“An e-expedition?”

To Amelia, the news was a bolt from the blue. Her peaceful days had continued, apart from the nuisance of going to the training grounds every day for walking exercises. And now, suddenly, an expedition?

“Yes, Amelia. It is time you went on an expedition as well.”

“B-but Saintess Fresia, I’m still far too in-inadequate to go on an expedition.”

“You are more than ready in my eyes. Have a little more confidence in yourself.”

“May I interject for a moment?”

“Please speak, Paladin Paulen.”

“Has a monster appeared that warrants the next Saintess, Lady Amelia, going out in person?”

An expedition meant nuns or members of the clergy traveling through various regions for spiritual training. Saintess Fresia had gone on an expedition herself, but hers had been both a spiritual journey and a quest to slay the calamity known as the black dragon.

With a gentle smile, Fresia dispelled Paulen’s concern.

“That is not the case. I simply thought it was time Amelia traveled to different places for her training. Don’t you agree that Amelia needs to meet more people, Paladin Paulen?”

“I do agree with that.”

“Paulen?!”

“As a Saintess, you must grow accustomed to meeting many people, mustn’t you?”

“That’s... true, but...”

Unable to offer a proper rebuttal, Amelia lowered her head.

‘Wait. Just because it’s an expedition doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be far away.’

Amelia had low self-esteem, but that did not mean her thoughts were always negative.

‘That’s right! Even if it’s an expedition, I’m sure I won’t be going too far! As the next Saintess, I can’t stay away from the Holy City, and more importantly, I have Quivery with me!’

“Saintess Fresia, where should I go on my expedition?”

“That has not been decided.”

“Pardon?”

“Go in whichever direction you wish, Amelia. Then return when you feel you have grown.”

“Th-that can’t be...!”

A second bolt from the blue struck Amelia. Being told to leave without a destination was bad enough, but to return only when she felt she had grown? With her low self-esteem, Amelia found it difficult even to imagine herself growing.

While Amelia gaped in horror, the viewers cheered at Fresia’s words.

▶It’s a trip!

▶Finally getting out of this boring Holy City.

▶I was getting tired of the sparring content.

▶The food wasn’t nearly as fancy as at the home of that hooman who called it Alexandros II, so it was pretty dull too. Yep.

[Slam First Ask Later]▶Yeah! You’ve gotta get out there to see how much stronger you’ve become! Fighting that hooman is too tame!

[Madam Cat's Cradle]▶I can already picture Squishy getting excited~.

[Gothic Luxury Bone]▶Hoho, we shall see all sorts of scenery.

They did not understand what the expedition was for, but they immediately understood that it meant going somewhere else, far away. The viewers had been delighted to have tentacle-muscle training and sparring with Paulen as new content, but after watching it every day, they could not help wanting something new.

“But Saintess Fresia! Even if I was chosen as the next Saintess... can someone like me really grow any further?”

“I believe that very way of thinking is mistaken, Amelia. You are to inherit my position... No. From the moment God chose you, you were already a Saintess in your own right.”

“Ugh.”

Fresia’s words moved Amelia, but she still could not understand them. Then Paulen spoke to Fresia again.

“Saintess Fresia. Forgive my presumption, but Saintess Amelia is improving every day. She is simply too hard on herself to acknowledge it.”

“P-Paulen?”

“Is that truly so?”

“Yes. So please give her a destination rather than sending her on an aimless expedition. I am certain that Lady Amelia can achieve considerable growth through that alone.”

‘You truly have faith in Amelia, Paladin Paulen.’

Fresia nodded with a kindly smile.

“Very well. Then...”

After a moment’s thought, Fresia gave Amelia her destination.

“Stay at the Mage Tower for a month and lend a helping hand.”

“The Mage Tower? That’s...”

The Mage Tower. It was the central seat of the mages and a place that trained countless practitioners. One did not have to go there to learn magic, but people went so far as to say that anyone seeking to become a greater mage must head for the Mage Tower. That was how symbolic a place it was to mages.

“The Mage Tower is home to many people of great learning who are also full of an adventurous spirit.”

Meaning there were plenty of people brimming with curiosity who conducted one experiment after another.

“In that process, many find themselves in need of God’s words and His healing touch.”

Meaning plenty of people lost their minds or injured themselves through exhaustion or accidents while experimenting.

“There are many distinctive personalities there as well, so I am certain it will help you grow, Amelia.”

Meaning there were so many eccentrics that seeing them might improve Amelia’s self-esteem.

“So head to the Mage Tower with Paladin Paulen and Quivery, Amelia.”

“Understood, Saintess Fresia.”

With the terms so much better than they had been at first, Amelia could not refuse.

+++

In a sparsely wooded forest, Godric’s Party and Nellin were fighting Orcs.

“Hey! It went your way!”

“L-leave it to me! Hyaaah!”

Sgol’s attack forced the Orc to change direction. Def seized the opening and swung his two-handed axe at its neck.

SHING!

With a single clean blow, the Orc’s head was severed from its body and fell to the ground.

“Nice!”

“I-I did it!”

While Sgol and Def celebrated, Godric was fighting an Orc on his own a short distance away.

GROOOAR!

Roaring in fury, the Orc swung its club at Godric.

‘You’re nowhere near as fast as Big Sis Marin!’

