“The hero's heart disagrees pt 2.”

Unsurprisingly, Emrys's map was right and we reached yet another hill, albeit not as steep. But unfortunately, Jorvain was right about the king slime which slept in a deep slumber in the center of the hill surrounded by its offspring.

“This…is not good.”

Emrys grimaced, looking along the hill.

“One wrong step and we wake up the whole hill.”

Maelis said with a sigh.

“Is it even possible to pass through without waking up the whole hill?”

Dain asks, putting his helmet on.

“That’s a good question, is it?”

Jorvain asks, turning to Maelis.

“Yes, but, it’s not gonna be easy.”

Maelis says, stroking their eyebrows with exhaustion.

“The second option is fighting our way through, which would automatically wake up the king slime who if threatened, would then fuse with his offspring growing bigger and then probably impossible to kill!”

Emrys exclaims panicking at the probability.

“Hm, well, what do you think Roba?”

Jorvain says turning to me.

I stand five feet away from the others, my hands on my sword.

“With Emrys’ explanation, it’d probably be reckless for us to go in fighting, as much as I’d like to slay the king slime, it’d take too much time and be too dangerous, and this hill is a fully fused slime field, so, we can’t even save it or slow the fusion.”

I say somberly.

“So what’s the plan?”

Dain asks.

“I have one, but not everyone's gonna like it.”

Maelis says knowingly.

***

“Alright, first Jorvain.”

Maelis instructs.

Dain huffs as he picks Jorvain up, cradling him in his arms.

“This is ridiculous “.

He mumbles.

“What, you’ve carried us all plenty of times! “

Maelis says with a grin.

“Yeah but, not through a hill of slimes! “

Dain whines.

“Uh, why are the slimes moving like that?”

Jorvain asks from up in Dain’s arms, pointing to the field.

We all turn to look and sure enough, although asleep, the slimes' bodies sway as if the wind were pushing against their mass.

“The wind, duh.”

Maelis says with an eye roll.

“Not quite, wind doesn’t affect slime gel the way it affects say leaves or hair, it makes its way through the mass of their bodies instead of pushing against them.”

Emrys corrects haughtily.

“So then what is it?”

Maelis says with a piqued tone.

“Well…” Emrys pauses “I’m actually not sure—

“It’s my sword?”

I mutter, lifting it—and sure enough, the slimes' bodies react, as if my sword were strings pulling them towards me.

“I thought your sword was good against slimes! Not for slimes! “

Maelis shouts in disbelief

“Uh, well it’s kinda both, it pulls them to me and it’s very useful against them, but I usually have more control over that aspect.”

I say quietly.

“Looks like his Ardor is affecting more than just himself and us.”

Emrys says with furrowed brows

“He’s right there Emrys.”

Dain says with a raised brow

“Huh, well of course he is, he isn’t a figment of my imagination.”

She says looking confused.

Dain huffs

“So when you’re referring to him, just look him in the eyes and say his name.”

He says glancing at me.

I feel a gentle pang in my chest.

“R-right I... I didn’t mean to…”

Her face goes red as her words slowly falter.

“Ah, no that’s fine Emrys, i’m sure it wasn’t deliberate. My dad once said that when someone begins to say your name, they’ve come to acknowledge you as someone in their life, and that it’s not hard to tell someone loves you once they come to say your name in a way others don’t.”

I say with a small sheepish smile.

“I..i’m not sure I get it, you can’t really be sure of how you're saying someone's name can you?”

Her brows are furrowed, and her eyes avoid mine as she grips her map nervously. I don’t know if it’s guilt or discomfort, but I’ve gotta try to understand it.

“It’s like…well it’s like how you say Jorvain’s name.”

I say without thinking, but the second I do, I kinda regret it.

“W-What are you trying to say!? “

She exclaims, clenching her fist “I-I say everyone’s name exactly the same! And implying—

“You say Maelis’ name with a kind of motherly tone, a bit annoyed but caring. You say Dain’s with respect and appreciation, and Jorvain’s name, well I think you say it with this amazing admiration that really makes your eyes shine.”

They all freeze and suddenly my face feels flushed

“T-that’s just an observation of course; I’m not claiming I—

“You’ve totally got Emrys down to a science!”

Maelis exclaims with a laugh

“Couldn’t be more accurate”.

Dain agrees with a nod, a small smile on his face.

“You’re so… observant, Roba.”

Jorvain says with an impressed shimmer in his eyes, smiling at me.

I blush, sheepishly scratching my head.

“Really? Oh uh, I’m glad you think so…it really was just an observation “.

I say shyly.

“Aw, he’s cute when he blushes too!”

Maelis laughs, gesturing towards me.

“Isn’t he?”

Jorvain squeals

“Don’t tease him.”

Dain scolds

“Enough!”

Emrys hollers, stomping her feet—

“I-I mean, shouldn’t we start making our way down the hill?”

She says sheepishly, clearing her throat.

“Quiet down Em, you’ll wake the whole hill if you holler like that.”

Maelis says with their hands on their hips

“But you're right, with this newfound information about Roba’s sword, we’ll have to make some adjustments.”

