Unlike the lackluster ten-foot tall stone walls that surrounded his old village, the four-hundred square kilometers of Londobell's perimeter were protected by sixty-foot tall battlements; all of which were heavily armed with archers and even a considerable amount of spellcasters. Walking over the dropped draw-bridge that was thirty meters wide and about one-hundred meters long made Goblin Slayer feel as though he were in a major city more than just a mere village, and even as he crossed over the dangerous deep moat filled with trained aquatic creatures, the star struck boy found himself walking along a well-paved cobblestone road that led him directly into what appeared to be an entirely different part of Londobell.
Walking through the crowded roads of the touristy business sector that seemed to exist solely to accommodate merchants and travelers from outside the wealthy village, Goblin Slayer could hear various songs ranging from different genres being played by street performing bards at nearly every other intersection corner. For the first time in his life, Goblin Slayer found himself needing to walk only along the stone-brick sidewalk, as the roads became more-and-more crowded with multi horse-drawn carriages the deeper into the urban area he traveled into.
Feeling as though he had traveled into a different world than the rural lifestyle he had grown up in, the ten year-old boy with only the clothes on his back a large blanket stuffed into a borrowed pills was becoming overwhelmed by how tall the looming buildings were becoming, and yet he was still intrigued and mystified by just how exciting everything around him appeared to be. "This must be what the capital is like…! I can see why Londobell is such a coveted place to be; this is a merchant's paradise," Goblin Slayer mused to BB and to Fairy Knight.
Appearing surprised to hear about how awestruck Goblin Slayer was about the outside of Londobell, BB couldn't help but to let out an amused chuckle as she shook her head at him. "Considering that this world is supposedly meant to reflect the ideas of wonderment found within the pages of a fantasy novel, then yeah… I GUESS this place is impressive on its own underwhelming merit," BB said with a sassy smirk across her lips, as she continued to phase through pedestrian-after-pedestrian, while continuing to walk alongside Goblin Slayer's left side.
Even though it could be argued that she usually spoke more respectfully than how the artificial AI did, Fairy Knight remained hidden inside of Goblin Slayer's soul as she nonchalantly voiced her opinion on what she thought of the industrial sector. " All of it is an eyesore; the monotone gray colors found within every piece of architecture around us is as dull as it is depressing, " Fairy Knight stated bluntly, all while stating her observation as though it were a fact, instead of an opinion.
Feeling a bit disheartened after realizing that neither women were able to share the same sense of amazement he felt from the industrial sights and sounds of big-business all around him, Goblin Slayer decided to drop the subject all together; still silently admiring the buildings around him, and even taking a moment to appreciate the seven-story tall dairy factory that Londobell was known for when they walk by the front entrance to the road that led into the massive dairy factory.
With the hour it took for them to walk through all the grandiose sights that Goblin Slayer couldn't believe existed so close to where his village had once existed, the trio were still deep into the outer ring of shops and businesses by the time the ten year-old's hunger began to catch up to him. Needing to rest his legs anyway, Goblin Slayer and BB sat down on one of the many iron benches that were built into the edge of the sidewalks; the two of them facing out toward the caravan-filled street.
"I'm starving… I should have known better than to have skipped breakfast this morning," Goblin Slayer muttered to himself, as he sat his stuffed pillow case down on the other side of the bench from where BB was sitting with one leg crossed over her lowered knee. "Hey, do you think it's possible to summon food or water out of thin air? Got any spell for that?" Goblin Slayer asked half-jokingly, while looking over his shoulder to where BB was staring back at him with an amused look on her face.
"Unless you're planning on eating your servant, then the answer would be "no"," BB replied back sassily, while beginning to haunch forward toward her thighs as a sudden idea popped into her head. "But hey, since we're already in a heavily populated area that's rich with resources, and I was right to think that neither of you two would have been able to plan ahead for this trip accordingly, I think it's time I teach a few tricks before we head out into the wild," BB stated, while not really giving Goblin Slayer a choice in the matter.
Intrigued by what she had to offer him, Goblin Slayer did his best to ignore his growling stomach as he turned his body on the bench to face her body. "What sort of tricks are you talking about, exactly?"
"Well for starters, let's start with that pillowcase you've got over there; go ahead and grab for me, and place it on your lap," BB instructed, while watching approvingly as Goblin Slayer did exactly what was asked of him. "Marvelous. Now touch it with your hand, and imagine it disintegrating under your touch; similar to the way you see my holographic body disintegrate into a cloud of glowing photon particles, whenever I phase out of your world and back into the Moon-Cell."
