Everyone turned toward the sudden roar.

And there stood...

"What?! Why is there another one?!"

Another lesser troll.

The first lesser troll's final roar had been a last, desperate signal calling another of its kind.

GRRRAAAAH!

The newly arrived lesser troll stared ahead with bloodshot eyes. A dead lesser troll, humans milling around its body, and the roar it had heard calling for it... It was clear who had killed the lesser troll that summoned it.

THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!

Giving itself over to rage, the lesser troll charged. Its charge was far fiercer and faster than that of the lesser troll Godric’s Party had killed. It was at full strength, not exhausted, and its fury lent it even more power. Now the lesser troll was showing its true capabilities: it had sacrificed an ordinary troll's bulk and regeneration for greater speed and mobility.

"Ugh!"

Godric, Sgol, and Def leveled their swords and axe at the lesser troll bearing down on them with incredible force. Too startled and tense even to think of fleeing, they had acted reflexively. Only belatedly did the three realize their mistake.

"Dodge—!"

Godric hurried to shout for Sgol and Def to dodge. But before he could finish, the lesser troll was already upon them.

BOING!

'They're in danger!'

The moment the second lesser troll began its charge, the slime sensed the danger the three were in and hurried into motion. But it was too far away. It had been staying with the injured Hawein. From that distance, even the slime could not reach them before the charging lesser troll.

'No!'

At this rate, the lesser troll would slam into them. They would get hurt. They might even die.

'I don't want that!'

As soon as that ominous thought surfaced, the slime wanted to deny it. Somehow, it wanted to break free of this situation. It wanted to move faster, farther, and stop the lesser troll from attacking the three.

That powerful wish made the slime use a skill unconsciously. Yet it was not any skill it had used before. It was a combination of the skills it had used.

Bounce Jumping's effect: the more mana consumed, the greater its elasticity.

Bounce Tackle's effect: use the body's elasticity to deliver a powerful Body Slam in the desired direction.

One skill allowed it to gain elasticity in proportion to the mana it spent, but could only be used to jump. The other let it attack in any direction it wanted, but had a limit to its power. Now, unconsciously, the slime drew on only the strengths of both skills.

It spent mana to increase its body's elasticity as much as possible. And the instant it had gathered all that spring...

BOOOING!

It used Bounce Tackle against the lesser troll just before it reached the three. It moved so fast that the eye could barely follow. Crossing the long distance in a single burst, the slime drove into the lesser troll's side with the speed of a gale.

THWAAACK!

GRRRAARGH?!

By the narrowest of margins, the slime had managed to protect Godric and his companions from the lesser troll. But then something it had never anticipated happened.

Its tackle had certainly unleashed enough power to cross that long distance in an instant. But that was not all. Bounce Tackle did not stop at closing the gap and protecting Godric and his companions. It not only lifted the lesser troll's massive body off the ground, but sent it flying over the cliff.

"Huh?"

For a moment, Godric could not comprehend what had happened. Just before the enraged lesser troll's hand came down on him, a heavy impact rang out, and the troll suddenly flew over the cliff. The slime was embedded in its deeply caved-in side.

"B-Bouncy!"

'Huh?'

Only upon hearing its name did the slime grasp the situation. It had unconsciously unleashed a trump-card tackle, driven by the thought that Godric and his companions must not get hurt. But that tackle had been far too powerful. Even if it had wanted to send the lesser troll flying, it had never imagined that it would go flying along with it.

▶????

▶What the heck was that?

The viewers were just as startled. They had expected the lesser troll to put on a human-flinging show, only for the screen to whip forward and land them in this situation.

And then...

The slime fell below the cliff with the lesser troll.

"Boun cyyyy!"

SPLASH!

With Def's scream in its ears, the slime was swept into the fierce current along with the lesser troll.

+++

The viewers watching the slime's stream had all sorts of reactions to what had just happened.

▶First time I've seen someone fall into the water saving humans lmaooo

Some simply laughed at the absurd sight.

▶What was that skill just now? It was fast as hell.

Some were intrigued by the skill the slime had demonstrated.

[Madam Cat's Cradle]▶Oh, our poor Squishy! Sob... Getting separated from your human friends like this.

Some were caught up in the unintended parting and grieved over it.

▶So where's it going now?

Others were curious about the slime's current whereabouts.

Their reactions varied, but none of them feared for the slime's life. There was no particular reason to worry. Slimes had no concept of breathing, so even in the water, there was no risk of dying from lack of air.

It was the lesser troll that faced that danger. No matter how powerful its regeneration was, it could not live without breathing. Swept along by the current, it could not breathe properly. In the end, while its wounds regenerated, the violent current tossed it about without letting it catch its breath, and it drowned.

