“Sister Marin, what do you an by that?”
“You want us to travel together...?”
“Just like I said. Once I rank up, I’ll be a C-rank too. There aren’t many monsters around here near C-rank anyway, so since I’ve ranked up, why not take on harder requests and explore sowhere new?”
“H-hold on, Sister Marin. What about Tongtong...”
“Def, I know... I know you want to find Tongtong. I know Godrick, Hawane, and Skol want to et him too. That’s exactly why we should go.”
“What do you an?”
“Just sitting around here, we never know when we’ll find him. You all know that, right? Sure, we can keep handing out flyers. But if we go around and ask in person, wouldn’t we find him faster?”
Nellin’s reasoning wasn’t without rit.
Even after several weeks since they t her, there was still no news, and Godrick’s party had started to consider trying a different approach.
“I’m not saying this lightly. I’m only suggesting it because you’re strong enough to co with now. At your current level...”
Nellin smiled with confidence.
“You four can definitely take down a Lesser Troll.”
“Really?”
“For real, Sister Marin? Us?”
Godrick and Skol asked with so doubt.
They knew they’d grown stronger, but the mory of how powerful the Lesser Troll had been still lingered in their minds.
“You think I’m just talking nonsense?”
“B-but even now, the four of us still can’t land a single hit on you, Sister.”
“That’s only because I’m too strong.”
‘You think I’d let you fight as if you were only good enough to take down a Lesser Troll?’
Nellin pressed them harder, hoping they’d make up their minds.
“I want to see Tongtong again as soon as possible too, you know? And now that you’ve grown enough that I can take you with —this ti, let’s go find him ourselves!”
“Find him ourselves…”
“Tongtong…”
At first, Godrick’s party had wanted to go out and search for the sli themselves.
But after nearly dying to a Lesser Troll and being saved by the sli, they had lost their confidence.
They wondered if they could really protect him even if they found him.
They were also worried that things might end up just like last ti, so they decided to grow stronger first.
And now…
Godrick’s party had grown far beyond what they once were, thanks to Nellin’s training.
“I’m going!”
The first to accept Nellin’s proposal was Skol.
“Skol?”
“Sister Marin’s right, brother! Sitting around here isn’t gonna magically help us find Tongtong! We should be moving!”
“Khmm, I agree with Skol.”
“Brother! I want to go find Tongtong too!”
“You guys... Yeah. Honestly, I felt the sa way.”
“So, are we set?”
“Yes, Sister Marin. We’ll go with you.”
“Good! That’s the spirit!”
Nellin had secretly worried about what she’d do if they refused.
She didn’t like traveling alone either.
And since she’d trained them and they were fun to be around, she was secretly happy with their choice.
Once the decision to travel together was made, they decided to choose their destination after the promotion test.
“Where should we go?”
“Heh, I think the capital area’s the best bet.”
Hawane made his suggestion based on the fact that the place they lost the sli was relatively close to the capital.
“It would make sense to start searching there if we want to cover everything...”
“Nope, going to the capital won’t help at all.”
Nellin rejected Hawane’s idea.
“W-why not, Sister Marin?”
“I’ve been to the capital before, and trust —rumors spread like wildfire there.”
Nellin rembered it well.
The ti she visited the capital to recruit Saintess Presia.
The capital was basically a huge religious city, and most of its residents were believers.
Because of that, the local information network was lightning-fast.
‘The gossip about what snacks Presia and I ate together spread so fast it drove crazy.’
“If there were a sli wandering around the capital—especially one as unique as Tongtong—the rumors would’ve spread already. So we can safely assu he’s not there.”
Just like she said, if a unique sli had been in the capital, word would’ve gotten out quickly.
And even if it were a holy sli traveling with a saintess, Nellin doubted the believers would stay silent about it.
On top of that, Nellin had another reason for avoiding the capital.
‘I haven’t found the sli yet. It wouldn’t feel right visiting Presia empty-handed.’
She wanted to surprise Presia when they reunited—by showing her the sli.
To say, “Look, slis like this exist in the world too.”
“I see.”
“Hm, then where should we go?”
“Ehehe, I know a good place.”
“Oho, and where would that be, Sister Marin?”
“If you ask , you’ve all improved a lot. But you’re still lacking confidence—so let’s fix that. Let’s head to Tartan.”
“Tartan? You don’t an the Tartan with the Colosseum, do you?”
“Yup. That Tartan.”
Tartan.
It was a city known as the capital of duels and gambling.
At its center stood a massive Colosseum, where warriors fought every day to prove their strength.
It was a place where people bet on the outco of duels and rode the highs and lows of victory and defeat.
At night, the city turned into a playground of vice, overflowing with people’s desires.
That was Tartan, the city of duels and gambling.
“If you guys enter the Colosseum and make a na for yourselves, it’d be perfect.”
“U-us? In the Colosseum?”
“You really think our skills will work there, Sister Marin?”
SMACK!
