“Big Sis Marin, what do you mean?”

“Travel together...?”

“Exactly what I said. Once I get promoted, we’ll all be C-rank. There aren’t many monsters around here that even come close to C-rank. Since I’m getting promoted anyway, why not go somewhere else and take on harder jobs?”

“B-but, Big Sis Marin. Bouncy...”

“Def, I know you want to see Al—Bouncy. And not just you. I know Godric, Hawein, and Sgol all want to see him too. That’s why I’m saying we should go.”

“That’s why?”

“We have no idea when we’ll find him if we just sit around here. You all know that, right? Of course, we can keep distributing flyers. But wouldn’t we find him sooner if we went around asking people ourselves?”

Nellin’s argument was not without merit. Several weeks had passed since they met her, and there was still no news at all. Godric’s Party had also been wondering whether they ought to try another approach.

“I’m not saying this for no reason, either. I’m saying it because you’ve improved enough to come along safely. With your current skills...”

Nellin smiled confidently.

“The four of you could take down a lesser troll on your own.”

“Really?”

“Seriously, Big Sis Marin? Us?”

Godric and Sgol sounded doubtful. They knew they were stronger than before, but the strength of the lesser troll they had fought remained seared into the party’s memory.

“You think I’m talking nonsense?”

“B-but even when all four of us come at you, we still can’t land a single hit.”

“That’s because I’m strong.”

‘How do you expect to take me on when you’re barely good enough to kill a lesser troll?’

Nellin pressed harder to help the party make up their minds.

“I want to see Bouncy as soon as possible too, you know? And you’ve finally grown enough for me to take you along. Let’s get serious! This time, let’s get out there and look for him ourselves!”

“Get out there ourselves...”

“And find Bouncy...”

Godric’s Party had initially wanted to go looking for the slime themselves. But after a lesser troll nearly killed them and the slime saved their lives, they had lost their confidence.

Even if they found the slime, could they really protect it? Afraid they would only end up being protected again and repeat what had happened before, they had decided to grow stronger first.

And now, thanks to Nellin’s training, Godric’s Party had improved beyond comparison with their former selves.

“I’m going!”

Sgol was the first to accept Nellin’s proposal.

“Sgol?”

“Big Sis Marin’s right, Boss! There’s no guarantee we’ll find Bouncy by sitting around here anyway! We might as well get moving ourselves!”

“Ahem. I agree with Sgol.”

“Boss! I want to go looking for Bouncy too!”

“You guys... All right. Honestly, I felt the same way.”

“Made up your minds?”

“Yes, Big Sis Marin. We’ll come with you.”

“Good! That’s what I wanted to hear!”

Deep down, Nellin had been worried that Godric’s Party might refuse. She disliked traveling alone because it was boring. She had helped improve their skills, and she expected their company to keep things interesting, so she was secretly delighted by their decision.

With their decision to travel together settled, they agreed to choose their destination after the promotion test.

“Where should we go?”

“Hehe, wouldn’t the Holy City be best?”

Hawein based his suggestion on the fact that the village where they had first lost the slime was relatively close to the Holy City.

“If we’re going to search, starting there certainly seems...”

“No, going to the Holy City won’t do us any good.”

Nellin rejected Hawein’s suggestion.

“W-why not, Big Sis Marin?”

“I’ve been to the Holy City before, so I know. Rumors spread incredibly fast there.”

Nellin remembered visiting the Holy City to recruit Saintess Fresia as a companion.

The Holy City was, quite literally, one vast religious city, and most of its residents were believers. As a result, information traveled very quickly through their social networks.

‘It was infuriating when word spread about even the snacks Fresia and I ate together.’

“If a slime were wandering around the Holy City, especially an unusual one like Bouncy, word would have spread in no time. So I think we can assume he isn’t there.”

As Nellin said, news of an unusual slime in the Holy City would have spread quickly. But even she could not have imagined that the faithful would avoid mentioning it precisely because it was “the slime the Saintess carried around.”

Besides, Nellin had another reason not to head to the Holy City.

‘It wouldn’t feel right to visit Fresia before I’ve even found the slime.’

If possible, she wanted to surprise Fresia at their reunion by showing her the slime—to show her that a slime like this existed in the world.

“Is that so?”

“Hmm, then where should we go?”

“Hehehe, I know just the place.”

“Hehe, where’s that, Big Sis Marin?”

“From what I can see, your skills have improved quite a bit. But you still lack confidence. Confidence! So... let’s go to Tartan and build some.”

“Tartan? Big Sis Marin, do you mean the Tartan with the colosseum?”

“Yes. That Tartan.”

Tartan.

It was known as the city of duels and gambling. A massive colosseum stood at its center, where fighters battled every day to test their strength.

A place where people gambled on the outcomes of duels, swinging between joy and despair day after day. A place where the entertainment district opened at night and people’s desires overflowed.

That was Tartan, the city of duels and gambling.

“I thought it would be perfect for you to enter the colosseum and make a name for yourselves.”

“U-us? In the colosseum?”

“Do you think our skills would hold up there, Big Sis Marin?”

