The slime recognized the object Smartass had spread out.

[Squishy]▶It's a map!

▶A map? What's that?

▶Quick explanation! What's a map? It's a drawing humans make of the terrain in a particular area!

▶Humans draw all sorts of crap. Can't you just remember as you go?

The map Smartass had brought out depicted only the Dersia continent. Pointing to one spot after another with his skeletal hand, he began explaining.

▷This is Green Elf Forest, where you started out, Squishy.

▷This is where you lived with Jessi.

▷This is the village where you stayed with those four humans.

▷Here's the Holy City, where you were with Amelia, and here's the Mage Tower.

[Squishy]▶Jessi! Village! Holy City! Mage Tower!

The slime enjoyed learning where it had been by looking at the map.

▶Huh? Why'd they draw everything so close together?

▶Isn't that how maps work?

▶More importantly, where should Squishy go?

▶What about that mansion belonging to the human with the huge nest? There's a shitload of food there.

[Madam Cat's Cradle]▶Wouldn't the place where that human Amelia is be best? They were separated so suddenly.

[Slam First Ask Later]▶If that's your argument, the place with those four humans comes first! Squishy can do loads of slamming with them!

The viewers began arguing over where the slime should go yet again. Ignoring them, Smartass spoke to the slime through Telepathy.

["Squishy, for now, you can't go to the Holy City where Amelia is, or to the Mage Tower. Going straight there would put you in danger."]

Just because the rumors circulating outside made no mention of the slime or Gracie didn't mean it was completely safe.

In particular, Brooks Besilza, who had tried to kill the slime out of sheer selfishness, was at the Mage Tower, and Amelia or Paulen would have finished making their report in the Holy City. The High Priests of the Great Church might therefore suspect that the slime had some connection to him, a lich.

Smartass thought that although it would be safe for the slime to wander around and meet humans far from the Holy City and Mage Tower, visiting those two places directly would be dangerous.

So he appealed to Squishy's curiosity.

["Why not try somewhere new that you haven't been yet?"]

'Somewhere new!'

His attempt worked. The slime studied the map more closely.

On the map, the County of Rudendion, Green Elf Forest, the Mage Tower, and the Holy City seemed clustered together nearby. The map of the Dersia continent also showed regions other than the places the slime had visited.

Above the Holy City lay the capital. Farther above the capital, a snowy mountain region was marked.

Down below, by contrast, was the Monster Activity Zone, where monsters were particularly active even by the Dersia continent's standards.

To the right, the slime noticed a region divided by numerous lines into the territories of various nobles, unlike the Holy City, Mage Tower, and capital, which were marked in large blocks.

The slime's gaze turned toward the areas to the north, south, and east that it had yet to visit. Its curiosity stirred, urging it to discover new things.

But it was no longer the same slime that had been filled with nothing but curiosity at the beginning. It had met many humans and grown close to them.

Nellin.

Jessi, Nina, Finn.

Godric, Hawein, Sgol, Def.

Amelia, Paulen.

Gracie.

Meeting all those humans had taught it so many things and brought it happiness. Simply being with them had been fun.

And so, at some point, another desire had taken root inside the slime: to share the joy of discovering new things with the humans it was close to.

It wanted to see them again.

That was why the slime shifted its gaze away from the unfamiliar regions.

'Here!'

It pointed to a forest some distance below the Mage Tower on the map—a forest that, by coincidence, lay roughly five days from the colosseum by carriage.

[Squishy]▶I want to go here!

It was certainly a forest it had never visited, but on the map it didn't look very far from the places it had passed through.

The slime vaguely imagined that if it explored the area and kept traveling, it would meet the humans it had parted with again.

It was a vague notion with no basis whatsoever, but the slime never doubted it.

▷You mean here?

[Squishy]▶Yep! I choose here!

Smartass wondered why the slime had chosen this forest. Fairly powerful monsters appeared there.

Known as Sudden Calamity Forest, it was home to C- through B-rank monsters. Adventurers had given it that name because they frequently went in to hunt C-rank monsters only to run into B-rank ones instead—a calamity out of nowhere.

'Sudden Calamity Forest... Not a bad choice, considering Squishy's current abilities.'

In Smartass's estimation, the slime was now strong enough to handle even several B-rank monsters attacking at once.

Bounce Slimes were rare to begin with. But an ordinary Bounce Slime wasn't that powerful a monster. After all, it was merely a slime whose specialty was using its elasticity to leap harder and farther.

The slime before him, however, was different.

Its intelligence allowed it to make more active use of its natural traits, and regularly eating a variety of nutritious foods, growing, and training had given it strength entirely unlike that of an ordinary slime.

It had also gained high-quality practical combat experience by sparring with opponents far stronger than itself: Paulen, a Paladin, and Smartass, a lich.

There was no way a slime like that would lose to wild B-rank monsters too low-level to use the system.

'If things look too dangerous, I can just help.'

Smartass had spent more than thirty years shut away in his secret workshop. But after going outside every single day for a month to provide the slime's meals, he had lost his aversion to leaving.

