As Alia was carrying Jiggly to the clinic, complaints were pouring into the chat.
▶ Ah~ When’s the muscle-building show for our squishy cutie~?
▶ Didn’t you hear that weird human said they were preparing it?
[Squishy Queen] ▶ Those insolent humans! How dare they try to use my kin as a tool for healing! Outrageous! If I were nearby, I would’ve punished them on the spot!
[Thread-Lady] ▶ Still, doesn’t Squishy like it too? Then isn’t it okay?
[Just Slam First] ▶ Sparring! Just show us so sparring instead! At least train body slams or sothing and show us they’re getting stronger!
For viewers who had already seen the sli’s detox healing once, this clinic content was absolutely boring.
After all, the detox process just involved the sli clinging to the patient’s wounds and going fwoosh! as it spat out liquid.
To viewers who had watched the sli’s dramatic journey up to now, this was far too dull.
However, the manager troll was actually seeing the situation in a positive light.
‘This will improve public perception of Squishy.’
The sli was in Derxia, not the Great Continent—Derxia being a land teeming with monster-hostile species.
In such a place, becoming friendly with humans was actually good for the sli’s survival.
Above all, the one currently staying with Squishy was none other than the next saintess.
‘This ti, there won’t be any sudden goodbyes.’
The parting with Godrick’s party, who had turned from thieves to adventurers, had been entirely unexpected.
But Troll thought he didn’t need to worry about that with the saintess.
Her personality so far didn’t make her seem like soone who would suddenly disappear to faraway places.
‘If anything, she doesn’t go out enough. Does she even visit Presia that often?’
Troll secretly wanted to see more of his forr companions through the sli’s broadcast.
While Troll was thinking that, Alia and her group arrived at the clinic.
A nun guided them straight to where the paladins infected by the manticore’s poison were.
“These are the ones.”
“No! D-Don’t co near ! I like won!”
“No! No! Cockroach! Aaaagh!”
“Where’s my sword! My swooooooord!”
“Monster alert! Monster alerrrrrrt!”
On each bed lay four paladins, stripped of their armor and tied up with ropes.
▶ Lolol what even is this human ss lolol
▶ Is this hallucination poison or what lololol
▶ Damn lol I was eating and spat my food
The chat viewers, who had been grumbling monts ago, were now entertained by the unexpected hilarity.
The four paladins were in a panic, trapped in their hallucinations caused by the poison.
Their arms and legs were tied to stop them from scratching themselves due to the intense itching.
But since they were paladins with extrely strong bodies, the ropes were already about to snap.
Fellow paladins standing nearby placed their right hands over their hearts as they noticed Paulen and Alia arrive.
“Paladin Paulen! Saintess Alia! Thank you for coming!”
“Skip the pleasantries. Was the manticore exterminated?”
“Yes! Of course!”
“The beast, near death, let out a final poisonous gas attack in desperation.”
“Fortunately, we were able to avoid it and finish the job…”
One of the paladins looked at his infected comrades with deep regret.
“Our companions were caught in it. We’re sorry for this disgrace…”
“Don’t call it disgraceful. You all bravely fulfilled your duties, and this is a noble wound earned in the process.”
At Paladin Paulen’s words, the other paladins turned to him with reverence in their eyes.
“Paladin Paulen…!”
“I like woeeeeen!”
“Monster alerrrrt!”
“…A rather noisy kind of wound.”
The nun bowed her head toward Alia.
“Saintess, please.”
“Yes.”
Alia brought the sli in her hands closer to the patients.
“Jiggly, these people were poisoned too. Can you detoxify them?”
‘I’ll try!’
Boing!
The sli jumped off Alia’s hand and landed on a paladin’s body.
‘…? None! No wound!’
To detoxify soone, the sli first needed to absorb the poison into its own body.
But because these paladins were poisoned by gas and didn’t have visible wounds, it couldn’t absorb the poison through the blood.
Boing!
The sli jumped and looked at Paulen.
“What’s wrong, Jiggly? Is there a problem?”
Pop!
The sli extended a tentacle and pointed to the patient’s forearm.
‘Here! Here! Wound! Must make!’
It poked at the forearm repeatedly, then made slicing gestures back and forth across it.
“Hm. Ah! That’s what it is.”
And ever since the sli had mimicked a muscle pose, Paulen had felt unusually close to it.
He quickly figured out the sli’s intent.
To avoid misunderstanding, he spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear.
“Saintess, it seems I must lightly cut this man’s forearm. Please allow to use my sword in service of your safety.”
All eyes from the nun and the paladins turned to Paulen and Alia.
“Cut the forearm?”
“Yes. I believe Jiggly needs to absorb the poison in order to detoxify it. Didn’t Jiggly also sit directly on the wound to detoxify it yesterday?”
“Oh. That’s true. Okay, I permit it.”
“Thank you.”
