FWIP!
Amelia had brought the slime to the clinic because one of its nuns had come asking for help. In truth, the slime was all they needed, but they could hardly summon it whenever they pleased. After all, Saintess Amelia came along with it!
However low Amelia’s self-esteem might be, the importance of her position as the next Saintess remained unchanged. They could not casually ask her to help with every little thing.
Thus, the clinic requested Amelia’s help in only three circumstances.
The first, as before, was when a patient had serious injuries that could only be healed by holy arts at the level of a Saintess.
The second was when a patient had been poisoned and the antidote was extremely difficult or time-consuming to manufacture.
The third was when symptoms or lingering effects remained even after the slime administered its antidote, requiring another dose the following day.
Today, it was the paladins poisoned by the manticore. Amelia had come to the clinic to give them more antidote, as their itching had not yet cleared up completely.
“Thank you, Saintess. And you too, Quivery. Thanks to you, the itching is almost gone.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“If it weren’t for you and Quivery, we’d still be screaming nonsense.”
“Thank you so much.”
“Not at all. I’ll pray that you all recover quickly.”
The slime quivered vigorously.
“Quivery says it wants you to get well soon, too.”
Whenever it was time for another dose of antidote, the paladins never failed to thank Amelia and the slime.
Watching them, another patient spoke to a priest.
“Couldn’t you ask that slime to neutralize my poison, too?”
“No. You’re already taking medicine. Something could go wrong.”
If medicine for a poison was readily available, the clinic did not ask for help. They relied on the slime only when there was no other choice. This measure ensured that no rift formed in their partnership with the alchemists’ guild, which manufactured the antidotes.
With her business at the clinic finished, Amelia took the slime straight back to her room.
“Whew.”
She buried her face in the bed and let out a long breath.
‘I met so many people again today.’
Aside from her morning duties, Amelia had normally spent most of her time in her room. Since meeting the slime, however, she had begun seeing people much more often.
She was already accustomed to the communal prayers that formed her morning routine, so those did not bother her. But meeting people for other reasons rapidly drained her mental reserves. She had always been more comfortable alone.
It was not that she disliked it or found it unpleasant. She simply was not used to it. And for someone who constantly questioned whether she was fit to be a Saintess, the reverent looks people gave her felt like a burden, making her all the more exhausted.
“Amelia, they say sighing too much drives your good fortune away.”
“I’m tired. Please leave me alone.”
She did not want to hear the nagging of Paulen, who came into her room as part of his duties as her guard.
‘You’re tired?’
The slime bounced up onto her back as soon as it heard she was tired.
“Quivery? Why are you on my back...?”
It began vibrating vigorously.
“Ah, aaaah!”
The slime immediately started massaging her back. It remembered the servants at the count’s mansion often saying that this relieved their fatigue.
Though Amelia’s exhaustion was actually mental, the soothing sensation of the slime’s Vibration massage helped ease that as well.
“That felt so good...”
“Ha ha ha! Quivery’s massages are exceptionally refreshing! Aren’t we lucky to have it?”
Amelia nodded in agreement with Paulen, but sighed once more.
“Haah.”
“Why are you sighing again?”
“I’m worried I’ll have to meet lots of people again tomorrow.”
“Amelia, a Saintess mustn’t worry about things like that.”
“I know. But I can’t help feeling anxious. Even now, I still don’t understand why I was chosen to be the Saintess.”
‘Meeting Quivery has made her a little more active, but this hasn’t changed.’
“Let’s keep our spirits up, Amelia. You won’t have much reason to worry for a while, at least. I hear the alchemists’ guild has just finished making an antidote for manticore venom. Quivery won’t be called out anymore.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Now we can focus on exercising with Quivery! Ha ha ha ha!”
“... So I’ll have to leave my room after all.”
“But exercise is good for you, too, Amelia! Do you know how much regular walking benefits your health? Spending too much time indoors is also bad for your—”
“I know! I know, so please stop talking! That’s your problem, Paulen! You talk far too much whenever exercise comes up!”
Just as Paulen had said, the clinic did not request their help for the next week. Thanks to that, Amelia recovered from her mental exhaustion, while the slime was able to devote itself to exercising with Paulen.
With a determined heave, the slime lifted the weight.
‘I lifted it!’
“Yes! Well done, Quivery! That’s the spirit! Aaaah! You can finally lift it!”
As a result of its training, the slime had progressed beyond level three and could now lift the level-four dumbbells and barbells.
Paulen rejoiced at his workout partner’s latest step forward.
▶Wait, it actually got stronger?
▶Did it seriously build tentacle muscles? lmao
[Squishy Queen]▶Bah! You fools! Didn’t I tell you it could grow stronger?
▶Slime tentacles can be trained... noted.
[Slam First Ask Later]▶Now! Now you’ll be able to slam even harder!
[Madam Cat's Cradle]▶Eeeek! Congratulations, Squishy~.
The viewers, too, were able to pass the time watching the slime grow stronger.
And the slime’s progress did not end there.
After training its tentacles, it spent some time sparring with Paulen, the strongest paladin. In part, Paulen wanted to see more of what it could do, but there was another reason.