“Adjustments?”

I ask, a gentle furrow in my brow.

***

With Jorvain at the bottom, held in one of Dain’s arms, Maelis is held in the other. And on one side of his shoulder is a muttering Emrys, and then there’s me.

“Uh, aren’t I heavy?”

I ask, holding the top of Dain’s head for balance.

“One more pebble in the pond.”

He says plainly.

I raise a brow

“Don’t bother making sense of that, he sometimes just says things.”

Maelis says with a shrug.

“Sure.”

I say with a small smile.

“Let’s get a move on, we don’t know when they’re gonna wake.”

Emrys says, in a piqued tone.

“Fair, let’s hurry.”

Jorvain says.

But Dain doesn’t move.

“Dain?”

Maelis says, poking his helmet.

“I can’t really look down like this, and, I’m worried I’ll step on a slime and come sliding down the hill with all of you on top of me. Until we slide right into the king slime and drown. Never making it to Sloth, never achieving our dreams.”

He says with horror filling his voice with every word.

“Wow…that was uncharacteristically honest and vulnerable Dain… are you okay?”

Maelis asks with furrowed brows.

“What? Yeah I...I don’t really know why I said that, I really do just say things sometimes.”

He says groggily

“Uh, you don’t think it’s because I’m touching you, right? My Ardor could still be acting up.”

I say quietly.

“That’s it! And it's scrambling Dain’s as well.”

Maelis says in awe.

“Who's to say it won’t do the same to us?”

Emrys says looking away with furrowed brows.

“It might...but the sooner we make it down the hill the better”.

Jorvain says with a small smile.

“I’m sorry everyone, I really don’t know what’s up with me.”

I mutter with frustration.

“It’s alright, it’s not the worst, it seems to have calmed down from earlier, but if you think about it too much it might get worse.”

Maelis says cautiously

“Got it!”

I say, determined to keep things under control.

“But back to Dain, I think he has a point about walking down a slime-infested hill.”

Emrys says full of nerves, wrapping her arms around Dain's helmet—

Which causes him to make a sudden abrupt movement to the side.

“Whoa.”

He says in shock

“What was that?”

Maelis asks

“I just, put my arms on his helmet, I guess his head moving like that made him lose his footing…wait! That’s it!” Emrys exclaims full of excitement.

“I don’t get it.”

Maelis says.

“It’s his head, with his arms occupied, and his legs carrying so much weight, his body is relying on the pull of his head to balance itself as it normally would, so if we move his head we can move his body to help him avoid the slimes and make it down the hill.”

Emrys explains, clearly very proud of her observation.

“That’s kinda genius”.

I say aloud

“Hm, well I think so too.”

Emrys responds, glancing at me.

“Ohhh, I get it! That is kinda genius, but only you two can steer his head.”

Maelis says, pointing to both Emrys and me, we look away from each other.

“So, you’ll have to work together! “

Jorvain exclaims

“Oh…is that right? I don’t see why I couldn’t just do it myself.”

Emrys weakly argues.

“Well, you can only see ahead and from your side, but Roba can see from the other side, so your combined versions will give Dain the best shot of making it down the hill.”

Jorvain says with a smile.

“Of course…you’re obviously right, I guess I’ll be in charge of steering right.”

She says, sounding noticeably unenthusiastic.

“Then I’ll do my best on the left.”

I say nervously.

“Then let’s work as a team!”

Jorvain says pumping his fist.

“Huh, but you’re not doing anything but being carried.”

Maelis adds, although the same notion applies to them as well.

“I’m gonna use my Ardor to motivate everyone!”

Jorvain says, smiling from ear to ear.

“That could work to combat Roba’s negative Ardor.”

Emrys adds, seemingly liking the idea.

“Could we hurry up and start already! My legs are going numb!”

Dain barks.

“Wait, what about our horse and wagon?”

I ask, glancing back at Agnes Jr Smith and the wagon still on top of the hill.

“An elegant animal like that, has poise and precision, if we call to it, it’ll just follow along behind us, walking amongst the slimes, without waking a single one.”

Emrys exclaims, full of admiration.

“It’s us, I’d worry about.”

Maelis says with a huff.

***

“Left! “

I shout, tilting Dain's head to the side.

“Right! “

Emrys exclaims, yanking his head from my hands and pulling it to the side.

“Right again!”

She shouts once more.

“Why are you both yelling? I can hear you just fine!”

Dain barks.

Maelis bursts out laughing, hugging their staff to their body.

“Well if you walk that slowly my directions won’t matter cause you’ll be stepping in slime.”

Emrys scolds.

“I’ll slip if I don’t walk slowly! “

Dain shouts back.

“Well, we won’t shout if it makes it harder.”

I say gently.

“Sure, but you’ve gotta make sure to move along with us “.

Emrys says with a sigh.

“Like one big body, working as one! “

Jorvain adds.

“Just don’t fall, we’d tumble and splat into slime.”

Maelis bluntly.

“That doesn’t help.”

Dain huffs.

“Hey! Lighten up everyone, there’s no rush, there’s no pressure, just us on a hill full of colorful slimes, glistening in the sunlight. There’s a gentle breeze, and there’s all of us to enjoy it together.”

