The mana source was just ahead. Leaves crunched and branches snapped as I pushed off the ground with my pseudopods and thrust my center of gravity forwards. Weaving through the forest in the dark was a challenge, but manageable now that I could sense a subtle stream of mana flowing through each tree.

With mana perception, the woods around us glowed dimly of emerald, giving it a mystical and beautiful feel.

Finally, I emerged into a small clearing where Coffee was. I could hear her heavy breathing approaching closer to me. Stopping right in front of me, she entered my night-adjusted vision with crossed arms and an angry glare on her face.

'Why did you follow me? Are you stupid?' She plopped onto the ground and crossed her legs.

'Only as stupid as you are. Do you even have anywhere to go?' I retorted.

'...'

'That's what I thought.'

'So what, you have a better idea?' She shot at me bitterly.

'Let's go back, I can convince--'

'Ha, you're naive if you think they'll change that way of thinking so easily.'

'I'll--'

'Naive. You'd be better off forgetting about me and going back by yourself.'

I took a deep breath. I was tired of being interrupted every time and being treated like a child.

'Will you fucking listen to me? My parents will come around after I talk to them. The way they treated you was unfair and unjust. No matter what happened between them and the vampires, it doesn't mean they should push that prejudiced view onto you.'

'And how do you know that I'm not the enemy?'

'I'm not stupid. That wouldn't make sense.'

'...What do you mean?' Coffee asked suspiciously.

I had thought a lot about this topic while tracking her down.

'First, when I asked you to come down from the tree we were hiding in, you did so without hesitation despite that you were in a magic-sealed state. That means that you didn't anticipate the adversion between slimes and vampires, which wouldn't make sense if you had come to our Kingdom to harm us.

'Your unawareness increases the likelihood that your previous statement was credible: that you woke up two days ago and escaped from the mimic. After all, if you came here as his aide or on your own as a hostile force, you would've known about the dangers of exposing yourself like you did. So, what probably happened was that you were captured and brought here without your knowledge.

'That brings us to the question of, why? I haven't seen a mimic before in my life, but I think it's a safe assumption to say that they are not friends of the Slime Kingdom. So why did he bring you here, the bottom floor of the dungeon, holding you captive?

'Well, I distinctly heard him say two things. One, he said that you caused him trouble. This could refer to the ass-stabbing that you told me about, or something completely different. Second, he said that his 'higher ups' didn't care what he did with you anymore. Somewhere along the way, you must've given him a reason to think that you had lost your value, turning him hostile against you.

'He was probably going to use you somehow as a tool against us. But the very fact that he had to capture you to bring you here means that you aren't inherently our enemy. Your loss of value to him and his organization means that you were no longer useful as that tool anyway.

'Therefore, it doesn't make sense for you to be our enemy.' I concluded.

Coffee grimaced and put a finger on her chin. She seemed to be in deep thought.

'Any objections?'

'...'

'Then, was I right that he changed his mind about you at some point and turned hostile?'

She nodded.

'Do you have any idea why?'

'...The very fact that I didn't know where I was.' She replied simply.

'What does that mean...?'

'...I-I...' she hesitated. 'I have something to confess. I don't remember anything about myself other than what I learned after I woke up. General knowledge things are okay, but I can't recall any events that happened further than two days ago...'

'...'

It was my turn to be quiet. This opened up a whole new world of possibilities. It was completely possible that Coffee lost her value because of her... amnesia, meaning that she could've been working with the mimic the entire time.

No, wait. That's wrong.

If she had known that she was coming to our Kingdom, she would have at the very least remembered the relationship between slimes and vampires, right? Then again, I didn't know how amnesia worked. Sigh.

Hmm? If so, why was her name, Coffee?

'If you don't remember anything, what about your name?' I asked. She looked away.

'I came up with it. The word just... came to me when I noticed the color of my hair. I vaguely remember that someone I was very close with would often say that word... I think.'

That didn't make sense. Was she lying? I had never seen nor heard of coffee in this world. Perhaps there was a word that was similar? That didn't make much sense either. It had to be associated with her chestnut brown hair. Was coffee a drink that existed in the Vampire Kingdom? It was unlikely. If there was anything that I knew about coffee, though, it would be that it was made out of ground-up, dried coffee beans. That would mean that coffee plants existed in the dungeon? Perhaps a human who knew about coffee visited the Vampire Kingdom from the surface? Or...

A human. Who knew about coffee. The chances were close to none. But I couldn't shake off this feeling. Could it be?

'Coffee, does the name Jay-Eff-Kay sound familiar to you?' I held my breath.

'...? No.'

I hung my head in disappointment. Well, what did I expect. Even if she did know my grandfather, JFK were his initials in the first place. I reprimanded myself for not asking mom for his name sooner.

