The Slime Queen had believed she knew every slime evolution path. After all, the moment she became the highest-ranking individual, she became aware of the many evolutionary possibilities that might have been open to her. It was something like a privilege granted to monsters that reached the very top.

That was why she had never seen one of her kin possess an evolutionary possibility she did not know about. Yet now, among the options offered to the slime, one had appeared that even she did not recognize. In other words, it was a possibility she had never been given—an unknown option.

[Squishy Queen]▶My kin! Hurry and explain it in detail!

Worried that this unknown option might harm the slime, and curious to learn about a possibility unfamiliar to her, the Slime Queen urged it to explain.

Just then...

TAP!

"Bouncy!"

Claire approached the slime.

"Are you okay?"

'It's Claire!'

The slime closed the evolution notification window and looked at her.

"Are you hurt?" Claire asked anxiously.

She, too, had been watching the slime fight the Orc Champions. Of course, she had not seen it from the beginning. She had started watching after it injured Orc Champion B and began fighting Orc Champion A.

'Bouncy, amazing!'

Seeing it facing off against one Orc Champion after already bringing down the other had not only impressed Claire, but also given the adventurers an enormous morale boost.

["Bouncy took down an Orc Champion!"]

["Wooooo!"]

["You're incredible, Bouncy!"]

["We can win! We can win this time, too!"]

But there had also been a moment when the sight before her nearly made her heart drop: when the Orc Champion caught the slime in its hands.

'Danger!'

An image of the slime being squashed in the Orc Champion's hands flashed through Claire's mind.

She was in the middle of fighting the orc horde, so rushing straight to the slime was all but impossible. But if they lost it now, everything would be over. Just as she was wondering whether she should go help, even at the risk of being attacked on the way, she saw the slime escape the Orc Champion's grip on its own.

'Bouncy, strong!'

Seeing it attack the Orc Champion immediately after breaking free reassured her, and she turned her attention back to her own fight.

"Haaah!"

WHAAACK!

GROOOAR!

After defeating the Blue Orc, Claire looked back at the slime. It had defeated both Orc Champions and was engrossed in its evolution window.

'Bouncy, not moving. Why?'

Unaware of that, Claire found it strange that the normally energetic slime was suddenly standing completely still.

The slime she knew would at least have bounced around in celebration after defeating the Orc Champions, or come over to her. But it was not moving a muscle.

'Slime badly hurt?'

Had it been so badly injured while fighting the Orc Champions that it could no longer move? She could not help wondering.

Fortunately, an opening appeared that let her reach the slime, and Claire hurried toward it. As soon as she reached it, she checked its condition.

'I'm okay!'

The slime bounced twice on the spot in answer to her concern. Seeing it as lively as ever eased Claire's worries.

'Thank goodness. Just tired for a moment?'

Claire hated the monsters that had attacked her village, but in her heart, the slime had already become something different from an ordinary monster. It had become someone she could acknowledge as a comrade.

Having confirmed that her comrade was safe, Claire pointed to where the adventurers were still battling the orc horde.

"Bouncy, can you fight more? We have to go help there."

'Yep!'

The slime bounced up onto Claire's shoulder.

"Let's go."

TAP!

With the slime riding on her shoulder, Claire ran back into the battlefield.

[Squishy Queen]▶Aaagh! Those damn hoomans are delaying the explanation!

▶Want to hear the slime's explanation? Tune in again in one hour!

▶That's fucking long lmaooo

▶Ah~ The hoomans are weak as hell, so we have to help them~.

+++

Around the time the slime and Claire joined the adventurers, Smartass was being shaken by the collar in his secret workshop.

"Use that damn Warp thing and send us to Bouncy!" Nellin demanded.

"Nellin, calm down!"

"How am I supposed to calm down? You said Chilture's being attacked by an orc horde!"

When Smartass first brought up the slime directly, it had been in the thick of its fight with the Orc Champions. Why was it fighting alongside Claire to defend the village? He continued explaining, coming up with plausible reasons without revealing anything about the system.

After giving them a rough account of how the slime had met Claire and what its life in the village was like, he was about to tell them about the orc raid when the slime defeated the Orc Champions and posted its evolution options in chat.

'Seven!?'

"...! Give me a moment."

"Huh? Why?"

"..."

"What? Why'd you clam up?"

"D-did something happen to Bouncy?"

After briefly typing in chat, Smartass looked back at Nellin and the others.

"No, nothing has... happened."

"Something happened, all right."

He had tried to reassure the group, but he could not fool his old companion. Nellin still remembered his habits. Whenever he faltered midway through a sentence, it meant something was definitely bothering him.

"No, Nellin. Nothing serious has happened, really. You don't need to worry..."

"Then quit dragging it out and get to the point! Bouncy—huh? Why's it defending the village? You said it's in the middle of a fight! Did something happen to it?"

"All right, I'll explain quickly, so calm down."

