"Exercise? What are you talking about all of a sudden, Paulen?"
As the slime tilted its body, Amelia asked Paulen.
"Exactly as I said. We’re going to exercise. Anyway, just staying here makes Jiggly bored, doesn’t it? It’d be much better to go to the training grounds and move around! Hahaha! Of course, you should join us for some exercise, Saintess!"
"If I exercise with you..."
‘I won’t be able to get out of bed tomorrow because of muscle pain!’
"Amelia, what do you take me for? I wouldn’t force intense training on a beginner with barely any muscles. Even if I did, it’d just be while I’m playing around exercising with Jiggly, and I’d tell you to simply walk around for some light activity."
"Really? If that’s all..."
Swayed by Paulen’s words, Amelia got up from her seat.
Boing!
And the slime, which had made itself at home in the church, moved to its designated spot.
It jumped up onto Paulen’s shoulder.
At first, it had tried to climb onto Amelia’s head, but Paulen had said—
—Even if it’s harmless, people would talk if a monster’s sitting on the Saintess’s head. So just get on my shoulder.
Understanding those words, the slime chose Paulen’s shoulder as its new designated seat.
Amelia, Paulen, and the slime left the room and headed to the training grounds.
But the training grounds weren’t just any regular ones.
They were exclusive grounds only knight Paulen could use.
They were facilities built for Paulen, the one with the title of the strongest holy knight.
A protective barrier could be deployed there, so even if he went all out, it wouldn’t damage the surroundings, and the exercise equipment was sturdier than commercially available gear—never bending or breaking.
Looking at the training grounds, Amelia asked,
"Is it really okay for you to use this place alone, Paulen?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, isn’t it awkward to move around such a wide space by yourself?"
"Hahaha! It’s time to train myself, so what does it matter if I’m alone or with others? Of course, I enjoy group workouts too, but being alone isn’t lonely at all! I can meet people whenever I want!"
Since Amelia couldn’t easily bring herself to meet others, Paulen’s words struck her heart.
"And today, you and Jiggly are with me, aren’t you! It’ll be an even more enjoyable training session than usual! Would you like to drop by during my training normally as well?"
"Well… the sweat smell might be a bit much..."
"You sure are blunt in moments like this."
Clap clap!
Paulen clapped his hands and spoke.
"Then I’ll play around exercising with Jiggly. Amelia, take a walk around the grounds and enjoy some fresh air."
Amelia wondered if she would really be breathing fresh air beside exercising Paulen, or if it’d just be sweaty air.
But she had the sense not to voice that thought out loud.
Clomp, clomp.
Amelia began walking across the training grounds, and Paulen spoke to the slime.
"Alright, let’s start exercising too, Jiggly!"
‘Exercise?’
"First, get off my shoulder!"
‘Okay!’
Boing!
As the slime hopped down to the ground, Paulen immediately struck a pose.
"Hnnngh! Muscles!"
Flexing, Paulen said, "Exercising makes you feel refreshed and clears your mind! That goes for monsters too! So let’s exercise together, Jiggly!"
‘Exercise!’
Boing!
The slime didn’t really know what ‘exercise’ was.
But it understood that Paulen was doing this for its sake, and that made it happy.
▶ What’s this human suddenly going on about exercise?
▶ Still, it seems more fun than watching that boring human female just sitting still?
The viewers also found it interesting, as the broadcast that had been boring for the past three days suddenly got some new content.
"Alright! Let’s start simple with just 20 laps! Follow me, Jiggly!"
Boing!
Paulen began running around the training ground, with the slime bouncing after him.
"Huh?"
Meanwhile, Amelia, who had started walking earlier, felt complicated as Paulen and the slime passed her.
They started running… Shouldn’t she be running too?
Thinking that, she picked up her pace and broke into a light run.
"Hahaha! You’re running well! How about this then!"
Boing! Boing!
But within ten seconds, the slime and Paulen zoomed past her again at even faster speeds, and Amelia returned to walking.
Seeing a speed she could never match up close, she immediately realized it was pointless to try.
Paulen and the slime quickly completed 20 laps of the training ground.
‘It’s moving way faster than I thought.’
Paulen was impressed that the slime could keep up even when he picked up the pace.
At first, he ran slowly to match the slime’s usual pace.
But if he went too slow, it wouldn’t be much of a workout for him, so he decided to do his own routine and sped up—but the slime kept up without issue.
Just to be sure, he sped up even more—and the slime still followed.
‘Definitely not an ordinary slime.’
Paulen’s curiosity was piqued.
A slime that could understand human speech and follow his pace, even if not seriously.
He knew that highly intelligent monsters were often both cunning and strong.
So maybe this slime, despite its appearance, was actually quite powerful?
‘I’ve got to test this.’
As a knight tasked with protecting the Saintess, he now had a reason.
Paulen immediately said to the slime, "Warm-up is over. Jiggly! This time, it’s sparring!"
‘Sparring?’
"Paulen? What are you saying? You’re not seriously planning to fight Jiggly, are you?"