“Once you’ve worked out, you have to test the results!”
He wanted his workout partner to put its newly developed muscles to proper use.
“All right! Come at me, Quivery!”
Paulen faced the slime with the Shield of the Holy Spirit in one hand and, for safety, a long wooden sword in the other.
The method was simple. When the slime attacked, Paulen blocked. When it was Paulen’s turn to attack, the slime dodged.
Through their sparring, the slime could feel just how much stronger it had become.
First, its Bounce Tackle had become more powerful. The strength it developed by training its tentacles still applied even when it retracted them. The elasticity used by the Bounce Tackle skill remained the same, but its underlying strength had increased.
CLAAANG!
“Good! You’re hitting harder, Quivery!”
The slime bounced twice.
‘I’m stronger! Even stronger!’
“Then let’s test your tentacle punches next! Bring out your tentacles!”
‘Okay!’
Its tentacles popped out.
At Paulen’s suggestion, the slime had learned a new way to attack besides Body Slam: the tentacle punch.
Paulen had proposed that, since it had developed its strength through its tentacles, it might as well try using that strength directly through them.
The slime extended its tentacles and thrust them at the Shield of the Holy Spirit in quick succession.
CLANG! CLANG!
Its close-range tentacle punches rang crisply against the shield. The scene looked cute at a glance, but each punch it was throwing had enough power to finish off a goblin.
“Now let’s try it from farther away!”
‘Okay!’
The slime bounced away. It could lengthen the tentacles it produced by consuming mana. Thus, it stretched them out toward Paulen.
CLANG! CLANG!
Although weaker than its close-range blows, it could still throw punches from a distance by extending its tentacles.
▶Slime punch! Slime punch! Slime punch!
▶That Time a Hooman Trained a Slime.
▶lmao isn’t this student NTR?
[Slam First Ask Later]▶No! Squishy’s specialty is the Body Slam I taught it! That stuff is just support! Mere tricks!
▶Looking pretty pathetic there lmao
▶That hooman’s moves really are something, though.
▶They said he’s the strongest of those hoomans called paladins.
[Slam First Ask Later]▶Hmph! A fellow like that is no match for me! Which means I can teach it far better!
▶Oh man, that’s fucking pathetic lmao
[Slam First Ask Later]▶SHUUUT UUUP!!!
Attacking was not the only use the slime found for its tentacles.
“Try to dodge properly this time, too, Quivery!”
The slime bounced.
‘Okay!’
Paulen swung his wooden sword, and the slime did its best to avoid it.
Paulen was different from the monsters it had faced so far. He could immediately gauge its speed, and he even anticipated how it would dodge before making his next attack.
He was an overwhelmingly powerful opponent, unlike anyone the slime had encountered before reaching the Holy City.
Even when Paulen matched his sword swings to the slime’s speed, it could only dodge the first attack with a bounce.
“You didn’t jump far enough that time!”
If the slime misjudged the distance by even a little, he closed in and struck it with his wooden sword.
WHOOSH!
For safety, of course, he used the flat of the blade to strike as though pushing it away, so the slime was never seriously hurt.
‘There goes Quivery again.’
Amelia had been startled when she first saw this, but after watching it many times, she barely reacted anymore. And with good reason.
‘I couldn’t dodge it! Paulen’s fast! Paulen’s strong!’
The slime was not bothered at all by being sent flying. It simply bounced back, looking delighted.
Seeing it enjoy itself so much, Amelia could only conclude that its sparring with Paulen was not dangerous.
“Here I come again, Quivery!”
‘It’s getting faster and faster! This is a satisfying opponent!’
The slime was not the only one having fun.
It would have been dull if all his efforts to teach it had produced no improvement, but the slime showed clear progress every day. That made watching it grow a pleasure.
During their workouts, Paulen rejoiced in his partner’s increasing strength. During their sparring, he felt rewarded as he saw the results of that training and confirmed its improved agility.
‘Did my predecessor feel this way, too?’
Paulen swung his wooden sword, remembering the smile of the late Paladin who had taught him.
The slime bounced straight upward to avoid his blade.
“That’ll leave you open to the next attack, Quivery!”
Pointing out its mistake, Paulen swiftly swung his sword horizontally at the airborne slime.
Just then, the slime popped out a tentacle in midair.
The tentacle stretched sideways and caught the sword coming toward it. Keeping its grip firm, the slime twisted its body and vaulted over the blade before it could strike.
It looked almost as though it had performed a sideways roll over the sword.
“Huh?”
“Wow.”
‘I dodged it!’
Paulen stared blankly, while Amelia blinked in admiration at the slime’s dynamic maneuver.
“Quivery. You... you’re such a wonderful little fellow! To use your strengthened tentacles like that! Hnnngh!”
Seeing the exercises he had taught it yield an even wider range of results, Paulen shed tears of emotion.
“Yes! That’s exactly why we exercise! Muscles! Muscles!”
‘Muscles!’
Overcome with emotion, Paulen flexed his biceps, and the slime copied his pose with its tentacles.
Their daily life was peaceful for Amelia and rewarding for the slime and Paulen.
Ten days into that routine, notification of Saintess Fresia’s expedition was issued.