" Ah, uh… S-Sure, okay," Goblin Slayer replied back nervously, while concentrating on imagining the pillowcase transforming to a silhouette of light-particles; his excitement sparking upon seeing it coming true before his very eyes. "L-Like this, right?!" Goblin Slayer asked, his heart fluttering inside of his chest, as his lips began to curl upward into an anxious smile.
Taking a moment to silently reinforce her own theory of how quickly the ten year-old body was able to learn from just her words alone, BB softly nodded her head while her smile became more genuine. "Precisely, Ashta-Kun! Now, think of how light travels outward from its source; like the way a torch illuminates a room upon being ignited… Now, think back to the way I described the Moon-Cell to you— how it's a massive ball of magic that stores information within it— imagine those photon particles underneath your very hand transporting themselves over to that brilliant ball of light; and envision it becoming one with the Moon-Cell!"
Much to his own excitement, as well as the astonishment of Fairy Knight and BB, Goblin Slayer was surprised the moment the defragmented particles of what was once his borrowed blanket and pillowcase vanished into thin air right before his eyes; with only a split second of an afterimage left behind in the wake of his transported object, as Goblin Slayer found himself staring down with a wide-eyed stare at his own lap where the stuffed pillowcase had once been. "That's so cool! N-Now what?! H-How do I get it back?!" Goblin Slayer asked enthusiastically; as he waited with baited breath for BB's next step.
Appearing momentarily triumphant from how well Goblin Slayer had been doing thus far, BB proceeded to explain in detail about how he needed to do the same two-step process of transforming matter into photon particles, but in reverse. However, much to her disappointment, BB soon realized after watching the concentrating boy struggling for a considerable amount of time that he wasn't able to do what she figured he'd be able to do flawlessly.
"You know what? Now that I'm thinking about it, I don't think I've ever taught that trick to Hakuno-Chan all the way through. Yes, that's probably it then…" BB muttered to herself with a thoughtful look in her half-closed eyelids, before calmly opening them back. "A two-out-of-three successive ratio isn't anything to scoff at; especially considering that you more-than-likely never had any formal or even informal training in casting spells, huh Ashta-Kun?"
"None at all," Goblin Slayer replied, while feeling a mixture of excitement and disappointment dwelling inside him. "Is there something I'm missing? Or… Or is it something that can only be done through practice?"
"That's precisely right, kid! Can't do everything right on your first try; luckily for us though, you've already got the most important part of the "inventory" spell down! Now all that's left for you to do is practice trying to summon that pillowcase back, while we go do a few side quests to help pay for some brunch!" BB declared with a confident smirk across her lips, as she hopped up from the bench before pulling the concerned boy up by his hand.
"Side quests…? Are we really even going to have time for that? I've already written that I was going to be back at the tavern tonight; I'm already on a tight schedule as it is," Goblin Slayer argued in a polite voice, which earned him an amused grin from the lavender-haired woman.
"Oh, my sweet, innocent, summer child… I've scanned the area within a five-hundred kilometer radius, and I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you're definitely NOT making it all the way there ANDback on foot; at least not all at once," BB stated factually; crossing her arms over her chest with one sassy eyebrow arched, as she stared down at the shocked expression that was plastered on the boy's face.
"B-But Fairy Knight told me that we would be able to make it there and back within twelve hours, max! Besides, look! I can see the mountains JUST over there!" Goblin Slayer insisted, as he raised an arm up to point towards the visible silhouette of the Mythril Mountain range over the distant horizon.
"Uh huh, I see… And you thought to take travel advice from a fairy; a species that can fly… You know? Something that you lack the ability to do?" BB pointed out, which prompted Fairy Knight to step out of Goblin Slayer's soul in order to defend herself.
"If you're going to claim to be as intelligent as you'd like yourself to believe, then see to it that you get your facts straight… For I am no mere fairy; you stand before the remnant of the "Dragon of Albino", itself," Fairy Knight declared proudly in her stoic voice, as she stared through her armored mask at BB, who couldn't help but to roll her eyes at the fairy-dragon hybrid. "My plan is to take my master out in an open field, where I'll have enough room to transform into my true form. From there, we shall take to the skies and arrive at our destination within less than an hour; a slow enough speed to ensure the child's safety, while providing ourselves ample time to annihilate the goblin fortress."
Holding her chin with one hand, while sarcastically pretending to be astonished by the servant's plan of action, BB quietly scoffed before resting her fists on the side of her hips. "An efficient way to proceed with the journey, but not a well thought out one."
