Claire focused her mind on the slime’s movements.
The most important thing was to observe how the opponent would move and react immediately.
‘Tongtong is strong, he’s not even serious yet.’
That’s why the sparring was even possible right now.
When the slime used its tentacles, it could launch a much wider variety of attacks.
Above all, if the slime went all out and tackled her with full force, she wouldn’t even be able to dodge.
But this fact didn’t upset Claire.
She had already witnessed the slime’s strength up close several times, and most importantly, the slime never looked down on her or laughed at her.
If the slime had gotten better at controlling its strength through sparring, Claire’s agility — which was already her specialty — had also improved.
‘Now!’
Until now, she had barely been able to track and dodge the attacks with her eyes.
But having grown used to the slime’s controlled speed, Claire started to counterattack as soon as she dodged.
“Haaah!”
When the slime showed an opening after a tackle, Claire launched a kick.
Whoosh!
Just as Claire’s foot was about to hit the slime.
Pop!
The slime pulled out a tentacle, wrapped it around her leg, and leapt over her.
It was a move it had used before to dodge the swords of Paulen and the Orc Champion.
‘It used a tentacle!’
Finally, the slime had pulled out its tentacle.
Until now, it had simply bounced around, dodging Claire’s attacks with ease!
Inside, Claire felt her own growth and became even more fired up.
And the slime wasn’t the only one watching her growth.
▶ Oh, Furry made the slime use a tentacle.
[Just Slam First] ▶ Hmph! It’s only because the Squishy is going easy on her again! But still, not bad!
▶ When did you become a tsundere?
▶ Isn’t it just because you’re 100% furry?
[Just Slam First] ▶ Who are you calling a furry!
▶ Ah! Furry X!
▶ Look at her eyes, she’s so happy that the slime pulled out its tentacle.
▶ Hahahahaha
[Gothic Luxury Bone] ▶ This is fun to watch in its own way.
Claire didn’t show rapid growth like the slime.
But that was actually what viewers liked.
It was nice to have that contrast.
In the sparring scenes, the viewers had always seen the slime acting as a challenger.
After all, Paulen and even Troll were stronger than the slime.
But this time, the slime was taking the role of a strong opponent, controlling its strength against the weaker Claire.
Through sparring with Claire, they could feel the slime’s growth and also a sense of pride that it was no longer just a weakling.
Above all, monsters generally loved to see weaklings struggle against strong opponents.
That sense of superiority was always sweet to them, which is why “today’s hunt” or “going to crush that cocky rival territory guy” type of streams were popular.
‘One more time!’
Claire didn’t give up and spun her body, this time aiming a spinning kick at the slime.
But.
Stretch!
Once it had pulled out its tentacle, the slime extended it to wrap around Claire’s face and immediately closed the distance.
Squeeze!
“Mmff!”
With a bit of force, it pushed its body against her face, making Claire lose her balance instantly and fall.
Claire and the slime had an unspoken rule.
If you fell, you lost.
‘I lost again.’
Acknowledging her defeat, Claire peeled the slime off her face.
“Pwah! As expected, Tongtong is strong.”
‘Strong!’
Shiver shiver shiver!
Overjoyed at Claire’s praise, the slime trembled with excitement.
“Hey, since you’re done, let me get some lessons from the hero too.”
A fellow adventurer approached Claire and the slime right after the match ended.
Of course, to spar, you needed a proper place.
Claire had chosen the training hall at the Adventurers’ Guild for that.
After the raid incident, the slime had garnered a lot of attention, so it was natural that people would come watch when they sparred at the guild.
The sparring between Claire and the slime.
At first, there were doubts about whether it would even work.
But after watching them repeat it several times, the adventurers decided that this sparring was safe.
Anyone could see that the slime was going easy on Claire.
And the more they sparred, the better the slime got at controlling its strength.
That made more and more adventurers want to try sparring with the slime themselves.
So, from the second day of sparring on, adventurers started lining up to challenge the slime after Claire’s turn.
▶ Hahaha, another worthless human is coming next.
▶ Why do they keep coming to get thrashed by the Squishy?
▶ Ah~ they don’t die, right~.
▶ How can you resist fighting someone stronger when there’s no risk of death?
▶ Lolol
[Squishy Queen] ▶ Hmph! In the end, they’re just shameless beings clinging to the kindness of my kin!
▶ Why are you acting like this again?
▶ Did you get annoyed because the humans like the slime now and it’s no longer your special little kin?
▶ Only now?
[Squishy Queen] ▶ That’s not it!
‘I love sparring!’
Even with more humans lining up to spar, the slime wasn’t annoyed — it was actually happy to be able to spar with so many different people.
Because everyone had a different fighting style.
Even those who used swords had their own unique approaches.
The slime found it fun to observe all that and felt like its games were becoming more diverse.
Eating tasty food, sparring or doing quests, giving massages to the old folks who lined up when there was time.
This time too, the slime was enjoying a life similar yet different to its time in the Ludentian County, Godrick’s party, the Holy Capital, the Magic Tower, and all the places it had experienced so far.
The clear difference this time was that it was waiting in anticipation for a reunion.
