"Presia, what are you talking about?"
"Y-Yes! What do you mean you’re not going back!"
"What exactly do you mean?"
Surprised by Presia’s words, Troll, Amelia, and Paulen all asked in turn.
Unlike the flustered ones, Presia simply smiled calmly, as if her mind was already made up.
"Just as I said. I’m not going back to the Holy City, I’m staying here. So Ventus, I’m sorry, but I can’t grant your request."
"No, but why on earth would you stay here...?"
"Because that’s what I want to do."
Presia walked up to Troll and grabbed his bony hand.
"I don’t want to be apart from you anymore, Ventus. I want to stay by your side from now on."
"W-What!?"
"Lady Saintess Presia!?"
"Oh my!"
"Huh? Uh? Oh. Ohhhh...."
At Presia’s completely unexpected confession, Troll’s jaw dropped wide open.
[Troll]
[Nickname: Free Spirit]
[Human name: Ventus Frail]
While alive—no, even counting his time as a lich after death—it was the first time he had ever heard a love confession.
Troll wasn’t the only one shocked.
Amelia was also stunned by the love confession of the revered Presia.
The always gentle and seemingly transcendent Presia was confessing—to a lich, no less.
Even Gracie, who had already known that Presia had feelings for Ventus Frail, was startled by the sudden confession.
The only one who adapted to the situation right away was none other than Nellin.
"When did you two start hooking up?"
"H-Hooking up!? I mean, I never... with Presia... we aren’t like that...!"
"Big bro, what does hooking up mean?"
"I think I heard it somewhere... oh right, wasn’t it when the old herbalist lady talked about living with her late husband?"
"Then... did the Great Mage and the Saintess of Healing get married?"
When Def mentioned the word "married," Troll flinched.
"Married!? Don’t say nonsense like that!"
"S-Sorry!"
"Of course, we didn’t get married. We didn’t even date. But it’s true that I have feelings for Ventus."
"G-Gah! Uh, uh..."
"Oooooh~"
Overwhelmed by the intense confession, Troll was at a loss for words, while Nellin smirked and watched the scene unfold.
"S-S-Since when...?"
"I think I had these feelings ever since we traveled together. But I only realized it was love... foolishly, after I accepted that you had died in that accident."
"O-Oh. I-I see, I s-see..."
"Puhahaha! Look at you stuttering like crazy! I wish the others could see you like this!"
Troll couldn’t tell if this was reality or not.
That’s because he had never even thought about romance!
And yet, out of nowhere, Presia was confessing that she loved him.
That same Presia who had always been kind and gave great trust to her companions.
While alive, Troll had thought that romance was a distant concept, but he did think that Presia and Nellin were both very attractive.
However, thinking a companion is attractive and actually being together with them are two entirely different stories.
That’s why Troll was so flustered and couldn’t understand the situation at all.
In the midst of this first intense bewilderment, he felt something like a cold sweat and his heart racing, even though he was clearly a lich.
Even though he looked like a skeleton, Presia could see glimpses of his former self in his actions.
His confused, sweaty behavior felt cute and lovable to her.
"So I’ll just die here in this battle with Ventus. That way, it’ll be easier to gain sympathy, and I’ll leave the message delivery to Amelia."
"What!?"
"Lady Saintess Presia, that’s...!"
She could understand the desire to stay with Troll because she loved him.
But to fake her death and stay behind was a bold and extreme suggestion.
Presia also knew she was saying something extreme.
But from the moment she realized Ventus was still alive, even as a lich, her heart began to race forward like a runaway train, and she couldn’t stop.
"I’m already at the age to retire. There are already two other saints, so it would be natural for me to step down now, don’t you think?"
"But I... I’m still far from being as capable as you, Lady Presia."
"Your shortcomings can be filled through growth, Amelia. And if it’s really difficult, come see me. I’ll always be happy to advise you."
"But if we part here, there won’t be a way to come back..."
"Ventus always watches over Jiggly, right? When you’re struggling with Jiggly, just say the word. I’ll ask Ventus to come meet you."
"W-Wait a minute, Presia! No matter what, this is too sudden!"
"Oh my, Ventus, do you perhaps not want me by your side?"
"N-No! That’s not it. Not at all..."
Seeing Troll trail off, Nellin grinned.
"Kekekeke. Hey, you know, Presia is actually really stubborn."
"Don’t just laugh! Say something, Nellin! Do you really think it’s okay for Presia to stay by my side!"
"That’s something for you and Presia to decide. Why are you asking me? Don’t act like a scaredy-cat and hurry up and decide."
!
When it came to magic, he prided himself on being able to answer anything instantly.
But the problem in front of him now was more difficult than any magic he had ever solved.
However, Troll thought desperately, feeling that if he didn’t give an answer quickly, something terrible would happen in many ways.
"Presia! You, you staying by my side, I..."
