While Alia was dozing off with her favorite blanket, Paulen stepped out into the villa’s yard and, as usual, trained and sparred with the sli.
“All right! Let’s stop here for today.”
‘Okay!’
At Paulen’s words, the sli stopped just as it was about to launch its next tackle.
It rembered clearly that they had planned to explore the Magic Tower after training.
“It’s a sha though. I could only bring one due to inventory space.”
He had wanted to bring all the dumbbells and weights he had prepared for the sli.
But the inventory had a limit.
There were essential supplies and gear he had to bring.
His main weapons — the great shield and sword.
After accounting for those and so ergency items, all he could manage was a single set of sli dumbbells.
Paulen was deeply disappointed by that.
‘Ugh! With a whole month, Jiggly could’ve gone up at least one level.’
It was enthusiastic, never complained, and never dodged training.
In fact, the sli’s eagerness to lift dumbbells gave Paulen an exhilarating thrill.
‘Maybe because it’s a monster, its growth is fast, which makes raising it really satisfying.’
Boing! Boing!
The sli bounced twice and hopped onto Paulen’s shoulder and then his head.
“Wanna sit on my head today?”
Brrrrrr!
‘Yeah!’
The sli shook as it extended a tentacle that hadn’t yet been retracted and brought it in front of Paulen’s face.
‘Paulen! Magic Tower walk! Let’s go!’
“All right, all right. You wanna go sightseeing, huh?”
‘Jiggly’s just full of curiosity.’
“Let’s get changed first. If we keep walking around like this, people are going to be startled.”
Since arriving at the Magic Tower, Paulen hadn’t changed and was still wearing his paladin armor.
While it might be fine in the Holy Capital, walking around the Magic Tower in full armor could startle people or draw too much attention.
After changing into lighter clothes, Paulen placed the sli on his head and started their stroll.
The Magic Tower.
A place where mages gathered to research and pursue higher realms of magic.
But the Magic Tower no longer referred only to a tower filled with mages.
Around the towering structure, a market had ford, people had settled, and a town had grown centered on the tower.
Thus, the term “Magic Tower” carried two anings.
One was the original — a massive research center for mages.
The other referred to the town that had developed around the tower.
And Paulen was referring to the latter.
Of course, if he requested it, he could also tour the research facility itself.
‘That’ll be with the Saintess tomorrow.’
Since he was already at the Magic Tower, he planned to et the Tower Master tomorrow — the one in the highest position here.
He’d be entering the tower to et the Tower Master anyway, so for today, he’d just show the area.
As he walked around the town, Paulen thought to himself.
‘The atmosphere really is different from the Holy Capital.’
The Holy Capital was a city ford by devout believers.
It was full of smiles, but the atmosphere was more warm and friendly than energetic.
anwhile, the Magic Tower’s vibe was...
“Hehehe, I’ve got so fine magical items. Wanna take a look?”
“This one — it shoots a fireball just by opening it, right?”
“Of course! Ah, but be careful about which way you open it. You might end up roasted!”
“Why the heck are these shoes so expensive?!”
“Don’t you know how much enchantnts and your life cost when you wear them?!”
It was lively, but there was an unmistakable sense of danger in the air.
Not a life-threatening danger though.
‘It’s more like everyone’s trying to make a big sale by any ans.’
Magical items that required special techniques to make.
Scrolls that, though single-use, allowed people to cast magic without mana.
Because these things couldn’t be easily replicated, magical item and scroll vendors tended to sell them at exorbitant prices to those who didn’t know their true worth.
‘Magic tools! So many!’
anwhile, the sli, ever since hearing an explanation from Gracie, had beco much more interested in magical items.
Rather than paying attention to the rchants’ haggling, it was fixated on the magical goods displayed on the shelves.
Boing!
Pop!
The sli moved from Paulen’s head to his shoulder, extended a tentacle, and pointed at one of the magical item shops.
‘That one! I wanna see it!’
“Huh? You wanna go to that shop?”
‘Yeah!’
Brrrrrr!
Paulen headed toward the shop the sli was interested in.
It was a street stall run by an old man in a robe.
“Hehehe. Welco, custor. Is there a particular magic item you’re looking for?”
The old man rubbed his hands together with a chuckle.
“Just browsing, sir. So of your stuff looked interesting.”
“I see. But if you ask , you look even more interesting. Carrying a sli on your shoulder.”
The old man looked up at the sli perched on Paulen’s shoulder.
“You’ve got a sturdy build, but you must also have a knack for monster taming, huh?”
Taming.
That was a skill held by those with the very rare profession of Beast Master.
In short, people who tad monsters and fought alongside them.
If we’re talking about well-known beast tars, there were knights who rode wyverns — often called Dragon Knights — and Wolf Riders who rode wolf-type monsters known as War Wolves.
Even monsters that lacked the intelligence to use the System could be trained to follow human commands with enough effort.
However, because it was dangerous and required a lot of care, very few people did it.
“Hahaha! It’s not taming, sir. Jiggly is just friendly toward humans.”
“Hmmm? A sli being friendly to humans? Are you perhaps from the Eccentric Village?”
