Chapter 127 - Northward (1)

The group was together now because of the lich incident. Squishy had returned safely, and the problem of Brooks Besilza, which they had discovered along the way, had also been resolved.

That was why Nellin asked everyone about their plans. But on second thought, what mattered most was what Squishy wanted.

'When you think about it, Squishy has always been at the center of everything.'

The slime had a connection to everyone, and for some unknown reason, Ventus kept watching it.

'I'd rather it came with me. This little guy gives seriously good massages.'

Everyone in the room, Nellin included, looked at the slime.

▶What, is it time to pick which hooman to follow?

▶For an easy life, wouldn't it be Pink Hair and Muscle Hooman? Should get a steady supply of eating streams.

▶The hooman covered in dangling stuff does all kinds of things with Squishy. Isn't that more fun?

▶No, no, travel content is the best. Lots of hoomans to watch, and you never know where it'll go next.

[Squishy Queen]▶Do not treat my kin's choice as mere entertainment! How rude!

The viewers were watching Squishy's choice too.

'Stay with who?'

Squishy thought briefly about Nellin's question, then immediately sprang into action.

BOING!

"Huh?"

Squishy leaped high and landed on Paulen's head.

"S-Squishy..."

Def called to Squishy, sounding deeply disappointed.

▶It picked Muscle Hooman? LMAO.

▶Ah, the lure of stronger tentacles was irresistible.

[Slam First Ask Later]▶Wait! What happened to wanting lessons from me?!

▶Who knows?

▶Who gives a shit about some wolf bastard? LOL.

The viewers, too, were just about to conclude that Squishy had chosen the Saintess and the Paladin.

BOING! BOING!

Squishy moved from Paulen's head to Amelia's, then onto Gracie's.

"Hm?"

"S-Squishy?"

Even as everyone puzzled over its behavior, Squishy kept moving without stopping.

BOING! BOING! BOING!

From Gracie's head to Def's, to Claire's, Squishy kept hopping from head to head. After riding on the head of everyone in the room once, it hopped down to the floor.

BOING! BOING!

Squishy bounced in place, as if declaring that this was its choice.

The group understood naturally what it wanted to say.

"Squishy, you little thing. You're greedy, aren't you?"

'Greedy?'

Squishy tilted its body as though it didn't understand.

Everyone burst out laughing at the sight.

"Hahaha! Looks like Squishy doesn't want to pick anyone. It wants to stay with all of us."

"Squishy must like everyone!"

"Big Sis Nellin, come to think of it, the Saintess and Gracie haven't even decided what they're doing yet. I think you asked Squishy too soon."

"Did I? Well, as long as we can laugh about it, that's all that matters, right?"

"Heh. Feeling guilty and trying to brush it off, are you?"

"Shut up."

SMACK!

"Ow!"

"You always find just the thing to get yourself hit, Hawein."

"Ugh. This is my destiny..."

"That's a fancy way of saying you can't keep your mouth shut."

Once the mood had lightened, Amelia spoke.

"I'm going back to the Holy City first. I think I should personally deliver the news that Brooks Besilza has been punished."

"I will simply accompany the Saintess."

"I think I'll have to stay at the Mage Tower for a while, too. I don't know what will happen to my funding now, and I still have a paper to submit."

"I see."

In the end, the group had no choice but to part ways. Nellin, Godric's Party, and Claire would keep traveling together, Amelia and Paulen would go to the Holy City, and Gracie would stay at the Mage Tower.

'So we're parting with the Saintess.'

'Hmm. I still wanted to hear more about magical devices, but I guess there's no helping it.'

'I liked sparring with the Paladin. It wasn't as brutal as sparring with Big Sis Nellin.'

'What a shame.'

Their time together hadn't been long, but it hadn't been short either. Godric's Party regretted having to part with the others.

"Well, parting ways with you isn't really much of a problem."

"Big Sis Nellin, how can you say something so hurtful?"

"Hurtful, my foot. Squishy, hop onto my hand."

'Hop on?'

BOING!

Once Squishy was on her hand, Nellin tapped its head with her index finger.

"We've got that capable bastard who can go wherever he wants. He might even be watching us right now."

'A-are you talking about me, Nellin?'

Smartass, who was watching the stream, flinched at her words.

"If we really want to meet, we just have to ask that bastard Ventus to take us there, don't we? We'd see each other in no time."

"Y-you're right. With Lord Ventus's abilities, that should certainly be possible. And since Saintess Fresia is with him, he wouldn't be discovered, either."

Amelia blinked, apparently never having considered it.

"B-but is it all right to put Lord Ventus to work like that?"

Gracie felt bad about treating her ancestor like a coachman.

Nellin answered confidently.

"Of course it is! We're practically cleaning up after those two even now. If we give something, we should get something back!"

*'Hmm...'

* * *

Despite her brazen intention to put him to work, Smartass couldn't refuse. Nellin was currently acting so that the two of them could live peacefully as people presumed dead.

▶What? Smartass is the hoomans' coachman now?

▶Sure, he used to be a hooman, but now he's just getting bossed around. Tsk, tsk.