▷All right. I'll send you near here tomorrow, then.

[Squishy]▶Okay!

+++

The next day.

Smartass gave the slime breakfast and, as promised, prepared to send it out of the secret workshop.

["Squishy, are you ready?"]

'Yep!'

BOING!

["Then let's go."]

Smartass used Warp magic to travel to Sudden Calamity Forest with the slime.

'Wow! Outside!'

The slime delighted in the lush green scenery, its first glimpse of the outdoors in a month. For the first time in ages, it felt soft earth and grass rather than the hard floor of the secret workshop.

["Squishy, I'll be going now. If things look dangerous, I'll come back, so don't worry."]

'Okay! Smartass! Thank you!'

BOING! BOING!

When Smartass used Warp magic to return to the secret workshop, the slime switched on its own stream for the first time in ages.

Its title was [We'll Meet Again!]

It had chosen the title with a reunion with the humans it had parted with in mind.

[Squishy Queen]▶At last, you have started your stream, my kin!

The first to enter the room was Squishy Queen, who had been waiting all along.

[Noblesse Fire]▶Finally out of Smartass's gloomy nest.

▶For real, it was dark and dreary as fuck.

▶That's just what that bastard Smartass is like lmao.

▶[Anonymous2214 has been kicked.]

[Free Spirit]▶I'm still a moderator.

▶Ahahaha.

▶He's still got the power lol. Watch your mouth lmao.

The slime had continued watching the viewers' chat through Smartass's stream. Even so, the chat room felt a little different when it was streaming for itself.

[Slam First Ask Later]▶So what are you doing now, Squishy?

▷I'm going to move! I'm going to wander around!

It was finally outside again. The slime decided to roam freely first and figure out what to do next along the way.

BOING! BOING! BOING! BOING!

Bouncing vigorously, it crossed Sudden Calamity Forest.

[Madam Cat's Cradle]▶Eeeeeek! You're sooo cute when you're bouncing around all excited, Squishy~.

[Squishy Queen]▶My kin! However excited you are, you must not let down your guard!

▶Oh yeah! That's it! Finally, some speed!

▶Ah! Speed s*x!

Excited as it was, the slime wasn't moving about blindly. It had only just eaten breakfast, so there was no need to go out of its way to defeat monsters.

Squishy used Sensing as it traveled, changing direction here and there to avoid encounters. It could always defeat monsters when it got hungry!

Instead, the slime focused on trying different ways of moving.

POP!

A tentacle stretched way out.

Normally, the slime traveled by simply bouncing along. This time, however, it began using its tentacles. It extended one to wrap around a branch, swung forward, then retracted it and reached for another branch to keep moving.

WHOOSH!

WHOOSH!

'This is fun!'

The slime traveled happily, freely putting to use the techniques it had employed to grab parts of golems and vault over them, or to dodge Paulen's sword.

▶What's that supposed to be now? lol.

▶Why's it swinging around like a monkey instead of bouncing? lmao.

[Gothic Luxury Bone]▶It seems it wanted to make plenty of use of its tentacles.

[Noblesse Fire]▶What a damn weird way to move.

[Squishy Queen]▶What is weird about it?! Any slime ought to know how to use its tentacles!

▶Then have you ever moved like that?

[Squishy Queen]▶Shut your mouth!

▶Lmaoooo.

[Madam Cat's Cradle]▶It's so cute using its tentacles, too~.

▶What don't you find cute, anyway?

[Madam Cat's Cradle]▶You.

▶Ahahaha.

▶Wait, a roast out of nowhere?

With the slime finally streaming again, the chat was livelier than ever. Glancing at the lively messages, the slime felt happy too, though it couldn't quite say why.

Then it happened.

'Huh? A person!'

The slime's Sensing picked up a human presence. But that wasn't all it detected. There were several monsters around the human, and they were closing in.

'Danger!'

The slime stopped traveling by tentacle and switched to the method it knew best—bouncing along—as it headed toward the presences.

[Noblesse Fire]▶What? Why'd you suddenly turn back?

▷A person! There! In danger!

▶There's a human?

▶How are there humans everywhere you go? lol.

▶Isn't that obvious? This is the Dersia continent.

[Squishy Queen]▶Are you heading toward humans again, my kin?! Wouldn't it be nice to spend some time alone for once?!

▶Look at her trembling at the thought of getting her kin stolen again lol.

[Squishy Queen]▶Who is trembling?!

▷A person! In danger right now!

At last, the slime reached the place where it had sensed the presences.

GRRRR!

"Ugh..."

The situation it had only sensed before now came clearly into view.

A girl with silvery-white ears and a tail, and yellow eyes, sat leaning against a tree, bleeding from her shoulder and thigh. Around her, several monsters approached with their teeth bared and saliva dripping from their mouths.

The girl surrounded by monsters and in peril was the colosseum champion—the girl who had asked Nellin to teach her.

It was Claire.

'Danger!'

BOIING!

Using Bounce Tackle, the slime hurtled toward the monsters surrounding the girl.