Eccentric Village.
That was the nickna for a village where people raised slis to help with everyday life.
Since the villagers weren’t raising monsters for combat or hunting but for daily utility, the place looked bizarre and strange to outsiders.
“No, I’m from the Holy Capital.”
“Holy Capital?”
“I understand the confusion. But more importantly, could you explain in detail what these magical tools here do, sir?”
“Oh ho. Are you collecting magical tools?”
“No, I don’t use them. I’m just curious, that’s all.”
“Hmph.”
A hint of dissatisfaction showed on the old man’s face.
It was understandable — being asked to explain all his wares to soone who wasn’t planning to buy anything was a waste of ti.
Paulen may have an unhealthy obsession with muscles, but aside from that, he had the righteous character of a paladin.
“Your kind explanation would be appreciated, sir.”
Paulen took out a small tip and handed it to the old man.
It wasn’t enough to buy even a single magical tool he sold.
“Hahaha! Well then, allow to explain!”
But it was more than enough to cover a thorough explanation of his rchandise.
‘Magical tools! Explanation ti!’
Brrrrrr!
The sli was thrilled to hear explanations about new magical tools again.
▶ Why do humans love those round things so much?
▶ Oh~ you don’t know about money?
▶ Humans use that stuff to trade goods and things.
[Squishy Queen] ▶ That insolent human! How dare he think of taming my kin as if we’re just monsters!!!
▶ And here we go again with the tantrum.
▶ LOL where’s all that regal attitude you showed on stream?
[Squishy Queen] ▶ Regal attitude?! I wasn’t pretending, you fool!
▶ Lol?
[Squishy Queen] ▶ Insolence!!!
As the chat scrolled by as usual, the old man began explaining his magical tools one by one.
“This here is a bracelet that increases fire resistance. It doesn’t use mana stones, but instead absorbs the wearer’s mana to reduce fire damage. And over here…”
There were magical tools that granted resistance to various elents.
Shoes that let you double-jump by creating a platform under your feet when mana is infused.
And even magical items that sprayed water using mana stored in a mana stone, allowing one to shower anywhere.
There were quite a few different magical tools.
‘Those shoes are tempting.’
Paulen was especially intrigued by the double-jump shoes.
But since he couldn’t just skip wearing his paladin armor in battle, he gave up the idea in his heart.
When the old man was almost done explaining, Paulen asked sothing that had been on his mind.
“By the way, does that water-generating magical tool sell well around here?”
“Hahaha! I see what you’re getting at. There are water-type mages, so you’re wondering who would buy sothing like this instead of just conjuring water at ho, right?”
“Yes.”
“Think about it. You need a lot of water to wash properly. Trying to generate all of that using your own mana could leave you completely drained and vulnerable.”
“Oh.”
“Plus, the water made by this tool is drinkable, of course! It’s super convenient when you run out of water, or when you want to make soup on the road! Hahaha! It’s actually my best-selling item.”
“That makes perfect sense.”
Paulen was imdiately convinced by the old man’s explanation.
At that mont, the old man’s eyes glead.
‘That look… he’s about to buy sothing!’
“And the best part? You can insert any mana stone that fits under this lid! Even unprocessed ones! The efficiency drops a bit, sure, but it’ll still work! Isn’t that what really matters?”
After thinking it over for a mont, Paulen finally spoke.
“How much is this one?”
***
“So you bought this?”
“Hahaha, I couldn’t help myself!”
By evening.
Alia, who had just woken up from her nap, stared at the portable water-producing magical tool Paulen had purchased during his walk with the sli.
“Is it really useful?”
“It’ll co in handy when we travel.”
“But usually you’re with in the Holy Capital. We don’t go on many trips.”
“Alia, as a paladin, it’s my duty to protect you from danger. And this magical tool! It’s for when you’re thirsty or want to eat sothing like soup! We can’t always expect to ride around in a comfy carriage like this. You always have to prepare for—”
Paulen stopped his excuse when he saw Alia’s cold stare.
“Ahem. It’s just that n tend to get excited about these kinds of travel tools, Alia.”
“As the Saintess, I accept your honest confession, Paladin. Now let’s eat dinner. I’ll cook today.”
“You will, Alia? You can cook?”
“Before I beca the Saintess, I was just an ordinary devotee. I used to cook als back then. I just haven’t had a chance since.”
‘It’s been five years… hope my skills aren’t too rusty.’
When they had arrived at the villa, they had been told there was a magical food storage device.
Since it had ingredients inside, there was no need to go to the market.
“I’m going to make soup. Is that okay, Paulen?”
“I’m fine with anything.”
‘Cooking!’
Pop!
Boing! Boing!
At the ntion of cooking, the sli reacted.
It extended a tentacle, picked up the magical tool on the table, and carried it into the kitchen.
“Jiggly?”
Then the sli placed the magical tool on a pot in the kitchen and—
‘Water!’
Click!
Swoooosh!
It activated the magical tool and filled the pot with water.
“Pfft. Looks like Jiggly wants to help cook too.”
“J-Jiggly! Stop for a second! Don’t put in too much water!”
Alia quickly ran into the kitchen.
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