Billy, who was sitting nervously in the meeting room, turned to the Slime-Erend who nudged his arm.

Adrien Boartusk wasn't there either so there was no one he could talk to calm himself.

"What?" Billy asked in a whisper.

"Erend. He's back," Slime-Erend said. Because now Erend is back, Slime doesn't need to worry about using its Magic energy to speak.

"Oh, then what should we do? Do we have to pick him up at the gas station again?" Billy asked.

Slime shook its head. "I just need to go to a quiet place then I'll switch with Erend."

Billy stared at the Slimes. It's flat expressionless face continued to make Billy feel uncomfortable.

But since Billy had seen its true form, he didn't feel too surprised anymore.

And now Slime-Erend said something quite shocking. It turns out that Slime can switch with Erend from far away.

This creature is a very useful companion. Billy wants to know how Erend met it later.

"Okay." Billy nodded.

Then Slime-Erend asked Geralt for permission to go to the bathroom.

Geralt just waved his hand as if he thought that Erend's presence or absence didn't matter at all.

If it was the real Erend, he would have clenched his jaw.

However, Slime kept a straight face that didn't falter and immediately walked out of the room.

Slime-Erend walked towards the bathroom which happened to be located not far from the meeting room.

Then enter one of the booths and contact Erend.

[ "I'm ready for the switch." ]

'Okay,' Erend replied from where he emerged in the gas station bathroom.

A moment later the Slime-Erend's body was filled with pink light. But it was only a light so thin it wouldn't catch the attention of anyone who might walk into the bathroom.

A few seconds later Erend had switched with Slime.

Now it's the Slime in the gas station bathroom. Erend called Slime.

'Slime, you can go back now.'

["Yes." ]

'And I have good news. You now have junior as my companion.'

[ "The Lycans?" ]

'Yes. You already know about that?'

["Yes." ]

Erend nodded in understanding. Maybe this is Systema's way of making things easier.

When the new companion is added, maybe Slime will also get notifications like him.

'That's good. Thank you for replacing me.'

["Yes." ]

After that, the connection with the Slime was lost. Slime had disappeared.

Erend came out of the bathroom. And back into the meeting room.

"How long have I been gone?" Erend asked in a whisper to Billy.

"About forty-five minutes," Billy said.

Erend nodded. It turned out that even though he felt that it was a long and troublesome battle, he didn't spend too much time on it.

It's just that the burden he felt made everything seem quite long.

Geralt continued the briefing again. A few minutes later the briefing was over and he immediately dismissed the meeting.

Nothing goes out of control. No one realized that Erend was replaced by Slime. So everything went smoothly.

Except for Erend who still has scratch marks on his face.

Even though now the scratch marks have started to heal, there are still red marks on his cheeks.

Erend can hide the scratch marks on his arms under his uniform's sleeve. But not with the wound on his face.

no(????(e)lbi????.n(et

Erend let Geralt and all the other soldiers out while looking away or covering the injured part of his face.

After they left, Erend breathed a sigh of relief.

"What happened to your face?" Billy asked.

"I got scratched by a mad dog," Erend replied with an irritated face.

Billy's brow furrowed deeply. "What?"

Erend shook his head. "Don't think about it. What did Geralt say earlier?"

Billy looked at Erend with a concerned look.

'Again, he's hurt.'

Even though he wanted to ask, Billy knew that Erend didn't want to tell him about it.

So, Billy shook off that thought and decided to tell him what happened at the meeting he missed earlier.

Several minutes passed and Erend finally got the summary of what they talked about in the meeting.

Tomorrow, they will depart by helicopter and go into a hostage rescue scenario on a cargo ship.

Billy, Erend, and Adrien joined the squad that boarded the ship.

That is something that is actually quite difficult.

Erend could only leave it all to what would happen tomorrow.

He knew he still didn't have enough knowledge about such a rescue operation. But there is no point in worrying and thinking about it any further.

Erend suddenly remembered something important. Something he had to tell Billy and Adrien.

"What is that?" Billy asked while frowning curiously.

"Let's wait for Cpt. Boartusk first," Erend said.

"Is that something we should do together?"

Erend nodded his head. Thus, they waited for Adrien to arrive.

Turns out they didn't have to wait too long. Seeing Erend and Billy, Adrien seemed to know that they were waiting for him.

"What I miss?" he asked.

Erend glanced around to make sure the room was empty.

Then he spoke in a low voice to Adrien. "Did you know there was a secret government experiment?"

Adrien's face turned serious. "Yes, I know."

"When did the General tell you, Captain?" Billy asked.

"Whenever the General tells you guys, he tells me first," Adrien said.

Adrien sat down in a chair. "Then what do you want to say?"

Erend looked at them both. Then said. "I asked Aurdis last night. She said, the existence of Magic in this world is a bad thing."

Billy and Adrien immediately felt anxious.

"So we have to cancel the plan to teach you two Magic," Erend continued.

Billy and Adrien, who didn't really agree with the idea from the start, didn't look disappointed.

"Then?" Billy asked.

"Aurdis said, there are unforeseen consequences that would arise if Magic entered our world."

"In Etern... uhh I mean in that other world, Magic was already there a long time ago. So the creatures who live there now have adapted to that power. But for us, that would be problems."

~~~