...
"I’m happy too."
"Really?"
"Yeah! But... can’t we postpone this for later?"
"Why?"
"If we’re going to live together, we need preparations! Yes! Preparations are important. Look around!"
Troll spread his arms wide.
"This place isn’t comfortable for a human to live in! First, if you’re going to live here too, you need to prepare..."
"Then it would be better for us to prepare together. I’ll help."
"N-No, even if you help, it would take quite some time to make this place livable!"
"Then we can just set up a new place somewhere else."
"A new place!?"
"Yes, with Ventus’s magic, making a temporary shelter would be quick, right? According to you, you only happened to hole up here, you don’t have to live in this exact place forever."
"W-Well, that’s true, but..."
"And if it’s really going to take that long... then I’ll just become one too."
"B-Become what?"
"An undead. Wouldn’t it be perfect if you used the same magic that turned you into a lich on me? Ah! I think it’s a great idea!"
"What!?"
"Huh? Hey, Presia. Are you serious about that?"
Even Nellin couldn’t help but be flustered by Presia’s statement that she would become an undead herself.
Presia nodded without the slightest hesitation.
"Yes, I’m serious. When I think about it, even if I stay by Ventus’s side, I probably only have about twenty years left to live at most. In that case, wouldn’t it be better to become an undead and stay with Ventus forever?"
To willingly become an undead to stay with the one she loved.
It was an unthinkable statement coming from a saintess.
But looking at it differently, it meant that Presia’s love for Ventus Frail was that sincere.
"F-Presia. Y-You..."
Presia’s unwavering love shattered the wall of confusion and struck straight into Troll’s heart.
And that love made Troll, who no longer even had a heart, feel something like excitement.
"Ventus, it’s okay if I stay here, right?"
"Y-Yeah... Presia, you can stay..."
"Hehe, I look forward to being with you."
In the end, Troll couldn’t stop Presia.
Presia’s declaration that she didn’t mind becoming an undead left Amelia, Paulen, Gracie, and even Godrick’s party speechless.
They all realized that nothing could stop Presia now.
***
Around the time Presia was declaring that she would live with Troll.
"Tongtong! Hooray!"
"Hooray!"
"Tongtong! Hooray!"
"Hooray!"
‘Hooray!’
The slime was being tossed into the air and treated like a hero.
And rightly so—Chilture’s survival was almost entirely thanks to the slime.
They had only hoped it would buy them some time against the two Orc Champions.
Even that had felt like a gamble.
But it went beyond expectations, not just buying time but actually defeating both of them!
And after defeating the two, it even helped the adventurers fight off the rest of the orc horde.
Thanks to that, while there were adventurers who suffered serious injuries in this battle, there were no deaths at all.
The joy of surviving a battle they entered prepared to die was indescribable.
At the same time, the greatest contributor to this victory.
The affection toward the slime rose endlessly.
After the battle, the wounded were sent to the temple with the priests, and the adventurers each took their rest.
Exhausted from the fierce fight, all the adventurers collapsed into deep sleep in their lodgings.
Meanwhile, the guild staff busily moved while the adventurers slept.
First, they dragged the corpses of the fallen Orc Champions into the village to collect spoils, and then they had to call back the villagers who had been evacuated.
By the time the adventurers woke up from their deep sleep, the villagers who had fled were returning to the village.
"We’re really safe..."
"Did they really defeat an orc horde that even had Orc Champions?"
The villagers were bewildered even seeing their intact village, but once they saw the two Orc Champion corpses the guild staff had brought inside beforehand, they finally understood.
And what followed, naturally, was a festival.
When the orc horde first came, the adventurers had held a small celebration within the guild, but this time the entire village joined in.
Not only were they happy the village wasn’t destroyed, but they were also celebrating the huge boost in the village’s income.
Outside of big cities, there was a limit to the number of monsters the guild could dismantle.
That’s why a village like Chilture, which had many monsters nearby but wasn’t very large, would help the guild dismantle monsters and take a share of the profits.
The orc horde that had come a few days ago alone had been worth nearly two months' worth of revenue, and this time they had managed to subdue two A-rank monsters, the Orc Champions.
Instead of being ruined, the village had earned enough money to last them comfortably for months, so of course, the entire village celebrated the adventurers.
And once the villagers realized that the slime was the greatest contributor to it all, they joined the adventurers in tossing the slime into the air again and again.
"Tongtong, hooray!"
The slime had become a hero not just to the adventurers but to the villagers as well.
Tossed into the air many times during the festival, offered endless food, and showered with thanks, the slime...
‘I love festivals!’
Naturally, the slime came to love festivals.
[Squishy Queen] ▶ Because of you humans, I can’t learn about the new evolution of my kin!!!
As the explanation about Mighty Slime got delayed thanks to the festival fun, the Slime Queen could only grow more and more frustrated inside.