Reincarnated as an SSS-Ranked Blacksmith Who Refuses to Forge Weapons-Chapter 116. The Slime Comes Home

Chapter 116: 116. The Slime Comes Home
The trip back to Ferndale took two days instead of three because they were excited about the promise of real beds, hot meals, and not having to worry about cave ghouls attacking them in the middle of the night. Greg’s pack was heavy with ore samples, journals, and the mysterious forge core crystal.
The slime, on the other hand, had made a home on his shoulder and was chirping happily and bouncing up and down when it saw something intriguing. "This little guy seems like he’s grateful for us to bring him home."
Felix said for the fifteenth time, "I still can’t believe we’re bringing home a slime," but he kept reaching over to pet it whenever it bounced close enough. "This is really cool! Do you think it eats something?"
"What do slimes even eat, anyway? And... do they need water?"
Greg said, "We’ll figure it out when we get back," as he moved the slime on his shoulder. The creature had been surprisingly easy to take care of on their way back. It was a pleasure to sit on Greg’s shoulder and watch the world go by, seeming genuinely interested.
"Seraphine will probably want to study it," Bork said as he lifted his own pack full of ore. "She loves to learn about everything."
Greg said, "As long as she doesn’t cut it up." The slime chirped angrily at the suggestion, as if it had understood and been offended.
Felix said, "I don’t think Seraphine cuts things open. All she does is just watch and write things down."
"She wrote down what I said when the truth boots made me tap dance," Greg said. "And it’s a goddamn long note."
"That’s not the same because it was so funny!"
"No, fuck that! I was ashamed."
"Ehh... at least it’s still funny and embarrassing for all of us!"
...
Greg felt a wave of relief wash over him when they finally reached the top of the hill that looked down on Ferndale. The village looked calm and whole.
The chimneys emitted smoke, while the winter wind carried the sounds of daily life. The village experienced no fires, riots, or emotional crises due to prohibited activities.
Bork said with satisfaction, "Finally, baby! Home sweet home. And after coming back from mining, I guess we’re rich now! Our ores are worth a lot of money!"
Greg told him, "Don’t spend it all at once."
"I’m a dwarf! Of course I’m good with managing money by nature!"
"You lost three gold coins betting on which villager would be the first to confess at the council meeting."
"That was money spent on fun!"
Before they even got to the workshop door, it burst open and Marina ran out. When she saw them, her face lit up. She threw herself at Greg and almost knocked him over with her hug.
"My beloved Greg~! You’re back!"
"And you’re still alive, thank the gods! I was getting worried that you might have gotten lost or eaten by something!" She turned back to look at him and saw the slime on his shoulder. "Whoa... what’s that?"
Greg said, "This is a slime. We found it in a workshop that had been left behind deep in the caves."
Marina looked at the creature, which chirped and bounced a little to say hello. "You brought home a slime."
"Yes."
"An oozy blob with a hammer in it."
"Yes."
"Of course you did." Marina reached out slowly, and the slime leaned into her touch and made joyful chirping sounds. Her face changed right away. "Oh my god, it’s so cute. We’re going to keep it!"
"I was going to keep it anyway," Greg said with a smile as the slime moved from his shoulder to Marina’s. He was clearly happy to see the new person.
Next came Seraphine, then Elwen, Mira, and Donetta. Everyone crowded around, pointing out the slime and asking questions about the trip.
"Did you find any good ore?" Seraphine asked, already looking at the packs with scientific interest.
Bork said with pride, "A lot of it. There’s a star copper, deep iron, mithril silver, and even some adamantine! With all of this, we’re fucking rich!"
"Did you fight monsters?" Elwen asked, looking worriedly at Greg. "Are you hurt?"
Felix said in a dramatic voice, "We fought cave ghouls. And there are lots of them! Maybe even hundreds! Sensei created these effective pickaxes that could trap the ghouls in the ground and bury them alive!"
Greg stated, "There were about thirty ghouls." And we needed the pickaxes as our self-defense mechanism because there were more of them than us."
"Still counts as awesome!" Felix said.
Mira floated closer to look at the slime, which had moved back to Greg’s shoulder and was staring at her with what looked like interest. "Whoa! This slime is actually a spirit being! Not quite like me, but the energy signature is similar!"
The slime chirped and bounced toward Mira, and the two seemed to hit it off right away. They made sounds at each other that could have been communication.
"Is it able to talk?" Donetta asked, reaching out to touch the slime softly.
Greg said, "Just chirps. But it seems to get what we’re saying. I think this slime is very smart judging by how it looks and moves."
While everyone else was busy with the slime, Greg looked around and saw that someone was missing. "Wait... someone’s missing. Where’s Lylia?"
The happy mood got a little less bright. Marina’s face went from happy to worried. "She had to go three days ago. The Royal Knight Order had a problem."
"What?" Greg was surprised and asked. He knew Lylia was a retired knight, but why did she have to come back for something that she doesn’t need to take responsibility for?
Seraphine said, "The Royal Knight Order from Aethermoor."
"It’s the kingdom in the east, on the other side of the continent. Ferndale is in the western part of the Valdris Kingdom, so it’s a long way away. By fast horse, the trip alone takes almost a whole week if the weather is good."
Greg thought about this information. He knew that the world was bigger than just Ferndale and the area around it, but hearing about organized kingdoms and knightly orders made it seem more real. "Why did they call her back? She is to be retired, right? That means she doesn’t need to have any connection again with them."
Marina frowned and said, "She didn’t say any reason at all other than missing her companion."
"She just said it was important and that she’d explain when she got back. After that, she left quickly and didn’t even pack her things. We had to send Mira after her with things she needed."
Elwen added in a low voice, "She looked worried."
"It’s kind of rare, too, to not have seen her act like that before."