The End, Cue the Confetti?

Zhong Baiye, who had been in dire straits just moments ago, now felt rather grateful to Paimon. He decided that if anything really happened to her, he would erect a huge gravestone for her.

If Paimon hadn't drawn away some of the Slimes, Zhong Baiye would already have become some Slime's lunch.

"Haah... haah..."

He created a tall stone pillar with a Geo construct and took a brief rest on top.

The Slimes below didn't seem particularly bright. They only tried to climb the Geo pillar, never once thinking to attack it.

What he failed to notice, however, was that these Slimes were all appearing out of thin air.

Just as he focused all his attention on the Slimes below, an enormous Slime loomed over his head.

Rumble!

As the Geo construct collapsed, Zhong Baiye finally followed in Keqing's and Lumine's footsteps.

The giant Slime swallowed him whole before he could make a sound.

And with that, our entire main cast, aside from Paimon, had been wiped out. The end, cue the confetti!

Confetti, my ass! This was an adeptus's home. How could there possibly be such dangerous monsters here?

What Zhong Baiye hadn't noticed was that, as he was swallowed, his frantic struggle had caused the genuine Sigil of Permission to fall out.

"Huh? Why does this feel so nice? Where am I? Didn't a Slime swallow me?"

Inside the Slime's body, Zhong Baiye felt no pain at all. Although a strange slime surrounded him, he could actually breathe normally.

What was more, wrapped in this slime, he felt some of his fatigue fade away. He was no longer panting as he had been earlier; instead, it felt like soaking in a hot spring.

Before he could figure out what was going on, he saw the light of the outside world.

Turning to look, he saw that Lumine and Keqing had just been spat out by the Slimes as well.

"Hahaha! Paimon's still the best! None of you could handle these Slimes, but now they're all obeying my commands!"

Paimon hovered in the air, smugly showing off to Zhong Baiye and the others.

But Zhong Baiye and the others also noticed that all the Slimes now seemed to regard Paimon as their master, bouncing up and down toward her to express their delight.

While Zhong Baiye was wondering when Paimon had become so impressive, he noticed the Sigil of Permission glowing faintly in her hands.

Looking again at the Slimes' behavior, they were clearly expressing their delight toward the Sigil of Permission.

Zhong Baiye patted his pocket and discovered that his Sigil of Permission was missing. He looked at Paimon's hands again, and a sly smile appeared on his face.

"Paimon, since you're so amazing, give me back my Sigil of Permission. I'm sure you can handle these Slimes all by yourself."

At that, Paimon immediately clutched the Sigil of Permission tightly to her chest.

"Don't even think about taking my Sigil of Permission! It's a treasure I found. Stay away from me."

Paimon watched Zhong Baiye warily.

After hearing their exchange and looking at how the Slimes reacted to Paimon, Keqing and Lumine also realized that it was all because of that Sigil of Permission.

While Paimon was keeping an eye on Zhong Baiye, Keqing quietly circled behind her.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

A purple figure flashed past. Paimon stared in bewilderment: the Sigil of Permission she had been clutching tightly just a moment ago had vanished.

"Where's my Sigil of Permission? It was right here! How did such a big sigil just disappear?"

Looking over at Keqing's hand, there it was: the Sigil of Permission.

When Paimon saw the Sigil of Permission that Keqing had "snatched away," she immediately lost her composure.

"Give it back! Come forth, Traveler! Hurry and snatch my Sigil of Permission back for me!"

Seeing that Paimon was still acting like this, Zhong Baiye couldn't take it anymore. Lightning gathered at his fingertip, and he sent it striking toward her.

Crackle!

Zhong Baiye's sneak attack caught Paimon, turning her hair into a rather distinctive afro.

Seeing that everyone was serious, Paimon gave up on playing around.

"I'll talk, I'll talk! Just don't be angry."

Only after Paimon explained with much waving of her arms did they understand what had happened earlier.

It turned out that when Zhong Baiye had been swallowed, the Sigil of Permission had accidentally fallen to the ground.

Paimon, who had been chased by a group of Slimes, saw those Slimes actually begin worshipping the Sigil of Permission on the ground.

Even the largest Slime formed a pair of hands and assumed a respectful posture before the Sigil of Permission.

With the Slimes behind her about to gobble her up, Paimon had no time to wonder why they were treating that Sigil of Permission so reverently.

She immediately rushed over and snatched the Sigil of Permission off the ground.

The moment Paimon picked up the Sigil of Permission, those formerly ferocious Slimes actually became docile and adorable.

Paimon could even order them to perform simple tasks.

When Paimon placed the Sigil of Permission on the ground, the Slimes attacked her again.

When she picked it up, the Slimes returned to their endearingly docile selves.

╮(•́ω•̀)╭ Paimon didn't understand how it worked either.

Remembering that Lumine and the others had been swallowed, she immediately ordered the Slimes to spit everyone out.

When she reached this part, Paimon's eyes darted about, and she didn't dare meet Zhong Baiye's gaze.

Having spent so much time with Paimon, Lumine could tell at a glance that she was lying and pressed a hand to her forehead.

Zhong Baiye also knew Paimon fairly well. He realized that she had surely only intended to free Lumine, but had accidentally released everyone.

Still, everyone had made it out safely, so there was no need to give Paimon any more trouble.

Next, Zhong Baiye and the others began wondering why the Sigil of Permission could subdue these Slimes.

"Come look over here! I remember there wasn't a note here earlier."

Keqing discovered that a note had appeared out of nowhere on the table in front of them and immediately called everyone over to look.

Zhong Baiye and the others were certain there hadn't been a note there earlier. It must have appeared while they were fighting the Slimes.

Keqing picked up the note and read its contents aloud.

"These Slimes are the cleaning tools I've provided for you. Simply take out your Sigil of Permission, and you can command them."

Below that, the note also explained what these Slimes actually were.

Only after Zhong Baiye took the note and read it carefully did he understand.

It turned out that these Slimes were the adeptal version of "robot vacuum cleaners."

Everywhere they passed would become spotless.

Dust and rubbish entering their bodies would break down into the nutrients they needed.

Humans who wandered in by accident would also be swallowed, but they would merely be confined inside without coming to any harm. In fact, the Slimes' bodily fluids would cleanse the germs from their bodies.

Earlier, they had simply treated Zhong Baiye and the others as rubbish and cleaned them up.