"Hi." Trewy smiled and waved her right hand as a greeting. Is she enjoying the situation? "I'm Trewy and he is Nemu. We are on our way to Tempest."

And again, like before, everyone was looking at Nemu now. A slime with a name? What? And even a red slime? Most goblins had seen red slimes before but they were still very rare. 

"Hello." Nemu wanted to get over the next surprise. It wasn't annoying for him, but he also didn't like it too much. "I'm Nemu." Trewy already introduced him, but now they would have known that he can talk. In Tempest, many of the inhabitants already knew about Nemu. Since the leader is also a slime, word spreads quickly that another talking slime is in town. He quickly became something of a celebrity. But apparently the people who didn't live in the town hadn't all heard of him.

And again, silence.

After one of the goblin riders in the background let out a fake cough, the shock finally lifted from the leader. He wasn't really shocked but more confused and surprised.

"Have you been to Tempest before?" Asked the leader. Nemu knew about the two questions they had to ask when they met new people. If one hasn't been in Tempest before the goblin riders would explain the rules to them, of course, due to the great variation of monsters and cultures in Tempest differed from the rules in other cities and countries. The second question is the reason why they visit Tempest. Until today, this was more of a rhetorical question. They wanted to visit the city once was reason enough and was enough as an answer. However, since Tempest would become bigger and bigger in the future and the answer could be suspicious, this question was already asked.

After Nemu told them that he already lives in Tempest and has a home there, well, it wasn't a real home, but a room, the questioning ended immediately. They didn't even bother to ask Trewy the same questions. After all, she was a Dryad and therefore trusted by anyone.

However, before they went ahead one of the goblins approached them. He looked kinda shy.

"Uhm... Hi. My name is Gobsi. The road... it's still dangerous. Usually there are magic devices that hold monsters back from the road. But since it's a new road they're not installed yet. So you might meet some monsters on the way. I'm about to return to Tempest, so if you want, I can come with you." Gobsi explained.

Nemu and Trewy immediately agreed. In the past they always avoided monsters. In the forest it was not a problem, but they could not leave the road every time and the goblin riders were strong. So there was no reason to refuse. 

There was another reason. Before Nemu and Trewy had reached the slime cave, they had talked about returning to Tempest through the forest. But they couldn't do that anymore. Because of the red slimes. Nemu felt her consciousness slowly returning. The dim and flickering flames in the beginning had already grown and were stable again. And Nemu felt uncomfortable leaving them in his dimensional space longer than necessary. So they decided to return to Tempest as soon as possible. And the fastest way was the road.

But on the road... they couldn't have any adventures! A lot was known about goblins. Probably most about the tribes from the Jura Forest. How they lived, what they ate, what enemies they had, who they were friends with. All of this was common knowledge you can find in a lot of books. They were often visited by adventurers and traded. But not only that. Sometimes they offered temporary homes to adventurer groups. After all, even their spartan houses were more comfortable than sleeping in a tent. Sometimes they even traveled to Dwargon to trade! But just because much was known about their race didn't mean that every goblin has not his own adventures and experience to talk about. So they were happy to have another travel companion, and not just for protection.

Finally, after they reached the road, they were talking in the forest before, they met the first high orcs. But they were very busy. Some were taking care of the trees that were immediately taken away by other high orcs and some were building the road. The trees were not wasted, of course, all of them were brought back to Tempest and the surrounding villages to build new houses, facilities or just to make fires. It would have been easier to use the surrounding forests for this, but Tempest and Rimuru wanted to preserve the forest.

The high orcs gave them only a quick glance. Some of them raised their eyebrows when they saw the unusual group but then they were ignored. Nemu thought about offering them help, With his expanded dimensional space he was probably able to pick up a hundred trees. But after seeing how engrossed all the orcs were in their work, he immediately dismissed the idea. What interested him was how they would dig the tunnels. Maybe he would return later to see. He wanted to visit the Kusha Mountains anyway, so he would surely return here.

As they walked across the street, they realized that Gobsi was as inquisitive as they were. It was nice to see someone so interested in their stories. Before, it was always the others who talked, but now Nemu realized for the first time that his own adventures were worth sharing. And he liked it. Very much. From the beginning he had planned to share his adventures, to write a book about them and to tell them. And now it was the first time he had the opportunity to do so.

He told Gobsi about his reason for the journey, about the first meeting with Rimuru and Ranga. About Veldora and Milim. This had shocked Gobsi. The little slime was friends with the mighty storm dragon from the legends? Impressive! Even Gobsi, who had already lived in Tempest for some time, had only seen him from afar. He had not dared to speak to him or even to approach him. Nemu had heard this many times and it honestly made him sad. Veldora was a nice guy and he would certainly like it if more people approached him. Sometimes it's a curse to be powerful.

And after that Nemu told about his journey after he left Tempest. Trewy often added some parts. She was there all the time, but let Nemu tell. The reason? Nemu was a great storyteller! She had to admit that. Nemu told about the meeting with Kumo. He had not thought about that for a long time. Did she decide to go to Tempest? He also did not leave out the demon castle, even if he did not want to tell some parts of it. The meeting with Cervi was the most interesting for Gobsi. Remember him? The White Stag with the spirit Nemu gave a name? Well, you should! Because he will be important in the future! Nemu also told about the Spirit clearing. Even though before that he decided not to tell anyone where the place is. It will remain Nemu's and Trewy's secret.