I shifted my attention back to the topic of Coffee's amnesia. No matter how I looked at it, this girl in front of me didn't seem like she bore any hostility towards me. She didn't show any hostility towards my family, either. Rather, she had tried to push me away from her so that I would be the foolish young boy, and she would be the evil schemer who manipulated me. No one with bad intentions would ever do something as stupid as announcing their plans. It was pretty clear that it was an act.

No, Coffee was definitely telling the truth about her amnesia. There was little reason for her to lie given that it would increase her suspiciousness and possibility for involvement in some elaborate plot to harm the Kingdom.

Ba-dump.

But... wouldn't that mean that ever since she woke up, she had gone through some pretty terrifying things, had gotten lost in a Kingdom that was prejudiced against her, and found that the first person who helped her out was actually a member of the very Kingdom that wanted her gone or dead? Was she okay? She did seem mature for her age, but...

I glanced back at her.

While I was absorbed in my thoughts, Coffee had uncrossed her legs and was now hugging them, with a sad, contemplative expression on her face.

Shit!

In my suspicion, I had neglected how she must be feeling. Fuck, why was I so incompetent when it came to these things? A kid with amnesia in the middle of a forest; no family, no friends, ostacized and alone. No matter how mature she was, she would obviously be scared and lonely. Not really knowing what to do, I hopped over and nuzzled against her leg.

'?! What are you doing?' She asked, surprised.

'I'm freezing.'

She stared at me, but I didn't feel the need to say anything more. For a brief moment, I let the tension fade from my mind and body, and just closed my eyes. It was just the two of us here. In the middle of a forest of emerald glow, our two mana cores pulsed softly.

I was reminded of the times when my childhood friend and I would sit on a bench under the starry sky at our local park. This one time, she had just gone through a shitty breakup with a guy who cheated on her. We had both seen it coming, but that didn't make it hurt any less. As for me, my grandfather had passed away earlier that day to alzheimers. His last moments were spent asking dad where his son was; dad couldn't do anything but cry as he begged his father to remember him.

My friend and I, time and time again, would meet at this bench whenever something sad happened in our lives, silently watching the stars meld together into one blurry cluster of brilliant light against the dark sky. Shoulder against shoulder, there was nothing that could make me feel as connected as that simple touch between two kindred souls.

I opened my eyes.

This girl beside me, who was alone in the world. I wanted to help her. Something about her reminded me of my childhood friend. At the very least, I would try to help her find her family and recover her memories.

'Pfft... hahaha!'

I quizzically looked at her as she laughed while wiping a tear from her eye.

'You're so weird, haha,' she said, still laughing.

'How so?'

'You just are.'

'...What a convenient answer.'

'Oh shut up,' she quipped. 'So, what's the plan? I'm sure your parents are looking for us right now.'

'Let's go back and talk to them. I think that's the best solution. No matter what, I promise that I'll make sure they understand the truth.'

'I still don't think it'll be easy...'

'Me neither,' I recalled the harsh words I had said before leaving. I inwardly regretted it, but felt that it was a necessary trigger for them to even begin considering seeing things from the other side. Their hatred just seemed so overwhelming. If I had more time, I would've stuck around to convince them, but there wasn't. Coffee might have vanished for good.

A part of me wished that I could go back and handled everything differently. After all, one of the reasons my parents didn't want me to get involved was because they were worried for me, especially since I wouldn't have had a proper grasp of the situation. They came all the way out there to search for me, and even fought against a mimic to protect me.

But could I live with myself if I did the wrong thing just to avoid conflict with my family?

Could I live with myself if I did the right thing but ended up having my family hate me?

My mind became clouded because I couldn't come to an answer. My morals and my family were both important to me. Why did I have to choose one over the other?

Hold on. In reality, did I even have to choose one over the other?

Perhaps it wasn't my intention that was wrong; rather, my way of communicating it was wrong. I smacked myself a few times with this realization. There had to have been a better way to get the message across. This wasn't some sort of anime or manga where everything would go my way as long as I had a pure heart or strong motivation. This was real. The people I loved dearly could get hurt by my words.

Fuck. I had to go and apologize as soon as possible, and also convince them that Coffee was someone that needed our support, rather than our hostility. The task was daunting, but I was resolved to see this through. This circumstance was, in part, my responsibility, and I would make things right again.

'Let's go, Coffee.'

'Alright, do you know the way?'

I froze. I hadn't thought about that.

'Just kidding~ I remember the way back,' she teased.

My god, she was exactly like my friend.

'...Stupid.'

Coffee put me on her head and stood up.

'You're stupid,' she said, walking into the forest once again.

'No, you're stupid.'

'I guess we're both stupid, then.'

'I can live with that.'