The slime had clearly heard what Claire said.
That if it waited here, Nellin and Godrick’s party would come.
Thinking about reuniting with the first elf it had met and the Godrick party it had accidentally parted ways with made every day exciting for the slime.
And three weeks passed.
The slime completely adapted to its evolved body, and through continued sparring, Claire’s skills improved even further.
Not only that, but the slime had become the most popular being in the village.
It made sense — besides looking harmless, it was a hero who saved the village, sparred with people, and even gave pleasant massages!
For the villagers, it was hard to consider the slime a monster since it had helped them so much.
"Hi, Tongtong! Hi, Claire too."
"Yeah, hi."
"Good morning, Tongtong. Hoho, did you sleep well too, Claire?"
"Yeah, I slept well."
"Hey, this bread just came out today. Try it! Tongtong, you like this bread, right?"
"Thank you."
Thanks to that, walking around in the morning with the slime on her head and greeting villagers had become part of daily life.
Because of this, Claire also started to find it a bit easier to talk to people than before.
In the past, she thought conversations that weren’t about killing monsters were bothersome and unnecessary, but now she no longer felt that way.
Rather, she could recall the happy memories she had from living in the village before the attack.
Every time she remembered those times, Claire thought to herself.
‘I’m glad I protected this village.’
Not just for revenge, but another reason to fight monsters was now growing inside Claire.
Then, as she entered the guild thinking about what quest to take today.
Claire and the slime encountered them.
Nellin and his party, who had finally arrived in Chilture.
The receptionist who was dealing with them noticed Claire and the slime and spoke.
"Ah, they’re here."
The group all turned around at once.
"Tongtong!"
The first to react and run over was Def.
"Jiggly!"
Right after him, Amelia followed, calling out the slime’s other name.
‘Def! Amelia!’
Boing!
Recognizing them immediately, the slime jumped off Claire’s head and rushed to them.
When the slime jumped toward Def in the front, he grabbed it with both hands and rubbed it against his cheek.
"Tongtong! I’m so glad! You’re safe!"
Shiver shiver shiver!
Feeling Def’s touch again after so long, the slime trembled with joy.
"Hehe, that tickles!"
"Jiggly..."
Seeing the slime trembling as it rubbed against Def’s cheek, Amelia let out a sigh of relief, placing her hand over her chest.
"Um, Saintess, you should hug Jiggly too."
"Oh, thank you."
Receiving the slime from Def, Amelia held it with both hands and looked at it.
"Jiggly, you’re not hurt anywhere, are you?"
‘Nope!’
Shiver shiver shiver!
"I’m really so glad."
Tears of joy welled up in Amelia’s eyes.
"Tongtong!"
The rest of Godrick’s party, along with Paulen and Gracie, also came over to the slime.
"Wow, it’s good to see you’re still alive."
Watching this scene, Nellin raised the corners of his mouth and approached Claire.
"Thanks. You took care of Tongtong, right?"
"Yeah."
Claire nodded immediately.
"I found him like I promised. So now you’ll teach me, right?"
"Yeah, yeah, I’ll teach you. A promise is a promise. But..."
"But?"
Nellin looked at the group happily surrounding the slime.
"He’s really alive... Tongtong, I was so grateful back then."
"Heh, is this what you call a fated reunion?"
"You always have to act cool at times like this? Hey, Tongtong! Don’t make us worry like that again!"
"Now we can train again, Jiggly!"
"Ah, with this... the support funds! I mean, of course! I’m happy to see you too!"
With a soft laugh, Nellin pointed his thumb over his shoulder.
"Would it be okay if I teach you next time instead of today? It’s been so long since I’ve seen him too."
"Sure, that’s fine. But… who are those three? They’re calling him Tongtong and Jiggly."
"Oh, right. You haven’t met them yet, huh?"
Nellin briefly explained Amelia’s group to Claire.
"After we lost Tongtong, they were the ones who found him and took care of him. They also had to part ways with him due to circumstances. We happened to meet them while searching, and they joined us. They call him Jiggly."
"I see."
"Then, I should..."
Nellin turned around and approached the slime, who was surrounded by the group.
"Hey, it’s really been a long time, huh?"
‘Nellin!’
Boing!
The slime jumped from Amelia’s hands and climbed onto Nellin’s shoulder, rubbing against him.
Shiver shiver shiver!
"Kya haha! That tickles! Oh, so this is what it feels like when you rub against the cheek. I should’ve tried it sooner. Well, anyway."
Nellin lightly tapped the slime with his hand.
"You recognizing me means you’re really the same slime we met back then. Ah."
Nellin pulled out jerky from his pocket, from the elf village.
"It’s been a while since you’ve had this, right?"
‘Jerky!’
As soon as Nellin offered it, the slime absorbed it immediately.
‘Delicious!’
It was the first nutritious food it had tasted right after leaving the cave.
This time, it wasn’t just about nutrition — it could truly taste it.
Shiver shiver shiver shiver!
"Is it that tasty?"
‘Yeah!’
Watching the slime on his shoulder for a moment, Nellin spoke.
"Alright, let’s book a room first. Then we can catch up properly."