That time a War Photographer was reincarnated as a Slime

Chapter 4: Connection

Veldora was met with an interesting question. For three hundred years he was imprisoned in this cave by humanity. And now here he is, answering questions from a being from the same race that took away his freedom, it's almost poetic. Yet, he doesn't mind a single bit, he has long passed the stage of self-destructive impulse. To him, a good talk is everything, even if it's again the thing that he used to hate the most.

"I have heard that people from other worlds came to us through summoning magic or a portal. But, none of them are like you" Veldora says as he gazes into Satoru with a relish look

"Magic? Portal?" Satoru widen his eyes out of confusion

"You don't know about magic?" Veldora is surprised

"Those kind of thing don't exist in my world, they are just made up stuffs"

"Very interesting. How did you arrive here without knowing about magic?"

"I don't know, I wish I had the answer to this. I just remember dying on a battlefield then I woke up here"

Veldora stops and laid back for a bit. He never thought that he would see something this fascinating. The creature in front of him has the body of a mindless slime, but a soul of a human. He has no idea how this being is able to retain its humanity, or even function at all. He has so many questions, so many things he wants to ask, but he knows it's better to be cooperative for now, so he can wipe away the air of mistrust around them. So, he play along and tries his best to answer its question

"Could it be that only your soul was sent here? This the first time I heard a soul being able to survives traveling between dimensions on its own"

Somehow, Satoru was both surprised and wasn't at the same time by that answer. All of this talk about souls and other worlds is complete gibberish to him, as he believes in neither of those things. Yet, after seeing some of the things in this cave, a giant dragon using telepathy has forced him to accept this new reality, even if it contradicts everything he knew. This whole situation is like a manga plotline, it's so absurd and out of this world that he can't even question it and has no choice but to play along. 

"So, you're saying that my soul travelled here after I died? Is this some sort of Hell?" He makes a joke and tries his best to play along.

"Unfortunately, no. The place we are in right now is the Great Jura Forest. At least that is what it's called the last time I walked the surface. Three hundred years have passed, so it might be a desert right now for all I know" He squints his eyes with a slight frustration lurking in them

"You have been trapped here for three hundred year!?!" Satoru says with the most shocked expression he has

"Yes" He replies with such a calm demeanor that it's almost like it's no big deal

Astounded is an understatement for what Satoru is experiencing right now. The idea of being locked in here for three hundred years while being all alone is incomprehensible to him. He wonders how this dragon can endure that level of torture, as he can't even stay in solitude for an entire week without feeling like something is wrong. What kind of action one must do to receive this level of punishment?

"That is unreal, how much time do you have left?"

"My trial is an eternal little one, it never ends. But my body won't be able to hold on for more than one hundred years from now. So I will eventually die in this cage" He says with a shaky voice

Death is his final punishment? Even though Satoru doesn't know the full picture of this event, he still sympathizes with him, which pushes him to seek out the cause even more.