Pindos' mansion, the hall of audience.

　I've been listening to the reports of the vassals under Mimis.
　The territory has become more and more stable these days, and there's very little for me to do in the office, and I can almost always get away with listening and "planning for good".

'This is the last time, my lord,'

　Mimis said and looked at me.
　Unlike the previous reports, she brought it up at the end, and her mouth clearly needed my reaction.
　I turned my half-empty consciousness back to Mimis and gave a small nod.

'Your Highness Lina Mi Aigina has sent me a request.
Request?

　I raised an eyebrow.
　Because I had a bad feeling about it somehow.

　Lina's request.......nothing good ever happens in my experience.

　But that doesn't mean I can't just refuse it without a second thought.

　I let out a huge sigh and ask Mimis.

"What did you want me to do?
We've been told you're taking down a slime lord.
'A slime lord?　Again?
Well, we'll see.

　Mimis nodded quietly.

''Your highness says that another slime lord has emerged just outside the borders of our territory. It's showing signs of movement, and it wants us to take care of it in our territory.
You see?

　I thought about it for a minute.
　As for the story there's nothing crazy about it.

　A powerful monster that occurred in the Cano territory.
　When it's about to move to another nobleman's territory, it's only right that we take responsibility for exterminating it.

　If we don't do that, then we'll be allowed to force unruly monsters on others in our own territory.

　If we do that, it will make the nobleman's and the ruler's qualifications questionable.

''Have you checked out that slime lord?''
Yes, sir.

　Mimis nodded clearly.

As you said, it occurred on the border of the other side of the country, and it seems to be moving to the other side. Well, we'll have to take responsibility for that.
Okay.

　If Mimis says so, then it must be so.

　I thought about it for a moment - and nodded.

"Okay, I'll do it.
Are you sure?

　Mimi's eyes widen in surprise.
　She's surprised that I said I'd do it so easily because she hears me always saying no, no, no, it's too much trouble.

"Better to just get it over with than to dwell on it.
You are absolutely right, aren't you?

　Mimis nodded resolutely, a reaction that had some implications but I went through with it.

'It's just a normal slime road, right?

　I checked to be sure.

'Yes, it's almost exactly the same as the one your master defeated before.
Okay.

　Then I don't have a problem with that at all.

　What I'd like to avoid is the revelation that I'm actually that great.
　I don't want people to find out how good I really am, and that's going to cause a lot of unnecessary hassle.

　So, it doesn't matter if you've done it once.
　If it's just a story about doing what you could do before again, and that's all you've done, your reputation won't go up.
　At best, it's "I can produce consistent power," and if it's that positive of a rating, it's within the margin of error.

'It's really just a slime load, isn't it?'
I'm sure of it.

　Furthermore, I'll check with Mimis to be sure.

　Lina has done a lot of work for me in the past.
　This time, it looks like nothing will happen to me.

　　　　　☆

　The next day, I leave Pindos and head to where the Slime Lord is.

　There's a reason why I'm riding in a slow carriage as a means of transportation when I'm planning to go quickly and come back after defeating the slime lord quickly.

''........''
Why do you have a Buddha's face?　Not enough sleep?
Why are you here, Your Highness, Rina?

　I looked at Lina, Aegina's royalty, sitting across from the carriage, with zit eyes.

　Yes, I'm wearing a Buddha's face because Lina is with me.

　When I was about to leave in the morning, Lina came over and said she was going with me.
　It was so unexpected that I couldn't say no, and in the confusion of the moment, she put me in the carriage and we traveled together.

'You forget, you are my master now.
'Master?　Oh ... you mean the point man.

　Lina nodded.
　The king sent her to be an apprentice to me as well.

　I don't know how serious she is, so I haven't taught her anything so far.

''That's why I followed you. Fighting a strong enemy like the Demon King is beyond my comprehension, so there's no point in watching, but if it's only a slime lord, there's something I can learn.
That's it?
That's it this time.

　Lina nodded.
　I see, I thought.

　Unlike my sister, Lina doesn't come so arraigned.
　Maybe it's an attempt to the degree I just mentioned.

'Besides,'
And?
"To tell you the truth, I don't like it when you 'inadvertently' regret and mourn afterwards.
It was a bad thing to do.
'I've defeated him once, and if he's a slime lord, that's not going to happen either.
Yeah, of course.

　Lina and I look at each other.

　I see, in a way, it's as if our interests are aligned this time, isn't it?
　No, there's no doubt that I was ripped off one way or another, so maybe it's not really a conflict of interest.

　Be that as it may, there are no lies or deceptions in Lina's words.
　This time we're going to be able to end it without any problems.

　　　　　☆

　After half a day's wagon ride, we came to a gently rolling meadow.

　The horizon was clearly visible, a place where there seemed to be nothing else but the horizon, but it was therefore clearly visible.

　A slime lord with many slimes could be seen a few hundred meters away, buzzing in groups.

''Let's get this over with.''
Yeah, I'll take a look.

　Lina stared at me as she declared.

　I could feel her determination to never miss out on what she was about to do.

　I chuckled.
　I noticed how serious Lina was, and it reaffirmed that I was only going to look at her seriously.

　I slowly recommend the carriage and stand up and hold my hand over it.
　It's exactly the same as before.

　After defeating the monster, there are traces of magic power and other things left behind.
　That's how you can guess the extent of the person who did it.

　Because of that, I'm more and more aware that it will be the same as before.

　Let's see........I think it's about a tenth (....) of my full strength.

It's the eternal, unchanging presence that lives in the past and nurtures time. Gather at my will and consume all impurities!　O Fire of the First World!

　He thrusts out his hand and releases his magic with about a tenth of the force.

　Dogon!

　Instantly, the terrain was blown away, along with the swarm of slime.
　What had been a gentle terrain became a huge crater in an instant.

''........Heh?''
What are you doing?
No, no, it's not...

　Lina was dumbfounded and I got impatient.

　What the hell was that?
　You couldn't control your powers?　No it doesn't.
　That just came about six months ago, and that's not how I feel.

　I'm pretty sure I've got it down to a tenth of what it was.

'Wow, this power it's at least double what it was before.
Double.... oh!

　I was flabbergasted.

　The contents of the bottle Kaori brought with her, that bottle that doubles your total power.

　Because of that........is it?
　No, before that.

I see.
What?
"It doesn't look like you lied to me. It's just that you're twice as strong as you were then. I see.
"Huh!

　It was partly because it was too sudden and partly because of the way things had been going.
　I didn't have a clue how I was going to play along with Lina.