There was no way Jessie would immediately accept what Rufus Ludendion said.
“No way! Alexandros II would always want to live with me! You don’t know anything! You dummy, Father!”
Jessie, on the verge of tears, hugged the slime and stormed out of the office.
“M-Miss!”
Nina quickly followed behind Jessie, while Rufus remained in the office.
“Grrrrgh! My angel! She called me a dummy! Ahhhhh!”
He clutched his chest in agony.
‘If it hurts you so much, then why did you bring it up, my Lord?’
Albert quietly sighed to himself.
***
With teary eyes, Jessie shut herself in her room, wanting to deny everything her father had said.
That the slime wanted to go outside.
That it wanted to leave her side.
That letting it go might be the better choice.
She wanted to scream “No way!” and keep denying it, but Jessie wasn’t stupid.
In fact, having spent so much time with the slime, Jessie already knew.
She knew how curious the slime was, and how much it longed to see new sights.
Even when reading new books, the thing that made the slime happiest was when she read books with illustrations of unfamiliar scenery.
Not to mention how delighted it had been during their first inspection outing.
But the more often they went on inspections, the more the slime looked beyond the borders of the estate.
It reminded Jessie of how the slime used to stare out the window when inside the mansion.
Now, she could easily guess the slime wanted to see more of the world beyond the estate.
Even so, Jessie had ignored it.
She pretended not to notice.
Because she didn’t want to say goodbye.
At first, she brought it in because it was interesting and cute, but by now, the slime was no different from family.
It felt more like a cute little sibling than a pet.
Just like Nina, who already thought of it as family.
And her older brother, who was now studying hard at the academy.
And the Count and Countess, who loved her dearly.
But for Jessie, the youngest, the slime was the first one she had to care for like a younger sibling.
That’s why she became so attached and didn’t want to part with it.
“Alexandros II...”
Jessie placed the slime on the bed and asked, “Do you want to go outside?”
‘I want to go outside!’
Boing! The slime bounced once.
“You want to see more things outside, right? Like the scenes from the books.”
‘Yes! I want to see them! I want to see a lot! I want to know everything!’
Boing! Boing! The slime bounced twice as if giving an enthusiastic yes.
‘So it really is true, huh...?’
Jessie finally accepted the feelings of the slime that she had been trying so hard to ignore.
Still, her heart felt heavy, so she asked the slime,
“Even if it means leaving me, do you still want to go?”
‘Leave Jessie?’
The slime already understood the concept of farewell.
It had experienced meeting and parting with Nellin.
At the time, it hadn’t fully understood what that meant, but after hearing many stories read aloud by Jessie, the slime learned the true meaning of parting.
Farewell.
Not seeing someone for a long time.
Or perhaps, never seeing them again.
Being separated from Jessie, who fed it.
Parting from Jessie, who taught it so much.
‘That... would make me sad.’
The slime didn’t bounce this time and instead leaned forward.
But even so, the desire to know more—the curiosity that had been the slime’s strongest feeling since the very beginning—couldn’t be suppressed.
The feelings clashed: the yearning to know and see more against the sorrow of parting from Jessie.
The slime seemed dejected.
Just seeing that made Jessie feel comforted.
Because it meant the slime was also sad about parting with her.
And that was proof that the slime liked her just as much.
“Thank you, Alexandros II.”
Jessie gently embraced the slime.
‘Jessie?’
“I’m sad about parting with you too, Alexandros II. I want to be with you forever. But even so... that wouldn’t be what's best for you, would it?”
Jessie had read countless fairy tales, legends, and heroic epics.
Many of them included stories of families who lovingly sent off their children to become heroes or chase their dreams.
And Jessie believed that her moment had come too.
But those stories weren’t always about never returning.
Some ended with the protagonist returning home after achieving great things or discovering treasures.
So if possible, Jessie hoped for a reunion with the slime, and while hugging it tightly, she said,
“We’ll definitely see each other again, Alexandros II.”
***
The next day.
Jessie, along with Nina and Finn, left the estate.
Inside the carriage, Nina asked Jessie with a worried expression,
“Miss, are you really going to be okay?”
“I’m fine, Nina.”
“You’re crying.”
“I’m fine! Alexandros II wants to see a bigger world!”
Even while holding back tears, Jessie was determined to let the slime go, and Nina couldn’t help but be surprised.
Who would’ve thought Jessie had grown up so much?
She had once been the little girl who threw tantrums about missing Nellin, but now she was a proper young lady who could accept goodbyes and think about others.
‘Even if that “other” happens to be a slime, it’s still impressive.’
Nina looked at the slime.
The monster Jessie had stubbornly brought into the mansion a month ago.
But now even Nina knew that this slime wasn’t just any ordinary slime.
Friendly with people, enjoyed food, and strangely good at giving massages.
Although not as much as Jessie, Nina also felt a sense of closeness, so it was a bit sad.
Nina gently stroked the slime that was sitting on Jessie’s thigh and said, “You have to live well out there, okay?”
“Do you really think Alexandros II can live on his own?”
“Young lady?”
“But Alexandros II is still just a slime.”
Jessie hugged the slime tightly.
“He’s super cute, and he trembles well, jumps well, eats well... but still, he’s a slime. What if he gets hurt by another monster?”
