“Oh, er… Uhhh, good luck out there. And, um…” Reggie floundered, clearly flustered. “By the way, are you free later tonight? I found this really nice restaurant. I know that we’ve been rather busy lately, but we should hang out sometime just like the old times, ya know? Don’t worry, I’ll pay for dinner!”

Kasla’s gaze went from Reggie to Mi-mi to back to Reggie, a mischievous grin forming. While different from back home the set up was familiar, the guard clearly trying to gather his courage. Oho, you asking a girl out? Good on you, guy! 

“Hmm, I’ll think about it,” Mimi responded after a few moments, smiling. “I’ll let you know once we come back if you’re still on duty. Otherwise let’s meet up at the Guild.”

“Alright.” Reggie nodded, clearly blushing.

His comrade sidled next to him and nudged Reggie with his shoulder. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“O-oh, right!” Reggie reached into his pocket and pulled out a small chain with a star shaped charm on it. “Here, it’s for you. It's a good luck charm.”

“Oh, that’s…” Mi-mi looked surprised at the gift. After a moment she collected herself, smiling as she took it. “Thank you, that’s sweet of you.”

Reggie smiled, some red coloring his cheeks. He cleared his throat, standing at attention. “I don’t want to keep you… Good luck.”

“Thanks. Come on, Kasla.” Mi-mi passed through the gates, Kasla following. They hadn’t gone far when Kasla overheard the two guards talking.

“You should’ve given her a good luck kiss.” The Beastman guard was clearly disappointed in his companion, shaking his head.   

“Shut up, Suul!” Reggie snapped, turning beet red as he glanced over his shoulder to see if Mi-mi overheard.

Kasla smiled, suppressing a chuckle as he quickly looked the other way. He followed Mi-mi over a small stone bridge towards the forest that lay beyond the city some distance. Silence fell between them before Kasla decided to break it after some time, the quiet gnawing at him as they left Simulan City in the distance. “I see that guy likes you. You two dating or something?”

“N-no, he’s a childhood friend,” Mi-mi startled, blushing slightly.

“I sense something deeper than that.” Kasla smirked, seizing his chance to tease back.

“Ah, are you an expert or something?” Mi-mi quirk an eyebrow at him. A teasing smile formed, perhaps thinking of throwing her earlier harem joke at him.

“Well, not really an expert, but I’ve seen similar situations a lot back home. People look similar when about to confess their love the next day or something like that. Especially at the Halmakita Fiesta.” Kasla shrugged, thinking of how it was inevitable for new couples to emerge during the festival, if not betrothed.

“Then maybe I’ll find you if I need love advice.” Mi-mi gave a wink, earning a bewildered look from Kasla.

“Wait, what?”

Mi-mi chuckled before pointing ahead. “We’re getting close to the forest. You see that?” The forest was rather dark and thick, towering trees like imposing giants guarding the way. 

Vines snaked around the trees and along the ground, carpeting it in a lush green except for the clear footpaths. A road went into the woods while a fence lined the way. Diamond-like floating objects hovered along the perimeter, safeguarding the city as monster wards.

Mi-mi opened her map as they got closer to the forest’s edge. Kasla came over to peek from the side, unable to see over her tall shoulder. “Let’s see—”

Kasla’s eyes widened as he got a good look at the map. A noise of surprise escaped him.

On the map was a clear layout of the forest, neatly labeled and detailed. There were carefully drawn out merchant trade routes, shortcuts, areas labeled as nests that listed the kind of monster inhabiting it and its rank. Even the location of herbs, flowers, berries and fruit trees were listed, with fishing spots noting the sort of fish within, water sources, village outskirts, and ore and mineral locations for mining covering the map. Sections were marked off as safe for camping, danger zones, and even quicksand locations. 

It was an intricate piece of art, down to the finest detail beyond what Kasla had ever witnessed.

“How can you even read this? There’s too many details! I don’t know where to look, there are so many distractions!” Kasla stared in awe, feeling like his eyes were about to go crazy.

“That’s just how meticulous Misterion is. You want to see something neat?” Mi-mi asked, earning an excited nod from Kasla. “His maps are also enchanted as you can see.” Her hand began to glow with mana and she placed it on the paper, making it glow.

As the mana began to fade away on the map some of the details turned invisible, ore and mineral listings disappearing in the blink of an eye. “If I put mana on the scroll and think of what to see and what not, the map will show or hide it. Then it’s not so overwhelming.”

Kasla stared in awe, thoroughly impressed. Despite his rather grumpy and distrustful personality Chrono’s father was no doubt talented. “No wonder he’s a household name! Are all mapmakers’ maps like this?”

“Oh, only Misterion can do this. We don’t know how he does it, but I hear it’s something like a talent of his.” Mi-mi shrugged. “Some mapmakers tend to want to know his trade secrets and try to replicate. However, every time they get their hands on Misterion’s maps and try to tamper with it the map burns up. All it does is increase the value of his maps and it drives competitors crazy.”

