Chapter 56 : The Magic Tower (1)
While the troll was in denial about reality, the slime’s eyes sparkled as it stared at the numerous magical tools Gracie Frail was wearing.
‘So shiny! So many!’
It had seen many ornaments in Count Ludendion’s territory.
It had also seen a lot of equipment at the Adventurer’s Guild.
Even within the Great Church, it had seen the ornaments used by priests.
But it was the first time seeing a human wearing so many accessories all over their body, so the slime was intrigued.
▶ Why does that human have all that stuff dangling from them?
▶ Is it a dragon in disguise?
[Noblesse Fire] ▶ Hey! We store ours, we don’t wear them like that, all tacky and messy!
▶ That’s a lie lol. I saw that flashy dragon last time wearing a whole string of stuff sized perfectly for them.
[Noblesse Fire] ▶ That guy’s just weird, okay!!!
[Gothic Luxury Bone] ▶ Hohoho. That old man who still acts like a child, is he still walking around like that?
▶ Ah! Dangly-X!
▶ They’re slapping “X” on everything now.
Meanwhile, Amelia greeted Gracie Frail with what’s commonly referred to as her “customer service” smile.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. What an honor to be guided by the descendant of the Sage of Magic!”
“Not at all! I’m the one honored to guide you, Lady Amelia, the future successor to the Saintess of Healing, Lady Presia! Please, follow me! I’ll show you to your accommodations!”
‘W-Wow, such an energetic person.’
Gracie’s presence radiated confidence and boldness.
Amelia, whose own demeanor was much more reserved, suffered some mental damage just from the contrast.
As she led Amelia and Paulen, Gracie struck up conversation.
“Wasn’t it tiring coming all the way from the Holy City to the Magic Tower?”
“No, not really. We came by carriage.”
“Still, even with a carriage, a month-long journey isn’t easy! But don’t worry from now on! You’ll be able to recover all that accumulated fatigue right here at the Magic Tower!”
“Hm, is there something special for recovery here?”
At Paulen’s question, Gracie’s eyes seemed to gleam.
“Of course! Do you know what the latest trend at the Magic Tower is? It’s the creation of magical tools!”
Gracie kept talking as she guided the two to their assigned residence.
To summarize:
These days, the trend at the Magic Tower isn’t researching powerful magic, but making convenient magical tools.
That’s because many believe that existing powerful magic is already sufficient.
Rather than researching even more powerful spells, wouldn’t it be better to develop magic or tools that improve daily life?
This opinion became more common, especially since many older mages now have difficulty moving around.
In the past, such ideas would’ve been dismissed due to the demand for stronger magic—but that’s no longer the case.
“This is where the Saintess and Paladin will be staying!”
“This place is...”
“Haha! Looks great, doesn’t it?”
“Of course! It’s hard to find a better place than this in the Magic Tower!”
The place assigned to Amelia, Paulen, and the slime was essentially a villa.
It was located close to the Church and not far from the Magic Tower either.
The moment they stepped inside, Amelia and Paulen were impressed.
“It’s so cool in here.”
“It’s completely different from outside.”
Unlike the sunny and hot exterior, the inside of the villa was filled with a refreshing breeze and cozy atmosphere.
“This is all thanks to the magical tools! If you just insert a magic stone, the enchantment automatically activates, using ice magic to cool the room comfortably! Isn’t it amazing?”
“Wow, it really is.”
“This villa provided by the Magic Tower is equipped with several magical tools! I’ll explain the most essential ones first!”
‘Wait... the tour isn’t over?’
Amelia had assumed showing them the place would be the end of it.
But it turned out Gracie had also been assigned as a guide to explain how to use the magical tools.
As Amelia began to sweat nervously, the slime was listening to Gracie’s explanations with great interest.
‘Magic tools!’
The slime was familiar with their existence.
It had seen humans use them while living among them.
But this was its first time hearing such a detailed explanation.
‘Amazing!’
Even if it understood their existence, it didn’t know the principles behind how they worked.
It couldn’t make them, but just learning how they functioned was fun in itself.
And that feeling wasn’t limited to the slime alone.
▶ Cold air comes out of something that small?
▶ What is this? Why does spinning that make fire appear?
[Noblesse Fire] ▶ Humans sure make a lot of weird stuff.
[Thread-Lady] ▶ I want that magic tool that sucks up dust~. It’d make cleaning up the kids’ crumbs so much easier.
The viewers were listening to Gracie’s explanation with as much excitement as if they were watching a home shopping channel.
‘Wow!’
Brrrrr!
And with every new magical tool it learned about, the slime trembled joyfully in Amelia’s hand.
“Um, Lady Saintes. May I ask something?”
“Yes? What is it?”
“What exactly is that slime you're holding? It keeps trembling.”
“Oh.”
‘You’re just now asking?’
“This little one is Jiggly. As you can see, it’s a slime, but it’s really kind and well-behaved.”
“Is it a research subject?”
‘Are they conducting clinical trials on monsters back in the Holy City or something?’
“No, it’s nothing like that. Jiggly is... just my, um, friend.”
‘Friend!’
Boing!
“Eek! I-It jumped!”