As the farewell grew closer, Jessie’s anxiety also began to grow.
‘In moments like this, she’s just like the Count.’
“Don’t worry. This little guy is really smart. If there’s danger, I’m sure he’ll know how to hide.”
“You think so?”
“Of course.”
“But I still can’t help worrying…”
‘She really is like the Count.’
A moment later, the carriage came to a stop.
They had arrived at the place where Jessie first met the slime—on the road near the Blue Elven Forest.
Jessie carefully got off the carriage, holding the slime in her arms.
Then she gently set him down on the ground.
“Alexandros II…”
The slime looked up at her.
‘Jessie…’
The slime understood.
This moment right now was their farewell.
And that if he really wanted to stay with Jessie, he could just show it, and they would return to the estate together.
But the slime had thought about it the night before.
He wanted to see more of the world.
The landscapes from the “books” Jessie had read to him: blazing deserts, frozen lands, deep green jungles, vast plains, and the crystal domain.
His curiosity had flared up—stronger than even when he’d seen Fenrir’s broadcast.
Just like Jessie had made the difficult decision to let go, the slime decided to be honest with his own curiosity.
That didn’t mean he wanted to say goodbye so coldly.
He wanted to express his feelings using what he’d learned while staying by Jessie’s side.
Just as he was about to bounce up with a boing!—
Screech! Kekeke!
“Young lady! Step back! Nina, too—quickly!”
A group of goblins emerged from the Blue Elven Forest.
There were twelve of them.
Finn quickly jumped down from the driver’s seat and stood protectively in front of Jessie and Nina, drawing his sword.
Twelve goblins.
Even though there were many, Finn could handle them alone.
But the problem was—he wasn’t alone here. He had people to protect.
No matter how weak goblins might seem, facing twelve at once was too risky.
While Finn was engaged, another goblin could easily attack Jessie or Nina.
“Young lady, Nina! Get back inside the carriage! I’ll take care of this!”
“Got it, Finn! Come on, young lady, hurry!”
“Wait! Alexandros II too!”
Jessie reached out toward the slime she had just set down.
But—
Boing!
Instead of jumping into Jessie’s arms, the slime bounced forward—toward Finn.
“What?! Why are you getting in front?”
“Alexandros II! It’s dangerous!”
Jessie’s worried voice, Finn’s surprised shout—
But the slime kept moving forward.
‘So annoying!’
He was mad.
He had been about to show Jessie how he felt, and the goblins ruined it.
What made him the angriest, though, was that the goblins were trying to hurt Jessie, Nina, and Finn—people he cared about.
During the journey out of the forest, the slime had already encountered and taken down goblins several times.
And he’d realized something.
Goblins always attacked on sight.
So he didn’t even need to think to know who they would go after now.
Boing! Boing! Boing!
“Hey! Wait!”
The slime picked up speed, heading straight toward the goblin pack.
Finn, caught off guard by the sudden movement, tried to stop him.
Meanwhile, the goblins saw the slime bouncing toward them and burst into laughter.
The slime was coming.
A weak little slime.
Coming straight at them like it was something.
“No! Alexandros II!”
To Jessie, it looked like a reckless charge.
The sweet, smart slime—
Charging into danger, fearlessly throwing himself at a horde of goblins to protect the people he loved.
“No, young lady!”
Nina held Jessie back, stopping her from running toward the slime.
“Finn!”
She called out desperately.
Finn made a quick judgment.
Even if he ran now, he wouldn’t reach the slime in time before it clashed with the goblins.
But the distance was still enough.
If he rushed, he might be able to take out a few goblins and rescue the slime.
If he could retrieve the slime after it got knocked out—
‘Please don’t die in one hit!’
Finn silently hoped the slime was tougher than it looked.
And then—
Something happened that neither Jessie, Nina, Finn, nor even the goblins could have predicted.
BOING!
WHAM!
Screeeeech!?
“Huh?”
“What?”
“Wait, what?!”
Fueled by rage, the slime launched a bouncing tackle.
It was so fast that the goblins didn’t even have time to react.
The slime’s tackle struck one goblin square in the waist, bending it into a right angle.
And the force sent the goblin flying—crashing into a few others behind it.
It was even stronger than back in the forest.
Even though he hadn’t practiced his tackle for a whole month, the slime hadn’t lost his edge at all.
If anything—
He had grown even stronger after eating nutrient-rich meals at the estate every day, unlike in the forest, where he’d only occasionally eaten small animals.
For living beings—and especially monsters—high-quality nutrition equals growth.
And after learning a vibration skill, the slime had been using gentle, precise vibrations to massage Jessie and the servants.
This gave him greater control over his strength than ever before.
With improved strength control and proper nutrition—
The slime could now deliver a far more powerful tackle than a month ago.
‘You jerks! You’re gonna pay for this!’
▶ LOL time for a slime beatdown?
[Just Slam First] ▶Haha! Go get ’em!
[Thread-Lady] ▶ Angry Squishy is still adorable~
[Noblesse Fire] ▶Now this is gonna be fun.
[Squishy Queen] ▶ Wipe ’em out, My kin!
The chat window lit up with excitement from viewers, thrilled by the rare chance to witness a full-on slime battle.