and walked over to Mabel, who was already busy packing her tent. I quickly helped her and then stored away her blankets and tent with my storage spell. Sophia and Jack stared at the display of strange magic in disbelief, but I chose not to entertain them. Instead I simply shoved some of the remaining stuff into my inventory, making sure to choose only items I guessed wouldn’t change too much. There was already too much fox themed stuff in Mabel’s possession, after all.

After dismantling all the tents, we made our way deeper into the wilderness and towards the mountains. With only nature to keep us entertained we quickly got to talking again.

“You should do your best to enjoy this little adventure,” Ofris told me. “We don’t know how long it will be before you get to have your next.”
“What do you mean?”
“It won’t take long before news of you will reach the capital,” he explained. “And we don’t know how the king will decide to handle this situation.”
“This situation…”

He was right. For all I knew the king could decide that marriage was the best way to produce a lot more foxes. In that regard he was close to Cilia, who seemed to have the same wishes. I could only shudder at the thought of marrying a random stranger.

“You think he will arrange a marriage for me?” I asked.
“King Hensin isn’t known to be unjust. He will make sure to hear you out first.”
“So it is a possibility…”
Ofris gently placed his hand on my head. “Don’t worry about it too much. It will be fine. Most likely he will ask you to settle in the city so you are close.”
“But what about you?” I couldn’t help but ask. “You promised me-”
“I will stay with you,” he promised once again. “Whatever happens.”
“Thank you…”

It was already late in the afternoon when we finally reached the destination Ofris had decided upon for my first real adventure. There was no dungeon awaiting us, nor a large cave or at least an abandoned, ancient city infested by monsters. Instead, he had led us to a large clearing the size of a soccer field.

There were no flowers here, no high grass, nor buildings or berry bushes. There was no small stream nor a pond. The entirety of the clearing looked as if it had been mown down with utmost care, with not a single leaf of grass growing higher than my ankles. Instead of all of this, there was a myriad of small, half transparent green balls with black eyes that were happily jumping around – slimes.

“Why slimes of all things…”
“You can train fighting here,” Ofris explained, “They are pretty tough compared to those in Siltar, but won't be able to hurt you if you pay attention. They are docile, too, and will not attack anyone, as long as they are not attacked first.”
“So they are harmless?”
“Harmless enough to set up a camp here.”
“Don't they eat flesh and dissolve corpses, turning them into a mess?!” 

All color left Ofris's face. He stared at me shocked, unable to say a single word.

“Did I say anything wrong?!”
“They are plant-eaters! They eat grass and leaves!”
“They don't eat flesh?”
“Of course they don't! I would never have brought you here if they did!”
“And they do not dissolve armor, either?”
“Why would they? They cannot eat it.”

A vivid image appeared before my inner eye. It showed slimes, doing what they were best at: being slimy and dissolving clothes, which, for whatever reason, never happened to the male members of an adventuring party.

“What about clothing?” I heard myself ask.
Ofris only stared at me for a moment before answering. “I planned on you using magic from afar.”
“What the fuck!? I'm not doing this! No chance at all!”
「But your magic got stronger. Shouldn't it be fine?」
“There is a thing called flag!”
「A white one? I can give it to you, you know?」
“You know exactly what I am talking about!”
「Maybe I do.」
“You do!”
「It will be fiine~」
“It won't.”
「Oh Rika~」
“What?!”

A green screen appeared in front of my eyes, instantly turning my worries into real threats. I felt pearls of sweat rolling down my back, as I read the description of the quest.

『Quest accepted: Flags and Slimes

Description: Kill slimes without the assistance of other party members. Slimes injured using traps will grant no bounty.

Bounty: Grants 50 Exp for each slime killed. This bounty is increased by 50 for each additional slime killed up to a maximum of 500. Current bonus: 50 + 0.

Remaining Time: 23 hours, 59 minutes, 55 seconds.』

“Not again…”
“What is wrong,” Ofris asked when he was close enough to whisper, “is it the goddess?”
“She gave me a quest…”
“A quest?”
“Or a task,” I corrected myself. “She wants me to kill those slimes without getting any help.”
“What is in it for you?”
“A bunch of experience points.”
“What are experience points?”
“I will get stronger fast!”
“Isn't that exactly what we came here for?”
“But aren't those things dangerous?”
“They aren't. Trust me.”
“Can you lend me your sword, then?”

Ofris wordlessly grabbed for his sword and, still in its sheath, placed it in my two hands. It took only two or three seconds for him to claim it back, but those had been far more than enough for me to grasp my inability to use such kinds of weapons.

“Drawing a bow is even more taxing,” he explained. “You should use your magic instead.”
“But what about my mana? It will run out!”
“Won't it be fine as long as you rest as soon as you feel dizzy? Just use the spell that uses the lowest amount of mana.”
“The lowest amount of mana …”

I already knew the answer to that question. There was just one magic to use among that could actually damage more than the self-esteem of either me or its target. Foxfire was my bread and butter magic. It was strong and could not only target one target but a whole group of it. The mana cost, however, was far too big to use it on such big numbers.

“Fiery Ballet is the only option …”
「Don't worry, it will look great!」
“That is exactly the issue!”
「Your dress is easy to move in~」
“I can't dance!”
「The slimes won't mind.」
“...”
“What is it?”
“Nothing. Just don't ask.”

After sighing a few times and questioning every single life choice that had led to me being on this clearing, preparing to dance for an army of slimy monsters, I slowly walked towards the first group of them.

“Don't let yourself get hurt,” Ofris' warning came from behind, “you understand?”
“I can outrun them, right?”
“If you run, yes, easily.”
“So there is no issue …”
“We will set up the camp. Whatever you do, stay near us.”
“I will …” 

I turned around to make sure Ofris was in a rather safe distance before I started preparing for my so-called 'magic'.

“Fiery Ballet!”

I quickly spun around, cheered on by the gleeful Cilia and stared on by countless slimes. A slime that had chosen to idle around in the wrong place and time was my first victim. After being hit by the first of many foxfires, its oozy green mass slowly spread on the ground, setting free the grass and leaves it had eaten earlier the day. It looked as if a large animal had emptied its stomach right in front of me.

“Eww!”
「You only needed one hit!」
“They are as weak as the ones in Siltar …”

Seeing their comrade dissolving to nothing but lifeless goo, the two other slimes that were close to me weren't exactly happy. But instead of fleeing like they should do, they just came charging at me – at walking speed. I immediately started spinning again.

“Time for some grinding!”