As Shizu's blade pierced the ant's head, the flames on her sword quickly ignited it. Shizu then withdrew her sword, leaped back to the ground, and distanced herself from the burning ant.
"Ah!" Watching Shizu cleanly and decisively dispatch the numerous giant ants, Kaval and the other two were stunned, staring blankly at the mysterious Shizu.
Having only traveled with Shizu for a few days, this was their first time witnessing her strength.
"A-amazing!" Elyun, the female mage, looked at the gruesome remains of the giant ants and murmured in awe.
However, just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, the antennae of the giant ant previously wounded across its chest by Shizu twitched. Suddenly, it lurched upright and lunged at Shizu.
"Shizu-san, look out!" Noticing the ant's movement, Elyun shouted loudly to warn Shizu.
Hearing Elyun's words, Shizu reacted and instinctively turned, raising her sword toward the giant ant. But as she tried to muster her mana, she was overcome with excruciating pain, barely able to stand.
The cause was her excessive mana consumption, which had weakened her ability to suppress Ifrit, the Spirit of Fire, leaving her critically vulnerable.
"Shizu-san!" Seeing this, Elyun was panic-stricken.
"Revenge Slash!" At that critical moment, Tsumugi, riding Houndoom, arrived on the battlefield and, with a single stroke of her blade, cleaved the giant ant in two.
Thud!
The upper half of the giant ant crashed to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
"Shizu-san, are you alright?" With the danger finally past, Elyun hurried to Shizu's side and helped her up.
Kaval and the other man quickly gathered around Elyun and Shizu, staring in astonishment at Tsumugi and Houndoom.
"Thank you so much!" Although somewhat shocked by Tsumugi's skill, the group quickly recovered and expressed their gratitude.
"It was nothing." Hearing their thanks, Tsumugi waved her hand dismissively, appearing quite adorable.
In the sky above, Takeru, accompanied by Rimuru, had witnessed everything.
Although Takeru and Rimuru had arrived somewhat late, they had clearly perceived the sequence of events. Takeru could have intervened at the final moment, but seeing Tsumugi's arrival, he had refrained.
Now that the crisis was resolved, Takeru descended with Rimuru.
"Who goes there?" Spotting Takeru descending from the sky with a slime, Kaval spoke warily.
"Takeru, you're back!" Yet, disregarding his caution, Tsumugi's face lit up with delight upon seeing Takeru.
"Master!" Houndoom also spoke respectfully.
"Long time no see, Tsumugi, Houndoom. Have you been well?" Looking at Tsumugi and Houndoom, Takeru smiled and greeted them.
"Yes, I've been fine." Hearing Takeru's inquiry, Tsumugi quickly nodded.
After exchanging brief pleasantries, everyone's attention turned to Kaval, Shizu, and the others.
Rimuru eyed the trio suspiciously, finding them vaguely familiar. Great Sage rapidly provided an explanation: these three were the group encountered in the cave.
"We're saved... thank you." Having composed herself, Shizu stood and addressed Tsumugi gratefully.
"You're welcome." Hearing this, Tsumugi waved her hand again.
"By the way, you're adventurers, right? I'm Kotobuki Tsumugi. And you are?" Subsequently, Tsumugi looked curiously at the four.
"Pardon me. Hello, I am Kaval, the leader of this party. Thank you very much for saving us. She is..."
"Elyun!" Before Kaval could finish, Elyun excitedly introduced herself to Tsumugi.
"Hello, I'm Gido. Pleased to meet you." The last man, appearing as an ordinary middle-aged man, simply introduced himself.
"As for her, she happened to join us temporarily as a member..."
"Shizu." Hearing Kaval's pause, Shizu calmly stated her name.
"Nice to meet you! I'm Rimuru, a slime. And I'm not an evil slime, okay?" As introductions concluded, Rimuru bounced over and acted cute.
"Pfft!" Watching Rimuru's antics, Shizu couldn't help but laugh.
"Shizu-san!" Noticing the usually reserved Shizu react this way, Elyun was somewhat surprised.
'Hmm, she understood that reference?' Looking at Shizu, Rimuru was intensely curious.
"A talking slime!" Elyun and the others looked curiously at Rimuru.
"Indeed, it's incredible," Elyun remarked with wonder.
Subsequently, everyone's gaze fell upon Takeru. Takeru then gave a brief self-introduction.
"Oh, if you don't mind, everyone is welcome to rest at my village." Looking at the group, Rimuru directly extended an invitation.
"There's a village nearby? That's a huge help!" The four, already exhausted, readily accepted and followed Rimuru toward the goblin village.
Before long, they arrived at the increasingly established goblin village and were somewhat astonished. They had never imagined goblins capable of constructing such civilized, high-quality buildings.
Meanwhile, Takeru, accompanied by Tsumugi and Houndoom, returned to his house.
"Houndoom, your strength seems to have increased considerably." Sensing the magical energy Houndoom now possessed, Takeru remarked with a light laugh.
"Yes, all thanks to you, Master. Also, Houndoom offers congratulations on Master's ascension to Demon Lord." Hearing Takeru's words, Houndoom spoke respectfully.
"Demon Lord!" Hearing Houndoom's words, Tsumugi was stunned, 'Takeru had become a Demon Lord? Was this the same kind of Demon Lord I understood from the world's introduction?'
"By the way, you've changed so much in these twenty days." Suddenly, Tsumugi noticed Takeru's appearance and remarked with emotion.
"Is that so? I gained some strength, which caused me to mature slightly. However, I'll likely maintain this appearance from now on." Hearing her words, Takeru said with emotion.
"Is this because you became a Demon Lord, as Houndoom just mentioned?" Unable to contain her curiosity, Tsumugi asked.
"Yes." Seeing her curious expression, Takeru nodded lightly.
"Amazing!" Hearing this, Tsumugi instinctively praised him.
While others were still exploring this world, Takeru had already become a Demon Lord. It was like everyone was still in the starter village, and Takeru had already max-leveled and changed classes. The gap was incomparable.
"Well, it's nothing special. I was just handling some matters and only now had time to return." Seeing Tsumugi's admiring gaze, Takeru rubbed his nose.
"What about you? Any achievements these past days?" Subsequently, Takeru changed the subject and inquired.
Hearing Takeru's question, Tsumugi did not conceal anything and directly informed him of her experiences. During Takeru's absence, she had daily assisted Rimuru with village construction, then trained and hunted with Houndoom.
These twenty days of training and hunting had somewhat improved her strength and significantly enhanced her practical combat abilities. Her skill application had become quite adept.
Additionally, due to this world's abundant magical particles, her mana capacity had also increased considerably… a notable improvement.
After listening to Tsumugi's account, Takeru nodded understandingly. Just then, a knock sounded at the door.
"Come in." Sensing the monster outside, Takeru directly stated.
"Takeru-san, Tsumugi-san, and Houndoom-san. Rimuru-sama has prepared lunch for everyone. Please, come join us." Opening the door, Rigurd spoke respectfully.
"Is that so? Much obliged. Let's go." Hearing his words, Takeru said to Tsumugi beside him.
"Yes." Hearing Takeru's invitation, Tsumugi quickly nodded.
Soon, Takeru, accompanied by Tsumugi, followed Rigurd to a house near the village center.
Upon entering, they saw the three simple-minded adventurers eagerly eyeing the roasted meat on the table, while Shizu, as always, wore her mask.
Because Shizu persistently kept her mask on, Rimuru had never seen her true face.
However, observing Shizu's posture, Rimuru suspected she might also be from Japan.