An ordinary profession creates the world's strongest

Because it's a mouse.

And it is a mouse that is both fantastical and unusual.

It's really weird.

In addition, the "啾" that seems to be added at the end of the sentence is really eye-catching.

After a while, the mouse finally seemed to notice that Meredith and the others were distracted. It cleverly complained to them with half-open eyes:

"How long are you going to stare blankly? Are your ears just for decoration?"

At this moment, Meredith and the others finally looked at each other. Seeing this, the mouse knew that they were finally willing to listen to him, so he sighed and continued:

"Hmph, I'll say it once more, so listen carefully. I'm willing to be your companion, chu. That's right, I, Bandu Schnee, am one of your kind... We're both magicians of the Age of Gods, chu."

Miredi and others understood what he wanted to say.

In short, they realized it.

The mouse before them was the new God-era magician they had been searching for.

Having said that, it is also true that the impact was too strong.

"...Hey, hey, you guy with glasses over there, what's with that stiff expression? Are you unhappy about something?"

"I'm really concerned about that ending you seemed to insist on adding."

Meredith looked at Oscar with astonishment, as if to say, "You actually said that!?"

"Hmm...? There's nothing we can do about it, right? Bachuram's 'Mimicry' is affected by the object it mimics."

It seemed that it also felt that this was not right. Bandu turned his head away and said defensively, "It seems that this is something that cannot be overcome."

"Bachuram?"

Oscar tilted his head and asked in question.

"Not Bachuram, it's Bachuram."

"? So it's Bachuram, right?"

"No! It's Bachu-la-mu!"

"?"

"Damn it, I'll break your glasses."

"Why!?"

Whenever Oscar and Bandu started talking to each other, Miredy and the others would look back and forth between them. What were they looking at?

The atmosphere between Bandu and Oscar grew increasingly tense, but Bandu seemed to feel that he was at a disadvantage. He smacked his lips and said:

"Hmph! From the perspective of reducing consumption, this is the most suitable form. Never mind...if I keep going like this, the explanation will take too long."

The moment he said this, the mouse's body melted.

"What! Slime!?"

As Oscar cried out in shock, astonishing things continued to happen. From the cracks between the rock wall and the ground, bluish, translucent slimy creatures—commonly known as slimes—emerged, merging with the slime calling itself Bandu.

In the blink of an eye, the slime grew to the size of a human. Finally, its shape underwent complex changes, and then what appeared was—

"Well, your transformation is still as perfect as ever, Bartram."

The person who boasted so much was a young man who looked like a demon at first glance.

Dark skin, slightly pointed ears, and red eyes—all of these were demonic traits. However, in the young man's case, he lacked the fiery red hair typical of a demon. Instead, he had a bright, sky-blue hair, which didn't fit the demonic mold.

He was about twenty years old and a little over 180 cm tall.

Her 7:3 hair slightly covers her right eye, with a shoulder-length braid on the left. Her sharp eyes and stern expression give her the impression of being difficult and nervous.

He also wore a high-necked sleeveless top with loose white pants and white shoes, and a white scarf with artistic embroidery of flowers and ivy.

Mireidi and the others also felt that he looked familiar in his white clothes.

"Hey, hey, could it be that you saved everyone?"

Meredy asked with excitement shining in her eyes.

"Yes, the Princess of Raisen."

This title was strange, as if his impression of Meredith was the next head of the Count of Leysen House, rather than the leader of the "Liberators".

Miredi and others looked at each other in bewilderment. Bandu's identity and origin made them even more puzzled.

"Okay, let me introduce myself again. My name is Bandu Schoni."

Then, with his brows still furrowed and his face stern, Bandhu uttered something shocking.

"Your companions are in the hands of my people. If you want me to release them, you must come and rescue the real me."

When everyone was confused, Oscar was the only one thinking in his heart -

Ah, I really don't get along with this guy.

After that, Miledi and others left the [Lesin Grand Canyon] and are now high in the sky.

Although Miredi and others requested that they meet their companions in the branch first, Bandu refused to agree.

"Thanks to the inherent magic of our tribe's healers and servants, all of them were saved. If you don't want to waste time, follow me." Bandu just said this, then summoned more slime clones, disguised them as flying dragons, and took them into the sky without saying a word.

In addition, in order to inform the fellow "Liberators" of what happened, Meredy and others asked Tim to return to the Planza branch alone.

"So, you are currently borrowing the power from the demon Bachuram—"

"It's Bartram."

Bandhu interrupted Miredhi, this title seemed very important.

By the way, the so-called Bartram is a combination of the pronunciations of Butler and Slime, and is a word invented by Bandhu himself.

Things were roughly as Meredi and the others had guessed. Bandu's magic of the Age of Gods was transformation magic - it could command monsters, create monsters, and even make them evolve. It was an extremely powerful magic.

The monster that rushed to rescue Marshall and the others was also Bandu's servant.

Among those monsters, Bartram had followed Bandu since he was a child and was his first monster. After continuous evolution, Bartram now possessed powers that were completely different from ordinary slimes.

Generally speaking, slimes possess the inherent magic of "Mimicry", but at most it changes their hue or imitates the appearance of their target.

However, in Bartram's case, it can even copy the skills and abilities of the person it mimics. If it mimics a human, it can even converse with them. Because of its high intelligence, it can also "replace the original."

Of course, as the target's abilities grow stronger, the copying rate will decrease, and some special inherent magic and Age of Gods magic cannot actually be copied.

That being said, it's still an extraordinary ability, and since its uses are so wide, it's no wonder it's called a butler.