Having explained the reasoning and gained the saintess’s permission, Paulen drew his sword and made a shallow cut in the paladin’s forearm—just enough to draw blood.
Boing!
The mont the wound opened, the sli jumped on it and began absorbing both the blood and the poison within it.
Brrrrrrrr!
‘Ouch!’
Even with detox skills and experience dealing with various poisons, encountering a new toxin always brought pain.
But the sli endured the pain and began the detox process.
“Paladin Paulen. Why is the sli trembling like that?”
“It’s probably in the middle of detoxifying. Just watch quietly.”
“Yes, sir!”
After a while, the detoxified sli gave a boing! and jumped back up onto the patient’s torso.
Fwoosh!
It spat out detoxifying fluid toward the wound.
“Good! It spat it out. The detox should start working now.”
“Really?”
“Manticore antidotes are notoriously difficult to make, and yet this quickly...?”
Three minutes after the sli’s detox liquid soaked into the wound—
“Waaaah! I like girls! Girls... girls? Huh? Where am I...”
The patient who had been screaming under hallucinations began to show signs of regaining sanity.
“Are you coming to your senses?”
“No cross-dressing old n anymore...”
“What kind of terrible hallucination were you having?”
“Hallucination? That was all... urgh! Itchy! My body’s itchy...”
Even after escaping the hallucinations, the itching remained.
Still, there was no doubt that the patient’s condition had clearly improved.
“It really works.”
“Please treat the next one as well!”
One by one, Paulen made shallow cuts, and the sli spat detox fluid into the wounds.
Since the antidote had already been created once, it didn’t need to absorb more blood, and the remaining patients could be treated quickly.
After the detox was complete, the paladins and nuns all bowed their heads in gratitude toward Alia and Paulen.
“Thank you so much, Paladin Paulen, Saintess Alia.”
“Thank you for healing our comrades!”
Alia shook her head toward the people thanking her.
“No, I didn’t do much at all. If you’re going to thank soone, thank Jiggly.”
“She’s right. This little guy is the one who did the detox.”
Ahem!
Shiver-shiver-shiver!
When Alia held the hand with the sli a little forward, the paladins once again bowed their heads.
“Thank you so much!”
Yaaay!
Shiver-shiver-shiver!
Just like the day before, Jiggly trembled with joy at the gratitude.
***
The most famous figure in the Holy City.
Soone so renowned that even more so than the Pope, all would agree on her greatness.
Saintess Presia smiled softly in her room.
‘Looks like she’s doing well.’
After the next saintess had been chosen, Presia had begun to gradually step back from her active role.
Part of it was due to her age, but more importantly, she didn’t want her presence to hinder the growth of the next saintess who would one day lead the Church.
Though there was a large age gap, Alia—the next saintess—was a junior she found dearly adorable.
Presia hoped Alia would gain more confidence.
And then the sli had appeared.
A strange sli that was clearly intelligent and unusually sociable.
Presia had a gut feeling that this sli would be a catalyst for Alia’s change.
And Presia’s instincts were right.
At first, Alia rely accompanied Paulen to the training grounds, but soon she started going out of her room more often, and eventually even wandered the streets with the sli in tow.
However, even Presia hadn’t expected—
‘I didn’t think that sli had such an ability.’
Presia had heard of the sli’s deeds at the clinic.
A sli with the power to detoxify, staying by the saintess’s side.
It had successfully countered poisons that were difficult to treat, and even detoxified manticore venom the next day—how could such things not beco a rumor within the Church?
Naturally, rumors began to spread among the people.
That such a rare and gifted sli was being kept by the saintess.
That a sli the saintess kept couldn’t possibly be ordinary.
Knowing the truth, Presia could only laugh dryly at the stories.
‘Still, it’s not a bad situation.’
Presia and the high-ranking officials of the Church had long been concerned that Alia lacked confidence and initiative.
But if she continued to receive attention, praise, and admiration from people like this, even Alia might begin to build up so much-needed self-assurance.
Of course, too much praise could lead one astray or make one arrogant, but Presia was confident Alia wasn’t that kind of person.
‘But just gaining a little confidence isn’t enough.’
True confidence cos from achieving sothing on your own.
When Alia had gone out to help subjugate a lesser troll with Paulen, Presia thought that had been a great opportunity.
But that chance had been lost due to her encounter with the sli.
Of course, eting the sli was a good thing for Alia, and also for the poisoned patients and paladins.
‘Maybe it’s better to create another opportunity for her.’
Judging by her personality, if she’s not asked or encouraged, it might take a very long ti before Alia takes initiative on her own again.
‘I hope you grow quickly, Alia. That way, I can retire with peace of mind.’
Presia smiled as she imagined a future where Alia had matured, and she herself traveled to visit old companions after retirent.
Though she was once hailed as the hero who left behind a legend for defeating calamities, Presia was now just another elderly woman, quietly hoping and preparing for a peaceful and happy old age.
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