Scowling behind her armored mask, Fairy Knight was beginning to become more annoyed at the smug way BB was talking to her, as she opened her mouth to speak once more. "Explain to me the fault within my simple, straightforward plan. Because the way I see it, it is without flaw."
"Pffffft!Yeah, okay; sure, I'll give you a few critiques!" "Let's see…! Ah, I know! Let's start with the obvious fault in your apparently flawless logic: Ashta-Kun's mana wouldn't be enough to sustain your noble phantasma, so what more than likely WOULDhappen is that you transform into the Dragon of Adion for about a minute, before going back to your current " Phase One" form; giving the peasants within this dirty urban jungle enough time to grab their pitchforks and torches," BB scrutinized, as she raised one hand out in front of Fairy Knight's face; sticking one finger up, as to count her critiques on one hand. "I can keep going if you'd like; after all, I've got plenty of things to say about your idiotic plan~!"
"Y-You arrogant little harlot…! If my plan is so terrible, then PLEASE, enlighten us with your apparent wisdom!" Fairy Knight shot back in a voice that sounded more frustrated than usual.
Dropping her raised hand back down to her side, BB simply smiled back with a content expression on her face. "Now that's more like it: you willingly wanting to hear me out is definitely the smartest thing you've done so far! Hehe,I swear, you would have gotten him killed if I didn't step in…" BB mused smuggly; taking enjoyment out of the way Fairy Knight was beginning to growl lowly at her, while visibly becoming heated. "Anyway… Ashta-Kun, you need to be listening to this: I'm going to tell you how we'll be proceeding with this endeavor," BB announced with a borderline pompous voice, as she immediately turned her back to Fairy Knight, so that she was facing toward Goblin Slayer.
Feeling a bit uncomfortable after watching the two females argue for the second time that day, Goblin Slayer had a small bead of sweat forming at the side of his scarred cheek as he sulked at the realization that his plan to destroy the goblin stronghold wasn't going to go as quickly as he had hoped. "Uh… Y-Yeah, sur- Ow?!" Goblin Slayer yelped with a surprised look on his face, as he reached out to instinctively cover his backside. "W-What was that for?!"
Holding the collapsible metal-wand that she has summoned from her own pocket dimension— the same very blunt tool that she had used to whack the ten year-old on his ass— BB slowly tapped the end of it against the upturned palm of her other hand; staring down at him with a look of superiority. "Disciplinary action, Ashta-Kun; it's what's going to keep on happening until I whip you into becoming a star pupil! From this point forward, you will address me as "BB-Sensei"; it's an honorific in my culture, one that you'll be using to respect me as your " teacher"," BB explained, while grabbing a hold of the tip of her metal wan to begin gently wobbling it.
Although Fairy Knight wasn't above physically disciplining children, she wasn't necessarily a fan of the fact that BB— out of all people— was the one who spanked her master. "Refrain from getting overzealous with that pathetic little toy you call a weapon… He is my master, and thus if anyone holds the right to discipline him, it is I," the white-haired servant declared, which was ignored by BB for the most part.
Lowering his hands from his backside while feeling on edge with the presence of the metal wand, Goblin Slayer nervously swallowed the lump in his throat before saying "Y-Yes, BB-Senpai."
Satisfied with herself, BB continued to play with the metal wand in her hand as she began instructing Goblin Slayer of where he needed to go; using her holographic-avatar's photonic particles to guide him through the streets of Londobell's business sector. With Fairy Knight back inside his soul, Goblin Slayer was able to go unnoticed as he stood in line to get assigned an odd job from one of the many temporary-employment centers that were scattered across Londobell.
Since no one else could interact or sense her, BB was able to tutor Goblin Slayer while he practiced on how to summon his blanket back from the Moon-Cell. When quietly asked where his blanket actually was, BB told the ten year-old that she was allowing him to use her own reality marble to store his items; specifically, she told him that she had his stuffed pillowcase near her feet, back in her bedroom within the Moon-Cell where she actually was. With how well of a quick learner he was, thankfully Goblin Slayer was finally able to get the hang of learning the "inventory" spell through-and-through; enthusiastically storing and recalling his blanket in-and-out from BB's bedroom, until she got annoyed with and ordered him to stop.
Once he got to the front of the line where it was his turn to be assigned an odd job, Goblin Slayer had already garnished the attention of those within the office building; whispers emerging from those waiting behind him, as well as the clerks around him, as they wondered to one another about whether or not he was the same boy who had apparently defeated an entire army of goblins on his own. Believing that he was going to be getting a high-paying job based off all the talk of him going around in the large office space, Goblin Slayer was mildly disappointed once he was handed the contract that tasked him with delivering groceries to a greater slime who wrote her name down as "Slime Girl".
