“Saintess Alia, Paladin Paulen, welco.”
Alia and Paulen were summoned by the Tower Master under the pretense of verifying whether the sli ntioned in Gracie’s thesis truly existed.
Since the sli accompanying them had beco the subject of the thesis, they had expected this to happen.
“Hello, Tower Master.”
“We heard you wanted to see our Jiggly.”
“That’s right. I don’t want to doubt Gracie’s thesis, but its contents are just too hard to believe.”
The two of them could understand how the Tower Master felt.
After all, a sli that not only acts friendly toward humans but also uses magical tools and even works out was hard to believe without seeing it firsthand.
“What would you like us to show you?”
“Show everything you can, one by one.”
As requested by the Tower Master, Alia asked the sli to demonstrate various things it could do.
First up was the use of magical tools, which was the first item ntioned in the thesis.
The sli created additional tentacles to easily manipulate handle-shaped tools, and it even used magic tools without mana stones by extending its tentacles.
“It actually works!”
Brooks Vessilja was shocked just by witnessing the scene.
Even though he had read about it in the thesis, it was hard to shake off what he believed to be common knowledge.
Next, the sli demonstrated working out with dumbbells, understanding Alia’s words, jumping three tis in place, and climbing onto her shoulders or head.
The sight of the weakest monster, a sli, showing clear intelligence left Brooks Vessilja with his jaw dropped, completely forgetting his dignity.
▶ Lololol, look at that human's mouth hanging open.
▶ A smart sli is worth being shocked over.
[Squishy Queen] ▶ What’s so surprising about a sli being smart?! How rude!
▶ But little slis being dumb is just a fact, isn’t it? Scratch?
▶ [Squishy Queen] ▶ You insolent wretch! What are you playing at! Can we not kick that one out imdiately!
[Free Spirit] ▶ Kicking soone for that little provocation is a bit much…
▶ Lmao the moderator should be fair lololol.
▶Erasing trolls works great~.
[User 2224 has been removed.]
▶ ?
▶???
[Free Spirit] ▶ Better speak nicely to , okayyy.
▶ Lolololol.
▶ Is this a dictatorship or what lololol.
▶Where’s the fairness? Lololol.
“Is this enough?”
They had shown the Tower Master almost all of the sli’s abilities.
Except for one—the tentacle transformation that allowed it to lift people.
Gracie had warned them not to show that to others carelessly, and had left it out of the thesis due to length concerns.
“Yes. Hmm. That’s… more than enough. Thank you for your ti. You may go now. Gracie, you too.”
A short while after sending the three of them away—
Bang!
Brooks slamd his fist on his desk.
“Damn it! That ridiculous sli actually exists?!”
He had seen it with his own eyes.
Gracie’s thesis had no exaggeration—just the truth.
That such a ridiculous sli really existed.
If this gets published and proven…
“Grrrrgh! The joy of my life…”
It was now certain that the Frail family would continue receiving support.
He would no longer get to see them struggle in poverty.
For the twisted-hearted Brooks Vessilja, that was sothing that must never happen.
‘I need a way… I need a way to stop that foolish, pathetic magic tool doping witch Gracie! A way to keep the descendant of Ventus Frail from publishing her thesis! Or at least, a way to make it unverifiable!’
To Brooks Vessilja, nothing was more important than his selfish desires—not intellectual curiosity, not the advancent of magic research.
If this were a paper by soone else, he wouldn’t care.
But because it was written by the descendant of Ventus Frail, he believed he had to stop it at all costs.
The surest way to prevent the thesis from being proven would be to get rid of the sli.
But that wouldn’t be easy.
The sli was with none other than the future Saintess and a paladin.
If it were soone else, he could have easily paid so rcenaries to take care of it in secret.
But the people around the sli were far too powerful.
Still, unwilling to abandon his desires, Brooks Vessilja kept scheming.
And then—
“That’s it! That’s the way!”
A mory surfaced in Brooks Vessilja’s mind.
It was the most satisfying mont of his life.
The mont he had trapped Ventus Frail in a staged magical accident.
‘I just have to get rid of the sli by staging it as a magic accident! If it’s an accident, then no one can help it! That kind of thing is routine at the Magic Tower!’
***
‘Hmm, sothing feels off.’
Lich, the manager of the sli’s stream and a Sage of Magic—better known by his nickna "Free Spirit"—felt a sense of unease.
The reason was none other than Brooks Vessilja, the very man who once tried to kill him by disguising it as a magic accident.
Ever since Brooks had seen with his own eyes that the sli could really do what the thesis described, his expression had unsettled Free Spirit.
The other viewers were focused on the sli, and Gracie, Alia, and Paulen had turned their backs and didn’t notice—but Free Spirit had seen it clearly.
He saw Brooks Vessilja’s face contort.
Though it had been 30 years since they last t, Free Spirit rembered how Brooks had tried to entrap him.