Jorvain says peacefully.

“Well, we shouldn’t exactly be here when these slimes wake up from their nap.”

Emrys adds.

“That also doesn’t help!”

Dain repeats, more stressed than before

“There’s also definitely pressure, seeing as—

“How about we talk about something that won’t totally stress Dain out?”

Jorvain suggests with a smile.

“Well, I did have a question I thought Maelis might be able to answer?”

I ask, glancing down at Maelis.

“Sure, ask away.”

Maelis says.

“Why do you think my Ardor’s…all messed up?”

I ask bitterly.

“It began with that slime right? The day we came to your village.”

They ask.

I nod.

“Well it couldn’t have been the slime, they’re good vessels for Ardor and they can drain Ardor from the human body but once their core is shattered, it’s released.”

Emrys adds.

“Well, sure, it wasn’t the slime itself, but, maybe it was a catalyst?”

Jorvain suggests.

“Now we’re getting somewhere “.

Maelis says with a snap of their finger.

“It wasn’t hard to see how shattering that moment was for you Roba… I’ve got no right to talk about it. But it could have something to do with your Ardor.”

“Could it?”

My voice cracks.

“Ardor is just an amalgamation of soul and feelings. When something traumatic happens to us it leaves marks and scars on those things. And that creates an internal battle.”

Dain adds.

“Sometimes that battle is so strong people never beat it, and because of that people can get to a point where they cannot control their ardor, it controls them, chaotic and painful.

Maelis continues.

“I think it’s best to ask yourself why, why did that moment make such a sharp shift? Why can’t you let it go?”

They finish.

“I see…”

I say gently, leaning against Dain’s head.

“R-right?”

Dain asks

“No! Left!”

Emrys shouts.

“Ah! Sorry, that was me.”

I say sheepishly.

“Hey, you’ll figure it out Roba.”

Jorvain says softly, looking off at our surroundings.

“There was a time when I completely split from who I was, it was painful and agonizing.”

He laughs, bittersweetly. His eyes glimmering with this look that makes my breath catch in my throat.

“But then I realized, I never got to decide who I was, and once I did, I like to think I became me, not someone new from who I was in the beginning.”

“Really?”

I ask, my brows furrowed.

“Who are you now?”

I say looking down at him in Dain’s arms, and he looks back up at me with a smile.

“I’m Jorvain Alberchet, the great hero who won’t rest till this great world has found peace free of the terror of the sins and Demons.”

He says passionately

And bittersweetly smiling.

Will this blob of slime I have for a heart’s hunger ever stop greedily growling and grumbling?

What am I hungry for? A hero’s heart which I don’t have. In my head, it must be the sweetest thing I’ll ever taste.

“Left!”

I shout

“What? No it’s right!”

Emrys barks, yanking Dain’s head.

“Those slimes are close by he’ll have to go further to the left and then the right to avoid the mass!”

I shout.

“Alright so then we’ll pull and push his head as if we were rowing a boat!”

Emrys says with determination, and as if it were contagious, I catch it too

“Alright!”

I exclaim.

“Left!”

She shouts

“Right!”

And I do too.

“I thought we agreed you two morons would stop shouting like that!”

Dain barks even louder than both of us.

“Oh, are we all shouting now?!”

Jorvain exclaims, excitedly shouting even louder than Dain

“You’re all gonna wake the field, so for the love of the seven heavenly attributes shut the hell up!”

Maelis shrieks so loud all our hands shoot up to our ears—including Dain’s who drops Jorvain and Maelis to do so, and sends Emrys and me off his shoulders—

We all come crashing down the hill, rolling and tumbling through slime—

I hit the ground.

****

“His eyes are open!”

Maelis exclaims, pumping their fist in joy

I blink my vision adjusting to a light that filters through the leaves of the trees that surround us.

Huh, but weren’t we on a hill?

“I told you he’d be fine.”

Emrys says with a relieved smile.

“Tougher than I thought Reman.”

Dain says his voice laced with respect.

“Hey hero, are you alright?”

Jorvain says gently, and my eyes going wide, my vision finally clears.

Eyes landing on his, my bandaged head rested on his lap. He smiles softly at me, his light long hair free from its ponytail, messy with bits of gel.

“It’s just like that day…”

I say with a groggy laugh, and a wistful smile.

His eyes widen

“Huh?”

I just laugh, I laugh so much it feels like I’ll cry, but I don’t.

And as they all gather round me, covered in gel and grass, battered and bruised, brows furrowed with confusion. I smile.

Yeah, maybe I really can find my place here, even if I lack a hero’s heart, I’m surrounded by heros all the same, that’s enough for me…i’ll watch these heros and their hearts change the world and I’ll cheer them on, helping anyway I can.

That has to be enough for me and my greedy heart.

“Whoa, he’s totally lost it, how hard did he hit his head?”

Maelis says with a grimace.

“We should probably explain.”

Emrys says with a sheepish smile.

But why, even now with this smile on my face and this feeling in my heart, is it not enough?

I guess...my heart still disagrees.