Seeing how the job paid fairly well, and that there weren't any other jobs that the clerk behind the desk was willing to give him, Goblin Slayer accepted his task with a humble-grace. Even though Fairy Knight was embarrassed about having to be the servant of a "delivery boy", she more-or-less was still supportive of Goblin Slayer for showing the drive needed to work an honest living.
Wanting to make the most of their time, BB began teaching the basic fundamentals to "magic", which the AI woman described as being the highest class of " mystery"; which in her words referred to a sliver of power that came from the metaphysical source of all power that existed in all multiverses. Goblin Slayer learned about the " Swirl of the Root", which housed its own realm where servants came from: the " Throne of Heroes".
When asked about how servants were summoned in the first place, BB went on a tangent about how "magic" no longer existed in her universe, and that they could only emulate it with technology using photon particles; calling the practice of it " magecraft", which was a significantly weaker version of " magic". Going back to the curious boy's question, BB told Goblin Slayer that the Moon-Cell was able to emulate the " root", and thus possessed its own " throne of heroes" that it used to hold the same kind of heroic spirits that would normally be found in the actual " throne".
When Goblin Slayer arrived at the well-stocked grocery store, Fairy Knight caused him to receive stares of awe from the other shoppers, who were all stunned to see someone like her holding the metal shopping basket for him, while he began going down aisle-after-aisle with the shopping list found within the contract in hand. Continuing with her lesson, BB praised Hakuno for being a "master of magecraft" before bringing up a question that she had for the ten year-old orphan.
"Ashta-Kun, you know how I told you that "magic" no longer was accessible from where I'm from? Well, my question to you is in regards to your lineage: were either of your parents mages by chance? I'm only asking you because it wouldn't make sense for the Moon-Cell to see you as an exact recipient to carry on Hakuno-Chan's magical circuitry if your parents weren't magic-wielded themselves," BB inquired, as she stood beside Goblin Slayer while they waited in line to be checked out by one of the many cashiers who were manning the checkout counters.
Furrowing his brow while trying to think about what he knew of his parents, Goblin Slayer shrugged his shoulders as he watched Fairy Knight begin to hand the nervous cashier girl all of the items she had been carrying within the metal basket. "My mother was sort of an alchemist, but… I don't think she dealt with the magic-aspect of it; she was more of a herbalist than anything else… And as far as my dad goes, uhhh… He was just a regular priest, if that counts for anything," Goblin Slayer replied, as he tore off the bottom part of the contract that served as a prepaid voucher, before handing it up to the bewildered cashier.
Multitasking by having her avatar emote an expression of deep-thinking, while in actuality being busy with organizing all of the groceries that Goblin Slayer was teleporting to her home onto her kitchen counter, BB thought of a few possible explanations as to why the ten year-old was capable of using magic and magecraft at the same time. Once she had finished with her task within the Moon-Cell, BB "logged" back into her avatar's consciousness; taking it off " auto-pilot", in order to announce a theory she had come up with when she was putting away a glass-jug of milk into her retro-era refrigerator.
"Perhaps one of your ancestors was a mage? From what I've researched, it's entirely possible for magic to skip over a generation before being inherited. Do you know anything about your grandparents, or anyone who came before them?" BB inquired, to which she was met with disappointment when Goblin Slayer shook his head at her.
"I hardly know much about anything when it come to my own parents, Sensei-BB; I'm sorry to say, but I don't even know the names of my grandparents, much less whether or not they were even mages," Goblin Slayer said, as Fairy Knight transformed into a cloud of photon particles that inserted themselves back inside the boy's soul.
Figuring that only meant that she would have to do a little bit of digging on her own time, BB thanked Goblin Slayer for answering her inquiry before proceeding to quiz him while they traveled outward from the outer rim of Londobell. By the time that Goblin Slayer had managed to prove his comprehension of the basic fundamentals of "The Swirling Root" to BB, the trio were finally outside of the heavily urbanized business sector; finding themselves in a more rural area that was comprised of traditional cottages and farms that were built around separated orchards, out in the green pasture that Goblin Slayer was far more familiar with personally.
With BB essentially being his personal GPS, Goblin Slayer spent about forty minutes in total wandering down dirt-road after dirt-road— passing through fenced off fields of tended grass that all had free-ranged cows grazing on its bounty— before finally coming across a particularly unique archway, that looked to have been made out of carved wood pieced together by a translucent blue gel material. "… "The Slime Farm"… I guess this must be the place, huh?" Goblin Slayer mused a slightly amused grin on his face, after having read the large sign that was glued onto the very top of the whimsical structure.