In the past, he would have tensed up and dodged that attack with exaggerated movements. Now, however, he calmly avoided the club with the slightest movement.

“Hup!”

SLASH!

GRAAAH!

Without missing the opening, he delivered a precise cut to the Orc’s neck. With its neck sliced halfway through, the Orc collapsed, spewing blood.

Elsewhere...

“Aim carefully. You’re in trouble if you miss.”

“Hehe, let me show you what I can do.”

Under Nellin’s watchful eye, Hawein aimed his bow at an Orc that was wandering about. A moment after he drew the bowstring...

THWIP!

The arrow cut through the air and pierced the Orc’s neck.

GURK!

The Orc clutched its neck and collapsed.

“Heh. Excellent marksmanship.”

THWACK!

“Ow!”

Hawein was busy admiring his own skill after taking down the Orc in one shot. Nellin rapped him on the head with her knuckles.

“I told you to aim for the head, not the neck.”

“Doesn’t any spot do as long as I can take it down in one shot, Big Sis Marin?”

“Don’t you talk back to me.”

“Ugh, you really turn into an old fuddy-duddy whenever bows are involved...”

THWACK!

“Ow!”

Struck in the same place again, Hawein crouched and clutched his head as the pain intensified.

“Hahaha! Hey! Did Big Sis Marin hit you for talking back again?”

“Sgol, l-let’s not laugh at him too much.”

“Of course I’m going to laugh! He got hit for talking back just to look cool!”

“Hawein, no matter how bored you are, don’t pick pointless arguments with Big Sis. You’ll only end up with a sore head.”

The others, who had killed their Orcs elsewhere, returned to Hawein and Nellin.

“Did you get them?”

The three smiled confidently at Nellin’s question.

“Of course! Orcs are no match for us now!”

“Hehe, it was easier thanks to what you taught us, Big Sis Marin.”

“We certainly could not have become this strong on our own.”

“You know how to say nice things. Hey, Hawein. How many Orcs do we still need to kill?”

“Hehe, four more.”

“Really? Four, huh.”

Nellin took the bow off her back. Drawing arrows from her quiver one at a time, she turned in different directions and fired.

THWANG! THWANG! THWANG! THWANG!

Slinging her bow back over her shoulder, Nellin told Godric and the others,

“Go get the proof.”

“Yes, Big Sis Marin!”

Without a trace of doubt, each of them headed in a direction an arrow had flown. A little later, each found an Orc lying dead with an arrow through its head, cut off a body part as proof of the kill, and returned.

“Hehe, Big Sis Marin’s archery is as godlike as ever.”

“A-amazing!”

At Hawein’s and Def’s praise, Nellin rubbed beneath her nose with her index finger.

“Do you know how many years I’ve been using a bow? This is basic stuff.”

“I’ve met a few elves myself, but I’ve never seen anyone with archery skills like yours, Big Sis Marin.”

“Just how old do you have to be to get that...”

THWACK!

Nellin rapped Sgol on the head.

“Owww!”

“You don’t speculate about a woman’s age.”

“Aren’t elves supposed to not care about their age?!”

“Who told you that nonsense? Even our old lady gets incredibly petty if you bring up her age.”

“Who’s the old lady?”

“Our village elder.”

“Even an elf elder cares about her age...”

“Pfft, I guess elves and humans worry about the same things.”

“Of course we do.”

Having killed all the Orcs, the group returned to the city.

“Yes, I’ve verified the trophies. With these, you are now eligible to take the C-rank promotion test, Nellin.”

“All right! I’ll finally get promoted!”

Nellin grinned, showing her teeth. The process thus far had not been difficult, and training Godric’s Party had kept it from being too boring, but she wanted to raise her rank quickly.

“Congratulations, Big Sis Marin!”

“Hahaha! Thanks for helping me out, you lot. It must’ve been a nuisance.”

“Hehe, we’d be shameless if we found even this a nuisance when you’re training us.”

“You little rascal! You do know how to say something nice once in a while! Oh, but we’re still doing all our training today.”

“Big Sis Marin, l-let’s have something tasty after training! To celebrate!”

“Def! Great idea!”

While Nellin celebrated with Sgol, Hawein, and Def, Godric asked the receptionist his usual question.

“Hey, still no news?”

He was asking whether there was any new information about the slime.

“I’m sorry. There’s still nothing worth reporting.”

“I see...”

Several weeks had passed since they met Nellin, but word of the slime had yet to reach Godric’s Party. At this point, the slime was in the Holy City. It had appeared before people inside the Great Church many times, but the faithful had not actively spread the news of its presence there. They did not know exactly why Amelia, the next Saintess, was carrying a slime around, and they were reluctant to spread word that there was a monster inside the Great Church.

Moreover, even those who had seen the flyers at the adventurers’ guild in the Holy City would have found it all the harder to imagine that the rare, unusual slime on the flyer was the one accompanying the Saintess. After all, it was difficult to imagine the Saintess taking away a slime someone else had been raising.

After finishing their training as usual, Godric’s Party and Nellin spent a little extra money as planned and enjoyed a more lavish meal than normal.

‘Maybe it’s time to bring it up.’

Nellin voiced the thought she had been considering while training Godric’s Party.

“Hey. Once I get promoted, how about you lot travel around with me for a while?”

“What?”