Nellin slapped Godrick’s back and declared firmly.
“Of course they will, punk! I trained you myself, didn’t I? I’m not saying you’ll beat the champion or win the finals, but you’ll definitely make it into the strong fighters’ league.”
‘In a fight, it all cos down to whether or not you have the confidence to strike when the opening shows itself.’
While training the four, Nellin didn’t just make them exercise—she repeatedly drilled them through sparring.
She showed intentional openings to teach them what an opening looked like, over and over again.
“There’s an opening!”
“I’m landing this one!”
“Hyaaah!”
“Hup!”
“Even if you see it, as long as you react quickly, it’s fine.”
Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!
““Argh!!””
Even when the enemy showed an opening, Nellin repeatedly demonstrated that a counterattack was still possible, instilling the mindset of never letting your guard down even when a chance appeared.
That’s why Nellin believed Godrick’s party could hold their own in the Colosseum.
“We’re going to stand among the strong…”
“Fufu, 'Strong Hawane.' Has a nice ring to it.”
“Why are you acting all high and mighty already?”
“If we beco famous, won’t it be easier to find Tongtong?”
“Of course. But we can’t be satisfied with where we are now, right? After the promotion test, I’m going to push you all to get even stronger—so be ready for that.”
“Yes, Sister Marin!”
The four of them responded with enthusiasm and energy.
***
“This one, and this one… and this one too…”
Alia was preparing for the expedition in her room.
“Alia, what are you packing so much for? And more importantly, where did you even get all this stuff?”
“Be quiet, Paulen! I’m trying to focus right now! Ahh, I think I need this too…!”
Sigh.
Paulen let out a deep breath as he watched Alia frantically packing.
‘What is she doing?’
Even the sli sitting on Paulen’s hand tilted its body sideways, unable to understand Alia’s behavior.
Alia, who had always lacked self-esteem and felt anxious about her ability to do well as a saintess.
When she was first chosen as the next saintess, her heart had been pounding with anticipation and excitent.
‘, the next saintess?!’
As a devout follower who admired Saintess Presia, Alia also harbored a quiet hope that she might beco just as admirable.
So after she was appointed, she went through what could only be called an “overenthusiastic phase.”
She imagined what it would be like to go on a journey to defeat disasters like Presia.
Wouldn’t it be best to start preparing right away?
Fueled by that excitent, Alia spent her saintess allowance on various supplies.
For a brief ti, rchants in the capital even nicknad her the “next saintess who spends big.”
Of course, once she ca to her senses, she was hit with regret, wondering what she was even going to do with all that stuff.
‘Still, now I finally have a reason to use them!’
She had felt too guilty to return any of it, so she had stored everything away in a warehouse until now.
“I think I’ll need this too…!”
But since she had bought so much, deciding what to actually bring was proving difficult.
“Paulen! Do you think this will fit in the inventory?”
“Alia, the inventory isn’t limitless.”
“I know that! That’s why I’m asking! No, wait! You should co over and help look! The Magic Tower is a whole month away from the capital! And we’ll be staying there for a month, so I really think we should be well prepared!”
“Understood.”
“Prepared! So much!”
Boing!
The sli jumped down from Paulen’s hand and waddled over to the mountain of supplies Alia had brought out from the warehouse.
“Ah! Jiggly! You can look, but don’t touch anything, okay?”
‘Okay!’
As the sli inspected the pile, the livestream viewers also took in the sight of Alia’s luggage.
▶ What the heck is all that?
[Noblesse Fire] ▶ That’s what she calls a pile? That room would have to be completely full to count as piled up.
▶ Don’t judge it by dragon standards, jeez.
[Just Slam First] ▶ Piling that much stuff won’t help. If it’s food, it’ll go bad and take up space for no reason!
▶ Then your partner ends up nagging you, right?
[Just Slam First] ▶ Shut up!
▶ LOL
▶ Dude’s whipped by his mate lmao
▶ Can’t even say anything to his own kid, huh lmao
[Just Slam First] ▶ I said shut up!
anwhile...
Paulen started sorting through what to bring.
“Let’s take this out. And this. This one’s unnecessary too.”
“W-why! That one’s useful! It’s a magic tool that lights a fire even without a mage!”
“The carriage already cos equipped with tools to start a fire. And besides, you have . I can light a fire with the power of these muscles! Just a bit of friction and poof!”
“T-then what about this white paper guide to exploring the Magic Tower?! We’re staying a month! Isn’t that necessary?!”
“Why in the world did you even buy this? There are plenty of followers living in the tower—just ask them.”
“Ah! But this comfort blanket—this one’s non-negotiable! I can’t sleep properly without it even if I’m not hugging it!”
“That’s your comfort blanket? Aren’t those usually all tattered?”
“Exactly! That’s why I take care of it! I even pay to get it repaired at the tailor’s regularly!”
“...Fine. We’ll bring that one.”
Paulen was now certain—it was going to take a very long ti to finish sorting everything.
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