[Madam Cat's Cradle]▶He says it's so he can get along with the human he's living with. Is it love after all? It is love, isn't it?

▶Love, my ass.

▶Ah! Love and s*x!

▶↑This bastard's spouting random crap again.

▶Fact is, even if they split up, they can see the hoomans they've met before in no time~.

The viewers were also settling on the idea that Smartass was a coachman for transporting hoomans.

"Master, I have a question."

Claire, who had been quiet, asked Nellin.

"What is it?"

"Why did you lie?"

"Hm?"

Claire began unfolding her fingers one by one to sort through what she knew.

"Master, Gracie, and Amelia said it. The Mage of a Thousand Spells is a lich. The lich died with Saintess Fresia. But that night, after Squishy disappeared, Master said not to worry, so I waited. Then a strange skeleton and an old lady appeared. Master called the skeleton and the old lady Ventus and Fresia."

Having said everything she wanted to say for the moment, Claire looked at Nellin and tilted her head.

"What happened?"

"Ah."

Everyone in the room froze.

There was something they had overlooked—something they hadn't noticed because everything had moved along so naturally.

They hadn't explained any of the circumstances to Claire.

"You... why are you only asking now? Come to think of it, why didn't you ask back then?"

Nellin meant when Squishy had returned with Smartass and Fresia after they had waited for it to reappear.

They had been so relieved that Squishy was back and everything had ended well that they had completely forgotten about Claire. Besides, she had stayed quiet then and hadn't mentioned anything since, so they had inadvertently let it slip past them.

"Because I didn't understand."

"You didn't understand?"

"I didn't understand why Master said those things. I didn't understand why everyone said different things. I thought about it. But... I still don't understand."

Claire had kept puzzling over it because she couldn't understand why Nellin and the others weren't telling the truth. But no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't work it out. When the subject came up again, she had asked.

"Why did you lie, Master?"

"Ah... well, you see. First, let me say this. Sorry. I forgot I hadn't explained things to you."

"I see. I forget things a lot too."

Claire immediately accepted that she had forgotten.

Nellin liked that refreshingly straightforward answer so much that the corners of her mouth rose.

"Right? People can forget things! All right, I'll tell you everything too, so listen carefully."

"Okay."

Nellin told Claire the "truth" they had learned.

After hearing the whole story, Claire said,

"Ohhh, I see."

Her voice sounded vacant, but she happily accepted the truth, glad that the question troubling her had finally been answered.

Claire readily accepted it and understood what had happened, and that was that. Concealing the facts hadn't caused a rift in their relationship.

The real uproar wasn't among Nellin's group. It was in the chat.

▶You got backstabbed and turned into a monster? LMAOOO.

[Noblesse Fire]▶Is it true you never left your nest once after becoming a monster? Didn't know you were that pathetic.

[Gothic Luxury Bone]▶That's rich coming from a shut-in loser dragon. Haven't you spent even longer holed up in your nest?

[Noblesse Fire]▶Shut up, you bony bastard!!!

[Madam Cat's Cradle]▶Oh my, oh my, oh my! She really was your mate! I knew I was right! Honestly, Smartass! Were you too embarrassed to say anything?

He had wanted to keep the details hidden as much as possible, but in explaining things to Claire, they had ended up exposing everything to the viewers in stark detail. Even what had happened with Nellin's group while Squishy fought the band of orcs sent by the Orc Champion had come out.

[Tailwind King]▶So while I was making content, he was off doing something else?

▶Your subordinate made it, not you. LOL.

[Tailwind King]▶I planned it, and all my subordinates' achievements are my achievements.

▶Sigh~ Even Bones has a mate. Why don't I have a female?

▶Look in a lake and you'll know?

▶Wut?

▶Means the answer's in your face reflected in the lake.

▶You f*cker!

'Ugh! Everything's out in the open now!'

How much ammunition would this give the monsters to pick on him and make fun of him next time?

Smartass couldn't help sighing.

-"Haa..."

"Ventus, what's wrong?"

At his sigh, Fresia looked up from the book she was reading in a chair across from him and asked.

-"Ah, Fresia. It's nothing. Sorry, I've made you worry."

"Is it that thing you still can't tell me about again?"

-"..."

Since beginning to live with Smartass, Fresia had started to suspect that there was something more to it than merely looking at the outside world through the slime.

But whenever she asked, he only said that he couldn't tell her yet and asked her to wait a little longer. Since he insisted on that, Fresia was waiting patiently too.

"All right. I'll wait. But you were looking outside through Squishy, weren't you?"

-"Y-yes."

"What are Nellin and the others doing now? Are they still at the Mage Tower?"

-"Yes, but it looks like they'll be going their separate ways soon."

"Ah, that makes sense. Amelia and Paulen have to go to the Holy City, and Miss Gracie's home is at the Mage Tower. Oh, but..."

Fresia chuckled softly as she spoke.

"Couldn't you bring them together again from time to time with that Warp spell, Ventus? They all went along with my unreasonable wishes... and helped me live quietly with you like this. Why not help them if they want it?"

-"... Y-yes. That would be nice too."

'Do companions grow alike?'