“Wow. Though I wonder… What's his vendetta against Adventurers? Do you know about that? With this amount of skill alone he could help the Adventurers’ Guild a lot.” Kasla gazed at the map, trying to figure out why such talent was kept privatized rather than protected by a big guild. 

“Oh? How did you know about him not liking Adventurers?” Mi-mi’s full attention was on Kasla despite the intriguing map in her hands.  

“His son may have told me.”

“Ah, that makes sense.” Mi-mi nodded before looking thoughtful. She looked up to the sky, watching the clouds overhead. “Well, we don’t know exactly why. He used to work in the Nara Adventurers’ Guild branch as their mapmaker about seven years ago. Then the next thing we knew he’d quit and held some kind of grudge against Adventurers. Our Guildmaster speculated something like incompetent party members accompanying him on expeditions, but it really is a mystery.”

“But if the guy can do this amount of detail for a map while being solo for how many years, he must have explored a lot! He seems to know how to handle himself.” Kasla thought of Misterion’s jump after reuniting with Chrono, demonstrating a mastery over mana. Even with a probable concussion there was no way he imagined that, not after seeing what Chrono was capable of.

Mi-mi shrugged, rolling up the map. “You’ve got a point. Who knows, maybe he’s an ex-court magician from another kingdom or something who quit his job, joined the Guild and then quit again. I doubt you’d get it out of him, he’s rather private.”

Kasla let out a thoughtful hum, nodding. It was a possibility. The father and son duo was a mystery he was eager to explore eventually. He still had to ask them about their mastery over mana without an incantation, especially Chrono at such a young age and being mute.  

“Alright, enough chitchat. Time to get this mission started.” Mi-mi placed her hands on her hips, looking at the forest. “Ready, rookie?”

“Ready!” Kasla exclaimed, giving a salute and earning a laugh.

“Welcome to the Forest of Thome.”  Mi-mi gestured to the dark forest with a wink. “Your first adventure awaits.”

⁜

“The client last saw her slime pet here near the merchants’ route. It escaped the carriage and ran off to the forest. It's been at least four days that the slime has been missing,” Mi-mi explained as the two trekked through the forest, pointing in the direction of the alleged last sighting as she held on to the map. “I’ll give you a quick test to see if you know your monsters. The slime has been lost for days, what would be its priority?”

Kasla gave it a moment of thought. “Maybe a slime colony to have shelter? Don’t they always gather in packs?”

“That is a possibility.” Mi-mi consulted the map, changing the surface of it with mana. “Hm, the only slime colony on this is at least a few kilometers ahead. I highly doubt that a slime can travel there that fast, especially in an unfamiliar environment. They can also be hostile towards outsider slimes, they’re like families.”

“How about the fishing spot here?” Kasla looked over at the map, pointing at a fishing rod drawing. “It’s nearby so we can check it out? I think they also drink water?”

“Hm, alright. Let’s check them first.” Mi-mi rolled up the map and tucked it away for safekeeping.

They ventured deeper into the forest, the sun growing fainter through the thick canopy of the trees. They watched their step as vines threatened to entangle their feet, not wishing to risk a twisted ankle. The sunlight danced through the leaves, illuminating their path just enough to not be swallowed up in the dark, cool forest.

As Kasla and Mi-mi walked they saw various creatures throughout the forest, minding their own mundane business. Giant bees larger than their hands buzzed from flower to flower, the hum of their wings nearly deafening. A big beetle the length of Kasla’s forearm ambled along with a mushroom on its back, hauling its load with ease. In the distance small fluffy rabbits with long fur and a drill like horn hopped back and forth, looking like mere round puffballs. In another area a family of boars were grazing, flowers sprouting from their back while moss-like creatures gathered together.

“Nava! Where are you?” Kasla and Mi-mi called, looking high and low for signs of the pink slime. Spotting the distinctly colored creature should have been an easy task, but there was no sign of it.

They reached the fishing spot with no slime in sight. The sound of fish splashing, snapping unsuspecting insects off the water’s surface, echoed while the chirps of cicadas sounded in the background. While it was a serene picture it was not what they were looking for.

“No luck over here.” Mi-mi frowned, eying the creek that fed the pond. “Maybe we’ll have some luck upstream.”

The duo began following the stream, checking for signs of the slime. After some minutes a thought came to Kasla. I know slimes can get thirsty, but do they eat? 

He looked at Mi-mi who was clearly focused, her brow furrowed with thought. “What do slimes eat? Do they even eat? I’ve never seen it.”

“Oh, they normally eat almost everything, from dead leaves, sticks, flowers, fruits, and berries. They’re kinda nature’s scavengers and bottom tier grazers. Typical wild slimes can survive without eating for a whole month—” Mi-mi halted, a look of realization dawning. “Wait, you're a genius!”

“I am?” Kasla blinked, unsure what he had said to solicit such praise.

“Yes! The poor guy must be hungry at this point! Come on!”