Nemu also told about the rabbit tribe. Even though it was not a happy story, Gobsi was glad that such a thing would not happen in the future again. Tempest really made a difference for the whole forest. He did not tell about the slime cave. That was... a painful memory that he didn't want to share. But the Kusha Mountain range Gobsi found very interesting. He will work there in the future. After all, it was his task to protect the road. However, he flinched a few times when Nemu told him about the ice golems. Currently, it's just a vacation from Gobsis work. Something that Rimuru had introduced. Vacations were not something that monsters had before. 

It was already getting dark when Nemu finished his story. He really managed to talk about his adventures all day. And he had left Tempest only a month ago. After the disappointment of the slime cave, he had lost some motivation. Not the motivation to adventure again, but it had frustrated him. But now that he had talked about his journey, he was very happy about his decision. Even though the world wasn't always a good place, it was full of adventures. And he wanted to experience many more. Trewy felt the same. After they got stronger, they would go on a new journey again. 

However, it wasn't only Nemu who could tell stories. Gobsi had also experienced a lot. Actually, he was in the goblin tribe that Rimuru first visited after he came to this world. And that had changed his life. Goblins were a fearful race. And not without reason. The forest was dangerous and they were weak. So they rarely left their villages. But everything changed after Rimuru came to them. After he got his name, he became strong and he trained every day to become even stronger. He was one of the survivors of the Hakurous, one of the Onis of Tempest, hellish training. What Nemu did not know was that even the ruler of Dwargon, known as the Hero King, was trained by Hakurou! Now Nemu had even more respect for him. Nemu had also participated in Hakurou's training for one day, he had to be the strictest teacher in Tempest! Or so he thought, Nemu should soon find out that there was another teacher in Tempest who was just as strict, if not stricter, than Hakurou.

Gobsi told another story that Nemu did not know. When Rimuru first came to the goblin village, it was about to be destroyed. Because it was attacked by wolves. The same tribe Gobsi was riding now. Gobsi patted the head of his wolf several times while telling the story. It was really nice to see that there wasn't any bad blood anymore. Now they were comrades and fought side by side. Or on and under them because the goblins rode on the wolves? Anyways. The story made Nemu and Trewy smile.

What was not so great was the story when Tempest was attacked by humans. This was something Nemu had heard before. Many people died that day, but Rimuru brought them back to life. Something that was unimaginable for Nemu. However, he suspected that Rimuru had not done this alone. Nemu knew a secret of Rimuru, probably his biggest secret. Raphael. He had promised not to tell anyone about it and of course he would keep that promise. But he was sure that she had done her part.

On the second day they were attacked. A big monster came out of the forest towards them. Nemu had sensed it immediately and told Gobsi that a monster was coming towards them. Nemu and Trewy wanted to help, but Gobsi told them that it was his job. And their help was not needed. It took Gobsi only one slice and the monster was dead. A monster ten times his size. Even after evolving into a hobgoblin they still looked weak. Their size was relatively small, the aura they emitted was average at best and they weren't muscle packed, well, besides a few exceptions. But all of them were incredibly strong. Nemu admired them. Before he knew that they were capable, but now... even Corsar wouldn't be an opponent for them. An enemy Nemu and Trewy couldn't beat. They would be lying if they said they weren't a little envious, but it was also a great motivation for them. Gobsi did not become so strong for no reason. He made it because he shed sweat and blood.

5 days. It took them only 5 days until they reached Tempest. Nemu and Trewy had to admit that the road was great. On their journey they had not seen a single curve. Tunnels were cut through hills. Bridges were built over rivers. The orcs were not only incredibly skilled in building straight roads, they also had a lot of knowledge about all kinds of architecture. 

On the fourth day, the roads got busy. There were so many races and Nemu wanted to talk to all of them. On the other side, Trewy became more and more impatient because she really wanted to see Tempest. The travelers all came from the forests. Before the road to Sarion was finished, smaller roads to the tribes that were on the way were already connected to the main road. Again something that really impressed Nemu. Many of the travelers had carriages with goods, they went to Tempest but also came from that direction. The quality of life of all the tribes connected to the road was increased. Goods previously unknown to many races were abundant in Tempest and so trade never stood still. Many of the travelers would stay in Tempest. Even if they had not intended to do so at the beginning of their journey and had only set out because they were curious. 

There were even houses along the way. Mostly they were small Inns in which one could stay overnight. A welcome change from the tent Trewy and Nemu had stayed in before. Fortunately, Nemu had some money. Rimuru gave it to him before they left Tempest. Just in case. And it wasn't destroyed by Corsars rage so nemu was able to pick it up again. 

For Trewy it was particularly impressive. She had never seen houses like this before. In their grove the dryads lived in naturally grown trees, through magic they had created rooms over many years in which the dryads lived. But a self-built house? She had seen it in the rabbit village, but it was nothing like the Inns on the way to Tempest. Nemu giggled as he thought about the Trewys reaction when she comes into the houses of Tempest.

The rooms were... interesting, to put it briefly. Rooms would be given by race, not by the money that could be paid. The reason for this was simple. All races had different needs and... sizes. A bed big enough for a goblin could never hold an orc. While a bed for an orc was far too big for a goblin. This made the Inn look a bit strange. While the main door was big enough for everyone, the doors for each room were different sizes. Nemu thought this was funny. By the way, they took the room for the smallest races. Trewy was still a child physically, Gobsi was one of the smallest races as a Goblin, and, well, Nemu was a slime.

On the morning of the fifth day, they finally reached the entrance to the city. They were finally back to Tempest.