At first, news spread through the village that people had co to take Squishy away.
Squishy was already pretty much the most popular being in the village, so the news spread fast.
Just as everyone was feeling sad that the sli was leaving the village, a new piece of news spread again.
It was about the identity of the people who had co to take Squishy.
Among the group who ca to take Squishy were none other than a Saintess and a Paladin.
And more surprising than anything, there was one of the heroes who had defeated the black dragon known as the calamity 50 years ago—Nellin, the Starlight Archer.
Though they were shocked to learn who had co for Squishy, the villagers soon accepted it.
Ah! No wonder the sli was so extraordinary if it was traveling with such amazing people!
They had just vaguely thought Squishy was amazing, but now there was a convincing "reason" behind it.
"Hey! Tongtong is going to spar with the Paladin this ti!"
"What?! We definitely have to see that!"
Since all the attention was focused on them, any move the group made instantly beca a rumor.
"Oh dear, Tongtong is going to fight the Paladin? What if he gets hurt?"
"Eh, old man, Tongtong took down even an Orc Champion by himself, he'll be fine."
"We get to see a Paladin spar? We absolutely can’t miss that!"
Elderly folks worried about Squishy and adventurers eager to see the Paladin's skills all gathered at the guild's training ground.
"Whoa, why are there so many people?"
"Well, sister doesn’t even hide her na anymore. That’s probably why they all ca, isn’t it?"
"Ha, this fa hasn’t changed even after decades."
"Honestly, rather than Nellin, I think most people ca after hearing the nas of the Saintess and the Paladin," soone boldly comnted.
Smack!
“Ow!"
"Paulen! Don’t go too hard just because it’s been a while since you’ve t!"
"I know. Alright then, Squishy."
Before reuniting with Squishy, Paulen had heard from the guild receptionist about Squishy’s feats.
Squishy had taken down two Orc Champions alone.
Paulen judged that when they last parted ways at the Magic Tower, Squishy didn’t have that level of skill.
That ant—
'Even by Ventus's side, he never neglected his training!'
Though he had already heard from Troll that Squishy trained while staying at the workshop, hearing about the results moved him deeply.
That’s why Paulen wanted to genuinely spar and feel Squishy’s strength for himself.
Gripping his sword and large shield even tighter, Paulen announced the start of the spar.
"Co at !"
‘It’s a spar!’
Excited for this long-awaited spar with Paulen, Squishy was full of energy.
While he wanted to show Paulen how much he had grown, he also wanted to showcase the “new technique” he had learned through sparring with Claire.
Boing!
First, Squishy used his strengthened Bounce Tackle.
Thoooom!
With a speed that normal warriors couldn’t even follow with their eyes, Squishy slamd into the large shield.
'Ah! You’ve really gotten stronger, Squishy!'
The numbness he felt through his hands was even stronger than before.
‘I’ll have to get more serious.’
Feeling Squishy’s growth from the first blow, Paulen circulated his mana to reinforce his body.
'Paulen is tough!'
Squishy joyfully continued his attacks, seeing Paulen easily block his enhanced Bounce Tackle.
Pop!
Squishy extended his tentacle upward to grab the large shield and climbed up.
The sli and Paulen’s eyes t.
Squishy pulled back two tentacles slightly.
In that superhuman instant, Paulen lifted his shield upward and stepped back.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
Squishy’s tentacle flurry pounded the large shield.
"W-What the heck is that!?"
"He’s attacking like that with tentacles?"
"Wow, I didn’t think he could attack like that."
Neither Godrick’s group nor even Nellin had imagined he’d unleash such a rapid tentacle barrage.
And it wasn’t just them who were surprised watching the spar.
▶ ???? What is that!?
▶ Those tentacles are so fast lolol
[Just Slam First] ▶ Where’s the body slam going? Why are you doing that attack, Squishygggg!
[Gothic Luxury Bone] ▶ Maybe think of it as a tentacle body slam?
[Just Slam First] ▶ That’s NOT a body slamttt!
▶ Look at him losing it lolol
[SquishyQueen] ▶ You learned to use your tentacles better, my kin! I’m so proud!
[Thread-Lady] ▶ Squishy’s tentacle punches are cute too~.
▶ Beco a sli puncher!
The tentacle flurry Squishy used was a technique he thought up while sparring with Claire and was trying today for the first ti.
Unlike Troll or Paulen, Claire sparred with Squishy using only her fists and kicks.
Watching Claire’s fighting style, Squishy thought he might be able to attack similarly using his tentacles.
And the current scene was giving him the answer.
His tentacles, even fiercer than Claire’s punches, pounded Paulen’s large shield over and over.
Though he had attacked with tentacles before, this was his first ti using them so fully.
"Impressive, Squishy!"
Delighted by Squishy’s growth, Paulen launched a counterattack.
Thoooom!
Swinging the large shield that had been blocking the tentacle barrage, Paulen sent Squishy flying.
Even as he flew back, Squishy didn’t panic and imdiately used another “new technique.”
‘Kick!’
Extending his tentacles and spinning his body in the air, Squishy attacked.
The swinging tentacles looked just like whips.
Slaaash!
Of course, the tentacle whip, slower than the body slam, didn’t land on Paulen.
As soon as he blocked the tentacle with his large shield, Paulen closed the distance.
"Let’s see how well you dodge, Squishy!"
Paulen’s sword shot fiercely toward Squishy.
'So fast!'
That speed was the fastest Squishy had faced in any spar with Paulen.
But now, as a Mighty Sli, he could easily dodge it.