SMACK!

Nellin slapped Godric on the back and declared,

“Of course, you idiot! I trained you! How could they not? Well, I can’t promise you’ll beat the champion or win the finals, but you’ll rank among the strong fighters there.”

‘In the end, fighting comes down to whether you have the conviction to strike when the right opening comes.’

While training the four of them, Nellin had not only given each suitable exercises but repeatedly hammered that lesson into them through sparring. She deliberately left openings, teaching them through repetition how to recognize one.

[“An opening!”]

[“This one will hit!”]

[“Hiyah!”]

[“Hup!”]

[“Sure, even if you leave an opening, you just have to react quickly.”]

TAP! TAP! TAP! TAP!

[“Ow!”]

By repeatedly showing them that an opponent could counterattack even after leaving an opening, she drilled into them the need to stay alert even when they seized an opportunity. That was why Nellin believed Godric’s Party could fight well enough in the colosseum.

“Us, among the strong fighters...”

“Heh. Hawein the Mighty. Has a nice ring to it.”

“Why are you showing off already?”

“I-if we get famous, it’ll be easier to find Bouncy, right?”

“Of course. But you can’t be satisfied with where you are now, can you? After my promotion test, I’m going to work you hard so you get even stronger. Consider yourselves warned.”

“Yes, Big Sis Marin!”

All four answered vigorously, brimming with enthusiasm.

+++

“This, and this, and this too...”

Amelia was preparing for the expedition in her room.

“Amelia, what are you packing so much for? More importantly, where did all of that come from?”

“Be quiet, Paulen! I’m concentrating! Oh, I think I’ll need this too...!”

“Haah.”

Paulen sighed as he watched Amelia frantically pack.

‘What are you doing?’

The slime perched on Paulen’s hand also tilted its body to one side, unable to understand Amelia’s behavior.

Amelia had low self-esteem and worried about whether she could fulfill her role as Saintess. But when she was first chosen as the next Saintess, her heart, too, had raced with anticipation and excitement.

‘Me, the next Saintess!’

As a believer, she respected Saintess Fresia and harbored a small wish to become someone just as admirable.

And so, after becoming the next Saintess, she had gone through what one might call a period of running wild.

What would happen if she, like Fresia, set out on a journey to vanquish a calamity? Wouldn’t it be best to start preparing now?

Getting ahead of herself like that, Amelia had spent her first Saintess allowance on all sorts of supplies.

For a while, the merchants of the Holy City had even dubbed her the next Saintess with the generous purse. Of course, once she came to her senses, she had sunk into self-reproach, wondering what she intended to do with so many purchases.

‘But now I finally have a chance to use them!’

She had felt too bad about returning them, so she had kept everything she bought in storage until now.

“I think I’ll need this too...!”

But with so many purchases, deciding what to take was inevitably difficult.

“Paulen! Will this fit in the Inventory too?”

“Amelia, the Inventory’s capacity is not infinite.”

“I know! That’s why I’m asking! No! Instead of just standing there, come take a look yourself! The Mage Tower is a month’s journey from the Holy City. And we’ll be staying for a whole month, so I think we should prepare properly!”

“Very well.”

‘Lots! To prepare!’

BOING!

The slime hopped down from Paulen’s hand and approached the pile of things Amelia had brought out of storage.

“Oh! Quivery! You can look, but don’t touch anything without permission! All right?”

‘Okay!’

As the slime looked around, the viewers also examined Amelia’s piles of luggage.

▶Why’s she piled up so much stuff?

[Noblesse Fire]▶You call that a pile? It doesn’t count unless the whole room is packed full.

▶Judging it by dragon standards is a bit...

[Slam First Ask Later]▶There’s nothing good about piling stuff up like that. If it’s food, you stockpile it for no reason, then it loses its flavor and just takes up space!

▶Is that what your mate nags you about?

[Slam First Ask Later]▶Shut up!

▶Lmaoooo

▶Can’t even stand up to his female lolol

▶Can’t tell his own pups off either lolol

[Slam First Ask Later]▶I said shut up!

Meanwhile, Paulen sorted out what they needed to bring.

“Let’s leave this out. This too. We won’t need this either.”

“W-why? That’s useful! It’s a magic tool that lets you start a campfire right away, even without a mage!”

“The carriage we’ll be traveling in already has tools for starting fires. Besides, you have me. Even without a tool like this, I can use the power of these muscles! To generate rapid friction and start a fire.”

“Th-then what about this Comprehensive Guide to Exploring the Mage Tower? We’ll be there for a month! Won’t we need it?”

“Why did you even buy something like this? There are believers living in the Mage Tower. We can ask them.”

“Ah! I absolutely refuse to leave my comfort blanket behind! Even when I’m not hugging it, I can’t sleep well without it!”

“That’s your comfort blanket? Aren’t comfort blankets usually worn to tatters?”

“I take good care of it because I’m attached to it! I-I even pay to have it repaired regularly at a mending shop.”

“... All right. We’ll take that.”

Paulen was certain that sorting through everything would take quite some time.