It was not just Nellin. Godric and his companions, Amelia, Paulen, and Gracie were all looking at Smartass, urging him to get on with it.

Pressed by Nellin, Smartass finally said that Chilture was being attacked by a horde of over a hundred orcs.

"Hey! Use Warp! An orc horde's attacking the village, and you're sitting on your ass chatting?"

That was when Nellin exploded and grabbed him by the collar.

She demanded that he use Warp immediately to send them to Chilture. But that was a demand he could not grant, so he decided to calm her down.

"The raid is as good as over already! There's no need to worry."

"Is that true?"

"Yes. There are a few orcs left, but they'll be dealt with soon enough. There's no need to go all the way there using Warp. Besides, I don't want to."

"Why?"

"Nellin, think calmly. As far as everyone knows, you're at Saint's Hill to fight me. What would happen if news got out that you'd appeared in faraway Chilture?"

"Word would spread that a hero saved Chilture from disaster!"

"They'd suspect you'd sided with an evil lich!"

"Really? Wouldn't they just think I beat up the lich and made him my lackey?"

"You're probably the only person who'd think that, Nellin..."

"Ventus is right this time, Nellin. People won't take such a positive view."

"Excuse me, Lord Ventus. Is Quivery safe, then?"

Smartass nodded at Amelia's question.

"Of course it's safe. In fact, that slime contributed the most to defending the village."

"You're saying Bouncy contributed the most?"

Hearing that the slime had distinguished itself, Godric could not resist interrupting.

"Yes. Of everyone fighting the orc horde, the slime is the strongest."

"Bouncy's the strongest?"

"Hahaha! Quivery never skipped its training, even here, so of course it would be strong! That makes me proud!"

The news that the slime had played the biggest part greatly eased the mood among those who had been filled with anxiety and worry.

"Nellin, head to Chilture once you leave here. That girl called Snowflake Fist will still be waiting there."

"Fine. So... what are you going to do?"

Nellin put a hand on her hip, her eyes sharpening.

"Want me to stick an arrow in the forehead of that bastard who set you up?"

"L-Lady Nellin!"

Gracie was startled by the question of whether he wanted Brooks Besilza, the current master of the Mage Tower, killed.

Everything she had learned today was shocking. The lich was actually Ventus Frail, the ancestor she revered. Moreover, his death had not been caused by a magical accident; his killer was Brooks Besilza, the man she had thought of as her benefactor. On top of that, Brooks had actually tried to kill the slime because he wanted her to fail.

Gracie struggled to fully absorb all these truths that had suddenly come crashing down on her at once. That was why she had reacted reflexively to the suggestion of killing Brooks Besilza.

"What? Got a problem with that? You heard him too. That bastard tried to kill Ventus, and he was scheming to make you fail."

"Y-yes. I heard. But..."

"Nellin, don't be so hard on Gracie. Until she learned the truth, he was someone she was grateful to. It won't be easy for her to accept."

"I'm not being hard on her!"

"Besides, I'm against simply shooting him in the head, too."

"What? Why?"

"It would be so unsatisfying if that were all it took to end things."

"Huh?"

"S-Saintess Fresia?"

"Shouldn't we tear down everything he's built and make him regret what he's done for years to come?"

Despite the benevolent smile on her face, Nellin could tell immediately that Fresia was absolutely furious.

'That's the smile she wears when she's fucking livid.'

"Yeah. Fair point. Killing him straightaway would be a waste. Hey, Ventus! You'd prefer that too, right?"

"Of course, if we're talking about revenge on that bastard Brooks. Actually, Nellin, Fresia, there was something I wanted to ask you both to do for my revenge."

"What?"

"Tell us anything, Ventus."

Smartass's request was simple. After leaving the secret workshop and returning, they were to give the Holy City an altered account of the facts.

They had slain the lich. During the battle, they had discovered that it was Ventus Frail, transformed into a monster. After becoming a monster, Ventus Frail had spent decades struggling to suppress his monstrous instincts. When he was slain, he had fully recovered his reason and told his former companions how he had become a lich.

And the reason Ventus Frail had become a lich was that none other than Brooks Besilza had caused a magical accident in an attempt to murder him.

"If you tell them that, his reputation will hit rock bottom in an instant. After all, it'll be coming directly from you. There'll be no reason to doubt it."

"What, so you're just going to go, 'I'm dead~' and disappear?"

"That's the smoothest way to settle this. Saying you failed to slay me would only make people more anxious. Fortunately, the slime is now credited with saving Chilture. There's little chance anyone will view it with suspicion because of its connection to me."

Smartass judged that even if such suspicions did arise, no one would be able to challenge Nellin and Amelia, the next Saintess, if they vouched for the slime's innocence.

Just then...

"I'm sorry, Ventus. I can't grant that request."

"Fresia? Why...?"

Fresia's refusal was completely unexpected. Before he could ask her reason, she answered him.

"Because I intend to stay here."

"W-what!?"

"Saintess Fresia!?"

Fresia had dropped a bombshell.