Boing! Boing! Boing!
"Wow! That’s amazing!"
"I can’t even follow the sword with my eyes!"
"Tongtong is super fast too!"
The adventurers cheered watching the spar.
They had often seen Claire and Squishy spar, and even sparred with him themselves.
But it was their first ti seeing Squishy move this fast.
And Claire felt the sa.
'Tongtong is amazing. So fast.'
He knew that Paulen was holding back when sparring with him, but to think he was this fast.
Amazed by Squishy’s incredible abilities, Claire also felt a burning desire inside her to beco even stronger.
***
The sparring with Paulen went on for about ten minutes.
Even though Squishy had evolved and grown stronger, his opponent was a Paladin.
Paulen matched Squishy’s improved level and showed even more skill, so Squishy never landed a clean hit.
However, Squishy didn’t feel frustrated by that at all.
Because, to Squishy, sparring was a kind of ga.
‘This is fun!’
Rather than being upset, he was just happy that he could still have so much fun sparring with Paulen, even after growing stronger.
And he wasn’t the only one enjoying it.
“Hahaha! You’ve really gotten strong, Squishy!”
Paulen, who finished the sparring, was also just happy to see how much Squishy had grown.
“Alright! Then let’s work out together for old ti’s sake…”
“Paulen, let’s stop here for today. We’re not the only ones happy to see Squishy, right?”
“…That’s true, but what a sha.”
Leaving his disappointnt behind, Paulen finished the spar with Squishy.
Watching Paulen and Squishy return, Claire asked Nellin.
“I have a question.”
“Hm? What is it?”
“Why did you start calling him Squishy?”
It was a question about why the na had suddenly changed after they ca back into the room.
“Ah, you might not believe this, but actually…”
Nellin roughly explained what had happened in the room.
“I see.”
“What? You believe it just like that?”
“Yeah. I knew Tongtong could read letters, but I didn’t know he could write.”
“You knew?”
“He even chooses his favorite things from the nu himself.”
“He did? Well, anyway, from now on, you should call him Squishy too. That’s what he wants.”
“Okay. But what are we going to do now? Are we leaving the village right away?”
She was going to follow regardless, but Claire asked, recalling what an adventurer had said upstairs to comfort her.
“No, we’re staying here for about three days.”
“I see.”
After holding a morial service for Presia, Nellin’s group had imdiately left for Chilture.
So, to relieve the fatigue from the long journey, they had all decided to rest in Chilture for about three days before departing again.
“Squishy, let’s go for a walk together.”
‘Walk!’
“Gracie, you should co too.”
“Y-Yes!”
After the spar with Paulen, the next to enjoy ti with Squishy were Alia and Gracie.
Alia had planned to leisurely walk around the village with Squishy and spend ti together, but things didn’t go as planned.
“It’s an honor to have the Saintess visit our village.”
“Honor? I’m just another person receiving Lord Lutinus’s care like all of you.”
“Oh, how could you be so humble.”
Even as the next Saintess, she was still a Saintess.
To believers of the God of light Lutinus, Alia was an object of admiration and respect.
So even during her walk, believers in the village would co hoping to see her, bowing their heads deeply.
What was supposed to be a relaxing walk soon turned into sothing like a fan eting, with believers lining up.
‘What do I do?’
While Alia couldn’t bring herself to refuse the believers who had co to see her and kept greeting them, “Um, everyone!”
Gracie, standing next to her, spoke up.
“T-The Saintess isn’t leaving today. She’ll have ti tomorrow too, so could you co then? The Saintess is tired from traveling for so long!”
“Oh my! I wasn’t thinking. The Saintess must be tired.”
“I guess I’ve gotten too old to notice such things.”
“We’re so sorry, Saintess.”
“Oh, no! It’s fine! I’m really happy to see your devotion. But for today, I’d like to quietly enjoy the village and rest. Let’s et again tomorrow.”
“Ah! Yes, Saintess!”
“Everyone, let’s go! We shouldn’t trouble the Saintess any further!”
The believers quickly dispersed.
“Thank you, Gracie.”
“N-No! This was nothing. More importantly… we can finally send the signal now.”
“Signal?”
“Yes. The three-clap prayer.”
“Ah! That’s right!”
She had only been thinking about taking a simple walk with Squishy, so she had completely forgotten about sending the signal to Troll after eting up with Squishy.
***
Ti passed, and it was evening.
After dinner, Claire quickly fell asleep from exhaustion, so Squishy was left with Godrick’s party while Alia, Paulen, Gracie, and Nellin went outside the village together.
They had already sent the signal more than three tis.
Once in a secluded area during the walk, and once each after lunch and dinner, they all clapped three tis and prayed in front of Squishy.
“Lord Ventus must have seen it, right?”
“We did it three tis, so I’m sure he did.”
“The question is where he’ll appear. I’m worried we might miss each other.”
“You worry too much. When that guy shows up, he’ll be giving off a strong aura of death, so we’ll know right away.”
—Hmm, really. So you can feel it even now, Nellin?
“Huh? Right now I don’t feel… huh?”
The whole group turned their heads toward the direction the voice ca from.
Two figures erged, pushing through the bushes.
When they saw the two figures, the whole group opened their eyes wide in shock.
“N-No way.”
“How can this be?”
“L-Lord Ventus? Lady Presia…?”
“Heh, it’s been a while, everyone.”
“What the… Did you co back to life? And… did you get younger, Presia?”
Because standing before them were Troll and Presia, just as they had been during the days of the black dragon subjugation.
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