The slime was now atop the lesser troll's corpse as it floated down the fierce current.

'Godric, Hawein, Sgol, Def...'

Its body drooped dejectedly with sadness. This was not its first farewell. But such a sudden parting hurt.

At first, it had tried to escape the current immediately, but soon realized that was pointless. All it could see were steep cliffs hemming in the raging water on both sides. It was not until it had drifted downstream for a good thirty minutes that it finally saw a stretch where the cliffs ended. Even the slime knew that thirty minutes in such a powerful current meant it had traveled a considerable distance.

It had intended to move as soon as the cliffs ended, but this time the Slime Queen and Smartass stopped it. It was dangerous.

[Free Spirit]▶Squishy, stop. It's dangerous.

[Squishy Queen]▶My kin! Falling into a current like this would be disastrous!

Being underwater was no problem, since it did not need to breathe. That did not mean it had the strength to overcome the fierce current, however. One wrong move could send it tumbling through the water, crashing into things.

It wanted to reunite with Godric’s Party, but...

[Free Spirit]▶If you move rashly and get badly hurt, Squishy, you might never see those humans again.

Hearing their concern for it, along with the possible consequences of acting recklessly, the slime had no choice but to stay put.

+++

A man and a woman were walking through a valley. The woman wore a white nun's habit and had orange hair and green eyes. The man had brown hair and eyes and wore silver paladin armor decorated with gold patterns.

"Sigh..."

"What is troubling you today, Saintess?"

"Paulen, please don't call me Saintess at times like this."

At the woman's words, Paulen flashed a toothy grin.

"Aha, lamenting the weight of the office on your shoulders again, were you, Amelia?"

"If you know, must you put it like that?"

"At least right now, I don't think tiptoeing around you and saying nothing would do you any good, Amelia. Didn't I tell you? Worries like that come from..."

Paulen raised both arms high, then bent them to flex his biceps.

"Too little exercise! Too little muscle! Exercise will clear away all those little worries! It'll keep your mind healthy, too!"

"... You're the only one who thinks that, Paulen."

"Not at all! Come on, follow my lead, Amelia! A little every day! Just doing this will perk you up a bit! Come on! Flex!"

"... Flex."

Amelia did not agree at all, but she could not refuse something he was doing for her sake. She copied Paulen, raising her arms and bending them to flex her biceps. He smiled in satisfaction at the sight.

"Excellent! Hahahaha! ... So, besides your usual worries, what else is troubling you, Amelia?"

Paulen had served as Amelia's personal guard ever since her appointment as saintess. That was how he knew the girl before him was worried about something other than the office of saintess.

"I'm wondering whether what I'm doing now is pointless, too."

"Pointless?"

"This lesser troll extermination. I've made things troublesome for you as well, Paulen."

"Oh dear. Another bout of self-doubt, Amelia."

"A-another bout?! Be gentler with your words!"

"Hahaha! In any case, it's no trouble for me, so don't worry. In fact, I was feeling cooped up in the Holy City. Getting outside like this is wonderfully refreshing."

"That's... a relief."

Amelia could not take Paulen's words at face value.

Amelia had been chosen as the next saintess, to succeed Saintess Fresia, who had defeated the calamity. That had been five years ago. She had been just another ordinary believer, the kind found everywhere in the Holy City. When she was suddenly selected as the next saintess during a communal prayer service just like any other, she had been bewildered, yet overjoyed.

As time passed, however, she could not help feeling anxious and burdened. Could she truly do a good job as the next saintess? Saintess Fresia, a living legend, was still alive. Could Amelia truly fill the place of such a great woman?

When she was chosen, Saintess Fresia had encouraged her, assuring her she would do well. Yet Amelia still could not believe in herself.

She had undertaken this lesser troll extermination because she could not stand idle after hearing that the Holy City had received a request for aid but could not help, since most of its paladins were away on assignments. Setting out had been all well and good, but on the journey she kept wondering whether her decision was right, or whether she had only caused trouble. Those thoughts would not stop, so she had come out for a walk to clear her head.

"Look, Amelia. There's a river. Shall we catch a fish and grill it?"

"It's still a long time until our next meal, Paulen."

"What does that matter? One fish wouldn't even take the edge off."

"That's only true for you."

"Don't be so negative. Look around and try to brighten up a little, Amelia. Look! A lush forest and a clear, flowing river! And a slime sitting on a troll! ... A slime sitting on a troll?"

"What? Paulen? What nonsense are you suddenly..."

Thinking he was joking, Amelia raised her head. When she saw his genuinely bewildered expression, she turned to follow his gaze.

And then...

BOING!

Amelia saw a troll's corpse drifting down the river, with a slime perched on top.