Walking down the dirt path that lead to the white farmhouse that was at the end of the road, Goblin Slayer found himself intrigued by the sentient blobs of slime that all appeared to be under two-feet tall; the childish part of him giggling quietly, as he watched the goofy looking creatures jiggle each time they hoped onto a new patch of grass to consume minerals from the dirt. Once he finally arrived at the front yard of the three-story farmhouse, Goblin Slayer climbed up the wooden porch steps before making his way over to the door; summoning the groceries from BB's kitchen counter, before setting them neatly down beside his leg.
Feeling slightly uncomfortable from how anxious he was from the thought of being greeted with an unpleasant shut-in, Goblin Slayer took a moment to gather his composure before knocking politely on the red-painted door; slowly exhaling his worries away in one breath, before lowering his arm back down to his side as he took a step back. Feeling Fairy Knight begin to slowly drain his continuously regenerating mana while still inside of him— knowing that she was preparing herself to strike if necessary— Goblin Slayer stood beside a genuinely curious BB, as the wet sounds of "plamp, plaff" drew closer from within the house.
Opening the door, there stood a five-foot tall blue-translucent slime monster, who had the form of a short-stacked female elf with cartoonish proportions, and blobby hair that looked as though the greater slime had tried styling it to partially cover what was supposed to be her forehead, while the rest of it drooped down the front of her shoulders, and to the midsection of where her back was. All-in-all, the sentient slime with her dotted eyes and curved-derpy smile looked as though it had its facial features drawn onto it with an ink pen; which wouldn't have been unbelievable to Goblin Slayer, since the female slime looked uncanny in every aspect.
Wearing absolutely no clothes since she had no genitals, nipples, or even internal organs to hide, the unnatural-looking female kept smiling silently at Goblin Slayer for a few good awkward minutes; causing him to feel uncomfortable underneath her beady-eyed stare, until she finally parted what he figured was supposed to be a mouth in order to begin communicating with him. "Good day… Are those… Groceries for… Me?" Slime Girl asked through intervals of silence, while sounding more-or-less like how a human or elf would talk.
Snapping out of his trance once Fairy Knight pointed out to him that he was staring at her for too long, Goblin Slayer smiled uneasily at Slime Girl before nodding his head softly. "Y-Yes ma'am; I'm from the "Londobell Hiring Temp Agency"… Did you need me to carry these inside for you?" The ten year-old offered, while silently hoping in the back of his mind that the derpy monster girl would decline his offer.
Unfortunately for him, Slime Girl seemed bubbly with joy when she heard him; her eyelids closing softly, while her goopy mouth opened wide enough for her to begin accidentally leaking her blue liquids down her chin. "Oh joy…! I can't…! Believe that…! I'm finally…! Having a…! Guest over…!" Slime Girl cheered out in her unusual manner of speaking; her gooey body beginning to reverberate with excitement, as she took a step back with her stubby legs that melted to the floorboards where her feet would have been.
Sensing her master's reluctance, the servant who wasn't a stranger to exotic creatures and monsters— almost exactly like the ones found within Goblin Slayer's own world— Fairy Knight spoke up from inside of him. " Greater slimes are unusual creatures, and yet even so I've yet to ever encounter one that was capable of speaking common, let alone being capable of providing hospitality… It would be best if you were to show her your utmost respect; I sense that she's rather lonely," Fairy Knight said, while making sure to let Goblin Slayer know that she expected him to be a good house guest.
Looking for an excuse to step away from her holographic avatar, so she could do something else to entertain herself on her computer, BB pretended to care about Slime Girl by telling Goblin Slayer "Give her a chance; she might share some of her food with you, if you're nice enough to her~!" And with that being said, the lavender AI told Goblin Slayer that she would be back later, and that would still be keeping an eye on him while she binged watched one of her favorite shows.
Watching the holographic avatar disappear into a cloud of photon particles, Goblin Slayer looked back up at the dripping-wet monster girl, who was embarrassingly needing to wipe her smiling mouth constantly with her forearm. Taking in a deep breath, the boy managed to put a smile onto his face before kneeling down to gather the groceries up from the porch; thanking Slime Girl for letting him in, as he heard her closing the door behind them.
Author's Note: Lots of world building in this chapter, while the next chapter is going to be mostly silly with some sexual themes in it. Again, it serves a purpose for the actual plot, I'm just going at my own pace and taking my time writing out slice of life moments and what not.