The mansion of Count Ludendion.
“Sigh……”
Lady Jessie Ludendion.
Jessie Ludendion sighed and blankly stared out the window.
[Alexandros II…]
It had already been two weeks since she let the sli go.
She had ordered the servants to bring more folklore and stories from the mansion library in preparation for the day she would reunite with the sli.
After giving that order, her daily routine went on as usual.
No, it was no different from the days before the sli ca into her life.
[I hope he’s doing well.]
Jessie sighed again.
Even now, if she closed her eyes, she could feel the ticklish vibration of the sli atop her head and picture it happily bouncing up and down in front of her.
Her mories with the sli were so joyful and precious that she couldn’t help but sigh.
But Jessie decided not to dwell in the past.
[I have to pull myself together. I need to tell Alexandros II more fun stories the next ti we et!]
If she kept moping around like this, Alexandros II would surely be sad too.
Thinking so, Jessie exhaled deeply and braced herself.
Recalling her mories with the sli absentmindedly, she then composed herself and turned her attention to what she could do.
She poured her energy into her studies as a noble.
Jessie Ludendion had repeated this routine several tis in the two weeks since the sli left.
And this behavior of Jessie’s was reported to Count Rufus Ludendion as well.
“Sniff! You’re admirable, my angel…!”
Count Ludendion thought it praiseworthy that she wasn’t drowning in sorrow but moving forward.
He held onto the hope that while this behavior may repeat for now, things would surely get better with ti.
[I must order the chef to prepare her favorite al today!]
Just as he was about to give an order to Albert, the head butler, out of the desire to reward his praiseworthy daughter—
Knock knock knock.
Soone knocked on the door to his office.
“Who is it?”
“It’s Geren.”
It was the captain of the knight order under Count Ludendion’s command.
“Co in.”
“Excuse .”
The captain entered the office and imdiately began to speak.
“I ca to report an urgent matter to you, my lord.”
“What is it? Speak.”
“...The elf hero, Lord Nellin, has co to the territory.”
“W-What did you say!?”
Bam! Count Ludendion slamd his desk and stood up in shock.
“Lord Nellin!? Why on earth!?”
“I do not know either. A patrolling soldier spotted her and imdiately reported it.”
“This can’t be……”
One concern passed, only for another great worry to arise.
Jessie had managed to overco her grief over the sli, but now the hero she admired would show her true self?
[Aaaah! Jessie!]
Count Ludendion couldn’t help but worry that his lovely angel’s heart might be torn to shreds.
He could only hope that Nellin would rely pass through the territory and not visit the mansion.
Because he couldn’t simply summon knights or soldiers to stop Nellin.
Preventing a hero like Nellin from coming to the mansion?
Why?
Does she have sothing to hide?
Turning away a hero at the door……?
Even a rumor like that could utterly ruin his honor.
However, the count’s hopes were in vain.
Less than an hour later, Nellin arrived at the Ludendion mansion.
As soon as he was inford, the count ordered the soldiers to guide Nellin to the reception room.
And so, Count Ludendion t Nellin again for the first ti in nearly 20 years.
“Hahaha! Long ti no see. Wow, you’ve grown so much! That handso young man has turned into a fine gentleman.”
“Th-Thank you, Lord Nellin.”
[Ugh! Lord Nellin just said I look good!]
Although the illusion of [the great Nellin I once imagined] was broken upon first eting her, Count Ludendion still held pure respect for the Starlight Archer, Nellin.
Being praised by a respected hero filled him with indescribable joy.
But he couldn’t simply bask in the joy of a complint.
“So what brings you to the territory? Has sothing happened in the Blue Elven Forest?”
“Hm? Ah~ no, nothing like that. I just wanted to chat with you... and your daughter.”
“With my angel?!”
“Angel?”
“Ahem! I an with my beautiful and beloved daughter, who’s like an angel.”
“...Heh, that clever-looking guy went and beca a total daughter-fool.”
Nellin gave a slight chuckle and then continued to explain why she ca.
“You sent our village a letter, didn’t you? Said you found a strange sli.”
“Yes.”
“Well, I actually t that sli too.”
“You t the sli, Lord Nellin?”
“Yeah.”
Nellin briefly shared the story of her short encounter with the sli and the elder’s concerns.
“So the old lady kept nagging , and I had no choice but to let it go outside the village. I never expected you guys to be taking care of it. I was surprised when I read your letter. I had no idea it was smart enough to understand written language.”
“I see. Then, Lord Nellin… are you here to dispose of the sli?”
Count Ludendion frowned after hearing about the elder’s concerns through Nellin.
“Huh? Nah. Why would I? I told you—I just ca to talk. I want to hear more about how the sli lived in your territory.”
“You’re not going to dispose of it? But the elder was concerned…!”
“Well, our elder just worries too much. Not all intelligent monsters are hostile to humans, you know.”
“Is that so?”
“Of course. I an, co on—I defeated the worst of the worst among the smart monsters, didn’t I? You can just tell with intuition.”
The black dragon, known as a calamity.
It was no ordinary monster, and Nellin—the one before him—was the very one who defeated it.
“I ca here purely out of curiosity. Honestly, I was bored too.”
“Bored, you say?”
“Try living in our village for years. It’s peaceful, sure, but I’m dying of boredom. Honestly, I’ve been really patient all this ti. Oh, now that I think about it, I’m kinda hurt.”
“Pardon?”
“You could’ve invited over sotis. That way I wouldn’t have to worry about the elder’s nagging, and I could leave the forest more freely.”