“Oh. Jiggly does that when it’s happy. You don’t need to be alarmed. It was enjoying your explanation, Miss Frail.”
“Please, call me Gracie. But wait, it enjoyed my explanation?”
Gracie tilted her head, confused.
Paulen replied on behalf of the group.
“Hahaha! Jiggly is very clever. I’m sure it understood everything you said. It probably wants to try touching the magical tools itself right now.”
“Excuse me?”
‘The slime?’
Gracie Frail stared at the slime with disbelief in her eyes.
Gracie had only been told that the Saintess and the Paladin would be staying at the Magic Tower for a month and that she would be their guide.
So, while she was surprised to see the Saintess carrying a slime, she didn’t think much of it.
After all, the tower was full of eccentric people conducting strange research, so a Saintess with a slime wasn’t all that shocking by comparison.
If the Saintess had said something like “Our little Poppy is super smart~,” it would’ve just sounded like sentimental talk.
But hearing it from her escort, the Paladin Paulen, made it impossible to ignore.
“Jiggly is very curious.”
“I see. Ahem, well then~.”
Still half in doubt, Gracie decided to test it directly.
If the slime didn’t react, then it would just be a warm-hearted misunderstanding with the Paladin humoring the Saintess. No harm done.
Gracie brought over one of the magical tools she had explained earlier — a portable light that emits illumination in all directions when a button is pressed.
“Want to try pressing it yourself?”
‘Yes!’
Pop!
As soon as Gracie asked, the slime extended a tentacle and pressed the button she had described.
Click!
Flash!
Light burst out from the magical device.
“Huh?”
‘It turned on!’
Gracie was left speechless as the slime suddenly activated the magical tool using its tentacle.
Meanwhile, the slime raised two tentacles high in the air in a victory pose, delighted at having operated the magical device.
“Th-The slime used the magical tool... huh?”
“Hahaha! I told you, didn’t I? Jiggly is very smart.”
“Sorry, did I scare you?”
“Oh, no! I’m fine!”
‘What the heck? What is this slime? Did it really understand my explanation?’
“Ahem! Um, Lady Saintess? Sir Paladin? If it’s alright with you, may I ask this slime... Jiggly, to try operating some other magical tools as well?”
“Hahaha, of course.”
“Yes. Jiggly would love that.”
‘Magical tools! Touch again!’
Boing!
And with that, the demonstration of magical tools shifted into a slime-led show.
From tools with simple on/off buttons to those with strength-adjusting controls, the slime skillfully handled even devices requiring fine-tuned input.
“Hah... hah... hah... hah...”
Gracie breathed heavily.
‘What is this slime? Does a monster like this really exist? It looks so small and weak, yet it’s so intelligent?’
She had just encountered an unknown lifeform.
How could such a creature even come into being?
Gracie felt her mind ignite with a scholarly passion she hadn’t felt in a long time.
Her main field of interest was magical tools, but with such a fascinating, research-worthy slime in front of her, her academic curiosity wouldn’t stop.
‘How is its biology structured? Could it use other magical tools too? Might it even be helpful for magical tool research…?’
“Uh, Gracie? You’re breathing a little hard — are you okay?”
“Huh? Ah! Yes! I’m fine!”
▶ That human's eyes were getting dangerous!
[Squishy Queen] ▶ How dare she give such an insolent look to my kin! How rude!
‘Get a grip! This slime belongs to the Saintess! You can’t get greedy!’
Gracie immediately calmed herself.
It might be one thing if she stumbled across a random slime on the street.
But this slime had been brought by the next Saintess herself.
If she laid a hand on it and caused friction with the Church, not even being the proud descendant of the Great Sage of Magic would save her from the fallout.
‘Besides, our family’s situation is already unstable right now!’
“Such a smart slime. I was honestly shocked.”
“I was too when I first saw how clever Jiggly was. But… the tour is over now, right?”
‘I just want to relax already.’
The magical tool demonstration, which doubled as a slime showcase, wasn’t all that tiring, but Amelia just wanted to unwind without watching anyone’s reaction.
“Oh, yes!”
She had already explained how to use the essential magical tools for daily living.
If she stuck around, she might end up giving more detailed explanations as an excuse — and that would just keep Jiggly in her sights longer.
“Please rest well for today! I’ll return tomorrow!”
Gracie bowed politely and left the villa.
“Haahhh.”
As soon as Gracie was gone, Amelia let out a deep sigh of relief.
“Amelia, was it really that tiring?”
“Yes. I’m especially tired today. I just want to wash up and go to sleep.”
‘I wanted to hear more explanations...’
While Amelia was feeling relieved, the slime leaned forward slightly, disappointed that Gracie had left.
“Looks like Jiggly feels the opposite of you.”
“Um… J-Jiggly? Miss Gracie said she’ll come again tomorrow, so don’t be too down, okay?”
‘Gracie! Tomorrow! Come again!’
Brrrrrr!
The slime trembled with joy.
Amelia, seeing how happy the slime looked, smiled in relief.
“Phew. Alright then, let’s wash up and get some rest, Jiggly.”
Amelia carried the slime into the bathroom.