And although it was only a suspicion, the fact that Brooks now claid to support a descendant of Ventus Frail—a mage known for magic tool doping—seed extrely suspicious.
Apart from his twisted personality, Brooks Vessilja was the man closest to being the next Tower Master after Ventus Frail.
Proof: he was the current Tower Master.
Even if his character was rotten, he was still a capable mage.
That’s why Free Spirit believed that if Brooks really set his mind on it, he could trap not just Gracie, but even the next Saintess or the Paladin.
‘Of course, he wouldn’t be stupid enough to directly harm the Saintess or the Paladin.’
That would be the sa as declaring war on the Church.
‘Then why did he make that expression?’
With a chill in his gut, Free Spirit began to analyze the situation with his still-sharp mind.
Why was Brooks Vessilja displeased?
Because his own descendant was doing well.
Free Spirit recalled what Gracie had said about the Frail family receiving financial support.
‘The Frail family still gets funding from the Magic Tower. If that thesis gets published, the support will continue for a while without interruption.’
If Brooks still had that twisted mindset, there’s no way he’d tolerate seeing the Frail family succeed.
‘If it ans interfering with that, he’d do anything—even sothing dangerous.’
After all, this was a man who once boldly tried to murder Free Spirit, the man who had saved the world from catastrophe, all because of jealousy.
That just reinforced Free Spirit’s certainty.
To stop the support, all Brooks had to do was prevent the thesis from being proven.
And the most obvious way to do that was—
‘Squishy.’
—to eliminate the sli.
‘If I don’t do sothing, Squishy’s life is in danger.’
It wasn’t just an uneasy feeling. He was sure of it.
If Brooks was plotting anything, it would be to get rid of the sli.
Not the Saintess or the Paladin—but the sli that accompanied them.
From an objective standpoint, it wouldn’t escalate into a major issue.
It would certainly strain their relationship with the Tower, but the Church likely wouldn’t take aggressive action, and Brooks wouldn’t lose his position as Tower Master either.
After all, it was “just a sli” that would be gone.
‘I have to prepare.’
To Free Spirit, Squishy was special.
Sure, part of it was not wanting to lose a channel that brought him unexpected fun as a viewer.
But through the sli’s stream, Free Spirit got to see a comrade he thought he’d never see again.
Even if he hadn’t fathered them himself, he got to witness a descendant of the Frail family—soone with his bloodline.
He learned how his relatives had been living after his death.
And above all—
‘The promise between Nellin and Squishy must be fulfilled.’
The promise to et again.
Even if he himself couldn’t do it, he wanted Squishy to.
He wanted the sli to keep the promise made with a precious comrade.
***
A few days later.
Just as their ti at the Magic Tower was coming to an end and it was nearly ti to return to the Holy City—
Alia and Paulen were shocked by the news Gracie brought them.
“You’re saying the Tower Master wants to examine Jiggly?”
“Yes. It seems the Tower Master was really shaken by the thesis this ti. He said if possible, he wants to examine Jiggly in person.”
“I didn’t expect the Tower Master to take that much interest.”
“Well, what Jiggly did was beyond anyone’s expectations. I actually understand how the Tower Master feels. Besides…”
Gracie hesitated before continuing.
“He said since the sli is so talented and smart, there’s a chance it could be a high-grade specin, so he wants to confirm it just in case.”
“Jiggly… a high-grade specin?”
“I guess it’s not entirely impossible.”
Outwardly, it looked like an ordinary sli, but it was powerful enough to defeat a Lesser Troll, so Paulen couldn’t deny the possibility outright.
“But does the Tower Master even have a way to determine that?”
“Yes. He said that while checking if it’s a high-grade, he could also learn more details about Jiggly. And—and! He promised it wouldn’t be dangerous to Jiggly, that it’s just a confirmation!”
Gracie really hoped they would go through with the inspection.
‘This is practically getting the Tower Master’s stamp of approval!’
It wasn’t just verbal acknowledgnt—he’d be verifying it himself.
That would be as good as the Tower Master validating the thesis.
And once that happened, the financial support would be practically guaranteed.
“Saintess, what would you like to do?”
Paulen turned to ask Alia for her opinion.
“Hmm…”
For Alia, it wasn’t a bad offer.
‘There’s no reason for the Tower Master to hurt Jiggly.’
From what she’d seen, the Tower Master had always tried to accommodate them.
For him to suddenly harm the sli?
That was unimaginable for Alia.
‘Besides, this could be a chance to learn more about Jiggly.’
The sli was cute, kind, smart, and unexpectedly strong.
That alone was enough for Alia, but her curiosity was also piqued—she wanted to know what exactly this mysterious sli was.
“Then let’s do it. I’d love to learn more about Jiggly.”
“Yes! I’ll go tell the Tower Master right away!”
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