“My name is Gu Jie. From now on, you will be my first subordinates. I will bestow names upon you, allowing you to evolve and become Named Monsters. However, before that, someone is rapidly approaching this location.”

Just then, a few green-skinned Goblins arrived from a distance, along with a blue-haired young man wearing a mask and riding a giant wolf-like monster.

The moment they saw the blue-haired young man, these Ogre Clan members, seeing his mask, instantly went berserk.

Gu Jie watched as her newly acquired subordinates were filled with rage, as if they were about to fight the masked blue-haired young man to the death.

According to the plot, the demon who destroyed the Ogre Clan had worn a mask similar to his, which was why Hong Maru and the others were now seething with anger.

“Gu Jie-sama! That masked person is one of the culprits who destroyed our village!!! Please, Gu Jie-sama, help us capture him!”

Rimuru, who was originally riding on Ranga’s back, was utterly bewildered by Hong Maru and the others’ words. “What? What does this have to do with me? How did I end up in the middle of this? And when did I destroy their village? I don’t know anything about that!”

Rimuru, having gained the ability to shapeshift into a human and thus acquiring a sense of taste, had been eagerly anticipating tonight’s banquet. However, Gobuta and the others, who had gone hunting, suddenly felt a powerful surge of magicules emanating from deep within the forest.

To understand what was happening, Rimuru brought Ranga, Gobuta, and the others here, leading to the scene unfolding before them.

Rimuru was currently analyzing the reason for their hostility towards him. As he pondered, the helpful cheat Great Sage within him provided the answer.

“Analysis: The attacking individuals are of the Ogre Clan, one of the relatively high-ranking monster species. As for the reason for their hostility, based on their gaze, demeanor, emotions, and other data, 80% of the reason stems from the mask on your face.”

Rimuru was even more confused upon hearing this.

“Could it be that these people are Miss Jing Liu’s enemies?”

Having a possible reason, Rimuru quickly removed the mask from his face and hastily explained, “Is the reason for your hostility towards me because of the mask on my face? If so, I think you might be mistaken. This is a memento from a friend of mine, not something I own.”

At this point, the few individuals, consumed by hatred, could no longer hear Rimuru’s words. They were already prepared to rush forward and tear him to shreds.

Just as they were about to lose control and charge, they realized their feet were frozen, though they didn’t know when it had happened.

At this moment, Gu Jie spoke.

“I think there might be some misunderstanding between you. Give me the mask; I’ll show it to them to see if it’s the one they’ve seen.”

Upon hearing Gu Jie’s words, Rimuru said, moved,

“There are still people who can communicate normally after all! My name is Rimuru Tempest; I’m just a slime. The mask is Miss Jing Liu’s memento, and I don’t even know any of you.”

To prove his harmlessness, Rimuru then reverted to his original form, a blob of jelly-like blue slime. He then spat the mask out of his body and tossed it to Gu Jie. After Gu Jie caught the mask, she showed it to Hong Maru and the others.

After a thorough explanation, the misunderstanding between Hong Maru and the others and Rimuru was finally resolved.

Since Rimuru wanted to know more about the reason for the Ogre Clan village’s destruction, he invited everyone to the Goblin village as guests.

After returning to the Goblin village with Rimuru and the others, everyone was surprised to find the village exceptionally clean and tidy.

Because Rimuru was a reincarnator, the Goblin village was not as dirty, chaotic, and poor as one might imagine. Although the buildings were still somewhat primitive, it was considered unique within the Jura Great Forest.

The food for the evening banquet consisted of various grilled meats. The Gun-Leg Tarantula that Gu Jie had instantly defeated earlier was now one of the dishes on the table.

After taking a bite of the Gun-Leg Tarantula’s meat, Gu Jie remarked that it tasted good, just like king crab from her previous life, and each bite was very satisfying. Just then, Gu Jie seemed to remember something.

“System! My second mission, finding Rimuru, should be considered complete, right?”

“Ding! Congratulations, Host, for completing Mission Two. The Sign-in function has been activated. Would Host like to sign in?”

“Sign in!”

“Congratulations, Host, for successfully signing in! You have received Source Evolution Fusion x2 (Note: Source Evolution Fusion can elevate the source of your subordinates and evolve them in a direction beneficial to you).” This sign-in is complete. The next sign-in is in 1 month.

“Wow! This is great! I was originally planning to have Rimuru help me name them and evolve them into monsters, but now it seems I can evolve Zhu Cai and Shion myself.”

In the world of Reincarnated as a Slime, there is a special mechanism known as 『Named Monsters』. Of course, giving a name isn't just about providing a moniker for someone. It's a special ritual where a high-ranking demon, monster, or a powerful human with a large amount of magicules bestows a name upon another monster.

Generally, this naming ceremony is performed by a higher-ranking demon or monster with more magicules, who uses their magicules to empower a lower-ranking monster during the naming process.

Receiving a name with the magicule empowerment of a high-ranking demon or monster will cause the named monster to become a 『Named Monster』, and depending on the strength of the namer, their own magicule quantity will increase, and their individual species may even evolve and ascend.

While 『naming』 a monster can make the Named Monster stronger and even break through racial limitations, it is not without cost. In the rules of monsters, accepting another’s name also signifies accepting their grace, which is another form of swearing allegiance.

Another point is that directly named monsters will acquire a skill from the namer. However, Gu Jie felt that Jing Liu didn't have any skills suitable for them, so she simply let Rimuru do the naming. But now with this reward, Gu Jie plans to directly name Zhu Cai and Shion herself, while Rimuru will name the others.

Back at the banquet, Rimuru also learned about the reason for the Ogre Clan village’s destruction from Hong Maru and the others, and then discussed it with Gu Jie.

“Gu Jie, do you have any leads on that demon named Geld? He’s naming monsters in various monster villages, and then the Pighead Clan suddenly attacks those villages. It’s hard to imagine these two things are unrelated.”

Gu Jie, who was currently enjoying the Gun-Leg Tarantula barbecue, shrugged and said,

“I just arrived in this world not long ago. How would I know anything about some minor character Geld? And from Geld’s actions, he’s clearly just a subordinate, probably a minor role.” Gu Jie ate while recalling the general details of the plot.

“Wait! What did you just say?”