However, this ability also has its drawbacks. Perhaps because its mimicry is too good, it somehow inherits its opponent's quirks. That's right, if it mimics a mouse, it makes a "chirp" sound when it speaks.

That is, it is not Bachuram.

But it was Bandu Schnee's proud butler slime──Bartram!

Even though Miledi particularly likes the name Bartram and keeps calling him that, the butler Slime is still Bartram!

"Ben is having Bachuram mimic his master, Ben, sharing his feelings and taking control of his body, allowing him to remotely control it, right?"

"It's Bartram, and who are you calling Ben?"

"The real Ben is imprisoned in the basement of the Demon King's Castle, and there are many others imprisoned there... You want us to rescue them as well, right?"

"Don't pretend you didn't hear me. Don't call me Xiaoban."

"Where are your tribe—the Schnee? Ben is the leader, right? Won't they come to save you?"

"What nonsense! My tribe is both my strength and my greatest weakness. The reason I was able to resist them, create gaps, and remotely control Bartram while imprisoned is because they didn't capture my tribe. If they were caught trying to rescue me... then everything would be over. Also, if you dare call me Ben again, I'll throw you off."

Bandu sat cross-legged in front of Bartram's flying dragon, with his back to the crowd, explaining and correcting them.

The real Bandu seems to be imprisoned in the dungeon of the Demon King's castle.

In addition to the Bandu, people of various races and those with various special characteristics or inherent magic were also captured there. However, they were not captives or prisoners.

But it is material for human experiments.

This is why Bandhu and his companions were arrested.

That's right, in order to create an army to fight against the Church, the Demon King's Castle has been conducting terrible experiments that fuse the characteristics of different races.

One of the results was the troops led by the man in black.

The strange feeling that Meredith and the others felt was far too strong for a vampire.

This seems to be based on the vampire's characteristic of absorbing the blood of others and then converting it into their own power, and the result of taking the characteristics of demons and beastmen and fusing them together.

Needless to say, that was impossible. This wasn't like creating a hybrid through mating; it was, as the name suggests, a fusion of one's own characteristics with those of another.

Before those men in black were born, countless bodies had already accumulated. Bandu's tone when explaining this was so flat that it was chilling. It was not difficult to imagine what kind of hell that experimental site was.

Ever since Bandu was captured, he has used the practicality of magic as a backing to slow down the experiments and prevent further deaths, but...

I see. I can understand why Bandu wants to rescue them as soon as possible.

"Xiaoban, are you okay?"

"What's okay?"

Mireidi expressed concern, but Bandhu pulled the scarf to his nose and answered Mireidi as if nothing happened.

As can be seen from his appearance, Bandu seems to be the type of person who will not show his weaknesses to others.

"The Demon King is currently on his way to the Western Regions for an inspection, so he's not in the city. Now is a good opportunity."

Bandu, as if concealing his inner thoughts, brought the subject back to the subject. He said that the men in black had also accompanied the Demon King on his inspection.

"...Don't we need to save them?"

Natsu asked with a complex expression on his face. The men in black were enemies who harmed their companions, but they were also victims of experiments. They were probably the ones Bandu wanted to save.

"...Right now, rescuing those without strength is our priority. As long as there are no worries, I..."

Even if there is only one person, he will go to rescue them.

Without needing to say it, Meredith and the others understood his feelings. He probably couldn't ask the victim to rescue the perpetrator. Meredith was about to speak, but Bandu didn't allow her to object and continued:

"Furthermore, those people are bound by the Demon King's divine artifact. If we don't find a way to free them, they will definitely stab us in the back... But saving them won't be easy."

"You're quite wary of the Demon King, isn't he that powerful?"

In response to Miredhi's question, Bandhu frowned and nodded unhappily.

"Of course, he's the king of the greatest power opposing the Church."

His magical powers are extraordinary, and his magical techniques are also superb. In addition, this generation of Demon King seems to be an unparalleled artifact user, and the artifacts he uses are of course all national treasures. However, what is even more terrifying is...

"...That guy is unfathomable."

Bandu's tone was as if he was trying to resist the deep darkness and not be swallowed by it.

The wind seemed to grow strangely cold. Perhaps to change the mood, Bandu assumed an exceptionally arrogant attitude and continued:

"Anyway! I didn't save your comrades out of kindness. In exchange, it's your turn to help me save them. If you succeed, you'll reunite with your comrades and gain a distinguished warrior like me. Isn't this a good deal?"

Indeed, normally this transaction is more than just a good one, it can even be said to be a huge auction.

Miledi and the others looked at each other in bewilderment.

There were many suspicious points in this matter, almost too many to count. Although one could tell what Meredith's conclusion was just by looking into her clear eyes, it was best to resolve any doubts as soon as possible.

Oscar is usually the one asking questions at times like this, but...

He seemed a little unhappy, or perhaps even displeased with the other person. He pushed his glasses up more frequently than usual. It wasn't so much that he was unhappy about not being able to see Ruth and the others soon, but more that he was annoyed with the young man named Bandu.

Suddenly, the group arrived at the fault point of the sea of ​​clouds.

They had been flying above the clouds for a while, and it seemed they had covered a considerable distance during their conversation. From the fault line, they could see small towns scattered here and there.

It seemed they had officially entered the demon-ruled territory—the Igudol Demon Kingdom.

After confirming this, Natsu, although also concerned about Oscar's situation, still spoke on Oscar's behalf:

"Do you know why they want to capture Sixia and the others?"

"It's also concerning that the branch's location might be discovered. Ben, the rat that made eye contact with Ruth-chan was you, right?"

Mei'er also raised her questions.

"Hmm, you're calling me your classmate this time? You're such a playboy, you're such a snob..."