"Not fight. Spar. A sparring match."
"With a slime?"
"I understand what you're worried about, Amelia, but don't worry. It's just a sparring session, no different from exercise."
Paulen retrieved a wooden shield and a wooden sword from a rack in the corner of the training ground.
"Alright! Come at me, Jiggly! Attack me as much as you like! I'll take it all."
Clang, clang!
Paulen tapped the wooden shield with the wooden sword, urging the slime.
'Attack? Why?'
The slime didn't understand why Paulen suddenly wanted it to attack.
To the slime, attacking was something done to prey or to bad guys who hurt or saddened it.
However, that confusion was quickly resolved upon seeing a message in the chat window.
[Just Slam First] ▶Squishy! That human is offering to help you practice your body slam! Give it a try!
'Practice!'
Though it didn't immediately grasp the concept of sparring or being told to attack, the mention of practicing body slams made the slime understand right away.
In other words, this was practice. Training.
The slime understood that it wasn't about attacking with the intent to harm.
Boing! Boing!
'Practice!'
Having not moved much recently, the slime was delighted to engage in practice after a long time.
"You're full of energy! Great! Now, come on!"
'Okay!'
The slime bounced towards Paulen, using a body slam.
Since it wasn't a serious attack, it was a weaker version of its usual bounce tackle.
However,
'Huh?!'
The slime's body slam carried more weight than Paulen had anticipated.
'If this hit an ordinary animal, it might be knocked down.'
Thanks to nutritious food and experiences from battles with various monsters, the slime's basic strength had increased.
Therefore, even though it wasn't using its bounce tackle skill, the body slam was quite powerful.
"Good! You're doing well! Keep it up, Jiggly!"
'Okay!'
Boing!
Excited after landing one attack, the slime began a series of continuous body slams.
Boing! Boing! Boing!
To keep things interesting, the slime changed positions as it attacked, rather than coming from the same direction.
As a knight, Paulen skillfully blocked all the body slams with his shield.
Meanwhile,
'They're having fun.'
To Amelia, who was leisurely walking around the training ground, it just looked like Paulen was playfully engaging with the slime.
Due to the slime's softness and elasticity, the collisions with the wooden shield didn't make much noise, making it hard to gauge the impact of the slime's tackles.
Boing!
While continuously receiving the slime's tackles, Paulen habitually analyzed the slime's strength.
'Each hit has consistent power. Does that mean it's accustomed to this? No, even so, maintaining such consistency suggests it's quite skilled at controlling its strength.'
Moreover, being able to consistently deliver the same level of power implied that it was holding back even greater strength.
'Let's test it.'
"Jiggly!"
'Yes?'
When suddenly called, the slime stopped its body slams and waited for the next instruction.
"You can go harder! Come at me!"
▶ Ohhh, that human doesn't realize Squishy has been holding back?
▶Go harder, hahaha.
Seeing Paulen confidently asking for a stronger attack, the viewers laughed.
They knew how powerful the slime's bounce tackle was when used against other monsters.
They grinned mischievously, anticipating how surprised the human would be when the bounce tackle was unleashed.
[Just Slam First]▶ Show your skills, Squishy! That human won't get hurt just because of a tackle!
Fenrir, having faced humans challenging him multiple times in the snowy mountains, felt assured of Paulen's abilities and gave his seal of approval.
'Okay!'
After reading the chat, the slime immediately used its bounce tackle.
Boing!
Thud!
Utilizing its elasticity, the slime's tackle struck Paulen's wooden shield with force.
"..!?"
'What is this power!'
The slime's bounce tackle was an attack capable of taking down not just deer but even a scarlet goblin in one hit.
Its power far exceeded just being heavy.
Crack!
Unable to fully absorb the impact, the wooden shield began to crack.
Realizing that merely receiving the attack would be dangerous, Paulen quickly made a decision.
He slightly leaned back and twisted the arm holding the shield.
By dispersing the direction of the force,
"Hup!"
Paulen swung the shield, deflecting the slime.
A technique to counter an opponent's attack.
Parry.
However, due to the slime's unique elasticity, it wasn't so much deflected as it was sent flying upward.
'Wow!'
Even though it was deflected by Paulen, the slime didn't feel much shock.
Rather, the sensation of suddenly soaring upward was novel and enjoyable for the slime.
▶ What? Did he just deflect the slime?
▶ Ohhh, that human is quite something.
[Squishy Queen]▶ How dare he send my kin flying! How arrogant!
▶It's a flying slime!
"Jiggly?!"
Meanwhile, Amelia, who had been calmly observing while walking, was shocked to see Paulen suddenly send the slime flying upward.
"Paulen! What are you doing!"
"Amelia, I believe..."
Boing! Boing!
After soaring upward, the slime landed safely on the ground and bounced around happily.
"I believe Jiggly has taken down the lesser troll."
"What? What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
"Look at this."
Paulen showed Amelia the cracked wooden shield.
"Jiggly isn't just an ordinary slime."