“Oh……”
He never expected to hear that from Nellin.
Of course, he had avoided contacting her directly out of concern for preserving his daughter’s ideal image of the hero, but he now felt a twinge of guilt.
“I apologize, Lord Nellin.”
“No need to apologize. More importantly, I’d like to speak with your daughter.”
“That is……!”
In this situation, there was no avoiding a eting between Nellin and his daughter.
If that was the case, then all he could do was step in to protect his daughter’s ideal image of Nellin as much as possible.
“Lord Nellin, I have a request.”
“A request?”
“Our daughter holds Lord Nellin in the highest regard and admiration.”
“Really?”
“Yes, but that admiration stems from the heroic and noble image of Lord Nellin as portrayed in the chronicles. So please… I would appreciate it if you could refrain from ntioning the stories you told before.”
“Did I say sothing weird when we t before?”
“I’m referring to stories like how you lost your jerky and shot an arrow into another hero’s butt.”
“Ah~ I get what you an now.”
Nellin understood what Rufus wanted.
It was thanks to the countless nagging lectures from the elder over the years.
Whenever she visited the elder’s house to drink and talk about the past, just to kill ti—
The elder would frown at Nellin’s unfiltered stories and tell him to tone it down when speaking with others.
“Don’t worry, I’ll speak very heroically.”
“......”
Though Count Ludendion still rembered the crude tales Nellin once told, he could say no more.
He simply said—
“Please.”
He could only hope the worst wouldn’t happen.
***
“P-Pleased to et you, Lord Nellin! I’m Jessie Ludendion!”
Jessie’s heart pounded wildly.
After all, she was about to et the Starlight Archer, one of the heroes who defeated the calamity—soone she had always admired and wanted to et.
When her maid Nina suddenly told her that Nellin had co to the mansion and wanted to speak with her, she was so shocked that she pinched her own cheek.
“Hello. So you’re Jessie. You really are pretty.”
“Eh!?”
“Your father said you were as beautiful as an angel. I can see why.”
“Lord Nellin! Even if it’s true, there’s no need to say it out loud…!
“Ugh, Father!”
While she was always happy to receive her father’s affection, this was just embarrassing.
“Hey Jessie, can you tell about that sli you found?”
“You an Alexandros II?”
“Alexan… what?”
“Alexandros II! Isn’t that an amazing na?”
“Uh… yeah. It is. Very cool.”
Nellin couldn’t bring herself to say that the na didn’t suit a sli, especially not when Jessie spoke with such sparkling eyes.
“I wanted to hear how you spent your ti with Alexandros II.”
“I can’t believe Lord Nellin is interested in Alexandros II!”
“A sli that’s close to humans is fascinating, you know? And in return, I’ll tell you so stories too. You like the tale about how my comrades and I defeated the black dragon, right?”
“R-Really!? To hear the story of the black dragon’s defeat directly from you, Lord Nellin…!”
She had been so worried about the sli lately, but never expected to be this lucky.
And to think that the hero she respected was interested in the sli she loved!
The fact that they shared a common interest made Jessie’s heart race with joy.
***
Boing!
Pffwoooop!
-Gwuuuurk!
The sli’s bouncing tackle struck the side of the orc.
“Nice! Good job, Tongtong! Hey! Def! Attack now!”
“Y-Yeah! Hyaaaa!”
“Skol! Stop spacing out and get over here!”
“Yes, boss!”
Two weeks had passed since they beca adventurers.
Starting with the Scarlet Goblin hunt, Godrick’s party had steadily completed quests and were now eligible for D-rank missions.
Today, they were in the middle of an orc extermination job.
Their strategy was simple.
When multiple orcs appeared, the sli would take the lead and inflict major damage, followed by one of Godrick’s party mbers delivering the follow-up attack.
The remaining three would coordinate to fend off or confront the other orcs.
Once the sli finished off the orc it was fighting, it would bounce swiftly over and attack one of the orcs being handled by the others.
Thanks to this thod, Godrick’s party had been able to hunt monsters smoothly without sustaining major injuries.
“We’ve reached the quota! Let’s head back!”
“Yes, boss!”
“Tongtong! Over here!”
Boing! Boing!
After collecting the loot, the sli climbed onto Def’s head as usual.
It had been another fun day of taking on quests and defeating monsters together.
But the sli had a problem on its mind.
[Still no coins…?]
It was a coin shortage issue.
Even though they had faced various monsters since the Scarlet Goblin, none were as strong, so they weren’t earning as many coins.
It wanted to grow stronger quickly, but it was also curious about the still-locked shop and wanted to gather coins to find out what it was.
▷ Still no coins!
And the sli shared that concern in the chat right away.
▶ Akkkkk
[Noblesse Fire] Looks like even Squishy is starting to say that now lololol
▶ Honestly, it’s weird if you do get coins from these weaklings -_-
▷ How do I get coins?
▶ Just grind like crazy.
▶ There’s always the donation thod.
▶ Ah~ but that’s boring~ Don’t you enjoy earning them yourself?
If it accepted donations, it could reach the 100-coin goal instantly.
However, even its most favorable viewers like Sli Queen, Arachne, and Fenrir hadn’t donated coins.
Just as one viewer said, it was probably better for Squishy to earn them on its own for now.
If it got a taste for donation coins too early, it could end up like other streaming monsters—desperate for coin gifts and going down a strange path!
Just then—
[Free Spirit] ▶ Squishy, wanna earn coins? I know a good way.
The troll appeared.
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